章節 45: Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Tsunade's weight on him was a bit much, so Haneda shifted slightly.
He glanced at Tsunade, already drunk beyond recognition, and gave a bitter smile.
"There should be some ANBU around, right? Hmm, better get someone to take her back. If she stays here, it could cause unnecessary misunderstandings…"
Haneda looked toward the window and specifically observed the tree crown, the easiest place for someone to hide.
"Hey, mask-wearing guy, Lady Tsunade's drunk. You guys should probably take her back!"
Haneda called out cautiously, but after a moment, there was still no response.
Turning back, Tsunade was still lying on the bed, her face showing a bit of pain.
"Why do troublesome things always happen to me? Is this the fate of the protagonist?"
Haneda smiled bitterly again.
He walked over to Tsunade, lifted her onto the bed with effort, and covered her with a blanket.
Then, he found a chair and lay down on the nearby table to sleep.
A few seconds passed.
Outside the window, on a large tree, a toad jumped down from the tree crown.
The toad glanced back at the room, and a figure emerged from the toad's mouth.
"Almost got caught by that kid…"
"Sigh, Tsunade, that old woman, dragged me to drink early in the morning. Not only did she get drunk, but she also ended up in this kid's hospital room."
"Doesn't she know he's an Uchiha?"
"If the old man finds out, this could get troublesome."
The figure emerging from the toad's mouth was none other than Jiraiya. He threw the ANBU ninja he was carrying on his shoulder to the side.
He quickly cast a genjutsu, making the ANBU unconscious and forget the entire incident, believing they had accidentally fallen asleep.
After doing this, Jiraiya's serious expression faded, and he turned mischievous.
"But this kid is quite gentle. A patient taking care of his doctor?"
"Hmm, not a bad story material."
Thinking about his material, Jiraiya glanced longingly toward the hot springs on the mountainside.
"Hehe, the ladies must be missing me, right?"
"Your big man Jiraiya is coming soon, hahaha…"
...
At the center of Konoha, in the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage was massaging his temples, looking troubled.
On his left and right, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were engaged in a heated argument, debating the compensation for Uchiha and Sakumo.
"Hiruzen, you absolutely cannot agree to this! The ANBU is privy to too many of the village's secrets, and this information must not be leaked!"
Homura spoke gravely.
"Homura, what are you implying? Are you saying the Uchiha aren't part of Konoha?" Koharu retorted.
Homura's words clearly excluded the Uchiha. The village had not yet experienced the Nine-Tails incident, so the general attitude toward the Uchiha was one of caution, not outright exclusion.
Besides, there were still ties to Kagami, and Koharu was naturally inclined to speak on behalf of the Uchiha.
"If they're asking for a position in the ANBU today, who's to say they won't demand the Hokage's seat tomorrow?"
"Homura, Uchiha's ambition will only continue to grow. The reason the Second Hokage assigned them to the police force was to keep them from gaining influence in the village's core."
"This has worked for years, and giving them any leeway now will only lead to a backlash against our longstanding control!"
Homura had never doubted the darker side of human nature, especially when it came to the Uchiha.
The Uchiha had a tendency to go to extremes, and over time, Homura's view of the entire clan had soured.
"Wasn't Kagami involved in village affairs? Didn't Kagami love the village?"
Koharu's series of questions left Homura speechless.
Back in the day, their teacher had personally mentored Kagami and brought him into the Hokage Guard Platoon.
All of their memories of him showed that Kagami's love for the village exceeded that of his clan.
"That's a different matter, Koharu. Not every Uchiha is like Kagami. Kagami was one of a kind."
"I know you hold his memory dear, but you must admit that the village's interests come first, always."
Homura adjusted his glasses, his tone serious.
Their argument skillfully avoided mentioning Danzo, the mastermind behind the assassination attempt.
Neither brought up the legitimacy of compensating Haneda and Kakashi.
Both were victims, and both had powerful forces backing them.
Compensation was inevitable, the only question being how much.
The specifics depended on how hard Uchiha would push, and that was reflected in their demand for an ANBU position.
As their argument wound down, the Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe, trying to gather his thoughts.
He put down his pipe and slowly said:
"The Uchiha will always be a part of Konoha. That is an undeniable fact."
"Every member of the ANBU is someone who loves and is loyal to the village, and the selection process reflects that."
