"The Princess of the Senju, one of the legendary Sannin... Hah, what a joke."
Parashia, the Suna Commander, let out a booming laugh. He stared down at Tsunade, who was pinned in the center of his formation. She was covered in wounds, her face etched with exhaustion, and even her iconic golden hair had lost its luster, matted with grime and blood. His expression was a mask of mockery, but inwardly, he was drowning in a surge of pure, triumphant satisfaction.
Ever since Chiyo had departed from the Land of Rain and he had taken her place as the commander of the Suna headquarters, Parashia had been nursing a deep, festering resentment.
"Elder Chiyo has left; the village has already given up on this war."
"Without Elder Chiyo, how can we possibly be a match for Hanzo? We should just hunker down and wait for the treaty."
"Lord Parashia is strong, but there's still a massive gap between him and Elder Chiyo..."
Every time he recalled those whispers, Parashia's fists would tighten. He was a man of immense pride; he never believed himself inferior to anyone, not even the revered Chiyo.
Consequently, even as everyone from his top advisors to the rank-and-file believed the war was effectively over—that his only job was to hold the fort—his mind had never stopped plotting. He craved a single, decisive blow against Konoha or Amegakure. He wanted to forge a new path for Suna and, more importantly, carve his own name into history.
Just like the Sannin had.
So, when the Anbu's plan crossed his desk, he played the part of the indignant commander on the surface, but internally, he was already calculating the glory of capturing or killing Tsunade, the Hime of the Senju.
Suna was not the Hidden Rain—they hadn't been beaten into submission yet. And he, Parashia, was certainly not Hanzo of the Salamander, who had completely lost his nerve and wanted nothing more than a quick exit from the war.
Through sheer force of will, he had persuaded the majority of the Jonin at the base to follow his lead. Now, his ambition was bearing fruit. He had successfully cornered Tsunade.
His moment of glory was finally here.
With the head of Tsunade—a woman even Chiyo struggled to gain an advantage against—as his trophy, he wanted to see who would still dare to claim he wasn't fit to stand in Chiyo's shadow.
Tsunade looked at Parashia, then at the Suna Jonin scattered around her, and felt her heart sink.
She knew that in the shadows where her eyes couldn't reach, more Jonin were lying in wait. Between last night's ambush and this morning's pursuit, her fists had shattered dozens of puppets, but she had only managed to land a direct hit on two actual ninja. Even if Gekko Kyofu and Kurama Sei had taken one down each, she was still facing thirteen or fourteen elite Jonin.
These were the best Suna had to offer—veterans who had survived two years in the meat grinder of the Land of Rain. For her to break through such a blockade alone would be nearly impossible; to do it while protecting the heavily injured and incapacitated Dan Kato was a death sentence.
This is it. The final stand.
The flicker of despair deep in her eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, sharpened resolve.
But behind her, Dan Kato was even more resolute.
"Tsunade... listen to me. I'm going to create a distraction. When I do, grab the opening and run."
Between the ambush and the pursuit, Dan had been under constant pressure, never finding the window to weave the signs for his secret technique. But now, to stop being a burden and to give Tsunade a sliver of hope, he was ready to burn the last of his life force.
"Tsunade... I love you! So, for the sake of that love... you have to live!"
Knowing there was no tomorrow for them, Dan whispered his final confession. His body suddenly went limp as he initiated the Spirit Transformation Technique. His soul surged out of his physical shell, hurtling directly toward a Suna swordsman across the field.
"Dan!"
The sudden confession left Tsunade's ears ringing, but the shock was instantly eclipsed by terror. She whirled around to catch his collapsing body, desperate to stop his suicidal gambit.
But she was a second too late.
Dan's spirit had already possessed the swordsman. The man's own blade swung around, cleaving toward a nearby Suna puppet master as Dan's voice roared through the man's lungs with a final command:
"Tsunade! RUN!"
"Damn it! It's the Spirit Transformation Technique! Quick, kill him! Destroy his physical body!"
Having fought this war for over a year, the Suna ninja recognized the technique instantly. Parashia's face contorted with rage as he barked orders.
"Puppet masters, intercept Tsunade!"
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
Tsunade's eyes were bloodshot. She let out a primal roar, shattering a puppet with a single blow before hoisting Dan's body onto her back and sprinting for the gap.
Dan wanted her to leave him and save herself, but that was something Tsunade could never do.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
She kicked through two more puppets, her breath hitching. She smeared a bit of blood from her wounds across her palm and summoned Katsuyu. Because she was low on chakra and in a crisis, the slug that appeared was only slightly larger than a human.
"Tsunade-sama."
"Wrap Dan's body! Keep up with me!"
She handed Dan over to the slug, watching as Katsuyu's viscous form rippled to envelop him. Tsunade hammered another puppet into scrap metal and dove toward what looked like the weakest point in the line.
Behind her, Parashia ignored Dan's spirit and threw himself into the pursuit.
In the distance, Dan's spirit—trapped in the body of the swordsman—faced a swarm of enemies. One blade was no match for a dozen puppets. Eventually, a puppet found an opening and drove a jagged blade through the swordsman's heart.
Forced out of the dying vessel, Dan's spirit tried to force its way into another puppet master's mind, but he was at his limit. He wasn't an Edo Tensei summon; his chakra was finite.
The Spirit Transformation Technique was as costly as it was terrifying. This was why he usually preferred to possess a host rather than fight as a pure spirit. With his chakra nearly depleted, he could only watch helplessly as his soul was pulled back into his own body. He slipped into a coma, safely cocooned inside Katsuyu.
Tsunade was a whirlwind of destruction, punching her way through the final layers of the blockade. As she smashed the last puppet, the path ahead finally looked clear.
Whirrr—
Before relief could even register on her face, a faint, high-pitched hum set her nerves on fire.
She dug her heels into the mud, using her monstrous strength to skid to a halt. Her eyes widened. A shimmering, silver-white web of blade-light—woven like a lethal net—erupted from the seemingly ordinary mud at her feet, rising to envelop her.
"Katsuyu: Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid!"
Fortunately, the ever-diligent Katsuyu was right behind her.
The queen of Shikkotsu Forest was famous for more than just healing. A stream of yellowish, pungent acid sprayed from the slug's mouth, melting a massive hole through the center of the blade-net. Even the tempered steel of the Suna weapons couldn't last a second against that corrosive sludge.
Sizzzzzz—
But before Tsunade could breathe, the sound of corroding metal was replaced by a thick, acrid hiss. The dissolved weapons began to belch out clouds of turquoise gas.
The trap had a second layer.
Caught off guard and too close to react, Tsunade and Katsuyu were instantly swallowed by the toxic haze.