The eastern border of the Land of Fire.
A desolate wasteland.
The wind blew with such ferocity that it stung the skin.
Kitahara Kaede leaned against a weathered boulder, eyes closed as he ntally calculated the ti.
He was waiting.
Waiting for a group of people who could kill him in a "reasonable" manner.
Twenty years of simulation; it was finally ti for the settlent.
As long as he died here, leaving behind a perfect ending where he fell in battle protecting Hidden Leaf intelligence, his "White Moonlight" evaluation for this run would definitely be an S-rank.
The only thing giving him a headache was that, given his current strength, making his death look natural required careful calibration of how much he had to hold back.
If he died too easily, Tsunade's keen intuition would undoubtedly trigger her suspicions.
The faint sound of footsteps drifted in with the wind.
Kitahara Kaede opened his eyes and peered slightly around the rock.
On the horizon, a dozen dark figures were rapidly approaching.
They were dressed in uniform black tactical gear and wore no forehead protectors.
The gray-haired man leading them had a steady, composed aura, and the others were clearly skilled fighters as well.
As extras for this final curtain call, they were more than enough.
Kitahara Kaede stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
*Boom!*
The boulder beneath his feet shattered violently.
Transforming into a blur of speed, Kitahara Kaede charged straight toward the group.
***
At the sa mont.
The sun was shining brightly over the Hidden Leaf village.
Tsunade used her key to unlock the door.
Kicking off her high heels, she stepped barefoot into the entryway.
The house was quiet.
She walked to the windowsill and picked up a spray bottle to water a wilting potted plant.
"He's only been gone a few days, and even the flowers are losing spirit," she murmured softly.
Turning toward the kitchen, she opened the refrigerator and placed a piece of Pacific saury into the chiller.
The timing was perfect.
If she put it in today, it would be thawed just enough to go straight into the pan by the ti he arrived ho this evening.
Closing the fridge, Tsunade leaned against the dining table. Looking at the empty kitchen, she couldn't help but smile.
The proud princess of the Senju clan was now acting exactly like an ordinary woman waiting for her husband to return.
Surprisingly, she didn't mind the feeling at all.
***
The wasteland.
Heat waves shimred in the air.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A wall of flas surged forward, instantly turning three of the black-clad n on the periphery into charred husks.
Kitahara Kaede didn't stop.
He had to maintain the illusion of a desperate breakthrough.
He poured out his chakra without reservation.
Lightning erupted violently.
The Chidori Sharp Spear pierced directly through the throats of two more n.
Scalding blood splashed across his face.
To make the combat damage look authentic, he intentionally slowed his reactions by half a beat.
*Slash.*
A poisoned kunai sliced through his left shoulder, sending a spray of blood flying.
Kitahara Kaede didn't even flinch. He grabbed the attacker's wrist in a reverse grip and twisted with a sudden burst of strength.
The sound of bone snapping echoed.
The man's neck was snapped instantly.
An explosive tag detonated at his feet.
Using the blast wave to propel himself, he rolled away and delivered a kick that shattered another enemy's ribcage.
There was no finesse to his movents.
He fought like a mad dog, trading life for life.
Because, in truth, he had no intention of surviving.
***
Hidden Leaf, South Street.
At the old grocery store on the corner.
"Boss, I'll take a bottle of soy sauce and a bottle of mirin."
Tsunade paid and packed the condints into a bag.
These were things she had told Kitahara Kaede to pick up on his way back.
But she knew that man too well.
He was brilliant in most things, but utterly careless with the minutiae of daily life; there was an eighty percent chance he would buy the wrong brand.
If the fish didn't taste right, he would just eat it in silence anyway.
It was better to just prepare them herself.
Passing by a furniture store, Tsunade stepped inside.
A set of solid wood table and chairs sat in the center of the room, the grain of the wood exquisite.
She ran her hand over the tabletop, and an image imdiately ford in her mind: Kaede sitting there, reviewing docunts.
"Boss, deliver this set the day after tomorrow."
She gave him the address to Kaede's house.
As she stepped out of the store, the afternoon sunlight washed over her.
She took a deep breath of the Hidden Leaf air.
When he returned tomorrow, she would take him to the edge of the village to look at the yard.
What should she plant in the front garden?
Bellflowers, perhaps. He liked things that were simple and clean.
***
The wasteland.
The scent of blood was pungent.
Corpses littered the ground.
The only ones still standing were Kitahara Kaede and the gray-haired leader.
