Chiyo was a master of poisons and also an exceptional medical ninja. She had always been completely confident in her toxins—until someone utterly crushed her within her own field and left her crawling on the floor looking for her teeth.
On one hand was confidence; on the other, the desire not to accidentally poison the daimyo. So when she returned to that room in the daimyo's castle again, she found nothing at all… It seemed like it really had just been a hallucination, and even she felt she might have overreacted.
Chiyo and Tsunade were not from the same generation, yet now they appeared to have already engaged in a preliminary clash.
But Tsunade wasn't some miracle worker either—after all, she was still quite young. Back in the ventilation ducts, she had merely used a hastily combined mixture of medicines to temporarily suppress Chiyo's poisons. Once they were sure they hadn't been spotted, she and Haseo slipped out of the Palace unnoticed.
The two remained temporarily within the Daimyo's Castle. It was only then that Tsunade began purchasing medicinal herbs, attempting to formulate an antidote capable of fully removing that potent toxin.
"The Land of Wind seeks territorial expansion—a well-known fact in the Ninjutsu World. They're naturally too impoverished themselves, surrounded by small, weak countries that are comparatively prosperous. When you compare both sides, who wouldn't be tempted?
Furthermore, the fact that the Land of Wind is bypassing the Land of Fire and targeting smaller nations instead shows they've taken lessons from The Great Ninja World War, shifting to a more cautious approach."
Inside a room of an inn located within the Daimyo's Castle, Haseo watched Tsunade grinding herbs by the window as he spoke these words.
"Even Konoha won't allow the Land of Wind to grow stronger unchecked," Tsunade replied.
She extended one finger, pushing aside the herbs to inspect them. Perhaps she felt the powder wasn't fine enough, because she resumed her work immediately.
"That's right. The key point is that Amegakure may not be as easy to deal with as Sunagakure imagines."
Based on Chiyo's words, Haseo felt Suna's understanding of Ame—especially Hanzo of the Rain Village—was somewhat misguided. Whether Suna could defeat Ame was debatable enough as it was; the idea of finishing off Ame before Konoha and Iwagakure responded was practically impossible.
Poisons? Sorry, but poisonous experts weren't unique to Chiyo. Did Suna genuinely believe Ame would be as helpless as that Tajikune Village they previously crushed?
Moreover, if Tsunade ever seriously devoted herself to the study of poisons, she wouldn't be any weaker than Chiyo—but she was a traditional medical ninja. You can call her stubborn, narrow-minded, or rigid if you want—but in her eyes, medical arts meant to save lives should never be twisted into tools of death.
"So then, Haseo," Tsunade paused her work, turning around to face him directly, "do you think another war will break out?"
Haseo didn't answer immediately; instead, he countered with a question: "Don't you already know the answer yourself, Tsunade?"
In the Ninjutsu World where multiple villages coexisted, none possessing absolute dominance, each harboring its own ambitions—the world itself was filled with contradictions… In such a contradictory world, how could there be no wars?
War never solves any problems, yet it always disguises itself as the ultimate shortcut—the best and all-powerful solution to every issue.
Humans are simply creatures like that. As long as violence is in their hands, eventually they will resort to violence. This truth has remained unchanged for ten thousand years, and it will continue until everything is destroyed.
Therefore, even without this journey, Tsunade would already know that another Great Ninja World War was coming. The only difference would be whether it came sooner or later.
After several attempts, Tsunade figured out Chiyo's so-called "unsolvable poison," quickly preparing an antidote.
After purging the toxins from their bodies and staying in the Land of Wind for a period of time, they turned northward. They first entered the Land of Earth, then passed through it into the Land of Rain.
The situation in the Land of Earth seemed visibly better than that in the Land of Wind, so it didn't feel as extreme to Haseo. However, Iwagakure was similar to Kumo—it was also a village filled with aggressive intentions. Thus, it was hard to imagine Iwa being merely a passive victim of war rather than one of its initiators.
As for Amegakure... although Konoha had been closely watching it, this was the first time since the end of the previous war that Haseo had stepped foot in this country again.
To put it briefly, this place was terrible.
Haseo couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't take long before the Land of Rain became exactly as he remembered—so toxic, in fact, that survival would be nearly impossible without a gas mask.
So, is the world at peace now? Of course. But how far away is war really? Maybe not that far at all.
"The last great war just ended not too long ago, and each village has barely caught its breath, but the next one already seems to be approaching. Three years? Five years? Either way, you could say the next war is right on our heels."
Months of reconnaissance missions back and forth allowed Haseo to understand clearly that the war he remembered would ultimately come to pass no matter what he did. Personally, he certainly didn't want war—but war somehow always seemed to favor him.
Looking back at the jungle of the Land of Rain, Haseo realized their next step was to return to Konoha. Yet, how long would Konoha's tranquility last? Perhaps the reason the village assigned this mission to Kagenami wasn't simply because the higher-ups thought they had too much free time—but because they had sensed something already.
"Haseo..." Tsunade wanted to comfort him, urging him not to be so pessimistic, but she couldn't bring herself to say such words no matter what.
Haseo seemed like a very lonely person.
"The world is full of twists and turns. People like me ultimately can only passively endure it all."
Haseo actually tried quite hard, yet even now, he still felt he was just drifting along with the tide.
But Tsunade flinched at his words—anger flashing behind her eyes.
"People may have different self-perceptions, but that's subjective rather than objective. Regardless of anything else, no one should always carry expressions like 'people like me' on their lips. To me… you are not someone like that…"
Her voice trembled slightly, but she held Haseo's gaze.
Suddenly, Haseo laughed along.
He shouldn't have laughed—but it was just too funny, and he couldn't help himself… Not at anything else—at The Third.
Of course, if Jiraiya had a bowl of chicken soup forced down his throat, the Third Hokage would surely have to shove one into both Tsunade's and Orochimaru's mouths as well.
But once he finished laughing, he had no choice but to face Tsunade head-on and address her feelings — did *he* really have nothing better to do than drag her along for months on pointless wandering?
Was Haseo cold-hearted? Or was it Tsunade who lacked feeling?
"It's like this, Tsunade. I have a friend, not a bad guy, but sometimes indecisive, unable to express his emotions well."
"Not a bad guy? Who even are we talking about?"
"Well... truth is, I don't actually have any friends."
"..."
"Let me put it this way — I'm like a sealed box. No matter whether outside forces are rough or delicate, whether they're gold, jade, or just worthless rocks, the outside remains the outside; what's inside stays hidden forever.
Even *you* can't see what's inside.
But let me tell you this — the inside of the box is actually empty. It's...
So vast and hollow that it makes your heart tremble.
But continuing to stay empty isn't necessarily a problem either.
The real question is, should a gemstone really be placed inside? And who could possibly know what consequences such a change might bring?
After all, once it's placed inside, there's no taking it back... and the box will no longer be the same box anymore."
Haseo seemed to say something, but somehow, it felt like he said nothing at all.
But by then, Tsunade had already lowered her head, speaking softly, "Why are you asking me what you should or shouldn't do? That's something only you can decide."
But no matter whether Haseo had an answer or not, a gemstone was still a gemstone — whether it went inside or stayed outside the box. And that alone was enough to make someone blush and look away.
Moreover, there was one thing Haseo couldn't deny: he had slowly come to accept a quiet realization… just how meaningful it was to have someone who would quietly listen to you talk.
Even if he were a lonely man.
Even if he were someone long accustomed to loneliness.
...
Precisely because he was someone so used to being alone.
(Volume 3, End)
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