Chapter 19 — Bold Enough to Spin It to Their Faces
Looking at the so-called "explanation" sent over by the Kaguya clan, the Third Mizukage fell silent for a moment.
The deceased Kaguya shinobi had already been pale in life; in death, not a trace of color remained. A stark white bone spike was still firmly embedded in his chest, left unremoved.
The Mizukage had merely intended for the Kaguya clan to investigate the matter internally. That was why he had forwarded Konoha's letter directly to Kaguya Naoto in the first place. He had never imagined the Kaguya clansmen would react so violently.
What should have been a simple inquiry was apparently taken as an accusation—one that indirectly drove a shinobi, who should have been serving Kirigakure, to his death.
Suppressing his anger, the Third Mizukage summoned an attendant and gave his orders.
"This matter has escalated. Inform Konoha at once. Tell them that Kirigakure is no more afraid of war than they are."
After a pause, his gaze returned to the Kaguya shinobi's corpse.
"Send him back to the Kaguya clan lands. Give him a proper burial."
---
Konoha Village
By the time Hiruzen Sarutobi received the Mizukage's reply, several days had already passed.
Most of his anger had cooled. Seeing that the Mizukage had "dealt with the assassin" and provided an explanation, Hiruzen chose not to press the issue further.
Although the letter was laced with hostility, intelligence from Konoha's agents in Kirigakure confirmed that a Kaguya clansman had "committed suicide out of guilt." Hiruzen understood that continuing to tangle with another of the Five Great Villages would be unwise.
Bang!
The Hokage Office doors were kicked open.
"Old man!"
Before the person herself appeared, her presence announced itself—like headlights flaring in the dark.
Fresh from the battlefield and still in her combat uniform, Tsunade strode straight up to Hiruzen.
"What's the situation with Kirigakure?"
Seeing her arrival, Hiruzen handed her the Mizukage's reply.
Tsunade skimmed it quickly, then nodded.
"Looks like they knew when to back down. I'm heading home, then. I need to check whether that brat Nawaki's been slacking off—might as well test him while I'm back."
She turned to leave, but Hiruzen stopped her.
"How's your front holding up?"
"All the intel's in the scroll. Don't worry—enemy forces are already collapsing. With Jiraiya watching things, it's under control."
She pulled a scroll from her clothes and tossed it over. Before the words had fully left her mouth, she was already gone.
Hiruzen sighed, shaking his head.
"She really never changes—always in a rush."
Seeing that Tsunade had brought back good news, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally smiled in relief. He paid no mind to her brusque attitude, picked up the scroll, and began carefully reading the battle report.
---
Outside the Konoha Training Grounds
"Are you sure this will work?"
Yami said helplessly, even as Nawaki dragged him along toward the dango shop.
"No problem at all!" Nawaki patted his chest confidently. "I've already had someone keeping watch. When my sister gets back, she'll definitely go straight to the Hokage Tower to report."
Having been confined to the house for several days, Nawaki could no longer stand the boredom. He'd convinced himself that Tsunade wouldn't be back for another three to five days and planned to exploit the timing gap. That was why he'd run to the training grounds and dragged Yami along with him.
As they walked, a sudden chill ran through Yami's entire body—as if danger were imminent.
Sure enough, after only a few more steps, Tsunade's figure appeared not far ahead, her cold gaze already fixed squarely on the two of them.
Nawaki reacted a bit too slowly. He hadn't noticed her yet and was still pouring out his grievances to Yami.
"I'm telling you, my sister is basically a human tyrannosaurus. I seriously wonder if she'll ever manage to get married—"
Yami instantly sensed disaster. He quietly took a few steps away from Nawaki. Talking trash about Tsunade to her face? He had a bad feeling the blood splatter radius would include him.
Bang—!
Hearing Nawaki's remarks, Tsunade flashed forward and slammed a heavy punch into the back of his head, knocking him stumbling.
"In broad daylight, someone's attacking me again?" Nawaki steadied himself quickly despite the surprise, then spun around angrily.
The moment he saw her, the indignation on his face froze into dread. He forced out a stiff smile.
"S-sis… you're back already? Must've been tough on the battlefield…"
"Not tough at all," Tsunade replied flatly. "But wasn't someone supposed to be under house arrest? And you still have the energy to run around talking nonsense? Looks like I've been gone so long that my words don't carry any weight anymore."
She rolled her wrist slowly, as if warming up.
Nawaki's voice began to tremble. He stammered for a long while without managing a single coherent sentence, then desperately shot a pleading look at Yami.
Seeing that there was no way to keep playing dead, Yami spoke up.
"Lady Tsunade, Nawaki really hasn't left the clan grounds these past few days. Today we were just heading to the training field to practice."
At the first half of that sentence, Nawaki looked as though he'd seen salvation itself, gazing at Yami with heartfelt gratitude. By the second half, his expression collapsed—he knew it was over.
Sure enough, Tsunade smiled.
"Oh? Perfect. Then I can see for myself whether you've made any progress."
Before Nawaki could react, she grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him toward the training grounds as if he weighed nothing at all.
As he was hauled away, Yami could've sworn he read the word "help" from Nawaki's lips.
After hesitating for a moment, he followed anyway. After all, Nawaki's current predicament was partly his fault. One could be shameless—but not heartless.
They hadn't gone far before arriving back at the training grounds they'd just left.
Tsunade released Nawaki and stood alone at the center of the field, crooking her finger at her brother, who was still psyching himself up.
Seeing Nawaki dragging his feet, Tsunade suddenly flared her chakra and stomped down hard.
Boom!
A tremendous force erupted outward. The ground beneath her feet shattered instantly, cracks spiderwebbing across the earth.
The shock snapped Nawaki out of it. His fighting spirit surged as he shouted:
"I've improved a lot too! Don't underestimate me!"
There was a trace of bitterness in his voice as he lunged straight at Tsunade—actually planning to test her in taijutsu.
But when stat monsters clash, the one with the more absurd numbers always wins.
Peak-condition Tsunade dealing with Nawaki was effortless. He didn't even last a full exchange before being slammed to the ground. He got back up—only to be crushed again.
In the end, Nawaki simply gave up resisting altogether, clinging tightly to Tsunade's long leg—only to be casually flicked away and sent flying.
Yet even as he skidded across the ground, Nawaki didn't look discouraged. He wiped the dust from his face and started laughing to himself.
Seeing this, Tsunade suddenly grew concerned.
Did I hit him too hard? Did I knock something loose?
But after laughing, Nawaki didn't rush forward again. Instead, he raised a single finger and pointed deliberately at the ground beneath Tsunade's feet.
The familiar gesture made Yami—watching from the sidelines—stare in disbelief.
He hadn't expected Nawaki to pull that kind of dirty trick.