As the azure screen rippled before Sakuya, he was still wondering how to begin the simulation when his body suddenly shuddered. The next moment, he collapsed onto the tatami in a daze. As his consciousness separated from his body, the system gently guided him into another dreamlike world.
He didn't know that at the same time, Orochimaru, working at an unknown research facility, Tsunade, fast asleep at an inn in the Land of Hot Water, and Jiraiya, holding a courtesan in a shabby brothel, all sighed as they remembered something.
"So, in conclusion, I believe the current ninja squad structure needs a major overhaul. We should select one member from each existing three-person team and train them as a medical ninja, greatly improving the survival rate of the entire squad!"
At the sound of a pleasant, melodious voice with a hint of firmness, Sakuya slowly opened his eyes.
What met his gaze was a vast office. Dozens of ninjas in pale green vests sat quietly inside. At the far end, a middle-aged man wearing a Hokage Hat sat cross-legged, pipe in his mouth, listening silently to the woman.
This was... the Jonin Conference Room?
GOOGLE SEARCH TWKAN
Sakuya pondered.
He'd been here once with his cousin when he was a Genin, but according to the simulator's timeline, this meeting had taken place many years ago. Yet it looked almost exactly like the room he'd visited in real life. Had the simulator created this virtual setting from his memories, or was it recreating something that had really happened two or three decades ago?
Sakuya quickly scanned the room, then turned his attention to the only person standing: a blonde kunoichi.
She was barely in her twenties, with bright eyes, pearly teeth, and strikingly beautiful features. Her voluptuous figure was just as captivating. Anyone who saw her would have to call her a beauty.
Unlike all the Jonin present, she wore no green vest. Instead, she had a pale blue jacket over a white shirt, with a black hakama below. A pair of clean white split-toed socks showed beneath the hem, her big toes pressing firmly against her wooden sandals. As she spoke, she shifted slightly, making the sandals creak softly.
In the rule-bound village of Konoha, her unconventional attire made her stand out even more.
Senju... Tsunade.
Sakuya silently repeated her name in his mind.
The granddaughter of the First, Hashirama Senju, and a student of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. If nothing unexpected happened, she should be the strongest candidate to succeed as Fourth Hokage.
She was also the key figure in the three missions he had to complete this time.
[At the Jonin meeting, Tsunade laid out her ideas. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, didn't respond immediately. Instead, he invited the Jonin present to discuss them.]
[The more than eighty Jonin voiced a variety of opinions, but most opposed Tsunade's reform plan. The reason was simple: the Demigod of Amegakure seemed to be stirring, and war might break out at any moment. With things so tense, suddenly changing the system was too risky.]
[However, as the granddaughter of the previous two Hokage and a student of the current one, Tsunade's status made the others wary. None dared openly oppose her. Perhaps noticing this, the Third Hokage proposed an anonymous vote to determine whether the Jonin supported or opposed Tsunade's plan to reform the ninja squads by adding medical ninjas.]
[You, sitting quietly at the back of the conference room and watching with cold detachment, will also take part in the anonymous vote. Your position will affect the simulation's outcome, so choose carefully.]
[Your choice is...]
Looking at the blank sheet of paper handed to him, Sakuya lightly tapped his fingers on the table. He didn't make a choice right away.
The third mission in this simulation was to make at least three key characters from the original story remember him indelibly—the more deeply, the better. In Konoha at this time, the only characters who qualified were Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Sakuya already had a plan for how to complete the mission.
When it came down to it, all four of them hinged on Tsunade.
She was like Rin Nohara of Team Minato and Sakura Haruno of Team 7: the person who bound the others closely together.
Apart from Jiraiya, who had always been in love with Tsunade, even Orochimaru, who was obsessed with Kekkei Genkai, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was consumed by power, had always reserved a place in their hearts for her.
They all saw Tsunade as an important comrade or student. So as long as she remembered him, the other three would remember him too whenever they thought of her.
Dan Katō was a perfect example. In the original story, he was Tsunade's lover. After he died, whenever Jiraiya and the others spoke of Tsunade, they would mention him as well. That was a clear success.
So, should he imitate Dan Katō, support Tsunade at this Jonin meeting, pursue her, become her lover, then find a chance to die and make her remember him?
No!
The system wanted them to remember him indelibly!
People's memories faded, after all. Being remembered now didn't mean being remembered forever.
If he simply imitated Dan Katō, won Tsunade's heart, then died soon afterward, at most Tsunade and her lovesick admirer Jiraiya would remember him forever. But would Orochimaru, obsessed with immortality, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, devoted to power, remember Sakuya forever too?
Don't make your Orochimaru or your old man Hiruzen laugh.
He couldn't compete with the immortality right before Orochimaru or the power already in Hiruzen's hands.
What's more, in this simulation, he was fourteen and Tsunade was twenty-three. They were a full nine years apart!
He was also a member of the Uchiha Clan, while Tsunade belonged to the Senju Clan. Their clans had been bitter enemies for generations.
If he really imitated Dan Katō and supported Tsunade's reform, could he actually compete with Dan, who was her age?
To complete the third mission perfectly and obtain the top reward—the Mangekyō Sharingan technique—Sakuya couldn't just make Tsunade remember him indelibly. He had to make the others remember him too!
In other words, he had to pull off something truly huge!
At least something on the level of the night of the clan's massacre, or making the world feel pain.
As the saying went, humans were a wretched lot.
Without death, there could be no praise for sacrifice.
Without loss, there could be no appreciation for what one had once possessed.
That was true of Tsunade, and it was true of the other three.
If he wanted all four of them to remember him indelibly, his first step was to make Tsunade, the one at the center of it all, experience loss.
In other words, make her want something she couldn't have.
Make her regret it for the rest of her life!
Before you continue