Seeing Tsunade, her face completely devoid of expression and her body trembling as if it could collapse at any moment, Orochimaru instinctively stepped forward, attempting to steady her.
The next second, a tremendous force erupted as Tsunade shoved Orochimaru away with all her might.
However, that push seemed to have drained the last ounce of her strength. Her trembling figure slowly sank to her knees, like a delicate porcelain doll that had lost its soul.
Hai;
Xu;
You;
Shen;
Wei;
...
Tsunade's empty eyes were devoid of consciousness as her hands moved instinctively, forming seals one by one.
Come out!
Hurry up and come out!
Tell me this is all a lie!
Rinjin! Where are you?!
As silent tears slid down her cheeks, her inner voice screamed desperately.
With a soft poof, a cloud of white smoke burst forth.
When the smoke cleared, a tall figure appeared at the gates of Konoha.
Rinjin had arrived!
His sharp gaze swept over the scene in an instant. When his eyes landed on the jade-green necklace lying on the ground, his brows furrowed deeply.
Shenju's in trouble?!
What the hell?! Someone actually dared to target Shenju?
Was it Hiruzen Sarutobi? Danzo Shimura? Black Zetsu? Or maybe the Uchiha clan?
In that split second, a dozen suspects flashed through Rinjin's mind.
But before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, Tsunade suddenly stood up and threw herself into his arms, her sobs tearing through the air.
"Rinjin! Rinjin! Shenju is dead! He's dead! He's gone!!"
"Rinjin! Tell me, tell me he's not gone! Tell me it's not true!"
"Wuuu... Wuuu... He's gone... He's really gone..."
As Rinjin held the trembling, gasping Tsunade, on the verge of fainting from crying, he fell silent.
He could understand her. He could understand the kind of pain that felt like every bone in your body was being shattered one by one, the kind of anguish that tore your heart apart piece by piece.
He had suffered loss before too.
Holding Tsunade's quaking body, a flicker of black streaked across the corner of Rinjin's eye.
In his mind, his 'rationality' whispered incessantly:
This isn't something you should get involved in!
Think about all the effort you've put in, the time you've spent, the brain cells you've killed!
Rinjin, your position is unique. You can't risk it for someone you barely know!
You've worked so hard to move from being dependent on Konoha to striking a delicate balance. Don't throw it all away!
Maintain that balance!
Think about Handashi, about Fugaku, about Rii. It's precisely because of this hard-earned equilibrium that you can protect them!
Don't interfere!
Shenju's fate is sealed!
If you intervene, Hiruzen Sarutobi will inevitably become your enemy, and Konoha will no longer tolerate you!
...
As his rationality continued its relentless arguments, Rinjin's consciousness shifted. In the dark recesses of his mind, he opened his eyes and glared at the unmoving 'monster' lurking within.
"You're really something, aren't you?"
"If I listen to you and back off, Tsunade will lose hope. She'll fall into despair."
"If I don't listen to you and insist on stepping in, Konoha will become my enemy, and more of my friends will clash with me on the battlefield."
"How are you this capable? If you're so amazing, why haven't you ascended to the heavens yet?"
"What's your connection to Kaguya Otsutsuki? Why aren't you living with her on the moon? Are you her pet rabbit or something?"
A stream of mocking words spilled from Rinjin's mouth.
In the next instant, Rinjin accelerated, pinning the tentacle-covered monster to the ground.
"Alright, stop struggling."
"Your hideous form doesn't scare me, okay? At most, you're a cheap trick to spook Dogbro, who's never seen the world."
"When the day comes that you turn into Rem, I'll—damn it—lick you to pieces!"
With that, Rinjin firmly restrained the monster and withdrew his consciousness from the mental space.
At the village gates, Rinjin effortlessly lifted the now-silent and tear-streaked Tsunade onto his shoulder. Bending down, he picked up the jade-green necklace lying on the ground.
Rinjin waved dismissively at Orochimaru and the members of Tsunade's team, his face devoid of emotion.
"I'm taking Tsunade with me. Tell the Third Hokage whatever you want."
Without another word, he turned and walked towards the village.
In the quiet Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, his brow furrowed deeply as he stared at Rinjin's retreating figure.
Summoning Jutsu.
Tsunade had managed to summon Rinjin through a Summoning Jutsu?
Did that mean... this guy had a personal summoning scroll?
No. This wasn't just about the scroll anymore.
This was about Shenju.
Was Rinjin going to get involved?
The thought made Hiruzen's frown deepen further.
The village's situation was already precarious.
The war raged on outside, and Shenju had fallen within.
At this moment, the village couldn't afford Rinjin meddling in this matter.
Hiruzen's ideal outcome was to downplay the incident, to turn a big problem into a small one and a small one into nothing.
However, knowing Rinjin's personality, he was certain that this guy would intervene for Tsunade's sake.
As this realization sank in, Hiruzen rubbed his aching temples, took a deep drag from his pipe, and muttered to himself:
"Ah... What a troublesome man."
Meanwhile, in the Root Organization headquarters beneath the Hokage Rock, Danzo Shimura was packing his belongings while cursing up a storm.
"Damn it, what's the point of keeping you lot around?!"
"You strut around bragging all day, but when it matters, you can't even get the job done!"
"It's been half a month, and you still haven't figured out the cause of Shenju's death. And now you're trying to fob me off with some bullshit about an 'enemy trap'?"
"Damn it! Which enemy?! Who did it?!"
"At the very least, give me a scapegoat, for crying out loud!"
"Idiots! Morons! Useless freeloaders!"
"If I get beaten up, none of you will escape unscathed!"
Faced with Danzo's colorful tirade, the Root ninjas all kept their heads down, looking like a bunch of terrified quails.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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