Minato did not teleport directly into the tent as he did not want to startle Tsunade-san as she might be in the middle of treating Kakashi. He appeared a few meters outside first, allowing his chakra to be perceived by Tsunade-san. He pulled Kaien with him and stepped through the entrance flap of the medical tent.
Tsunade did not immediately look up.
"Minato," she said while adjusting the flow of chakra into Kakashi's chest, "you were here just five minutes ago and you are already back to check on him?"
She finally asked about the new chakra signature stood beside Minato.
She did not lift her head yet, but her voice shifted slightly.
"Did you finally take on another disciple?" she asked casually, though her fingers never stopped moving over Kakashi's sternum as green chakra pulsed steadily.
Kaien remained silent.
He stood upright and with his eyes alert. He was in enemy territory now, surrounded by shinobi who would gladly end his life. Yet he was not panicking as he was supposed to. The reason being... he understood that Minato would not harm him until he extracted every piece of information about Kushina.
He simply had to avoid provoking unnecessary rage.
As he became familiar to situation he was in. He thought... So this is what Kushina-san felt like. I understand her a little bit.
Being alone in enemy territory, seen as a bargaining chip and surrounded by people who would rather see you dead.
Would they exchange me for her? he wondered. Minato should know the political value I possess.
His family would trade Kushina in an instant if they believed it meant bringing him back safely. But he had not yet fully planted the seeds within her mind about rebuilding Uzushio. He had not yet redirected her loyalties completely. If he died now, that plan would remain unfinished and not seeing his plan flourish left a bad taste.
He knew he could not run, hide, or fight. Even entertaining those possibilities would be delusional. The only viable path left was to maneuver carefully around Minato and offer controlled information about Kushina. As long as Minato believed there was more to learn about her condition... especially after being unable to sense his FTG mark on her for the past year... Kaien would remain useful to him. And as long as he was useful, he would be protected by Minato.
Minato had not taken the hostage kid to the Hokage... Danzo. Instead, he brought him to Tsunade. There were two reasons for that. First, he needed to know how Kakashi was faring. Second, and more importantly, he wanted answers about Kushina. If Kaien were handed over to Hokage Danzo immediately, Minato would lose control of the situation. Danzo would extract whatever information he could in secrecy, and Minato himself would likely be barred from access to anything deemed classified because of his relation to Kushina.
Minato understood that eventually he would have to turn Kaien over... that was inevitable as he didn't know how long Kumo would wait but the fate of this boy is not in his hands whatever Hokage Danzo decides is his fate. He was not willing to hand over Kaien to Danzo, not before he learned everything he needed to know. After that, what happened to the boy no longer mattered to him. Whether Kaien was imprisoned, interrogated, or tortured for further intelligence was irrelevant. Once Minato had his answers, the boy would go to hell for all he care.
Minato answered suppressing the rage and clenching his arm. "Tsunade-san, you misunderstood. This kid is the grandson of the Raikage. He was the strategist behind the last war. I encountered him during Kakashi's mission and he was the reason behind Kakashi's state and the death of Might Guy."
Tsunade's hands froze mid-motion. The green glow flickered briefly before stabilizing again.
She slowly turned her head for the first time. Her eyes met Kaien's.
Her expression did not twist into visible rage, but something in her gaze made Kaien feel like he was a rat before lioness. If she were not in the middle of delicate medical treatment, Kaien had no doubt she would have lunged at him immediately and snapped his neck.
The hair on the back of Kaien's neck rose instinctively.
Under different circumstances, he might have admired her beauty and composure. Now, he felt only the primal danger to his life. This was Senju Tsunade, granddaughter of Hashirama, student of Hiruzen, and one of the Legendary Sannin.
Kaien spoke as he would to his shinobi. "We can speak after you finish healing him," he said, pointing toward Kakashi.
The moment the words left his mouth, he internally cursed himself.
What are you doing? You are not in Kumo anymore. You are not issuing commands.
He had grown accustomed to speaking with authority among kage-tier shinobi and elite jounin. The habit had embedded deeply and now it sounded dangerously arrogant.
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched and her jaw tightened visibly.
For several seconds, anger radiated from her in waves to make the air feel heavy. The only thing restraining her was the responsibility beneath her hands. She made a promise to herself after saving Hyuga brothers and Minato that she would focus on healing her comrades first only then would she retaliate against the enemy. Kakashi's life required focus, and Tsunade never allowed emotion to compromise treatment.
She exhaled slowly and returned her full attention to Kakashi's chakra pathways.
Minato took out a scroll which has the arm of Kakashi he found the battlefield and gave it to Tsunade so she can reattach it. Tsunade took it without a word.
"Sit down," she said to Minato without looking at him. "We will speak when I am finished."
Minato obeyed without protest.
He understood how close the situation was to spiraling. If Tsunade attacked Kaien impulsively, Minato would be forced to intervene. That confrontation would break the trust between him and Tsunade-san... which he didn't want.
Kaien remained standing as he was not told to sit.
He was unsure whether sitting would appear submissive or presumptuous. Sweat began forming at his temples despite his efforts to remain composed. He watched Tsunade's hands carefully, observing the meticulous precision with which she repaired Kakashi's damaged internal organs and attaching his hand as she was close to completely healing Kakashi, Kaien felt the tension even more.
The mental clock in Kaien's brain would ticking hard. The tent was filled with a faint antiseptic scent. Occasionally, soft cooing sounds drifted from a cradle positioned near the rear of the tent.
Kaien's eyes flicked in that direction briefly.
He could not see the child clearly from his angle, but he was aware of its presence. The softness of that sound contrasted the internal turmoil in his mind.
For the next thirty minutes, the only sounds were Tsunade's controlled breathing, and the distant cry of the baby. Kaien experienced those thirty minutes as the longest stretch of time in his life.
~~
A/N: Upto 20 Advance chapters available @ patreon.com/aizenDuchiha0