As night gradually fell, the bustling Hidden Leaf Village lit up with countless lights.
"Hokage-sama."
"Hokage-sama."
As the lights in the Hokage's office went out, the ninjas inside the building respectfully greeted Tsunade as they saw her.
Tsunade, exhausted, nodded in response to each greeting. Just as she was about to turn and leave, her peripheral vision caught sight of the lively, illuminated village. Yet, in all those lights, not a single one was waiting for her.
For so reason, a pang of sorrow arose in her heart.
"How pathetic. After everything I've been through in the brutal wars, I still feel like this?"
Tsunade shook her head with a self-deprecating smile and dragged her tired body toward her cold, empty ho.
The recent chaos in the village had taken a heavy toll on her. The death of elite Jonin Asuma Sarutobi at the hands of the Akatsuki had been a particularly sharp blow, one that had kept her troubled for days.
Although vengeance had already been taken, the Sarutobi clan, which held significant influence within the village, suspected a conspiracy behind the incident.
Danzo's Root organization, a separate and powerful force, remained untouchable.
And then there were those two old fossils, constantly interfering and dictating her every move. Tsunade had thought about overturning it all, starting anew, but the pressure she faced—especially with no one truly by her side—was overwhelming.
"Heh, making Hokage was nothing more than a way to serve your selfish interests."
Her laugh was bitter. She had no desire for power.
If only Jiraiya or a few ninjas from the village sincerely supported her, she would've dared to rally under the na of the Senju clan and lead a revolution in the Konoha.
But alas!
For the sake of the village's stability, everyone—Jiraiya included—used the sa excuse. And this had gradually left her feeling disheartened and resigned.
The Shinobi World was already a ss, with the Akatsuki making things worse. Her head was spinning.
"I'm hungry, but I'll just sleep it off."
Tsunade stretched her weary fra. Before she knew it, she had arrived at her desolate ho, surrounded by silence.
Out of habit, she casually pushed open the door. But as a piercing light flooded her vision, she was instantly on high alert.
"Sothing's wrong! Soone's here!"
The wooden door creaked open slowly. As Tsunade's expression grew serious, ready to fight at a mont's notice, a familiar scent reached her nose.
"This sll...?"
In disbelief, she noticed a pair of n's shoes by the door. From the kitchen ca the aroma of a freshly cooked al. Hesitantly, she stepped forward.
The kitchen, which she hadn't used in three years, suddenly had a figure moving busily inside. On the dining table, steaming dishes were already set.
"What..."
When she saw the figure in the kitchen, Tsunade's pupils dilated, her face filling with shock.
That familiar silhouette—it wasn't an illusion! No, it had to be him from another world!
"You're back, Tsunade."
The man in the kitchen, preparing the final dish, turned back with a warm smile, one devoid of any hint of unfamiliarity.
"But first, wash your hands before eating. This is the last dish; it'll be ready soon."
At that mont, Tsunade was stunned. Her body moved on its own as she shuffled to the sink to wash her hands. When she sat down at the dining table, she froze.
"How is this possible? What are you planning?"
Suddenly snapping back to her senses, Tsunade glared at the man in front of her. He was soone from another world. How could he have anything to do with her?
"Tonight's final dish is this pot of tender chicken stew. I've been simring it all afternoon. Honestly, your kitchen is so barren."
Just as Tsunade was about to interrogate him in anger, the man—Uchiha Shirou—erged from the kitchen with a cheerful smile, wearing an apron and carefully carrying a pot of steaming soup to the table.
"You..."
The rising steam blurred her vision. On the table were four simple dishes and a soup, along with her favorite fruit wine.
The sight left Tsunade's mind blank. In the illusion, she had witnessed everything about herself in another world. She knew, deeply and, how they t, grew close, and eventually ca together.
And now, this scene felt as though she had stepped into that illusion.
Ho.
For the first ti in so many years, she had returned to a ho where soone greeted her warmly, where the dining table was filled with steaming food.
At that mont, tears welled up in Tsunade's eyes. No matter how strong a woman was—even the Hokage—she had monts of vulnerability and loneliness.
"Don't..."
A sudden touch on her leg startled Tsunade, snapping her out of her daze. She looked down in shock to see Shirou crouching beside her, gently holding her foot.
