Night fell, and inside the main tent of the Konoha camp behind the lines...
A faint candlelight flickered gently.
The firelight illuminated Tsunade's slightly haggard face.
She sat cross-legged behind the desk, supporting her chin with one hand, her long golden hair casually draped over her shoulders, and her brow furrowed with undisguised weariness.
She, along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, led the advance troops into the Land of Rain, but the battle situation fell far short of expectations.
The Rain ninjas' tenacious resistance and the chaos of the battlefield exceeded predictions.
To this day, Konoha has only established two large camps that support each other, but the number of casualties is shocking and unacceptable.
"This is war."
Tsunade murmured in her heart, with bitterness.
"It's cruelly suffocating. Can I really lead everyone back to Konoha in glory?"
She put down the scroll of frontline intelligence in her hand and looked out of the tent.
The cold moonlight sprinkle on the busy and oppressive camp, the night was deep.
"It's time to go to the wounded camp."
Tsunade thought silently, sorted out her thoughts, got up and left the central army tent, and walked steadily towards the wounded camp in the rear.
In the wounded camp, the strong smell of medicine was mixed with the smell of blood, which was almost nauseating.
Under the bright candlelight were pale, tired faces.
Low moans and suppressed coughs rose and fell one after another, forming the main theme of this temporary hell.
Itoshiki lay on a bed in the corner, but his consciousness was unusually clear.
He was thinking about the novice task issued by the system, which could be described as difficult—confessing to Tsunade.
Confession itself doesn't seem difficult.
As Konoha's strongest medical ninja, Tsunade comes here every night to inspect and treat the seriously wounded.
As long as you risk your face and shout it out, the task can be completed in form.
The real difficulty lies in the system's additional condition: how to get Tsunade to "approve" of this confession, rather than just treating it as the ramblings of a dying person, or a joke from an ignorant little devil.
"Approval."
Itoshiki's eyes flickered, and his mind raced.
He carefully recalled Tsunade's personality in the anime of his previous life, that strong, forthright woman with a soft heart, who especially cherished life and will.
Perhaps, his idea is really feasible.
If Tsunade's core has not changed, then, on this desperate battlefield, expressing the desire for "life" and the yearning for "her" in an extreme way may really touch the deepest part of her heart.
"Tsunade-sama!"
"Tsunade-sama!"
Guards' respectful greetings came from the entrance of the camp.
Tsunade is here.
She just nodded slightly, without saying much, and walked straight into the camp filled with painful atmosphere.
The white medical robe she wore made her look tall and straight, and the string of green necklaces on her chest shimmered faintly in the dim light.
Tsunade shuttled between the beds, her expression solemn, carefully checking the condition of each wounded soldier.
Her brows were sometimes furrowed, her eyes focused on the pain as a professional medical ninja, and she also carried the weight of being one of the commanders.
She knew better than anyone the cruelty of war and the pain of the wounded.
"There aren't enough tourniquets! Go to the warehouse to get them!"
Tsunade's voice was clear and decisive, with an unquestionable tone of command.
The medical ninjas and nurses in charge of assisting immediately quickened their pace, hurriedly shuttling through the camp, carrying out orders.
Itoshiki lay in the corner, silently watching the busy figure.
Admiration, the pressure of the mission, and even a throbbing that he himself had never explored deeply, intertwined in his heart.
He knew that the opportunity was at hand.
This is the first step of the system mission, and it may also be his only chance to change this cruel fate.
He cannot back down.
"Huff..."
Itoshiki took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the heart in his chest that was about to jump out.
He slowly sat up, the movement tugging at the wound on his body, causing a burst of stinging pain, but he didn't care.
His eyes were fixed on Tsunade, waiting, looking for that possible opportunity.
Time passed slowly in the oppressive silence and the moans of the wounded.
Tsunade finally finished dealing with the last seriously wounded patient in critical condition.
She straightened up tiredly and raised her hand to gently rub her brow.
Then, she turned around and began to walk towards the non-seriously wounded area where itoshiki was located for a routine inspection.
The sound of her footsteps was like stepping on Itoshiki's heartbeat.
