The three little ones were completely bewildered the mont they stepped into Yamanaka Shinno's house—only to be rcilessly abandoned.
Seeing their teacher suddenly head out, they had originally planned to reschedule their visit for another ti.
But Shinno solved everything with just a shadow clone.
He had already tricked three free laborers into coming over—why let them go so easily? Who would roll the dough for the dumpling skins in the afternoon? Who would wrap the buns? Who would grind the soybeans?
With his shadow clone staying behind to handle the kitchen cleanup, it also efficiently directed the trio as they worked.
Might Guy kneaded the dough, Kurenai Yuhi washed and prepared the vegetables, and Genma Shiranui chopped the at.
The three of them were completely absorbed in their work.
anwhile, Shinno and Tsunade made their way toward Konoha Hospital.
...
On the third floor of Konoha Hospital, inside a special care ward.
Sitting upright in bed, Shimura Danzo had an IV drip in his left hand while his right hand flipped rapidly through the latest intelligence reports from various hidden villages, neatly stacked on the small table in front of him.
A mber of Root stood guard beside the bed, clad in standard ANBU gear with a mask covering his face, maintaining his silent, watchful presence.
Tiny kikaichu insects sward across the ceiling and walls of the ward.
The constant writhing of the insects made the room look particularly eerie.
But compared to high-maintenance, chakra-draining defensive barriers that required multiple people to sustain, this minor inconvenience was negligible.
After processing all the intel, Danzo closed his eyes briefly, sorting through the information in his mind.
Then, he picked up a blank scroll and began assigning missions for his Root operatives for the next two days.
Click—
The door creaked open under the push of an aged hand.
The Root ninja at Danzo's bedside bowed slightly in greeting as three elderly figures entered the room.
Danzo's sharp, calculating gaze swept over them.
Upon recognizing the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, the cold edge in his eyes softened slightly.
He closed the scroll in his hand and set it aside.
"What do you want?"
"Tsunade hasn't co to treat you yet?"
Sarutobi walked over to the sofa and sat down, completely unbothered by his old friend's frigid tone and standoffish deanor.
He understood Danzo's state of mind—he even sympathized, to an extent.
After all, if anyone had to remain on high alert every second of the day, fearing attacks from unseen enemies due to so unknown force's influence, their mood wouldn't be great either.
"She'd probably love nothing more than to see die here."
Danzo's single eye locked onto Sarutobi's right hand just as he pulled out his tobacco pipe, and the air around him seed to grow heavier.
"She just has so… misunderstandings about you. We all recognize your contributions to Konoha."
Faced with his friend's silent condemnation, Sarutobi ultimately put the pipe away.
Seriously.
Fine, I won't smoke. Stop glaring at .
"Hiruzen, you're too soft on Tsunade! And on Jiraiya and Orochimaru, too. Look at what they've beco!"
Koharu and Homura had also seated themselves on the sofas. Hearing Sarutobi's attempt to defuse the tension, they imdiately fired back without hesitation.
Jiraiya was a free-spirited wanderer who ignored the rules of Konoha's ninja code.
Every ti he left for a mission, he'd end up lingering outside the village, using the excuse of gathering intelligence to search for so so-called "Child of Prophecy" from Mount Myoboku.
Tsunade was reckless and hot-tempered, frequently skipping high-level etings and sneaking out of Konoha to drink and gamble.
So what if she had lost a lover? It had been years. Was she planning to wallow forever?
And then there was Orochimaru!
Sure, he took missions diligently, but the mont he returned, he locked himself in his lab, completely obsessed with jutsu research.
If this continued, trouble was inevitable!
"Tsunade is still young. A few flaws in her character are understandable. For the sake of the First Hokage and our teacher, perhaps we should be more patient with her."
Sarutobi deflected once again, addressing only Tsunade's faults while completely glossing over Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
He even invoked the nas of Hashirama and Tobirama, hoping to sweep the matter under the rug.
But Sarutobi clearly underestimated how much pent-up frustration and resentnt his old comrades had accumulated over the years.
"Her youth is no excuse for laziness and irresponsibility! The legacies of the First and Second Hokage are not her license to act recklessly! As their descendant, she should be setting an example for Konoha's shinobi—"
BOOM!
The door flew off its hinges, blasting straight toward Koharu, who was seated on the sofa.
As a forr mber of the Second Hokage's personal guard and a top-tier jōnin in her pri, Koharu—having just celebrated her fifty-first birthday—was far from the frail elder she would beco years later.
Her reflexes kicked in, and she lashed out with a spinning kick, barely managing to deflect the door before stumbling back against the window.
Bzzzzzz—!
A swarm of kikaichu instantly surrounded Danzo's bed.
Danzo glared at the mangled door, now embedded deep within the writhing insects, just inches from his face. The sweat that had risen on his skin slowly receded.
His gaze shifted to the entrance, where Tsunade stood, eyes blazing, with Koharu fuming in response.
Danzo nearly lost control of his killing intent.
They know I was attacked and am constantly on edge—any surprise movent in my surroundings could trigger a life-threatening response.
And yet these two won decided to have a brawl inside my damn ward?!
Are their brains full of water?!
Or do they actually want dead?!
A step behind Tsunade, Yamanaka Shinno stood in the doorway. Seeing the collapsed door and the insect-covered hospital bed, he sighed in mild disappointnt.
So the old bastard Danzo really won't die that easily, huh?
His eyes flicked toward the Root ninja who had blocked the door's impact.
Based on the tiline, this should be Abura Tatsuma, the sa guy Danzo later considered his right-hand man after the Third Shinobi War.
Young, strong—probably already more capable than most jōnin.
As Shinno took in the scene, Tsunade's forehead pulsed with visible veins, the deep blue seal of her Yin Release turning pitch black.
"You old hag, that's enough!"
"Did I say anything wrong?!"
Koharu flexed her slightly numbed leg but refused to back down despite Tsunade's overwhelming strength.
Sarutobi, ever the diator, quickly stepped between them to calm things down.
Shinno, watching the Third work his magic, couldn't help but admire the man's skill.
Now that's how you really smooth things over. If you have any emotional attachnt to the guy, how could you not get caught up in it?
No wonder he was the Hokage.
Danzo, take notes.
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