Tsunade

"Die!"

Itachi stood where he was, his expression unchanged.

The instant Sasuke rushed in front of him, Itachi shifted slightly to the side, and the lightning shot past the hem of his clothes.

Sasuke's pupils shrank.

But before he could change moves, Itachi had already raised his foot and, with a bang, kicked him in the abdomen.

Sasuke was sent flying, slamming hard into the wall.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto's expression changed. Just as he was about to rush over, Kisame stepped in front of him with Samehada over his shoulder.

"Don't be in such a hurry, kid."

Kisame grinned, exposing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"You're the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, aren't you?"

Naruto froze for a moment, then roared,

"Get lost!"

Kisame let out a low laugh and swung Samehada.

Whoosh!

The heavy blade swept through the rain. Naruto hurriedly jumped back, and the moment he dodged, Samehada smashed into the ground with a bang, leaving a huge crater.

On the other side, Sasuke slid down from the wall, blood covering the corner of his mouth.

He gritted his teeth and tried to stand.

But his body would not obey him.

That kick had been too heavy. Sasuke felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and could not get up at all.

Itachi slowly walked over to him.

Sasuke lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot.

"Itachi Uchiha..."

Itachi grabbed him by the collar and lifted him straight up.

"Too weak."

The moment those words fell, Sasuke's body stiffened.

"The current you is too weak."

Sasuke looked into Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan and suddenly remembered that Chiya seemed to have obtained the same eyes as well.

The next moment, Itachi's voice rang out again.

"It seems you do not hate me as much as you claimed. It seems you are still not in enough pain."

The next instant, Sasuke's world turned blood-red.

The clan grounds, moonlight, corpses.

His father, his mother.

And that man standing in the darkness.

The scenes unfolded before his eyes again and again, like a nightmare he could never wake from.

Sakura had rushed halfway over when her steps suddenly stopped.

She saw Sasuke in Itachi's grasp, his body no longer moving, his face frighteningly pale.

"Sasuke..."

She wanted to go to him, but Asuma grabbed her and stopped her.

"Don't get close."

Asuma's voice was heavy.

"That guy isn't someone you can handle."

Kurenai supported herself against the nearby wall, her face still pale. Kakashi knelt in the rain, one hand braced on the ground, breathing raggedly. He looked as though he had just been pulled from the water.

Itachi had merely glanced at him, and he had ended up like this.

This was Itachi Uchiha.

When Naruto saw Sasuke like that, panic seized him.

"Let him go!"

His hands rapidly formed seals.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"

Bang, bang, bang!

White smoke exploded all at once, and more than a dozen Narutos charged at Kisame simultaneously.

Kisame laughed.

"There are quite a few of you."

Samehada swept across, and several Shadow Clones burst apart with bangs. Naruto's real body lunged from the side, driving a fist at Kisame's face.

Kisame raised a hand to block it, gripping Samehada with the other.

"Since you won't behave, I'll cut off your legs first."

With that, Samehada slashed down at Naruto's leg.

Just then, a green figure suddenly rushed over.

Bang!

The next moment, Kisame was kicked flying. He slid a long way across the soaked ground before regaining his footing.

Naruto froze.

"Bushy Brow Sensei!"

Might Guy stood before Naruto and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Good thing I made it in time!"

Kisame looked at Might Guy with an odd expression.

"What kind of outfit is that? You must be some rare beast."

Might Guy's face instantly stiffened.

"Rare? Beast?"

Seeing Might Guy appear, Kakashi finally could not hold on any longer and collapsed.

Itachi released his grip as well.

Sasuke hit the ground with a bang, his body still trembling slightly.

Itachi glanced at Might Guy, then turned around.

"Kisame, let's go."

Kisame frowned.

"The Nine-Tails jinchuriki is right here. We're not taking him?"

Itachi did not look back.

"We caused too much of a disturbance. Konoha's other shinobi are probably already on their way. Retreat first."

Kisame hoisted Samehada onto his shoulder and gave a cold snort.

