In the swaying carriage, Heiji reintroduced himself, his posture straight and formal despite the uneven road.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am a minister from the Daimyō's court of the Land of Fire, and this village, Bikyū, is my hometown."

"This time, my return serves two main purposes: one is to visit my ill father, and the other is to represent the Daimyō's court in handling the aftermath of the recent Mount Bikyū flood."

"Mount Bikyū?" Shizune asked.

"Yes." Heiji nodded and then lifted the carriage's curtain to point at two nearby mountains.

"Those two mountains are called Bi and Kyū. The Abe Lumber Mill, which is our family business, is located there. Most of the villagers in Bikyū work for the mill."

"By the way, the Abe Lumber Mill supplies one-third of the timber for the entire Land of Fire."

Shizune nodded, her eyes widening slightly as she realized the significance of their host. His family business controls one-third of the country's timber, and he is a minister in the Daimyō's court. Such a prestigious figure would be an honored guest, even someone the Hokage would personally welcome for missions in Konoha.

Anko leaned close to Shizune, whispering, "No wonder Tsunade-sama was interested in this job."

Heiji's expression grew more serious as he continued, "A month ago, there was continuous rainfall in this area, which caused a flash flood in the mountains."

"However, forty years ago, when my father built the Abe Lumber Mill, he already considered the possibility of such floods. The mill was constructed away from the flood channels, so there were no casualties or damage to the facility."

Tsunade nodded approvingly. "Your father sounds like a wise man."

"He is," Heiji agreed with a smile. "But after the flood, when the lumberjacks returned to the mountains to resume work, they discovered some unusual things."

As he spoke, Heiji took a small stack of photos from his briefcase and handed them to Tsunade.

"These photos were taken by my father, Ishitaro, and show some strange phenomena the lumberjacks found in the mountains."

Tsunade began to examine the photos, while Shizune and Anko leaned in to look as well.

The first photo showed a clear footprint in the wet soil under sunlight. Although it was called a footprint, it was more accurately described as a claw print.

The strange mark defied easy description by human language or understanding. Its outline resembled that of a crab, but the serrated pincers extended in the opposite direction.

The odd shape made it difficult to determine the front or back of the print, but it was clear that whatever made it was heavy, as the print was fresh and deep.

A shoe had been placed next to the print for comparison, and the footprint was about the same size as a human foot.

She moved on to the next photo without comment.

This one showed a mountain stream. At first glance, nothing seemed unusual, but on closer inspection, there was something strange in the water.

"Just a normal stream, right?" Anko said, looking at the image.

Tsunade pointed to a spot in the water. "Look closer. There's something... off about the water itself."

In what should have been crystal-clear water after the flood, a thick, transparent substance with occasional pale green spots floated. The filmy substance accumulated in the stream, with slimy, thread-like strands that looked somewhat disgusting.

Heiji explained, "At first, the lumberjacks reported to my father that they had found some unfamiliar debris floating in the river, which seemed to be the remains of some unknown animal."

"But when my father arrived with his camera, only this strange material was left."

"And now, even these substances can no longer be found; they must have been washed away by the river."

Tsunade remained silent, but she thought that if these filmy substances hadn't been washed away before Ishitaro arrived, it was unlikely that calm waters could have carried them away later.

Flipping to the next photo, she saw a massive, irregularly shaped black stone. It lay quietly in a clearing within the dense forest, and its slightly curved surface showed clear signs of artificial cutting.

These strange cuts had sculpted the black stone into an odd geometric shape, and on some of the stone's irregular surfaces, peculiar symbols were visible.

Ishitaro had taken close-up photos of these symbols. They were distorted and irregular, and impossible to decipher. The only certainty was that these crude, primitive symbols likely originated from a time much older than human history.

"This black stone was discovered by the lumberjacks in the forest after the flood. According to the lumberjacks, there was no black stone in that part of the forest before the flood. It seemed to appear out of nowhere."

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"Now the lumberjacks believe that a deity resides within the mountain, and that the logging operations, which have been pushing deeper into the mountains, disturbed the deity, leading to the flood and the appearance of the black stone as a warning."

"This has caused widespread panic. None of the lumberjacks dare to enter the forest anymore, so the mill has stopped producing timber."

"His Majesty is very concerned about this issue, so he sent me here to resolve the matter and restore timber production as soon as possible."

Heiji's tone became urgent, as he tried to steer the conversation away from the strange occurrences in the photos and toward practical matters, but Tsunade still had more photos to look through.

The next few photos were the most eerie of all because they had one thing in common: each one contained a large, blurry area.

In one photo, Ishitaro was kneeling on one knee, looking somewhat pleased. He had a bow in one hand and arrows on his back. His other hand rested on some unknown object.

It wasn't that Tsunade couldn't describe the object, but rather that the object itself appeared as an indistinct, mist-covered, blurry area in the photo.

The following photos were close-ups of the mysterious object next to Ishitaro. For some unknown reason, the object remained blurred in every image, even though the surrounding scenery was perfectly clear.

Noticing Tsunade's interest in the photos, Heiji said, "I asked my father about these photos, but he told me he doesn't remember what happened at the time."

"Could it be a problem with the camera?"

Heiji shook his head. "That's what I thought at first, but look at the surroundings. They're perfectly clear."

