A/N: New chapter with new content. Though an interlude before we get back to the bell test, ft. The character I'm most excited to mess around with in this fic.

But also, I think this chapter is a good indicator of the type of story to come, (character driven) and probably a good place to decide if this is something you want to read. But even if you don't stay, thanks for taking the to read and especially to those that left reviews. I was especially motivated to write more because of them :D

When Hearts Fall Apart...

"…no amount of blood, sweat and tears will ever make it the same. Eventually, you'll either shatter into a million pieces, like Tsunade or become haphazard and twisted of a man, like me. And as a shinobi, you either die or live to see it happen."

Oh, how they never learned.

She idly finds it quite eerie how much more...? Alive? Grounded? she feels like this, while disintegrating bodies into pulp, one blow after the other. Maybe it's because when her fists push through towards their hearts, she feels like she could be reaching out to take back what the world had taken from her. But then, much like how the organ tissue dribbles out between her fingers, the feeling doesn't hold and she feels her sanity slipping again.

She heaves a breathy laugh that could've been misheard as a sob. She dislikes this part, where she stands still amidst the bodies, and the blood is his blood and the crushed organs are his crushed kidneys, that she couldn't reforge, crushed into a putty, much like her heart feels like right now, but unlike him, her heart was still beating.

I'm so tired of this. I need a warm bath and nice drink. Where's Shizune when you need her...

She moves away, trying to exit the market the battle had taken place in, blood dripping from knuckles, completely enveloping the ground beneath her feet. Gnarled roots ruined the otherwise uniform ground, by protruding through. Bodies laid around her, like always.

No matter where she went, no matter what she was doing, healing or killing, serving her village or running away, she couldn't escape the blood. It was normal to her, a permanent fixture of her world.

She had wanted to just curl up in her house away from hell.

Turns out the rot of hell encompasses the world.

They had chased her out, and she had ran away, like she did last time she left, but this time, they kept trying to fight her. So she fought, and so they died, each time in a shower of blood and guts, reminding her of the hell she was in, and nonetheless spreading death and destruction everywhere she went.

She caught her reflection on an untouched window and noted her wild appearance, blood streaked through her blonde hair, the resulting pink hues reminded her of her grandmother. Much like how many had feared the Uzumaki, whose hair was said to be dyed in the blood of their enemies, the civilians now feared her and had abandoned the small village she was in, in a panic. She smirked a sardonic smile at the thought. Oh, how far she had fallen.

Once upon a time, they had worshiped her as the hero of the second war. But maybe it was better that their kids didn't look up to her and didn't want to live the supposed glamorous life of a shinobi and didn't die in a blaze of glory.

She punched the window, smashing it into debris and screamed. She didn't need it mocking her. She was fine. She didn't care anymore. She was a former shinobi after all. It was normal for her to be drowning herself in blood of her enemies. Let them keep coming, trying to take away her peace. She was done with it all.

If you truly didn't care, then you would've let yourself die.

She once wished she could've died, but she knows, her body self healed, and the ones capable of doing just that, want her alive. She didn't fight her 2 teammates to a standstill for nothing when she had left that first time.

And besides she couldn't die now though. She had made a vow to the last of her kin.

She caught sight of a newspaper and checked the date. March, which meant academy graduations and it had been 6 years since she left again, which meant one thing: the little brat should be graduating now.

A screeching whirl dragged her from her thoughts and she looked up. She wasn't sure what she was looking at, until she noticed the red gleam of the Sharingan, orange mask with a spiral pattern and shortened curly hair. To his back was tied a gumbai, she idly noted was rather well crafted, and was wearing a black cloak with red clouds.

"Wowie, it seems you don't hold back even against those from your village. Surely those innocent ANBU don't deserve to be brutally killed." The man had a grating, shrill voice, somewhat similar in tone, but a different personality than to what she remembered.

