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"Human Path":
-Codeseed g
"Outer Path":
-chris
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Within the Land of Rain.
Above the sky, dark clouds linger, as if painting a solemn atmosphere across the horizon.
"Boom!"
A terrifying thunderous sound suddenly echoes in the sky, and a bright light flashes as if it were broad daylight!
Inside a tent located in a stronghold.
A heavy atmosphere presses on as if it were tangible, making it hard to breathe.
Inside the tent, the expressions of the people are solemn, their eyes slightly lowered, carrying a sense of sorrow in their demeanor.
Leaning against the cloth wall of the tent, a girl with a golden ponytail hangs her head low, as if she has lost all strength.
Her expression is extremely pale, and there's a hollow sense of desolation in her gaze.
At this moment.
A hoarse and gloomy voice slowly resounds inside the tent.
"The results have been reported to the village; wait for the village's next orders."
Upon hearing his words, everyone in the tent, except for Tsunade leaning against the tent, lifts their heads to look at Orochimaru, whose face is both pale and gloomy.
"This time... Konoha's losses are quite severe..."
Hearing his words, the people present frown and fall into silence.
"Let it be like this... wait for the village's orders. For now, let's temporarily halt the war..."
Orochimaru glances at Tsunade at the edge of the tent and then rasps.
Upon hearing his words.
Everyone sighs heavily and slowly leaves the place.
After everyone has left.
Inside the tent, Orochimaru stands there, looking at Tsunade, whose face is as white as if she had lost her soul, and says in a hoarse voice.
"Sōsuke... wouldn't want to see you like this... Tsunade..."
In response to his words, Tsunade shows no reaction, still hanging her head low.
Seeing this, a complex expression flashes in Orochimaru's serpent-like eyes, and he says in a deep voice.
"I will inform Jiraiya of this matter... he can no longer stay there doing trivial things!"
After saying this, he slowly turns around, walking towards the entrance of the tent. Suddenly, he stops without turning back, uttering hoarsely.
"War... always comes with various regrets..."
As his words fall, his figure disappears from the place.
Inside the tent, Tsunade still hangs her head low, as if she were a silent sculpture.
"Drip... drip..."
In the quiet tent, a faint sound echoes. From the side of her clothes, a somewhat worn-out piece of paper falls to the ground.
Seeing that piece of paper, Tsunade's numb expression seems to gain a hint of color, but it quickly fades away.
On the worn-out paper, elegant and graceful handwriting reads:
"Forget the sadness, smile. If the sun is obscured, everyone will be sad. Just smile, and wait for a while. Wait until I, step onto that high place..."
She stared blankly at the piece of paper, and that gentle smiling face seemed to appear before her eyes again, smiling and saying to her, "Believe in me, Tsunade... Wait for me to come back!"
The patter of raindrops quickly soaked the ground, but it felt as if each drop was tapping on her heart.
She let tears flow freely down her face, murmuring with a choked voice, "You, bad guy... didn't you promise to come back..."
As soon as she spoke, a flood of emotions that had been suppressed since his departure burst out like a torrent, and she wailed and cried.
"You... said... I should trust you...!"
Tsunade, weakly leaning against the tent wall, covered her mouth with her fair slender hands, unable to control her sobbing.
"Sōsuke...! You promised me... that you'd come back!"
"Come back, please...!"
Her grieving voice blended with the sound of rain outside the tent, creating a profoundly desolate atmosphere.
After a long while, she had fallen into a deep sleep, leaning heavily against the tent wall. Her eyes were red from crying, and traces of tears still lingered at the corners.
Her eyebrows lightly furrowed, as if having a nightmare, her lips moved slightly as she whispered, "Please... come back..."
...
At the same time.
The entire Leaf Village's camp seemed shrouded in a layer of sorrow, mirroring the melancholy rain falling from the sky.
"Sōsuke Captain... unexpectedly..."
In a tent, a few Leaf Village ninja gathered, and one of them spoke with a heavy tone.
Upon hearing his words, others sighed one after another.
Suddenly, someone, as if suppressing anger, mumbled, "This is Captain Sakumo's fault!"
"If he hadn't infiltrated the Sand Village on his own, how could Captain Sōsuke have made such a decision!"
"So many people sacrificed, why did that guy come back alive?!"
Upon hearing his words, the rest of the group frowned, and someone reprimanded him, saying, "Don't speak like that, Saki!"
However, Saki seemed eager to retort.
Just then, a figure walked into the tent. He was relatively old, and his face looked serious.
Seeing him, the ninja in the tent tightened their expressions, immediately standing up and respectfully saying, "Captain Kuroi!"
Kuroi glanced at them with a furrowed brow, and after a long period of suppression, he sighed deeply.
Without blaming Saki for his hasty words, Kuroi, as if in remembrance, softly said, "Captain Sōsuke... was a great ninja... I know you all feel sad for him... but now we have to wait for the village's orders to reach a conclusion..."
After saying this, he gently patted Saki's shoulder and left the tent.
Everyone inside the tent fell into silence, contemplating the meaning behind Captain Kuroi's words.
At that moment, Saki cautiously spoke up.
"Captain Kuroi probably also supports this matter... we'll wait for the village's message for the conclusion of this matter..."
As he said this, his gaze turned cold, and he said in a deep voice, "But no matter what, this matter isn't over...!"
"I will never accept someone who caused the death of a comrade as a ninja!"
Upon hearing his words, the other Leaf Village ninja subtly nodded, and no one refuted his statement.
In the sky, a gloomy rain curtain enveloped the Leaf Village's camp.
As time passed, criticisms of Sakumo began to circulate within the camp, gradually fermenting...