Chapter 224: Farewell
Kitahara Kaede returned to his apartment and closed the door behind him.
He switched on the light and sat on the edge of his bed, beginning to organize the details of his upcoming trip to Kirigakure.
Dealing with Yagura would actually be quite simple. He was merely a Jinchuriki under the control of genjutsu. With Kaede’s current strength, suppressing him in a direct confrontation would be no problem at all.
The real trouble was Terumi Mei.
Kaede raised his hand and touched his cheek. He could still vividly remember the sensation of that single tear falling against his skin.
He had approached her in his youth as a "blank slate," gradually becoming her emotional pillar, only to eventually let her kill him with her own hands.
Now, she possessed those memories.
How would she react upon seeing him?
Kaede couldn’t tell. He was accustomed to calculating every detail of his life down to two decimal places, but when it came to the ledger of emotions, the more he calculated, the more chaotic it became.
He didn’t know how deeply those memories would affect her. Would she hate him for the deception? Or would she be consumed by a maddening obsession?
Then there was Pakura. Recently, her attitude had become increasingly blunt; the look in her eyes was no longer hidden.
But the most critical issue was Tsunade. This past month of cold war had been grinding on his nerves every single day.
And now, Terumi Mei was added to the mix. Three different romantic entanglements, each more lethal than the last. The emotional debts he had accrued were becoming nearly impossible to manage.
Kaede stood up and walked to the window. His gaze drifted over the uneven rooftops toward the distance.
He was looking in the direction of Tsunade’s house.
Kaede made a decision in his mind. The matter in Kirigakure had to be settled swiftly. Once he returned, no matter how angry she was or how much she tried to drive him away, he would explain everything truthfully.
He couldn’t let things linger like this any longer.
He drew the curtains, plunging the room into total darkness. He lay back on the bed and forced his eyes shut. He needed to be well-rested for tomorrow’s journey.
Downstairs, Tsunade stood in the shadows. The night wind tossed her golden hair as she looked up at the lit window.
She took a half-step forward, then forced herself to stop.
Should she go up and knock? And then what? Question him on why he was going to Kirigakure? Ask if he knew how dangerous that place was? Or tell him that this month of cold war had been agonizing for her every single day?
Tsunade bit her lower lip. She couldn’t bring herself to swallow her pride. He was the one in the wrong; he was the one who had taken another woman shopping for clothes. Why should she be the one to cave first?
But... he was leaving for Kirigakure tomorrow. What if something happened?
Tsunade felt a suffocating tightness in her chest.
Just then, a silhouette appeared at the window.
Tsunade instinctively activated the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing instantly behind the trunk of a thick tree. She held her breath, her heart hammering against her ribs.
After a few seconds, she cautiously peeked out to look up.
Kitahara Kaede was standing at the window. He wasn’t looking down; he was gazing in another direction.
Tsunade followed his line of sight. He was looking toward her house.
Why was he standing there in the middle of the night instead of sleeping, staring at her home?
Could it be...
Tsunade felt her nose prickle. *This idiot.*
He clearly cared for her. He even wanted to look toward her house one last time before leaving. So why wouldn’t he just come and explain himself?
The curtains were drawn, and the light vanished.
Tsunade leaned against the tree trunk. She knew that if she went up and knocked now, he would definitely open the door.
But what would happen after that? She couldn’t change his decision to go to Kirigakure. Once Kaede had set his mind on something, no one could change it. She knew this better than anyone.
Tsunade let out a long sigh.
’Forget it. I won’t bother him tonight; let him rest. He needs to be in peak condition to face the danger.’
Tsunade took one last look at the window before turning and disappearing into the night.
***
Early the next morning, Kitahara Kaede finished washing up. He organized his gear and packed it into his ninja tool pouch. Once he confirmed everything was in order, he walked to the entryway.
His hand rested on the doorknob, but he paused.
Should he go say goodbye to Tsunade?
As soon as the thought surfaced, he remembered Nonou’s words: "She doesn’t want to see guests."
Combined with the frost-covered expression Tsunade had worn for the past month, Kaede gave a self-deprecating smile.
If he went now, there was a high probability he wouldn’t even see her face. He would likely just provoke her anger and ruin her mood for the rest of the day.
’I’ll wait until I get back. I’ll make amends then.’
He turned the knob, opened the door, and strode toward the village gates.
At the main gate of Konoha, the morning guards were still yawning. Kaede handed over his travel permit. After it was verified, he walked through the gates, his figure quickly vanishing into the forest path leading toward the Land of Water.
Shortly after he left, a figure emerged from the inner side of the gate.
Tsunade was dressed in simple casual clothes, her hair tied back in a loose ponytail. She had actually arrived before dawn, standing there watching the people coming and going.
When she had seen Kaede appear, she had wanted to rush out and stop him several times. She wanted to ask if he was truly confident in his success. She wanted to tell him that if he encountered danger, he should forget about any alliance and just run. Coming back alive was the only thing that mattered.
But in the end, she had held herself back.
The guard blinked in surprise upon seeing her and started to greet her. "Lady Tsunade, you’re up so ear—"
Tsunade shot him a freezing glare. The guard choked back the rest of his sentence, shrank his neck, and retreated obediently.
He wondered to himself why Lady Tsunade seemed like she had swallowed gunpowder so early in the morning.
Tsunade stood in place, staring in the direction where Kaede had vanished.
’He walks so fast, without even looking back once. Is he really that decisive? Not even a simple goodbye.’
She had spent the previous night resisting the urge to knock on his door just so he could rest, and yet he had left with such effortless grace. It was as if there was no one in Konoha worth lingering for.
Tsunade ground her teeth in irritation.
"Just die out there," she cursed viciously before turning to walk back.
Upon returning home, Tsunade kicked off her shoes and went straight to her study, beginning to rummage through her drawers. Before long, she found a detailed map of the Land of Water.
She spread the map across the desk and pressed her finger on Konoha’s location. Following the border, she traced a line through the Land of Fire, across the sea, and finally stopped at the marker for the Hidden Mist Village.
How many days would the journey take? Once he arrived, there would be negotiations and internal strife to resolve. At the fastest, it would take half a month.
Tsunade stared at the map, murmuring to herself, "Half a month..."
She rolled up the map and gripped it tightly in her hand.
’You better roll back here in one piece. Otherwise, I’ll personally go to the Land of Water and scatter your ashes.’