You Regret, I Shadow

Not long after Uchiha Sōgetsu left, another person entered the Hokage's Office.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A Wooden Staff struck the floor, producing dull thuds.

Without even raising his head, the Third Hokage continued handling the mountain of documents before him. He seemed to have known who it was all along, and his voice carried a trace of impatience. "Danzo, what are you doing here? If this is about the Uchiha matter, I should have already given you my answer."

"Hiruzen, you're being far too careless."

The newcomer was Danzo. His expression was gloomy, and his hoarse voice was low. "What happened at the Uchiha Compound last night was definitely not that simple!"

The pen tip paused over the document. The Third Hokage slowly raised his head, his gaze utterly indifferent. "So?"

"Hand that Uchiha brat over to me!" Danzo's face was icy as he spoke in a chilling tone. "I guarantee I'll pry everything out of his mouth!"

"No."

The Third Hokage snorted angrily and rejected the proposal outright. "You're trying to provoke internal strife in Konoha. I will never allow it, Danzo!"

"Hiruzen, you're too naive!" Danzo snarled furiously. "The Uchiha have always been an unstable bomb. Teacher believed that too. It was your weakness that allowed them to become more and more arrogant. That Uchiha brat's genjutsu must be hiding some secret!"

"I'll say this one last time, Danzo!"

With the atmosphere having frozen over, the Third Hokage simply tore away all pretense and no longer cared about their old friendship. "You are not allowed to interfere in this matter. I have my own arrangements for Uchiha Sōgetsu!"

Danzo ground his teeth, but in the end, there was nothing he could do. He could only say bitterly, "You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

The Third Hokage shot back coldly.

"Hmph, fine!"

Danzo was left speechless. He could only swallow his anger and slam the door behind him as he left.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Uchiha Sōgetsu arrived at the Konoha Gate, but after looking around for quite some time, he still did not see the person the Hokage had mentioned.

"Could they have forgotten?" He scratched his head in confusion, but then dismissed the thought. Who in Konoha would dare ignore the Hokage's orders?

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly caught sight of a beautiful figure.

"Yo, brat!"

Someone suddenly pressed down on Uchiha Sōgetsu's head and shoved him directly into a soft, rolling swell.

The touch was soft, accompanied by a refreshing fragrance, and the mature allure made his heart stir.

But... he was about to suffocate.

Uchiha Sōgetsu struggled free from the 'waves' and greedily gulped down fresh air. "That was close. I almost got smothered to death!"

"Hahahaha, brat, you're too adorable." A familiar female voice rang out, carrying a hint of flirtatious charm.

"Lady Tsunade, please mind your influence. Could you not do that again next time?" Uchiha Sōgetsu wore an indifferent expression as he took half a step back to avoid being 'smothered' again. "Also, you shouldn't call me by my name. My current identity is Anbu. You should call me by my code name."

Anbu identities were highly confidential, but that was only true for ordinary ninja.

For people directly tied to the Hokage, such as the Sannin, knowing his Anbu identity was hardly strange.

"Sorry, sorry, force of habit." Tsunade boldly patted her chest, causing another wave of bouncing. "I'll definitely pay attention next time."

Though she was a woman, her boldness was no less than a man's. As expected of the queen of romance novels. Uchiha Sōgetsu silently praised her before changing the subject. "Lady Tsunade, shouldn't you be at Konoha Hospital at this hour? What are you doing here?"

"Hmm, why don't you guess?"

Tsunade's beautiful eyes flickered. Her slender, jade-white finger lightly touched her red lips as she tilted her head slightly and smiled teasingly.

Amazing. Even as a Spectator, Uchiha Sōgetsu had to admit that a beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure and such overwhelming mature charm was incredibly seductive when she made that gesture. Her hormones were practically overflowing.

Soothing!

Uchiha Sōgetsu extinguished the restless thoughts that had been stirred up and replied expressionlessly, "Lady Tsunade, I'm carrying out a mission."