Getting closer and closer.
Now!
"Tsunade-sama!"
Itoshiki's voice was not loud, but in the relatively quiet environment of the wounded camp, it seemed unusually clear and abrupt.
Tsunade stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.
Her eyes fell on the boy sitting up on the bed in the corner, with a hint of inquiry and incomprehension in her eyes.
"Is there anything wrong?"
She walked slowly to Itoshiki's bed, her voice hoarse after being busy, but still gentle.
Itoshiki raised his head and looked directly at Tsunade, who was close at hand.
That beautiful but tired face, those eyes that had seen too much life and death, instantly filled his heart with a desperate courage.
He took another deep breath, as if to inhale all the air around him, and then shouted out with all his strength:
"Tsunade-sama! I like you!"
"I don't know when I will die in this war, but I don't want to die with regrets."
"Tsunade-sama, please go out with me!"
The sound exploded in the entire wounded camp, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.
Instantly, all the sounds disappeared.
The moaning stopped.
The coughing was suppressed.
The nurses' movements froze in their hands.
Everyone who was still awake, whether wounded or medical staff, turned their heads in astonishment and focused their eyes on Itoshiki.
Shock, astonishment, and disbelief were intertwined on people's faces.
The air seemed to freeze, leaving only the crackling of the flickering candlelight.
Tsunade was also completely stunned.
Her amber pupils widened suddenly, looking in disbelief at the young ninja in front of her, whose face was flushed, but whose eyes were unusually hot.
For a moment, she didn't know how to react at all.
In this place, at this time, in this way, confessing to her?
A mixture of absurdity, embarrassment, and anger at being violated instantly surged into her heart.
"Does this kid know what he's talking about?!"
"On the battlefield! In the wounded camp! What is he thinking?!"
"Can't he see that I'm so busy I'm about to collapse? He's still causing me trouble!"
Thoughts flashed through her mind, and Tsunade's eyes became sharp, like blades scraping harshly towards Itoshiki.
She saw the young man in front of her clearly.
He was about fifteen or sixteen years old, and his figure was not tall, even a little thin due to his injuries and blood loss.
A mess of short black hair hung on his forehead, obscuring part of his eyebrows and eyes.
His nose was straight, his lips were tightly pursed, and his jawline was clear, but his face was frighteningly pale.
However, those eyes were surprisingly bright, filled with a kind of almost obsessive desire and a complex emotion that did not belong to his age.
Circles of thick bandages were wrapped around his right arm and right chest, with fresh bloodstains still faintly seeping out, indicating that he was seriously injured.
"He's still a kid."
Tsunade's anger inexplicably stagnated the moment she saw the young man's appearance.
She couldn't help but think of her younger brother, Nawaki, who stayed in the village.
About the same age as the child in front of her, he should have been enjoying his youth in the village, chasing and playing, but he was dragged into this damn war.
"Yes, at this age, they should be impulsive, passionate, and do stupid things to attract the attention of the girl they like."
"It is I, it is us adults, who brought them to this hell."
The anger quietly receded, and a more complex emotion, with sourness and pity, slowly surfaced.
Watching Tsunade staring at his face, watching the look in those eyes gradually softening from sharp anger, becoming complex, and even revealing a helplessness and pity similar to looking at an ignorant younger brother.
Itoshiki's heart was pounding like a drum, almost breaking his ribs.
His palms were full of cold sweat from nervousness, and his breathing became heavy.
He stared fixedly at Tsunade, waiting for her judgment.
He knew that this shocking confession would most likely be rejected, or even be regarded as nonsense under pre-war syndrome, or a joke.
But he had to do it.
For the system task's harsh "approval" requirement.
And also for the real desire deep in his heart, which he himself could not explain clearly, to seize a glimmer of life.
Time seemed to be infinitely stretched, each second as unbearable as a century.
The deathly silence around them, everyone's eyes were focused on them.
Itoshiki felt his throat dry, he stared at Tsunade, afraid of missing any subtle change in her expression.
Finally, Tsunade moved her lips, as if she was about to speak.
... patreon Seasay... Please support