"Fine."

In the next instant, their figures blurred and vanished into the curtain of rain.

Only the sound of rain remained on the street.

Might Guy looked in the direction Itachi had left, and the smile vanished from his face.

"Get them to the hospital first."

Outside Konoha.

The sounds of pursuit gradually faded away.

Rainwater struck the leaves and fell onto the muddy ground with soft pattering sounds.

Several shinobi flashed through the forest, hurrying back toward Konoha.

"Lord Danzo's orders."

"Withdraw to the village."

The voices came in fragments, quickly swallowed by the rain.

Deep in the forest, Chiya lay in the mud, nearly drenched through by the rain.

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps sounded in the distance.

Shizune held an umbrella, Ton Ton in her arms, as she walked along the forest path.

The rain had come down too suddenly. She had only gone to the nearby mountains to gather medicinal herbs, but the downpour had caught her halfway back. The mountain road had been washed into a muddy mess, making it difficult to travel and delaying her for quite some time.

Ton Ton suddenly twitched his nose.

"Ton Ton?"

Shizune stopped walking.

Ton Ton poked his head out from her arms and snorted twice toward the forest beside them.

Shizune frowned and followed the direction he indicated.

After only a few steps, she saw Chiya lying in the mud.

"Someone?"

Shizune's expression changed, and she immediately crouched down to examine him.

He was still breathing.

Barely.

She brushed aside the soaked hair on Chiya's forehead and saw the Konoha forehead protector.

"A Konoha shinobi?"

Shizune looked at his age again.

So young.

Without thinking further, she immediately set her umbrella aside and gave him a quick examination.

There were no obvious external injuries, but his chakra depletion was astonishing. What had this child gone through?

Shizune gritted her teeth and carried Chiya onto her back.

Shizune held Ton Ton in front of her and carried Chiya on her back.

Rain beat against her shoulders and streamed down Chiya's clothes. Chiya's body was heavy, and his breathing was so faint that it was almost inaudible.

Shizune moved quickly.

"Hang in there."

She spoke softly.

"We'll be there soon."

When Chiya woke up, the first thing he heard was voices.

"You really know how to cause me trouble."

"We can't just leave someone to die, Lady Tsunade."

Chiya's eyelids twitched.

Lady Tsunade?

His mind was still muddled, and it took him two seconds to react.

Shizune, Tsunade?

Chiya did not open his eyes immediately.

His entire body hurt, especially his eyes. They felt as though needles were piercing them, and even beneath his eyelids, they burned in waves.

Another woman's voice suddenly rang out beside him, carrying obvious impatience.

"If you're awake, stop playing dead."

Chiya's heart skipped a beat.

Tsunade.

It really was Tsunade.

He slowly opened his eyes.

The lamplight in the room blurred into a large haze, and he could only make out vague silhouettes. One person stood beside the bed while another sat at the table, with what seemed to be a wine cup nearby.

Chiya pretended to be confused, his voice hoarse.

"Who... are you?"

Shizune let out a sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're awake."

Chiya turned toward her voice.

He could not see Shizune's face clearly and could only determine her position by sound.

"Did you save me?"

"Mm." Shizune nodded. "I found you collapsed in the forest. You were wearing a Konoha forehead protector, so I brought you back."

Tsunade snorted.

"Now it's your turn to talk."

Footsteps approached.

Tsunade came to stand beside the bed, looking down at him.

"Who are you?"

Chiya swallowed.

"I am... Chiya Uchiha."

The room fell silent.

A few seconds later, Tsunade spoke.

"Uchiha Clan?"

She stared at Chiya, her tone turning heavier.

"Why was someone from Konoha's Uchiha Clan lying outside like that?"

Chiya fell silent for a moment.

He knew he could not say too much, nor could he pretend he knew nothing.

This was Tsunade.

There was no point in lying to her.

"Something happened to Konoha."

Tsunade frowned.

"What happened?"

"During the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru attacked Konoha. The Third Hokage died."

"What did you say?"

