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Boom!
Tsunade twisted her waist and flung away the massive tree she had been holding, then strode step by step through the scattered remains of Sasori's body before crushing his regeneration core under her foot.
"He's not dead yet," Neji remarked, standing beside Deidara as he observed the internal condition of the latter's body with his Byakugan.
"Oh?" Tsunade turned and walked over, bending down to deliver a swift, decisive punch.
Her fist collided with Deidara's chest, producing a dull thud.
Deidara's body convulsed, his eyes widening as a fountain of blood gushed from his mouth.
Tsunade sidestepped the splattering blood and casually said to Neji, "Now he's dead."
"Eek…" Suigetsu, who had been standing beside Neji, was so startled by her brutal action that he ducked behind Neji for cover.
"Uh…" Neji, faced with the Hokage, felt slightly awkward but still bowed politely. "Lady Hokage."
Tsunade gave a slight nod before striding past the four members of Sasuke's team and approaching Kakashi and Tokuma.
"Lady Hokage, please check on Tokuma first," Kakashi said. "His poisoning is much more severe than mine."
"Quiet, you!"
Tsunade shoved the seated Kakashi onto his back. After examining both of them, she ordered bluntly, "Someone get me some water."
"I'll do it."
Sasuke pulled a basin from his ninja pouch, ignoring the odd looks from the others—Why does he have everything?—and scooped up clean snow from the side. He then melted it into water using fire-natured chakra in his hand.
"Here."
He carried the basin over and set it down beside Tsunade.
"Thanks."
Tsunade dipped her hands into the water, drawing out two separate orbs of liquid, which she then placed on Kakashi's and Tokuma's chests.
As green chakra glowed, the water seeped into their bodies.
"Mystical Palm Jutsu: Extraction!"
With a swift motion, Tsunade pulled out the water orbs, now tainted with poison, and tossed them aside.
She repeated the process several times.
As the toxins were gradually purged, Kakashi and Tokuma's complexions slowly returned to normal.
Finally, Tsunade used a basic medical ninjutsu to fully restore their bodies.
"Done."
She stood up and faced Sasuke's group, finally finding the time to ask, "Why are you all here?"
"Just passing through." Sasuke had no intention of elaborating.
"Passing through?" Tsunade pressed. "Are you also heading to the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron?"
Karin immediately stepped in front of Sasuke, glaring defiantly. "Hey! Why should Sasuke tell you anything about our plans? Besides, we just saved your lives!"
"Tch."
Tsunade crossed her arms and chuckled, then studied Karin with sudden interest. "Girl, what's your name?"
"I-I'm Karin. What about it?" Karin's bravado faltered as she couldn't help stealing envious glances at Tsunade's ample bust.
"Karin?" Tsunade smirked playfully. "You seem awfully protective of Sasuke."
"Th-That's because… S-Sasuke is… our… team leader!" Karin stammered, her face turning red. "I-I don't… l-like him or anything!"
"You like him?" Tsunade's grin widened. "I never said that."
"Y-You… you…!"
Though seething inside, Karin didn't dare retaliate against Tsunade. In the end, she could only adjust her glasses awkwardly.
Amused, Tsunade turned and walked to a nearby tree, picking up her Hokage hat and placing it on her head. "Anyway, thank you for your help this time."
"And thank you for saving my life, Sasuke," Kakashi said as he finally stood up.
Sasuke gave him a cool glance. "It was nothing. No need for thanks."
"By the way."
He reached into his ninja pouch again and tossed a scroll to Kakashi.
Kakashi caught it and frowned. "What's this?"
"We ran into someone who attacked us out of nowhere. This is his body." Sasuke turned away. "He was a Konoha ninja—something like 'Shimura,' I think."
"Shimura Kazuteru?" Kakashi asked, surprised.
"Not sure." Sasuke didn't look back as he walked off. "We're leaving now. Neji, Karin, Suigetsu."
"Sasuke! Wait for me!" Karin hurried after him.
"Yeah, yeah." Suigetsu also dashed off in Sasuke's direction.
"Still as independent as ever, Sasuke," Kakashi sighed, watching his retreating figure.
"Neji."
Tokuma approached Neji as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he only silently patted his shoulder.
"Take care."
Neji bowed once more before departing.
"That girl…"
Tsunade stared thoughtfully at Karin's retreating figure.
"You mean…?" Kakashi seemed to catch on.
"Yeah." Tsunade sounded uncertain. "She might be a surviving descendant of the Uzumaki clan after the fall of Uzushiogakure."
Kakashi nodded. "She does have the same red hair as Kushina-sensei."
"Alright." Tsunade shook off her thoughts. "You two, clean up the battlefield. Take the bodies of those Akatsuki members and the jinchūriki with us!"
"Yes!"
Kakashi and Tokuma immediately got to work.
"Lady Hokage," Kakashi suddenly called out to Tsunade, who was standing beneath a tree. "Should we contact the village?"
"Tch, might as well. Though those fools won't cause much trouble." Tsunade pondered briefly. "Notify Jiraiya."
"Understood."
Kakashi summoned his ninken, Pakkun, relayed the message, and then dismissed the summon.
Once the battlefield was cleared, the three of them resumed their journey toward the Land of Iron.
Tokuma glanced at Tsunade's back and asked, "Lady Hokage, is it really alright to leave Uchiha Sasuke and his team unchecked?"
"It's fine." Tsunade didn't slow her pace. "Uchiha Kaito sent me a message earlier."
"I see." Tokuma said no more.
As one of the influential figures in the Hyūga clan, he was privy to many inside details—such as the collaboration Kaito had discussed with Hanabi.
What he didn't know, however, was that Hiashi had actually been the first to reach a secret agreement with Kaito.
---
Meanwhile…
After speeding up for a while, Neji finally caught up with the other three.
By then, Suigetsu was already busy provoking Karin again.
"Sasuke, that Hokage was right. Karin totally has a thing for you."
"Shut up, idiot Suigetsu!!" Karin, predictably, flew into a rage.
Suigetsu cackled. "Ha! Weren't you the one who got tongue-tied earlier?"
"You bastard!" Karin punched his head clean off.
"Tch. Obsessed much?" Suigetsu's head dissolved into water before reforming.
"I'll smash you into puddles and freeze you into ice!!"
"Violent stalker!"
"You're here." Sasuke, completely ignoring their bickering, turned to Neji. "Uncle should be nearby. I'll leave it to you to pinpoint his exact location."
"Leave it to me."
Neji remained equally composed as he activated his Byakugan once again.