"Tch, what a boring brat." Tsunade curled her lips and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I won't tease you anymore. The old man sent me. Do you understand now?"

"..."

Uchiha Sōgetsu had never been so speechless.

Had Hiruzen Sarutobi gotten the Golden Cudgel lodged in his brain? He had actually sent Tsunade to assist with his mission?

Was this assistance, or was he being asked to babysit?

Just thinking about how Tsunade was even less reliable than Jiraiya, and how she also had Hemophobia, gave him a headache.

"What? You have a problem with that?!"

Seeing the boy remain silent for so long, Tsunade immediately flew into a rage out of embarrassment and punched him on the head. "I'm one of the Sannin! Do you know what the Sannin represent? Princess Tsunade, one of the great Sannin, is willing to assist with your mission. You should feel honored, brat!"

The punch was light, but Uchiha Sōgetsu's mouth twitched. "It truly is such an 'honor' to go on a mission with you, Lady Tsunade."

"Hehe, that's more like it." Tsunade crossed her arms in satisfaction, apparently failing to notice the deliberate emphasis in his words.

Uchiha Sōgetsu said nothing. He was feeling rather troubled.

If it had been anyone else, he could have found a way to shake them on the road. But Tsunade was different. If she ended up alone and encountered enemy ninja, her Hemophobia would make her little more than prey waiting to be slaughtered.

Not only did he have to complete the mission, he also had to divide his attention to protect Tsunade. Shouldn't that raise the difficulty to SS-Rank?

"Don't think the old man sent you to take care of me." After the joking ended, Tsunade returned to normal. She seemed to have guessed his thoughts and said meaningfully, "Most of the dangerous figures recorded in that Scroll were sealed by the Uchiha and the Senju Clan."

"There's something else the old man didn't tell you."

After saying that, she deliberately paused. Only when the boy showed a trace of curiosity did she continue with satisfaction. "A small number of those sealed away are members of the Uchiha and Senju Clan themselves."

"Sealed Uchiha and Senju?"

This news truly shocked Uchiha Sōgetsu. That Scroll was hiding such a huge secret.

"So, do you understand now, Uchiha brat?"

Tsunade chuckled and flicked the boy's forehead. Pressing her alluring red lips together, she said, "There's more good news. Thanks to your treatment, my illness has improved greatly."

Oh?

That was an unexpected delight. Uchiha Sōgetsu revealed a pleasantly surprised expression.

"So, don't worry about me."

Tsunade showed the pride she had once possessed and patted her chest in assurance. "For this mission, big sister will protect you!"

In the Cave Depths of an unknown mountain.

The aged Uchiha Madara barely clung to life with the help of apparatus. His breathing was almost imperceptibly faint.

Medical IV tubes covered his back. The hero who had once been able to fight the entire ninja world alone had now become a frail old man, his body little more than skin and bones.

Suddenly, he slowly opened his eyes, a barely noticeable trace of exhaustion flashing through them. "Black Zetsu, you're back."

A pitch-black figure crawled in from outside the cave. However, he looked utterly miserable, with less than half of his body remaining. Raising his aggrieved face, he wailed in a tearful voice, "Lord Madara... it's me. I'm back."

Seeing Black Zetsu in such a miserable state, Madara's eye twitched. After a long silence, he finally asked, "What exactly happened to you?"

Hadn't he sent Black Zetsu to Konoha to find Heirs for him?

Such a simple task did not even require fighting. How had that useless fool Black Zetsu ended up in such a state?

"Lord Madara, it was like this."

Black Zetsu recounted the entire matter, not forgetting to embellish it heavily.

"..."

After hearing it all, even the well-traveled Uchiha Madara did not know what to say for a moment.

Being unlucky to this extent, Black Zetsu was quite the talent!

December 9th, sunny.

There are so few recommendations and investments. You gentlemen are as cold as the northern weather. Let me think about how I can pry those votes out of your hands.