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In the aftermath of that intense battle, the allied forces from Suna, Kumo, Iwa, and Ame—having suffered heavy losses—pulled back once more.
The battlefield shifted from the borders of the Land of Fire…right back into the Land of Rain.
Because of that, Konoha's ninja forces once again entered the Land of Rain. This time, though, the pressure wasn't nearly as crushing as before.
Previously, when Konoha had faced the combined armies of four villages at once, they'd practically been backed into a corner—barely able to breathe.
Even the Sandaime had felt as though a mountain weighed on his shoulders. But now, that burden had lifted off Konoha and fallen squarely on the four villages.
In particular, the name "Uzumaki Shin" struck terror into their hearts. Shin's reputation alone had left so many enemy shinobi demoralized that some were outright calling for surrender. They were tired of this war.
However, their respective Kage weren't so keen to yield. Surrender meant crippling reparations. You can't just say, "We surrender," and call it a day—there'd be massive compensation demands afterward.
Not wanting to face that, they refused to yield. But with morale shattered among their troops, those four villages had largely resorted to dodging battles rather than risking open conflict.
It led to a comical situation: basically, one single village—Konoha—was chasing down four villages on the run.
Konoha was finally feeling a swell of pride again.
A Heavy mood for Shin
While Konoha's mood had improved overall, Shin himself wasn't in high spirits. He kept a tight-lipped, distant expression that made Tsunade worry. Beneath her concern, a flicker of anger rose inside her.
"Shin, don't let gossip get to you," Tsunade said softly.
Shin lifted his gaze toward her, then shook his head. "I'm no saint. Of course I care."
Rumors had flared up again in the Konoha camp, blaming Shin for Konoha's own casualties in that previous battle.
Specifically, they claimed that if Shin had joined the assault on Iwa's encampment—something Hiruzen supposedly ordered—fewer Konoha shinobi would've died.
Some had lost family or close friends in that encounter, and they now pinned the blame on Shin, demanding he apologize or admit fault.
The situation snowballed over a few days, so the hero who once single-handedly turned the tide was suddenly on the verge of being a pariah.
Kushina, Mikoto, and Konan entered the tent, with Kushina announcing, "We taught a lesson to a few of those loudmouths who kept yelling about you."
But Shin just sighed. "Beating them up might only make it worse, you know. Now they can say I sent you three to silence them. Tomorrow, the rumor'll be that I'm not just unrepentant—I'm violent, too."
"Definitely sounds like Danzō is stirring the pot," Tsunade said darkly, clenching her fists.
"He always tries this kind of manipulation."
Frankly, many in camp realized there had to be someone stoking the flames behind the scenes. A lot of these angry shinobi were just being used, and a smaller subset were Danzō's direct pawns.
An outraged Tsunade stood, ready to storm off and confront him.
"Wait, Tsunade," Shin stopped her. "It's true Danzō played a role in fanning the flames, but he's not the real mastermind. Turns out it's mostly…the Sandaime."
That made her freeze. "Are you sure?"
"I used the Sharinga to control Danzō and questioned him," Shin explained bluntly.
"He had a hand in it, sure, but the bigger push came from Hiruzen. Let's face it—if it's not Danzō, it has to be the Hokage. No one else in Konoha's chain of command would stand to gain so much from this."
"Then I'll go ask the Sandaime myself." Tsunade's expression hardened.
"I'll join you," Kushina echoed.
But Shin reached out and grabbed Tsunade's wrist. "No. Don't bother. I've already made up my mind."
He spoke calmly, but the resolution in his tone was unmistakable.
"Made up your mind to do what?" Tsunade asked warily.
"I'm leaving Konoha. After all this, I have no attachment left to the village. If the Sandaime wants to mark me as a Missing-nin after I'm gone, that's up to him."
He'd mentioned this possibility before: if push came to shove, he would walk away from Konoha. And now, he had reached his limit. Once Shin decided, no amount of argument could change his course.
"If Shin goes, I'm going too!" Kushina declared without hesitation.
"Same here," Mikoto said softly. She'd lost most of her Uchiha ties anyway; between Konoha and Shin, the choice was obvious—she'd follow him.
Konan said nothing, merely latched onto Shin's arm. She wasn't from Konoha at all; as far as she was concerned, wherever Shin went was home.
Tsunade felt a pang, seeing how easily they all chose to leave. She, however, wasn't the same—she'd grown up taught to protect Konoha above all else. The entire situation tore at her.
"You're absolutely set on this, then?" she asked in a low voice.
Shin gave a solemn nod. "Yeah. You know me. I've reached my limit. If I stayed any longer, I might burn Konoha to ashes—and that wouldn't do you any favors."
He wasn't exaggerating. Shin had no intention of letting rumors or hostility slide; if it weren't for Tsunade's sake, he might have destroyed the camp by now.
Tsunade exhaled deeply. "Fine. I won't try to stop you. I said before: I'll support you no matter what. I keep my word."
A grin tugged at Shin's lips. "Even if I threatened to blow up Konoha itself?"
Tsunade shot him a glare.
"Where will you go after the war?" she asked. "Once this war ends, I'd like to…find you."
"Wait, you're coming to see him?" Kushina cut in with narrowed eyes, but Tsunade ignored her and stared only at Shin.
"You're welcome any time, Tsunade," Shin began to say, but Kushina abruptly interjected:
"We don't welcome you at all!" she said, poking her tongue out.
That earned her a lethal scowl from Tsunade.
"Kushina," Tsunade growled, "I'm in a foul mood already. You really want to provoke me?"
Kushina only darted behind Shin, making a face. "Shin, protect me!"
Amused, Shin unexpectedly shoved her forward. "We're leaving anyway, so might as well let Tsunade blow off some steam."
"YOU TRAITOR, UZUMAKI SHIN!" Kushina yelped as Tsunade seized her by the collar. "I'll never forgive you!"
Tsunade, unimpressed, continued hauling Kushina off for a well-deserved lesson, while Kushina cursed Shin's name in vain.
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