While Azula and Tajima were finally being honest with each other for the first time in forever—probably breaking some kind of Uchiha world record for 'most touching father-daughter relationship to ever experience a breakthrough'—something big was happening over at the Senju clan.
Well… if it can still be called a 'clan'. At this point, the Senju name had been so thoroughly buried in Konoha politics that you could stick a headstone over it and call it a day.
Anyway, titles and history aside, the real news was this: Hashirama's daughter-in-law had just given birth to a son. And for the Senju, that was huge.
After Tsume Senju's death, there hadn't been a new male heir in forever. Now, with this tiny squishy human, the First Hokage's bloodline suddenly had a new branch to cling to.
From the very moment this boy inhaled his first breath, people were already writing his destiny for him.
At minimum, he was expected to become the Fourth—or maybe Fifth—Hokage. You can imagine how much that kind of expectation made Mito's face go darker than a thunderstorm over the Land of Lightning.
And no, her mood wasn't just about the ridiculous weight of expectations being dumped on a newborn. The real reason was far heavier: the child's mother—Tsukiyo—was fading fast.
"Tsunade… it seems I won't be able to join you on your next adventure. What a pity," Tsukiyo said softly, her voice calm but laced with the kind of finality that even a child could recognize.
Little Tsunade, barely old enough to have her hair tied neatly without help, already understood.
She wasn't dumb, not by a long shot. She'd been watching her mother's strength wane day by day.
She'd already started dabbling in healing techniques because too many people she loved had been slipping away. And now… she understood exactly what was happening.
Her throat tightened. She didn't reply. She couldn't. She didn't know what to say, who to blame, or what she was even supposed to do.
All she felt was that dizzy, crushing emptiness—the kind of lost feeling you shouldn't have to face when you're still so young.
Tsukiyo, despite being on the brink herself, hated seeing her daughter like this.
Her gaze drifted to her newborn son, nestled safely in Mito's arms. At least there was that—relief. Mito Uzumaki, her mother-in-law, was the most reliable person Tsukiyo had ever known.
She didn't need to ask her to protect her children; Mito would do it without question, with all the fierce love in her heart.
Turning her attention back to Tsunade, Tsukiyo gathered what little strength she had left and pulled her into a gentle embrace.
"My brave little girl… I'm so sorry I can't stay with you longer," she whispered, brushing a strand of hair from her daughter's face. "But you mustn't stay sad for too long, alright? You've got the heart of a lion and a smile that can chase away storms. Take care of your little brother… and don't be afraid to dream, even if the world feels cold."
Her voice grew weaker, each word a little softer, a little harder to hear. "Promise me… you'll live without regret. And if the day ever comes when you feel alone, remember—your mother was proud of you from the very first moment I saw you."
Tsunade didn't answer. She couldn't.
Tsukiyo's breathing slowed, her hold on Tsunade loosening. But she left with a peaceful smile, knowing her children were in the hands of people who would fight tooth and nail for them—Mito, and even Tobirama's old students like Sarutobi and Danzō would definitely take 'care' of them.
For her, at least, her children wouldn't have to see war, and that was enough. ... ... ... The death of Tsukiyo and the birth of the child known as Nawaki was basically one of Konoha's top-tier events since the war ended.
Like, in the 'biggest headlines of the year' level. If Konoha had newspapers, it would've been front page with a dramatic ink sketch and a crying frog mascot in the corner.
Sure, every few days some old fossil from the Warring States era kicked the bucket—usually with their last words being something like, 'Back in my day, we didn't even have kunai, we just threw rocks!' But those deaths only mattered to their own clans.
But the Senju were a whole different beast. The Senju weren't just special to their clan—they were Konoha's golden boys. Everyone knew they, alongside the Uchiha, had ended centuries of clan wars, thanks to the leadership of one man: the 'God of Shinobi' himself.
And that guy didn't just lead the village. He practically cosplayed as a superhero and took the whole ninja world—from the Fire Country to the freaking Demon Country—into a rare, magical, almost mythical era of peace that lasted over a decade.
…And then, of course, he went and fought Madara, got weakened, and died.
Thanks, Madara. Real MVP. That little domino effect sparked the First Great War that gobbled up lives like they were free samples at a market stall. Including, unfortunately, the Second Hokage himself.
Naturally, Konoha pinned all their hopes on the God of Shinobi's descendants.
And Tsume, his son, actually delivered. The man was one of the few top-tier healers in the entire ninja world—patching up people who'd been skewered, blown up, and bisected like it was a children's puppet. But he also went and died in the war, because apparently 'survival' wasn't in the Senju men's genetic code.
Then the Uchiha came out swinging with the new genius kid (Azula) who was said to be as talented as Madara (minus the whole 'let's burn the world' hobby).
Naturally, everyone looked at the Senju and went, "Alright, your turn." That led to Tsunade, a prodigy in her own right. And now, they had Nawaki.
