********
Chapter 23
Inside the white void.
Saki was sinking deeper into the ethereal floor of her inner mindscape.
The once-solid white ground had dissolved, transforming into a vast, milky sea. She looked up lethargically, her unfocused eyes fixed on the tangled roots of the flowers dangling from above.
The last thing she remembered was stumbling toward the village walls. She remembered an unbearable pain coursing through her veins like boiling lava, and then… nothing. She had fainted just outside the gates.
Now here she was, back in this strange, silent world. She watched as the roots of her red spider lilies violently pulsed with a sickly, burning hue.
She saw it, but her exhausted mind couldn't register the implications. She had no energy left to care. She just kept sinking deeper into the heavy, burning depths of her own mind.
'Just five more minutes,' she thought numbly, letting her eyes slide shut.
Suddenly, she felt a strange, warm touch against her body. A deep sense of peace washed over her. After all the disaster and pain, this small presence was gently telling her that she could finally rest—that she could safely strip away her armor here.
A small, genuine smile bloomed on her face. With her eyes still closed, she shifted toward that comforting presence and embraced it with her entire being.
*****
Outside, it was another matter entirely.
The oppressive, burning aura had subsided, but the unnatural winds were still swirling softly around Haruto.
The adults looked at one another, silently asking what they should do. In the end, they could only watch.
It had been minutes, and Haru was still drinking the chakra.
Saki's physical condition was rapidly returning to normal. The array of seals across her body had settled into a state of peaceful tranquility. Her breathing stabilized, and her pale complexion was visibly improving by the second.
Tsunade gulped. Tentatively, she stepped forward to examine her patient. Her eyes widened. She examined Saki again, this time with intense, pinpoint focus.
"He is healing her chakra network—no, he is making it… stronger," she whispered to herself, though everyone in the silent room heard her.
Then, Tsunade shivered visibly. She had reached out with her own medical chakra to probe Saki's body, but the instant it brushed against Haru's chakra, it was violently devoured. The boy's potent, vitality-filled chakra simply ate hers on contact.
Instantly, Tsunade slipped into full medical-nin mode. She frantically began noting down the entire process—documenting exactly how his chakra was rejuvenating Saki's destroyed pathways. Because her own chakra kept getting devoured every time they touched, she kept purposefully feeding it to him, repeatedly probing the connection. She noted down every single reaction inside Saki's body and her own, because what Tsunade was witnessing was a medical impossibility: she was watching someone actively heal shattered chakra veins.
Everyone watched quietly as Tsunade, looking half-possessed, kept scribbling furiously in her notebook before touching Saki's body, getting her chakra eaten, and writing again.
After a few more minutes, Haru finally lifted his head.
The heavy pressure descended on the room once again, but this time it wasn't the violent heat of the Tailed Beasts. It was his own oppressive, natural weight.
Haru lifted his head, looking almost intoxicated by the meal. His eyes glistened with deep satisfaction as they locked onto Tsunade's honey-brown ones.
Tsunade's breath hitched when she felt the weight of those ruby-red eyes land on her. His gaze then shifted, sweeping across the other adults in the room as if casually examining them. Finally, his eyes landed on Kushina.
Kushina's own violet eyes glowed in response to his silent call. She felt a strange, magnetic pull toward him.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, Haru's body began to change. Right before their eyes, he grew a few centimeters. His once-toothless gums suddenly sprouted small white teeth, and his crimson hair lengthened down his neck. Completely exhausted from his rapid evolution, he began to sway from side to side before finally slumping down onto Saki's chest, fast asleep.
Tsunade reacted first, darting forward to grab the baby.
But when her hands were mere inches away from him, she felt a sharp gust of wind. She froze, her eyes darting to the side.
A kunai constructed entirely out of glowing fūinjutsu seals was hovering a hair's breadth from Tsunade's temple. It was stopped only by Medori's vice-like grip around the attacker's wrist.
"Now, now…. Saki-san. You almost hurt my grand-niece," Medori said, a hint of dangerous mirth in her voice.
The others in the room instantly tensed.
Saki opened her eyes. The glowing fūinjutsu kunai morphed into seal petals and smoothly dissolved back into her palm.
"Sorry… Aah…" Saki groaned groggily, trying to lift herself but failing. She felt like she had taken a very long nap, and her body was refusing to listen.
She looked around, realizing everyone was watching her with worried eyes. Then her gaze landed on her chest—more specifically, on the child sleeping peacefully against her bosom. Her left arm was wrapped around him protectively, acting on pure, unconscious instinct.
