Tsunade knelt by Dan once more for a tense moment as both of them shared a look. Now that they'd established a basic understanding of the situation, it was time to address the more serious concerns.
Her lover's expression strengthened as he nodded and handed over the crystal necklace, whispering in her ear,
"I know it's serious - I understand. There is something very strange about that girl and all of this, so be careful, okay? " his concern reinforced Tsunade's preexisting intuitions.
"Yeah... but worry about yourself more, you cruel man - I'm not the one who almost died here! Think of how I feel." She scolded, flashing him a somewhat woeful pout, "Just rest while I, as usual, handle all the difficult parts. We'll get you back home soon enough. I've held myself back enough as it is."
Dan showed her that unfair knowing grin once more, making her heart squeeze.
With that, the oh-so-formidable Sannin turned back abruptly to hide her embarrassment from him, looking back to the scene playing out behind her.
The girl Kana, she wore a drained expression as she and that Kaoru woman discussed something in hushed tones. Tsunade smirked a bit at the sight. Though her grandmother's associates wore concealing clothing and veils, the Sannin knew a reprimand - and an interrogation - when she saw one. It was obvious from their posture.
What caught her attention though, was that the girl unearthed another mask from somewhere and gestured to it frequently.
A mask like that... Tsunade knew wasn't something for children to play with. A bit of pinkness colored the twenty-four year old woman's cheeks once more at the thought.
She'd seen their like before, at that mask temple her grandfather had built decades ago. Back then, she borrowed one with a particularly freaky visage to torment her classmates and caretakers with. It wasn't a place she exactly frequented, being way out on the outskirts of the village, but the wicked demonic masks left a powerful impression on her as a child.
Once her grandmother found out, a younger Tsunade was subjected to a roasting with biting sarcasm.
So embarrassing in retrospect, as rather than a reprimand, Mito issued what could only be called a disdaining critique of her methods - which dealt a far more devastating blow to her young ego. A disheartened Tsunade soon gave up on juvenile pranks, as Mito lectured endlessly on how much more terrifying and effective a real prank could be.
In hindsight, Tsunade wondered just what kind of mind and values her grandmother nurtured. Well anyway, seeing Jiraiya almost wet his pants that time was still probably worth it, the pervy bastard had it coming.
The Senju heiress let out a melancholic sigh at the reminder of her eccentric longtime teammates, her fellow Sannin, both currently away on long-term missions. They didn't always get along, but they had fought together for so long that they knew each other's hearts well.
Tsunade shook her head and distracted herself from this reminiscing by shooting an affectionate sidelong glance at her lover while she mused further.
For, come to think of it, wasn't that temple built as a gesture of friendship to Uzushio as well..? How deep did Konoha's involvement in this matter really go?
These days... who was in charge of that place again? Tsunade remembered hearing something from the old geezers about bringing in a new caretaker for it. An entire estate set aside for it, too, long unused.
Wait... hadn't Grandmother handled that as well? No, it was for certain - Lady Mito had brought in another Uzumaki child a few years ago, a student with the same fiery red hair. Tsunade had seen the two of them speaking together when she visited Mito's quarters one day. What was that child's name again, Kushina?
Tsunade was beginning to feel more and more out of her depth. Her spine almost shivered as more and more details that previously seemed like coincidences occurred to her.
Plots going back years could be at work here. Grandmother, just how extensive was your forethought?!
But what was Tsunade's role in all this, was there something she was supposed to do? What had her grandmother told her?
Thinking back on every encounter with her wily matriarch that she could remember from the last few years, Tsunade absentmindedly pressed a palm to her forehead once more. Did any of it have hidden meaning?
She kept this in mind as she approached the one at the very center of it all.
"So that's what happened... " Kana said, slumping her shoulders after exchanging information with Kaoru. While Tsunade walked back to discuss something with Dan, Kaoru had knelt before Kana and gripped the girl's shoulders firmly.
Everyone wanted answers from each other, Kana included, but she was unfortunately targeted for interrogation first. The girl endured an onslaught of questions as best she could, fortunately able to blame most of the situation on the demonic mask.
