As a massive boulder tore through the flames toward him, Uchiha Ran, retreating midair before his feet could even touch the ground, instantly gathered chakra into his right fist and struck forward with force.
Technique of Monstrous Strength!
The moment his fist connected with the rock, it shattered into fragments. Using the recoil from the impact, Ran continued to retreat.
But almost at the same time, Tsunade—who had hidden behind the rubble of the destroyed boulder—burst forward and landed a furious kick square into Ran's chest before he could raise a defense.
Boom!
Ran's body exploded in a puff of smoke.
A clone!
At that very instant, a powerful column of water shot from the air ten meters to the side, barreling toward Tsunade.
But Tsunade, as if sensing it, activated Precise Chakra Control Mode the moment she landed—her chakra-anchored feet clinging tightly to the ground.
Using the suction-like grip she created, she abruptly ducked, narrowly avoiding a direct hit.
At the same time, she rolled aside, just in time to evade a second water column that slashed downward like a sword.
The stone slab beneath the water strike was split cleanly in two, and the column didn't stop—it swept forward in a slicing motion, gliding along the surface.
Suiton: Suiryūdanha!
This technique had been created by Senju Tobirama himself—a concentrated stream of water shot from the mouth under immense pressure, like a continuous blade.
Even so, Tsunade managed to dodge again. Crouching low, she charged straight at Uchiha Ran with lightning speed.
By then, the water column had already dissipated.
"Let's see how you block this!" came her battle cry.
In the next instant, Tsunade was above Ran, launching a crushing downward kick aimed to break through him from above.
After months of training, Tsunade had learned a great deal about Ran's capabilities.
Weaker techniques like Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu he could perform even through shadow clones.
But high-level jutsu like Suiton: Suiryūdanha required his main body—he still couldn't channel that kind of power through a clone.
After all, not everyone was like Uzumaki Naruto, with such absurd reserves of chakra that even his clones could cast Fūton: Rasenshuriken.
Nor was he like Edo Tensei Uchiha Madara, whose shadow clone could summon a full-body Susanoo with ease.
While Uchiha Ran's talent was undoubtedly exceptional, his chakra volume remained within the normal range for Kage-level shinobi. He couldn't afford to burn through it recklessly like a Jinchūriki.
With no time to form hand seals again, Ran hastily gathered chakra into his body and raised his left arm to block.
Crash!
The enormous impact instantly cracked the ground beneath his feet, sending fractures spreading in all directions, tearing across dozens of meters.
The downward force of the blow sent Ran spinning through the air—absorbing part of the kinetic energy through the rotation.
And using that same momentum, he launched a counterattack—a kick from above aimed at the just-landed Tsunade.
But she had anticipated it. She drove her fist upward, meeting his descending leg head-on.
Boom!
The clash triggered a shockwave that obliterated the already fractured ground—the platform they fought on sank lower from the impact.
Initially, Ran had intended to use the recoil to break away and gain distance, but he didn't make it in time—before he could move, Tsunade's figure flickered into view before him like a ghost.
She immediately unleashed a flurry of blows.
So began their fierce exchange: fist after fist, strike after strike, their bodies whirling in a furious dance of close-quarters combat.
At this point, Uchiha Ran had only recently mastered the Technique of Monstrous Strength—barely ten days ago.
He had yet to learn Precise Chakra Control Mode, and his combat experience was still lacking.
In pure taijutsu, he was still a step behind Tsunade.
But now, he had no choice.
Tsunade, giving him no room to breathe, didn't let him retreat or form a single hand seal—forcing him to fight hand-to-hand.
Under her relentless barrage, Uchiha Ran gradually began to lose ground.
Only thanks to the body-conditioning training he had started six years ago using chakra reinforcement did he manage to hold up physically. His incredible reaction speed helped him withstand Tsunade's pressure—if only barely.
Still, the gap in raw taijutsu between them was unmistakable.
Ten minutes later, Uchiha Ran was flat on the ground, breathing heavily—ending today's sparring match as the loser once again.
Before reincarnating into this world, Ran had secretly underestimated Tsunade's strength.
After all, not every taijutsu specialist was Might Guy, who could explode into a storm by opening the Eight Gates.
But now, after actually fighting Tsunade, Ran realized just how wrong—how completely wrong—he had been.
Because of him, Tsunade hadn't stopped training over the past few years.
Once the laziest of the Three Legendary Sannin, she had become the most disciplined.
She had even given up gambling—devoting herself entirely to training and studying medical ninjutsu.
And that had led to something incredible: with her already extraordinary talent, Tsunade had, in reality, far surpassed the Orochimaru and Jiraiya of her time, reaching a solid Kage level.
Most importantly—she was still improving.
Her potential was truly terrifying—as if the heavens themselves had blessed her.
In the original story, even after more than two decades of decline, that laid-back Tsunade had managed to display top-tier Kage strength during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
And now—if she hadn't missed a single day of training since…
The heights she might one day reach were truly frightening to imagine.
