As soon as Tsunade heard the words, she stilled.
Her gaze shifted toward the speaker and saw that it was the white-winged butterfly.
But when her mind registered the words, her eyes drifted helplessly back to Ren's bloody figure.
Blood.
Blood.
So much blood.
There was a constant screeching in her mind, BLOOD, it screamed. BLOOD! Her hands rose involuntarily, covering her face, as she kept muttering, "No. No."
And yet, her eyes remained locked on Ren's body.
His blue hair. That familiar, almost annoyingly cute face. His small figure, it overlapped with a memory. A figure who always pestered her to call them aunt, even though they were much younger than her.
A torrent of memories surged through her as if the gates of her mind had been kicked open.
She kept staring at him, his broken, limp form, as she tried to crawl backward in panic.
"Shizune…" she whispered, voice trembling. "I need Shizune. She'll heal him. He can't die. I need answers. He can't die."
Even as she tried to escape, her eyes stayed unblinking, locked on Ren.
Then the same voice as before rang out, this time stricter, firmer.
"CALM DOWN, CHILD."
The white butterfly flew in front of her, glowing softly as her words struck Tsunade like a slap.
"You should know best," she continued, "that aside from you, no one can save Ren now, not even me in my current state."
Tsunade flinched as she hovered close, her presence no longer soft and soothing, but commanding. Ancient.
"Come to your senses, child," she said gently, but insistently. "Remember who you are."
Her wings pulsed softly in the air as her voice deepened with quiet sorrow. "Are you going to let yet another person who is the closest to a relative you have… die again? Think of Sayaka, my child. Think how Sayaka would feel if she learned you let her child die. For what? A pesky weakness?"
Tsunade's whole body trembled as she shook her head, tears beginning to fall freely now.
"Remember your heart, my child. Are you willing to be defeated again? Are you willing to lose your closest relative when you still have the chance to save him?"
Tsunade sobbed.
"I can't, Seicho," she whispered, voice cracking. "I can't save anyone. If I try again and fail, I… I don't know what I might do."
She broke down further, muttering "no" over and over again, curled on her knees beside Ren's body.
Seicho, the white winged butterfly sighed, her wings dimming.
Then a voice interrupted. Uncertain but strong. "I don't know what's going on, but I know that only you, Lady Tsunade, can heal Ren right now. So please, heal him."
Tsunade's tear-filled eyes snapped toward the speaker.
Kimura.
He was kneeling, head bowed to her, posture respectful, unmoving.
Still shaken, she managed to ask, "Why? Why are you willing to go to such lengths for him? Didn't you say you tried to kill him just months ago?"
Still kneeling, Kimura responded with a solemn, steady voice. "That's because I've recovered my memory. The memory which was sealed and locked at the time of Ren's birth."
Tsunade's breath caught in her throat.
"The trigger was this. His bloodied figure, similar to the one at the time of his birth. I don't know who placed the seal on me, but once I find them, I swear."
His voice turned as cold as ice as he spoke, "I'll make sure the birds in the Senju graveyard get the best meal of their lives."
He lifted his head, then slowly removed his mask and got down on one knee.
"Please forgive me for my offense," he said, eyes unwavering. "Let me introduce myself once again."
"My name is Kimura, the Shadow of Ren Senju."
"I have been separated from him for eleven years, but now, I am willing to dedicate my life to him once again."
Tsunade's eyes widened. She knew exactly what that meant.
A Senju's Shadow was born to serve the royal lineage of the Senju clan, her lineage. A Senju's most loyal protector, secret-keeper, and confidant.
She herself had a Shadow once, long ago. But like all true Shadows, hers had died before she could. She had lived and they had perished.
Kimura's voice broke through again.
"Please, Lady Tsunade. Heal Ren."
"He is your brother."
That word.
Brother.
It hit her like a bolt of lightning to the soul.
A jolt surged through her body, chakra rushing like a geyser from within. Her vision sharpened. Her limbs, which had felt so weak moments ago, now burned with purpose.
She looked at Kimura.
Then at Seicho.
Finally at Ren.
And she understood.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. And when she opened them again, they weren't the eyes of a broken woman anymore.