"Are they really my village, if they casted me out so easily? There seems to be no lost love between us," she commented casually, while idly digging the blood out between her nails. Then she looked up at him. "Though, you don't have room to talk. You got a lot of nerve to appear before me again, after what you've done," The blonde taunted him. She clasped her hands to a sign, a small threat.

The man laughed, a deep chuckle, and his demeanor changed, more similar to what she remembered. "My apologies. I stepped off on the wrong foot there. I have something to discuss with you, Tsunade-hime-"

At that moment, the blonde released her chakra and branches of wood sprung out of the ground underneath the masked man. The man effortlessly dodged with a backflip, but the branches continued to extend towards him. He then brought his own hands to a sign, to which branches of his creation emerged and met hers halfway between them.

"You..." she hesitated with what to say because there was only one way...

The man said what she was thinking out loud. "Ah, well if the rumors are true of what you really did, which they are looking to be, considering your own adequate demonstration of mokuton, you should know that not just anyone can be implanted with it."

Tsunade relaxed a great deal, dropping her arms slowly. Then she snorted, "You really think I, the granddaughter of the Shodai, would need to defer to experimentation to develop his Kekkei Genkai? I guess someone who wasn't a Senju wouldn't know that, though." 'Someone like Danzo,' she left unsaid. "You didn't show that off last time."

"Hmm, well I did have it, but I didn't have the level control needed for it to be useful. Especially when my eye can do the same job for me."

Tsunade shuushined behind the mask man, and aimed a punch hoping to smash his mask to pieces. However, the man's Sharingan flashed, and her fist phased through, demolishing the ground beneath them, cracks spreading out at least several meters away. The man shuushined away from her and sighed.

"Must we have to do this again? You surely remember what happened twelve years ago?"

"Tch." Tsunade wiped the dust off of her. "You were bothering me and I'm just more of a 'throw punches, ask questions later' type of later. You're too much of a bother to go all out against, though. So what do ya want from me, anyways."

He chuckled again. "My apologies, let us start off on the right foot this time. Tsunade-hime, I, Tobi, would like to have a conversation with you."

"Hmm, Tobi, Tobi...doesn't ring any bells of any Uchiha, or even Senju, I knew, unless you're supposed to be named after my great-uncle." She rubbed her chin, and dropped to the ground, her legs criss-crossed. "You wouldn't happen to have any alcohol? I could use a drink right now."

Tobi's arm disappeared in a whirl and reappeared, holding a bottle of sake. "I will save this for after my proposition. Also, no you wouldn't, I was thought to have died in the Third War."

Tsunade didn't participate in the Third, having left the Leaf for the first time, shortly after it started. She grinned at the offering, however. It seemed that this man still had some knowledge of the going on's of Konoha. "I see, I guess that would make sense. But seriously, conversation? You're better off just saying 'you wanna show your guts to me,' or whatever oji-sama said. But do continue then."

The man hummed. "Forgive me, but I must ask, do you believe in gods?"

Tsunade couldn't help it. The insanity of this whole day caught up to her and she just laughed.

"Fuck you, I don't care what the fuck you have to say, I'm not going back again. You can drag my dead body back." Hysterics in her voice, she slammed a fist against the ground, forming cracks. "Take your god and shove it-"

"I have no business with the Leaf anymore and I don't care to drag you dead or alive back. However, you've piqued my interest? What do you know of gods ?" He cocked her head at her.

"I...only that they're worthless and only appear when they want something of you. And despite all that, that have undeserved, unparalleled power." It had been awhile since she told anybody, the reason she had returned to the Leaf after her earlier, self-imposed, exile. Orochimaru had thought it all hogwash and pointless, only focused on trying to find or explain powers mentioned, but Jiraiya took great interest, citing his many whimsical prophecies he had received from the Toads, and trying to connect them to his 'Child of Prophecy.' Despite that, it didn't stop him from pawning off his responsibilities in the village to her and leaving.

People always seemed to leave her anyways, so she couldn't blame him.

