Leaving an Address

"Lord Tsunade, you're back? Is there an injured person who needs treatment?"

Among the Summoning Beasts who had followed Konoha's Sannin to fame throughout the Shinobi World, Slug was undoubtedly the most cultured. Her voice was gentle and steady, with a soft, mellow quality. Even without seeing her, just hearing her voice gave people a sense of security.

Tsunade was flipping through the photo album in her hands, her fingernail gliding over the pictures until it finally came to rest on an old photograph with slightly yellowed edges.

"Slug, Shizune said you were very close to a young man today. Was there anything special about him?"

Slug wasn't at all surprised by Tsunade's question. She simply crawled up Tsunade's right hand to her shoulder and whispered softly in her ear:

"Lord Tsunade, that young man looks somewhat like Lord Tobirama, but the Chakra inside him is more like Lord Hashirama's. It's very faint, but it really is warm."

Slug's words jolted Tsunade awake like a hangover remedy. But a moment later, she slumped back down again. The news had shocked her, but it no longer mattered. The people she loved could never come back.

The setting sun hung at the edge of the sky. An evening breeze swept across the table in front of her, making the pages of the album rustle until they settled on an old photograph. It showed a steady-looking young man with chestnut, spiky hair, fair skin, delicate features, and ruby-red eyes.

"Take Shizune and leave in two months. I was never suited to this place. So, Orochimaru, how long are you planning to wait outside?"

Under Tsunade's scrutinizing gaze, Orochimaru pushed open the door and entered. He wore a white kimono, with a purple sash tied in a bow at his back.

"Long time no see, Tsunade. Looks like traveling these past few years hasn't helped you move on from the past. I doubt that's what Nawaki and Dan wanted to see."

Orochimaru, his manner cold and sinister, ignored the danger in Tsunade's eyes and spoke as he pleased. It was a rare moment of sincerity from him. He knew that chances to meet his old comrades as a Konoha Ninja would likely grow fewer and farther between.

Kurōsuke Sarutobi was a member of the Sarutobi Clan, one of Konoha's most prominent families, and the team leader of Senba's group.

In Senba's memories, Kurōsuke Sarutobi wasn't the kind of person who formed deep emotional bonds with his students. He had a quiet air of pride about him, and he tended to handle things in a businesslike manner.

That made sense. Konoha's three-person teams were generally made up of two boys and one girl: a genius, a dead last, and an ordinary person.

Iruka was the dead last, Senba was the ordinary one, and Uchiha Yue had considerable talent. But Yue's background was a little complicated, so they weren't close to their teacher like the Konoha 12 in the original story.

In fact, this was how most team leaders and students got along. Every team leader in Konoha had survived the battlefield. They had seen more than enough death and partings. How could they have such deep feelings to spare?

Even so, when Senba and Iruka saw Kurōsuke Sarutobi lying in the hospital bed, they couldn't help freezing in place.

The man on the bed was so thin he was almost skeletal. His legs were gone from the upper thighs down, lost forever on the Night of the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

In his hands, he was polishing a Chakra Blade, a weapon that combined a knuckle duster with a blade. It was one of the Sarutobi Clan's signature weapons. The clan's young head, Asuma Sarutobi, used one himself.

"The village has already arranged new team leaders for you. Senba, Iruka, train hard under your new teacher. I'm fine, so focus on your training. Don't waste time coming to visit me."

Hearing him make no mention of Uchiha Yue, Iruka assumed Teacher Sarutobi was angry about that. He started to step forward and explain, but Senba stopped him.

"Teacher, get some rest. We'll head back now and visit you again when we have time."

Senba placed the carnations in his hand in the vase on the table, then left with Iruka. Kurōsuke Sarutobi simply continued polishing the Chakra Blade in his hands and didn't respond.

After dragging Iruka, who was still dazed, outside, Senba led him to a balcony well away from the hospital room. "Iruka, if you visit Teacher Sarutobi by yourself in the future, remember not to bring up Yue again."

"Huh? Why do you say that, Senba? I wanted to explain why you couldn't come visit."

Senba didn't explain, seeing the confusion in Iruka's eyes. It was better for Iruka not to know about this.

Just as Senba was reminding Iruka once again, everything suddenly changed.

"Boom!"

A tremendous crash sounded above Senba. A figure burst through the wall and landed in the street outside the hospital, his clothes tattered and his appearance disheveled.

Orochimaru? Senba leaped onto the wall below to avoid the falling bricks. Seeing Orochimaru down on one knee, he couldn't make sense of it. Had someone beaten him up?

The Ninja who had landed nearby and taken up defensive positions were just as baffled. They looked up at Tsunade, who had kicked through the remains of the wall, unsure what to do.

"That damn Tsunade. Still as hot-tempered as ever." Feeling the extensive damage to his modified body, Orochimaru felt a rush of blood rise in his chest, threatening to spill from his mouth.

But when Orochimaru saw the medical staff around him, he remembered Tsunade's mental state and forced himself to swallow the metallic taste in his mouth.

Orochimaru waved everyone away. Then, after exchanging a look with the cold-faced Tsunade above, he turned and left.

They both knew that, after today, their friendship was gone for good.

"What a she-devil! She's even more terrifying in person than she is on screen!"

Senba looked at the shattered wall above and the crater Orochimaru had made when he landed, and swallowed hard. The strongest woman in the Shinobi World was no joke. But Orochimaru's ability to take a beating was even more impressive. Senba had certainly seen something new today.

"Aoki Senba, what are you crouching there for? Get down here. I need to talk to you."

While Senba was still staring blankly, Shizune appeared beneath the wall and looked up at him with her hands on her hips.

A few minutes later, Shizune left with Senba's address, heading back to report to Lord Tsunade. Senba was left at a loss, then went his separate way from Iruka.

Elsewhere, the sun had already set behind the western hills. Beneath the cold moonlight, Orochimaru walked alone down the street. His injuries had already healed by seventy or eighty percent and no longer hindered his movements.

Before long, a rustling sound came from a corner. Under Orochimaru's icy, snake-like gaze, a giant python, its body as thick as an adult man, emerged from the shadows. It appeared before him with an Anbu in its enormous jaws.

"Danzo really is in a hurry."

Ignoring the Root member swallowed by the giant snake, Orochimaru turned and slowly walked away in another direction.

Only the sound of swallowing remained.