The sound of raindrops pitter-pattering outside the window had been going on for three days and nights, just like you, my dearest love, who still hadn't come home after all this time...
Kei hummed "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head" as he cheerfully made his way toward the Yamanaka clan's territory.
"Are you deliberately trying to annoy me?"
Tsunade, who had been interrupted from her thoughts multiple times, gave Kei a slap on the arm in irritation.
This little troublemaker had zero awareness! Couldn't he see she was seriously thinking about something?
"... You don't get it. This is a nice song."
Kei rubbed the spot where he was hit and sighed internally—this woman had a hell of a strong hand.
If someone ever tried to pursue her, just one 'little fists hitting your chest' moment and they'd probably get sent flying on the spot.
Oh—wait. She didn't have a lover. Well, never mind then!
"Stop bothering me, I'm thinking." Tsunade shot Kei a sidelong glance, too lazy to argue over his nonsense.
After forcibly taking half the space under the umbrella, she bit her thumb, deep in thought over the medical reports that had given her an uneasy feeling.
"Biting your nails is bad for your health."
"Do you want to get beaten up?" A big vein popped on Tsunade's forehead as she glared at Kei, gritting her teeth.
How many times had this happened? How many?! She was just trying to focus on something important—why was it so damn difficult?!
"If there's something bothering you, just tell me. Maybe I can help you figure it out?" Kei wasn't the least bit intimidated by Tsunade's threats.
What a joke. Right now, he had the upper hand. Messing around was fine, but if Tsunade really wanted to get serious, he could easily put her on the ground in seconds.
Did she really think [Zero-Frame Start] was just for show? Ah, how could she know that he had it.
"... The rejection reactions in Danzō's medical report are strange. Do you know anything about rejection reactions?" Tsunade shot a murderous glare at Kei.
When it came to medical ninjutsu, she proudly considered herself the second-best in Konoha—because no one dared claim first place over her.
Although the fluctuations in the test data were small, they indicated a clear rejection reaction. According to the report, this reaction was supposedly due to an artificial eyeball implanted years ago to prevent facial deformation after Danzō lost his right eye.
It all seemed reasonable, and the data didn't show any major issues, yet she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was off.
That was why she kept going over the numbers, trying to pinpoint exactly what was wrong.
"He doesn't have Uchiha blood, yet he implanted a Sharingan—how could he possibly not have any rejection reaction at all?" Kei scoffed, casually exposing Danzō's dirty secret.
Danzō was indeed cautious. The bandages he kept wrapped around his head were inscribed with sealing techniques that masked the unique chakra signature of the Sharingan.
This time, in order to avoid Tsunade detecting anything strange during treatment, he had even gone so far as to remove the Sharingan beforehand.
Plus, since he had never openly used the Sharingan in Konoha, no one had ever suspected him. For years, this secret had remained undiscovered.
But rejection reactions didn't lie.
Even Kakashi, a natural genius, struggled with his Mangekyō Sharingan due to rejection issues—he couldn't freely control its activation, and every fight left him chakra-depleted.
"A Sharingan? You... are you sure?"
Tsunade's pupils contracted, and her whole body trembled in shock.
Danzō? A Sharingan?! Where did he even get one?!
Wasn't he afraid of being exposed and facing the full wrath of the Uchiha clan? How could he dare?!
"Don't look at me like that. He removed it in advance so you wouldn't notice anything during treatment. But who knew you'd just glance at the medical reports and not bother checking further? What a waste of an eyeball."
Kei's smirk deepened.
No matter whether Danzō used anesthesia when he dug out his eye or not, the recovery period must have been painful! Once his body healed enough, he'd have to put it back in anyway.
Why couldn't he suppress the smug grin creeping onto Danzō's face?
"Are you sure?" Tsunade still hadn't snapped out of her shock and asked again.
"Believe it or don't." Kei had no intention of explaining further.
He couldn't be bothered to tell people things —because, more often than not, no one would believe it anyway.
And even if he did publicly expose Danzō, what would happen?
Sure, the Uchiha hawks were aggressive, but the ones holding power now were the doves. Most of the clan leaned towards pacifism. They hadn't suffered direct persecution during the Third Great Ninja War, hadn't been pushed to the village's outskirts after the Nine-Tails' attack, hadn't been the subject of endless rumors, and hadn't faced constant discrimination.
Even if they wanted to reclaim that three-tomoe Sharingan, they wouldn't outright declare war on a high-ranking Konoha official like Danzō. Given his current position in the village, the more likely outcome would be a diplomatic excuse, something like: "This was a gift from my dear friend, Kagami, to help me protect Konoha."
Then, after some negotiations with the Third Hokage and Danzō, an exchange of benefits or promises would be made, and the matter would be quietly settled.
"That damn old bastard, can't he just go home and wait to die?" Tsunade cursed viciously.
She almost turned around on the spot, ready to beat Danzō until he was completely bedridden. But she knew he had already removed the Sharingan. Without solid evidence, she couldn't do anything to him.
And Root wouldn't just stand by and let their leader get attacked. The Third Hokage wouldn't ignore it, either.
The Root ninjas? They weren't a big problem.
The Third Hokage...? She couldn't beat him!
"Hey, hey, hey! Watch where you're stepping! What's with the glare? If you need to vent, go find Jiraiya!" Kei noticed Tsunade's increasingly dangerous gaze and glanced at her speechlessly.
Why was she taking her anger out on him over Danzō's mess?
"Who wants to look for that pervert?! You've been sneaking peeks at my chest this whole time—what's wrong with charging you some interest?!"
A single heavy stomp cracked the ground into a spiderweb pattern.
Kei's left foot was instantly obliterated into a mist of water, scattering in all directions.
What a pity for Tsunade.
Whether it was pure taijutsu or even her famous monster strength, none of it worked against the Hydrification Technique.
In the next second, as the rain poured down, Kei's left foot fully regenerated.
In this kind of weather, unless someone unleashed a large-scale lightning jutsu, barely any ninjas could harm him while he was in his water state.
"When did I ever sneak a peek? Keep this up, and I'll sue you for slander!"
"What's there to deny? I looked openly! What's wrong with appreciating beautiful things?"
"Tch! Save your sweet talk for Kushina. Trying to fool me? You're still too green!"
Tsunade unleashed a flurry of punches, sending water splashing everywhere.
Kei didn't even bother dodging, letting the rain-like punches land on them, all while internally marveling at how incredible the Hydrification Technique was. It was like being a Logia Fruit user.
Not only did it make him immune to physical attacks, but even his clothes could transform along with him!
And who said sweet talk didn't work? Tsunade's anger was clearly much weaker than it had been with that first stomp!
"Whew, time to head home and eat!"
After venting her frustration, Tsunade turned on her heel and started walking toward the Yamanaka clan's territory.
That's not your home!
But after a moment's hesitation, he decided to just keep the complaint in his heart.