"It's quite the fantastical tale, most sane people would dismiss it. Especially since, I'm not the poster child for sanity, but you seem familiar with that," she grinned, chin in her hand.

The masked man, Tobi, rubbed his head. "Well, when you wake up after expecting to die, with half your body covered in the remains of the Shodai, your perception tends to undergo a paradigm shift. Sanity is a relative thing in the life of a shinobi, anyways.

Tsunade let show a rare smile. "Well, might as well pass the sake now. It's a bit of ride..."

"I don't know who or what they were, but they, well, Shizune was...really bad, and- and I was so scared, scared to lose someone again. There was a shrine and we hid there, so that I could hopefully reconstruct her body..."

She hesitated. "I still don't fucking get it, why me, what did I do to have dumb shit happen to me. Some woman appeared before me, covered in gold, with sleek black hair and red eyes. I wonder if that means she was one of the Uchiha gods. She said some dumb shit about me running away from my problems and how if I keep going, it'll eventually catch up to and take away everything, like I haven't already lost my clan, my brother, my fiancé..." She laughed bitterly.

"But, I couldn't let Shizune die...so I listened. She wanted me to help carry out her side of a promise, and if I went back and fulfilled it, the supposed 'sins' of my forefathers, that apparently led the last of my clan to death, would be wiped clean, and I would no longer have to bear this 'cursed existence' she called it. I agreed just to see what would happen and when the woman disappeared, in black flames I might add, fucking dramatic, Shizune was all healed, her body looked like the injuries had been replaced with new flesh. I ran back to the village immediately, like a madwoman. And, of course, you were there, inflicting your madness."

Tsunade thought back to that time, how she happened upon Konoha in the midst of its destruction, how the wind howled in her ears, how the kyuubi's suffocating chakra, she merely shrugged it off. At the time, this masked man seemed merely a boy and yet his despair and hysterics were more potent than anything she'd ever felt.

She also remembered, after the thwarting the man, happening upon the morbidly picturesque scene of the Yondaime's and his wife's corpses, bloody symbols all around them and their baby in their arms, all in a haphazard blood sealing ceremony.

Tobi got up, his fists tightened. "Yes, a pursuit of madness might be an apt way to describe the events of that night. I had nearly succeeded in throwing away my humanity. It's funny. You may reject the concepts of authority and divinity, yet that god saved your humanity. If it weren't for her, you would be a lost soul, without any regard for life or honor, and no loved ones to keep your sanity intact." He paused. "Many of us weren't so lucky..."

Tsunade was laying on her back staring dreamily at the sky. "And what you know of my life, my pain, of what I care for? Youngsters shouldn't try to tell their elders they know better."

Tobi walked over to prone body and leaned over her. She stared back at his singular red eye, defiant. "You say you've lost everything, that you don't care for your village anymore, but I wonder, if I came back tomorrow and told you Konoha had burned to the ground, would you truly feel nothing? Are there truly no people that live there that you still care for or owe some sort of debt to? Would you really be able to laugh it off and walk away from me?

Tsunade's breath caught in her throat. Her fists tightened. "You dare..." She launched herself off the ground, lunging at him, but all the same, passing through him. "...try to threaten me?" she screamed.

He solidified again before her. "This world may be hell, and we may be doomed to suffer, but we aren't demons. We humans still have our humanity, and as long as we do, we can still try to break the cycle.

This day was becoming more troublesome than it was worth. The blonde wanted it to over already. "Why the fuck did you come see me, what the hell do you want from me? I'm done with your stupid games."

"I came to you because I thought you might be able to understand me and thus be more willing to assist me." He turned around and started walking away.

Inadvertently, Tsunade followed.

"You are somewhat of a free spirit, so you should be able to empathize. What do you know of heart seals?"

Tsunade's interest was piqued. A heart seal was incredibly dangerous and difficult to pull off. Only a certified seal master with a level of medical knowledge would've been able to create one and no one like that came to mind.