"As long as the Uchiha candidate meets those criteria, there's no reason to deny them."
Homura replied:
"Hiruzen, I must remind you."
"Once you agree to the Uchiha's demands, someone will inevitably be selected. It's not just about love for the village anymore."
"If the Uchiha sends only one candidate, we will have no choice but to accept them. Refusing would break our word, further inflaming their anger."
"Kenji is a smart man. He won't do something like that," the Third Hokage said, taking a drag from his pipe.
Just as he finished speaking, another voice echoed from outside the room.
"Hiruzen, you are too soft!"
"Backing down will only embolden the Uchiha! Their inherent evil will never be satisfied with the status quo!"
Danzo walked in, glaring straight at the Third Hokage.
"I told you not to appear in the village during this time, Danzo!" The Third Hokage said angrily.
Danzo, seemingly ignoring yesterday's unpleasantness, shot back:
"Everything I do is for the village, for Konoha! I won't let you, Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, lead us astray!"
Homura, seeing that Danzo was even more extreme than he was, quickly tried to mediate:
"Alright, Danzo, Hiruzen is also thinking of the village."
Danzo shot a glance at Homura:
"He may have the village in mind, but his empty, naive ideals will only worsen the situation!"
"The reality is, the Uchiha's pride will never fully integrate with the village, and we will never see another Kagami!"
"That is the undeniable truth, Hiruzen!!"
Bam!!!
Suddenly, the office door was smashed open with a punch, and a bold, imposing figure emerged from the dust.
"Old man, you're still wasting time arguing with these three relics from a bygone era."
Tsunade stepped out of the dust, casually found a chair, and sat down without caring about the furious expressions on Danzo and the others.
"Tsunade, you're being disrespectful. This is the Hokage's office!"
Danzo glared at her with his single eye.
"The Hokage's office?"
Tsunade smirked.
This place was practically where she grew up.
Her grandfather was the First Hokage, her granduncle was the Second, and her teacher was the Third.
Danzo? He was nothing.
***
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章節 46: Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Tsunade said calmly:
"An exiled ninja who assassinated the Third Hokage, and you still think you're in a position to lecture others? Is this how you show respect for the Hokage?"
"What would a little girl like you understand? Everything I've done is for the sake of Konoha!"
Danzo stood up, staring straight into Tsunade's eyes, but she still didn't look his way.
She calmly picked up the teapot from the desk, poured herself a cup, and took a sip.
At this point, the Third Hokage couldn't just sit by and watch his old friend argue with his disciple. He hurriedly tried to mediate:
"Danzo, Tsunade is my disciple. Beyond being Hokage and subordinates, there's also a relationship between a teacher and a student."
"You are too soft, Hiruzen! The way Tsunade is now is entirely your doing!"
"Tsunade's like this, and so is Jiraiya. One's obsessed with gambling, and the other shares your bad habit of peeping."
"That would be tolerable, but now neither of them even cares about the village, wandering aimlessly outside for years!"
"Enough, Danzo! What Tsunade and Jiraiya have become is on me, not for you to lecture!"
Hearing this, Danzo stared directly at Hiruzen, yelling:
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"
"I should be the Hokage!"
Bang!
The door slammed shut with a heavy sound.
At that moment, Homura Mitokado said, "Hiruzen, you are the Hokage, so it's up to you to decide."
With that, Homura also left the office.
Seeing both his old friends leave, Koharu Utatane glanced at the Third Hokage, then at Tsunade, and helplessly shook her head.
The unresolved tension between Tsunade and Koharu had been there for a long time.
Their real conflict stemmed from when Tsunade proposed assigning medical ninjas to teams. At the time, Koharu had vetoed it because medical ninjutsu was underdeveloped and medical ninjas were difficult to train.
Since then, their relationship had plummeted, and Tsunade never showed a pleasant face whenever they met.
Furthermore, after the Second Shinobi World War, the importance of medical ninjas became more and more evident.
All these facts showed that Tsunade had been right.
Their relationship only grew more awkward.
After the three left, the office fell into silence, leaving only one man quietly smoking a pipe, and another calmly drinking tea.
After a few minutes, the Third Hokage's face returned to his usual smile. He looked up at Tsunade and said:
"Sorry for showing you that spectacle again, Tsunade."
