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In the ancient river of time, countless things are changing rapidly.
Only time clings to its solitude, never making a sound, yet it always lingers in the consciousness of beings, leaving its unique mark on everything in the world.
Since Sōsuke defected from the Leaf Village, a year has passed.
During this year, Sōsuke seemed to vanish within the ninja world, with no news of his whereabouts to be found anywhere.
And the ninja world has not changed due to Sōsuke's disappearance.
Everything continues along its usual trajectory, developing in an orderly manner.
Due to the wars, the Leaf Village, Sand Village, and Stone Village all suffered heavy losses and have temporarily ceased warfare, entering a phase of recuperation and recovery.
The cause of all this, Sōsuke, is nowhere to be found, his whereabouts unknown.
Fortunately, the Cloud Village among the Five Great Ninja Villages seems to have little ambition towards the mainland.
Even facing the opportunity when the three villages' powers were significantly diminished, it chose to stay put along its coast.
Meanwhile, the Mist Village in the Land of Water has, for some reason, chosen to close off its village during this period.
Being the most skilled in assassination, the Mist Village benefits from a unique geographical location.
The fog that envelops the village nearly year-round adds to its mystery and obscurity. Known for its mastery of assassination, the Mist Village used to receive the most assignments for hired killings.
However, with the Mist Village closing off, this stream of assignments was completely cut off.
The demand for such tasks has since been diverted to the other three recovering villages.
Inside the Leaf Village, within the Hokage's office at the center of the village.
"Huu...."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who now appears much older, deeply exhales a puff of smoke.
Despite his aged appearance, the sharpness in his eyes remains undiminished, as keen as ever.
"So, you're telling me that none of the ninjas sent to investigate the Mist Village have returned yet?"
After exhaling another puff of smoke, Hiruzen looks sharply at the ninja reporting in front of him and asks in a deep voice.
Hearing his question, the Leaf ninja solemnly nods, his expression grave, respectfully replying,
"Yes, Third Hokage."
"We had informed them to return to the village as soon as possible, regardless of what they discovered, but the outcome remains the same... I presume..."
The ninja's face turns grim, leaving his sentence unfinished.
Hiruzen's expression is heavy as he contemplates.
Standing by, Shizune steps forward with a serious expression,
"Third Hokage, since the Mist Village's intentions remain unknown, perhaps it's best to give up for now. After all, the Leaf should try to minimize casualties at this time."
Hearing her, Hiruzen remains silent, still deep in thought.
Seeing Hiruzen's reaction, Shizune glances at those present, hesitates for a moment, but then adds in a firm voice,
"Even if... Sōsuke is truly hiding in the Mist Village... we don't have many options right now..."
"For the sake of the village... we must choose to endure..."
Hearing the word "endure" in Shizune's speech, Hiruzen finally snaps out of his contemplation, his expression complicated as he nods slightly, saying heavily,
"Let it be, then. Genma, stop further investigations into the Mist Village."
Hearing his decision, the ninja named Genma, standing respectfully in front of him, slightly darkens but nods, responding firmly,
"Understood, Third Hokage!"
"Shoo!"
With a gentle wave from Hiruzen, Genma vanishes from the office.
After his departure, Hiruzen sighs softly, glancing at those remaining, saying heavily,
"Sōsuke is a very opinionated ninja. Since he chose to leave the Leaf and took the Sealing Book with him, he must have his plans."
"However, it's been a year, and there's been no news of him anywhere... This is a very dangerous sign."
Hearing him, Homura Mitokado also wears a somber expression, speaking in a low voice,
"Third Hokage, we all know Sōsuke has great ambitions. He must be preparing something right now... perhaps even a plan that could pose a significant threat to the entire ninja world..."
But... at this moment, the Leaf Village cannot afford to do too much about this matter... You know the strength of that child... Even if we were to discover his whereabouts, the cost of attempting to apprehend him and bring him back to the village would be far too great...
Hearing Homura's words, Hiruzen took another deep puff of his pipe and sighed deeply.
"Ah... this is all... my fault..."
"If I had chosen to personally mentor that child from the beginning... maybe he wouldn't have felt so detached from the village... It's all my fault..."
On Hiruzen's desk lay a map of the ninja world.
