Tsunade and Dan (Please Read On!)

Dan Katō understood that he had to leave.

If he stayed any longer, those two might very well persuade him. Dan Katō was confident of that.

His obsession with becoming Hokage had never been that strong, nor had his obsession with doing things for Konoha. The only person he truly cared about, the only one for whom he was willing to give everything, was Tsunade.

His adorable girlfriend, the woman whose every glance and smile tugged at his heart. If he had initially wanted to become Hokage because he was a Konoha ninja, and every Konoha ninja dreamed of becoming Hokage—

Then after he fell in love with Tsunade, he realized that his goal had quietly changed in some way.

He wanted to become Hokage, but it was not that he absolutely had to become Hokage himself. Rather, only the status of Hokage was worthy of Konoha's Princess.

He wanted to create a home Tsunade would like, to create a world Tsunade would like. If becoming Hokage was the only way to create such a world, then he would become Hokage.

But if there were other ways to create that world, then he would do something else. Compared with Konoha, he now felt that Tsunade was more important. He never wanted to see Tsunade's face as she cried in the rain again.

Even recalling it briefly made him feel a tearing pain in his heart.

If he could not understand the woman he loved, if he could not protect the person he liked, then what kind of man was he?

He knew his abilities might be limited. Even with Aizen's help, all he had gained was enough leverage, based on the intelligence available, to confront Tsunade or defeat her in battle.

But so what? He loved Tsunade. There was no reason for it. If Tsunade were ever to betray Konoha, Dan Katō even suspected that he would sever every tie without hesitation and run away with the woman he loved to the world she wanted.

By the way, he had indeed heard that Jiraiya was pursuing Tsunade, something about the one nearest the water getting the moonlight first. But he believed in the woman he loved and had never doubted their relationship. In fact, most of the time, it had been Dan Katō who persuaded her not to let a rift form between them.

But Dan Katō was dead now.

Even when he had shown himself back then, Dan Katō could not honestly claim, like Kagami Uchiha, that it was out of absolute loyalty to Konoha.

He could certainly lie to himself and say that he loved Konoha without limit, that everything was done to oppose Aizen's internal reign of terror, to restore a bright and clear sky to Konoha.

But the one who had truly restored that clear sky to Konoha was Aizen. He had established a whole series of containment systems, preventing countless pressure cookers from exploding on the spot. Konoha had still retained a fairly human shape, and Aizen's contribution could not be overstated.

If this retreat had taken place in the days of the First Hokage and Second Hokage, people would naturally have believed that Hokage-sama must have had an excellent backup plan. But now, if Aizen had not suppressed one group while winning over another, someone might have defected outright during the retreat and told the Sand Ninja and Stone Ninja that those idiots from Konoha were causing trouble again.

To be honest, there might even be defectors already. Under such circumstances, Dan Katō could not convince himself to be infinitely loyal to the Third Hokage. He only worried whether Tsunade would be harmed because of this. He worried that Tsunade might be arrested because of his actions, and worried even more that she might become someone he no longer recognized.

Yet what made him both happy and despondent was that Tsunade had not pursued her own happiness. She had continued to think of Dan Katō. She had even developed a fear of blood and battle.

For one of the finest Medical Ninjas to fear blood—people would laugh at the very mention of it.

It was his fault. So he chose to oppose Aizen, hoping to save the woman he loved from falling into a cage through his own path.

So he was different from Kagami Uchiha. Kagami Uchiha was absolutely loyal to the village, but he was different. The village he spoke of was, in truth, merely a village that had Senju Tsunade in it.

Watching the formalistic homecoming ceremony arranged by the Third Hokage, Dan Katō looked at Konoha's Princess, surrounded by cheering crowds and flowers yet clearly miserable, and felt as though his heart were slowly bleeding.

Making the woman he loved most wear such an expression... he really was not a qualified boyfriend.

"...!"

Perhaps his gaze was too intense, or perhaps it was a union of souls. Amid the crowd surrounding her, the beautiful blonde woman suddenly looked in Dan Katō's direction.

Under the influence of intense will and longing, perception could break free of imperfect interference. What Aizen had attached to them was not absolute concealment, but Chakra imitations meant for testing.

Thus, in Tsunade's eyes, beyond the countless shouting people, the man she loved most was looking at her through the misty rain. He still wore that simple, elegant pure-white haori, holding a paper umbrella, seeming isolated from the world amid the crowd.

In the next instant, amid everyone's cries of alarm, Tsunade charged toward the figure she had longed for day and night without hesitation.