Seeing the familiar yet burdened smile on the Third Hokage's face, Tsunade sighed and said:
"Old man, you've really gone too far in indulging Danzo. He keeps saying everything he does is for Konoha, but is it really?"
"I know the kind of person he is," the Third Hokage replied, smoking his pipe.
"Heh... whatever you say, old man. I don't care what happens to Konoha anymore."
Tsunade casually said this as she drained the rest of her tea and stood up to head for the door.
"Are you leaving the village again, Tsunade?" the Third Hokage asked.
"I'm going to check on that Uchiha kid," Tsunade replied dismissively.
This time, she wasn't lying.
She had come to the Hokage's office to speak on behalf of that kid, and also to annoy Danzo and the two old folks.
Thinking of Uchiha Haneda, Tsunade suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to ask:
"Old man, what did that kid Haneda ask of you?"
"Not Haneda—Uchiha and Sakumo," the Third corrected.
"Same difference. There's not much of a distinction. Go on, old man, tell me."
Based on her recent observations of Haneda, Tsunade knew the kid was full of schemes.
After just meeting with the old man, Sakumo, and the Uchiha clan head, he soon had a private conversation with Uchiha.
After the talks, the Uchiha clan head immediately contacted Sakumo, rushed to the Hokage building, and began applying pressure, making demands.
There was no way Haneda wasn't involved or scheming in all this, Tsunade thought.
"The Scroll of Seals and a position in the ANBU. Haneda and Kakashi each requested a forbidden jutsu, while the ANBU deal was part of the Uchiha's demands," the Third Hokage explained.
"But recently, Haneda invented an A-rank Lightning Release jutsu, Chidori. I plan to exchange it for a jutsu of equivalent rank."
"That's fair enough. There's no need for hesitation. What are you even wavering about, old man?"
"The ANBU... it involves a lot of Hokage responsibilities..."
Before the Third Hokage could finish, Tsunade cut him off:
"The Uchiha aren't outsiders."
Hearing this, the Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe and slowly spoke:
"You see things clearly, Tsunade."
After Tsunade left, the Third Hokage stood up and glanced around the office.
Apart from the hidden ninja in the shadows, only he remained.
He looked toward the Hokage Rock, took a puff from his pipe, and blew a smoke ring.
As the smoke ring dissipated, the Third Hokage had made his decision.
...
After leaving the Hokage building, Tsunade looked back at the Third Hokage gazing into the distance.
She paused for a moment, then continued walking towards the hospital.
"This time, I'll consider it repayment for that kid not forgetting to cover me with a blanket..."
In truth, Tsunade knew why she had come here.
Even though she always acted indifferent towards Konoha, she could never forget that this was the village her grandfather founded, and the home where she had grown up.
She couldn't stand to see Konoha being ruined by a bunch of decaying old folks.
...
Konoha Hospital.
Tsunade entered Haneda's hospital room.
At this moment, Haneda had long since woken up and was sitting at a desk by the window, reading.
"Lady Tsunade."
Hearing the door open, Haneda turned to see his attending doctor and greeted her with a smile.
"Your Sharingan just awakened. You should focus more on resting. Studying can wait," Tsunade said as she glanced at the scroll Haneda was reading. Judging by the small print, it seemed related to genjutsu.
"Did you come to check on me and clear me for discharge, Lady Tsunade?" Haneda asked with a smile.
Looking at his familiar smiling face, Tsunade couldn't help but be reminded of her younger brother, who had been killed by an exploding tag.
This kid really resembled him, but unlike her brother, someone had been willing to shield this boy from danger, while her brother had been all alone.
Tsunade silently pulled her thoughts back and said:
"Kid, you're just suffering from chakra exhaustion, and as long as your eyes are fine, the discharge papers will be ready soon."
"Then, Lady Tsunade, do you think I should be discharged?" Haneda asked again.
This time, he was met with Tsunade's large fist.
"Don't think I don't know you're testing me, you sneaky brat!" Tsunade huffed.
Holding his head, Haneda pouted with a look of grievance:
"What sneaky? I'm just an ordinary six-year-old."
"Keep pretending."
Tsunade raised her large fist again, ready to strike, but suddenly paused.
"I'll tell you this clearly: that matter has already been decided."
"You don't need to hide in the hospital, avoiding others."
***
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