After all, the mask's abilities had brought her out into the wilderness, and it was true that Kana did not know how. From there Kana muttered out an explanation of how she was confronted by scary assailants while fleeing back towards the sanctuary - only to find and save Dan by coincidence.
It was merely an accident that happened while she trained unsupervised... Kana felt this was a simpler and more palatable version of events.
And it was largely true, making it easier to relay without struggling to think of lies. All Kana had to do this way was hide inconvenient details - like how easily she hunted and dispatched several cultists. Or how she had carefully observed Dan and his battle to assess the danger before deciding to intervene. Or exactly how she had accumulated so much blood on the sleeves of her overcloak.
Hopefully her ever-neutral expression helped sell the story.
This was the only way Kana could think of in her hazy state to avoid raising even more unpleasant questions, the ones about her core of secrets that could not be exposed. Hating and even killing the cultists was a given, but the true details of exactly why she hated them so much had to be left vague.
Kana still felt too terrified of the consequences to mention the ritual or its effects to anyone, so it occupied her attention the most.
But regardless of however well she managed to conceal her role in the night's events, presenting the porcelain mask in question - pertinently cracked along its demonic face - sufficiently convinced the Yamakuni mistress to bring a prompt end to that line of questioning.
"Don't tell me anything more - I shouldn't even know this much. This... this is beyond the purview of a mere administrator." the veiled Kaoru had said nebulously.
Kana wasn't certain how to interpret that, but Kaoru had thankfully segued into explaining their side of events.
As she understood it, while Kana was in a daze from unlocking her mask, Kaoru and Hisao had detected a number of concerning infiltrations of the primary barrier - the outermost permeable layer meant for long-distance sensing.
Normally such an event could be monitored and handled depending on the actual threat to the Yamakuni Sanctuary itself. In this case, the detected chakra signatures appeared to be battling each other. Once again, even this was not sufficient cause to sortie out from the highly defended sanctuary. It was only after some of the signatures were identified that this drastic course of action was decided.
Pointing to Dan and Tsunade some distance away, Kaoru repeated for Kana how both of the Konoha shinobi possessed high-ranking signatures within the barrier, both originating from the Senju and branching off of Lady Mito's personal authority.
Seeing this, and with the context of a battle threatening recognized allies, the Yamakuni leaders decided to sortie out in the middle of the night and render what aid they could.
Hisao was able to use the barrier's juncture stations - one being the building Kana appeared at - to track the precise positions of the intruders while on the move and deal with them accordingly. This seemed to be why the older man was so exhausted. Managing the barrier duties was no easy feat, that much was clear.
This was all well and good, abating much of the confusion Kana felt about their arrival here, but that still left the question of Fuzō's disappearance.
At a concerned inquiry from Kana, Kaoru shifted to a rather abashed posture and tone, hesitating to speak.
Pressing further got the woman to reveal how Fuzō - unwilling to see her parents head off into danger so soon after reuniting - had begged them not to go, insisting upon personally seeing them off and waiting at the gate until they returned. Which had... caused delays.
This left Kana a bit stunned. Kana could imagine the clash of stubbornness between those fiery personalities, but the thought of Fuzō straining herself left the girl feeling a bit worried again. Suggestions were made all around to resolve their concerns here and return as quickly as possible, for Fuzō's sake if nothing else.
That brought everyone's attentions back to the Konoha shinobi, just in time to see Tsunade muttering to herself as she slowly approached.
With all that context shared between them, Kaoru followed up with whispers in Kana's ear about Tsunade's reputation and prodigious talent as a medical shinobi. Especially mentioning how Tsunade's assistance could drastically aid Fuzō's recovery, and possibly, Kana's search for information about her past.
Such a person, potentially key to solving all of their problems, waltzed right up to the two and called out,
"Kaoru-san, Kana, now that you've caught each other up, come talk with me over here by Dan."
Tsunade, as was her primary modus operandi, got straight to the point,
"Kaoru-san, who exactly is Kana? What do you know? Kana and I will both need to hear it, and it involves me in my capacity as the Senju's Clan Head. That... should tell you enough."
