The forest lay in ruins.
Debris was scattered everywhere—broken earth, shattered trees, lingering scorch marks.
A battle had just ended here.
Beneath a large tree, Tsunade, her light-golden hair damp and disheveled, sat leaning against the trunk. She had recovered some of her physical strength, but her chakra was still far from restored.
Once her chakra recovered, healing her injuries would be simple.
But at this moment, Tsunade wasn't focused on her wounds.
Instead, her gaze followed Yuya, who had just finished clearing the battlefield and was now walking toward her.
She kept feeling that Yuya was extremely familiar—but no matter how she tried, she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.
That was understandable. Konoha had countless shinobi, and ANBU were required to conceal their identities. Not recognizing him was only natural.
Still, what truly shocked her was his strength.
She had never imagined that within ANBU—aside from Sakumo Hatake—there existed someone as terrifyingly powerful as Yuya.
"Thank you."
With the battle over, Tsunade nodded politely toward Yuya. She tried to stand, but could only barely support herself by holding onto the tree beside her.
Yuya flicked his wrist, and the Kusanagi Sword dissolved into white smoke and vanished. He smiled lightly and replied,
"No need to thank me. It was my duty."
Tsunade nodded again. She knew Yuya had come because of Konoha's orders—but the fact remained that he had genuinely saved her.
For that, she was sincerely grateful.
"Even if it was your duty… on a personal level, I still need to thank you."
Hearing that, Yuya froze for a moment—then realized he was still wearing his ANBU mask.
"On a personal level… you really don't need to thank me either."
As he spoke, Yuya removed his mask and smiled at Tsunade.
Although ANBU identities were meant to remain secret, Tsunade was no ordinary person. She was the Third Hokage's disciple, an elite jōnin of Konoha, the princess of the Senju Clan, and the granddaughter of the First Hokage.
And on a personal level—Yuya had no intention of hiding from her.
Tsunade, who had already been curious about who he was and was about to ask him to remove his mask anyway, froze the instant she saw his face.
She stared at him in disbelief.
The changes were huge—but she still recognized him at a glance.
Even so, she could hardly believe it.
If Yuya hadn't just saved her, she might have suspected an enemy transformation.
"Yu… Yuya?"
Her voice was hesitant, uncertain.
Yuya's lips curved slightly as he replied casually,
"I'm Yuya's older brother. I heard you acknowledged Yuya as your little brother."
"Is it really you?!"
If Tsunade still had doubts a moment ago, that single teasing sentence erased them completely.
There was no question anymore.
The man in front of her was Yuya.
Yuya shrugged, not surprised that he failed to fool her. After all, Tsunade was a woman who could one day become Hokage.
"…."
Tsunade, who had been feeling nothing but gratitude moments ago, suddenly covered her forehead with a helpless expression.
But more than annoyance, her heart was filled with disbelief.
Back then, Yuya's strength hadn't even amounted to a fraction of hers.
And yet in just over a year, he had advanced at an unbelievable pace—catching up to her, even surpassing her!
What kind of monstrous talent did it take to achieve that?
Because of the war, Minato Namikaze had already graduated from the Ninja Academy—but he was still only a genin.
Even though Minato's actual strength was at least chūnin-level, he had no real impact on the Second Shinobi World War. His rise would come in the Third.
But Yuya—
Yuya already possessed power capable of influencing the course of the Second War itself.
Just looking at how he single-handedly wiped out an elite Iwagakure unit of over thirty shinobi was enough to prove that Yuya already had the ability to roam the battlefield freely.
"You little brat… trying to take advantage of me now, huh?!"
Recovering from her shock, Tsunade shot Yuya an annoyed glance. Her attitude toward him hadn't changed at all.
She certainly hadn't forgotten his earlier line about being her "brother."
Yuya stepped forward to support her, smiling as he said,
"Well, you didn't recognize me, Tsunade-sama."
Thump.
Though she barely had any strength left, Tsunade still knocked him lightly on the forehead.
"Call me big sister."
"But didn't you say before that you hadn't acknowledged me yet? That earning your approval was very difficult?"
Yuya looked at her teasingly.
Tsunade didn't reply—she just smiled sweetly while staring at him.
Immediately, Yuya felt a wave of murderous intent.
Alright.
No point arguing with women.
In the next moment, Yuya bent down and scooped Tsunade up into his arms.
"Wait!!"
Tsunade cried out—but she had no strength to stop him.
And even if she did, she wouldn't be able to walk on her own anyway.
This was still a battlefield. Letting her move slowly wasn't an option.
What truly infuriated her was—
Carrying her on his back would have worked just fine!!
"I'll find a safe place first."
Yuya looked down at Tsunade in his arms, his expression completely serious.
Tsunade, however, was covered in black lines.
She knew better than to be fooled by his expression.
Who knew how hard he was laughing inside.
Last time, she had tormented him quite a bit.
And now, clearly, Yuya was taking advantage of the moment—retaliating while she was powerless.
This brat…
Really holds grudges.
Tsunade could only sigh inwardly.
Yuya didn't go far while carrying Tsunade.
There was no way he could carry her all the way back to Konoha's camp.
Besides, since a major battle had just taken place here, this forest was actually the safest place.
No one would expect survivors to remain behind after such a fight.
Towering trees surrounded them, and beneath some of the thickest trunks were large tree hollows, hidden behind layers of vines—nearly impossible to spot at a glance.
After finding a suitable hollow, Yuya set Tsunade down. Ignoring the glare she shot him, he carefully cleaned the inside.
"Let's rest here for a while. With your ability, once you recover some chakra, healing yourself won't be a problem."
Yuya spoke calmly.
Tsunade stared at him for a long moment, trying to read something from his face—but found nothing. She snorted and stepped into the hollow.
Although she was still injured and low on chakra, her physical stamina had mostly recovered.
Yuya couldn't help but admire her constitution.
Even though it was far inferior to Hashirama Senju, and nowhere near the level she would reach after mastering the Strength of a Hundred Technique, her recovery ability was already astonishing.
It was precisely this resilience—
That had allowed Tsunade to survive and persist until now.
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