Chapter 388: The Hokage's Resolve
"What's wrong, Granny Tsunade?"
Naruto asked in confusion. He didn't yet know that Li Yao planned to come for him in one hour—Tsunade hadn't had a chance to say it.
"Naruto, Li Yao will be coming for you very soon," Tsunade told him of Li Yao's one-hour notice, then continued, "Quickly go to Mount Myōboku and prepare Sage Mode. This time, we'll fight together. His genjutsu is too powerful—on your own, you won't be able to defeat him."
Only with more people around could they cover for Naruto in case he was affected by genjutsu—
Boom!
Tsunade's face suddenly changed, and she unleashed a terrifying surge of chakra.
"Don't worry, I won't use genjutsu on Naruto."
Just then, Li Yao's voice echoed in Tsunade's mind.
Tsunade instantly realized that Li Yao's puppet-style chakra threads were still attached to her body. Even after releasing her full chakra power, she couldn't sense or break free from them.
Her expression turned ice-cold.
Naruto, startled by her sudden chakra flare, rushed over. "Granny Tsunade, what's wrong?!"
Huff…
Tsunade took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions. She waved her hand. "It's nothing."
She was the Hokage—she absolutely could not panic.
"Naruto, you—"
Tsunade started to tell Naruto to prepare Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku, but then stopped. She suddenly realized that Li Yao might be watching them from within that mysterious dimensional space—completely undetectable.
That meant he'd heard their entire conversation.
This utterly unsolvable power made Tsunade feel helpless. She didn't even know how to coordinate with Naruto anymore.
"Granny Tsunade… don't tell me—"
Naruto was sharp in moments that mattered. From Tsunade's sudden chakra outburst and hesitation, he guessed the enemy might be spying on them through some unknown method.
Tsunade nodded faintly. She didn't need to say more. Naruto understood—and also realized the sheer danger posed by Li Yao's space-time ninjutsu.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Naruto summoned a messenger toad from Mount Myōboku and instructed it to return and tell Fukasaku to reverse-summon him back, leaving behind a reverse summoning scroll for Tsunade.
If Li Yao attacked, Tsunade would use the scroll to summon Naruto back instantly.
Naruto didn't bother hiding this plan from Li Yao. He figured this time, the enemy wanted to defeat him face-to-face.
If Li Yao said one hour, he meant one hour.
"Come out."
Shortly after Naruto was summoned away, Tsunade turned to the empty air and spoke. She knew Li Yao was nearby.
Whoosh!
Li Yao appeared. He had been with Tsunade the whole time, witnessing every word and movement.
"What is your goal?" she asked. "Is it the Nine-Tails inside Naruto?"
Tsunade didn't raise an alarm. There was no point. She questioned him calmly, hoping to extract more intel.
Li Yao stepped forward and wrapped his arm around her. Tsunade's body tensed, ready to resist—but then suddenly went soft, completely under his control, her pride helplessly at his mercy.
Her eyes burned with rage, but she didn't yell or resist. She allowed Li Yao to drag her to a wooden chair and toy with her freely.
She was the Hokage. This was a humiliation she had to bear.
If she resisted and caused the battle to break out before Naruto was ready, Konoha might fall. That was a risk Tsunade couldn't take.
So she endured, alone, in silence.
"Worthy of being Hokage. Responsible. Willing to sacrifice."
Li Yao chuckled, feeling the curves of her body with perverse satisfaction. Tsunade's figure was… remarkably accommodating.
"You haven't answered my question," she said, swallowing her fury. "Is it really the Nine-Tails?"
"Nine-Tails," Li Yao replied bluntly, not bothering to hide his goal.
"You want to collect Tailed Beasts too—ah!"
Tsunade flinched, biting her lip, as Li Yao shifted beneath her.
"Mhm." Li Yao nodded, leaning back contentedly.
"Where are your Sharingan?" Tsunade asked, clearly unsettled.
Li Yao patted her thigh and grinned. "Move on your own, and I'll tell you."
"…Fine." Tsunade clenched her teeth. Everything for Konoha.
"Now will you talk?" she asked again after complying briefly. She needed to gather as much intel as she could—for Naruto's sake.
This man no longer had the Sharingan. Where did he put them?
If they could find them, maybe they could exploit a weakness.
Just as she was analyzing, Li Yao smiled and said something that made her whole body tremble.
"Actually, I'm not the masked man."
"What?!"
Tsunade couldn't help crying out—but her voice was mixed with an unspeakable sensation. Thankfully, Li Yao had set up a soundproof barrier—no one outside heard.
"That's impossible! If you're not him, then—"
She couldn't finish. In the blink of an eye, they were suddenly in a pitch-black space filled with floating stone pillars.
On one pillar, Tsunade saw Obito's clone—and the blood-red Sharingan in his eyes.
She was sure now. This was the masked man Naruto had described. And the Li Yao beside her was clearly someone else.
Whoosh!
After a brief aerial tour of the strange dimension, they returned to Tsunade's house.
"You… who are you really?"
Tsunade asked again.
During their outing, Li Yao had demonstrated three types of space-time ninjutsu—one of which closely resembled the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Who was he?
Why did he possess not only powerful space-time jutsu but also terrifying genjutsu?
What hidden village was he from?
Why were there no records of him in the shinobi world?
Even the masked man had left traces—yet Li Yao had none. It was as if he had leapt out of—
Wait!
Leapt out of a stone—could it be?
A flash of realization struck Tsunade. Her face turned pale as she stared at the man sitting across from her.
"You… you came from the Dragon Vein!"
"You're from another world!"
"That's right—you're not from this world!"
Tsunade finally understood. Someone this powerful couldn't exist in the ninja world without leaving any trace. The only explanation was that he wasn't from here—he came from another world.
He must've arrived through the Dragon Vein at the Loran ruins—the same way Naruto and the others had traveled through time.
Just like she suspected Yamato had been sent to another time—Li Yao must've come from the past or the future.
Only then did it make sense why there was no intel on him at all.
(END CHAPTER)
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