"Also, my father's health has been deteriorating recently. After the flood, he worked tirelessly to resolve the lumberyard issues, and as a result, he has become severely weakened, suffering from asthma and possibly mild dementia."

Tsunade's expression grew serious. Memory loss? That's troubling.

"I would be most grateful if you, Tsunade-sama, could help treat him," Heiji said.

"Please." With that, Heiji bowed deeply to Tsunade.

---

After half an hour, the carriage arrived in front of a building.

It was a big white house with two floors. The front yard had a neat, green lawn.

Behind were a few sheds and barns. Beyond that, a thin patch of trees was fenced off with barbed wire to keep people out.

"My father enjoys hunting, so he has always refused to move from here. There are still quite a few small animals on the mountain."

It was clear that Heiji was not satisfied with his father's residence.

Tsunade was well aware of Ishitaro's fondness for hunting. This passion, however, had come at a cost: during a hunt in his younger years, he had accidentally contracted a parasitic infection in his brain.

This parasite, once rooted in the human brain, was very difficult to remove through ordinary means. When the illness flared up at night, it was unbearable. Without help, the poor soul might bash their head just to make it stop.

They took Ishitaro to Konoha later, where Tsunade did surgery to get the parasite out of his brain.

Back then, she did not have her fear of blood and could perform all kinds of surgeries. But after so many years, things had changed.

Heiji led Tsunade, Anko, and Shizune into the house.

"Why is it so dark in here? It's the middle of the day," Anko muttered, her eyes struggling to adjust to the dim interior.

Heiji shifted uncomfortably. "I apologize for the state of things. Father insists on keeping it this way."

Inside, they smelled a peculiar odor.

Sweet and musty... not quite decay, but not normal either.

In the living room, they finally saw Ishitaro himself.

His face was wrinkled, and his eyes looked empty as he stared at the wall. He had a messy gray beard and could barely hold his head up in the chair. The rest of his body was hidden under a red blanket covering him.

The old man looked sick, no doubt about it.

"Father, Tsunade-sama has arrived," Heiji bent down and said quietly. "She's here to help you."

After a few seconds, Ishitaro roused from his semi-sleeping state and turned his face toward Tsunade.

"Oh, Tsunade, you're here."

"Forgive me, I can't get up and greet you. Please find a place to sit."

As he spoke, Ishitaro extended a hand from beneath the blanket, a hand as thin and frail as that of a corpse.

Tsunade replied, "No need for formalities, Ishitaro."

This sight surprised Shizune and Anko. How could he still be alive?

When Tsunade saw his hand, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Father, Tsunade-sama is here to treat your illness. Please let her examine you," Heiji said with concern.

"Alright," Ishitaro gave a barely perceptible nod, but his body remained still.

"I'm going to examine you now, Ishitaro. Try to relax." Green chakra began to glow from Tsunade's hand. She placed her hand on his body, letting it move back and forth.

As the green chakra flowed from her hand, Anko noticed a faint spark of life appear in Ishitaro's once lifeless eyes.

Moreover, as Tsunade's chakra-infused hand moved across his body, Ishitaro's previously still eyes began to move as if they were following the motion of her hand, as though fascinated by the chakra.

After two rounds of examination, she raised an eyebrow and then withdrew her hand.

"Your body is perfectly fine," Tsunade said.

Her diagnosis left Heiji upset, though he still maintained his manners. "How could my father not be ill when he's so weak?"

"If you believe Mr. Ishitaro is sick, then take him to a more suitable doctor." His reaction was understandable, but Tsunade refuted him.

"As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Ishitaro is not sick!"

Her tone was firm and her attitude strong, which left Shizune and Anko a little at a loss. To them, it was obvious that Ishitaro was very ill, so why was she saying otherwise?

At that moment, Ishitaro's weak, broken voice came from the armchair, "Let Tsunade settle in first."

"We'll discuss the rest later."

As he finished speaking, his voice took on a faint buzzing quality, like a bee's vibration.

This high-pitched sound left Shizune and Anko even more puzzled.

Tsunade glanced back at Ishitaro without saying anything.

Dinner was prepared by the family's servants.

In addition to Ishitaro, two elderly servants lived there, one male and one female. Both were very quiet. Since Tsunade and the others arrived, the female servant had spoken only once, to announce that dinner was ready.

The male servant, who had driven the carriage, also never spoke, not even when he was handling the horses.

"Even the servants are creepy here," Anko whispered to Shizune as they sat down to eat.

Shizune, trying to break the strange atmosphere, attempted some small talk. "This food is delicious. Who prepared it?"

Her question was met with silence, the servants merely bowing slightly in acknowledgment.

"Tsunade-sama, I apologize for my earlier behavior," Heiji said. "Once things are settled here, I'll seek other medical opinions for my father."

Tsunade didn't respond, appearing to silently agree to this rudeness.

"Father is too weak to join us. The maid will feed him in his room," Heiji stressed the word 'weak', as if to emphasize that his father was indeed ill.

After dinner, the group had originally planned to discuss the plan for the next day.

"Perhaps it's best if we all get some rest," Heiji announced awkwardly. "We can discuss plans in the morning."

"That would be wise," Tsunade agreed curtly.

The maid assigned two rooms: one for Tsunade and one for Shizune and Anko.