The northwest corner of the Hidden Leaf.
Few people lived in this area. There was only one grocery store every couple of blocks, and even the streetlights were sparser here than elsewhere.
Tsunade stood at a doorstep holding a box of dango, knocking twice.
Before the door even opened, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from inside.
"Coming! I'm coming!"
The door flew open, and a flurry of red hair rushed toward her.
Kushina threw her arms around Tsunade in a tight hug, nearly causing Tsunade to drop the box of dango.
"Lady Tsunade! You finally decided to visit!"
Tsunade grimaced, feeling the squeeze.
"Let go, or the dango will get crushed."
Kushina released her and glanced down at the box, her eyes lighting up.
"Sweet chestnut! This shop has the best red bean filling!"
"I bought them because I knew you loved them."
Tsunade handed over the box and was promptly dragged into the house by Kushina.
The living room was just as it had been during the last visit—spotlessly clean. A stack of letters sat on the table; most were open, with only two or three still sealed.
Kushina brewed a pot of tea and arranged the dango on a plate before bringing them over.
"Sit, sit! Why are you still standing?"
Tsunade sat cross-legged on a cushion and picked up her teacup. Kushina sat opposite her, skewering a piece of dango with a bamboo pick and popping it into her mouth. After a few chews, she suddenly stopped.
She stared at Tsunade for several seconds.
Tsunade frowned under the scrutiny. "What is it?"
"You look much better." Kushina tilted her head, twirling the bamboo pick in her hand. "Last ti you were here, you had dark circles under your eyes; you looked like you hadn't slept in weeks. But this ti—"
She leaned in closer, eyeing Tsunade up and down. "How should I put this? Has sothing good happened lately?"
Tsunade's hand paused as she held her tea.
"With observation skills like yours, it's a waste that you aren't out on more missions."
"That depends on whether the Hokage gives any." Kushina pointed her pick at her. "Don't change the subject, Lady Tsunade. Last ti, you told a friend of yours had a strange dream."
She narrowed her eyes. "What happened? Did your friend find the person?"
Tsunade took a sip of tea and didn't answer.
Kushina waited three seconds, then tapped the pick twice against the edge of the plate. "Why are you playing coy with ?"
"Nothing is certain," Tsunade replied, setting down her cup. "However... I am a bit more certain than I was last ti."
Kushina nearly swallowed her dango whole. "What do you an? You saw them?"
"Once." Tsunade gazed into the tea. "So things matched up. Others didn't."
"What matched? What—"
"Enough." Tsunade waved her hand to cut her off. "I haven't figured it out myself yet. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."
"Hah." Kushina set the pick on the plate. "Just admit it. That 'friend' is actually you."
"It is ! So what!" Tsunade glared at her, her tone tinged with annoyance.
Kushina rested her chin in her hand and watched her, choosing not to press further. She had known Tsunade for years. Aside from when she lost money gambling, Tsunade was usually emotionally stable.
During the last visit, she had been exhausted, barely speaking. This ti was different. She wasn't exactly happy, but she was clearly less conflicted.
How should one describe it? It was as if she had a flicker of hope in her heart, though she was too stubborn to admit it.
Kushina stopped poking at the subject and changed the topic.
"By the way, Minato sent a letter a few days ago."
Tsunade picked up her tea. "Is he doing alright on the front lines?"
"He's doing great, just busy." Kushina sifted through the stack of open letters on the table and pulled out a page. "But this ti, he specifically ntioned sothing. He said he t a very impressive young man on the front."
Tsunade gave a noncommittal hum.
"You know Minato; he rarely writes about other people. This ti, he actually dedicated a whole paragraph to him." Kushina pointed to the middle of the letter. "He said the boy has incredible judgnt and a level of ticulousness that shouldn't exist at his age. He only t him once, but he was deeply impressed."
Tsunade listened in silence.
"With Minato praising him like that, I'm actually curious." Kushina folded the letter and put it back. "Once that boy returns to the village, I'll have to have Minato introduce us."
Her tone shifted as she leaned in closer. "Also, Lady Tsunade, if you confirm who that person is, bring them over so I can see them too."
Tsunade froze for a mont. "...We'll see."
Kushina laughed and clapped her hands. "Alright, alright! No more talking about that. Let's play cards!"
The two sat at the table. Kushina shuffled, and Tsunade drew.
Over four rounds, Tsunade lost three. It wasn't that her luck was bad; she was just half a beat slow with her moves, her gaze occasionally drifting.
Kushina skewered one of the dango she had won and took a bite. "Lady Tsunade, if you keep zoning out, this whole box of dango is going to be mine."
Tsunade snapped back to reality and looked at her hand. "...One last round."
She lost again.
