"What do you think you're doing?"
As soon as Raijin and Tsunade arrived in Konohagakure, Tsunade grabbed him by the collar, gritting her teeth as she whispered.
"Do you have no shame?"
"Ah… don't put too much pressure on the kids."
Raijin quickly tried to explain as he made his way toward the Konohagakure research center.
That child who had been marked by Jigen couldn't stay with him forever. Keeping him here wouldn't do any good—only the research center had the time and resources to figure out what that mark really was.
"They're on a mission! They could die at any moment!"
Tsunade shot back, clearly frustrated.
"I know, I know."
Raijin nodded repeatedly, holding onto the marked child with one hand while using the other to grip Tsunade's hand so he could breathe properly.
"But even if I didn't say anything, do you really think she wouldn't have realized it on her own?"
Children in the ninja world were different from the ones in his past life.
In his past life, when kids made mistakes, the consequences weren't immediate. Even if there were consequences, they wouldn't have such a deep emotional impact.
In those cases, offering advice and guidance was necessary.
But things were different here.
Especially for children on a mission—every mistake they made had immediate and sometimes fatal consequences.
No matter what mistake they made, the outcome was always the same: a brush with death.
That was an entirely different concept.
That terrifying moment of coming face-to-face with death—it was something no one would ever forget.
And that's how ninjas were forged—through countless encounters with death, sharpening themselves over and over again.
So even if no one said a word, Ryuri wouldn't just forget about it.
That sword that pierced his shoulder, that fear of almost dying—it would keep reminding him of the mistake he made, again and again.
"And besides, don't scold a child too harshly in front of their peers. It puts them in a really difficult position."
Raijin continued speaking to Tsunade.
"Ryuri has already done really well to reach this level at the ninja academy. I think, moving forward, our job isn't to push her to grow even faster.
Instead, we should focus more on her mental well-being."
Raijin didn't want family issues to create any emotional weaknesses in Ryuri that others could take advantage of.
After all, Black Zetsu was a master at manipulating people with words.
If Ryuri ever made bad choices because of him, that would be a huge problem.
"It'll take a long time before the kids grow strong enough to help us fight against the unknown dangers ahead. Until then, our priority should be making sure they grow up safe and happy."
Raijin said to Tsunade.
Keeping Black Zetsu from influencing Ryuri was actually quite simple.
As long as they ensured Ryuri never had the chance to meet him alone and also strengthened her mind, they could avoid any risks.
"You..."
Tsunade looked at Raijin, pressing her lips together in frustration. Fine, she had to admit that he had a point.
But…
"What about my dignity?"
Tsunade repeated, staring at Raijin.
She wasn't the type to argue for no reason. If she realized she was wrong in a debate, she had no problem admitting it.
But she also had no problem making sure Raijin gave in to her demands.
"Ah… sorry, sorry! I promise it won't happen again."
Raijin quickly apologized.
Honestly, giving in like this wasn't even a big deal.
It wasn't that she was being unreasonable—she just wanted him to spoil her a little more.
And was that really so hard to do?
"Oh! You're just brushing me off now, aren't you? Uchiha Raijin! Have you set your eyes on some other girl? Someone from the Yamanaka clan? The Nara clan? Or maybe the Hyuga clan?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not ready to let him off the hook.
"Hey, don't start making things up! You know me, don't you? Even if I wanted to, I don't have the ability for that!"
Raijin's face immediately fell as he spoke helplessly.
"Ah-ha! So you admit you have the desire! Looks like I'm not letting you off tonight!"
Tsunade smirked.
"Stop messing around! Do you really want Madara to watch this live?"
Raijin shot back. There was an unspoken rule between him and Madara—neither of them would openly acknowledge how much they spied on each other.
"I don't care! I know you'll figure something out. Either way, you're mine tonight!"
Tsunade declared.
"You… you…"
Raijin sighed and shrugged.
A solution? Of course, he had one.
If he blocked Madara's surveillance, he just had to stop watching Madara in return.
Could he do that?
Of course. After all this time, there was no real need to keep watching anymore.
Even if Madara really wanted to do something, there was nothing Raijin could do to stop him.
At worst, it would just lead to a fight.
But…
Raijin pressed his lips together, feeling a bit helpless, but in the end, he still nodded.
With that, the two of them bickered and messed around as they unknowingly arrived at the Konohagakure Research Center.
Standing at the door of Senju Tobirama's lab, Raijin was just about to knock when Tsunade beat him to it—by kicking the door open.
Raijin's raised hand paused in midair for a moment before he let it drop with a sigh.
That was... pretty rude.
The loud noise didn't bother the people inside at all. Senju Tobirama, Orochimaru, and Hiruko continued their experiments without even glancing their way.
They didn't care about Raijin and Tsunade's arrival in the slightest.
Tsunade had been to the lab many times before, and this wasn't the first time she had entered like this.
So… nothing unusual here.
When the experiment reached a certain stage, Senju Tobirama finally stopped what he was doing, turned around, and looked at Tsunade with a helpless expression.
Tsunade and Uchiha Tatsu…
Those two were basically the biggest disasters to ever hit the Konohagakure Research Center.
At the same time, they were also the ultimate test of Senju Tobirama's ability to focus.
"What do you want this time?"
Senju Tobirama's eyes briefly swept over Uchiha Raijin, who was standing properly to the side, before settling on his beloved granddaughter.
His expression was stern, but his tone carried a hint of resignation.
"It's about Tatsu."
Tsunade turned to Senju Tobirama and spoke.
At the same time, Raijin raised his hand, and Kaguya Yukito, wrapped in lightning, slowly floated into the air.
