Ryuichi said in a low voice, "Tsunade-sama, right now is the perfect moment to wipe out the Rain ninja."
Tsunade nodded, preparing to charge forward.
Kotarou also gave a small nod; he had already confirmed there were no other chakra signatures nearby.
And so, the utterly exhausted Rain unit ran headlong into the well-rested Senju unit.
The outcome needed no explanation.
Before long, a Rain ninja collapsed to his knees, bowing his head to the ground in front of Tsunade.
"I beg you, ninja-dono of the Land of Fire, please spare us. We were forced into this!"
Tsunade's expression wavered. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, a flash of hatred passed through the Rain ninja's eyes.
He suddenly drew a long blade and thrust it straight at her.
"Jiton Sabaku no Kagi (Magnet Release - Sand Binding Pivot)!"
Kotarou raised his right hand in a sword-seal, his left hand aimed at the Rain ninja.
A surge of flying sand gathered in an instant, firmly binding the Rain ninja where he knelt.
The blade was squeezed out of his grip and clattered to the ground, his entire body wrapped in sand and unable to move.
His eyes glared at Tsunade with venomous hatred.
The earlier look of helplessness and pleading was gone without a trace.
"You ninja from the great nations… your hands are drenched in blood. You'll get what's coming to you!
Hahahaha!"
As his words fell, Kotarou's face went cold.
His left hand clenched.
A grinding crackle echoed from within the sand; the Rain ninja was crushed inside the swirling grains.
The underside of the sand sphere turned a deep red, blood still slowly seeping out.
With a flick of Kotarou's hand, the sphere of sand shot off into the distance.
He didn't want the man's dying shape to linger before Tsunade's eyes.
The other Senju all heartily approved of Kotarou's decisiveness.
He had restrained the Rain ninja at the first sign of danger, and then killed him without hesitation.
That was what a shinobi should do.
"Tsunade-sama, are you all right?"
Ryuichi asked as he watched Tsunade's vacant expression.
Tsunade came back to herself. She sighed softly, then spoke.
"In the eyes of these small countries… are our hands really soaked in blood?"
No one answered.
Kotarou, however, said quietly,
"The ones at fault aren't us. It's this ninja world of the weak being prey to the strong.
Yes, our hands are stained with blood.
But it's because we're protecting our homeland from being trampled."
Tsunade nodded slightly, half understanding, half not.
This was the first time her own hands had taken the life of an enemy ninja in war, the first time she had heard accusations hurled at her from the enemy's mouth.
Naturally, she felt lost.
"On the battlefield, you leave no roots behind to sprout again.
Besides… this is war, Tsunade-sama.
Look at our unit: not one of our people has died, and we've just completed a battle.
Shouldn't you be glad?"
As he spoke, Kotarou gestured to the ninja gathered around them.
The others nodded, showing their agreement with Kotarou's words.
Some of the middle-aged Senju ninja looked at him thoughtfully.
This kid was interesting.
He looked to be about Tsunade's age, yet he understood so much already.
Under Kotarou's persuasion, Tsunade straightened her shoulders again.
He was right.
Even if her hands were covered in blood… what she was protecting were her family and comrades.
As long as she kept that in mind, that was enough.
Tsunade drew a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I was being immature."
The moment Tsunade apologized, the Senju in the unit scrambled to speak up.
"Tsunade-hime, this isn't your fault."
"Yeah. The first time I went to war, I practically pissed my pants."
"That's right, Princess. You don't need to blame yourself. We'll grow up together with you."
Watching them, Kotarou felt a twinge of envy.
Tsk, look how united the Senju clan were.
Tsunade turned to him and walked over, stopping right in front of him.
"Kotarou-kun, from what I've seen just now, you have a natural talent for military strategy.
What do you think about serving as our unit's tactician from here on out?
In battle, I'll follow your arrangements as well. How about it?"
Kotarou fell into thought.
"I can do it… but I have a condition.
I want everyone here, once we return to Konoha, to keep this a secret for me.
To the outside world, everything will be reported as the result of Tsunade-sama's command."
Kotarou swept his gaze over the gathered ninja.
The older ones immediately understood.
He was building up merit for their princess.
The way they looked at Kotarou became even warmer.
"Kotarou, that… that's not really appropriate, is it?"
Tsunade's cheeks flushed.
Wasn't this basically stealing the credit that should have belonged to her subordinate?
The Senju ninja exchanged glances, expressions shifting.
Of course they wanted Tsunade to gain more achievements, but this seemed unfair to Kotarou.
Kotarou knew exactly what the problem was.
As someone from the Uchiha clan, if he accumulated this kind of war merit, it would become a death sentence.
Danzo would lock onto him like a hawk, seeing him as a nail that had to be pulled.
But if the credit went to Tsunade, then in the future it would become a powerful card in her political hand.
He just couldn't openly spell this out.
He didn't know whether any of the Senju in this unit leaned toward the Hokage faction.
To say such things out loud would only expose the depth of his insight.
If he surrendered the credit to Tsunade, then the Senju unit would collectively keep it secret.
Not a word would leak.
"My mind is made up. If Tsunade-sama wants me involved in command, then please accept this condition."
Kotarou sank to one knee, bowing his head in earnest.
Tsunade panicked for a moment, hands fluttering, not sure what to do.
A middle-aged member of the Senju stepped out of the ranks.
"Tsunade-sama, Kotarou-kun is being so sincere. If you turned him down, it might be a bit… much. Why not accept, for now?"
His eyes were gentle as they rested on Kotarou, full of goodwill.
Kotarou gave a small smile.
So there were indeed sharp minds in the Senju clan.
Between the persuasion of the Senju and Kotarou's own insistence, Tsunade finally gave in with a nod.
For now, the unit was still nominally led by Tsunade.
But in reality, the one directing operations had already become Kotarou.
Kotarou once again climbed onto Ryuichi's back, using Jiton Shinshi no Me (Magnet Release - True Sight Eye) to keep scanning everything within ten kilometers, while the unit advanced steadily.
Thanks to Kotarou's True Sight Eye, Tsunade's squad avoided almost all large Rain forces.
They still bumped into the occasional small team, but with a crushing advantage in numbers, every engagement was a one-sided slaughter.
The Rain squads barely had time to shout, much less fire signal flares, before Senju blades opened their throats.
Up to this point, not a single one of their thousand ninja had so much as scratched skin.
Without the enemy even realizing what had happened, they had already reached a small village in the Land of Rain.
Kotarou slid down from Ryuichi's back and turned to face the unit.
"Everyone, we've been marching for a full day.
There's a village up ahead. You can rest there.
But let me say this first: we are ninja of Konoha, the village of love founded by the God of Shinobi, Hashirama."
(End of Chapter)
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