Chapter Text
Tsunade was spared the full brunt of the hatred simmering in the village following Kumo’s declaration of war, despite being its target, on account of not being in the village .
The ninja of Konoha, at the very least, knew that it was Danzo who offended Kumo; the civilians, for the most part, weren’t privy to that information. A lot of her comrades, especially the higher-ranked ones, also understood that it was Danzo’s death that gave Kumo the courage to voice their dissent - for that, Tsunade did carry the blame. If she’d not acted against him, their enemies wouldn’t have had a weakness to so blatantly exploit.
The war wasn’t supposed to begin for some time, yet, but here they were - Team 7, deployed near the border of Rain following Iwa’s decision to join in on the fun. They elected to lay siege on the trade routes in the region, forcing Ame to defend itself from the battle threatening to spill into its territory.
Fighting Kumo had been better; sure, the Land of Rice suffered for it, but the landscape was particularly suitable for Tsunade’s style. Suna was worse : while the kunoichi was well-versed in extracting poison, she’d not had the time to train enough field medics in the art to counter Chiyo’s mastery of her craft.
Tsunade was supposed to have a few more years. Gods, what had she done? How many died to the poison mistress whom she otherwise could’ve saved?
She barely ever left the western border of Fire country while the battle with Suna was in full swing, her skill in extracting poison (and Orochimaru’s skill in creating antidotes) proving too valuable for them to be sent elsewhere. Jiraiya accompanied them, too, even if he saw more battle than his teammates: many of his summons had some immunity to poison and had proved, therefore, uniquely suited to battling Chiyo.
Suna was eventually forced to retreat back to Wind Country, allowing Team 7 to move north, through around Ame, to the northern border. Iwa’s blockade had to go, lest the people of Fire country starve come winter; their population was too large for the local crops to support.
They needed grains. Oil. Medicinal plants. Feeding an army actively engaged in a war was no small burden to bear, either.
Still, despite the importance of their mission - the konoha-nin were never supposed to end up in Ame.
Hanzo the Salamander had long since declared himself the leader of his people, openly expressing his disdain at the major nations that used his territory as a battleground for decades. He was infamous for showing no mercy for anyone infringing on his Country’s autonomy: anything to spare his country the fate that had befallen Rice.
All outsiders must be dealt with - that was the policy that had, so far, spared his people the carnage of war.
Even if the infiltrators’ presence there was purely accidental
Such was the case for Team 7. They hadn’t realized that they’d crossed the border in a bid to escape an Iwa ambush up north until the shinobi in their division began falling, having inhaled the deadly purple mist that began creeping up on them.
“RETREAT! TO THE EAST!” Tsunade roared despite having no right to command these troops, having caught on to their predicament first. “WE’VE ENTERED RAIN!”
“Shit!” Her commanding officer hissed, sparing a glance to his map before repeating her orders to make them official. Tsunade had regained some of her comrades’ regard after fighting alongside them for months, especially the field medics under her direct command, but many were still wary of her. They held her accountable for this war occuring at all and, in the midst of it, she was easy to blame for all their woes.
She had it easier than Sakumo, at least. Orochimaru never let the crueler remarks made about her slide, nor did Jiraiya, who enjoyed their comrades’ favor and a high rank among the command, tolerate any insubordination towards his teammate.
Tsunade alone rushed back to collect the ninja who succumbed to the poisoned mist Hanzo tried to drown them in; she could filter it out of her system before its effects manifested, at least for a time. The downed fighters were doused in water to clear off any residue and thrust onto the medics for treatment, only for Tsunade to dive back again to retrieve more of her comrades.
“They won’t make it out of Ame alive.” She hissed within earshot of her teammates when the last of the Konoha-nin were collected. “Too many injured; too many who got no rest.”
“You suggest that we face Hanzo? Openly?” Orochimaru dawdled, already knowing the answer. His posture implied as much - momentum trapped in a single moment, a still image of a predator ready to pounce.
“You and I, yes.” She affirmed, her voice softer than intended. She cleared her throat. “We’re medics. We can survive his poison. Jiraiya, could you flank-?”
“I could try.” He affirmed, just as prepared to support her mad plan as Orochimaru.
Did they know she’d suggest it? Did they have time to mentally prepare?
Was she, or anyone really, worthy of teammates so eager to follow her into the depths of hell? They looked at her with their resolve clear in their eyes, harder than any metal known to man, trusting her judgement as easily as they would their own.
She loved them. More than life itself, she loved them. Tsunade would not let them die .