In the next moment, amid crackling thunder, Yukito returned to his normal state and collapsed limply to the ground.
"Something related to Tatsu? Who is this?"
Senju Tobirama was momentarily stunned and looked at Raijin in surprise.
Compared to Tsunade, he much preferred talking to Raijin.
"This person has the same curse mark as Tatsu. Both seem to come from Jigen."
Before Raijin could explain, Tsunade spoke up.
"The same mark as Tatsu?"
Senju Tobirama took a step forward, grabbed Yukito's hand, and quickly noticed the same black mark that Shin had.
"It seems this mark allows him to borrow Jigen's power. During our fight, I noticed that while this kid's body is much tougher and more resistant to damage than Jigen's, his explosive strength is much weaker."
Raijin explained to Senju Tobirama.
Before handing someone over for research, it was only right to provide some background information.
That way, they could avoid wasting unnecessary time.
"I see."
Senju Tobirama nodded, indicating he understood.
"But at the same time, this child can also use Jigen's shrinking ability and space-time ninjutsu."
Raijin continued speaking to Senju Tobirama.
As he spoke, he stepped forward and marked the child's forehead with his own Flying Thunder God seal.
~~
The Flying Thunder God seal cannot be removed.
Of course, there's always the option of cutting off the part where the seal is placed.
If the child is willing to lose his head, that is.
"Don't worry, he won't be waking up."
Senju Tobirama chuckled and spoke to Raijin.
He took this matter just as seriously as bringing his older brother back to life.
After all, Uchiha Tatsu was his blood relative too.
Honestly, if it weren't for Tatsu's identity, Senju Tobirama would have already started a full-scale study on this seal.
Whether he could remove it or not was another issue.
Even if he could only decipher it, that alone would help him understand Jigen better.
And now, a perfect test subject was right in front of him.
Senju Tobirama didn't deny the advantages of space-time ninjutsu when it came to survival.
But no matter what kind of ninjutsu it was, it could only be used if the person was fully conscious.
In other words, as long as the anesthesia was strong enough, even if this child could destroy the entire ninja world in an instant, he would be completely useless while sedated.
"If possible..."
Raijin turned to Senju Tobirama.
Tatsu situation was something he took very seriously.
If possible, he hoped Tobirama and his team could speed things up.
But before he could finish speaking, Tsunade interrupted him.
"I want results in three days."
She held up three fingers to the other ninjas.
"Tsunade, don't be ridiculous."
Orochimaru blinked in disbelief and looked at her.
"Shut up. If there's no progress in three days, the Konohagakure research center will be shut down on the spot."
Tsunade stepped forward, grabbed Raijin's hand, and walked out of the research center without another word.
"Tobirama-sama, this is completely impossible!"
Hiruko watched Tsunade leave, then turned to Senju Tobirama with a helpless expression.
"So what?"
Tobirama adjusted the anesthesia while responding to Hiruko.
"Do you think Tsunade will listen to me?"
"Uh..."
Hiruko was stunned and had nothing to say.
It was obvious—Tsunade was not the kind of child who listened to orders.
"Do you think Raijin listens to me or Tsunade when it comes to dealing with Tatsu?"
After saying this, Senju Tobirama continued.
"But what about Hashirama's experiment…?"
Orochimaru hesitated. On one hand, this involved the child of his comrade and the existence of Jigen.
No matter if it was for personal or professional reasons, Orochimaru had no objections. He would put in as much effort as he could.
But Hashirama's experiment was finally showing progress.
Stopping now would leave Orochimaru feeling unwilling to give up.
However, there was no choice. That mark on Tatsu was a potential danger.
As long as it remained, Tatsu would always be in danger.
So, if he had to choose, in Orochimaru's mind, Tatsu's safety came first.
Because the threat to Tatsu was immediate.
But the current ninja world… didn't really need a Senju Hashirama.
Even if Hashirama were revived, he wouldn't be able to defeat Uchiha Madara right now.
Still, the final decision had to be made by Senju Tobirama.
Orochimaru's role was simply to bring up the issue.
"Reviving Hashirama is important, but so is removing the mark on Tatsu."
Hearing this, Senju Tobirama turned around, slightly pressing his fingers, causing a bit of liquid to spray from the syringe.
"So in the coming days, we'll have to work harder. We'll use the Shadow Clone Jutsu to conduct both experiments at the same time."
After speaking, Senju Tobirama said it as if it were nothing.
He missed his older brother.
He was also deeply worried about Tatsu's safety.
And compared to those concerns, his own exhaustion—along with Orochimaru's and Hiruko's—was something that could be sacrificed.
"Hmm!"
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, nodded, and threw himself into the experiment.
Hiruko had no objections either and immediately got to work.
For both Orochimaru and Hiruko, experiments were not something that drained them.
On the contrary, spending every day in the lab, exploring the unknown—
That was the life they loved most.
Especially when they had such an outstanding mentor leading them forward.
---
"You… you're too much! How could you not consider Grandpa Tobirama's health? What if he gets exhausted?"
On the way home, Raijin held his head high, scolding Tsunade with a righteous look.
"Huh?"
Tsunade's face twisted as she glanced at Raijin.
This guy… he's at it again.
"I'm a doctor. They won't collapse from exhaustion. Now, I'll give you one hour to deal with Uchiha Madara, and then you're coming home."
With that, Tsunade used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished in front of Raijin.
"Hmph."
Raijin let out a short snort as he watched Tsunade leave, then turned and walked toward Madara.
As for the lab issue just now, he actually agreed with Tsunade.
(End of Chapter)
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