Kitahara Kaede gasped for air, his uniform soaked through with blood.
His chakra was nearly depleted.
He had taken deep cuts to his left leg and stomach, wounds deep enough to expose the bone.
The performance had gone far enough.
The gray-haired man gripped his long sword with both hands and lunged forward.
The blade sliced straight toward Kaede's face.
Kitahara Kaede didn't weave any signs, nor did he dodge.
He poured every last drop of his remaining chakra into his right hand.
The Chidori shrieked.
He charged in a straight line, eting the blade head-on.
*Squelch—*
Steel entered flesh.
Two sounds overlapped.
Kitahara Kaede's right hand pierced the gray-haired man's heart.
The man's long sword impaled Kitahara Kaede's stomach, the tip of the blade protruding through his back.
The man collapsed, eyes wide in death.
Until his last breath, he couldn't understand why this Hidden Leaf ninja, who clearly had the skill to avoid vital organs, chose not to dodge.
Kitahara Kaede withdrew his hand and looked at the corpse on the ground.
'If I dodged, how was I supposed to die?'
***
Evening, Tsunade's house.
At the dinner table.
Nawaki was stuffing his face with rice. "Sis, Sensei's coming back tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, tomorrow afternoon," Tsunade replied, picking up so greens with her chopsticks. "The furniture arrives the day after tomorrow. You go and help them move it."
Nawaki rolled his eyes. "Drafting for labor again! Sis, tell the truth—have you been counting down the seconds since the day Sensei left?"
Tsunade's face flushed, and she tapped him with her chopsticks. "Just eat your food!"
Nawaki shrank back and finished his al in a few gulps.
As he walked toward his bedroom, he looked back at Tsunade, who was clearing the dishes.
"Sis, go to sleep early. Sensei'll be back tomorrow."
The boy lifted his chin proudly.
"The wilderness survival Sensei taught really works. When he gets back, I'm going to tell him personally that I've made another achievent!"
Tsunade gave a playful, scolding laugh.
The bedroom door closed.
The house fell quiet, leaving only the sound of water running in the sink.
***
The wasteland.
The night wind was bone-chilling.
Kitahara Kaede sat slumped in a pool of blood.
There was no one left alive around him.
The impalent was too fatal.
The blood flowed too quickly, draining his life force completely.
The wind whipped into his wounds, bringing a piercing, agonizing pain.
"This pain feedback from the simulator... is truly lethal," Kaede smiled bitterly, his eyelids growing heavier.
Forced logout was imminent.
It was supposed to be just a ga to farm rewards.
He had long since prepared himself to walk away.
But as his consciousness began to scatter, images flooded his mind beyond his control.
First, a hand.
She wiped it on her apron, took the salt shaker, and complained: "You put too much! Did you do that on purpose!"
Then, the wind atop a cliff.
Under the setting sun, she closed her eyes and stood on her tiptoes.
When their lips t, her eyelashes trembled slightly.
The images continued to drift back.
Twenty years ago.
In the pavilion of the Senju estate.
A little girl held a pair of dice and looked at him. "Do you know how to play dice?" she asked, laughing with pure, innocent joy.
The corner of Kaede's mouth twitched.
His fingers lost all strength.
The dark green necklace he had kept clenched in his palm slipped through his fingers.
*Clink.*
It hit the ground, stained with dark red blood.
'Goodnight,' he whispered in his heart.
The wind swept across the wasteland, lifting the stray hairs from his forehead.
Kaede closed his eyes.
***
Late night, Hidden Leaf.
Tsunade finished her bath, changed into her pajamas, and sat at her vanity to brush her hair.
Moonlight spilled across the floor.
On her wrist, she still wore the black hair tie Kitahara Kaede had used to tie her hair before he left.
She hadn't had the heart to take it off for days.
Setting down the brush, Tsunade touched the blue fluorite necklace around her neck and smiled at her reflection in the mirror.
She had already rehearsed the script for tomorrow.
In the evening, he would push open the door, carrying the wrong brand of soy sauce.
She would lean against the kitchen doorfra and tease him: "I knew you'd buy the wrong one!"
He gave a helpless smile, washed his hands, and dutifully began chopping vegetables.
The image was vivid—so clear that it felt as though it had actually happened.
Tsunade switched off the light, climbed into bed, and pulled the covers up. In the darkness, she stared up at the ceiling, listening to the chirping of insects outside the window.
A lingering smile played on her lips.
"Goodnight."
"See you tomorrow."
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