"He's Uchiha Iori, a newly promoted jonin who came from the village to provide support today. He was my senior at the Ninja Academy," Shizune hurriedly explained to Tsunade.
"His Medical Ninjutsu is very unique, so I asked him to come and treat you, Lady Tsunade."
"Leave us. There are some things I want to discuss with him."
Tsunade climbed out of bed.
"Okay, we'll head out first."
Shizune and Yakushi Nonō glanced worriedly at Uchiha Iori. He gave them a reassuring look.
After the two women left, Tsunade locked the door and activated the soundproofing seal.
"What happened inside the genjutsu? Why is Lady Tsunade acting like this? Is her hemophobia cured?"
Shizune asked Yakushi Nonō in a puzzled tone.
"I don't know, but it probably isn't anything bad. Lady Tsunade looks much better. Let them handle the rest themselves."
Yakushi Nonō had some suspicions, but she didn't intend to voice them.
"Fine. We'll just have to wait until Lady Tsunade and Iori finish talking before we ask."
Shizune and Yakushi Nonō found a place to sit outside and waited for the people inside to finish talking.
"What are we supposed to do now? Why do I feel so strange about you? You didn't add something to the genjutsu, did you?"
Tsunade looked at the somewhat youthful Uchiha Iori and spoke anxiously.
Damn it, that kid's probably not even twenty, and I'm already in my thirties. Why did everything I experienced in that world feel so real? Damn it...
Iori shook his head. Blood tears slowly trickled from his eyes. "The genjutsu I just used was one I developed myself after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan. My goal was to recreate the clan's forbidden technique, Izanami."
"But the technique I developed in the end was the complete opposite of Izanami. Izanami marks two points in time and makes its target experience them over and over, forcing them to accept reality."
"My Mirror Flower, Water Moon is different. It creates a world the target longs for, and that world develops according to their wishes, making them unwilling to leave."
"However, all genjutsu eventually ends. This world is really just a flower in a mirror, a moon reflected in water. When the genjutsu ends, the target dies with it."
"So that's the kind of genjutsu it is? It attacks human nature at its weakest. Is there anyone in the Ninja World who can claim to have no regrets? There are only a handful of people who could resist this technique through sheer willpower."
Tsunade was surprised by the way Iori had developed his genjutsu. It was both gentle and cruel. The one who killed the victim wasn't someone else, but the victim themselves.
"What about your eyes? Why are they bleeding now?"
"Izanami is a forbidden technique. Its price is the complete destruction of one eye. My Mirror Flower, Water Moon isn't that extreme, but it still puts enormous strain on my eyes."
"Don't worry about me. I have a way to treat them. But tell the others nothing. I don't want outsiders to find out about this," Iori cautioned Tsunade.
"Then why tell me? Am I not an outsider anymore?" Tsunade's expression grew complicated again. She couldn't accept Iori's presence so quickly, but neither could she bring herself to let go.
"Because I trust you, Tsunade. Haven't I even entrusted you with my ideals?" Iori smiled, recalling the look on Tsunade's face when he died.
"Hmph. Since you're still alive, go fulfill your ideals yourself!"
Remembering how she had let her true feelings show back then, Tsunade couldn't help snorting. She really had been completely taken in.
"I want more than just to become Hokage. I hope the Ninja World can enjoy lasting peace. Becoming Hokage is only the first step."
Looking at her, Iori slowly revealed his goal.
"What do you mean? What are you going to do?"
Tsunade was suspicious. She didn't understand what Iori was thinking, but peace was no simple matter.
"Ever since First and Madara Uchiha founded Konoha and established the system of the Five Great Nations dividing up the world, wars became less frequent. But every ten years or so, a brutal Ninja World War still broke out."
"What I want to do is go further: unite the Five Great Nations and make Konoha the only ninja village, extending the period of peace even longer."
"Why? Why do you think that?"
Tsunade couldn't quite follow Iori's reasoning. She didn't understand the concept of unification, or why it could extend the period of peace.
"First unified the Land of Fire, but he believed that people only needed to understand one another and have equal strength to achieve lasting peace."
"So he asked the First Kage of each nation to establish order, and distributed the Tailed Beasts he had collected according to their strength. Peace did come, briefly."
"But after he passed away, the deterrence of the strongest man was gone, and war broke out immediately."
"The Tailed Beasts that had been distributed to balance the nations' power became new weapons of war, and were turned against Konoha."
"I want to change this cycle. After I unite the Ninja World, there may still be ambitious people who want to start wars and destroy the peace, but it will be difficult for them to organize a war on the scale we see today."
"And after my rule has lasted for three generations, everyone in the world will be a citizen of Konoha. All wars will ultimately have one goal: establishing a unified government."
"Peace will last for a long time, until the government declines again and the cycle repeats. That cycle might take several generations to come around."
After listening, Tsunade pondered for a moment and asked, "Then was my grandfather wrong?"
"No. He at least ended the chaos of the Warring States Period. If he hadn't died so young, things might not have turned out the way they did today with the Second Hokage assisting him."
Iori didn't deny First's achievements.
"Back in the Warring States Period, most children didn't even live to adulthood. His achievements can't be denied, but simply following the path of those who came before us won't bring peace."
"So, Tsunade, I'm going to unite the Ninja World and complete the work First and Madara Uchiha couldn't finish. I'll bring lasting peace to the Ninja World."
"Will you give me a hand?" Iori held out his hand to Tsunade with a smile, his gaze gentle but resolute.
Looking into Uchiha Iori's resolute eyes, Tsunade's expression grew distant. For a moment, she seemed to see her grandfather, First Senju Hashirama.
After a moment's hesitation, Tsunade took Iori's hand, then pulled him into her arms and held him tightly.
"If you disappoint me, I'll kill you." Tsunade hugged Iori as if she wanted to crush him. She couldn't bear to lose him again, so all she could do was trust him.
"Don't worry. I won't disappoint you." Iori stroked her back, soothing her.
"Then take this. Remember, if you die, I'll hate you for the rest of my life." Tsunade took off her necklace and handed it to Uchiha Iori.
This time, she wasn't afraid anymore. If Iori died, she would carry on his will and live on bravely.