Even more difficult was the ability to remove one. They were generally done with the intention of them being permanent. Danzo had been very taken with them...

"I see why you would approach me." Though, it's been awhile since anyone had asked after my medical skills. "But why the talk of gods?"

Tobi chuckled again. "Are you familiar with the rumors surrounding Uzushio after its fall?"

Oh.

"What, did you want me to tell you how to pay your respects, as you steal their knowledge?" The man didn't respond. "Or what? You think the Uzumaki gods will listen to me just because another god took a liking to me?" she replied blithely.

"More so because of your heritage, but considering your story, that might work too."

She sighed. "So what exactly are you trying to find on that god forsaken island?"

Tobi cocked his head, as if pondering her words. "Well is it really god-forsaken, if it's still under their protection?"

Tsuanade groaned.

Tobi quickly waved his hands and changed to his lighthearted tone. "I digress. There is an archive of ancient seals, likely dating back to the Sage, that none have been able to breach since The Fall. If there's anywhere that'd I'd find the solution to my affliction, it'd be there."

Tsunade found herself reminiscing on a conversation she had with her grandmother.

~

"For centuries those old hags have kept such world-warping power and secrets away from the light of dawn. I said we ought to open it up and use it for the sake of good. There's no good in letting such knowledge sit there. And then they tried to call me a heretic, saying it contains such evil power! If that were true, they might as well burn it down... Hmph. Serves them right if the world came to fear that knowledge and destroyed them in the process."

~

Well, it hadn't ended well for the Uzumaki, but it still existed for her to claim as part of her heritage, so why not? Besides, better she get her hands on it than Konoha.

She grinned. "When do we leave?"

Sorry Naru, I might be a little late in giving you your graduation gift. But I'll make it worth you awhile.

"Do you know who Gato is?"

"Uhhh, I'm not- ah wasn't he some business owner guy in the Land of Waves?"

"Yeah, you best be careful young lady, if you're traveling in that direction. He's completely shut down the borders and his gangs have been runnin' around tryna find little girls like you to traffic." The bartender gave her a pitying smile.

The woman he was talking to was wearing a simple black obi and had short brown hair with fair skin. In her lap sat a pig. She swirled the drink in her glass.

"Ahhh, I see. Thanks for letting me know. He wouldn't happen to be active anywhere else that I need to worry about?" She asked briskly.

"Ah well, I'm sure you're smart enough not to go in the first place, but rumors are that Gato and his hired shinobi have been occupying Uzushio. Though god knows why they would risk tempting the gods there. Us locals hoping they'll all drown in one of them storms, as they should," the bartender scoffed.

The woman hummed. "I sure hope so too. And one last thing, do you know if Tsunade has been spotted anywhere near here?"

The man's face grimaced. "She started another fight in a sea-side town only about a month ago. However she disappeared without a trace. Many say she crossed the sea to Wave. So no need to worry about her antics for a good awhile."

The brunette smiled. "Indeed, that's very good to know. Thank you so much for the information." She set down her empty glass with some money. "Let us go, Ton-Ton. I've decided our next destination," she intoned sweetly to her pig. The pig responded happily.

As the woman exited, the bartender hoped she wasn't the type to make dumb decisions. She was too pretty to die so young.

A/N: Title from Wandering, Never Wondering (There exists a shade) by Foreground Eclipse.

I'm thinking the way interludes will work is that they feature a character either in the past or present day, before they meet and join Team 7 in the main story.

I had a bit of trouble pinning down a moral alignment that would make sense for Tsunade, without coming across too over the top. Actually, half of my main inspiration for writing this fic was from wanting to explore dark versions of Tsunade and another character. Of course, she's not evil, but I'd imagine casual killing isn't completely condemned in the Narutoverse, so that also skews morality a bit.

Also, I hope my attempt to introduce supernatural/eldritch elements isn't completely uninteresting and falls flat. But yeah, hoped y'all enjoyed and feel free to let me know what you think.