During the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade's younger brother Nawaki stumbled into an Explosive Tag trap and was blown to death on the spot. It was not a peaceful death.
Now, Tsunade was reliving Nawaki's fate. She was being focused down by enemy ninja, and a bout of Hemophobia left her unable to move. She was on the verge of following in Nawaki's footsteps.
After Master Minato cut down an enemy, he instinctively glanced back and was instantly scared out of his wits.
No, Lady Tsunade—you're about to be focused down. Why aren't you moving at all? This is nowhere near the level expected of one of the Sannin.
At the critical moment, Mai used [Gongshoudao] and leaped toward Tsunade.
Paid 50,000 yen of wealth. Time set to 2 seconds.
In an instant, Uchiha Mai's speed visibly rose by a notch. He wrapped both arms around Tsunade's waist, fell to the ground with her, and rolled away with a lazy donkey roll.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
All manner of low-level ninjutsu bombarded the spot where Tsunade had been standing, kicking up a small vortex of chakra.
"Whew!"
Uchiha Mai let out a heavy breath. Fortunately, the moment he saw Minato charge at the enemy, he had anticipated this situation and rushed toward Tsunade immediately.
Otherwise, Tsunade might really have been taken out by a pack of fodder and that "traitor Master Minato" working together.
Most ninja were strong offensively and weak defensively. Even taijutsu specialists with stronger physiques were not all that much tougher when they did not use chakra to reinforce their bodies.
Might Guy at his peak and the Raikage line were exceptions. Those inhuman freaks were a different case.
"Good job, Mai!" Minato praised. He did not really understand why Lady Tsunade had neither dodged nor defended, but fortunately, they had saved her.
"The assassination failed. Retreat!"
Seeing that Tsunade had escaped the first wave of focused fire, a middle-aged enemy ninja did not linger. With one command, he led his underlings in fleeing.
Master Minato was about to give chase when he remembered that his own carelessness had just put Tsunade in danger. After hesitating for a moment, he gave up the pursuit.
He reached Tsunade in a few steps and, together with Kakashi and Uchiha Mai, supported her by the waist and helped her over to a tree.
"Lady Tsunade, where are you feeling unwell?" Master Minato asked curiously. Why had she suddenly become incapacitated? Even if it was her period, her reaction should not have been this severe.
Tsunade lay against the tree trunk and raised a hand, trembling as she pointed at the enemy corpse not far away.
That pose looked remarkably like Adam in Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam.
Namikaze Minato looked at the corpse in confusion. Was Lady Tsunade suspecting that the man was not fully dead and reminding him not to forget to finish him off?
Hmm, indeed. Even with the carotid artery severed, an ordinary person would take more than ten seconds to die completely. Some strong-willed ninja might still be able to do something in those few seconds.
How impressive. As expected of the Ninja World's finest medical and taijutsu ninja, her understanding of the human body's vital points was far beyond mine.
"Lady Tsunade, I understand what you mean."
Minato nodded firmly, flashed to the corpse, pulled out a Kunai, and stabbed it into the heart. With a squelch, blood gushed from the wound.
Both vital points had been pierced. There was no way the corpse could "come back to life" now.
"Mm! Ugh... Minato...!!!"
At the sight, Tsunade felt even worse. Her entire body trembled as she gritted her teeth and glared at Master Minato, wishing she could kick that Big Blondie eight hundred miles away.
Sigh.
Uchiha Mai silently sighed, bent down, grabbed Tsunade by her big butt, and turned her around so she would not have to look at the corpse.
Only after several seconds did the fear in Tsunade's heart gradually subside. Yet whenever she recalled that corpse, her body still went limp and weak.
"Lady Tsunade, could it be that you..." Minato's expression changed when he returned to her side. He finally noticed something. Could Lady Tsunade have developed some kind of psychological illness?
When someone personally experienced or witnessed a bloody scene of death, it could easily cause post-traumatic stress disorder, which could recur over time.
Tsunade's Hemophobia was exactly that.
Reincarnation? I, Anlan, have looked down upon the ages and grown accustomed to life and death!.jpg
Veteran ninja like Master Minato and the Sannin had all seen their share of life and death, just like Immortal King Anlan. Logically, they should not have developed such a psychological disorder.
Those in the Ninja World who suffered from this sort of mental obstacle were generally civilians or weakling ninja.
That was why Minato had not considered this possibility immediately. But after giving it some thought, he understood.
"Mm..."
Tsunade nodded and admitted, "Just as you thought, after the Second Shinobi World War, I developed Hemophobia.
Whenever I see or come into contact with blood, I tremble all over and lose my strength. Do not let more people know about this."
So that's what it was!
In an instant, Master Minato understood the whole story. No wonder Lord Hokage had insisted on calling Tsunade back to the village. Even if they could not bring her back, his team still had to protect her.
One Jonin and three Genin protecting Tsunade sounded ridiculous, like a Hokage guard squad.
It all made sense now!
"Oh no, those ambushers just now..."
Namikaze Minato's expression changed. Master Minato might have been a little slow, but he was not stupid. Of course he knew why Sarutobi Hiruzen had summoned Tsunade back.
Besides protecting her, they could also use her reputation to deter the other ninja villages.
Those ambushers had witnessed Tsunade's episode from beginning to end. Even if they had been too intimidated by the Sannin's reputation to realize after their failed attack that they should retreat immediately—
once they reviewed what had happened afterward, someone would surely notice something suspicious. If word of this spread, Tsunade would no longer have any strategic value.
"Kakashi, Mai, Guy, the three of you stay and protect Lady Tsunade. I will pursue the enemy." After making his judgment, Minato decisively gave the order.
"Understood!"
"With me, Might Guy, here, no one will get within a single step of Lady Tsunade."
Kakashi and Might Guy accepted the order and immediately went on full alert.
"Minato-sensei, there are roughly five enemies fleeing. If you catch up to them and they avoid fighting, choosing instead to flee in different directions—
then no matter how fast you are, you may still be unable to wipe them all out. Therefore, I request permission to pursue them with you."
Uchiha Mai stepped forward and made his request.
"Very well."
After thinking for a moment, Minato agreed. His hands rapidly formed seals before he slapped them onto the ground, chakra converging into a summoning array.
"Poof!"
After a cloud of white smoke, a large toad roughly one and a half meters tall appeared before them. It had pale green skin, a long sword at its waist, and struck an extremely chuunibyou pose.
"Toad Takumi of Mount Myoboku, reporting~~~ in!"
"Takumi, no more nonsense. Stay here with Kakashi and the others to protect Lady Tsunade."
"Right!"
Toad Takumi nodded sharply, drew the long sword at his waist, and stood guard before Tsunade. His two huge eyes gleamed as he vigilantly watched every movement around them.
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