Tsunade's voice turned icy in an instant.

Shizune's expression changed immediately as well.

Chiya leaned against the headboard, his chest heaving heavily.

"The Third Hokage died."

"I saw him fight Orochimaru with my own eyes, and I attended his funeral after he died."

The room became deathly quiet.

Shizune covered her mouth, her face going pale.

Tsunade lowered her head. Her expression could not be seen, but her hands trembled slightly.

"Go on."

Chiya paused.

"On the day Orochimaru invaded Konoha, someone took advantage of the chaos to hunt me down. I killed them in self-defense."

Tsunade looked up.

"Who would want to kill you?"

"I don't know." Chiya shook his head. "They were wearing the uniforms of another ninja village. Later, they said they were Konoha ninja, sent to protect the venue."

Tsunade's expression grew uglier and uglier.

Chiya continued, "So I was forced into becoming a criminal who attacked Konoha ninja, and they even accused me of colluding with Orochimaru."

Shizune frowned.

"You were colluding with Orochimaru?"

"No."

Chiya answered quickly.

"Then why were you lying outside the village?"

Chiya gave a bitter smile.

"Because they didn't believe me."

He raised a hand, his fingers touching the Konoha forehead protector on his brow.

"They held some kind of emergency hearing. When they put me on trial, I explained everything. Kakashi-sensei testified for me, and Miss Ino Yamanaka spoke up for me too. But they refused to believe a word of it."

"And then?"

"Then they sentenced me to life imprisonment."

"I didn't want to be taken away, so I escaped."

Tsunade stared at him for a long time. Then she snorted coldly, returned to the table, and took a swig of her drink.

The room suddenly fell quiet.

After an unknown amount of time, Tsunade suddenly said,

"Don't expect me to pity you. In this world, there are far too many people who've been wronged."

With that, Tsunade drained the entire cup in one gulp.

"Lady Tsunade, you can't drink anymore."

"Ah, Shizune, just one more sip. Just one."

Chiya suddenly felt the lamplight before his eyes sway even more violently.

He could still make out vague figures earlier, but now even Tsunade and Shizune's positions were beginning to blur. He blinked, and a sharp pain immediately shot through his eye sockets.

He instinctively raised a hand and waved it in front of his eyes.

He could not see clearly anymore.

Chiya's heart sank at once.

Tsunade noticed his movement and frowned as she walked over.

"What's wrong?"

Chiya slowly lowered his hand.

He tried his best to look toward Tsunade, but he could only see a blurry golden silhouette.

After a few seconds, he carefully spoke.

"Um..."

Tsunade said impatiently, "If you have something to say, say it."

Chiya hesitated.

"My eyes... can they still be saved?"

The room fell quiet for a moment.

Then Tsunade reached out and pried open Chiya's eyelids.

Chiya's body stiffened.

"Don't move."

Tsunade's chakra slowly probed in through her fingertips.

Chiya only felt unbearable pain in his eyes, as though someone were driving needles into them bit by bit. He clenched his teeth, gripping the bedding with his fingers, but made no sound.

Tsunade examined him for a long time.

Only the sound of rain remained in the room, along with the faint clinking of Shizune tidying up medicine bottles.

After quite a while, Tsunade released him.

Chiya looked at her.

"How is it?"

Tsunade did not answer right away.

She walked back to the table and picked up a clean cloth to wipe her fingers.

"It's very troublesome."

Chiya's heart sank.

Tsunade looked at him, the anger in her voice gone.

"Your eyes haven't suffered ordinary damage. Your pupil power has declined because you overused your eye technique."

Chiya's fingers slowly tightened.

"Can it be treated?"

Chiya knew this was the price of using the Mangekyo Sharingan's power. In the original story, the only solution was to transplant a brother's eyes and awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. But he still wanted to ask. What if Tsunade really had a way?

Tsunade paused.

"I don't know."

As those four words fell, Chiya fell completely silent.

He lowered his head and looked at his blurred hand.

After a long time, he let out a soft sigh.

"I see."