Who Can Save Tsunade, Who Can Save Shizune

"Tough customer!"

Upon realizing the newcomer was Tsunade of Konoha, Fūya quickly made a hand seal and signaled Biwa Juzo to retreat.

Tsunade did not pursue, in order to protect Tōdō Xiao Dong.

The enemy's attack had temporarily retreated, and chakra fluctuations still lingered in the air.

Shizune carefully supported the injured Medical Ninja, her face filled with anxiety. He was a Chunin, covered in blood and barely breathing.

"Lady Tsunade, he's only severely injured, not in mortal danger," Shizune said tentatively.

Tsunade nodded, her gaze falling on the man's wounds: broken ribs, torn muscles in his right arm, internal bleeding in his lungs, and a laceration on his abdomen.

He was gravely wounded, but he could be saved.

She crouched down, her voice as gentle as possible, "What's your name?"

The ninja struggled to open his eyes and rasped, "My name is Tōdō Xiao Dong, I'm a doctor from the Konoha Medical Hospital."

Tsunade's eyes flickered. A doctor from the Medical Hospital, how did he end up on the border of Konoha?

She frowned but didn't ask further. The battle had just ended, the situation was unstable, and many things would have to wait. They would discuss everything once they returned to Konoha Village.

"Don't speak, conserve your energy. I'll help you stop the bleeding." Tsunade raised her hand, pale green chakra flowing slowly in her palm.

But just as her chakra was about to touch Xiao Dong's wound, he suddenly trembled violently, his body convulsing, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"I... my body feels... wrong..."

"Hmm?" Shizune frowned. "There's a strange chakra fluctuation within him..."

Tsunade's pupils contracted, her intuition sensing something was wrong. "Get back quickly!"

But it was already too late.

Tōdō Xiao Dong's pupils dilated wildly, his whites showing. His body suddenly began to swell, chakra raging uncontrollably like a tidal wave.

The next second...

"BOOM!"

With a deafening roar that tore through the sky, Tōdō Xiao Dong's body exploded in an instant. Flesh and bone fragments mixed with an astonishing shockwave blasted outwards.

Tsunade only had time to grab Shizune and leap backward, stray branches scratching her cheek in the aftermath.

Waves of heat rolled in, the smell of blood almost drowning the entire forest. Tsunade staggered to her feet, her gaze fixed on the center of the explosion, where the shocking bloodstains slowly soaked into the scorched earth.

That blood, like a tragically beautiful Crimson Lotus, bloomed silently.

The air instantly froze.

Tsunade's breathing suddenly became disordered. The sound of the wind, Shizune's anxious calls, the startled cries of birds and beasts, all faded away.

Her gaze remained fixed on the blood, a color she knew all too well, and the nightmare she had resisted her entire life.

Nawaki's face suddenly appeared in her mind.

That day, she had rushed onto the battlefield only to see her brother's shattered body and his blood-soaked forehead protector. She had thrown herself down, crying and calling out, but nothing could be saved.

Then, there was Dan Katō. He had fallen before her eyes, blood gushing from his mouth. She had reached out to stop it, but was powerless.

Her fists could shatter mountains and crush enemies in the midst of a thousand soldiers, yet she couldn't save the ones she loved.

"I... I..." Tsunade murmured, her voice trembling.

She staggered, slowly backing away, until her foot found no purchase and she fell to the ground. She looked at her trembling hands, the residual bloodstains seeming to still steam, burning her will.

Her heart pounded violently, her breathing was chaotic, and her chest felt as if pierced by a thousand needles. That familiar sense of suffocation and nausea returned.

"Lady Tsunade! What's wrong!" Shizune rushed forward, hugging her tightly.

Tsunade's eyes were vacant, her lips trembling. "Blood... too much... I can't... can't save them again..."

"It's not your fault!" Shizune's voice was almost a sob. "That was a trap, a Fuinjutsu! He was controlled long ago, it was the enemy's jutsu, not your fault!"

But Tsunade seemed not to hear. She had sunk into the abyss of memory, drowned again and again.

At that moment, a cold voice cut through the silence.

"Heh, what a pathetic sight. The Legendary Sannin of Konoha, falling like this?"

The tone was low, laced with disdain and mockery.

Shizune looked up sharply, her eyes freezing.

