I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 201 Every riddle teller longs to meet a riddle solver.

"You mean, there's no problem with the funding?"

Having finally managed to control her emotions, Tsunade looked at Tatsuma with a puzzled expression and asked, "What are you troubled about?"

"Other things."

Tatsuma couldn't give a truthful answer and could only give a perfunctory one. Tsunade looked at Tatsuma suspiciously.

As a well-known sunny and cheerful boy in the village, Chenma rarely showed such a troubled expression. In the past, his troubles were more often incidental when he was thinking about problems.

The expression Tatsuma just now resembled that of a pessimist who had encountered a problem that had messed up his life.

If anyone else had shown this expression, Minato and Tsunade wouldn't have paid much attention, but seeing it on Tatsuma was quite a contrast.

"Alright, are you going to torture Tatsuma? Should I step in and bring back a few members of the mountain clan for you?"

At that moment, Mito Uzumaki's voice came from inside the house. Tsunade and Minato both looked away, and Mito Uzumaki stepped out and said, "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Nawaki got up early today and ran out without eating. There's still a lot left. Come and eat."

"Okay, Grandma Mito."

As if granted a pardon, Tatsuma dashed past Tsunade and ran into the house. Mito Uzumaki looked at Tatsuma with a kind expression, but her eyes also held doubt and worry.

Mito had known Tatsuma for several years, and given her keen eye for people, she immediately noticed that Tatsuma's behavior today was unusual.

His distress wasn't about hiding anything, but about exposing something.

Mito Uzumaki had a suspicion that Tatsuma was perfectly capable of controlling his emotions and making himself unreadable to anyone, but he deliberately revealed his emotions.

There weren't many people living in this house to begin with. Besides himself, there were only Mito Uzumaki, her two grandchildren, Minato who came here to train every day, and Kushina who would occasionally drop by.

Among these people, Mito Uzumaki could see through others' emotions without them having to read the surface. Nawaki was the type who wouldn't even know someone was angry unless a fist landed on him.

Kushina and Minato only come over occasionally now, especially Kushina. When she does come back, it's only for meals. It's impossible that someone as smart and observant as Tatsuma wouldn't have noticed this.

And the last one left is Tsunade, someone who is also not very good at reading other people's expressions. Only she can realize that something is wrong with someone's emotions when there is an extreme contrast in their behavior.

So, was Tatsuma's behavior meant to remind Tsunade?

Mito Uzumaki glanced at Tsunade, who was staring blankly, then looked back at Tatsuma sitting at the dining table. She was also wondering what Tatsuma wanted to tell Tsunade.

For Tatsuma to use this method to remind her, it must be confidential or even top-secret information, yet such information still had to be revealed to Tsunade.

Mito Uzumaki's increasingly serious expression vanished. Turning to look outside, she regained her kind smile and said to Minato, "Minato, aren't you about to go to the fan meeting?"

There was still some time before the meeting, but Minato was an extremely intelligent person. At least, he understood that Mito Uzumaki wanted to get rid of him. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Grandma Mito, I'll be going now."

"Okay, be careful on the road, and try to come back for dinner tonight."

Mito Uzumaki waved goodbye to Minato as he left, then looked at Tsunade and said, "Weren't we supposed to be training some talented genin at Konoha Hospital today? Have you prepared your lesson plans?"

"Um, I'm still a little short, but it should be okay, since the funding hasn't been allocated yet."

"Are you this careless even when it comes to your beloved medical career?"

"Grandma, I'll go get ready right away!"

Seeing Mito's serious face, Tsunade snapped to attention, turned left, and ran towards her room, while Mito returned inside.

Sitting next to Tatsuma, Mito Uzumaki picked up an egg and peeled it for him, asking casually, "Is there anything you'd like to say to this old woman?"

Tatsuma nodded. It was within his expectations that Mito Uzumaki would notice something was wrong so quickly. This old woman had seen too much of the world and too many people. Even without the Nine-Tails' power, she would definitely have noticed something was amiss.

Swallowing the food in his mouth, Tatsuma brought up a question that he had sensed was off but had never asked: "Grandma Mito, you must have talked to Kushina about the Nine-Tails, right?"

Mito Uzumaki paused in peeling the shell, but quickly resumed, nodding as she did so. Seeing this, Tatsuma continued, "Kushina, you must have guessed, just like me, the price you'll have to pay after Kurama leaves you, right?"

"Um."

"So she refused, and you probably even had a fight with her before she moved out, right?"

"Um."

"She also wanted to do something for you in her own way, even if it was just to let you live a little longer. But her selfishness and her naive approach caused some people to distrust her."

Tatsuma sensed something was wrong from the start. Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki must have had a fight, but whether it was Mito or Kushina, they would at most avoid each other.

When they met again, neither of them showed any dissatisfaction. Whenever Kushina was given a little excuse or a way out, she would come back for a meal. However, she repeatedly refused the suggestions from Minato, Nawaki, and others to move back.

Tatsuma was initially puzzled, but he suddenly understood when Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed that the Daimyo knew the specific time of the Jinchuriki's succession.

