The blue glow gradually faded.
Under the gaze of everyone present, Tsunade stood firmly at the center of the massive crater created by the Rasenshuriken.
Her clothes were tattered, riddled with small cuts—but not a single wound marked her body.
The diamond-shaped seal on her forehead had vanished, signaling that Tsunade had fully released the Yin Seal — a chakra reserve she typically kept sealed away.
Black markings — jutsu formulas — now extended from her forehead, spreading across her entire body.
Mitsuki had expected this.
Tsunade's external layer of Yang chakra alone wouldn't have been enough to resist the slicing effects of the Rasenshuriken. If the Yin Seal had been completely undone, then it could only mean one thing:
The One Hundred Healings Jutsu
It was this powerful jutsu that had allowed Tsunade to withstand a direct hit from the Rasenshuriken.
Facing Tsunade in this state, there was only one option: hit her with an even more powerful technique capable of instantaneously killing her. Otherwise, as long as her chakra reserves from the Yin Seal lasted, Tsunade was virtually immortal.
"...This is getting a bit troublesome."
Mitsuki thought to himself. He did have stronger cards up his sleeve—but to be honest, if he went all-out, there was a very real chance he could actually kill her.
And they weren't mortal enemies or anything. There was no need to go that far. But without escalating to that level, there really wasn't much he could do to break through her regeneration and defense.
On Tsunade's side, she was in the same bind. All of her combat power was focused on superhuman strength. Right now, there was simply no way for her to break through Mitsuki's mysterious defensive technique.
Mitsuki held the upper hand entirely now. Tsunade realized that if she wanted to win this spar, there was only one viable strategy left:
Stall for time.
Mitsuki's chakra reserves were no joke, but she was a Senju. Her chakra pool was naturally immense, and now she also had access to the massive reserve sealed in the Yin Seal.She was confident—if it came down to attrition, she'd outlast him.
But...
Wasn't that a bit too shameless?
Tsunade didn't think she had the nerve to try and outlast a kid a full generation younger than her, just by exhausting his chakra. She wasn't Jiraiya, after all!
What should she do? Admit defeat?
"Sigh... If only I hadn't lost my temper earlier."
As Tsunade and Mitsuki both contemplated their next move—
"That's enough, both of you."
Jiraiya suddenly jumped between them, arms outstretched, signaling for them to stop.
Mitsuki had already lost the will to keep fighting once Rin showed up. Seeing Jiraiya intervene, he sheathed Mistcutter, and with a flicker of body flicker, appeared by the crowd.
Tsunade let out a quiet sigh of relief and reactivated her Yin Seal.
"Alrighty then! Let's wrap this up with the Seal of Reconciliation!" Minato clapped his hands together cheerfully. In his opinion, this was a solid way to end things.
"The... Seal of Reconciliation?" Tsunade blinked, caught off guard by his words. A nostalgic feeling washed over her.
She remembered how Hiruzen used to say the same thing, urging her, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru to spar and then make peace afterward.
Suddenly a bit flustered, Tsunade muttered,
"It's not like we're fresh academy grads... It was just a spar..."
Minato sighed but replied seriously,
"Lady Tsunade, you agreed to let me be the referee, remember?"
"But..." Tsunade tried to find an excuse.
"It's part of the procedure" Minato replied flatly, cutting her off.
Jiraiya, having been her teammate for decades, immediately saw through her.
"Wait... Tsunade, don't tell me you're embarrassed?"
Tsunade flushed with anger.
"You bastard—are you asking for a beating?!"
Watching Jiraiya goofing around in front of her, Tsunade suddenly recalled something.
Ever since the Second Shinobi War ended, Orochimaru had barely kept in touch with them.
No... It wasn't just after the war. It started after Nawaki's death.
Tsunade remembered so many things she had overlooked back then.
Nawaki's death hadn't only pained her. Orochimaru — his teacher — must have felt deeply guilty too.
But she had been so lost in her own grief, she never once reached out to him. Maybe... maybe Orochimaru thought she blamed him.
After all, that guy had always been like that — bottling everything up inside, never letting anyone in.
A soft voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Come on, Lady Tsunade" Mitsuki stepped forward and raised his right hand to form the Seal of Reconciliation, smiling warmly at her.
Tsunade's vision blurred. In that moment, she saw someone else standing where Mitsuki was—
Nawaki.
If only the one standing here now was Nawaki...
She couldn't help but think so.
If Nawaki had possessed talent like Mitsuki, maybe he wouldn't have died on the battlefield. Maybe Orochimaru wouldn't have grown distant. Maybe... maybe he would've become the Fourth Hokage under the blessing of her, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen.
And later, as Orochimaru's student, Nawaki would've become the Fifth Hokage. The name Senju would once again echo across the ninja world.
What a beautiful world that would've been.
Tsunade reached out, seemingly to form the seal, and Mitsuki leaned in closer—
But instead of clasping hands, Tsunade gently cupped his face.
"Lady Tsunade?" Mitsuki blinked, confused, and instinctively leaned back to create some distance.
But before he could react, Tsunade pulled him tightly into her embrace.
"I've wanted... I've always wanted to see you again..."
A wave of sorrow enveloped her as quiet sobs escaped her throat.
"Why... why was it so easy for you to get away...?"
"It's not fair..."
Each word trembled with barely restrained emotion, like a dam on the verge of bursting.
You could feel it — there was so much she wanted to say.
But those words were heavy. Too heavy. Even now, she could only let a few slip out.
Maybe those memories were too painful. Maybe the sorrow buried deep inside her soul made the words impossible to speak.
So she just held onto Mitsuki tightly, trying to keep herself from falling apart.
Feeling her body tremble in his arms, Mitsuki let out a breath.
Considering his past life, he was basically a middle-aged man. There was no need to bicker with... well, a middle-aged woman like her.
Alright, fine—he took back what he was about to say.Losing your only family and the person you loved... that really was tragic.
He was an orphan too, but at least he still had Rin.
Sooner or later, Rin would become his family. He wouldn't be alone anymore.
But Tsunade...
Tsunade really was left with nothing.
Just look at this damn ninja world... It had turned children into people like this.
Well, then—just for today, Mitsuki would graciously lend her his shoulder.
...Good thing Tsunade couldn't read minds, though. It'd be a shame to ruin this beautifully dramatic atmosphere with that last thought.