They were the eyes of a shinobi.
Of the woman who had once struck fear into the battlefield.
She was no longer Tsunade, the traumatized gambler who flinched at blood.
She was Tsunade Senju, granddaughter of the First Hokage, the strongest medical ninja in the world, and without question, the strongest kunoichi alive.
She stood then knelt beside Ren.
Her hands began to glow with a soft warmth of yang chakra. She pressed them to his body, scanning his vitals, analyzing every internal injury in seconds.
"Kimura," she commanded, her voice crisp and focused, "summon Katsuyu. Even if your memory was sealed, you should have made a contract with her when you started the shadow's training."
Kimura nodded sharply. Without hesitation, he formed a string of hand signs and slammed his palm onto the ground. With a puff of smoke, Katsuyu appeared.
Before she could speak, Tsunade barked her order, "Katsuyu! I need you to stabilize his condition as I prepare for surgery."
Katsuyu paused as she looked at Ren, then at Tsunade's bloodstained hands. "Lady Tsunade… you?"
Tsunade turned, her eyes softer now. A smile formed on her lips, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "Please, Katsuyu. I… I need to save him."
Katsuyu stilled. Then without a word, the great slug slid forward and placed herself gently on Ren's chest, her chakra pulsing outward to slow the bleeding and soothe the damage.
Tsunade turned to Kimura. "Make sure the Raikage doesn't arrive at the scene."
Kimura vanished immediately with a flicker, ignoring his own wounds. He understood that if the Raikage saw Ren in this state, he might take the opportunity to eliminate him.
The Leaf's rising prodigy would be vulnerable and Kumogakure might not hesitate even with the favour they owed to Tsunade.
Tsunade continued scanning Ren's body, hands still glowing with chakra. Her focus narrowed.
She was about to get up when Seicho's voice rang again. "There should be tools you need in his space belt."
Tsunade paused. Then quickly unbuckled the bloodied belt around Ren's waist.
The sealing technique placed on it was no joke, even a level-five Fuinjutsu master would struggle with it. But for her? It opened like water under a hot knife.
She searched quickly, until her eyes fell on a compartment labeled "Medical."
She opened it and froze.
So. Many. Tools.
Bandages, scalpels, chakra threads, healing vials, sutures, extraction devices, everything. It was as if Ren had looted an entire hospital.
Without another thought, Tsunade got to work. She had no time to question where he had found them.
Now was the time, to save her brother.
To save her last living relative.
To save Ren Senju.
~
As Tsunade continued to operate on Ren, she asked Seicho without breaking her focus, "Seicho, why did you appear here?" Though she was glad for the butterfly sage's presence, the question still demanded to be asked.
Seicho replied, "That is because the mark I placed on him was triggered."
Before Tsunade could inquire further, Seicho elaborated, "Ren was born with the ability to control the Flow, just like his grandfather, your granduncle. However, unlike Tobirama, he had the power not just to control the Flow, but to make it his own. But that is not acceptable to nature.
Owning the Flow, in a sense, means owning the world, and such a thing violates the balance of existence. That is why the world tried to rectify the problem by forcing Sayaka to incur nature's wrath during childbirth. It pushed Ren to the brink of death within minutes of his birth.
At that time, I used my powers as a sage to save him. However, I couldn't completely succeed. His bloodline, the very reason he could own the Flow was sealed by the will of the world itself."
She continue, "However, when Ren was six years old, something happened. A far greater force took over the original seal and began to break it, piece by piece. At that time, I could not summon myself freely, as we had no contract holder. So I placed a mark on him that would trigger the moment he once again tried to own the Flow."
Tsunade's expression turned grim. "That means whenever he tries to use the Flow, he'll suffer such injuries?"
Seicho gently shook her head. "No. As long as he only controls the Flow, he will not suffer. But the moment he tries to own it, he'll have to fight for dominance with the world itself." She ended with a weary sigh.
Tsunade finally closed up Ren's wounds as she finished the surgery and replied, "Then isn't it fine if he doesn't try to 'own it,' as you said?"
