Huff... huff...
Tsunade raced through the mountain forest, her small body bursting with terrifying explosive power as she used the complex terrain to evade pursuit, occasionally glancing back with a grave expression.
The sky was pitch-black. Thanks to the heavy clouds, neither moonlight nor starlight shone down—a small blessing amid misfortune.
During the breakout, she had been separated from Orochimaru and Jiraiya. With the clouds blocking the sky, she could not use the stars to determine direction and could only rely on instinct to flee into the distance. She lightly bit her lower lip. Green life chakra flickered across her back and arms, slowly healing the injuries there. Her brows were drawn together. Healing wounds did not feel pleasant, especially while running. It was a painful, itchy sensation, as if ants were crawling all over the wounds.
She did not understand what had happened in Iwagakure that night. In any case, it had been utter chaos. She could not determine whether those two women in black belonged to another faction or were a contingency Kirigakure had planted there.
Come to think of it, they had not been entirely on the same side as Kirigakure either. The moment the Second Tsuchikage had called out the Mizukage's title, the three of them had known they had been dragged into serious trouble. This was definitely not some A-rank mission—it was at least S-rank, perhaps even higher. Kirigakure had undoubtedly concealed something crucial.
Thinking that her very first mission had turned out like this, she did not know whether to laugh or cry. Probably not many ninja had gone through an experience like hers.
But there was no point saying any of that now. Her first priority was escaping pursuit. She could only hope Orochimaru and Jiraiya were safe.
The force Iwagakure had sent