"Mute, be careful what you say in the future."
Tsunade's tone was uncharacteristically stern.
Shizune nodded quietly.
Even if Tsunade never formally acknowledged her as a student, everyone knew the truth. And anything she said would reflect not only on her, but on Tsunade and jingyi as well. She knew better than to speak carelessly.
"Brat, I'm heading out. Tell the old man to stop looking for me I'm not coming back."
"You're not even staying for a meal?" Jingyi asked, reluctant to see her go.
Tsunade had been abrasive and blunt with him, but it was that very rudeness that made her feel familiar like someone from home. That kind of candor only came from those who had no need to put on a front.
"Hmph, you think I can't afford to eat?" Tsunade waved him off. Her green cloak billowed behind her, the kanji for "gamble"bold on her back.
Jingyi didn't press her.
Konoha was unstable. With Tsunade suffering from her traumatic fear of blood, perhaps leaving truly was the best choice for now.
He lowered his gaze to the key in his hand.
After a long pause, he tightened his grip on it, slipped it into his pouch, and turned to rejoin Shisui and the others.
---
Baiyun Town Hills
Tsunade stood atop a rise, watching Jingyi's retreating figure. Her eyes clouded with emotion. She didn't speak until he was completely out of sight.
"If Nawaki were still alive... he might have made jōnin by now."
"Does he remind you of Nawaki?" Shizune asked quietly.
"Not really. He's more like the Second Hokage," Tsunade replied after a moment. "Nawaki... he was different."
But even so, she couldn't help being reminded of her younger brother. Jingyi was close to Nawaki's age when he died, and the comparison was inevitable.
"It's just... nostalgic."
"Lady Tsunade," Shizune said cautiously, "you said Konoha's in danger, that other villages may take advantage and strike again. If another war breaks out... will you go back?"
The war with Sunagakure had ended, but Tsunade knew better than to believe peace would last.
Since the Second Hokage's death, the battles never truly stopped. Even the "Sannin Battle" against Hanzo of the Salamander had only given the world a temporary pause. Tensions were already simmering again.
She had traveled across the continent these past few years and had seen how other nations viewed Konoha.
They all wanted to see the mighty village fall.
"What would I even do if I went back?" Tsunade muttered, turning her head. "We'll see, I guess."
The Third Hokage clearly hoped sending Jingyi would soften her heart and convince her to return.
But her hemophobia wasn't something many understood, and certainly not something that could be fixed by willpower alone. Even with her unparalleled medical skills, trauma wasn't so easily healed.
Tsunade turned and walked away.
From the distance, Jingyi looked back once.
She was gone.
He felt regret but also understanding. She wasn't ready to return. And no one could force her healing. Nawaki and Dan's deaths still haunted her, and it had only been a few years.
Trauma didn't fade with time alone. It needed a spark a chance.
---
Training Site, Baiyun Town
"Asuma, why don't you take a break?"
"No, I'm fine!" Asuma continued channeling her wind chakra into the stone, slowly cutting through it.
Nearby, Shisui practiced channeling wind chakra through his katana, attempting to slice through stone as well both part of the chakra nature training assigned by their instructor's shadow clone.
Yūhi Kurenai carried bricks, her stamina training intertwined with physical labor.
The town workers had initially objected to having genin do the heavy lifting, but once the clone insisted it was part of their mission, they gave in. And the work was completed much faster than expected.
By evening, the mayor hosted a banquet in gratitude. The villagers were warm, the food plentiful.
"Sensei," Shisui said quietly, "I used to think the villagers disliked the Uchiha... but now I see, maybe we were the ones keeping our distance."
This mission had taught him something.
The villagers weren't cold they simply responded to how they were treated.
Uchiha pride, the barriers of the clan compound, and the duties of the Military Police had created a wall between them and the village. It wasn't hostility it was detachment.
And if they truly hoped for one of their own to become Hokage...
It would take more than strength. It would take unity.
"You've realized something important," Jingyi replied. "A tree can't make a forest. And when loggers come, the lone trees are the first to fall."
"That sounds familiar..."
"You've probably read something like it in Nidaime-sama's writings. But books are just tools you have to think for yourself too."
"Yes." Shisui nodded.
Jingyi said no more.
Shisui was still young five or six at most. Better to let him digest this slowly. He was the only one who seemed to see Jingyi as a lifelong teacher, and Jingyi took that responsibility seriously.
Asuma mingled with the townspeople easily.
"Uncle, what's more important: the Daimyō or the Hokage?"
"Whichever one keeps us safe and fed, kid hat's the one that matters."
"Huh... I see."
Jingyi watched silently.
Asuma still grappled with the concept of his "jade general" the one person, or idea, he could entrust with his beliefs. He'd grown up under the shadow of a Hokage, but never felt awe toward the role. Meeting Jingyi had shifted something, but he was still searching.
---
Days Later
With Team Jingyi's help, Baiyun Town was quickly restored and the C-rank mission completed.
Before returning to the village, they assisted the mayor in redistributing stolen wealth from the bandits to affected villagers.
Everyone Asuma, Shisui, and Kurenai was changed by the experience.
When they finally arrived home...
"Sensei," Asuma asked, "can we take another C-rank mission next time?"
"Addicted already?"
"Not exactly. But training outside the village... we learned so much more than staying inside Konoha."
Kurenai and Shisui nodded.
"You're the Hokage's son. If you make enough noise at home, maybe we'll get a B-rank next time."
"Huh?!"
Laughter echoed through the trees.
Asuma stood dumbfounded, then realized Jingyi was teasing her. He scratched his head, speechless.
But a B-rank mission?
That meant dealing with enemy ninja.
And that thought?
It was kind of thrilling.