The two red-haired individuals glanced at each other, one nervously and the other discreetly, before Kaoru bowed apologetically,
"My apologies again, but I am unable to answer this question, as even I do not know. For this is because Kana has only recently joined us, and as an honored guest no less, after completing for me and my family a great personal service - the rescue and return of my injured daughter. All else I can say is that she came as a refugee... from the western warzones..."
Tsunade's brows rose steadily as she heard all this, particularly the emphasis Kaoru placed on her last sentence. A child saving a wounded adult was already something special, but staying alive together all the way from a place like Amegakure? Though the young girl standing by her side remained largely expressionless, those words told a story of nuance that softened Tsunade's heart.
Softened and impressed the Sannin. She was now more curious than ever.
Tsunade remembered seeing many war orphans during her assault missions with the Sannin - and she had seen many of them die. So many in fact, that it eventually moved Jiraiya to stay behind in the Land of Rain and train some of the most pitiful ones on how to survive.
It was difficult to harden one's heart for so long and remain human when the deaths of civilians and innocents became so commonplace. Tsunade understood why Jiraiya felt the need to aid them. She hoped it would ease his troubles during her fellow Sannin's yearly intelligence gathering mission.
As for Tsunade, her mental fortitude was always reinforced by her relationship with Dan, so she channeled her efforts into strengthening Konoha and her closest comrades. That was how she coped, how she strode forward despite the destruction and death. That and her work in medicine convinced her that she was living as best she could.
But could a child do the same? Did a girl as young as Kana have such support? Tsunade knew what it was like to lose parents and family at that age. Too young to be alright by yourself, but too old for the pain to be lessened. Only worsened by ongoing war and being thrust into battles you do not understand. Whatever the girl had been through, it had forged her into the calm, emotionally-withdrawn, and defensive Kana that stood before the Sannin today.
Tsunade's heart ached for the child. If the girl truly were her kin, one of the few remaining Senju, then that ache would only worsen. After all, Nawaki had already...
"Then there is something that I absolutely must confirm. Kana-" Tsunade's words faltered on a choked sob as she dangled the twice-gifted necklace between her fingers, "Kana-chan, please place your hand on this necklace once more."
The girl glanced down hesitantly, but slowly complied. It was a gesture of both curiosity and resignation.
Tsunade could feel the girl's chakra flow around her hand a bit - a uniquely dispersed and abstract-feeling chakra - producing a faint and gentle amethyst glow.
Her grandfather's heirloom flashed with a bright green light, faint tendrils of which curled around to meet the girl's hand. Kana visibly twitched, no doubt from sensing the chakra that this crystal stored within. A dazed and hazy look came over the young girl's face, warping the child's lips into a tight frown.
From her angle crouching above the girl's head, Tsunade hissed out an awed breath through her clenched teeth as she saw the hairclasp emblazoned with the Senju Clan's sigil glowing with a similar light from where it was affixed in the child's hair.
"There is no doubt, as Clan Head I can bear it witness." Tsunade stated just loud enough for the two nearby to hear, but even so Dan's ears pricked up from where he lay behind them.
The Sannin felt uncertain, awed, and somewhat conflicted, but she wanted her lover to hear this,
"The girl is definitely a Senju - and of the highest order. I have never again seen this power react but once in my life, the greatest power our clan has ever known.
My grandfather's lost power runs within this crystal, and it reacts to her alone. Somehow, perhaps dormant within Kana..."
Tsunade hesitated despite her excited words, catching the slightly worried look in the child's eyes. But she had to tell the girl, Kana had to be made aware of her own potential. Anything less would be irresponsible from someone in Tsunade's position. Was this how Jiraiya felt when he found that genius Namikaze kid?
There was no way anyone could have predicted this, or so Tsunade thought. Did her grandmother...?
No matter what happened, Tsunade would take responsibility. She had to say it,
"I think she bears the kekkei genkai of life itself, the Senju's gift - Mokuton!"1Mokuton, again, just in case = Wood Release kekkei genkai.
