The next step

Tsunade began to reflect on the past, on her life up to that moment. She wanted to understand what was wrong. Why did everyone she loved end up dying?

Was there something wrong with her?

Her life was a tale of loyalty to the village and her family. She had always sought to improve her medical skills to help reduce casualties in the village, and it did prove helpful when the war began. However, in the end, she still lost people she loved.

Despite many accomplishments in her life, she felt like a failure at that moment. As if she were cursed. On top of it all, she was tired and helpless.

For several minutes, she remained in complete silence, her mind elsewhere.

Yujin was sensitive enough to also stay silent.

...

When Tsunade's mind finally calmed down, she recalled the situation she was in. They were currently at war, and she should be reporting to the Hokage.

Not all the allies she brought had died, so the Hokage should already know that she had been kidnapped by an unknown assailant and must be concerned.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to Yujin, who was silently gazing into the air.

"I'm heading back to the village. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes, I have nowhere else to go. If possible, I'd like to go to your village and try to find a place to stay temporarily until I figure out what to do in this place."

Yujin was conflicted about what to do. On one hand, it would be easy for him to isolate himself again in some mountain to sharpen his martial arts. It wouldn't be much different from how he had been living before. On the other hand, he was curious about the new place. He wanted to travel, meet people, villages, and cities.

After internal deliberation, he concluded that it would be interesting to explore the place. The power of the ninjas intrigued him, and he wanted to understand the new environment before deciding what to do.

Tsunade had no problem with that.

The two embarked on a journey for two days. Most of the time, they were in silence, mainly because of Tsunade. When he sensed that she was feeling better, he attempted some casual conversation.

Upon reaching the village, Tsunade helped him enter. Normally, he wouldn't be allowed in as a stranger, but with her identity, it was possible.

Honestly, Yujin was surprised by the place. The walls were high, there were many guards around, and when he entered the village, it looked more like a city because of its size.

He also saw many things he had never seen before, things that made no sense to him.

For example, in one of the shops on the street, he saw a shiny box displaying images. He also saw people disappearing with items using a piece of paper. He saw people walking on walls as if it were normal.

There were so many strange things that he finally felt like he was in another world. Before, he only felt like he was in another place, an unknown place, but in the same world he lived in. But seeing all these strange things, he began to feel that maybe he was in another world.

'Am I really in another world?'

He couldn't deny that possibility.

Even though he didn't understand much of what was happening around him, Yujin didn't ask Tsunade anything, preferring to wait for a better opportunity.

One thing he noticed was that Tsunade seemed to be well-known and respected. Most people seemed to know her, many of them waving or greeting as they passed.

After a few minutes, and being greeted by dozens of people, they finally reached what seemed to be a dead-end street. At the end, there was a large gate with some characters written on it that he couldn't read.

With a few words from Tsunade, the guards let them in, and she finally spoke.

"This is the Senju Clan complex, of which I am a part."

After a few more minutes, they finally arrived in front of a building, the place where Yujin would stay in the coming days.

"I'll let you stay here for a few days until you figure out what you want to do. I'm going to meet with my uncle, the patriarch of the clan, and then report to the Hokage. When I come back, I'll help you figure out what to do."

Yujin nodded and watched Tsunade leave.

Entering the room, he found the place very clean, with few things, some of which he didn't know what they were for. He tried to figure out their purposes, but the only thing he noticed was that in one of the rooms, there was a white object on the floor with a hole on top, which he assumed was where they did their business.

Finally, he sat on the bed and began to meditate, waiting for Tsunade to return.

After greeting the members of the Senju Clan, she went to meet with the Hokage. As always, the desk of the village's most important and powerful man was filled with papers.

She honestly thought she would never accept becoming Hokage if given the chance.

The man was busy, but still gave her his full attention when she arrived.

"Tsunade, I'm glad you're okay. I read reports that you were kidnapped."

"I'm fine, Sensei. It was just a misunderstanding."

Leaning back in his chair, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, began smoking his pipe.

"I heard you came to the village with a man, and his description matches the one of the man who kidnapped you. Can you explain what happened?"

