Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 185

"Hey! Naruto..."

Sasuke's voice carried a tension he himself was unaware of.

He had never seen Naruto suffer such a serious injury.

The lingering, violent wind-style chakra from the Rasenshuriken within the wound made even him feel a chill.

That bastard, just how dangerous a technique did he use?!

As if he had heard the call, Naruto's eyelids twitched slightly, and he opened them with difficulty, just a crack.

Those usually vibrant, deep blue eyes were now dull and lifeless, filled with weariness and weakness.

He tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to force a smile, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible: "Haha... How about that... Sasuke... I... was awesome, right...? That guy... got... blasted away by me..."

Seeing Naruto in such a miserable state, he still forced himself to talk big.

Sasuke's initial worry was instantly replaced by a surge of anger. He turned his face away and sneered, "Idiot!"

However, without his own notice, the corners of his mouth involuntarily curved upwards into an extremely tiny arc.

That idiot... actually did it.

On the other side, Rope Tree was firmly bound to the tree trunk with steel wire. He could not break free from the control of Impure World Reincarnation and could only watch helplessly as everything unfolded before his eyes.

His gaze was fixed on his older sister, Tsunade.

At this moment, Tsunade was no longer curled up in a ball as she had been before.

But his body was still trembling slightly, and his face was pale.

His amber eyes were fixed on the ground, unable to look at the terrible wound on Naruto's arm—

There was blood on it.

"elder sister……"

Rope Tree's voice was filled with pain and disbelief: "I...I really didn't expect...my death...to make you like this...to scare you...blood..."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached Tsunade's ears clearly.

Tsunade's body trembled violently, as if she had been pricked by a needle.

She slowly raised her head, looking at Rope Tree, her eyes filled with an extremely complex mix of emotions—

Guilt, sadness, and heartache for her younger brother.

Meanwhile, in Naruto's consciousness space.

"Hmph, that troublesome guy is finally gone!"

The enormous head of the Nine-Tailed Fox lay prostrate before the sealed iron gate.

The crimson beast eyes glanced at Kato Dan's soul, which had been temporarily stabilized by Minato using a simple sealing technique.

Minato nodded gently to the point of break: "Kato-senpai, it's safe outside for now. Your soul can go back."

Kato Dan's soul light stabilized considerably. He bowed deeply to Minato and Kurama, saying, "I should thank you for not harming that child and for suppressing my out-of-control state."

After saying that, his figure transformed into a soft white light and instantly disappeared from the consciousness space.

Outside, Kato Dan's reanimated body, shattered by the aftershocks of the Rasenshuriken, rapidly reformed amidst the flying scraps of paper.

As soon as he regained his mobility, he could clearly feel that Orochimaru's control over his body had weakened.

Immediately, he looked at Tsunade, his eyes filled with endless apology and tenderness.

"Tsunade……"

The broken voice was low and clear, carrying a longing and heartache that transcended life and death: "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I couldn't protect you, I couldn't be with you until the end, and I couldn't be by your side when you needed help the most, when you were in the most pain..."

Tsunade's tears fell silently as she looked at Dan, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

The broken voice, like a gentle stream, tried to soothe the wounds in her heart: "You don't need to be sad for us, Tsunade."

"Neither I nor Rope Tree have any intention of blaming you."

"Death is the inevitable fate of ninjas, and we accept it."

"Our greatest wish is that you can live well, carrying our share... and Nawaki's dream of inheriting the First Hokage, together... live well!"

Rope Tree was also struggling, even though it couldn't move its body.

But he shouted at Tsunade with all his might, his voice filled with boyish innocence and unwavering determination: "Sister! Get up! Go help that blond guy!"

"You are the world's strongest medical ninja! You taught me yourself, you said it—as a healer, we cannot stand by and watch any patient die! This is our oath, sister!"

"Get up, sister!" Rope Tree's voice echoed through the valley, carrying a power that pierced the heart. "Go save him!"

Tsunade shuddered, as if jolted awake from a nightmare by the shout.