Suddenly, she felt a soft impact on her right side. She tensed for a second, but relaxed the next when she heard a quiet whisper near her ear.
"Sensei, I was so worried…. I am so glad you are alright."
It was Sakuko. She hugged Saki tightly before gently helping her into a sitting position, resting Saki's back against the headboard of the bed.
Saki awkwardly patted Sakuko's back to comfort her, her eyes scanning the room again—this time, properly.
She saw Tsunade wiping sweat from her forehead, Kushina avoiding eye contact for some reason, and Kenji and Shōto looking at her with relief. Finally, her gaze landed on Medori, who was watching her with a small, knowing smile.
Saki nodded at her, silently thanking Medori for saving Tsunade. Inwardly, however, she was stunned; she had instinctively used a massive amount of strength in that strike, and Medori had caught it effortlessly. Saki's wrist was still throbbing from that vice-like grip.
Then, her expression shifted, and she addressed Tsunade with sudden seriousness.
"It seems you have been slacking in your training, Tsunade."
Tsunade felt goosebumps erupt across her body at that tone. She clearly still had some trauma from training under this woman.
"Hey, crazy woman, I am a medic, not some battle junkie! And I totally could have blocked that blow," Tsunade tried her best to defend herself.
"Tsunade, what is the first rule you established for medical-nin?" Saki asked with the same no-nonsense tone.
Tsunade gulped, replying defeatedly, "A medical-nin should never die first on the battlefield."
"Good. It is best you remember your own rules," Saki said pointedly. She genuinely didn't want this girl to die or suffer pointlessly.
But Tsunade was not going to take this lying down. So, she shot back with the remark that everyone else in the room had been too afraid to make.
"Well, at least my left side isn't paralyzed like a statue. You do realize it's uncomfortable for him to be held so stiffly, right?"
The entire room collectively held its breath. Sakuko and Kushina looked at Tsunade in open-mouthed horror.
Saki stiffened. It was true—she hadn't moved the left side of her body a single inch, terrified of waking the sleeping child she was holding so mechanically.
Thwack.
Medori slapped the back of Tsunade's head and said sternly, "That is not how you should talk to your teacher, young lady."
Tsunade rubbed the back of her head in slight frustration. 'Why am I the one getting beaten up?'
"Saki-san, you can give Haruto to me." Medori gently extended her hands.
Saki's hold tightened around the boy for a split second before she reluctantly nodded.
As if sensing Saki's distress, Medori paused, a small smile gracing her lips.
"Do you want to learn how to hold him properly?"
Saki nodded stiffly.
"Fufu… Here, let me show you. This is how you should support him." With a warm chuckle, Medori stepped closer and began guiding Saki's hands.
Kushina watched in utter bewilderment. This was the very first time she had ever seen her teacher so flustered. She only knew Saki's confident, blunt, and dangerously serious side—not this stiff, awkward version. Still, Kushina couldn't help but smile when she saw her teacher finally holding Haru correctly, even if she was still as tense as a board.
Kushina sighed softly. At least she got to see a new, softer side of her ever-stoic teacher.
But it seemed Tsunade had other plans.
"Come on, woman, don't hold him like that. He's not so fragile that you'll accidentally break him," Tsunade said casually. "Besides, he killed more people than all of us combined during this invasion."
Perhaps a little too casually.
The moment those words left her mouth, Tsunade instantly slapped both hands over her lips, her eyes going wide. 'Me and my big mouth.'
The entire room was once again engulfed in a deadly silence.
Off to the side, Kushina's jaw was practically touching the floor. If Tsunade's first comment to her sensei was like digging her own grave, this one was practically jumping into it and burying herself.
The room's temperature seemed to plummet. There was no visible aura, no oppressive release of chakra, but every single person present felt cold sweat bead on their backs.
"Tsunade, it seems you need to be properly educated on how a lady should behave," Medori said in a sickeningly sweet voice. She was smiling, but that smile did not reach her eyes in the slightest.
Tsunade swore she saw a great, looming demon standing right behind Medori.
"Meet me after you finish here…. Okay?"
Tsunade nodded frantically like a pecking hen.
"So… can anyone fill me in on the details?" Saki asked with a serious face, still holding the child stiffly.
"Ahem…" Kenji cleared his throat and began explaining everything. Shōto also chimed in from time to time. Both of their voices were grim, but their shoulders were finally relaxed seeing her out of danger.
******
Land of Fire.
Konohagakure.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen looked at the letter that had just been sent from Uzushio.
After reading it, he sighed heavily and rubbed his tired eyes.