Tsunade sat in a chair and sighed deeply. Hiruzen could feel her exhaustion. He knew what had happened, knew about her relationship with Dan Kato, and knew it must have been a huge shock. He couldn't help but sigh too when he saw her like this.

Most of his memories of Tsunade are of a lively and happy girl, and a strong and tenacious woman. The woman in front of him now, however, is just a lost and helpless girl.

"The man who 'kidnapped' me. His name is Yujin. He thought I was in danger since I lowered my guard in the middle of the battle because of Dan and saved me."

Tsunade decided not to talk about Yujin's special situation since it wouldn't change much for the village. No matter how mysterious his situation is, the village won't benefit or be harmed if she doesn't tell.

Even without saying it, Hiruzen could feel that there was much more to this story than what she told, but he didn't press the matter. He trusts her.

"You brought him to the village, I assume he's not an enemy? Why did he come? Does he expect any reward?"

It's the only plausible explanation he can think of.

"Are you going to reward him?"

Hiruzen looked deeply into Tsunade's eyes. From her reaction, he realized that this man, Yujin, didn't come to the village to receive a reward.

"Well, he saved one of the most valuable ninjas in our village, and my disciple. He obviously deserves a reward."

Although the situation at that moment was critical, it's hard to say if he really saved Tsunade. In that situation, many things could happen, and it might really lead to her death, but the opposite is also true, so it's not right to use the word "save." But she didn't say anything.

Technically, he did save her.

And since Yujin is not from this place, she felt she could do this to help him with some funds.

"What do you want to do?"

Hiruzen suddenly changed the subject, bringing Tsunade away from her thoughts.

"What are you talking about?"

"I feel your pain. You're tired. Seeing you like this breaks my heart, I have no words to console you."

Tsunade's eyes shimmered upon hearing that. For a moment, she felt like crying but tried her best to hold back her tears.

"Your parents, Nawaki, and now Dan... I can feel your pain, but I can't measure it. I'll give you time to heal your wounds. You've fought too much in this war, especially with Suna's poisons. Rest as much as you need, and when you're ready, come visit me."

Tsunade shook her head slowly and remained silent for a few seconds, gathering the words she was going to say.

"Sensei... I'm tired. I can't take this anymore. I want to retire."

Hiruzen took a deep breath upon hearing that, almost as if he already knew this would happen. Dan's death was the last straw for Tsunade.

"Are you sure? Don't you want to think it over? Being a ninja is your whole life. Your achievements in this war..."

Sighing, Hiruzen fell silent, and Tsunade didn't say anything more.

"I don't even know how to convince you. I wouldn't convince myself with my own words..."

For a few moments, he remained silent, thinking about the consequences of this. Tsunade is currently the best medical ninja in the village. She has taught many medical ninjas and has been proposing a reform for each squad to have one.

Her responsibilities are significant, and if she wants the reform to be approved, she'll need all the influence she can get.

Still, he doesn't have the heart to try to stop her from retiring. Tsunade is clearly at her limit and needs to step away from the things that are destroying her to heal.

"Make sure your absence doesn't hinder anything. You're very valuable, and it will be difficult to fill the void."

"Don't worry, I trained many skilled people."

Leaving the Hokage's office, Tsunade felt a bit better.

The decision to retire came naturally to her after calming down and thinking for a while. Since Nawaki's death, she had been thinking about it, about how she wanted to retire early.

She felt that the constant life-and-death world of a ninja wasn't for her.

Before, she was like any other ninja. She knew the dangers, knew the world she lived in, but she was optimistic about the future. Her grandfather's fame was a constant encouragement and pressure, making her work hard and feel proud of her work.

Nawaki's death, however, completely shattered that optimism.

The Second War didn't help. The constant death, especially of innocent people, was a constant weight on her mind.

And then Dan's death.

It was an accumulation of bad things happening one after another, and now she just wants to leave this life.

As she had these thoughts, she reached the building where Yujin was, and opened the door after knocking. Inside, she saw Yujin in silence, meditating.

When she saw him like this, she felt something different, as if there were an aura around him. She had meditated many times before, but she knew this was different. Even though he was on a bed, inside a room, she felt like he was in tune with nature.

The aura she felt was soothing, managing to wash away her negative feelings.

She had never felt anything like this before.