The Verdant Touch

The storm raged on, wind howling through the dense trees, rain hammering against the soaked earth. Tetsuma barely felt it. His body was numb, his mind hazy from blood loss, but he forced himself to keep moving. He couldn't afford to stop—not now. The S-rank hunter-nin from Kirigakure were still out there. If they tracked him, he'd have no strength left to fight.

But his body had reached its limit. His steps wavered. His vision tunneled.

Just as his knees threatened to give out, a hand caught his arm.

"You've pushed yourself too far, Tetsuma-sama."

The voice was calm, steady—Senju Kaori. Codename: "Verdant."

Tetsuma managed to lift his head. Kaori. One of his most trusted subordinates, a vital member of the Silver Squad. She was kneeling beside him, her dark-green hair plastered to her face from the rain, her Anbu mask clipped to her belt. Her emerald eyes scanned his injuries with practiced precision.

"Stay still."

Tetsuma didn't have the strength to argue.

Kaori's hands glowed green as she pressed them against his torn abdomen. Mystical Palm Jutsu. A soothing warmth spread through his body, the excruciating pain dulling into something more manageable. His ragged breathing steadied, his trembling muscles slowly relaxing.

Tetsuma smirked faintly. "You're always quick, Verdant."

She didn't return the smile. "And you're always reckless, Tetsuma-sama."

That formality. Tetsuma-sama.

She had only started addressing him that way after Tobirama Senju personally appointed him as one of the elders of the Senju Clan. He had protested at first—Kaori had been a childhood friend, one of his most trusted comrades. But she had simply bowed her head and stated, "You hold the weight of the clan now. I will address you accordingly."

He had long given up trying to change her mind.

"You're stabilizing." She muttered, unsealing an emergency IV fluid kit from her pouch. Her hands moved swiftly, inserting the needle into his arm. A cold rush spread through his veins as hydration and chakra-replenishing fluids flooded into his system.

Tetsuma exhaled, some clarity returning to his mind. Around them, the rest of the Silver Squad stood guard, their masked faces tense as they scanned the treetops.

"Commander, we have to move." One of them whispered.

Kaori didn't look up. "Then move. Get back to your posts."

They hesitated. Their leader was barely standing. But they were trained for this.

One by one, the Anbu Squad disappeared into the rain, their forms vanishing into the shadows. Only Kaori remained, her hands still glowing, her focus unshaken.

"You're not dying here, Tetsuma-sama."

Tetsuma let out a rough chuckle, closing his eyes for just a second.

"Dying? No." His fingers twitched.

"But resting would be nice."