"Salamander Hanzō—you bastard!"
Inside Amegakure's prison, Tsunade was roaring like someone on the verge of snapping.
After her fight with Hanzō, she'd been knocked out cold by a single hand strike. When she regained consciousness, she found several layers of seals wrapped around her—inside and outside—so tightly that she couldn't feel a single trace of chakra left in her body.
Thinking back to what Hanzō said before she blacked out, then seeing Orochimaru still unconscious beside her, she instantly understood what had happened.
BOOM!
Tsunade smashed her fist against the metal railing. The deafening impact rang through the support pillars, and the vibration spread through the entire cell block.
"Tch," she growled, irritated. "Only now do I realize there are this many sealing tags stuck on the pillars… My chakra's already sealed—what, that still isn't enough for them? They must think pretty highly of me."
"Of course. These are Lord Hanzō's orders."
Hearing the noise, two Ame-nin walked down the steps and said, "Terrifying… To think someone can create this kind of damage with pure physical strength alone. No wonder we were told to guard her strictly."
Suddenly one of the Ame ninja flinched.
On the pillar reinforced with sealing tags… a dent appeared. A clean, shallow fist mark.
The two men looked at each other and shivered in perfect sync.
"I—I remember this level of sealing tag can block a B-rank jutsu, right?"
"Her chakra is sealed… right?!"
"How about—uh—we reinforce the cell again?"
"Yeah. Good idea."
The two Ame-nin immediately fetched more sealing tags and began reinforcing the prison.
"Kunoichi sure are rare these days…"
They chatted casually, completely ignoring Tsunade's existence.
"I remember Amegakure has some kunoichi too, right? Isn't your girlfriend one of them?"
"Not yet. The village just started training medical-nin yesterday. Nadeshiko has some hospital experience, and her chakra control is decent, so she got selected. She's still in training."
"Man, I'm jealous. You've got such a good girlfriend."
"Nah, you're giving me too much credit—it's all thanks to Lord Hanzō. Our food rations and stipends have gotten way better lately."
"Once that batch of medical-nin finishes training, our casualty rate should drop a lot."
"By the way—"
One of the Ame ninja glanced back at Tsunade. "Intel says she's a medical-nin too. Hard to believe, huh? She's pretty, but she hits like a monster, and her aggression's insane. Totally different from Nadeshiko."
"With that temper of hers… she's never getting married."
Tsunade had just managed to suppress her rage.
Then that sentence dropped.
Her blood pressure exploded.
She slammed the pillar again. A shockwave of air and dust blasted across the cell, hitting both Ame-nin in the face.
With a terrifyingly sweet smile, Tsunade said:
"Say. That. Again."
Seeing the fresh, perfectly-shaped fist mark, both Ame-nin swallowed hard and desperately sped up their work.
Once the seals were placed, the two formed hand seals. Black sealing script crawled from the tags and wrapped around the entire cell several more times.
"That should do it."
"Should… be fine."
"Let's get out of here. The way she's looking at us is too scary."
"Yeah."
But just as they reached the door, the first Ame-nin suddenly turned back and shouted:
"You are definitely never getting married in this lifetime!"
Then he bolted up the stairs without looking back.
"Huh?!"
Tsunade froze for a second—then smashed the pillar again. The massive boom echoed through the dungeon.
"You bastard! If you've got guts, get down here! I'll beat you to the ground without using any chakra!"
The other Ame-nin cautiously checked the pillar.
"Mm. No new fist marks this time. Looks safe."
Then he, too, left.
Only Tsunade and Orochimaru remained in the prison.
"Damn Ame ninja…"
"I'm sorry, Grandfather. I couldn't protect the village for you… I'm sorry, Sensei. I've let you down."
A grim, fatal resolve surfaced on Tsunade's face.
"The Senju clan… does not live as prisoners."
Just then, a voice interrupted her.
"Stop, Tsunade."
"You forgetting you still have a younger brother? If you die, what happens to him? Do you want him to become the last orphan of the Senju? Do you think he can bear that weight?"
Orochimaru's quiet voice drifted out from the darkness.
"Wh—wait. When did you wake up?"
"When those two Ame shinobi came in," Orochimaru replied calmly.
"You don't need to worry," he continued. "At least in this war, we're not going to die. I don't believe Hanzō went through all this trouble to seal us up only to kill us afterward."
"Forget that—how is your body feeling?" Tsunade asked, face serious.
"The poison's been neutralized," Orochimaru said. "My wounds were roughly treated. Only my chakra is sealed."
Tsunade let out a long breath of relief.
"And," Orochimaru added, "I might be immune to Hanzō's poison from now on. The antidote he gave me didn't just cure me—it forced my body to develop antibodies."
"If we return to Konoha, they might be able to use my blood to create an antidote."
A sense of dread rose in Tsunade's heart.
"So he is planning to use us to threaten Konoha?"
She thought back to Hanzō's talk of ransom.
Ransom? Impossible. This is war. No one preserves two enemy elites just for money. Hanzō wasn't an idiot.
"I think his real target is you," Orochimaru said.
"Because of what those two Ame shinobi said?" Tsunade muttered. "Training medical-nin, diverting manpower during wartime, deliberately letting me overhear it… What is he planning?"
Then something clicked. Her expression twisted with fresh anger.
"And those two Ame ninja—heaven help them if I ever see them again."
"He wants your medical knowledge," Orochimaru said. "To perfect their medical system."
"And I become the hostage used to pressure you."
"I won't let you die, Orochimaru," Tsunade said firmly.
"That's not guaranteed," Orochimaru replied softly. "Life is fragile… and strange. You, of all people, should understand that."
"And…"
He paused.
"If that's really his plan, Hanzō has given you a cruel dilemma."
"If you want to save me, you'll have to hand over your knowledge. But that knowledge isn't yours alone—it's something Konoha gained through countless experiments and sacrifices. Giving it to Amegakure means harming the village's interests."
"And if Amegakure sells that intel to another village, the damage to Konoha would be even greater. All it takes is someone manipulating public opinion—and the blame becomes something you can never escape."
"But if you refuse, the worst case… is that I die."
"You're the First Hokage's granddaughter. One of the last two Senju. If you die, Konoha will never let it go. Hanzō will negotiate and send you back alive."
"That must be why he had those two Ame shinobi say all those things."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.
"He wants you to think ahead."
"To choose between the village…"
"And your comrade."
"Tsunade—"
"Which one will you choose?"