Tsunade felt a flicker of surprise when she saw the woman behind her, at once unfamiliar and familiar.
She recalled the name Katsuyu had called out moments earlier.
"You? You're Yui Hyuga?" she blurted out. It was hard to believe, but a woman with the Byakugan who could enter Shikkotsu Forest had to be Yui Hyuga.
She had never expected Yui Hyuga's appearance to change so much in just a few years that she barely recognized her.
"Yes. Hello, Tsunade..."
Yui nodded, then ignored Little Slug at her feet and walked straight toward Tsunade.
At the sight, Tsunade shuddered and instinctively took several steps back.
Doubt filled her face as she said hoarsely, "You're a rogue ninja from Konoha!" Her meaning was clear.
Yui did not answer. Without stopping, she walked past Tsunade and approached the gently rippling lake.
She crouched, scooped up the clear lake water, and drank it down.
Tsunade fell silent at her actions. Then, as though something had occurred to her, she turned around angrily. "I want to know why you deserted the village. And is it true that you killed Hyuga Feng?"
When Teacher Sarutobi first told her about Yui's defection, she had found it hard to believe. The reason given for it was rather absurd, too. How could a girl barely in her teens have the ability to assassinate a clan head?
Now that they had met, she could finally ask Yui herself. If none of it was true, then as a fellow holder of a Summoning Contract with Katsuyu, she would do everything she could to help if Yui was in trouble.
At the words from behind her, Yui paused briefly in the middle of drinking, then stood up again and nodded slightly.
"It's true that I killed Hyuga Feng, but..."
Tsunade's expression