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"Hmph, cough, cough."
The sudden change in scenery made Tsunade, who was kneeling, unable to stop retching.
The short-term excessive mental exhaustion also made her clearly feel a profound weakness from the depths of her body, as if with just a slight movement, all her cells would collapse like a castle built of sand.
However, recalling the scenes she had experienced in 'Kato Dan's memories' just now, Tsunade couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.
It wasn't until her vision reflected the hands she was tightly clutching that she forced herself to regain her spirits, intermittently recalling what had happened before.
Tsunade's voice was hoarse, with a hint of plea in her eyes:
"Why…why did it suddenly stop?"
"I'm not finished yet!"
Sawara Kiri looked at her haggard appearance, seemingly shaking his head with some regret:
"I apologize, Lady Tsunade."
"Today, I'm afraid we can only stop here. More than half of my Chakra has been consumed."
Tsunade was stunned by the words.
Only then did she notice that the sky outside had changed slightly, indicating that a long time must have passed.
"Lady Tsunade, the deceased are gone; the journey of the living must continue." Sawara Kiri advised, feigning sincerity, "My father once told me when I was young…excessive indulgence in things past can lead to a backlash."
However, at this moment, Tsunade couldn't hear anything. The grip on his wrist was incredibly strong, and she said urgently:
"Wait a moment!"
But before she could say anything more, Sawara Kiri suddenly looked at her with a very unfamiliar gaze, and at the same time, extended his fingernail, unhesitatingly drawing a clear bloodstain on his arm.
Blood slowly flowed down his arm, dripping onto Tsunade's knuckles that were clutching his wrist.
"Ugh!?"
Almost at the instant she saw the trail of blood, Tsunade felt as if she had been electrocuted, her pupils constricted, and she abruptly released his wrist, instinctively shrinking back, hitting the stone wall with a thud.
That thin line of blood dripped onto the ground, leaving a faint mark.
"Indeed."
Seeing her like this, Sawara Kiri, who had already seen a series of emotional knots from shallow to deep, let out a low breath: "Because it provided a place for a weak spirit to escape, has it instead deepened your fear of blood, Lady Tsunade?"
"Lady Tsunade, you should calm down alone for a while."
In addition, after hearing the prompt from the little broken system, he also needed some time to calm down.
Sawara Kiri said, his gaze sweeping over Tsunade, who was trembling, leaning against the wall.
At this moment, he couldn't imagine how Tsunade in the 'Ultimate Bond Path' could have transformed into those 'mature XX', 'island XX', 'office XX', 'master-disciple XX' types of appearances.
Although this world is so bizarre that even the rarest clan can end up wearing a MAGA hat, reality should at least have a tiny bit of logic, right?
[T/N: the world is so strange that even the most unlikely people could do something completely unexpected]
In short, Sawara Kiri dared not casually lay hands on Tsunade for a few emotional knot points, as he had before.
He had to carefully consider which 'path' to take next and what kind of impact it would have on his daily life.
And also, whether Megumi and Yuki also had similar 'hidden dangers'.
However, before Sawara Kiri could leave the cave, he heard Tsunade's voice from behind, still holding a glimmer of hope, even with a hint of caution:
"Then, when you recover… No, after returning to the Village."
"Can you…?"
Sawara Kiri turned his head to look at her:
"Lady Tsunade."
"I should have said it before this Jutsu started, right?"
"Just this once."
"If you continue to sink…"
"Have you considered what kind of price you would have to pay?"
Hearing this, Tsunade couldn't help but freeze, staring at him blankly.
Sawara Kiri didn't say any more, and walked out of the cave on his own.
However, he didn't notice.
His words, which were originally intended to make Tsunade retreat in the face of difficulty and buy him some time to think, instead caused a slight change in her expression, making her look hesitant.
"Price… huh?"
Tsunade lowered her head to look at the green crystal she was tightly holding in her hand, muttering, as if she had thought of something.
The legacy of the Senju was extremely profound.
Ninjutsu, Sealing Technique, medical Ninjutsu, various historical records of the Ninja World, hundreds of thousands of categories of forbidden knowledge, the Second Hokage's research reports from back then…
That vast inheritance even had to be guarded by multiple Anbu squads and large barriers year-round.