Tsunade knelt by Dan once more for a tense moment as both of them shared a look. Now that they'd established a basic understanding of the situation, it was time to address the more serious concerns.
Her lover's expression strengthened as he nodded and handed over the crystal necklace, whispering in her ear,
"I know it's serious - I understand. There is something very strange about that girl and all of this, so be careful, okay? " his concern reinforced Tsunade's preexisting intuitions.
"Yeah... but worry about yourself more, you cruel man - I'm not the one who almost died here! Think of how I feel." She scolded, flashing him a somewhat woeful pout, "Just rest while I, as usual, handle all the difficult parts. We'll get you back home soon enough. I've held myself back enough as it is."
Dan showed her that unfair knowing grin once more, making her heart squeeze.
With that, the oh-so-formidable Sannin turned back abruptly to hide her embarrassment from him, looking back to the scene playing out behind her.
The girl Kana, she wore a drained expression as she and that Kaoru woman discussed something in hushed tones. Tsunade smirked a bit at the sight. Though her grandmother's associates wore concealing clothing and veils, the Sannin knew a reprimand - and an interrogation - when she saw one. It was obvious from their posture.
What caught her attention though, was that the girl unearthed another mask from somewhere and gestured to it frequently.
A mask like that... Tsunade knew wasn't something for children to play with. A bit of pinkness colored the twenty-four year old woman's cheeks once more at the thought.
She'd seen their like before, at that mask temple her grandfather had built decades ago. Back then, she borrowed one with a particularly freaky visage to torment her classmates and caretakers with. It wasn't a place she exactly frequented, being way out on the outskirts of the village, but the wicked demonic masks left a powerful impression on her as a child.
Once her grandmother found out, a younger Tsunade was subjected to a roasting with biting sarcasm.
So embarrassing in retrospect, as rather than a reprimand, Mito issued what could only be called a disdaining critique of her methods - which dealt a far more devastating blow to her young ego. A disheartened Tsunade soon gave up on juvenile pranks, as Mito lectured endlessly on how much more terrifying and effective a real prank could be.
In hindsight, Tsunade wondered just what kind of mind and values her grandmother nurtured. Well anyway, seeing Jiraiya almost wet his pants that time was still probably worth it, the pervy bastard had it coming.
The Senju heiress let out a melancholic sigh at the reminder of her eccentric longtime teammates, her fellow Sannin, both currently away on long-term missions. They didn't always get along, but they had fought together for so long that they knew each other's hearts well.
Tsunade shook her head and distracted herself from this reminiscing by shooting an affectionate sidelong glance at her lover while she mused further.
For, come to think of it, wasn't that temple built as a gesture of friendship to Uzushio as well..? How deep did Konoha's involvement in this matter really go?
These days... who was in charge of that place again? Tsunade remembered hearing something from the old geezers about bringing in a new caretaker for it. An entire estate set aside for it, too, long unused.
Wait... hadn't Grandmother handled that as well? No, it was for certain - Lady Mito had brought in another Uzumaki child a few years ago, a student with the same fiery red hair. Tsunade had seen the two of them speaking together when she visited Mito's quarters one day. What was that child's name again, Kushina?
Tsunade was beginning to feel more and more out of her depth. Her spine almost shivered as more and more details that previously seemed like coincidences occurred to her.
Plots going back years could be at work here. Grandmother, just how extensive was your forethought?!
But what was Tsunade's role in all this, was there something she was supposed to do? What had her grandmother told her?
Thinking back on every encounter with her wily matriarch that she could remember from the last few years, Tsunade absentmindedly pressed a palm to her forehead once more. Did any of it have hidden meaning?
She kept this in mind as she approached the one at the very center of it all.
"So that's what happened... " Kana said, slumping her shoulders after exchanging information with Kaoru. While Tsunade walked back to discuss something with Dan, Kaoru had knelt before Kana and gripped the girl's shoulders firmly.
Everyone wanted answers from each other, Kana included, but she was unfortunately targeted for interrogation first. The girl endured an onslaught of questions as best she could, fortunately able to blame most of the situation on the demonic mask.