A grandson of Hashirama, in the minds of the gossip aunties and armchair war strategists of Konoha, he was destined to be even more talented than Tsunade and the Uchiha wonder girl combined. Why? Don't ask questions. Those who know, know.
Azula, for one, could not care less about their boring ninja talent show speculations. Her goal was the Otsutsuki. These mortals were… background noise.
But still, the mention of Nawaki triggered a particular cursed meme in her brain—one about him leaping straight onto explosive tags. Honestly, it was tragic, but also… kind of funny.
If Tsukiyo's death hadn't cast a solemn shadow over the whole village, Konoha might've witnessed the 'Uchiha Princess' laughing to herself like a lunatic in the middle of the street.
That said, Tsukiyo's death did hit her in a strange way.
This was a world with chakra—literal magic energy that could let you punch mountains into powder, regrow limbs with enough Yang release, and summon death gods for funsies. And yet… one disease could still take you out.
That was the true ninja world in a nutshell: everyone cared only about what was useful for killing.
Every jutsu, every piece of tech, every ounce of research boiled down to 'Can this murder someone faster?' Healing jutsu? Yeah, those were just so you could send the poor sap back to the frontlines to keep killing.
You'd think someone would develop jutsu for farming, infrastructure, or, I don't know, making life easier.
Nope, instead of using chakra to create fertile land, produce food, or purify water, they'd rather rob other countries and then pull the 'We're starving, it's your fault!' card like they were victims.
Case in point: Sunagakure. Instead of starting something sensible like a 'Suiton Purification' project to extract and purify water from the air, soil, or nearby sources using Water Release, they thought, 'Nah, let's go to war!'
The result? Thousands dead, zero new wells, and a whole lot of complaints about the war they started. Genius.
The more Azula thought about it, the more she had to agree with Orochimaru. Life in this messed-up world was ridiculously fragile, and honestly, a psychopath chasing immortality didn't sound that bad. In fact… in this context, it was almost… cute.
In truth, Azula had known this long before she even woke up in this world.
She'd seen it back when she was still on Earth—back when the most exciting thing in her life was checking the news every morning to see if some 'great' nation had finally decided to pop open their very own 'Sun-in-a-Can' and barbecue the planet.
Every single day, she'd ask herself the same cheerful little question: 'So… how many hours do we have left before someone hits the big red button and sends us all back to the Middle Ages?'
And by 'Middle Ages', she meant the real thing—no electricity, no Wi-Fi, no Netflix, and definitely no toilet paper. Civilization's greatest loss.
Of course, after she built her nuclear shelter, those thoughts didn't haunt her as much.
Sure, she still cursed those glorious 'leaders of the free world' for spending billions on figuring out new ways to vaporize people instead of, say, making her dream virtual reality game.
Or inventing medicine that could save lives. Or maybe spending five minutes on technology that could push humanity forward instead of back into cave-dwelling. But hey, who was she to judge? World domination is exhausting, apparently.
Now, though… now she was reincarnated as the heir of the Uchiha clan.
And thanks to the memories of Azula who was once heir to the Fire Nation—she finally understood how rulers thought. Spoiler: they were all paranoid megalomaniacs who couldn't sleep without hugging their weapons like teddy bears.
Here's the ugly truth: as long as there's no absolute power—the kind of unstoppable, 'don't even bother trying' gap—then humanity's favorite pastime will always be war.
Someone will rise up thinking, 'Hey, I can totally overthrow the big guys.' Then they'll gather their little club of fellow overachieving psychopaths, and the whole blood-soaked cycle starts all over again.
Look at this world: every few years, one of the other Four Great Villages decides, 'This time we've got it! We'll take down Konoha for sure!'
Kumogakure, in particular, wakes up every morning with that exact thought before breakfast. And then—shocker—war begins.
Naturally, Konoha can't just chill during peacetime. No, they've got to keep making deadlier toys and training children into professional killing machines before they even learn long division.
And the other villages? They can't let Konoha get too far ahead, so they race to make their own shiny new murder gadgets, all while dreaming of the day they'll finally be 'top dog.'
And so the wheel spins—no one can afford to stop, relax, or work on, say, agriculture or art. Nope. It's all about weapons, armies, and who gets to sit on the throne made out of other people's corpses.
'Anyway, I get it,' she thought. 'I need to become stronger. Far stronger than anyone alive right now.'
But unlike the Sage of Six Paths, who basically sat around watching the world be born while everything went to hell (and was partially his fault), she was not just going to sit back and watch.
She was not going to let her mother, her father, or her probably-not-even-born-yet little brother and his descendants die in some war, or from some disease we could've cured if she had just put in a little effort.
Because if the world's going to burn, she would at least like to be the one holding the match.
(END OF THE CHAPTER)
This chapter ends because I'm not in a good mood, frustrated and keep blabbling about everything and can't continue like this. Sorry, just somehow a little bit disappointed with this world, yet can't bear to leave it and all the beautiful things it has, don't worry and don't forget to vote.
By the way, what do you think about the Indra and Azura thing between Azula and Tsunade?