It was inevitable that some people would covet those things.
Clearly, Tsunade also considered Sawara Kiri to be one of them.
"This guy…"
"A scoundrel taking advantage of the situation."
However.
Tsunade recalled the time she had experienced in that strange scene just now.
In nearly half an hour of real-world time, she seemed to have gone through a whole week in the labyrinth of memories, from the first day she met Dan to the date after the Jonin Meeting.
At the same time, during this period, she seemed to have completely forgotten what was happening in reality, and relived scene after scene of meeting her first love with the emotions of that year.
It wasn't until she broke free from that scene that she suddenly woke up and recalled everything that had happened in reality.
The conflict between the two made a strong sense of disassociation arise from the depths of her heart, as if she had suddenly fallen from a blissful heaven to the hell of reality.
The young man's cold words made Tsunade realize clearly…
Everything she had seen just now was merely a memory.
All the beautiful feelings she had retained in that memory had been torn to shreds by this damn reality.
"Damn it."
After struggling alone for a long time, Tsunade suddenly cursed, but it was as if she had made a decision.
"Those useless things, if he wants them… then just give them to him."
"He also saved my life."
"What's more…"
"I am the only direct descendant of the Senju left."
As if talking to herself, or perhaps self-persuading, Tsunade unconsciously placed the large thunder on her lap, hugging it with both hands, muttering softly.
Her voice grew softer and softer, and her expression was sorrowful.
However, at this moment, Tsunade was not aware.
At the end of this 'path' where two people ran towards each other, what was about to be eaten by Mr. Sawara was not just a few items.
"Living humans have only two states."
"One is 'horny', and the other is 'hungry'."
"Sawara Kiri—you are full now!"
Looking at the panel that suddenly popped up, Mr. Sawara, who had just eaten, clearly waved his hand with some disdain, leaning against the tree root to rest with his eyes closed.
No horniness in public places!
Unexpectedly, the 'supportive' System immediately became anxious, urging him repeatedly.
"Look to the side!"
"That Uchiha, the way she's looking at you, it's almost like she's drooling."
"If you deal with her publicly right now, the mid-level emotional knot will be immediately obtained. Then you can have it dry if you want dry, or watery if you want watery, as many bowls as the rare patriarch pours, you'll drink! (Full of heroism)"
Get lost!
Sawara Kiri realized that his broken system was indeed not human.
However, he did raise his head and glance to the side.
Miss Megumi, who was leaning next to him, couldn't help but be startled, seemingly not expecting her little peeking action to be discovered, and immediately turned her head away, a little embarrassed.
It wasn't until a moment later that she suddenly realized her current 'identity' was different from when she was in the Ninja Academy.
Now, she was a strong quasi-lover who could address 'Kiri-kun' by name, eat dinner together, and whose status stood above the 'more than friends' level!
Almost instinctively, she turned her head back again, staring at him openly.
Sawara Kiri didn't know what was so interesting about him.
However, considering the 'Ultimate Bond Path' that had just appeared, he thought for a moment and proactively asked:
"Megumi?"
"I'm just looking!" The girl said, appearing self-righteous and a little naive.
"I'm not asking about that." Sawara Kiri organized his words, "I want to ask if there's anything strange about your body recently?"
"Eh?!"
Uchiha Megumi immediately reacted, her cheeks flushed, and she subconsciously covered her little butt: "How did you know about my 'that' time?"
Sawara Kiri's face darkened: "Besides that time of the month?"
"N-no, nothing else?" Miss Megumi said, carefully glancing around, afraid of being overheard by others.
Girls of this age are still very thin-skinned.
"I see."
Sawara Kiri looked at the empty blue halo above her head and nodded slightly.
No information is, in itself, information.
Based on the process of shallow emotional burdens appearing in Yuki, Megumi, and Tsunade, Sawara Kiri could generally deduce the following three points.
"Firstly, to complete an emotional knot mission, he must have a certain degree of 'bond' with the target, at least beyond a casual acquaintance."
"Secondly, the emotional knot halo requires a certain 'event' to occur before its corresponding content can be seen."
"Finally, his different methods of dealing with emotional knots will lead to different 'endings' for his 'ultimate path' with that bonded target. Therefore, he must choose the method of handling with caution, no matter what."
