Chapter 98: Chapter 98: You Fight This War, I'm Done With It
"You know, Tsunade, as Hokage, I don't really have much use for money," the Third Hokage began, slightly evasive.
"So, I don't have any extra funds to give you."
"Being Hokage means you don't have to spend money?"
Tsunade eyed him suspiciously. The Third Hokage, feeling the pressure, turned his gaze away, attempting to justify himself.
"Does being Hokage really require a lot of spending? Most of my time is spent in the Hokage office; I hardly find places to spend money. So where would I spend it?"
Borrow money?
Not happening!
Subsidize?
Still not happening!
Seeing how uneasy he looked, as if she would rob him of his secret stash, Tsunade couldn't help but look down on her teacher a little.
"Alright, fine. Don't act like I'm here to steal your money. Let's talk about Danzo and the negotiations with the Hidden Rain Village."
The laziness in Tsunade's demeanor vanished as she straightened up, pulling a chair over to sit in front of the Hokage's desk, her expression serious.
"Right now, the situation in the Hidden Rain Village is dire. Orochimaru and I suspect that their resources are nearly depleted. They can't hold out much longer, so Hanzo is desperate to have a final showdown with us."
"I believe we should send someone to initiate contact with Hanzo and see if he's open to negotiating. There's no need to fight to the bitter end before sitting down to talk."
"But Danzo disagrees with Orochimaru and me. He thinks the honor of the Leaf Village is at stake, and that we should crush the Hidden Rain Village in battle first and then negotiate from a position of victory."
Just thinking about Danzo's words made Tsunade want to punch his smug face in.
If you're so confident, why don't you go fight on the front lines yourself, instead of sitting safely in the command center?
It's easy for you to dismiss the lives lost as just numbers, isn't it, Danzo? Since it's not your life on the line, you don't care, right? You'd probably just say it's all for the good of the village.
But it's really about pride, about racking up more achievements, isn't it?
"So Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and I are suggesting that you start negotiations as soon as possible. There's no need to sacrifice a large number of shinobi on the battlefield just to save face."
Tsunade looked at the Third Hokage with hope in her eyes.
She wanted him to accept their suggestion and start negotiations. There was no point in fighting to the last man only to negotiate afterward.
Such a negotiation would be meaningless.
Even if the Leaf Village won the war, it would be a pyrrhic victory.
Starting negotiations early would benefit the Leaf Village by reducing casualties and conserving resources.
It might mean making some small concessions in the negotiations, but the Leaf could handle that.
Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya's ideas were well-intentioned.
But unfortunately, they were destined to be disappointed.
After a moment of silence, the Third Hokage shook his head slightly, causing Tsunade's heart to sink.
Her expression hardened, the hope in her eyes turning into disappointment.
Sighing, the Third Hokage looked Tsunade in the eyes and said regretfully:
"Tsunade, I know you three mean well for the village, but now is not the time for the Leaf to back down. We were the ones who initiated this war, even if it was the Sand Village that provoked it."
"There's no turning back now. The Hidden Rain Village has sent a clear message, giving other small shinobi villages a dangerous sense of hope."
"If we don't decisively defeat the Hidden Rain Village, other small nations' shinobi villages might follow their example, pouring all their resources into military expansion."
"And that would lead to a cycle of wars across the entire ninja world."
"Negotiations are necessary, but not right now. Do you understand?"
"But the Hidden Rain Village has only come this far because of Hanzo. Small shinobi villages have limited resources and populations. It's unlikely another Hanzo will emerge!" Tsunade tried once more to persuade him, but it was no use.
The Third Hokage shook his head again.
"We can't take that risk, Tsunade. Everything I'm doing is for the village."
The village, the village, always the village. Sacrifice the village's shinobi, keep sending more troops to the front lines—this was all supposedly for the village?
Overwhelmed with disappointment, Tsunade slammed her hand on the desk, splitting it in two.
The Third Hokage, having anticipated this, quickly rescued his pipe. As for everything else on the desk, if it fell and broke, so be it.
"Old man, I'm really disappointed in you!"
"You all can fight this war yourselves. I'm done!"
With a kick, she sent the broken desk flying through the window of the Hokage's office. It crashed outside, startling passersby who screamed and scrambled to get out of the way.
Who the hell has the guts to start a fight in the Hokage's office?
Within seconds, a dozen ANBU appeared in the office, looking around at the fuming Tsunade and the calm, unbothered Third Hokage.
It was clear to them that there had been yet another clash between the Hokage and his student, Tsunade.
Staring at the gaping hole left by the desk, the ANBU members could only shake their heads in embarrassment.
Just another day with Tsunade around. This wasn't the first time the Hokage's office had needed new furniture because of her temper. Usually, it was the door that suffered, but this time, the window got caught in the crossfire.
"I had a disagreement with Tsunade. You can all leave now," the Third Hokage said calmly, waving them off.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The ANBU bowed and left.
After venting her anger, Tsunade, her face still stormy, spoke again.
"Jiraiya wants to get the Flying Thunder God technique from the Sealed Scroll for his student Minato. Deduct the contribution points from his account, and throw in the Shadow Clone technique as well."
"Alright."
The Third Hokage didn't refuse, promptly taking out the Sealed Scroll and copying the two jutsu onto a new scroll, which he handed to Tsunade.
Taking the scroll without another word, Tsunade left without looking back.
As she exited the office, she ran into Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who had arrived after catching wind of the commotion.
"Hmph!"
Tsunade knew that Danzo wouldn't be so bold without the backing of these two, and that the Third Hokage wouldn't be so inflexible without their constant influence.
So she didn't bother to hide her disdain, snorting at them and almost whipping them in the face with her twin pigtails as she passed by.
This left Koharu fuming with anger.
Homura was more composed, merely shaking his head without saying anything, but Koharu's face turned green with rage.
"Sarutobi, are you really going to let Tsunade behave like this?" she demanded.
"Look at what she's become—completely out of control, with no respect for the village elders."
The Third Hokage, puffing on his pipe, looked up and said, "Tsunade is also a high-ranking member of the Leaf, officially recognized by the Daimyo as the Princess of the Leaf."
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