And while Uchiha Ran was awed by Tsunade's power, Tsunade herself was even more shocked.
Because Uchiha Ran's rate of growth terrified her.
In her eyes, he was a monster.
Just a month ago, he'd been a complete novice, clueless about ninjutsu or real combat.
And now, he could fight her evenly—even when she was going all out!
And that was without using senjutsu or his Sharingan.
If he had used senjutsu, Tsunade wouldn't have stood a chance.
If things kept progressing like this, would he be able to completely overpower her without enhancements in just a month?
No, this didn't mean Ran's talent vastly exceeded hers.
Over the past seven years, even though he hadn't trained physically, he had never stopped studying ninjutsu and combat techniques.
He had simulated tens of thousands of battles in his head.
He used to be just a theorist, someone who had never practiced seriously, never mastered techniques, never stepped onto a real battlefield.
So even with his staggering talent, he still needed time to adapt.
And only thanks to Tsunade—an incredibly patient and meticulous super-trainer—had he managed to integrate all his knowledge into real combat within a single month.
In essence, Uchiha Ran had only trained for one month.
And the fact that he could go toe-to-toe with a fully unleashed, Kage-level Tsunade for twenty minutes—without using senjutsu or Sharingan—was already a miracle.
Such a growth rate was inhuman.
And now Tsunade finally understood why the Second Hokage—Senju Tobirama—had been so wary of Uchiha Ran.
He had seen Ran's monstrous potential—and had tried to crush it before it bloomed.
And all because of one thing.
Because he was an Uchiha.
And with that, everything suddenly made sense.
Which only fueled Tsunade's fury even more.
Just because he bore the name Uchiha, he wasn't allowed to reach his potential? His future had to be destroyed? He had to be erased?
In the end, it all traced back to the ancient prejudices of the Second Hokage.
But weren't the Uchiha shinobi still shinobi of Konoha?
And knowing her grand-uncle well, Tsunade could say with confidence:
If Ran hadn't been an Uchiha, Tobirama would've done everything in his power to raise him into Konoha's greatest warrior.
But just because of the name Uchiha—he'd been marked for destruction from the start.
And that… was utterly absurd.
Like before.
---
Would you like the next chapter as well?Tsunade's sudden outburst of fury scared Namikaze Minato half to death.
But at that moment, Tsunade had no time for him.
A wave of burning indignation surged through her — the kind that comes when you realize you've been lied to all along.
She recalled all the effort, the guilt, the sincerity she'd poured into helping Uchiha Ran, only to now understand: to him, it had all been an act.
Rage seared through her like fire.
Her thoughts spun out of control, a vortex she couldn't escape.
This man had been deceiving her from the very beginning.
In countless little ways.
Why had he lied?
To survive?
Fine.
Tsunade truly understood how hard Ran's life had been these past seven years.
Even looking back now and seeing part of the truth, she didn't blame him for doing everything in his power to stay alive — even if that meant manipulating her, using her to claw his way out of a death trap.
What truly gnawed at her was something else.
She was afraid to admit:
Had Ran's attention, his care, his acceptance of her — even those fleeting moments of closeness that made her heart race — had it all been real?
Or not?
If his feelings were genuine, why had he kept lying even after the danger had passed?
And if it was all a lie...
Even the passing thought of it knocked the ground from under her.
Was it all a lie?
Every emotion Ran had ever shown her — all fake?
From beginning to end, just manipulation and use?
If she hadn't come to see Minato today, hadn't pried a few accidental words out of him, wouldn't she still be blissfully unaware?
She'd suspected some things for a while now — but had chosen to fool herself.
But now...
That fragile veil of denial had been torn.
And she could no longer look away.
Her thoughts were a whirlwind of confusion.
"Sister Tsunade, are you okay?" Minato called out carefully.
In truth, his own head was spinning.
He had just realized: he may have let something slip.
Or rather, he'd accidentally revealed things his brother had worked hard to keep hidden from Tsunade.
This was bad... really bad...
---
At the Konoha Hospital, Uchiha Ran had finally finished his work.
Casting another glance at the empty desk across from his, he suddenly felt a flicker of unease.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" Ran muttered. "Nothing's happened."
Although... was he actually missing Tsunade?
No, no, and absolutely not!
Besides, they were bound to see each other tonight anyway — no need to dwell on it.
After wrapping up the paperwork and clearing his head, Uchiha Ran headed home in good spirits.
But there, Namikaze Shadin informed him that Minato would be spending the night at the dōjō and wouldn't be coming home.
Ran couldn't help but chuckle.
Clearly, the kid had done something.
Afraid of getting scolded?
"Seriously? That's what you think of your brother?" Ran scoffed internally. "Have I ever actually yelled at you?"
Still, Ran wasn't worried about Minato's antics.
Kids do strange things sometimes.
Evening came.
