Konan held Nagato back: "Nagato, don't be impulsive. Ryou is at the front lines; he will hold back the Shinobi Allied Forces!"
Nagato shook his head: "He's only one person. It's impossible for him to block a shinobi army attacking from multiple directions."
The Shinobi Allied Forces had split their troops to enter the Land of Rain, and Ryou could only block the First Division.
Reading novels is super convenient!
He had relayed this intelligence to Nagato and Konan through spores.
Tsunade said, "Don't worry. When Ryou handed over the administration of Amegakure to me, I already foresaw that this day would come."
"I've already selected a location for the evacuation: Ibuse's marshlands. There's a poisonous mist there covering several miles."
"Without an antidote, even Madara wouldn't be able to enter or leave freely, and I just happen to have prepared a large amount of antidote!"
"Nagato, you guys arrange for the villagers to evacuate to Ibuse's marshlands!"
"Yes!"
Nagato went down to organize the evacuation of the villagers.
Tsunade organized the evacuation methodically; this was her first time being the leader of a Village, but she didn't act like a clumsy college student fresh out of school.
In the original work, Tsunade was the Hokage, and her handling of affairs possessed the air of a great general.
Konan looked at Tsunade: "Tsunade-sensei, are you taking Madara's side and opposing Konoha this time?"
"..."
Tsunade crossed her arms and looked out the window at Amegakure, which was as silent as a dead forest.
There were no pedestrians, no smoke from cooking fires, and not even a hint of life; one could vaguely see some villagers with their doors tightly shut.
They thought that as long as they kept their doors closed, the shinobi war wouldn't affect them!
They still underestimated the wars of shinobi.
Tsunade said, "I am neither standing on Madara's side nor Konoha's. I am simply standing on the stage as Ryou wife to do what I must do!"
Tsunade then turned to look at Konan: "Konan, go and notify Kushina and Fried Rice to evacuate!"
"Ryou's clone at the front has already sent back intelligence. The elite shinobi of the Allied Forces are not at the front lines. They must have infiltrated the Land of Rain and are heading for the Hidden Rain Village!"
"This place will soon become a battlefield. Take Kushina and the others and leave!"
"Then what about you?"
Konan looked at Tsunade.
Tsunade pushed open the window and looked at the lilies on the windowsill; those were flowers Ryou had given her.
Because of the rainy weather, they had been soaked too much, and Tsunade hadn't maintained them well.
The flowers had absorbed too much water; the buds were drooping and turning black, looking somewhat withered as if they had traveled too far.
Tsunade paid no mind to the flower and said, "Since I am the mistress of this Village, I should fight alongside it!"
Konan wanted to say something, but she was still persuaded by Tsunade to take Kushina and the others away.
Only Nono remained in the room to accompany Tsunade.
Nono did not interfere in the matters between Tsunade and Konan; dressed in a maid's uniform, she dutifully performed her work.
Tsunade said to Nono, "Nono, use my head to exchange for military merit!"
Thud—
Nono was tidying up the teacups, and hearing Tsunade's words, she dropped the cup in her hand.
With a sharp, ear-piercing crash, the glass shattered, fine shards splashed out, and the sound echoed in the office for a long time.
Nono shook her head: "No, having lost the mark of Root, I am no longer a Konoha shinobi. You are my mistress; I will not harm you."
Tsunade said to Nono, "In that case, don't listen to that old bastard Danzo's orders anymore."
"Amegakure's orphanage needs a shinobi to escort them. You go!"
"Yes!"
Nono loved children. This world was too cruel; it was the innocence of children that had allowed Nono, who was trapped in the darkness of Root, to find reality.
She would do her utmost to protect every child suffering from the pain of war.
After Nono left, only Tsunade remained in the room.
She changed into her combat gear and took one last look at the wedding photo of herself and Ryou on the desk.
Tsunade quieted down and reached out to touch Ryou's photo, as if returning to the first time she met him.
That was at the Shinobi Academy, when they were being assigned to classes.
Tsunade was the eldest miss of the Senju Clan and was the school take advantage of as soon as she entered; the first person she taken advantage of was Ryou of the Uchiha Clan.
