Naraku clicked on the directory and glanced at it. With only two episodes left, he might as well watch them all in one go now.
After all, what would happen when the Hashirama cells entered his body, and how long it would take for them to take effect — wasn't that all up to him?
---
In the second to last episode, the timeline reverted to the day Tsunade left Konoha after attending Uzumaki Mito's funeral.
Walking on the road, Shizune occasionally looked back in Konoha's direction, hesitantly asking, "Lady Tsunade, Naraku's condition… Is it really okay for us to just leave like this?"
"Hmm, it's quite stable. He'll be fine for a year or two."
Tsunade exuded the calm demeanor of an experienced traditional doctor, fiddling with her fingernails.
A memory fragment flashed back: Tsunade had indeed hesitated about whether to take Naraku with her when she left Konoha, so it would be easier to treat him at any time.
But seeing Naraku busy attending to Sakumo by his sickbed, she knew he wouldn't come with her.
-- In his remaining days, Naraku probably wanted to stay with the Hatake Father and Son.
Fortunately, the child was diligent and learned two advanced Medical Ninjutsu and Sealing Jutsu in a short time. Even if she wasn't there, he could stabilize his condition and prevent it from worsening.
Taking it easy, lasting two years wouldn't be a problem.
[One or two years? Huh?]
[So Naraku only had a little time left… ]
[But that damned Danzo couldn't even wait that long!]
[Yeah, if he had left with Tsunade, Naraku wouldn't have seen Kakashi and Sakumo… ]
[Too bitter, Naraku is too bitter]
Tsunade received the first letter, slowly read it by candlelight, then wrote a reply and sent it out.
But she never received a second one.
When she got anxious, Tsunade went to the casino to try her luck. The dice rolled, and it was the "Big" she had bet on.
She slumped in her chair, oblivious to the surrounding noise and cheers, her shoulders slumping slightly as if a weight had been lifted.
In the scene, the dice that brought victory and money lay quietly on the table, pulled away by a zoom lens, remotely cursing her fate.
The black dots on each face of the dice, liquefied and distorted, transformed into the heartbreaking truth on the scroll.
She had just made up her mind not long ago, willing to endure the pain of separation for that child again, and he had just slipped away so lightly.
The scroll in her hand felt like it weighed a thousand catties, so heavy she could barely hold it, and it fell straight to the ground, unfurling.
-- Don't wait for the world to get better on its own.
-- That will only cause all beautiful things to vanish.
Tsunade's dazed eyes regained their light when she heard Shizune sobbing, but this light came from the fiery anger in her chest.
She crushed the corner of the table with one hand, gritting her teeth and thinking fiercely.
-- Why cry?
-- I'm going to chop him into pieces!
------------------------
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