"That's enough. There's no point in this anymore." Uchiha Ran let out a bitter laugh. "Hatake Sakumo has probably already reported our conversation to the Hokage — only fueling the fire. Tsunade, from this day forward, it's over between us. No debts. No feelings. And I'll say it one last time: don't you dare show up at my funeral. If you do, even as a ghost, I'll never let you go. Goodbye. Forever."
Those three words left Uchiha Ran like a final breath.
His eyes filled with tears in an instant. His voice broke and turned hoarse.
And then, scarlet streams spilled down his cheeks — a mix of blood and tears.
In his eyes... the irises suddenly flared up, beyond his control, turning deep crimson as three tomoe gleamed brightly.
Tsunade froze, as if she'd just witnessed the impossible.
But Uchiha Ran, resolute now, turned without hesitation and walked away.
The scene had reached its climax — there was no point in staying any longer.
At first, he'd planned to use the pharmaceutical division as an excuse to gradually talk things through with Tsunade.
But she had struck straight at his weak spot, forcing him to change plans at the last second.
Still, the outcome turned out even better than expected. Tsunade was cornered, consumed entirely by guilt.
But at the same time, the risk had increased tenfold.
If she decided to act for him again — and did something foolish — he really wouldn't survive it.
Had he known things would turn out like this, he'd never have provoked Utatane Koharu, that lunatic old woman.
He'd even prepared a speech for Tsunade — but, as always, she went and bypassed everything.
Now he had only one chance left.
He was banking on the hope that after all the years he'd dedicated to Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi would hesitate to act too quickly.
That Tsunade would have time to seek help from Uzumaki Mito before the Third gave the order to eliminate him.
To hell with Konoha.
If he could survive this and weather the storm — he'd make them all pay.
He'd spent so long playing his game through Tsunade. It couldn't all be for nothing.
In Ran's heart, a bitter smile lingered — how damn hard it was just to stay alive.
Everything he'd said earlier — aside from the deliberate exaggerations against Tsunade — had been real.
And now the decisive moment had come. Life or death — all depended on whether he could push through this final stretch.
But he had only walked a few dozen meters before Hatake Sakumo suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Ha... Hatake Sakumo. You're here to finish me off?" Ran's shoulders slumped.
This wasn't Utatane Koharu — with her, there was still room to stall. But Sakumo... Sakumo wasn't someone you could delay.
He had never fought in a real battle. How could he possibly be a match for someone like Sakumo?
"Kill you?" Sakumo looked genuinely surprised. "What makes you think that? Why would I kill you?"
"Didn't the Hokage order you to eliminate me?" Ran asked, desperation creeping into his voice.
"Hokage? I haven't even spoken to him."
Sakumo's words sparked a flicker of hope in Ran's chest.
"Then why didn't you go report what happened?" he asked, confused.
"What's it to you?" Sakumo clearly wasn't interested in explaining. "Let's go. My mission is to keep monitoring you."
Uchiha Ran laughed — a genuine, heartfelt laugh.
He suddenly understood why Hiruzen Sarutobi disliked Hatake Sakumo so much.
As a descendant of a samurai family, Sakumo was different from the other ANBU. He had his own code.
While the rest of ANBU followed Hiruzen without question, Sakumo only did what he believed was right.
He was truly loyal to Konoha. But not to people. Not to any one person.
If something was for the good of the village — he acted. If not — no way. No one could bend him to their will.
Hiruzen couldn't stand that. That's why he later removed Sakumo from the ANBU. He just didn't want him around anymore.
Another hundred meters passed — and suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed behind them.
Finally realized it?
Ran only rolled his eyes. Who would take it all so hard they could barely move?
Because of that delay, he had nearly died of fright when Sakumo showed up.
Tsunade might not be Sakumo's equal yet, but as long as she was around — even with a direct order, he wouldn't attack in her presence.
In truth, all these years, Ran had been fairly sure Hiruzen Sarutobi would never give a direct kill order to the ANBU.
All that talk earlier — about sensing bloodlust in their chakra — had just been to scare Tsunade.
He wasn't the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki — what ability did he have to read emotions through chakra?
Since Konoha's founding, there hadn't been a single instance of the Hokage ordering a civilian who hadn't committed a crime to be killed outright.
That would shake the very foundation of the village.
If something like that were allowed to happen even once, Konoha could lose its stability forever.
It was the kind of thing Root would do — but Root hadn't even been created yet.
It was only on the eve of the Second Great Shinobi War that Hiruzen agreed to Danzo's proposal to form Root — to fight spies and gather intelligence.
But even then, everything Root did had to be in secret. No evidence, no traces. Always from the shadows.
Still, standing so close to death, Ran didn't dare let go of even the smallest sliver of hope.
As the footsteps closed in behind him, he suddenly — not even knowing why — leapt to the side.
At that moment, Tsunade, arms wide open, rushed right through the spot where Ran had been just seconds before.
Her attempt to hug him failed. She stopped in place, hurt flashing across her face, and tears welled up once again.
She'd made up her mind. She'd even been ready to swallow her pride and beg Ran for forgiveness. She'd been ready to reveal secrets she had hidden for years.
But Ran had predicted her move. Predicted it — and stepped away.
If this had been a normal day, maybe he would've let her "mess around" a bit.
But right now, it was life and death!
The stronger Tsunade's guilt, the more decisive she would be.
If that guilt wavered, if gentleness crept in — she would hesitate again, start overthinking, and ruin everything.
"Ran, your eyes..." Tsunade, eyes red from crying, reached out to wipe the blood from his face, to check his eyes.
But Ran stepped back, wiping his face casually with his sleeve. His crooked smile carried the weight of despair and a dozen other emotions.
"Tsunade, go back. Don't waste tears or feelings on a man who doesn't have much time left."
"Ran, I'm sorry!" Tsunade gasped, pain in every word.
"'Sorry' is the most useless thing you can say at a time like this," he shook his head. "What, you think your apology is gonna bring me back to life?"
"No!" Tsunade shook her head violently. "You're not going to die. We'll figure something out. I swear!"
"Don't forget, Tsunade: Hiruzen Sarutobi is still the Hokage. If he decides I have to die — you won't be able to stop him," Ran reminded her.
"There's a way. Come with me!" Tsunade grabbed his hand and tried to pull him toward the Senju estate.
"Let go. I want to go home. Say goodbye to my adoptive parents. To my brother," Ran struggled to pull away.
"I'm not letting you go!" Tsunade refused to back down. She had made up her mind — no matter what, she was taking him to Uzumaki Mito.
To her, her grandmother had always been the embodiment of wisdom. She had to have a solution.
Hand in hand, they crossed nearly all of Konoha.
Passersby were visibly stunned by the sight.
"Wait, weren't they saying Tsunade-sama and Dr. Ran couldn't stand each other?"
"Kids these days... One minute they're fighting, the next they're running around holding hands?"
"Grandma! Grandma!" The moment they stepped onto Senju clan territory, Tsunade yelled out.
"Sis, you're home! Uh..." Nawaki, who'd been playing in the yard, was about to greet her — but froze the moment he saw her dragging Uchiha Ran along.
Then he sprinted to the back yard and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Grandma! Grandma! Sis brought a guy home!"