The Reason for the System's Existence

Kazuki Utsuki's focus was the mountain behind them. The two Takigakure ninja had mentioned that the direction Tsunade was last seen heading was towards the mountain. Coupled with the news of her severe injuries, it was highly probable that Tsunade was still in the mountains.

Sora Uchiha, on the other hand, was focused on the Hero Water. He had heard of this item before; it was a treasure of Takigakure. Rumor had it that just a single drop could increase one's Chakra tenfold, making it an invaluable treasure.

However, Sora Uchiha was a bit puzzled. For a ninja like Tsunade, who possessed monstrous physical strength, did she really need Chakra? In other words, there was no reason for Tsunade to steal the Hero Water. Moreover, Tsunade was on a mission near Iwagakure. Running all the way to Takigakure to steal the Hero Water was preposterous.

Unless she stole the Hero Water to sell it and fund her gambling habit?

...Sora Uchiha fell silent. If the Hero Water could be sold, it would fetch an astronomical sum. Given Tsunade's gambling addiction, perhaps, maybe, she really did steal the Hero Water to gamble.

Haha, just kidding. No matter what, Tsunade was one of the principled Konoha Sannin.

As Sora Uchiha was wildly speculating, Kazuki Utsuki had already made up his mind. He leaped onto a tree.

"Seven, let's go to the mountain. We can also inform the captain of this news along the way."

Saying that, he took out his old-fashioned phone, only to discover there was no signal here. He sighed and put it back in his pocket, deciding to notify Shinnosuke when he got a signal.

Even though he couldn't notify him, they still had to go to the mountain. If Tsunade was indeed hiding there, their lack of support could lead to a major disaster.

"Mhm." Sora Uchiha nodded. This might not be the most correct decision at the moment, but it was certainly the most reasonable one.

Kazuki Utsuki leaped high into the air, landing on the tip of a tree. This tree was at least ten meters tall, and standing on it provided a very wide field of vision. Soon, he had pinpointed the location of the mountain.

The reason? Looking out, there was a mountain range in only one direction, and only there could be called the mountain.

With their decision made, the two quickly moved towards the mountain.

[Thump--]

[Quest Issued]

[Quest Objective: Rescue Tsunade]

[Reward: Unknown]

Sora Uchiha, who was moving through the forest, froze. He then helplessly grumbled in his mind:

"System, you issued this quest way too late. I was already undertaking the mission when you finally posted it."

He was genuinely afraid that the system would pull a similar stunt later, like issuing a quest for him to do something during the Kikyo Mountain Battle after he had already participated in it.

[Ding]

[System detects Tsunade is in danger]

[Therefore, this quest is issued]

Sora Uchiha froze. What did it mean by detecting Tsunade in danger? Wasn't Tsunade in danger since this morning?

Why was the system only detecting her danger now?

Suddenly, a sharp peal of thunder exploded in his mind.

"No, if the system isn't malfunctioning, then there's only one possibility: Tsunade was indeed trapped, but there was no life-threatening danger before. Now, some change has occurred, putting Tsunade in mortal danger!"

Over the years, Sora Uchiha had come to understand the system to some extent. It wouldn't actively interfere with the general development of the original plot; the quests it issued wouldn't affect the storyline.

For example, letting him win the Chunin Exams. Whether he won first place or not wouldn't have a significant impact on history. The world wouldn't revolve around him; his presence or absence made no difference.

Another example was the Third Shinobi World War. The cause was Scorpion assassinating the Third Kazekage, and Sunagakure's search for him triggered the war.

This meant he could have easily used the information gap to make Scorpion's assassination fail, preemptively stopping the fuse that ignited the Third Shinobi World War. It was a simple matter: find a few people to spread rumors in Sunagakure daily, making the Third Kazekage wary.

But just as he was about to act, the system issued a quest titled [Prohibition of Interference in the Start of the Third Shinobi World War]. There was no reward! But there was a failure penalty!

And the penalty back then was… death!

He hadn't thought much of it at the time.

Years later, this [Rescue Tsunade] quest made him recall the strangeness of that past mission, especially the failure penalty. He simply couldn't accept it; it wasn't a quest, but a death sentence.

Returning to the present topic, if his assumptions were correct, Tsunade would likely die. What would be the consequences of Tsunade's death?

Undoubtedly, it would completely disrupt the development of the Hokage story, triggering all sorts of unpredictable possibilities.

If his suspicions were true, then the system's existence was, to some extent, to maintain the normal progression of the plot.

Then, what was the meaning of his own existence? The system made him stronger but forbade him from disrupting the plot?

The more he thought about it, the more grim his expression became. The quest to rescue Tsunade was a colossal accident for him, stunning him into a daze.

If, if the system's existence was to maintain the plot's normal progression, then what came next?

Rin's death, Obito's descent into darkness, the Uchiha clan massacre!

He couldn't accept such an outcome!

Slap!

Sora Uchiha slapped himself hard, muttering, "Don't overthink it. Maybe it's just a coincidence? It's just a quest, there aren't so many reasons behind it."

"It's just a coincidence…"

"Just… a coincidence…"

He shook his head, not daring to delve any deeper, afraid he couldn't bear the truth behind it.

Even so, this incident planted a seed in his heart, A seed that, once sprouted, would make him regret it deeply.

#

The back mountain of Takigakure was covered in two-meter-tall weeds, and the mountain range had many caves of varying sizes.

It could be said that as long as one found a place to hide, the only way to find them would be a carpet search in a pincer formation. Currently, dozens of Takigakure ninjas were searching in this manner.

"Hurry up. Once it gets dark, finding people will be even harder."

"Reconnaissance ninjas, search every spot carefully!"

"Hey you? Slacking off, huh! Want to eat shit? Get a move on!"

In the weeds a hundred meters away, a pair of eyes watched the ninjas' busy backsides intently. After a long while, Kazuki Utsuki lowered the leaves he had lifted, his expression grave.

"This is troublesome. There are people everywhere. Breaking through the defense line is basically impossible."

"Seriously, are these ninjas too crazy? Spending so much manpower and resources to find someone?" Sora Uchiha smacked his lips and lowered the leaves as well.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

Kazuki Utsuki pondered for a moment and picked up his phone, only to find there was still no signal. That made sense; it was a deep mountain forest, so it would be strange to have a signal.

"We can't just wait like this. If Jonin Tsunade is really in the back mountain, it'll be bad," he took out a kunai and unconsciously rubbed it with his finger, a subconscious gesture of his distress.

Sora Uchiha thought for a moment. Although he had complicated feelings about the system right now, he really had to complete the mission to rescue Tsunade.

"Monkey, I'm small. You'll need to create a diversion to open a gap, and I'll sneak into the back mountain first."

He proposed a plan.