“Alright.” She nodded sharply. “I’ll talk to the commander.”
The man would have little to say if asked to say something kind about Tsunade, that much had been made known to her repeatedly over the course of this wretched war. Still, he was sad to see Jiraiya go. The shinobi didn’t protest her plan, however - at this rate, none of his ninja would survive the retreat, including the three volunteering to give them the chance to escape.
“Ready?” Tsunade asked her team, her voice hoarse and saturated with exhaustion, when the mist grew thicker.
The last few months hadn’t been kind on either of them. For that reason, neither of her boys graced that with an answer.
“HANZO!” Tsunade yelled out to the empty forest, breathing heavily from the effort from filtering the poison out of her system. “We don’t have to face each other in battle! Our division is leaving Ame as we speak.”
The ground shook as a salamander stepped out from the thick mist, previously unseen and impossible to sense outside of Sage Mode. It towered over her, almost fully concealing the form of the seated Hanzo.
Still, she heard him clearly: “You are bold to come face me alone, Senju Tsunade.”
“I am not alone. My team is nearby.” She said it openly - both as a gesture of goodwill and because he probably knew already. “I know of you, Hanzo the Salamander - I know that you loathe the Five Great Countries on account of the damage wrought on your lands as we fight our stupid, futile wars.” She would, too, were she in his position. “We don’t have to fight each other if our goals align.”
“Align?” He barked out a bitter laugh, remaining seated far above her rather than come down and properly treat with her. That, too, Tsunade couldn’t fault him for. “My people are ants that yours trample over as if we were nothing .”
“Let me change that.” She pleaded, hoping that her earnesty might shine through the words. “I purged the rot Danzo cultivated. Were you in league with him?”
Hanzo finally jumped down from his summoned salamander, facing Tsunade openly and igniting a spark of hope in her chest - this may not come to battle, after all.
He was a tall man -taller even than Jiraiya - in his early or mid-thirties, with long blond hair and the sort of physique that implied he used his favored weapon, the kusarigama, often and well. He walked towards her with the gait of a predator, slow and deliberate, though it bore no similarities to Orochimaru’s own frightening aura.
Her lover was rage sharpened into a point, a star on the brink of an explosion. Hanzo was, instead, pure calm; an undisturbed lake or a snowy mountain, completely still and almost fully encased in ice.
Yet the slightest push could cause an avalanche. A pebble cast into the water may distort its surface forever.
For the first time since the war began, Tsunade found herself genuinely scared .
They both fought best in close combat. Hanzo could remove the mask that filtered out the poison he breathed out but it’d harm both of them - her, because it was quite deadly and hard to counter, him because any hit to the distinctive scar on his abdomen would subject both of them to the effects of the gas, paralyzing him and potentially killing her.
Thus, the mask remained on; proof that he knew how capable a fighter she was.
“Your councilman courted me, sought my favor, yes.” Hanzo confirmed, stepping close to Tsunade, watching her carefully to gauge her reaction.
She didn’t move. She couldn’t. Not if she hoped for this confrontation to be concluded without blood spilled.
Hanzo’s hand rose to her chin, taking it in his hand and gently tilting it up. Tsunade allowed it. “I was quite unhappy with the news of his death.” Murmured the leader of Ame, his eyes locked onto her own and his stare piercing her as if it was a physical force. “The alliance seemed promising.”
“I apologize for the inconvenience.” Her voice was hoarse, reflecting the tension saturating her body; she’d not dishonor Hanzo by attempting to mislead him with relaxed, or inviting , body language.
“The rumors are true.” He stated, stepping closer to her, still holding her face.
“About my part in his death?” She shot back, completely unapologetic.
“About your beauty.” Tsunade could see the skin around his eyes crinkle even if his mask concealed his smile. “You truly are unparalleled. Tell me, Senju -hime - are you really the pacifist they say you are? I have to wonder, with quite so many deaths attributed to your soft, dainty hands.” He removed his hand from her face to take one of her own.
Once again, Tsunade allowed it. “I will always resolve matters with diplomacy if possible.” She replied firmly, dulling the sensation in her palm with chakra to prevent his soft caresses from distracting her.
“Is that why you’ve allowed me to touch you so casually?” He challenged her, mirth saturating his tone. “Would you trade yourself for peace, Senju Princess?”