Judging by the wear and tear on the map, it seems to have been frequently handled and used.
Various locations were marked, among them the Mist Village and Cloud Village, each highlighted with a questioning red circle.
Clearly, for some unknown reason, over the past year, Hiruzen has been meticulously speculating about Sōsuke's possible whereabouts.
At that moment,
Shizune said in a heavy tone,
"What about Tsunade in comparison to Sōsuke, Third Hokage? Aren't you going to persuade your student?"
Hearing her words, Hiruzen's gaze became complex.
...
In a bustling town within the Land of Fire,
A striking figure with golden ponytail hair was walking along the street. Her elegant figure was irresistible, and her fair skin along with her rosy lips captivated those around her.
She stopped in front of a sake shop, her alluring eyes sparkling.
"Whoosh!"
She forcefully opened the shop's door and stepped inside.
"Owner! Bring out the best sake in your shop, today I'm going to taste just how delicious your famous Wenzijiro really is!"
Her bold and crisp voice astonished everyone drinking inside the shop.
The shop's owner immediately greeted her with a wide smile, quickly responding,
"Right away, miss. Just a moment, and I'll serve you our finest Wenzijiro to enjoy."
The blonde beauty threw some banknotes on the counter and then found a seat, completely ignoring the mesmerized gazes from others in the shop.
Soon, the sake was served.
Without a word, she opened the sake jar, lightly sniffed it, and then her expression lit up.
"Gulp, gulp, gulp..."
She directly grabbed the edge of the jar, foregoing a cup, and began drinking heartily.
This scene not only shocked the customers but even the shop owner, who nervously advised from the side,
"Miss, our Wenzijiro is quite strong... Please, take it slow..."
The blonde beauty paid no heed to the owner's concern, continuing to drink joyously.
"Thump!"
The jar heavily landed on the table, and the blonde beauty lightly licked her lips, her face only slightly flushed with delight,
"Good sake!"
"Another!"
Though the owner was somewhat alarmed by the spectacle, he hurriedly served another.
It wasn't until the fifth or sixth jar that the blonde beauty began to show signs of drunkenness, her face a bit flushed.
Yet, at that moment, she seemed more determined to drown herself in alcohol than when she first entered.
"Owner! Keep the drinks coming!"
She called out with a tipsy voice.
After calling out, she tilted her head back, exposing her fair neck, her slender hand continuing to pour the sake into her mouth, seemingly unaware of the tears that began to stream down the corner of her eyes...
Feeling the tears, she paused, then a bitter smile appeared on her beautiful face, murmuring tipsily,
"Why did you have to leave..."
"It's been a year... where have you gone..."
After mumbling drunkenly, she continued to drink.
Closing her reddened eyes tightly, she drank greedily, paying no mind to the tears rolling down her cheeks.
At this moment, some of the men in the shop, driven by lust, approached her with lascivious smiles,
"Miss, are you heartbroken? How about I keep you company for a drink?"
As they spoke, they reached out to touch her.
Their figure was suddenly struck by a sake jar!
"Bang!"
The man's body was hit squarely by the jar, bending awkwardly and shooting backward like a cannonball.
"Crash!"
He smashed through the shop, creating a large hole and was buried under a pile of rubble and wood chips, his condition unknown.
The tipsy Tsunade simply picked up another jar and continued drinking.
Then...
"Click!"
A figure with white hair arrived, taking in the scene.
As everyone watched nervously, he approached the blonde beauty, his voice tinged with complexity,
"Tsunade, you've drunk too much again..."
Hearing him, Tsunade slightly opened her drunken eyes, glanced at him, and slurred,
"It's... Jiraiya..."
"Come... have a drink..."
"Nawaki would be old enough to drink by now... sister approves!"
"And
... Sōsuke... you don't like me drinking, do you..."
Saying this, she took a swig of sake as if in defiance,
"But... I'm drinking now... anyway... it's been a year... you wouldn't care, would you..."
After speaking, she collapsed onto the table, her face tear-streaked, her lips moving silently, murmuring something indistinct.
Seeing this, Jiraiya's expression was mixed, his mind seemingly flooded with memories, and he remained silent.
He gently picked up Tsunade and quietly left the place.
A gentle breeze carried a soft whisper,
"Sōsuke... it's been a year... come back..."