The onlookers cried out and screamed, while some of the ninjas maintaining order tactfully pretended not to see, not daring to offend Konoha's Princess. The Third Hokage, meanwhile, had not anticipated this at all.

He could only watch helplessly as Senju Tsunade, one of the Sannin, left the returning ninja party and ran off in one direction, disappearing from sight. The Third Hokage could only force a smile and say that Konoha's Princess was homesick, but inwardly, he felt that his disciples had given him far too much trouble.

Wouldn't putting on a confident appearance at a time like this intimidate those vermin within Konoha? Where had these people forgotten the Will of Fire he had taught them?

How could they act entirely as they pleased? At the very least, they should obey his orders as Hokage. Although a Hokage's orders were not absolute, they were relatively absolute. Her running off like this did not practically announce that there was discord within Konoha?

But looking at Tsunade's utterly lost expression and thinking of her past, the Third Hokage ultimately sighed. Then he turned to soothe the crowd and stopped paying attention to Tsunade's movements.

"..."

The remaining two of the Sannin looked in the direction Tsunade had run, then exchanged glances.

After Orochimaru and Round Child crossed paths, each suppressed the words they wanted to say and smiled at the approaching Third Hokage.

At least for now, they were still master and disciples with a close relationship. Konoha Princess's brief lapse would not affect the quality of this welcoming ceremony. With the Third Hokage's patchwork, it instead became another display of the Sannin's individuality, presenting a flourishing and vibrant scene.

But when Tsunade truly ran before the figure she had yearned for day and night, she realized that this did not seem to be Konoha.

Or rather, it was something like a space between cracks.

Thick fog spread everywhere, and all kinds of shadowy buildings stood around her, their forms impossible to make out clearly.

Only that figure she had longed for day and night, as though etched into her soul, stood straight before Tsunade and slowly removed his mask.

Beneath that moon-white hair was a man's face filled with pity and heartache.

"...Tsunade."

The gentle man looked at the woman he loved most and said softly:

"You should not have been so impulsive. Third Hokage-sama was welcoming all of you. You should not have run off to see me like this."

"Dan... I..."

I just couldn't hold myself back.

Looking at the masked figure dressed in white haori, a trace of hope flashed through Tsunade's eyes, but in the end, it faded into gloom.

She remembered that her beloved was still being controlled by some mysterious organization. Even if she had rushed here, it seemed she would only expose his identity.

But Dan Katō suddenly reached out and gently embraced the person he had yearned for day and night.

"...Actually, I'm not being controlled, Tsunade."

"What?"

"Me, Kagami Uchiha, and the newly arrived Hatake Sakumo—we were never controlled. He couldn't even be bothered with us. To him, we're merely byproducts of his ideal, not worth observing at all."

Slowly holding the utterly confused Tsunade in his arms, Dan Katō closed his eyes. Comparing this with the dreams he once had, he finally made a decision.

He did not want to follow Aizen and swallow his pride in exchange for Tsunade's ignorant happiness.

Nor did he want to watch Tsunade face Konoha's current situation and steadily fall into ruin, becoming someone beyond saving.

In his heart, Tsunade had always been such a warm and dependable Medical Ninja—the brightest, kindest light in his life. He had no way to resist that desire.

So in the end, he made a decision that went against the way of a ninja.

"Let's elope, Tsunade."

By Tsunade's ear, Dan Katō said softly:

"We can go anywhere you want, do anything you want. We both have some ability—whether it's changing the world or becoming an ordinary pair of farmers, let's elope."

"...Huh?"

Leave Konoha? Why? Wasn't Konoha our home base?

Looking at Dan Katō's despairing expression, Tsunade felt her mind turn into a complete mess.

She had thought that, as one of the Sannin, she was no longer the weak and powerless person she had once been. And with the Konoha Princess's influence and Konoha's current potential, helping Dan Katō escape his suffering should have been as easy as turning over her hand.

Why would Dan Katō, who had always been so gentle, say something so dispirited—something that practically reeked of despair?

"...That must be because he thinks even all of Konoha put together couldn't handle the people under him, much less himself. Is that right?"

"Hatake... Sakumo."

Seeing the white-haired man emerge from the mist, his hands tucked into his sleeves and his expression miserable, Dan Katō's pupils suddenly contracted.

"What are you doing here? Did he send you to clean house?"

"Ah, not really. I was just bored, so I came to give you, Mr. Macho, a reminder."

The gloomy Hatake Sakumo rubbed his chin as he looked at the pair before him, who resembled a pair of star-crossed lovers.

"Your girlfriend is Senju Tsunade, one of the Sannin. How about asking Tsunade what she wants instead of arranging her life for her?"