Throughout this entire process, the bonded target would not experience any physical abnormalities, other than their relationship with him becoming 'better'.
Sawara Kiri thought halfway, then suddenly turned his head and looked in Megumi's direction.
However, no matter how he clicked 'Bond Query', Miss Megumi showed no reaction.
"It's useless."
Sister System's lazy voice echoed in his mind.
"Within a single cycle, you can only query the ultimate bond path of one target."
"You have to find a way to take down that golden-haired big thunder blocking the way first—at least reach the 'shallow' standard before you can try to get into the deepest souls of other beautiful girls!"
"Didn't I already tell you, you're bound to that big thunder!"
Hearing this, Sawara Kiri, on the contrary, frowned a little.
It had nothing to do with whether he was a lolicon or not; he didn't dislike big thunder either.
The key was that Tsunade's identity was simply too sensitive.
'It seems I have to wait for a suitable opportunity.'
Sawara Kiri leaned against the tree, thinking this to himself.
However, he didn't expect this opportunity to come so suddenly.
"Boom—!"
The second day after the group returned to Konoha.
The Hokage Building, which had only recently been repaired, once again erupted with a deafening sound.
The Hokage Office on the fourth floor had a huge hole blown through it, providing ample light and good ventilation.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in the office, his eyes widened, looking at his disciple, and shouted loudly:
"Tsunade!"
"What exactly do you want to do?!"
Tsunade glared back, not to be outdone, gritting her teeth and cursing: "What am I doing? I want to ask what you, old geezer, have been doing!"
"The grand Hokage Building, the central office of Konoha, fully equipped with barriers and Anbu defenses, with multiple veteran Jonin stationed!"
"How could a few Rock Village pawns openly steal intelligence?!"
"Old geezer! What are you doing sitting there?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face twitched immediately.
Homura Mitokado, on the other hand, sternly reprimanded: "Tsunade! As a Konoha Jonin, how dare you challenge the Hokage's authority with your words?"
"Do you know what kind of crime that is?"
As soon as this old woman opened her mouth, it was full of old administrative flavor.
Tsunade, however, didn't buy it. She pointed at his nose, clenched her fists, and stiffened her neck: "What's wrong with cursing you? I'm going to hit you too!"
"Eight Jonin, eight elite Chunin, four vanguard squads, and now only two survivors! One of them is on the verge of death."
"What? Do you bastards really want to force the Senju Clan into extinction?!"
"Huh?!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present dared not speak.
Although the Konoha F4 were prominent now, their prominence also needed many things to support it.
Among them, reputation was the most important supporting point.
These people were all disciples of Senju Tobirama.
In this world where family and master-disciple relationships were extremely strong, secretly harming a teacher's kin was a crime that even the Third Hokage could not bear.
Seeing this, Homura Mitokado immediately stepped out to mediate and smooth things over: "Tsunade, no one expected this incident. Losing so many elites is a common loss for our Konoha, and Hiruzen is actually very sad…"
"Yes, he must be sad."
Tsunade stood there, her gaze coldly sweeping over the few people.
Finally, it settled on the man standing at the very back, who had remained silent, her voice cold and hard:
"How could spies infiltrate such a tightly guarded Hokage Building? Was his skill high enough, or did someone cover for him?"
"The barrier breach in the sealing room is top secret; how did they know about it?"
"How did an S-rank intelligence document, which was not supposed to be unsealed, end up in the hands of another Village?"
"Also, the Third Raikage, when he thought victory was assured, accidentally mentioned a small matter."
"He told me… that someone among Konoha's higher-ups sold some of our intelligence to the Hidden Cloud Village for a price of twenty million Ryo."
"Coincidentally."
"A secret base our squad randomly chose to hide in was discovered by them from the very beginning."
"Do you want to discuss beforehand how to explain these things?"
These various doubts were laid bare by Tsunade in a voice as cold as a blade, one by one, before them.
The others present were not unaware of the potential problems, nor did they not suspect that the Third Raikage was trying to sow discord.
However, after Tsunade finished speaking.
Everyone present still turned their heads in unison, all looking at Shimura Danzo, who stood at the very back.
The entire Hokage Office inexplicably fell into a deathly silence.
"…"
"What do you mean?"
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