Awakening

With the healing of Katsuyu from Shikkotsu Forest, Tsunade recovered faster than Nagato had imagined. After regaining consciousness, she opened her eyes and tried to scramble up from the ground, only to find herself tightly bound by something. Taking a closer look, she discovered that her entire body was covered in Explosive Tags.

Tsunade sobered up instantly, her eyes widening. The first things she saw were the Pains lying scattered on the ground, and then, shifting her gaze upward, she saw Konan and Nagato standing there, both wearing the red-cloud black robes of the Akatsuki. Nagato, in particular, who had his back to her, with his bright red hair and Katsuyu resting docilely on his back, seemed to hold a magnetic pull that firmly locked her gaze, stirring an involuntary sense of sorrow in her heart.

A few seconds later, Tsunade forced herself to look away, refusing to dwell on the image of the man and the slug, whose red hair so closely resembled that of Uzumaki Mito. After repeatedly telling herself that Mito was already dead, Tsunade suppressed the nostalgia in her heart and turned her head to see Hinata lying to the side, surrounded by a mist of green.

"Is this Shikkotsu Forest?" Tsunade was quite familiar with the scenery here. She struggled to stand up again, but in her current elderly state, she hadn't recovered enough strength and couldn't break free from the binding of the Explosive Tags at all.

"What happened afterward?" Tsunade shook her head; her brain felt muddled due to the long period of unconsciousness. But soon, she recalled the result of her "battle" with the Pains in Konoha. Then, connecting it to her current predicament of being bound by Explosive Tags, she realized she must have been captured alive by the enemy.

But why were the Pains lying on the ground? And why was she in Shikkotsu Forest? What was up with that "familiar" red hair? For a moment, Tsunade's mind was filled with confusion, and she desperately wanted to know what had happened after she lost consciousness.

"So, you're awake?"

At this moment, hearing the sound Tsunade made, Nagato turned his head to look at her.

His cold tone, his unfamiliar face, and especially those icy, metallic-sheened Rinnegan eyes immediately shattered the dream-like illusion in Tsunade's heart of seeing Uzumaki Mito, dropping her back into the cold reality.

"It... it's you??" Almost instantly, Tsunade recalled the red-haired child among the three she had met in Amegakure long ago. Looking at Konan with her purple hair beside him, the appearance of the three children at that time immediately surfaced in her mind.

Tsunade's trembling right hand instinctively wanted to clench, but she couldn't muster any strength in it. After taking a deep breath, she asked the Nagato before her, "You are the true body of the Pains, aren't you? How is Konoha right now?"

Her tone when speaking was still as righteous as ever.

"Perhaps Shimura Danzō will succeed to the position of Hokage?" Nagato replied with a sneer. The implication was that what happened to Konoha was no longer the business of an expired Hokage like her.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed immediately.

"Nagato, I want to heal Lady Tsunade." At this moment, Katsuyu, resting on Nagato's back, interjected.

This creature was truly loyal to those with whom it had formed a contract.

Nagato's mouth twitched as he replied, "Fine, but don't tell her about my affairs."

He was still very cautious regarding information about his own abilities, a habit that had persisted from his past.

"Understood." Katsuyu agreed, and then several split bodies of Katsuyu crawled out from the surrounding ground, wriggling toward Tsunade.

Konan watched the actions of the Katsuyu with a calm expression. She knew very well that Tsunade was no match for Nagato, so she didn't care how Nagato dealt with her.

"Do you need me to put away the Explosive Tags?" she asked Nagato in a somewhat cold voice.

The Katsuyu stopped and turned to look at Nagato, their intent clear: they wanted Nagato to agree.

"Put them away." Nagato shook his head. "Katsuyu, don't restore too much Chakra to her. You know her temper, right? Don't do it unless you want me to beat her."

Nagato didn't consider himself someone who enjoyed hitting women, especially an old woman like Tsunade; it wasn't exactly a glorious victory at her age.

"Understood." Katsuyu quickly crawled to Tsunade's side and began to check her physical condition.

Konan also walked toward Tsunade, raising her right hand with five fingers spread to collect the Explosive Tags from her body, then turned and walked back to Nagato's side.

"Katsuyu, why is my contract with you..." Once her body was enveloped by the split bodies of Katsuyu, Tsunade couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

"It must have been erased by Nagato." Katsuyu was also helpless; even now, it felt that what Nagato had done was not something a normal person would be capable of.

"Heal Hinata as well." Tsunade's voice was low, sounding extremely dejected. When she saw Katsuyu resting on Nagato's back earlier, she had vaguely guessed something. Now it was certain that Katsuyu had been taken by Nagato, which was infuriating. As the Katsuyu began to heal Hinata, Tsunade seemed to think of something else, her spirits lifting as she opened her eyes wide. "What about Naruto? How is Naruto?"

Katsuyu turned to look at Nagato.

Although it had been in Konoha at the time, it hadn't participated in the battle between Naruto and Nagato. Only the parties involved could likely explain exactly what had happened between them.

"You're pushing your luck..." If it were in the past, Nagato would have ignored Katsuyu entirely, but now that he had mastered Senjutsu, apart from Konan, this creature that spoke in a cute voice was the one he felt most affinity for. Nagato replied with some impatience, "Naruto is doing just fine. It won't be long before he joins my Akatsuki. Perhaps the next person to destroy Konoha will be Naruto."

This was, of course, nonsense; no matter how much Naruto was corrupted, he would never reach that point, as his single-minded brain was difficult to change.

"Impossible!" Tsunade shouted, "Naruto would never join your Akatsuki!"

Whether it was the magic of the name "Naruto" or the fact that Hinata's injuries weren't actually that severe, Hinata, who was being healed by Katsuyu, opened her "eyes" at this moment.

The two bloody holes on her face were truly gruesome. Nagato shook his head upon seeing them, thinking it was no wonder Naruto had been so terrified that he unleashed the Nine Tails' Chakra after just one glance; it was indeed too frightening.

"Naruto? ...Where am I? Why can't I see anything?" Hinata looked around in a panic.

Although there was no moonlight to illuminate the area, the horizon was already beginning to pale. A ninja with normal vision wouldn't be affected by the light, but Hinata had no eyeballs, so naturally, she couldn't see anything.

For Hinata, who possessed the Byakugan, this sudden plunge into absolute darkness was likely a unique experience. Someone who had always possessed what was theoretically the strongest vision had suddenly lost it. This terror made Hinata's body tremble; it seemed that without being able to see Naruto, she had lost even her courage.