Seicho responded, "Even I don't know all the details. But it shouldn't be that simple." She paused, then added, "The Great Sage from Mount Myoboku might be able to shed more light on this as he-"
Before she could finish, Katsuyu, who had just slid down from Ren's chest, suddenly pulsed with a glow before returning to her normal state. Though nothing visibly changed, something in the air shifted.
Katsuyu's voice was calm but firm. "That should be enough information. You have broken the rules for the second time, Seicho. Though I understand your intention was to save your summoner, the rules of the world are not something to be spoken of so casually. I hope you understand that there will be consequences." With that, she puffed away in a plume of smoke.
Seicho let out a quiet sigh at Katsuyu's words. Tsunade turned to her with concern. "Will you be fine?"
Seicho replied, "Once Ren becomes a Sage, it'll be fine. But for now, his body is not yet capable of handling Senjutsu. His chakra and vitality are sufficient, but the seal hasn't broken enough for him to learn it."
Tsunade nodded slowly and gently rubbed Ren's head. She didn't understand everything, but one thing was clear, her cousin-brother was a great force of mystery.
Her gaze hardened as she shifted the topic. "Right. Can you now tell me about his birth? I thought he had died. Why was his survival kept from me?"
Seicho shook her head. "I cannot stay for too long. Cho can explain the rest." With that, Seicho vanished in a quiet puff.
From the shadows, a blue and green-winged butterfly fluttered into view. Cho had been present since the beginning, silent until now.
She greeted gently, "Hello, Tsunade-san," and began. "At the time of Ren's birth, the Third Shinobi War was nearing its end. You were stationed on the Suna front. As the Great Sage explained, complications occurred. Sayaka died, but Ren survived. Juichi took him back to the village for emergency care.
However, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, learned of the situation. Since Sayaka had already decided not to let Ren know about his Senju heritage, the Third Hokage chose to keep the truth from you as well. A message was sent to you saying both Sayaka and her child had died."
She continued, "I don't know much more about that time. I had already overstayed my presence in this world without a summoner. But after Ren formed a contract with us, I sent Ko to investigate.
What we found was, conflicting. Jiraiya-san believed you knew of Ren but didn't return to the village after Sayaka's death, instead choosing to vanish from the Sand front. Utakata-san knew similar details."
"I later managed to speak to Juichi himself. He admitted he knew everything, but said the Third Hokage and Danzo Shimura ordered him to remain silent. The village couldn't afford your return from the front lines. For the sake of the village, he kept quiet. However, later, every time he tried to contact you, there was no response. He had his suspicions but didn't act on them. My guess is that Juichi feared for Ren's safety, from whom, I think you can understand."
As soon as she finished, the atmosphere turned icy.
Cho glanced at Tsunade and saw her expression had changed to that of a raging lioness. Tsunade slammed her fist lightly into the ground, but even that caused a tremor. Through clenched teeth, she muttered, "When did I not return to the village, I cremated the bodies of Sayaka and that dead bady myself. I thought Juichi not being there meant he couldn't handle the pain, but." She cursed, "Damn it! I expected Danzo to have his schemes about a male Senju heir, but Sensei too."
Cho intervened gently, "Tsunade-san, it's not my place to say, but I support Juichi's decision. After trying and failing, staying silent may have been the only way to protect Ren."
Tsunade exhaled slowly and shook her head. "Juichi was right, Cho. He wouldn't have been able to protect Ren alone. I'm not angry with him. But those two-"
Her chakra burst out like a wild tide as rage surged within her. "Damn those old men. The Senju had already blended into the civilian population. Couldn't they even leave the grandson of their teacher alone!?"
Her chakra flared like a tempest when suddenly, a voice interrupted her fury.
"Ugh, keep quiet, you elder woman. I'm trying to sleep here."
~~~~~
{One of the hardest chapters I have written till date. This chapter explained so many things and we even learned something new from the butterfly sage.}
{ATP, I have already decided to make this world slightly heavy AU, so anything you might say would be taken into consideration, definitely.}
{Seicho means Sacred Butterfly}
{Thanks shanks, Some guy, Leinhart31, john, niteo akuma for becoming members on Pat-reon.}
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{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }
{You know what else}
{200 Stones = Extra chapter}
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