Chapter 51: Chapter 51: You Sneak into My Bed and Expect Me to Cook?
After letting go of all her tensions, Tsunade yawned her way out of the office.
Ignored throughout the conversation, Koharu, with a face red from anger, complained, "Sarutobi, are you going to keep indulging her like this?"
Here we go again.
Homura could only shake his head slightly. Whenever they felt slighted, Koharu and Danzo would vent their frustrations at the Third Hokage. Yet, it was all in vain.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya at least paid some lip service to authority, but Tsunade was a different case.
She completely ignored their existence.
You're displeased with me, but I don't even care to acknowledge you.
You can't do anything about it, so save your elder statesman act—it's useless on me.
"Tsunade is just too tired," the Third Hokage invariably played peacemaker.
Such matters could be glossed over easily.
On one side, there was his old friend and a village elder; on the other, his student, the princess of Leaf. Neither feared him.
Why get involved? Just smooth things over and move on.
"You..." Koharu was fuming as the Third Hokage opted to placate her, but it was fruitless. He wouldn't ask Tsunade to apologize, and she wouldn't either. It would inevitably be brushed aside.
After a day of training, Takuya and Minato decided to head home.
"?" Just as they reached the front door, ready to enter, Takuya noticed the window had been tampered with.
He thought to himself, "Snowy, is there someone in the house?"
"Yes." Snowy, about to doze off in the sealing space, replied lethargically and comfortably turned over to continue sleeping.
"Kushina?" It couldn't be Mikoto; she wouldn't climb through a window. If she were visiting, she would have met him and Minato by the river.
That left Kushina, who sometimes tried to scare him by hiding in the room or behind doors, though she never succeeded in actually scaring him.
Yet, she enjoyed these little pranks.
"Poor Kurama," Takuya thought, offering a silent tribute to the nine-tails for three seconds before unlocking the door and heading to his bedroom.
Oh, not bad, hiding under the covers.
Takuya grabbed the blanket and pulled hard.
"..." Successfully pulling away the blanket, he saw clearly who was under it.
This couldn't be Kushina. Since when did Kushina turn into a blond?
"Who are you?" A groggy Tsunade opened her eyes a sliver and squinted hard at the figure before her.
It took her a moment to recognize him.
Then, cuddling her pillow, she rolled over and muttered, "Go make some food; I'm starving."
Wait, you climb through my window, sleep in my bed, and have the audacity to ask me to cook for you?
Lady, this is my house, not yours!
Takuya hadn't expected Tsunade to return to Konoha, especially looking so exhausted. Battling on the front lines was indeed no easy task, particularly in the dreadful conditions of the Rain Country.
He wondered if Jiraiya had come back; if so, he'd likely seek out Minato first. After all, having left his student for so long, he'd need to make it up to him.
"Get up; go back to your place to sleep," Takuya tossed the blanket aside and nudged Tsunade.
"Stop it; let me sleep. I'm so tired and hungry," Tsunade mumbled, still half-asleep.
"I only found out when I got back that Kushina had moved out. She wasn't home, so I came here. Your cooking is good; I've missed it. I want a big pork knuckle."
You're quite the pork knuckle yourself.
It seemed this woman intended to squat at his place. Speechless, Takuya left the bedroom for the kitchen.
Soon after, lured by the aroma of meat, a suddenly wide-awake Tsunade sprang from the bed and ran out, not even bothering with shoes.
"Uh..." Watching a certain princess of Leaf gorge on meat without any regard for image, Takuya couldn't help but wonder.
She didn't look like she had come back from a battlefield but rather as if she had fled a famine.
Even considering the world's poor logistics and difficult material transportation, Tsunade's hunger seemed excessive.
How long had it been since she had last touched meat to be this desperate? Her eyes gleamed with a hunger that reminded him of the ravenous huskies of his previous life.
Holding his utensils, Takuya finally asked, "Elder, are supplies in Leaf really that scarce?"
Swallowing the meat in her mouth, Tsunade perked up, "You'll understand once you're on the battlefield. That godforsaken place in the Rain Country, where even dry food is a luxury, let alone meat. Unless you're at a major Leaf camp."
As a medical ninja, she wasn't supposed to rush to the front lines but rather stay in the camps to treat the injured. Yet, there she was, charging into battle more fiercely than anyone, a unique figure across all ninja villages.
Other medical ninjas wouldn't dare.
Grabbing some vegetables, Takuya continued, "How's the situation on the battlefield?"
"...." Tsunade paused, then sighed, "Not great. The Rain's capabilities far exceed our expectations under Hanzo's leadership. Leaf hasn't gained much advantage."
"Of course, certain people's command decisions are partly to blame," she added, venting her frustration.
"Danzo?" Takuya remembered that Danzo was in command at the Rain battlefield.
Honestly, he didn't think Danzo was the right choice for the position. Among those capable of command, the Shikaku leader and Orochimaru would have been more suitable; the former more balanced, the latter more ruthless.
Nodding, Tsunade, troubled, started to raise her hand to her head, then, seeing the grease, decided against it.
"The Rain battlefield isn't over yet, and now the Sand has launched a surprise attack on Leaf, sparking a new war that's got the Rock and Cloud stirring."
"The last few weeks have seen an increasing number of foreign ninjas crossing into Rain, including those from the Sand."
During the Second Ninja War, the Rain became a tragic battleground.
Leaf fought there, so did the Sand, and even the Rock got involved.
Eventually, Hanzo, while fighting Leaf, also declared war on the Sand and Rock.
The three great ninja villages, along with the Rain, created a fiercely chaotic and continuous series of battles.
After eating her fill and cleaning her greasy hands, Tsunade sat back contentedly, sipping hot tea.
"My main reason for coming back was to take you and Minato to the front lines."
Sitting up straight, she looked Takuya over, clicking her tongue in amazement, "I didn't expect you to have grown so handsome and strong in such a short time. Even average jounin can't match you now."
"I heard about your encounter with Shimura Hideitsu. Don't bother with the Shimura clan too much; they wouldn't dare retaliate.
"And the Third won't allow it. But be careful on the battlefield, Danzo isn't someone to take lightly."
Acknowledging this, Tsunade yawned again, her mind half on the forthcoming battles and half on a card game she hoped to indulge in back home. For a moment, the harsh realities of war seemed a distant concern.
*****
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