IMPORTANT: For every 30 POWER STONES there will be an extra chapter!
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In the stillness of the moonlit night, the grass lay quietly, weighed down by the heavy body resting upon it. The passing of a life—so effortless and swift.
The group from Konoha, who had pursued the enemy, finally arrived, one by one, at the scene. Upon seeing Kato Dan's lifeless body lying on the ground, shock filled each of their faces.
The moonlight bathed his quiet face and body in a soft, faint glow, making him appear peaceful. But in the current context, it was a cruel irony.
One of the medical-nin quickly rushed over to Kato Dan's side and began checking his condition. After a moment, the hand resting on his carotid artery suddenly trembled.
"He's… dead…" the medical-nin's voice was laced with disbelief, as if they were still unwilling to accept the truth.
The other two Konoha ninja, hearing this, were even more astonished.
How long had it been since Kato Dan had chased after the enemy? Yet, he was already killed in such a short time? Kato Dan was known for his exceptional strength, even among the ranks of Konoha's elite, especially with his Spirit Transformation Technique, a jutsu nearly impossible to defend against. How could he have been killed so quickly? Thinking about the strength of the enemy, the three Konoha ninja couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
"Is this scroll something the enemy left behind?"
Suddenly, the medical-nin noticed a scroll next to Kato Dan's body and instinctively took a step back.
Although they knew that scroll traps only activate upon opening, the presence of Kato Dan's corpse made them overly cautious and startled.
"Let's wait for the others to arrive… But… I wonder how devastated Lady Tsunade will be," one of the Konoha ninja sighed deeply.
Everyone in Konoha knew about the relationship between Kato Dan and Tsunade. Their relationship was widely supported, with one being the granddaughter of the First Hokage and one of the legendary Sannin, and the other being a well-regarded young talent known for his strategic mind and sense of justice. He was even considered a candidate for the position of Hokage.
No one could have expected that Kato Dan would die on such a moonlit night…
The looming war, coupled with the fact that the enemy had infiltrated the village unnoticed, served as a grave warning for Konoha, which took the situation very seriously.
As the closest support unit, the three Konoha ninja were the first to arrive. Soon, more than ten Konoha jōnin gathered at the scene, each one shocked upon seeing Kato Dan's lifeless body.
And then, Tsunade and Jiraiya arrived, side by side.
"What's going on?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled as he saw the support unit standing still in one place.
Tsunade furrowed her brow, a deep sense of foreboding washing over her. Kato Dan had been at the front of the pursuit. Despite not wanting to consider the possibility, an unsettling feeling crept into her heart.
"Let's go check," she said, her voice trembling slightly, though she didn't realize it.
Jiraiya's expression grew serious, and both he and Tsunade quickly made their way to where the Konoha ninja were gathered.
Upon seeing Tsunade approach, the surrounding ninja averted their eyes.
That single reaction pushed Tsunade's growing anxiety to its breaking point.
Tonight was a full moon, the moonlight bright and clear, illuminating the earth with its silver glow.
However, the dense trees blocked most of the moon's radiance, and only a small amount of light filtered through the gaps in the branches. It resembled the focused beam of a stage spotlight, and it just so happened to fall directly on the still form of the man lying beneath it.
Tsunade leaped from the trees and froze, staring blankly at Kato Dan's lifeless body bathed in the moonlight. She couldn't take another step forward. From where she stood, she could sense that there was no longer any life in him.
In that moment, her entire body felt as if it had turned to stone, every cell bound by a crushing weight.
The world suddenly darkened, and all sounds faded away into nothingness.
The scene she had never wanted to see was now before her, brutal and piercing, like a knife plunged into her heart. The still-beating heart felt as though it had lost all its vitality, leaving Tsunade struggling for breath, unable to draw in air.
Her pupils contracted and then widened again, over and over, while her lips trembled, as though countless words were caught in her throat, unable to escape.
A deep, instinctual fear spread throughout her body, robbing her of any strength.
She couldn't take a step. She couldn't raise a hand. She couldn't speak.
She just stood there, staring at the person she knew so well, her vision seemingly stretching and pulling further away with each passing second…
Jiraiya looked down at Kato Dan's body. Judging by the reactions of those around him, his eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"How could this have happened…?"
He knew the time when Kato Dan had gone after the enemy, and their support unit hadn't been far behind. The time difference was minimal, yet… this was the cruel reality now laid before them?
His gaze shifted to Tsunade, who was trembling and hugging herself. His heart ached deeply.
He hadn't seen Tsunade like this in years—not since that night when she learned of her brother's death.
At times, Jiraiya had been envious of Kato Dan.
Kato Dan was the one Tsunade loved. He was someone with no flaws, someone truly fit to be Hokage. In Tsunade's eyes, he was nearly perfect—so perfect that it made Jiraiya feel hopeless, to the point where he had given up pursuing Tsunade long ago.
And now, that man was dead.
Yet, no matter what, Jiraiya couldn't bring himself to feel happy about it.
He watched Tsunade, who was drowning in sorrow, and slowly extended his hand, unsure of what to do. His hand hovered in the air, paralyzed, unable to move forward.
Suddenly, he seemed to understand how Minato must have felt on that day, when he and Tsunade had stood on the rooftop, watching Minato and Kushina.
"Tsunade…" he muttered, after a long silence, the words he had planned to say turning into nothing more than her name.
Perhaps it was a cry that reached across a lifetime, for Tsunade's weakened body found a small surge of strength, propelling her to take one slow, painful step after another toward the cruel reality she least wanted to confront.
Jiraiya watched in silence as Tsunade approached Kato Dan's body. All the Konoha ninja present lowered their heads, also in silence.
In this oppressive stillness, Tsunade knelt down beside Kato Dan's lifeless form, her knees hitting the ground. She gently placed her delicate hands on his peaceful face and slowly leaned forward, pressing her pale cheek against his.
Tears poured from her eyes.
At this moment, silence spoke louder than words.
Everyone present stood in quiet reverence, witnessing the heartbreaking scene.
Tsunade's grief seemed to flow from her like air, spreading outwards and affecting everyone around her.
It was as if, in that moment, the invisible boundary between life and death, between the living and the dead, rippled outward, creating waves that touched all who stood nearby.
Jiraiya, feeling the intense grief radiating from Tsunade, clenched his fists tightly.
"Who… could have done this…?" he wondered, sifting through every possibility in his mind, though the one person he couldn't think of was Ye Zi.
The one who had left this place had now chosen a path leading straight into the darkness.
Where there is light, there is always shadow.
And that person… was the shadow.
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Currently on Chapter 218 - Movements on a Chessboard