There Was Still Time to Save Her

Dressed in his ninja uniform and wearing a conical hat, Li Tong headed toward the bustling district with his sword at his side and his bundle stored in Item Space.

Tsunade was still fast asleep in the pit.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office in the Hokage Building.

Third Hiruzen Sarutobi was reviewing documents.

Whoosh!

An Anbu Ninja appeared out of thin air and dropped to one knee. "Lord Hokage, a message from the Konoha Military Police Force. Lady Tsunade is going to bury Li Tong alive at his home."

"Hm?" Hiruzen Sarutobi froze and looked up at the Anbu Ninja. After thinking for a moment, he lowered his head to the documents again. "It's fine. Tsunade knows what she's doing. She won't really hurt Li Tong. Hmm... spread the news."

"Yes!" The Anbu Ninja accepted the order and vanished in a flash.

The bustling district.

Once he reached the street, Li Tong lowered the brim of his hat and walked with the crowd.

Actually, very few people in Konoha could recognize him at a glance. Konoha had nearly two hundred thousand residents. It was a ninja village full of all kinds of people, and an extremely complex society. So as long as no one saw his Dual-Colored Eyes, the chances of Li Tong being recognized were very low.

Hiwa Accessory Shop.

Li Tong stopped outside and looked up, then quickly lowered his head and went inside with one hand on the brim of his hat.

It was one of the larger accessory shops in Konoha's bustling district. Besides earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, and pendants, it also sold items like glasses, gloves, and scarves.

Inside, there were counters on either side and straight ahead. Li Tong quickly glanced around and headed for the glasses counter.

A few minutes later, Li Tong left the shop.

He took off his conical hat and hung it behind him. His hairstyle was different now, a Konoha Headband was wrapped around his forehead, and a pair of black sunglasses sat on his nose.

His look wasn't particularly out of place in Konoha. There were ninja in the original story who wore sunglasses, like Ebisu, and even Obito Uchiha had worn goggles as a child.

Black could neutralize any color. It would hide the difference in Li Tong's eyes as much as possible.

Actually, he'd wanted to ask the shopkeeper if they had colored contact lenses, but when he thought about the level of technology in the world of Naruto, he decided not to.

"Ha, no one can recognize me now, right?" Wearing sunglasses as he walked down the street, Li Tong felt much more relaxed. He observed the passersby as he went. There were ordinary Konoha residents, ninja, merchants, and travelers, but not one of them recognized him!

He was only a twelve-year-old ninja. There weren't all that many of them in Konoha, but there certainly weren't so few that he'd stand out.

"First, I'll get something to eat, then I'll take a mission." Li Tong muttered and quickened his pace.

This time, Li Tong didn't go to Jiangchuan Flavor. Instead, he chose a high-class restaurant called Fuhe Restaurant. He'd spent most of the past half month eating at Jiangchuan Flavor, and some of the ninja who went there regularly might recognize him.

A window seat on the second floor of Fuhe Restaurant.

Li Tong ordered a large bowl of beef noodles. The food hadn't arrived yet, so he waited.

The second floor wasn't very large, but it had eight or nine tables. It wasn't quite lunchtime, so there weren't many customers. Only three tables were occupied, and they were all ninja!

Li Tong had noticed long ago that the wealthiest people in Konoha were the ninja. Merchants had money too, but there were still more well-off ninja than major merchants.

"Is that true? They really buried that kid alive?"

"Of course it's true. The news came from the Konoha Military Police Force. Lady Tsunade buried him alive to vent her anger on Kushina Uzumaki."

"...That's too cruel, isn't it? She might as well have just chopped his head off!"

"With Lady Tsunade's temper, that's already getting off easy."

Three ninja came upstairs, talking as they walked. Li Tong overheard a few words and wore an expression that said he'd known it all along.

The news that Tsunade had buried him alive had spread!

All three ninja belonged to the Garrison Corps' patrol unit. They looked like they'd just finished a shift and come for a meal. They sat at the table beside Li Tong's, ordered some food and drinks, and started talking about it again.

"Hey, does Lord Hokage do nothing about this?"

"When has Lord Hokage ever done anything about Lady Tsunade? Remember that Hyuga Clan jōnin, Hyuga Junfei? No one knows how he offended Lady Tsunade, but she nearly beat him to death. She even cut off his hand. In the end, the Hyuga Clan leader had to apologize before things settled down."

"Huh? Didn't Hyuga Junfei die? He survived?"

"He did die! But I heard Lady Tsunade had already let him go. Lord Orochimaru was the one who killed him. There's no evidence that Lord Orochimaru did it, but everyone knows."

"That's pitiful!"

"What's that compared to the Shaobai Casino massacre two years ago? Remember?"

"Of course. Thirty-nine people died, didn't they? Was Lady Tsunade involved?"

"What do you mean, involved? Lady Tsunade did it! Keep your voice down. I'll tell you what happened. The casino owner, some guy called Asou Ki, cheated at gambling. He not only took all of Lady Tsunade's money, he also said something very disrespectful to her. In a fit of rage, Lady Tsunade went on a killing spree. Thirty-nine people died on the spot, and she flattened the entire two-story building. More than a hundred passersby were injured. In the end, Anbu got involved and sealed away all the news."

"Lady Tsunade? She wouldn't... Sure, she doesn't go easy on anyone who offends her, but would she really go on a killing spree? Could Lord Orochimaru have been there too?"

"Who knows? There could've been other reasons, but Anbu got involved, so no one could find out."

"Actually, none of that compares to what happened to Umino Tozo. He was the captain of the Torture and Interrogation Force, and Lady Tsunade hunted him for an entire month. She even stopped taking missions. She chased him all the way from the Land of Fire to the Land of Lightning, then brought him back with all four limbs cut off. He was hung from a flagpole and left in the sun for three days until he died. It was horrible..."

"Sasaki Kin got about the same treatment. Lady Tsunade beat him half to death in the street, and the next day someone hung his head on the village gate."

Li Tong sat by the window, stunned.

"Sir, your noodles. Enjoy." The waiter set down the large bowl and spoke to Li Tong, but Li Tong didn't react at all.

This was terrifying!

Tsunade!

Was this Tsunade? Wasn't she the heroine of a horror movie?!

"Check, please!" Li Tong slapped some money onto the table and vaulted out the window!

Back!

He had to go back. Running away wasn't going to solve anything!

Li Tong felt... there was still time to save himself.

Before long, Li Tong ran back to the lake like a madman. He reached the pit, gasping for breath, and peered inside.

Tsunade, caked in mud, was still asleep.

There was no one else nearby. It looked like no one had come by yet.

"You only get yourself killed by asking for trouble!" Li Tong muttered as he jumped back into the pit. He lifted Tsunade into his arms, leaped out, and landed lightly on the ground. Then he hesitated.

He really wanted to toss Tsunade into the lake and wash her off, but that might wake her. The lake water was too cold and the shock would be too much. But if he carried her to the bathroom... Li Tong really didn't want to get his bathroom dirty.

He thought about it for a full three minutes.

"What a mess!" Li Tong lamented inwardly and carried Tsunade toward the bathroom.