Konoha Notes

Chapter 104 Master and Disciple
"This is not a question for you to concern yourself with." Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his head again to look at the documents. "I am the Hokage."

Do you want her to mess everything up?

boom--

Danzo turned around. At this moment, the only person who would dare to barge into the Hokage's office so rudely was that woman.

"Tsunade, it's one thing to just get back, but at least knock on the door." Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't look up.

Ignoring Danzo's presence, Tsunade casually sat down on the sofa and said, "What could possibly happen to you, old man?"

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him anymore, Danzo did not intend to stay.

"Sarutobi, you'll regret this."

He left behind only this sentence.

With her legs crossed, Tsunade smiled slightly: "This is such a familiar scene, old man. How long are you going to let him cause trouble?"

"Don't be so rude to Danzo. He has done a lot for the village." The Third Hokage put the things in front of him aside and gently tapped the table.

Upon hearing the order, the ANBU outside the door expanded the guard area to ensure that no one could break in as easily as Tsunade.

"You've been wandering around outside for so long, and you still seem so anxious and impatient when you come back. I won't ask what Shuuji advised you, but what does he want you to do?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was no longer as kind as it usually was.

"Teacher." After giving another polite greeting, Tsunade's current demeanor resembled that of someone she had been disliking lately. "Since you can't do it anymore, you might as well rest."

"If someone even less competent were to take over, it would be better for this old man to continue sitting in this position," the Third Hokage replied coldly.

He naturally had an expectation of how long he would continue. With neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade taking over, the responsibility could only fall to the newest generation.

Kakashi is too young and his reputation isn't high enough yet. If he stays in the Anbu for a few more years, his mission record will be impressive enough, and he can be promoted to Jonin. He can then train students for a few more years, which should be about right.

"You haven't answered my question yet. What does Shuji want you to do?" he pressed again.

Shuji's presence in this matter is too strong, so he must have a purpose. Tsunade's willingness to return means that she agrees with his idea.

"Nothing much, just that I'll be covering your shift for a few years so you can continue your retirement, old man." Princess Thousand Hands rested her chin on her hand. "That kid is a real nuisance. He only came back because he was causing me so much trouble."

The Third Hokage was very aggressive towards his disciple: "If I could bring you back just by being annoying, Shizune wouldn't have been forced to wander around with you for so many years."

Tsunade said, "Uchiha."

"What he wants to do."

"He reached an agreement with Fugaku, and Fugaku was willing to make concessions."

The third generation was somewhat pleasantly surprised: "Fugaku is actually willing to talk?"

He had approached Fugaku Uchiha countless times, and even extended goodwill through Shisui Uchiha on several occasions, but Fugaku Uchiha never showed any willingness to talk. He either remained silent or spoke incoherently.

Since negotiations with the clan leader were not feasible, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to start with the next generation.

They agreed to let Itachi Uchiha graduate early, so that he would be unable to serve in the police force for a long time and would only be able to follow the village's rules and procedures.

His goal was to forge a bond between the new generation of Uchiha and the village in this way.

The only unexpected thing was that during an escort mission, Itachi's mentor and teammates were gone, and there was no way to make arrangements for them in time.

The last attempt was to pair Itachi and Shuuji together, and the results were surprisingly good, so Anko was also thrown in to stop her from overthinking things every day.

In retrospect, Shuuji, as the team leader, has exceeded expectations in his competence.

Not only did they manage to take down Itachi Uchiha, but they also managed to take down Fugaku along the way.

"Tell me the specifics, not only Shuji's thoughts, but also yours." Upon learning that Fugaku Uchiha's attitude had softened, the Third Hokage's mood improved considerably. "If possible, I'll arrange the follow-up matters in the coming days."

"However, some things may be hard to hear, so I'll be clear from the start. The village's money cannot be managed by you."

Tsunade frowned in displeasure. Without financial authority, the Hokage's real power was halved: "Old man..."

"There's no room for discussion on this. If you really want to put my mind at ease, you should clean up your mess of debts first!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said sternly. "If I put you in charge of the money, what if someone tries to manipulate the finances? If there are any unclear points, the villagers will question whether you are misusing village funds."

Tsunade was speechless.

The conversation between the master and apprentice continued for a while, but I won't go into the details.

However, Tsunade was not in a good mood when she entered the old house in the western suburbs.

When she returned to the old house, she was quite polite and knocked on the door first.

Shuji opened the door, and Tsunade's politeness instantly vanished. Without saying a word, she shoved Shuji's shoulder aside and squeezed inside.

Once inside the courtyard, she composed herself.

"Grandma Peach Blossom".

Unlike her impolite manner when talking about Granny Momoka in front of Shuji, Tsunade was somewhat reserved in front of the real person.

"Have you had enough fun?" The old man didn't get up, but instead let Tsunade sit down next to him. "I haven't left the village for so long that I can hardly remember what the outside world is like now."

"It's similar to the village, except there are more schools and inns..." Tsunade sat next to her, carefully considering her answer.

"There's a casino too, is there?" Granny Momoka's face softened. "Just like Lord Hashirama, Tsunade."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Tsunade's face, and she gave a few dry laughs.

"Lord Hashirama used to be a gambler, so Lord Tobirama issued an administrative order prohibiting casinos from being opened in the village. But he still went out to gamble, and he took you with him."

"Ahem...that's all in the past. How have you been feeling lately?"

"Okay, no problem."

After chatting for a while, Granny Momoka got up and went back to her room to rest, leaving Shuji to entertain Tsunade.

Tsunade relaxed. Unlike when facing Hiruzen Sarutobi, she had to restrain herself a bit when facing Momoka Senju. Of all the things that happened back in the village, dealing with this elder who was the same age as her grandfather was the most difficult.

Now that Xiu Si has come over, she actually feels much more comfortable.

So now they're giving Shuji a friendly look.

“I’ve talked to the old man.”

"I will stay in the village for a while and gradually take over some of the affairs. I also want to hear a clear answer from Fugaku in person."

“As for you…” Tsunade’s face fell again.

She had tolerated Xiu Si's rudeness before, but considering that she was unable to handle things and everything had to be left to him, she had given him the spirit contract and helped him with his immortal cultivation. In the end, he still had to come back.

Although I agreed to it, the more I think about it, the more I feel like I've been taken advantage of.

What's most infuriating is that this kid still has that same nasty attitude, and his words are always infuriating.

"Don't even think about resting. You're going to the City of Fire tomorrow. The old man has a letter for the daimyo." She smiled sinisterly. "By the way, I'm letting you know that your vacation is over. I've canceled your leave."

"...You're really kind."

Grabbing Shuji by the collar, Tsunade leaned closer and said coldly, "You've taken so many benefits from me, you don't think you can just let it go like this, do you? I've been in office for several years, and you've been doing missions for me until you die."

"Don't even think about running away!"

(End of this chapter)