"Yikes, that''s brutal."


    Shin watched from his hiding spot as Tsunade pulverized another ninja with a single punch, the impact leaving the poor guy looking like he''d been hit by a truck. Shin winced.


    <em>''Twice.''</em>


    "This woman''s strength is ridiculous. I Must not... Wait, what am I even thinking?"


    "Shin, what are you muttering about?" Kushina nudged him.


    "Nothing. Kushina, don''t you think she''s a bit... violent?"


    Shin eyed the mangled remains of the ninja. He wouldn''t want to be on the receiving end of one of those punches.


    "Violent? Nah, she''s alright," Kushina said, her eyes practically sparkling with admiration.


    Shin instinctively took a step back. Did Kushina have violent tendencies?


    He suddenly remembered that Kushina''s temper wasn''t exactly angelic.


    Shin turned his attention back to Tsunade. Her strength was probably at elite Jōnin level, but she was disying power far beyond that.


    One-punching ninjas like they were toddlers.


    "Who sent these guys?"


    Shin observed the attackers. Initially, he thought they were after the Uzumaki survivors.


    But now it seemed they were targeting the Senju.


    He noticed that Uzumaki Hikaru, was no longer under the protection of the Senju ninjas. If the attackers were after the Uzumaki, they would have gone for Hikaru.@@novelbin@@


    A strange thought crossed Shin''s mind.<em>''Could these ninjas be from Konoha?''</em>


    It wasn''t impossible. They were in Land of Fire, after all.


    If over twenty foreign ninjas could infiltrate Land of Fire without Konoha, the most powerful Hidden Vige, noticing, something was fishy.


    "Man, maybe going to Konoha isn''t such a safe bet after all."


    Perhaps Konoha had something to do with the destruction of Uzushiogakure.


    Konoha had only sent Tsunade and nine other Senju to aid the Uzumaki.


    It was a good thing the invaders had already left; otherwise, this "rescue team" would have been ughtered.


    Now they were being attacked within Land of Fire, and the attackers seemed to be targeting the Senju. Considering the future of the Senju n, with only Tsunade remaining, Shin''s suspicions grew stronger.


    But even if he was right, he wouldn''t say anything. It was just spection; he had no proof.


    And even if he did, what good would it do? Loose lips sink ships. Some things were better left unsaid.


    He didn''t know if these were Hiruzen''s men or Danzō''s. His gut said Danzō.


    Tsunade was Hiruzen''s disciple. Hiruzen wasn''t a saint, but he wasn''t evil either. He wouldn''t attack his own student.


    But Danzō? That guy was capable of anything.


    <em>''I''ll have to watch out for Danzō in Konoha. But as long as I keep a low profile, he shouldn''t notice me.''</em>


    But Tsunade had seen him move with incredible speed while dodging the Kunai and Shuriken. Hopefully, she wouldn''t mention it.


    "Damn it!"


    Tsunade noticed one of the attackers cutting down Senju ninjas with ruthless efficiency.


    She estimated his strength to be at elite Jōnin level, perhaps slightly weaker than her, but far stronger than the others.


    He had already killed three Senju Jōnin.


    Tsunade''s eyes zed with fury. She tried to reach him, but she was blocked by Chunin who fought with suicidal desperation.


    "Get out of my way, you little ants!"


    Tsunade mmed her foot into the ground, creating a spiderweb of cracks. The earth shook, throwing the Chunin off bnce.


    Some of them even stumbled and fell into the fissures, unable to move.


    Tsunade ignored them and charged towards the elite Jōnin.


    The Jōnin retreated, shooting Tsunade a cold look. "Retreat!" he yelled.


    The attackers vanished into the forest without hesitation. Tsunade red at their retreating figures, frustrated.


    They had managed to capture one alive, but he hadmitted suicide before they could interrogate him.


    Shin and Kushina emerged from their hiding spot. Shin looked at Tsunade, her eyes red with rage, and shook his head. This was a tragedy.


    Three Senju Jōnin were dead. Only six remained, and they were all wounded.


    Jōnin were valuable assets to any Hidden Vige, even more so to a n.


    The Senju n was a shadow of its former glory. Besides Tsunade, they only had nine Jōnin, and now three were gone.


    "Collect their bodies. Let''s go," Tsunade said grimly.


    They continued towards Konoha, the mood somber.


    Two dayster, they finally reached Konoha, the most powerful Hidden Vige in the ninja world.


    The rest of the journey was uneventful.


    "You all head back and see to their burial. I''ll take these children to see the Hokage," Tsunade instructed the remaining Senju.


    They nodded and headed towards the Senju npound.


    Tsunade led Shin, Kushina, Akiko, Kai, and Hikaru, the five Uzumaki survivors, to the Hokage''s office.


    Upon reaching the office, Tsunade punched the door to splinters. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up, his eyebrow twitching as he saw Tsunade.


    "Ah, Tsunade, you''re back. How did it go with the Uzumaki n?"


    He didn''t even bother mentioning the door. This wasn''t the first time she''d done this.


    "The Uzumaki n is gone. These are the survivors," Tsunade said, her voice heavy with grief.


    "What? Gone? How?" Hiruzen shot to his feet.


    "I was toote. The n was already destroyed when I arrived."


    Tsunade clenched her fists. If only they had received the news sooner, perhaps this tragedy could have been averted.


    "I see."


    Hiruzen sat back down, his gaze sweeping over Shin and the other children, assessing them.


    Shin squirmed under his scrutiny.


    Hiruzen''s eyes were sharp. This was Hiruzen in his prime, not the old man he would be.


    His gaze seemed to pierce through you, seeing all your secrets. Shin didn''t like it one bit.


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