Age Fifteen (continued)
The ship left at dawn.
I stood on the deck, watching Uzushio shrink behind me. The whirlpools churned around the island, protecting it from invaders. But I knew the barriers were weakening. I could see the cracks in the seals from here—faint lines of fading light.
Kushina had cried when I left. She was ten now, too old for tears, but she had cried anyway.
"You promised you wouldn't leave me," she had said, her voice muffled against my chest.
"I'm not leaving you. I'm going to Konoha to get help. I'll be back."
"How long?"
"A few weeks. Maybe a month."
"That's too long."
"I know. But I'll write to you every day."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
She had let me go, but her eyes had followed me all the way to the dock.
The journey took three days. I spent most of it on the deck, staring at the horizon, thinking about Tsunade. What would I say to her? What would she say to me?
The marriage alliance was a bad idea. I knew that. Tsunade was still broken from Nawaki's death. She didn't need the pressure of a betrothal. She needed time. She needed space.
But the elders were right about one thing: Uzushio needed help. And Konoha was the only village that might provide it.
I had to find a way to convince them without sacrificing Tsunade's happiness.
---
Konoha appeared on the third day—a green smudge on the horizon that grew into towering trees and carved mountains. The village was even more beautiful than I remembered. The Hokage faces looked down from the cliff, watching over the streets below.
The ship docked at the Konoha port. A delegation was waiting for me—the Third Hokage himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with a handful of advisors. Tsunade was not among them.
"Heir Ren," Hiruzen said, bowing slightly. "Welcome to Konoha. We received word of your arrival."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage." I bowed deeper. "I come on behalf of Uzushio, seeking alliance and aid."
"We will discuss that in due time. First, rest. You have traveled far."
He gestured to a young man standing beside him—a teenager with silver hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face. "This is Kakashi Hatake. He will escort you to your quarters."
Kakashi nodded. He didn't speak. His one visible eye was dark and expressionless.
I followed him through the streets of Konoha. The village was busy—shinobi rushing to and fro, merchants hawking their wares, children playing in the parks. It felt almost peaceful, despite the war.
"Your quarters," Kakashi said, stopping in front of a small house near the Senju compound. "If you need anything, send a message."
"Thank you."
He left. I stood in front of the house, suddenly nervous.
I had Tsunade's address. I had memorized it from her letters. She lived in the Senju compound, just a few minutes away.
I could go to her now. Or I could wait.
I decided to wait. I needed to think.
---
The house was small but comfortable. A bed, a desk, a window that faced the Hokage monument. I sat on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
What was I doing here? I wasn't a diplomat. I wasn't a politician. I was a soldier, a weapon, a boy with strange eyes and failing vision. I had no business negotiating alliances.
But there was no one else. The elders were too old to travel. My father was too broken. Kushina was too young.
It was me or no one.
I wrote a letter to Tsunade.
"I'm here. At the guest house near the Senju compound. Come see me when you can.
—Ren"
I sent it via messenger seal. The bird flew toward the Senju compound and disappeared over the trees.
An hour later, there was a knock at the door.
I opened it. Tsunade stood on the threshold, her brown hair messy, her eyes red-rimmed. She was wearing a simple green dress, nothing like the shinobi gear I was used to seeing her in.
"You look terrible," she said.
"You too."
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Then she punched my shoulder.
"That's for coming without warning."
She punched my other shoulder.
"That's for making me worry."
She punched my chest.
"That's for being an idiot."
I caught her fists. "Are you done?"
"No." But she didn't pull away. She stood there, her hands in mine, her face inches from my face.
"I missed you," she said.
"I missed you too."
"Don't leave again."
"I have to. Uzushio needs me."
"Then I'll come with you."
"You can't. You have duties here."
"Screw duties." She pulled her hands free and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I'm tired of being apart. I'm tired of letters. I'm tired of wondering if you're alive."
I held her. She was warm and solid and real.
"I'm here," I said. "I'm not going anywhere. Not yet."
"Not ever."
"Tsunade—"
"Not ever." She looked up at me. Her brown eyes were fierce. "I'm not losing you too. I can't."
"You won't."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
She kissed me.
It was brief—barely a press of lips—but it stopped my heart and restarted it in a different rhythm. When she pulled back, her face was flushed.
"Don't make me regret that," she said.
"I won't."
We sat on the floor of the guest house, holding hands, watching the shadows lengthen. I told her about the marriage alliance. She laughed.
"The elders want us to get married? That's rich."
"They think it will secure the alliance."
"Do you want to marry me?"
"I want you to be happy. If marrying me would make you happy, then yes. If not, then no."
She looked at me. "You're an idiot."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it keeps being true." She squeezed my hand. "I don't know what I want. I'm fifteen. I'm still figuring out who I am. But I know that I want you in my life. Whatever that looks like."
"That's enough for me."
We sat in silence, watching the stars appear one by one.