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The hoped-for help did not appear. Nothing changed at all.
Kakashi couldn't help but shout again. "Kagaya, I know you're here! Really, I'm begging you, please help Konoha..."
Unfortunately, there was still no change.
The glow on the Asura Path's head grew increasingly intense. The next second, it fired!
It struck Tsunade with pinpoint accuracy. This blow could basically declare Tsunade's death.
In a patch of shadows, Kagaya and his group stood silently, taking no action.
Karin couldn't help but ask, "Kagaya, you..."
Kagaya interrupted Karin's words, saying, "You want to ask why I'm not intervening, right?"
Karin nodded. They had clearly heard Kakashi's cry for help, yet Kagaya showed no intention of stepping in.
The next moment, Kagaya spoke. "Suppose I save Tsunade now. Then what? Someone suffering from hemophilia—even if I save her now, it'll be very difficult to protect her in the subsequent battle."
Karin nodded, acknowledging Kagaya's point. But she still felt somewhat uneasy. "But even so, I... I think saving her now is better than watching her die."
Indeed, even if it was difficult to protect Tsunade later, it was better than immediate death. After all, saving her now meant there was still hope.
Kagaya, however, spoke meaningfully, "If Tsunade were still just a gambler, a Tsunade who wandered around casinos all day, then I certainly would have intervened to save her just now. But she is no longer just a gambler. She is now Konoha's Fifth Hokage. She bears responsibilities far greater than ours. She can lose to Pain due to lack of strength, or due to bad luck. But she absolutely cannot lose to Pain because of hemophobia. If her strength is lacking, she can train. If her luck is bad, she can try again next time. But if it's because of mere hemophobia, then what's the point of surviving now? In the future, her identity as the Fifth Hokage is destined to expose her to unavoidable dangers. Even if I can save her once, twice, I cannot save her for a lifetime."
Speaking to this point, Kagaya's mind couldn't help but recall the dazzling image from his past life, the figure of that golden-haired youth wearing the cloak of the Fourth Hokage. In Kagaya's view, that should be the example for all Hokage.
"As the Hokage, she cannot lose! At the very least, she cannot lose to herself. Hemophobia is just that—she must overcome it!"
Karin fell silent for a moment, looking towards where Tsunade lay. There, Tsunade lay in a crater, covered in wounds. After withstanding two direct hits from the Asura Path's laser cannon, she seemed to have no breath left.
"Kagaya, she..."
Kagaya continued the thought, "If she dies, then she dies."
Hemophobia—this condition held far too devastating a power over Tsunade. If Tsunade couldn't overcome it, then Kagaya saving her would be meaningless.
Kagaya standing silently to the side now, watching the Asura Path execute Tsunade, was indeed heartless.
But Kagaya believed overcoming hemophobia was absolutely necessary for Tsunade, something she had to do.
Tsunade was no longer the world-ignoring gambler. She was now Konoha's Fifth Hokage. She should possess the strength to bear the responsibility that came with the title.
And the existence of hemophobia was clearly unqualified.
Moreover, the one who had set this "trap" was Tsunade, not him, Kagaya. Since she actively set the "trap," the most basic point was that she should bear the consequences it brought.
Kagaya saving Tsunade would be an act of goodwill. Not saving her was merely fulfilling his basic obligation. After all, although Tsunade had helped transplant his eyes, Kagaya had also agreed to fulfill one condition for her.
If Tsunade spoke now, asking Kagaya to save her, then Kagaya would certainly intervene, since he promised to fulfill one condition. But if Tsunade didn't speak, then whether to save her or not was up to Kagaya's own discretion.
Looking at the motionless Tsunade in the distance, Kagaya pursed his lips.
"Dead?"
If Tsunade died just like that, it would indeed be something Kagaya hadn't anticipated.
But if she truly died, then as Kagaya had said earlier, if she died, then she died.
Losing to mere hemophobia would be far too disappointing in Kagaya's eyes.
Meanwhile, the scene on the battlefield seemed frozen. Everyone stopped, looking towards Tsunade lying on the ground.
Kakuzu chuckled. "Dead? This bounty is surprisingly easy money."
At this moment, Kakuzu hadn't yet realized the person who commissioned the assassination of Tsunade was actually someone sent by Tsunade herself.
Sasori spoke up with delight. "That super-strength is truly terrifying. This is absolutely excellent material! And her condition just now—was it hemophobia? But no matter. Puppets don't suffer from hemophobia. Her power will be fully realized in my hands!"
Sasori not only researched puppets but also poison. His research into poison was quite deep. Naturally, someone researching poison would also understand some diseases. Just as medical ninja understand some poisons and can even create them, Sasori, researching poison, also understood some diseases and could even cure many.
So, unlike the Deva Path's confusion, Sasori quickly recognized Tsunade's condition.
While Sasori and Kakuzu were pleased, Kakashi was in a completely different state.
A tremendous sense of helplessness surged within him. His mind continuously fed him a feeling called "pain," accompanied by fear.
They had failed to protect the Hokage—the source of the helplessness.
The Hokage was dead—the source of the pain.
The Third Hokage had just died, and now the Fifth Hokage had died again. This would deal a massive blow to Konoha. It would make other countries think Konoha was weak and could be bullied. Very likely, soon after news of the Hokage's death spread, another country would immediately launch a war against Konoha!
—This was the source of the fear.
Cold sweat poured incessantly down Kakashi's back. At this moment, he didn't know what to do. The path ahead was too dark. Having lost their guiding light, they were utterly lost.
Currently, looking at Konoha, even if Tsunade died, there was Jiraiya to take over. But this wasn't an issue of replacement. This was a matter of "psychological impact."
Shinobi weren't animals. Shinobi in this world had emotions. Just imagine, when a village loses one Kage, and immediately loses the next Kage right after, how great would the psychological impact be on the shinobi of that village?
Clearly, it would be enormous.
If another country attacked at this time, Konoha would likely collapse completely.
To put it bluntly, today, he, Kakashi, could die. Guy could die. Even all the Jonin could die. The only one who couldn't die was this newly appointed Fifth Hokage.
She was too important!
On the other side.
The Deva Path lowered his hand, walked over to Tsunade's body, crouched down, and looked coldly at the bloodied and wounded Tsunade.
"How disappointing. Lady Tsunade, is it? It seems you are unworthy of being called one of the Legendary Sannin, unworthy of bearing that title. You..."
For the Deva Path, up to this point in the mission to assassinate Tsunade, the most surprising, even unbelievable thing was—Tsunade was far too weak!
The fight had just begun, and suddenly she couldn't counterattack, then was killed? Weak to a shocking degree!
As a disciple of Jiraiya, although Nagato had never seen Jiraiya's full power, he knew how unfathomably strong his sensei was. Even the current Nagato, facing Jiraiya, wouldn't dare claim certain victory. Yet this Tsunade, Jiraiya's peer, was so weak the Deva Path could hardly believe it.
Therefore, the Deva Path coldly pronounced his judgment, like a divine verdict.
"You have dishonored the title of the Legendary Sannin!"