The morgue of Konoha Hospital was cold, silent, and reeked of antiseptic. The only sound was the faint hum of a cooling unit.
Tsunade stood over the steel table, her eyes fixed on the lifeless form of her student. She took a slow, deep breath, the air catching in her throat, and tightened her grip on the scalpel.
"Lady Tsunade, are you sure you should be the one to...?" Shizune's voice was hesitant, laced with concern. She stood a few steps away, clutching a notepad to her chest.
"Enough," Tsunade cut her off, her voice low but firm. She didn't turn. "Just stand there and take notes."
Schlick.
The sharp blade parted pale skin, revealing the stark reality beneath. Her movements were precise, clinical, a testament to a lifetime of skill. But Shizune, who knew her better than anyone, saw the almost imperceptible tremor in her teacher's hands.
To do this, to personally dissect her own disciple to find the truth—Shizune knew what it cost her. She was watching Tsunade conquer the phobia that had haunted her for years, all for Yuto.
"No signs of poison in the esophagus or stomach. Pituitary is normal. He wasn't under any genjutsu," Tsunade stated, her voice a flat, professional monotone.
Shizune swallowed hard and began to scribble, her hand shaking slightly as she tried to sketch what she saw.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of slow, heavy footsteps broke the silence. Shizune looked up to see the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing in the doorway, his aged face etched with deep lines of sorrow.
"Lord Hokage?" Shizune murmured.
"I just came to see..." Hiruzen began, his voice soft. "Have you found anything?"
"It was an acquaintance," Tsunade said, her back still to him. Her tone left no room for doubt. "They used a kunai.To the throat. It was quick. He was off guard. Then they dismembered the body."
"An acquaintance?" Hiruzen's eyes widened. That meant the killer was from Konoha.
"And they weren't just any acquaintance," Tsunade added coolly. "My disciple was strong. It would take a Kage-level shinobi to take him down like this."
"Kage-level?!" Hiruzen's disbelief was palpable. That narrowed the list of suspects to a terrifyingly small and powerful group. On paper, it was essentially just him and Tsunade. The implications were staggering.
"That's all I have for now. Anything else?" Tsunade asked, the finality in her voice clear.
"N-no. That's all." Hiruzen paused, then added with a heavy sigh, "Tsunade... I'm so sorry."
He turned and walked away, his footsteps echoing his burden.
"No more notes, Shizune," Tsunade said shortly after he left. "You can go. I need to be alone with him."
Shizune looked at her teacher's rigid back, nodded silently, and left. The clack of her heels faded down the hall.
Finally alone, the mask of the unshakeable Sannin shattered. Tsunade's shoulders slumped. Her hands, stained with the work of her grim task, clenched the white sheet on the operating table, her knuckles bone-white.
"Why..." Her voice was a broken whisper, tears finally spilling over and tracing paths through the faint smudges on her cheeks. "Why does my life have to be like this..."
The room was silent but for her quiet, ragged breaths.
---
Elsewhere, Unseen
"Any thoughts?" Kushina's voice was unusually soft.
"None. This is necessary," Yuto's reply was flat, devoid of emotion.
"Doesn't it hurt? Seeing that?" Kushina's gaze was searching.
"I believe Tsunade-sensei is strong. She will endure."
"Maybe..." Mikoto sighed, her tone tentative. "Maybe we should take her with us when we leave. Making her go through this pain again... it's too cruel."
Even though she'd never been Tsunade's biggest fan, seeing such raw grief stirred a deep pang of sympathy.
"Yeah! We should take Sister Tsunade with us! This is just selfish, ya know!" Kushina agreed, planting her hands on her hips.
Yuto sighed inwardly. "That wasn't the plan."
"I don't care about the plan! You have to take her!" Kushina insisted, her voice brooking no argument.
Their spectral debate continued, a conversation entirely lost on the grieving woman mere feet away.
*Konoha Holding Cells*
Yugao Uzuki sat on the cold stone floor, her back against the wall. Her violet eyes were empty, staring at nothing. She was a ghost in her own skin.
"Yugao, you can't just give up like this," Hayate's voice came from the other side of the wooden bars. He gripped them tightly. "The Yugao I know is a fighter. Please, snap out of it."
Nothing. No flicker of recognition. It was as if her soul had vacated her body.
"If Captain Yuto's spirit is watching, do you think he'd want to see you like this?" Hayate pleaded, playing his last card.
The name 'Captain Yuto' caused a faint, almost invisible shudder to run through her. But the emptiness returned just as quickly.
"You..." Hayate trailed off, feeling utterly helpless.
"Tch. It's useless, you know." Anko's voice came from the stairwell. She walked over, shaking her head. "She's not hearing a word. True sorrow is silence, or something like that. Come on. Let's go. Give her some space."
With a final, worried glance, Hayate let Anko lead him away.
Silence descended upon the cell once more.
"Captain Yuto..." The whisper was barely audible.
Slowly, mechanically, Yugao's hand moved to her breast pocket. She pulled out a small bundle of letters—Yuto's final effects, entrusted to her.
Her eyes, dull and lifeless, scanned them until they landed on one envelope. On it, clearly written, were five characters: [For Miss Yugao's Eyes Only].
This... was for her?
A spark. A flicker in the void.
Her hands, which had felt so numb moments before, now moved with purpose. She tore the envelope open and began to read.
As her eyes moved across the page, line by line, the emptiness in her gaze was replaced by a dawning intensity. Her breath hitched. By the time she reached the final sentence, her entire posture had changed. She took a deep, shuddering breath, the air filling lungs that had seemed to forget how.
She stood up.
The cell door creaked open on protesting hinges. Yugao stepped out, the letter clutched tightly in her hand, her eyes burning with a newfound, fierce resolution.
*Akatsuki Base*
The cave was dim, the air stale.
"Hayashi Yuto is dead?" Itachi Uchiha's voice was calm, but internally, he was reeling. The news from Sasori had hit him like a physical blow.
That monstrously powerful, unfathomable individual who manipulated the shinobi world from the shadows... the one who had openly mocked "Madara"... killed? Just like that?
'Something is wrong. This feels completely wrong.'
Itachi's mind raced. Someone of Yuto's caliber didn't just get killed. In this world, he was far more likely to be the one doing the killing. Even if the entire Konoha leadership swore to it, Itachi found it impossible to believe.
His eyes flicked to the leaders, Pain and Konan, standing on the higher platform. Their faces were impassive, carved from stone. If someone they had invested so much in was truly dead, would they not show even a hint of reaction?
Unless... Yuto's death is a deception…
Itachi took a slow, measured breath, a cold sense of dread settling in his stomach.
Danger.
His brother... Konoha... they were all in imminent danger.
If that man was faking his death, he was planning something catastrophic. Itachi needed to get back to Konoha. Now.
_____
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