The barrier surrounding Konoha gradually dissipated behind him. Tsubasa stood atop the tallest tree at the village entrance, gazing at the winding mountains under the night sky. His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. The sealing scroll at his waist ached from digging into his ribs. Inside was a letter his mother had written overnight, the ink still wet, filled with her longing for his father.
He took a deep breath, spread his arms, Chakra condensed into a pale blue vortex beneath his feet. The night wind swirled a few withered leaves across his cheeks, as if tugging at his clothes or whispering a warning. "Faster, faster," he encouraged himself, and with a sudden burst of energy, he shot into the sky like an arrow. The wind rushed into his collar, making his eyes sting, but he couldn't tell if it was from the speed or from the unknown he was about to face.
The dark clouds drifting from the Land of Land of Lightning hung low, with faint purple lightning flashing within them. Tsubasa touched the scroll at his waist, where his mother had secretly given him a talisman—a jade pendant engraved with the Senju Clan crest. "You must bring your father back safely." His mother's words echoed in his ears. He gritted his teeth, unleashing his Chakra to its maximum. The wind howled past his ears, almost tearing his eardrums.
After flying for an unknown amount of time, the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn. Tsubasa landed in front of a stone house, his throat dry as if he had swallowed a handful of sand. Smoke drifted from the stone house, and a dark-skinned woman was busy at the stove, rhythmically tapping an iron pot with a fire poker in her hand.
"Auntie, how far is it from here to the Land of Lightning?" Tsubasa tried his best to make his voice sound gentle.
The woman whirled around, her fire poker flashing across her chest, her eyes wary like a mother wolf protecting her cubs. "Who are you? What country are you from? Why have you come to the Land of Lightning? You don't look like one of our own. Get out of here, or don't blame me for Teuchi you!"
Tsubasa was startled by the sudden aura and instinctively took a half step back. Looking at the woman's tense shoulders and the hand gripping the fire poker tightly, he suddenly realized that in this war-torn era, being wary of strangers was perhaps the only instinct for survival. "So this is the Land of Lightning," he thought bitterly, and tactfully bowed and retreated, "Excuse me!"
As he took to the sky again, Tsubasa couldn't help but shake his head. He wondered what the woman would think if she knew that the person she'd scared away with her stick was a Six Paths Level expert capable of tearing spatial rifts with his bare hands. But he had no time to dwell on such things. He turned back and randomly grabbed a commoner from the Land of the Moon to ask for directions. The commoner pointed tremblingly into the distance, his voice shaking. Only then did Tsubasa realize that his killing intent hadn't dissipated, and he quickly suppressed it.
Finally, they found the battlefield of fire and lightning. Standing on high ground and looking down, the once lush border of the Land of the Moon was now a scene of devastation. Amidst the broken walls and ruins, a few sporadic gunshots rang out, the stench of blood mixed with gunpowder smoke making it hard to breathe. Tsubasa took a deep breath, concentrated his Chakra on his face, and transformed it into the appearance of Tobirama Senju.
As soon as he entered the camp, he bumped into a masked man. The man was tall and straight, but exuded an indescribable weariness, and his left leg limped slightly as he walked. Tsubasa's heart clenched—that familiar aura was unmistakably his father, Senju Tenpuku!
"Come with me for a moment." Tsubasa tried his best to make his voice sound authoritative, but it still trembled slightly.
Senju Tenpuku paused for a moment, then knelt on one knee. "Yes, Lord Hokage."
The two walked to a secluded corner. Tsubasa dropped his disguise, revealing his true form. Senju Tenpuku, as if facing a formidable enemy, instantly assumed a defensive stance, his hand already touching the Kunai at his waist. "How did you get here? Wait, how can you prove you're you?! You're not a spy in disguise, are you?!"
"Dad, it's me!" Tsubasa stamped his feet anxiously. "Can't you recognize my scent? I recognized you even through the mask!"
Senju Tenpuku remained unmoved. "Enough with the talk. First, prove your identity. This is a battlefield. There's no room for carelessness here."
Helpless, Tsubasa had no choice but to take the letter out of the sealed scroll, his voice tinged with grievance. "This is what Mom gave me last night. She originally wanted to come find you herself. But I just broke through to the Foundation Establishment and came out of seclusion, so I took over the mission to bring you home."