Around nine o'clock, as usual, Ran got ready to teleport to Shikkotsurin via the Reverse Summoning.
But no matter how long he waited, the summoning signal from Katsuyu never came.
Perplexed, he frowned, expanded his sensory perception — and picked up Tsunade's chakra nearby.
She was at the old stream where they'd once had a heart-to-heart.
Confused, Ran rushed over.
But the moment he appeared next to Tsunade — he froze.
She was looking right at him.
Her eyes — red from crying.
Her expression — like she was ready to rip him to shreds.
With his reflexes, Ran instantly understood: Tsunade had found something out.
His heart clenched sharply.
But in the next second, he forced himself to calm down.
"What am I so nervous for?" he noted coldly. "She was bound to find out eventually."
In fact — this was the only way he could leave without being crushed by guilt.
So why then did it hurt so damn much?
This wasn't... right.
Tsunade, breathing heavily from anger, suddenly spoke:
"Are you planning to leave?"
The moment she said it, Uchiha Ran froze, his eyes darting around — clearly scrambling for a way out.
And at the same time, he mentally cursed Namikaze Minato a hundred times over.
At this point, he knew exactly who had spilled the beans.
No wonder Minato had been too scared to come home — he'd feared Ran's wrath.
Catch him, and I'll tan his little behind in eight different ways, he thought grimly.
After ten seconds of tense silence, Uchiha Ran let out a heavy sigh, nodded, and said:
"Could you, just once, not be so damn perceptive? Give me some room to maneuver."
What he didn't know was that revealing his plan to leave was all part of Minato's scheme: the little troublemaker had deliberately spilled the secret to distract Tsunade from a far more painful topic — the lies.
Of course, Tsunade wasn't about to rat out Minato.
She only clenched her fists weakly and asked:
"Why?"
"Why do you think?" Ran replied with a crooked smile. "Konoha is your home. For me, it's a prison. I've wanted to leave for a long time."
"I just never had the chance. But now that I do — why not?"
"So once you've fully mastered the Hiraishin no Jutsu, you'll disappear?" Tsunade asked again.
"That's the plan," Ran said without hesitation, sighing. "I'll fake my death. Because I'm not a shinobi. I'm just a doctor. Even if someone suspects something, they won't cause a public scene. So all you'll have to do is pretend you don't know anything."
"But everything's changed!" Tsunade almost shouted. "You're strong now! I'll protect you too! Why do you still want to leave?!"
"Because I don't want to lose control one day... and personally slaughter Utatane Koharu, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Danzō Shimura. Is that reason enough?" Ran said with a bitter smile.
"Not enough!" Tsunade exclaimed. "You're not that reckless! Are they plotting against you again?!"
"No," Ran shook his head and sighed. "Utatane Koharu still wants me to work for her for free. I refused."
"Hiruzen Sarutobi keeps trying to dig up all my medical techniques. But I don't want to share anymore."
"And Danzō... that bastard tells Hiruzen every day that I should be eliminated as a threat. Five years ago, it was him and Koharu who convinced Sarutobi to change his decision."
"Even that always-hesitating type, Mitokado Homura, thinks my existence disrupts the balance of Konoha's leadership. Everything seems calm on the surface now, and yes — I survived the worst of it."
"But a new conflict is only a matter of time. And when it flares up, they will try to eliminate me. And I won't sit still and wait for death. So why should I stay, when I can already see disaster coming?"
At those words, Tsunade suddenly cut in:
"Is it because of me?"
"What?" Uchiha Ran lifted his head in surprise.
He was genuinely taken aback — how did Tsunade always hit the mark like that?
"Is it because of me that you gave up on revenge?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Today, remembering her talk with Minato and a few hints from Uzumaki Mito, she'd finally pieced the puzzle together.
Uchiha Ran, for all his kindness, was not that magnanimous.
He'd long held hatred for Koharu — once he gained the strength, he'd surely have killed her.
So why had he suddenly let go?
If not for her, then for whom?
Even Minato had thought the same.
When Tsunade asked so bluntly, Ran remained silent for a long time.
Yes.
He no longer wanted to bend to those elders.
Yes.
He knew conflict with Konoha's leadership was inevitable.
And yes — he didn't want to force Tsunade to choose between him and the village.
That was why he had decided to leave.
"I won't let you leave!" Tsunade said firmly, stepping closer and grabbing his hand tightly. Tears glimmered in her eyes.
"You're smart. You'll think of something. Just tell me — what do I have to do?"
Uchiha Ran shook his head.
"What's the point of—"
"Tell me!" Tsunade insisted.
"There is a way..." Ran said softly. "But it's a hard one. It'll be painful for you. It's not worth it."
"I want to know!" Tsunade didn't back down.
Uchiha Ran let out a heavy sigh.
And asked her:
"Tsunade... tell me. Do you want to become Hokage?"
"What?" she repeated, stunned, thinking she must have misheard.