After a few seconds, he picked up his brush and began writing something on a new scroll.
An ANBU quietly appeared beside his desk. Hiruzen handed the scroll to him and commanded softly, "Send it to Sakumo."
The ANBU nodded and flickered away.
Hiruzen's eyes then landed on another scroll on his desk—more specifically, the Summoning Contract of Ryūchi Cave. He decided to hold onto it, at least for the time being.
As he was mulling over the village's precarious situation, the office door was suddenly pushed open violently. Hiruzen sighed again; there were only a handful of people who could barge into his office like that.
Danzo Shimura entered with urgent steps, his face grim.
"Hiruzen. Sunagakure has begun to mobilize its troops toward the Land of Fire."
Hiruzen's expression instantly hardened. "Explain."
******
Inside the Senju Compound.
Mito had just finished reading the letter sent from Uzushio. She studied her slightly trembling hands and exhaled a long, deep breath.
They had survived. Barely, but they survived nonetheless. Only Saki was in critical condition, but Mito knew Saki would be alright in the end. She had seen that woman survive some absurd things in the past.
What concerned her the most was that Uzushio didn't have enough resources or manpower for rebuilding. Their surrounding environment had been mostly destroyed in the invasion. She needed to arrange everything—from basic supplies such as food and medicine for the people, to timber and iron for the reconstruction efforts.
And then there was that strange, massive pulse of chakra she had felt the other night. She would have to ask Tsunade about it when she returned.
Mito slowly stood from her chair and began walking toward the door.
But as she walked, she asked a question aloud—one she had wanted to ask her tenant for quite some time.
"Why didn't you break free, Nine-Tails? You had the chance. I was at my weakest at that time, but you didn't, you only tried to influence my emotions... and even that felt half-hearted."
She waited, but no verbal response came. Only a sharp, resonant click of a tongue sounded inside her head.
Mito smiled softly. She opened the door to her room and stepped out into the hallway.
"Call for a clan meeting."
The Senju guard stationed outside wore an expression of shock. It had been years since a formal Senju Clan meeting had been called.
He quickly regained his composure, bowed deeply, and flickered away.
Mito continued walking, stepping out onto the garden porch. She sat down, quietly watching the trees sway in the gentle winds beneath the afternoon sun.
*******
Unknown location.
Deep inside a dark, sprawling cavern illuminated only by the flickering light of a single candle, an old man with ragged white hair sat with his eyes closed.
He opened them. His right eye was a milky, blind white, but in his left eye spun a fully matured, three-tomoe Sharingan.
His crimson gaze shifted toward a patch of unnatural darkness in the corner of the cave.
"...Speak."
"Madara-sama. Uzushio survived," Black Zetsu rasped, emerging from the stone.
"Hmn…" Madara barely reacted. To him, the destruction of a village was a trivial matter that Black Zetsu orchestrated. A mere footnote in the grand scheme of plans.
Then, an image flashed in his mind. The second person he ever truly respected after Hashirama.
"How did they survive?" he asked, his gravelly voice echoing slightly.
"...Saki Uzumaki awakened some strange power. She fought the Two-Tails and the Four-Tails alone. I couldn't see what happened next as the whole Island was beginning to be covered in storms, so I had to flee."
Black Zetsu paused. He desperately wanted to warn Madara about the other anomaly—the terrifying white being that had manifested in front of him. But he didn't dare speak of it. He could still feel the phantom weight of those piercing golden eyes staring directly into his soul, warning him to stay away.
This time, Madara slightly raised an eyebrow.
"How did you convince Iwagakure to join forces with Kumo?" From what he knew, the Stone and the Cloud were like water and oil.
"I didn't. I only left the intelligence on the Raikage's desk. Even I was surprised when Iwa joined the fray," Black Zetsu replied.
"This accursed world remains the same… driven only by endless war and hatred," Madara said, a dark, cynical smirk forming on his aged lips. "At least she reached our heights. But alas, she will never truly reach me. Not even Hashirama can."
A flash of deep, rippling purple passed through his Sharingan.
"Soon. Very soon…." He shifted his gaze back to the shadow. "Is the vessel ready?"
"Yes, Madara-sama. I have found an Uzumaki boy who can sustain those eyes."
"Good… very good."
Madara closed his remaining eye, allowing the cavern to return to its dead, oppressive silence.
*******
A.N
Hello there,
Now Volume 1 is almost over with it a big time skip will happen. I can't have my MC be a toddler for long.
And a surprise will be waiting for you all when I will introduce new characters.
I hope you will like it, It will expand my story to much bigger heights.