Two figures in Red Cloud Black Robes slowly emerged again, their expressions indifferent. They had returned, like messengers from hell.

"How amusing," Umino Fuga approached silently, sneering. "A ninja, a Medical Ninja, afraid of blood?"

Shizune stood protectively in front of Tsunade, the enemies before her, Tsunade behind. She gritted her teeth, cold sweat on her brow, yet she did not retreat.

"You..." Her voice was filled with determination. "Dare to step foot in Konoha, and don't think you'll leave in one piece."

As she spoke, she quickly reached for her ninja pouch.

The next instant, a smoke bomb flew through the air, and thick fog spread, obscuring the sky.

"Lady Tsunade, I'm sorry," Shizune took a deep breath, hoisted her onto her back, and leaped up, heading straight for Konoha.

Tsunade's breath was faint, "Don't mind me... Shizune..."

"Please, don't speak anymore." Shizune gritted her teeth, her voice trembling slightly, "I've never disobeyed your orders, but this time, I can't."

She was also a Jonin of Konoha. Even though she specialized in Medical Ninjutsu, she had undergone countless life-and-death assessments. She knew how to run, and how to run faster and farther.

The wind howled. Besides Tsunade's shallow breaths, the only sounds were footsteps and the tearing of air. The presence behind them gradually receded.

"Perhaps... they aren't good at pursuit." A sliver of luck flashed through her mind.

However, the moment this thought surfaced, space seemed to explode. High above, a dark figure plummeted down.

"Bang!"

Biwa Juzo, wielding the massive Kubikiribōchō, descended like a meteor. He held the sword with both hands and unleashed a diagonal slash that tore through the air, aiming straight for Shizune's back.

"Swish--!"

Shizune dodged urgently, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow, but her shoulder was grazed by the blade. Her clothes were torn, and her fair skin instantly turned bloody. The blood trickled down her arm, appearing eerie and tragically beautiful in the moonlight.

"Shizune!" Tsunade trembled violently, trying to reach out, but even her fingertips were shaking.

She didn't cry out in pain. Instead, she gritted her teeth, readjusted Tsunade on her back, forced herself to stand upright, and took another step.

But how could Biwa Juzo let them escape?

His sword swept out horizontally, cutting several thick ancient trees in half. The shattered trunks fell, blocking their path.

Shizune stopped and slowly, gently, placed Tsunade down beneath a tree. Her knees bent slightly, and she held a Kunai, standing in front of Tsunade.

"...Is this the end?" she murmured softly.

Not being a combat-type ninja didn't mean she lacked the resolve to fight.

She exhaled lightly, her eyes unwavering.

"I won't retreat," she said.

"Then die." Biwa Juzo's voice was low and hoarse. He stomped his feet, lunging like a beast.

Shizune had no time to dodge and could only cross her arms to block the blow head-on. The moment the Kunai collided with the Kubikiribōchō, she was sent flying, crashing into an old tree.

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her internal organs churned.

Yet, she still managed to push herself up, as if trying to piece her broken body back together with sheer will.

She closed her eyes and rapidly formed hand seals.

"Genjutsu: Sonic Boom."

Biwa Juzo's movements faltered, and it felt as if a thousand shrieking insects buzzed in his ears, his nerves burning.

"Hmph... petty trick." He sneered, swinging the Kubikiribōchō horizontally, shattering the illusory sound.

In that instant of hesitation, Shizune appeared behind him, a Kunai in her hand flashing with cold light, aimed directly at his back. Her movements were sharp and decisive, a killing intent she had never displayed on the training grounds.

Genjutsu, taught to her by a junior from the Ninja Academy, had unexpectedly proven remarkably effective.

The Kunai pierced his armor, cut through his skin, and blood splattered.

Biwa Juzo grunted, retaliating with a backhand strike, cleaving towards Shizune's chest. The immense inertia sent her flying.

"Pfft--!"

Shizune crashed into a tree trunk, her back throbbing with pain, a mouthful of blood welling up, her vision blurring.

Her consciousness began to fade, yet she still used her last ounce of strength to crawl up, wanting to protect Tsunade.

"Heh... just one person, what are you struggling for?"

Biwa Juzo approached step by step, the Kubikiribōchō raised high, its chilling blade illuminating Shizune's pale, beautiful face.

"It's over."

"Who said she was alone?" A cold voice came from above.