“I may have, under different circumstances.” She admitted, finally stepping away from Hanzo and leaving his hand to fall between them. “As things are, however, my lover is likely to incite war out of spite if I were to share my body with another.” She was glad to have been spared the choice. Hanzo would know that she wasn’t being earnest; Tsunade would trade any part of her for her teammate’s safety in a heartbeat, without so much as a second thought. Orochimaru, however, would permit her to make no such sacrifice; what a freeing thing his regard was.
How could she possibly not return it?
“Which of your teammates is it?” Wondered Hanzo. “The one at my back, or the one at yours?” He could definitely sense her boys, then.
“Will you treat with me, as the leader of Amegakure?” Tsunade repeated her earlier question. “Whatever Danzo offered you, I doubt it was peace.” She stepped closer to him this time, looking up to continue holding his gaze. “We’ve discussed the rumors about me - let’s discuss the ones about you .” Her tone grew softer again. “Is it true that you desire peace for your people as ardently as I do?”
“The Great Nations will never know peace.” Hanzo seethed, taking his weapon in hand but not yet putting any distance between them. “You know only how to take and destroy . You lack the knowledge, skill, empathy to cultivate something of your own.”
“We are capable of more than you know.” Tsunade insisted. “ Please . Let us not do battle today. Your people need you. Ours need us.” Her tone bordered on a plea, at this point. “Any blood spilled would be a waste.”
“I see you, Senju Tsunade.” Said Hanzo, his voice level. “You believe in the garbage you speak.”
The rejection stung .
Hanzo continued: “It’s still garbage, though - and your team cannot be allowed to leave. What kind of message would that send to others? That they may traverse my lands and live?”
She’d failed. She’d failed . Tsunade had been so sure that she might make Hanzo hear her.
Had she let her teammates to their doom, after all?
“No. It is a shame, but the three of you die today.” He declared, stepping away from her at long last. “Consider it a mercy that I allowed the rest of you to leave.”
Her response did nothing to conceal her anguish: “As you wish.”
It took no time at all for Jiraiya and Orochimaru to summon massive creatures that could rival Hanzo’s salamander: Tsunade had no such allies. Another loss sustained when the phoenixes returned to the Eternal Flame. She did summon Kiyoshi for the first time, however, despite the massive chakra drain, their flames completely unaffected by the brutal downpour for which the Land they’d accidentally invaded was named.
“Phoenixes!” Hanzo sounded delighted as Tsunade mounted the ancient bird and hovered between her two teammates, prepared for the battle ahead. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”
That was the last of their conversations for a good, long while.
The massive summons obliterated a considerable area as they battled one another, with Tsunade providing aerial support for her team, but they made a great effort to stay away from populated areas - an effort Hanzo seemed to appreciate. “You could force me on the defensive by going after civilians.” He yelled at them, coming face to face with Tsunade after jumping off his salamander in a bid to behead her with his unique weapon.
Kiyoshi dove to avoid the assault.
“We’re ninja, not brutes!” She called back, shooting a barrage of Lightning jutsu at him only for Hanzo to solidify the water between them into a wall, effectively blocking the any.
The battle raged on.
Tsunade had to leave Orochimaru to face Hanzo alone, if only briefly, in order to heal Jiraiya after he inhaled some of the poison.
“It’s time.” She lamented.
“We’ll never go back from this.” He murmured but didn’t argue her point.
“I know.”
When the pair engaged Hanzo again, both ninja were in Sage Mode. Orochimaru, having registered the signal, activated his own also.
Hanzo was positively giddy . “Delightful!” He called. “Come at me with all your might!”
Even with their full arsenal, Hanzo’s mastery of Water jutsu and the sheer abundance of water around them wouldn’t allow them to push him past a certain point. He was on the defensive, dodging around the fire Tsunade lobbed at him while her own fiery wings, a homage to Akira’s, kept her suspended in midair. Jiraiya’s many summons managed to cause minor damage to him with their acid attacks while Orochimaru produced the bloody sword of Kusanagi and proceeded to terrorize Hanzo with it, as well.
They were at a standstill. Too evenly matched for the battle to end in anything but mutually assured destruction.
“Let’s end this!” Tsunade pleaded with Hanzo again. “We have people to protect, you can’t afford to-”
She wasn’t sure how it happened.
Tsunade hadn’t dropped her guard. Shit, even if she had, her teammates would’ve had her back.
She hadn’t thought much of Hanzo’s frequent use of explosive tags and the replacement technique until there was a whole stack of them right in front of her painfully wide eyes, saturated with chakra.
Tsunade had just enough time to coat her head in a protective shield and try to raise her hands before her face.
Then, the tags exploded.