By the ti they parted, the sky had grown dark. Kushina walked her to the door. As Tsunade stepped down the stairs and took a few paces, soone tugged on her sleeve from behind.
"Lady Tsunade."
Tsunade looked back. Kushina was leaning against the doorfra, her red hair swaying in the evening breeze.
"You were still thinking about that matter while we were playing cards, weren't you?"
Tsunade remained silent.
"I don't know what that dream actually signifies," Kushina said, releasing her sleeve. "But if there's sothing you want to do, just do it. Just don't regret it later."
Tsunade looked at her without answering. After two seconds, she offered a small smile and turned, disappearing into the night.
***
Three days later.
The South Gate, early morning.
The sky had just begun to lighten, and the mist had not yet cleared. Kitahara Kaede stood by the gatepost with his gear on his back, adjusting his shoulder strap.
Footsteps approached from behind—two people, one fast and one slow.
The fast one called out from a distance. "Kaede—!"
Guy charged forward, braking sharply a ter away. Kurenai Yuhi followed behind, her pace steady and unhurried.
"Why are you two here?"
"We've been training together for so long, can't we at least see you off?" Kurenai asked.
Guy nodded vigorously beside her. "Of course! When a comrade sets out on a mission, we must be here!"
Kitahara Kaede looked at the two of them but said nothing more. Guy stepped forward and slapped his shoulder with considerable force.
"Make sure you co back safely." Guy's usual boisterous expression vanished, replaced by genuine sincerity. "We'll resu our training together when you return."
"Alright."
Guy nodded firmly and stepped back. Kurenai stepped forward and pulled a tube of ointnt from her waist pouch.
"This is for you."
Kitahara Kaede took it and glanced at it. It was the sa kind he had used for her during a previous mission.
"I won't need this."
"What do you an?" Kurenai frowned. "Are you refusing the gesture?"
Kitahara Kaede looked at the ointnt, paused, and then spoke. "Thanks."
He tucked the ointnt into the side pocket of his bag, nodded to them both, and turned to walk out the gate.
After he had taken a dozen steps, Guy's voice rang out behind him.
"Next ti we spar, I'll be even stronger!"
Without looking back, Kitahara Kaede gave a casual wave of his hand. The morning mist swallowed his silhouette.
***
That afternoon.
Tsunade stepped out of the hospital and walked back along the main street. As she passed the Hokage Tower, she habitually glanced at the announcent board in front of the building.
Her footsteps stopped.
The deploynt list.
Her eyes scanned down the page, stopping on the third row of the Chunin sequence.
Kitahara Kaede.
Deploynt destination: Cloud Village front.
Tsunade stood before the board, staring at those three words. All around her, shinobi ca and went, so discussing the nas on the list.
She didn't hear a word of it.
A strange, indescribable feeling surged in her chest.
It was as if soone had stood beside her and said, "I'm heading out on a short mission," before turning away and never coming back.
The image had appeared out of nowhere, yet it was too vivid to be a re product of her imagination.
Tsunade's hand tightened into a fist.
He had gone sowhere beyond her sight again.
*Again?*
Tsunade squeezed her hand once more, turned, and walked into the Hokage Tower.
***
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen was reviewing docunts.
The door pushed open.
"Old man."
Tsunade walked in, sat in the chair before the desk, and crossed her legs.
Hiruzen looked up and set down his pen. "What is it?"
"The deploynt schedules have been pretty tight lately," Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair with a casual tone. "Are the field hospitals on the front lines keeping pace with the numbers?"
Hiruzen glanced at her. As the head of the dical system, it was perfectly reasonable for her to ask.
"The field hospitals in the northeast were expanded two weeks ago. They're sufficient."
Tsunade nodded.
The northeast. That should be the front where Minato was stationed.
The thought put her mind slightly more at ease, but only slightly.
"I noticed a few recently promoted Chunin on the lists," she continued, her tone unchanging. "The intensity on the front lines is high. Which echelon were the rookies assigned to?"
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, not answering imdiately.
Since when did Tsunade care about the logistics of deploynt teams?
He understood her motive instantly and took a puff of his pipe.
"You don't need to worry about the assignnts. Rookies aren't sent alone into high-intensity zones; there's plenty of support on the front lines."
Tsunade nodded and stood up. "Fine, I get it."
She took a few steps toward the door, then stopped and looked back at Hiruzen.
"Old man, don't send people there just to die."
Hiruzen kept the pipe in his mouth and didn't respond.
The door closed, and the sound of Tsunade's footsteps faded down the corridor.
Hiruzen removed the pipe from his mouth.
When Tsunade had turned around, her collar had shifted. The necklace hanging around her neck wasn't the green crystal left behind by the First Hokage.
It was a silver one.
Hiruzen tapped the ash into his ashtray and returned to the docunts on his desk.
***
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