She looked up, her eyes blurry with tears, at the two men before her—

One was her former lover, gentle and refined, with eyes filled with unwavering affection and encouragement.

One of them was her younger brother, whom she regarded as her life. He was sunny and cheerful, and at this moment his eyes were filled with anxiety and unconditional trust and admiration for her.

Rope Tree forced a smile, his face still streaked with tears.

But then she revealed a bright, hopeful smile, just like the one she had when she ran in the sunlight all those years ago: "Sister! No matter what happens, I will never blame you! Never!"

"Because... you're my older sister! The most amazing and wonderful older sister in the world!"

Chapter 209 Hmm! Leave it to my older sister!

Duan gazed at her tenderly, as if trying to etch her image into the depths of his soul: "Tsunade, go!"

"Go and fulfill the dream you told me about back then. Use your hands and your medical ninjutsu to heal everyone you can and protect everything you want to protect."

"Konoha... and the future... both need you."

Their words, like warm sunshine, gradually dispelled the gloom and fear that had accumulated in Tsunade's heart for many years.

That heart, already shattered by pain and self-blame, seemed to be infused with a new life force.

It began to slowly but steadily re-bond and revive.

The trembling in his body miraculously stopped.

The fear that had once made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave and was unable to move receded like the tide.

Although the aversion and discomfort towards blood still exist, a stronger will prevails—

It was the promise to the deceased, the adherence to one's own beliefs, and the sense of responsibility for the lives in need of saving that overwhelmed it.

Tsunade took a deep breath and forcefully wiped away the tears on her face with her sleeve.

A firm and bright light rekindled in her amber eyes.

The light was clearer and more powerful than ever before.

She no longer looked at the bloodstains on the ground, her gaze firmly fixed on Naruto, who lay weakly beside Sasuke.

Footsteps, began to move.

He took a step, a little unsteady, but very steady.

The second step is to be even more determined.

Without hesitation or trembling, she walked step by step toward Naruto.

Her back straightened again, like a pine tree standing proudly in the wind and snow.

As Sasuke watched Tsunade approach step by step, and saw the rekindled flame in her eyes, his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

He silently moved aside.

Tsunade knelt down beside Naruto, ignoring the dark red blood seeping from the hideous wounds on her arms that instinctively made her uncomfortable.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed the churning in her stomach and the palpitations in her heart.

A soft, vibrant emerald-green chakra glow, like the purest spring of life, emanated from Tsunade's hands.

The light was brighter and warmer than ever before.

She carefully hovered her hands over Naruto's horribly mangled right arm.

The moment the green light touched the wound, Tsunade's vision blurred for a moment!

That horrible, deep, bone-revealing laceration...

The charred and twisted muscle tissue...

The destructive aura lingering from that violent energy...

All of this instantly overlapped with the most painful images from the depths of my memory!

In a daze, she felt as if she had returned to that battlefield tent filled with the stench of blood.

He lay broken on a makeshift stretcher, his chest pierced through, blood gushing out like a flood.

The blood stained the white cloth beneath her, as well as her hands and clothes.

She desperately channeled her pure medical chakra into Duan's body, trying to stop the horrific wound.

However, with the chakra pathways completely destroyed, life force was lost as quickly as sand slipping through one's fingers.

Her body temperature was dropping, her eyes were becoming unfocused, and her hands were soaked in warm, viscous blood—the blood that symbolized the end of her life…

"Tsunade... I'm sorry... I..." Duan's voice was weak, like a sigh.

"No! Don't speak! Hold on! I can save you! I definitely can!"

She screamed, tears mingling with blood as they dripped down her face. The light of her medical chakra flickered wildly, but it could not stop the life from slipping away.

She could clearly feel the warm blood flowing between her fingers... cold... bone-chilling...

The scene changes instantly!

The small body lay on the cold, muddy ground, covered in dirt and blood.

An empty chest, with shattered internal organs faintly visible...

Those eyes, which were always full of life, had lost all their luster at this moment...

She reached out, trembling, wanting to touch her brother's cold cheek, but her fingertips were covered in that glaring, dried, blackened...blood...