She made Ryou shine her leather boots.
Ryou took advantage of her lack of attention to steal her shoes.
Tsunade unconsciously showed a slight smile.
Memories are candy hidden in time; whenever recalled, they are gentle and lingering.
Then Tsunade let go of the photo and put on her forehead protector, looking at herself in the mirror.
With a stroke of her finger, she carved a horizontal line across the forehead protector.
This was already the symbol of a rogue Shinobi.
Tsunade didn't want to deceive herself. She had already become the boss of Amegakure, so why bother pretending to be a Konoha shinobi?
She showed a determined expression: "I'll make a clean break with my past!"
Tsunade was determined to die in battle at Amegakure, as a shinobi.
She had had enough of the internal torture of being pulled back and forth.
...
In the darkness beneath the Hidden Rain Village, Madara sat on the giant hand of the Gedo Statue and slowly opened his eyes.
The Rinnegan were like layered vortices in an abyss, without a hint of emotion or temperature, only cold divine intent.
"Are they here? Let's stretch these muscles a bit!"
Ryūchi Cave.
Under the lead of Ichikishimahime, Ryou, Female Orochimaru, Anko, and others delved deep into the Ryūchi Cave, arriving at an opening within a cavern.
By this point, the natural energy was already very dense.
The Cursed Seal on Ryou's neck remained bright red, as if it were burning.
Because the natural energy here was too dense, it had triggered Ryou's Cursed Seal.
The cave of the White Snake Sage was guarded by a red, one-eyed giant snake.
It was Shinga, a one-eyed giant snake with Reverse Scales that lived in the Hidden Village of Ryūchi Cave.
It was massive in size, quite agile in movement, and extremely violent in temperament.
The snakes living in Ryūchi Cave all hated it, and no one was willing to approach Shinga.
In the original anime, the final trial the White Snake Sage gave Boruto was to take Shinga's Reverse Scale, which would make Shinga become gentle.
But Boruto didn't use force to defeat Shinga or take its Reverse Scale, because Boruto used the Jōgan to see Shinga's past.
He saw the tragic experience of it being betrayed by its contract partner...
Boruto used 'Talk-no-Jutsu' on Shinga, directly brainwashing Shinga into becoming his Summoned Beast.
Sensing someone approaching, Shinga woke from its slumber and looked at Ichikishimahime and the others with its only remaining eye.
Ichikishimahime was very surprised: "Shinga, why did you come here?"
Shinga's relationships in Ryūchi Cave were even more isolated than Manda's; it didn't even respect the White Snake Sage, hissing whenever they met.
Usually, it lived in the depths of Ryūchi Cave, but today was the first time it had stepped out of its own nest and appeared in the White Snake Sage's territory.
Shinga ignored Ichikishimahime and swept its gaze over Ryou and the others, bypassing Female Orochimaru, Anko, Yamato, and the rest.
Finally, it locked onto Ryou and Candy, asking with a hint of anger in its eyes: "What is your relationship with Juuichirou?"
(⊙ω⊙?).
Candy's little kitten head was full of small question marks. Juuichirou? Did they know this person?
Candy looked toward Ryou.
Ryou puffed out his chest proudly: "It's talking about me. I used to be able to reach an wonderful eleven times in night battles, so I have a nickname—Uchiha Juuichirou!"
Female Orochimaru scolded Ryou: "Idiot Ryou, it's talking about the Third Kazekage. According to intelligence, the Third Kazekage's name is Juuichirou."
"..."
Ryou and Candy were silent for a moment; they had only learned today that the Third Kazekage was named Juuichirou.
Was the Third Kazekage that fierce?
Shinga looked at Ryou and Candy and said, "I smell the scent of Juuichirou on you. Are you Juuichirou's people?"
Ichikishimahime said from the side, "Shinga once signed a solo contract with the Third Kazekage, and the two of them worked together in battle to perfection."
"But in a later battle, the Third Kazekage betrayed Shinga and injured Shinga's right eye."
"It was also because of him that Shinga's personality became violent and it no longer trusted others."