"They really were Jiraiya's students?"
"Yahiko..."
After hearing Uchiha Chisen's explanation, Tsunade was startled to learn that the Akatsuki Organization really had been founded by Jiraiya's students.
But when Uchiha Chisen told her that Yahiko was dead, her expression turned hesitant.
She remembered Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan. She was not the only one; Orochimaru had met the three of them too. Yet in Tsunade's memories, the one who had left the deepest impression on her was not Nagato, but Yahiko!
After all, Tsunade's younger brother Nawaki had been very similar to Yahiko in temperament. That was why Yahiko had left such a lasting impression on her.
"Then does that mean Hanzo of the Salamander of Amegakure actually died a long time ago?"
Tsunade spent only a brief moment mourning Yahiko before something else suddenly occurred to her, and she turned to Uchiha Chisen for confirmation.
"Hanzo of the Salamander joined forces with Shimura Danzō. That was what led to Yahiko's death."
"And after Yahiko died, Nagato's Rinnegan awakened further. He gradually took over Amegakure afterward. As for Hanzo of the Salamander, he's probably been dead for quite some time."
Uchiha Chisen concealed nothing. In truth, he could not quite understand what had earned Hanzo of the Salamander the title of Hanzō the Demigod. Apart from the potent poison of his Summoning Beast, Ibuse, his strength was only about on par with a Kage's.
"Hanzō really is dead..."
After hearing Uchiha Chisen's words, Tsunade looked wistful.
The title of Sannin bestowed upon her, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya had not actually been an honor. Or rather, in the beginning, it had been a humiliating title Hanzo of the Salamander had given them. After all, the Sannin had suffered a genuine defeat at his hands back then.
After all these years, Tsunade believed she