"Kid!"
Tsunade looked down at Senju Gō from above.
"You can't win."
"If you leave now, I won't hold you accountable."
Senju Gō stood on the ground, looking at Tsunade, whose combat power was formidable.
His voice was cold.
"You can still fight, so why leave?!"
"..."
Tsunade fell silent.
"If you can still fight, why didn't you come back? To fight for the Senju! To fight for Konoha!!"
"That was my choice... Besides, the Senju no longer exist."
"It was because you left, and because the First Hokage and Second Hokage were foolish, that the bloodline of the Senju had to endure such suffering..."
"Huh?!"
Tsunade looked at Senju Gō, who had lowered his head with a dejected tone, and her expression tightened.
At last...
The responsibility she had abandoned had finally caught up with her as retribution.
An unprecedented sense of guilt welled up inside her.
Even though the responsibility wasn't hers.
After all, she, Tsunade, hadn't been the one to make the decision to have the "Senju merge into Konoha."
But hearing those words still caused a sharp pain in her heart.
Perhaps.
This was what came with the title "Princess of the Senju"...
She was their princess, yet she had failed to protect anything.
"I'm taking you back!" Senju Gō suddenly formed hand seals.
Earth Style: Earth Dragon Technique!
The earth trembled!
A giant dragon raised its head. It was more than ten meters tall and dozens of meters long!
And Senju Gō stood atop it!
"Haaah!!" Senju Gō roared as he battled Tsunade.
Tsunade gritted her teeth and fought.
Fortunately, she had healed all her wounds, and Senju Gō was covered in Black Armor, so her hemophobia hadn't acted up. Otherwise, she truly wouldn't have been able to fight.
"Did Konoha do something to you?!" Tsunade asked in a deep voice as she looked at the frenzied Senju Gō before her.
She no longer doubted his identity.
There was no other reason.
That amount of Chakra was rare.
There shouldn't be many people like that in the village.
Either he was a Senju, or he was an Uzumaki...
But the Uzumaki Clan had already been exterminated. There were probably only a few survivors left in the entire Shinobi World, and members of the Uzumaki Clan had the obvious trait of red hair.
This man, however, had long, straight hair. That was very Senju.
"Danzo secretly captured Senju clansmen with large Chakra reserves for research, trying to control Wood Style... Lord Namikaze Minato saved us. Most of the other test subjects died." Senju Gō's voice was low.
"..." Tsunade clenched her fists.
They had used members of the Senju Clan as test subjects...
Hahaha!
Old Man! This was Konoha under your rule!
Grandfather... Perhaps merging the Senju into Konoha really could make Konoha stronger.
But the ones who paid the price were the members of the Senju Clan!
"Senju Gō, my heart aches. I don't want to fight you anymore. I have the Yin Seal, which stores a massive amount of Chakra, and Katsuyu is constantly supplying me with Chakra. Your Chakra is almost depleted, right?" Tsunade tried to persuade him.
"Lady Tsunade, are you willing to come back?"
"...Let's stop for now."
The Earth Dragon made of soil and stone slowly crumbled.
At the same time, the armor covering Senju Gō dispersed. He was drenched in sweat and collapsed to his knees.
"Huff... huff..."
He panted heavily.
Tsunade wore a complicated expression as she slowly climbed down from Katsuyu. Katsuyu also vanished into the smoke.
She walked toward Senju Gō, then finally sighed and called for Shizune.
"We'll treat him together."
"But, Lady Tsunade! He just hit you!"
"He had the right to hit me."
Tsunade gritted her teeth and silently treated Senju Gō.
Helplessly, Shizune also began treating Senju Gō.
The two Medical Ninjas healed him.
Senju Gō's exhausted body quickly recovered.
"Hahaha! Did I succeed?" Senju Gō woke up and laughed with his hands on his hips. He looked at Tsunade. "Lady Tsunade, come back with me and restore the 'New Senju'!"
"I haven't said I'm going back yet... You, tell me about your situation first." Tsunade sighed.
The group arrived in the outskirts.
Shizune went hunting with practiced ease, then began grilling the meat.
Senju Gō sat cross-legged. He, too, expertly built a stone platform, fetched water, and quickly prepared dishes and soup.
Tsunade, however, looked rather dejected.
She had already learned everything from Senju Gō.
Every detail.
"Danzo..." Tsunade clenched her fists.
"In short, that's the situation. Our Senju Clan is currently in dire straits! The Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan at least have money! They also have plenty of ninjutsu! But what about us? We have nothing!"
"Our bloodline gives us talent! Once we grow up, we have to earn our own money. We barely have any ninjutsu, and then, if we aren't careful, we'll be captured and taken away for research!"
"Tsunade... I'm serious."
Senju Gō looked solemnly at Tsunade.
"Come back~ My proudest princess~"
"Restore the Senju Clan's glory~ It's our duty to do so~"
Shizune shouted in exasperation, "Why did you start singing?!"
"Ahahaha~" Senju Gō scratched his head awkwardly.
But Tsunade fell silent.
This guy...
Was he really this kind of idiot?
Sigh...
"I need to think it over carefully," Tsunade said hesitantly.
"One day should be enough, right?" Senju Gō asked.
"Mm, it's enough."
"I'll make this clear in advance. No matter what choice you make, I'll reject your grandfather... Of course, I'm not rejecting everything about him, but I'll reject the fact that he had no right to casually discard the surname of the Senju, which had been passed down for generations."
Tsunade: "..."
"No matter what, I'll establish the 'New Senju.' The things you refuse to shoulder—"
"Everything—"
"I'll shoulder it all!"
"Hmph!"
Senju Gō stood up without hesitation and left!
After walking a short distance away, he didn't bother hiding it. He raised his hand and directly created a stone house, then went inside to sleep.
That left only the silent Tsunade and Shizune, who didn't dare make a sound nearby.
The long night dragged on.
Tsunade didn't fall asleep until very late.
Shizune couldn't hold out any longer and unknowingly fell asleep. When she woke again, it was already dawn.
Yet she saw Tsunade still sitting on a rock, deep in thought.
"Lady Tsunade..."
"Hm? Shizune, you're awake."
"Lady Tsunade, are you all right? You don't have to take that man's words to heart."
"No. I have to go. This is my responsibility."
Tsunade then revealed a relieved expression.
She strode over and smashed the stone house apart with one punch!
"I've decided. I'm going back to Konoha! I'll establish that New Senju thing!! But don't even think about making me do anything I don't want to do!" Tsunade said irritably.
Then she was moved once more and sank into silence.
Senju Gō was looking at her, traces of anger from being woken up still on his face... but a sunny smile soon appeared!
He was just a big boy...
Yet he had suffered that kind of treatment.
"Mm, that's enough! Aunt Tsunade!"
"Don't call me Aunt!" Tsunade instantly snapped back to her senses and threw a punch without hesitation!
"Ah!"
Senju Gō covered his head after being punched.
Then Tsunade looked at the swollen spot in disbelief.
She watched as the swelling rapidly subsided...
Looking more closely.
There wasn't even a wound on Senju Gō's body.
Tsunade's heart trembled violently...
Before you continue