After all, the mask's abilities had brought her out into the wilderness, and it was true that Kana did not know how. From there Kana muttered out an explanation of how she was confronted by scary assailants while fleeing back towards the sanctuary - only to find and save Dan by coincidence.
It was merely an accident that happened while she trained unsupervised... Kana felt this was a simpler and more palatable version of events.
And it was largely true, making it easier to relay without struggling to think of lies. All Kana had to do this way was hide inconvenient details - like how easily she hunted and dispatched several cultists. Or how she had carefully observed Dan and his battle to assess the danger before deciding to intervene. Or exactly how she had accumulated so much blood on the sleeves of her overcloak.
Hopefully her ever-neutral expression helped sell the story.
This was the only way Kana could think of in her hazy state to avoid raising even more unpleasant questions, the ones about her core of secrets that could not be exposed. Hating and even killing the cultists was a given, but the true details of exactly why she hated them so much had to be left vague.
Kana still felt too terrified of the consequences to mention the ritual or its effects to anyone, so it occupied her attention the most.
But regardless of however well she managed to conceal her role in the night's events, presenting the porcelain mask in question - pertinently cracked along its demonic face - sufficiently convinced the Yamakuni mistress to bring a prompt end to that line of questioning.
"Don't tell me anything more - I shouldn't even know this much. This... this is beyond the purview of a mere administrator." the veiled Kaoru had said nebulously.
Kana wasn't certain how to interpret that, but Kaoru had thankfully segued into explaining their side of events.
As she understood it, while Kana was in a daze from unlocking her mask, Kaoru and Hisao had detected a number of concerning infiltrations of the primary barrier - the outermost permeable layer meant for long-distance sensing.
Normally such an event could be monitored and handled depending on the actual threat to the Yamakuni Sanctuary itself. In this case, the detected chakra signatures appeared to be battling each other. Once again, even this was not sufficient cause to sortie out from the highly defended sanctuary. It was only after some of the signatures were identified that this drastic course of action was decided.
Pointing to Dan and Tsunade some distance away, Kaoru repeated for Kana how both of the Konoha shinobi possessed high-ranking signatures within the barrier, both originating from the Senju and branching off of Lady Mito's personal authority.
Seeing this, and with the context of a battle threatening recognized allies, the Yamakuni leaders decided to sortie out in the middle of the night and render what aid they could.
Hisao was able to use the barrier's juncture stations - one being the building Kana appeared at - to track the precise positions of the intruders while on the move and deal with them accordingly. This seemed to be why the older man was so exhausted. Managing the barrier duties was no easy feat, that much was clear.
This was all well and good, abating much of the confusion Kana felt about their arrival here, but that still left the question of Fuzō's disappearance.
At a concerned inquiry from Kana, Kaoru shifted to a rather abashed posture and tone, hesitating to speak.
Pressing further got the woman to reveal how Fuzō - unwilling to see her parents head off into danger so soon after reuniting - had begged them not to go, insisting upon personally seeing them off and waiting at the gate until they returned. Which had... caused delays.
This left Kana a bit stunned. Kana could imagine the clash of stubbornness between those fiery personalities, but the thought of Fuzō straining herself left the girl feeling a bit worried again. Suggestions were made all around to resolve their concerns here and return as quickly as possible, for Fuzō's sake if nothing else.
That brought everyone's attentions back to the Konoha shinobi, just in time to see Tsunade muttering to herself as she slowly approached.
With all that context shared between them, Kaoru followed up with whispers in Kana's ear about Tsunade's reputation and prodigious talent as a medical shinobi. Especially mentioning how Tsunade's assistance could drastically aid Fuzō's recovery, and possibly, Kana's search for information about her past.
Such a person, potentially key to solving all of their problems, waltzed right up to the two and called out,
"Kaoru-san, Kana, now that you've caught each other up, come talk with me over here by Dan."
Tsunade, as was her primary modus operandi, got straight to the point,
"Kaoru-san, who exactly is Kana? What do you know? Kana and I will both need to hear it, and it involves me in my capacity as the Senju's Clan Head. That... should tell you enough."