"It really is you, son!" Senju Tenpuku lowered his guard, but immediately straightened up again. "I won't leave until the war is over. You should go back now. You're almost 12 years old; it's time to think about carrying on the family line. Your mother is being ridiculous. If your grandfather finds out you've come to the front lines, he'll kill us!"
"I'm not leaving if you don't go back!" Tsubasa retorted, his neck stiff like a stubborn little bull. "I have to take you home!"
Senju Tenpuku was so anxious that the veins on his forehead bulged. "Shut up! War is not child's play. You can't just come and go as you please. Besides, I have to finish this battle before I can go back with my face on my shoulders. Otherwise, I'll be a deserter. I won't have the face to see my dead brothers when I die!" As he finished speaking, his voice suddenly choked up, and he turned around, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Tsubasa then noticed that his father's back was much more hunched than he remembered, and a few strands of white hair had appeared in his hair. His nose tingled, and he took out a gourd of wine from his pocket. "Dad, have some wine to calm your nerves, and tell me slowly."
Senju Tenpuku pushed away the sake gourd with a wry smile, "Drinking isn't allowed on the battlefield." He remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, his voice hoarse like sandpaper, "The first battle against the Land of Lightning was Lord Tobirama leading 2,000 members of our Land of Lightning Senju Clan against 50,000. The Raikage was injured, and we killed 30,000 of the Land of Lightning's enemies, while not a single member of our Senju Clan died."
"Didn't that mean we won?" Tsubasa couldn't help but interject.
Senju Tenpuku smiled bitterly, "It's not that simple. The Land of Lightning has begun to divide its forces to attack various cities, and even the Land of Land of Fire's mainland. Lord Tobirama had to send troops to wipe out those stragglers, but they fell into their ambush. The Land of Lightning sent elite forces to ambush our rescue teams, and we suffered heavy losses..." His voice grew softer and softer, "Now, of the 2,000 Senju, only a little over 1,100 remain. The army has also been reduced from 80,000 to just over 40,000. Might, Shinichi, Orochi, and Shiranui... they're all dead."
At this point, Senju Tenpuku suddenly coughed violently, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. Tsubasa tried to help him up, but was pushed away. "Don't touch me! Do you know? Before Shiranui died, she was still clutching the birthday present she had prepared for her daughter..." He couldn't continue, and punched a tree next to him, sending wood chips flying.
Tsubasa felt his eyes burning and his throat felt like it was blocked with cotton. He suddenly remembered his mother's words. "There are no heroes on the battlefield, only dead." He used to think these words were pretentious, but now he understood their weight.
"Therefore, I will not go back until this war is over." Senju Tenpuku turned around, his eyes terrifyingly resolute. " Tsubasa, please go back! I'm begging you. Please take good care of my family."
Tsubasa gritted his teeth. "Alright then, is there anything you want to say to your family? I'll take the message back."
Senju Tenpuku pulled a letter from his pocket, then seemed to remember something, hesitating to speak, "Wait a minute, I have something else for you to do. I've arranged a marriage for you. The dowry is a Seven Stars membership card. The girl is Senju Shiranui's daughter, Mai Shiranui, who's almost 14. Remember, treat her well; her father is my sworn brother."
"Dad!" Tsubasa jumped up and down in a panic, "What have you done? Did I come all this way just to handle your funeral arrangements? This is so unlucky!"
Senju Tenpuku, however, remained serious. "War always results in death; no one can guarantee survival. Also, you must take good care of my three brothers' children. Their names are Might Duy, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru..."
Hearing these names, Tsubasa felt a chill run down his spine. Two of the Mirai Konoha Sannin, and Might Duy, the inheritor of the Eight Gates Released Formation, were actually Senju Clan? He suddenly realized that the cost of this war was far heavier than he had imagined.
After seeing his father off, Tsubasa stood on the mountaintop, gazing at the distant military camp of the Land of Lightning, his heart churning with turmoil. He thought of his uncles and elders who had died in battle, the vigilant woman in front of the stone house, and his mother's tearful face. "With great power comes great responsibility." He clenched his fists, his nails almost digging into his flesh. "Perhaps it's time to do something."
Chakra coalesced into a massive vortex beneath his feet, Tsubasa shot towards the Land of Land of Lightning's army like a meteor. " Raikage A, I hope you won't disappoint me," he murmured to himself. "If killing you can end the war, then I'll kill you; if the next Raikage still wants to fight, then I'll keep killing. I refuse to believe I can't kill all these ambitious schemers!"