"Tsunade, you're still as careless as ever. You didn't even change into slippers when you ca ho."
His warm smile shone like sunlight. He replaced her worn-out black heels with a pair of delicate white slippers while Tsunade sat there, utterly bewildered.
What's happening?
It felt like she had co ho, where soone was waiting for her, and even the al was ready.
As Shirou let go of her foot and sat down, he opened the wine bottle beside him and poured her a glass.
"To celebrate eting this world's Tsunade for the first ti, I'll allow you to drink a little more tonight. But just tonight."
With a bright smile, Shirou raised his glass, his playful tone carrying the warmth of an old, familiar lover.
Tsunade, almost chanically, raised her glass in response. She knew the truth, but the warmth of ho stirred sothing deep inside her. She couldn't help but want to linger in this mont.
As their glasses clinked softly, Tsunade lowered her head, her emotions hidden from Shirou's view. This ti, she only took a small sip of the drink.
Setting her glass down, her amber eyes, already misty with tears, took in the table full of food—her favorite dishes, even her favorite wine.
The long-forgotten warmth of ho was unlocked.
After a mont, as the lingering taste of the wine settled on her tongue, Tsunade took a deep breath. When she looked up again, the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, Tsunade, had returned.
Or rather, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, was back.
"Uchiha, don't think this little trick of yours will fool . You're from another world—what does any of this have to do with ?"
At the dining table, Tsunade scoffed at him, her cold deanor making it seem as though everything earlier had been an illusion.
But across from her, Shirou simply smiled. This was Tsunade's true nature.
Her inner vulnerability was laid bare, but she would never let it beco a weapon against her. She'd crush anyone who tried.
"I already told you, this is just to celebrate our first eting."
Shirou smiled innocently, nodding as he spoke. Across from him, Tsunade snorted coldly. She downed her glass of wine in one gulp and, without hesitation, grabbed her chopsticks and began eating.
"Don't think that just by making a al of my favorite dishes and creating a warm and sentintal atmosphere, you can achieve your goal. I'm not so little girl fresh out of ninja academy."
Tsunade, with her strong-willed and straightforward personality, laid everything out on the table as she raised an eyebrow at the person in front of her.
At the sa ti, as she sized him up, Tsunade secretly muttered to herself. As expected, even in another world, her taste in n hadn't failed her—young and handso, indeed.
"Tsunade, you're magnanimous as always. You've had a long day—let's eat first, and we can discuss serious matters afterward. How about that?"
Shirou grinned as he echoed her tone, trying to appease her, while Tsunade responded with an unapologetic hmph.
At the dinner table, a peculiar scene played out. On one side sat Shirou, refined and smiling, as he observed Tsunade eat. On the other side, Tsunade wolfed down her food and gulped down sake with no reservations, eating and drinking heartily.
"Slow down. You shouldn't drink anymore of that sake."
"Shut up!"
"Have so soup instead of just drinking alcohol."
"Be quiet!"
"Let pour you so more sake. When you finish your food, I'll get you more."
"Here's your favorite tender chicken. I spent the whole afternoon making it for you..."
At the table, with a warm smile on his face, Shirou carefully served food, poured sake, and even affectionately wiped away crumbs from the corners of Tsunade's mouth. Despite being older than him, Tsunade found herself on the receiving end of his pampering, although she initially responded with disdain and irritation.
But as the al went on, her irritation softened. When she looked into his clear, untainted eyes—eyes filled with genuine affection—she caught a glimpse of tenderness she hadn't expected.
"Damn it! What's with that look in your eyes?! Can't a woman eat in peace without you pulling this nonsense?"
Tsunade's sharp tongue didn't falter, but by the ti all the food on the table was gone and her stomach was warm and full, she finally looked up, glaring at him.
"Hold still."
Before she could react, Shirou leaned in with a smile and gently wiped a grain of rice from the corner of her mouth. Then, to her astonishnt, he deliberately ate it right in front of her, his expression teasing.
"See? Even in this world, you still taste the sa."
"You!"
Tsunade was fuming. Should she alert the Anbu? No, not yet. What exactly was this guy's goal? That was the question she most wanted answered.
"Pour another drink!"
"Tonight you really shouldn't..."
Under Tsunade's sharp glare, Shirou sighed helplessly and waved his hand in surrender.
