Bab 176: Chapter 176: The Hokage Who Fears War
However, whether it was due to the extraordinary ability of Ryūchi Cave to conceal one's presence or because Tsunade and the others were preoccupied with Konoha's issues, they didn't sense anything unusual.
Even on the second floor, Sasuke could clearly hear the conversation of the group.
Tsunade's tone was very resolute.
"Shikaku, I know your plans and ideas are correct!"
"But those are Konoha's ninjas. It's not something we can just decide to act on so easily."
"If possible, I want to minimize casualties."
Shikaku understood this point as well, but in war, there are times when one cannot afford to consider too much.
If they solely focused on minimizing casualties, they would eventually find themselves at an absolute disadvantage.
Considering the organized and consolidated forces of the Konoha ninja army summoned by Danzo, it would be very difficult to counter them with Konoha's current strength.
Even if they had several of Konoha's elite jōnin on their side, in the face of sheer numbers, the power of an individual can sometimes be insignificant.
"Lady Tsunade, we can't wait any longer. The Hyūga clan has already begun to find excuses to avoid participating in this war!"
"Our strength is already starting to wane."
Konoha has its clan ninjas, and typically these clans prefer not to get involved in such conflicts.
The Hyūga clan's choice can neither be called right nor wrong.
Because the reason of not attacking fellow village ninjas is so perfectly reasonable, even the Hokage cannot find any grounds to refute it.
"If we delay any longer, and if other clans in Konoha also withdraw from this battle one after another, the advantage we have over the village will completely disappear!"
Shikaku was growing increasingly anxious. Although the opportunity was right in front of them, Tsunade seemed unwilling to seize this chance to resolve the matter with Danzo once and for all.
Of course, as a ninja of Konoha, Shikaku could somewhat understand Tsunade's thoughts.
This time, their enemies were also Konoha ninjas.
Some of these ninjas might have even been close companions in the past, and now having to turn their blades against comrades was undoubtedly a bitter and painful ordeal.
But such considerations couldn't justify surrendering Konoha to someone like Danzo!
"No more discussion!" Tsunade waved her hand and turned her head, avoiding Shikaku's gaze.
"I'm going to rest. Let's discuss this matter tomorrow."
Shikaku: "Lady Tsunade…"
"Shikaku-san, please give Lady Tsunade some time to think, alright?"
Shizune, who was serving tea nearby, interrupted Shikaku.
"Fine! I hope Lady Tsunade can carefully consider this tonight. Opportunities like this won't wait for long!"
After thanking Shizune for the tea, Shikaku stood up and left Tsunade's house.
Once Shikaku had left, Shizune approached Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade, why didn't you give the order to attack?"
As someone closest to Tsunade, Shizune could tell that Tsunade had deeper reasons for her hesitation.
However, as Shizune got closer, she suddenly realized that Tsunade's body was trembling slightly.
"War… it has never been a simple matter, Shizune," Tsunade said, turning to look at her. At this moment, Tsunade's eyes were filled with fear.
Perhaps, because of Jiraiya, Tsunade had managed to overcome her hemophobia.
But… she had not completely healed.
Her fear of blood had transformed into a fear of war.
Hearing this, Sasuke found the situation increasingly amusing. A ninja afraid of battle?
Wouldn't that be equivalent to becoming useless?
No wonder Tsunade didn't dare to give the order. If a Kage-level ninja were required to take action, Tsunade wouldn't dare to move at all.
At that moment, the situation could instantly be reversed. Kage-level ninjas have the power to entirely influence the outcome of a war.
This made the strength of Kage-level ninjas even more critical, especially with the watchful eyes of Hidden Cloud Village.
If they learned that one of the legendary Sannin, Tsunade-hime, had become afraid of battle, they might immediately launch a large-scale attack on Konoha.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
Shizune looked at the current Tsunade in shock. She didn't even know how to console her at this moment.
"I'll go take a bath. Shizune, if any ANBU ninja comes looking for me, you handle it," Tsunade said.
Tsunade didn't want any Konoha ninja to see her in such a state.
Her eyes filled with fear, her body trembling uncontrollably, looking utterly distraught.
If Konoha's ninjas saw her like this, it might cause significant unrest.
And right now, Konoha absolutely couldn't afford such a situation.
On the second floor, Sasuke, hiding behind the door and observing through the gap, clearly saw Tsunade's state.
'Tsunade… in this condition, it seems that the success rate of our deal has already reached nearly 100%!'
As Sasuke thought about this, he watched Tsunade enter another room.
But in the next moment, he heard a door opening behind him.
This room has two doors?
The sound of a traditional sliding door caught Sasuke's attention. He slowly turned around.
Tsunade walked right past him without noticing him at all. Her vacant eyes made her oblivious to Sasuke standing behind the other door!
Pulling aside the curtain, a bathtub was revealed.
Sasuke froze for a moment. No wonder he had felt the layout of this room was strange earlier!
It turned out this was a bathroom.
Tsunade took off her clothes and got into the tub, hugging her knees and resting her head on them.
Though she was one of the legendary Sannin, she was, after all, still just a woman.
The strong facade Tsunade showed to the outside world concealed her fragile side.
Sasuke looked at Tsunade, most of her body submerged in water, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Sss"
The sound startled Tsunade, who immediately looked up, her gaze landing on Sasuke standing outside her bathtub.
The two locked eyes.
Tsunade's expression quickly shifted.
From stunned to surprised, to embarrassment, and then her face turned pale before quickly flushing red.
"Sasuke… Uchiha?" Tsunade asked softly.
If Sasuke's hearing weren't excellent, he probably wouldn't have heard her at all.
"Lady Tsunade, we meet again."
Again?
Meet?
This brat why would he come to Konoha?
No, wait!
Why was this brat in her bathroom? Could it be that… he had been here the whole time…
"I didn't expect that a strong woman like Lady Tsunade would also have such a soft and feminine side," Sasuke remarked.
Hearing this, Tsunade suddenly realized that she wasn't wearing anything at the moment.
She quickly pulled the curtain down and wrapped it around herself.
"You brat… how dare you…"
"Lady Tsunade, I came here to talk to you. To propose a deal."
"A deal?"
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