"Then… Teacher Yuya, when will you come back…?"
A hint of loss appeared on Konan's face.
What she really wanted to ask was whether Yuya would come back at all—
Whether they would meet again.
"I can't say for sure," Yuya replied, nodding slightly at her,
"but I will come back at least once."
He then turned to Yahiko and reminded him,
"Be careful. Don't expose the fact that you've become shinobi. As long as you don't show off or casually use ninjutsu, you'll be fine."
"That kind of thing definitely won't happen!"
Yahiko laughed awkwardly.
Though it was obvious—he really did have that urge.
After all, he was still a child.
Having learned ninjutsu and become a shinobi, a bit of pride and desire to show off was only natural.
Yuya shook his head slightly and said no more.
He turned and left at once.
There was no time to waste.
Behind him, Konan watched Yuya's figure disappear in an instant, her expression tinged with sadness as she let out a soft sigh.
Yahiko tried to comfort her.
"Teacher Yuya is so strong—nothing will happen to him. Once he finishes what he needs to do, he'll definitely come back to find us."
"Mm."
Konan nodded gently.
Thinking of Yuya's overwhelming strength, she felt a bit more at ease.
Indeed—even if they were to die, Yuya probably wouldn't.
What she should really be worried about… was herself.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, carrying a cold, oppressive atmosphere.
Inside a vast, dense forest, a large number of Iwagakure shinobi, all wearing forehead protectors, were searching in all directions.
This woodland was enormous—practically a forest—
and even though many of the Iwa shinobi were sensory-types, finding someone inside it was still extremely difficult.
"Search carefully! We absolutely cannot let that woman escape!"
Besides the standard Iwagakure forces in uniform, there were also individuals wearing special masks.
These were Iwagakure ANBU.
Their masks were very different from Konoha's and were instantly recognizable.
The ANBU were assisting the Iwa forces in the hunt.
"Sensory-type shinobi, spread out!
Check every place with chakra fluctuations. Two-man teams—search thoroughly!"
The elite jōnin leading the operation wore an expression filled with anger.
This ambush on a Konoha platoon should have been effortless.
Yet that damned woman had forcibly carved a path through their encirclement and led the entire unit out alive.
After fleeing into this forest, she had dragged the battle on until now.
Although they had killed one Konoha ninja after another—
Their own losses were no less severe.
An elite jōnin and two special jōnin had even been beaten to death by Tsunade's iron fists!
The ambush itself was already a failure.
If that woman escaped now—
It would be a stain no one here could bear.
It would be a massive blow to the morale of the entire Iwagakure force.
The main frontlines hadn't even fully erupted yet, and they had already stumbled this badly.
That was why even Iwagakure's ANBU had been deployed—
With one goal only:
Erase Tsunade at all costs.
After days of relentless pursuit, it was estimated that only a handful of ninja remained at Tsunade's side.
"Iwagaki," one ANBU said coldly to the elite jōnin leading the force,
"if we still can't find that woman soon, we'll have to withdraw."
"Ame and Suna have probably already received word and are watching this area. Konoha reinforcements could arrive at any time."
Iwagaki clenched his teeth.
"That's impossible. We'll find her."
"That forest ahead borders Amegakure. If she goes that way, she'll have nowhere left to run."
"And this is deep within the Land of Rain. Konoha can't suddenly deploy forces here—it takes time."
"We'll have enough time to retreat. We won't get caught between Konoha and Suna."
"Hmph. At least your head is still clear."
The ANBU's anger was obvious.
They had mobilized nearly a full battalion for a surprise ambush—
And still failed to annihilate Tsunade's unit.
Now they were relying on sheer numbers to force her deeper into the Land of Rain, cutting off any retreat.
It had already been many days since the ambush began.
In the ANBU's eyes, Iwagaki was utterly incompetent.
"My judgment has always been clear," Iwagaki snapped back.
"That woman's strength is extraordinary—and she's an exceptional medical ninja!"
"Otherwise, how could she keep evading pursuit like this?!"
He was furious as well.
If this blame fell on him, his career as a commander would be finished.
"Switch places with me, and you wouldn't do any better."
"Idiot."
The ANBU glanced at him coldly.
"You—!"
Iwagaki's anger flared, but he ultimately swallowed it.
This ANBU carried orders directly from Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage.
In status, it was as if Ōnoki himself were present.
Deeper in the Land of Rain, the rainfall was much heavier.
Fortunately, the forest canopy was thick enough to block most of it—
Even so, the ground beneath was soft and muddy.
Behind a curtain of intertwined vines, several injured shinobi were resting.
At their center—
Tsunade.
Even she looked disheveled now. She bore several wounds, minor injuries she no longer bothered to heal.
In this situation, conserving chakra and stamina meant a greater chance of survival.
Two shinobi remained at her side, both more heavily injured than she was.
Their wounds had been bandaged, and special measures were used to suppress the scent of blood.
Otherwise, they would have been caught long ago.
"Tsunade-sama," one of them reported,
"the Iwagakure shinobi are closing in."
This ninja's eyes were ringed in white, veins bulging at the temples—
A Hyūga clan shinobi.
In terrain like this, a Hyūga was far more effective than a sensory-type ninja.
Tsunade's mastery of chakra control and concealment was exceptional—
And the Hyūga clan's control over chakra was refined to the extreme.
Sensory ninja were useless if they couldn't detect chakra fluctuations.
They were no match for the Byakugan's near-360-degree vision and penetrating sight.
Without this Hyūga shinobi, Tsunade would have been caught long ago.
Hearing Hyūga Yuchen's report, Tsunade's already heavy expression darkened further.
"If we go any farther in that direction, we'll leave the forest and approach Amegakure."
"There will be Rain shinobi everywhere."
"If we run straight into them, there won't be any chance of survival."
"But the other three directions are almost completely blocked by Iwagakure forces…"
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