"Alright, alright. Just for tonight, let's indulge a little."
The clear sake slowly filled Tsunade's cup. Under the warm light, she held the cup in her hand, her expression gradually becoming serious, her gaze scrutinizing the man in front of her.
"Tell —what is your purpose for coming to this world? What's your ambition?"
As she asked the question, Tsunade's heart was conflicted. The illusions he had shown her revealed his ambitions without any attempt to hide them. That lack of concealnt was what worried her.
She couldn't afford to indulge her own personal feelings and risk bringing disaster to this world.
"How should I put it..."
Shirou picked up his sake cup but hesitated for a mont. Under Tsunade's tense gaze, he set the cup down and instead picked up the nearby teapot.
"You don't even like drinking sake. I don't know how the other-world version of could've been interested in you."
Tsunade sneered mockingly as she watched him, but Shirou t her gaze with a calm smile.
"You've got it wrong. At the start, you were the one who decided to keep ..."
"S-Shut up!"
Tsunade was speechless, recalling the mories from that other world. Was her counterpart in that world so bold? Grooming soone and turning him into a husband? Unbelievable!
"Alright, there's no need to worry so much."
The Tsunade in this world was the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. No matter what, she carried the responsibility of protecting the village, even at the cost of her life.
The Tsunade in the other world, however, had taken a different path. She hadn't gone through years of self-destruction and despair. The dignity and elegance of her actions in that world hadn't diminished one bit—instead, they had only grown.
But this world's Tsunade had spent nearly twenty years in self-indulgence, only to be forced into the Hokage position. She had inherited a chaotic ss.
Externally, Konoha was no longer the strongest military force in the ninja world. Internally, it was plagued by constant interference and obstruction. The threat of the Akatsuki organization lood in the shadows. Everyone around her seed to preach stability for Konoha, leaving her unable to truly act. In the end, she decided to let things fall apart—if they didn't want change, why should she bother?
"How should I put it? Although the illusion only lasted a little over a month for you, in the other world, many years have passed. Let formally introduce myself: I am Uchiha Shirou, the Fourth Hokage of Konoha and, more importantly, your husband."
Across the table, Tsunade choked at his words. Hearing that he had beco the Fourth Hokage wasn't too surprising, given what she had seen of him in that illusion.
But the last part—husband—made her cough violently. When she saw his teasing smile, she glared at him.
"Hokage! So, we're equals, huh?"
Two leaders from two different tilines—a Fourth Hokage and a Fifth Hokage—had sohow ended up sitting together.
"As for why I'm here this ti, well... I do have a certain ambition. I didn't hide it from you before, and my primary goal in coming here is to obtain the power of the Tailed Beasts...
At the sa ti, I want to change this world. To fix what's wrong with it."
As Shirou spoke with complete candor about his ambitions, Tsunade's expression shifted to one of shock. Then, she chuckled.
"You've got so guts to say all that out loud. Aren't you afraid I'll give the order for Konoha's ninja to capture you?"
Faced with her threat, Shirou smiled and nodded.
"I'm not afraid. If you do that, I'll simply take you with . To , this flawed version of Konoha isn't worth even a fraction of you."
Those words echoed in her ears, leaving Tsunade montarily stunned. The sincerity in his clear gaze and genuine smile seed to affirm that he truly ant every word.
It felt as though if she refused, he'd leave Konoha untouched—just as he promised.
"Of course, for you, I can refrain from taking action against Konoha, but I can't guarantee the sa for my subordinates."
Suddenly, the latter half of Shirou's sentence made Tsunade furious.
"Shaless!"
"I'm serious. While my ambitions are vast, to be honest, this world's Konoha isn't nearly as important as you are."
Shirou spoke with genuine sincerity. He truly held no regard for this world's Konoha, as he found it utterly unimpressive.
Its military strength had already fallen to the third rank. If not for the presence of the protagonist, Konoha's decline would be irreversible.
A small ninja village where the Hokage, two advisors, and Danzo as the leader of Root all held power—three voices were competing at the top.
What does that say?
Corruption!
If this world's Tsunade disagreed with him, then so be it—just a re Konoha, after all. He truly looked down on it. But this world wouldn't give up so easily.
Reviews
All reviews (0)