The two red-haired individuals glanced at each other, one nervously and the other discreetly, before Kaoru bowed apologetically,
"My apologies again, but I am unable to answer this question, as even I do not know. For this is because Kana has only recently joined us, and as an honored guest no less, after completing for me and my family a great personal service - the rescue and return of my injured daughter. All else I can say is that she came as a refugee... from the western warzones..."
Tsunade's brows rose steadily as she heard all this, particularly the emphasis Kaoru placed on her last sentence. A child saving a wounded adult was already something special, but staying alive together all the way from a place like Amegakure? Though the young girl standing by her side remained largely expressionless, those words told a story of nuance that softened Tsunade's heart.
Softened and impressed the Sannin. She was now more curious than ever.
Tsunade remembered seeing many war orphans during her assault missions with the Sannin - and she had seen many of them die. So many in fact, that it eventually moved Jiraiya to stay behind in the Land of Rain and train some of the most pitiful ones on how to survive.
It was difficult to harden one's heart for so long and remain human when the deaths of civilians and innocents became so commonplace. Tsunade understood why Jiraiya felt the need to aid them. She hoped it would ease his troubles during her fellow Sannin's yearly intelligence gathering mission.
As for Tsunade, her mental fortitude was always reinforced by her relationship with Dan, so she channeled her efforts into strengthening Konoha and her closest comrades. That was how she coped, how she strode forward despite the destruction and death. That and her work in medicine convinced her that she was living as best she could.
But could a child do the same? Did a girl as young as Kana have such support? Tsunade knew what it was like to lose parents and family at that age. Too young to be alright by yourself, but too old for the pain to be lessened. Only worsened by ongoing war and being thrust into battles you do not understand. Whatever the girl had been through, it had forged her into the calm, emotionally-withdrawn, and defensive Kana that stood before the Sannin today.
Tsunade's heart ached for the child. If the girl truly were her kin, one of the few remaining Senju, then that ache would only worsen. After all, Nawaki had already...
"Then there is something that I absolutely must confirm. Kana-" Tsunade's words faltered on a choked sob as she dangled the twice-gifted necklace between her fingers, "Kana-chan, please place your hand on this necklace once more."
The girl glanced down hesitantly, but slowly complied. It was a gesture of both curiosity and resignation.
Tsunade could feel the girl's chakra flow around her hand a bit - a uniquely dispersed and abstract-feeling chakra - producing a faint and gentle amethyst glow.
Her grandfather's heirloom flashed with a bright green light, faint tendrils of which curled around to meet the girl's hand. Kana visibly twitched, no doubt from sensing the chakra that this crystal stored within. A dazed and hazy look came over the young girl's face, warping the child's lips into a tight frown.
From her angle crouching above the girl's head, Tsunade hissed out an awed breath through her clenched teeth as she saw the hairclasp emblazoned with the Senju Clan's sigil glowing with a similar light from where it was affixed in the child's hair.
"There is no doubt, as Clan Head I can bear it witness." Tsunade stated just loud enough for the two nearby to hear, but even so Dan's ears pricked up from where he lay behind them.
The Sannin felt uncertain, awed, and somewhat conflicted, but she wanted her lover to hear this,
"The girl is definitely a Senju - and of the highest order. I have never again seen this power react but once in my life, the greatest power our clan has ever known.
My grandfather's lost power runs within this crystal, and it reacts to her alone. Somehow, perhaps dormant within Kana..."
Tsunade hesitated despite her excited words, catching the slightly worried look in the child's eyes. But she had to tell the girl, Kana had to be made aware of her own potential. Anything less would be irresponsible from someone in Tsunade's position. Was this how Jiraiya felt when he found that genius Namikaze kid?
There was no way anyone could have predicted this, or so Tsunade thought. Did her grandmother...?
No matter what happened, Tsunade would take responsibility. She had to say it,
"I think she bears the kekkei genkai of life itself, the Senju's gift - Mokuton!"1Mokuton, again, just in case = Wood Release kekkei genkai.