Kushina believed that as long as she moved out and refused to become a Jinchūriki, Mito Uzumaki would not lose the Nine-Tails and would not have to end her life prematurely. However, her good intentions were seen as uncertainty and potential crisis by those who were not involved in this relationship.

After Tatsuma finished speaking, he started eating breakfast again. Mito Uzumaki peeled the egg and handed it to Tatsuma. Tatsuma took it, smiled and nodded, and then swallowed it in one gulp.

Mito Uzumaki smiled kindly and nodded, then continued peeling eggs for Tatsuma. Only after Tatsuma finished eating the rest of the breakfast on the table and got up to clean up did Mito Uzumaki say:

"The monkeys wouldn't dare do that, it's probably the daimyo area."

Tatsuma didn't answer, but silently cleared away the plates. Mito Uzumaki closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then said, "Sealing Techniques, Wood Release, Sharingan... Sigh, another man-made disaster."

Tatsuma, who was quietly tidying up, seemed to nod. He liked chatting with Mito Uzumaki because it didn't require much talking, and there was no need to mention any secrets. Both of them could understand what the other wanted to say.

Mito Uzumaki understood why Tatsuma deliberately made Tsunade feel something was wrong. One reason was to give Tsunade a preliminary idea so that she would be mentally prepared when the real problem arrived.

Secondly, Tsunade is currently the only person who could prevent the Daimyo's ideas from being implemented. No one else who opposes her has the same power as Tsunade.

As for Mito Uzumaki, she shouldn't even be involved, since it concerns the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, which means it's something that happens after her death.

Mito Uzumaki looked at Tatsuma and said, "You've revealed so much; aren't you afraid the monkey will make things difficult for you?"

"Isn't the Third Hokage hoping I'll leak this information?"

Tatsuma shrugged. The plan he came up with for Hiruzen Sarutobi this time was not outstanding, or rather, it was impossible to make it outstanding. Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't possibly place his hopes on a child.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi still mentioned this to Tatsuma, and they talked about it quite in depth. Afterwards, he even gave Tatsuma a leave of absence so that he could come back. Wasn't that just to give Tatsuma the opportunity to leak this information?

However, there are techniques to revealing information. If Tatsuma ignores the principle of confidentiality and reveals it directly as soon as he returns, then Hiruzen Sarutobi will dismiss Tatsuma from his position as Hokage's bodyguard without hesitation.

If Tsunade discovered it on her own initiative, rather than through any leak, then Hiruzen Sarutobi would not blame Tatsuma and would allow him to continue serving as the Hokage's bodyguard.

Today's hint is just the first step in Tatsuma's "leaking" of secrets. However, in order for Tsunade to notice, he has to be a bit more exaggerated.

Making Mito Uzumaki understand this matter is the second step, or rather, the prerequisite for the second step. We need to see Mito Uzumaki's willingness first. If Mito Uzumaki can tolerate it, then the second step will proceed.

The second step involves having someone unrelated to the insider reveal more information to Tsunade. The most suitable person for this role is Mito Uzumaki.

As for what happens next, it depends on whether Mito Uzumaki is willing to take on this heavy responsibility, and then on the extent to which Tsunade has been given hints, before we can continue to develop the story.

After cleaning and washing all the dishes, Tatsuma said goodbye to Mito Uzumaki and planned to go home to sleep. However, before he even reached Tobirama Senju's former residence next door, Tsunade called him back.

"Tatsuma, stop right there!"

Tsunade's low shout startled Tatsuma. Could it be that his teacher wasn't as dull as she seemed? Could she have deduced something simply from his disciple's unusual mood?

Tatsuma quickly looked at Tsunade and asked, "Sensei, what's wrong?"

"Come with me."

Tsunade's face was serious and solemn. After speaking, she turned around and walked towards her room. Tatsuma quickly followed, wanting to see how far his teacher had progressed in her deductions.

Upon entering Tsunade's room, Tatsuma looked at his teacher with anticipation, already eager to reveal the confidential information to her.

Just then, Tsunade pointed to her worktable, on which were several rolls of paper. She said, "These are the lesson plans I'm preparing to give to the village's genin. Could you polish and optimize them for me? I need them this afternoon."

"this one?"

Tatsuma looked at his teacher speechlessly, full of expectations that Tsunade would discover something, but Tsunade not only did not give him any surprises, but was even more dull than he had imagined.

"Then what else do you want? Could it be..."

Tsunade's eyes turned dangerous. She raised her fist and said to Tatsuma, "You and Jiraiya have gone astray?!"

Tatsuma rolled his eyes, sat down at the worktable, looked at the fragmented lesson plans on the scroll, twitched his lips, and simply grabbed a new roll of scrolls to reorganize the lesson plans.

Seeing that her disciple was obedient, Tsunade lowered her fist, nodded in satisfaction, and then asked, "Are you going to stand guard again this afternoon?"

"My name is a guard. But... no need, I didn't sleep last night, I should be able to sleep this afternoon."

"That's good. Come with me to Konoha Hospital. If those people are too stupid, you can teach them a lesson for me!"

Tatsuma, who had been interrupted, smirked and said, "Don't worry, teacher, no one is dumber than you."

"You, Sakamoto Tatsuma! You're dead! I, Tsunade, said it! Even your great-grandfather can't save you!"

(End of this chapter)