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Shikaku froze on the spot.
It was only evening. How could he be off work already?
The Hokage's office was piled high with official duties; even working overtime would take a long time to clear!
He had thought Kazuki would put in some hard work and clear things out as soon as possible.
But now, he had just left at a slightly later hour.
"....."
What kind of situation is this?
Probably too tired. A few days' rest should sort it out.
Shikaku could only convince himself with such reasoning.
Now that Tsunade wasn't in the village, he was counting on Kazuki to take charge.
And Kazuki, just as he had anticipated, wasn't messing things up just because Tsunade had left.
Everything was proceeding as usual.
The only difference was that Kazuki's office was now the Hokage's office. Aside from that, nothing much had changed.
After all, even when Tsunade was present, Kazuki could fully decide on all major village matters anyway.
So Tsunade's running away as Hokage didn't really impact Konoha much.
It just didn't sound good if word got out, hence the need to issue an announcement to cover for Tsunade.
The next day, the village released a new announcement concerning the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. It immediately caught the villagers' attention.
"What kind of mission requires the Hokage herself to undertake?"
"Who knows? It must be a very important mission, otherwise why would she personally go?"
"Makes sense, but she is still too reckless. As the village's Hokage, she should ensure her own safety first."
While curious, the villagers also worried about Tsunade's safety.
In most people's view, the Hokage was the village's leader. Even if personally executing missions, they needed to ensure their own safety first.
They couldn't follow the example of Kumogakure's Third Raikage, who lost his life just trying to seize some ore from the Land of Earth.
Of course, such secrets were unknown to ordinary people.
With the announcement out, not only the villagers but even many ninja believed it.
Everyone would only respect Tsunade more, without any other thoughts.
The pity was, Tsunade wasn't off on some special mission. She had just run away to play.
"Homura, what exactly is going on here?"
The Third Hokage's expression wasn't good. Such a major event, and he, the Third Hokage, had learned of it from the villagers.
So he immediately sought out Homura to get a clear answer.
What was happening? Tsunade didn't seem the type to act so irresponsibly.
Facing the Third Hokage's questioning, Homura himself was frustrated.
"Hiruzen, I couldn't do anything about this either. Tsunade left without a word. Shikaku kept it quiet, only sending Anbu to search everywhere. You also know, at this point, neither you nor I have the authority to mobilize the Anbu, nor can we casually inquire with them for information. I only found out several days later. By the time I learned, Shikaku had already sent word to the border camp and had me confined to the Hokage's administrative building."
"...."
The Third Hokage's expression darkened instantly.
Shikaku's actions were clearly aimed at preventing him.
Preventing him from stepping forward and sitting in the Hokage's seat like after the Nine-Tails incident.
So he quietly sent for Kazuki to return, while detaining Homura in the Hokage's building.
By the time Kazuki returned to the village, it was useless whether the Third Hokage knew this news or not.
With Kazuki sitting in the Hokage's office, regardless of whether Tsunade had gone off to play or had actually met with misfortune, he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had no chance whatsoever to intervene or direct anything.
At most, he could say a few words when electing the Sixth Hokage.
But even that influence was limited, as the Daimyō's endorsement carried more weight than the Third Hokage's.
And the Daimyō... had an exceptionally good impression of Kazuki.
"So, Tsunade's fine?"
"She's fine." Homura sighed.
"She left a message saying the pressure was too much and she wanted to get away for a while, that she'd return after some time. I saw the note; it's Tsunade's handwriting."
"And you actually believe that?"
The Third Hokage couldn't help but raise his voice.
Homura paused, frowning.
"Hiruzen, what do you mean by that? Are you suggesting I have some connection with Uchiha Kazuki?"
"No, that's not what I meant."
Realizing his reaction was somewhat excessive, the Third Hokage quickly explained, afraid of disheartening his old comrade.
"I'm just worried. A single note is hard to accept as proof."
"If it were someone else's note, I naturally wouldn't believe it. But Uchiha Kazuki..."
Homura didn't know what more to say.
"What do you mean?"
Homura looked at the puzzled Third Hokage and said, exasperated:
"Hiruzen, you've been resting at home for a long time and don't understand much about village affairs now. But do you think Tsunade, given her personality, would casually hand over decision-making power on major village matters to an Hokage Advisor? Especially when that person is from the Uchiha? Would you trust someone that much?"
Although the "Council of Four" operated as a whole with shared interests, the Third Hokage still harbored reservations toward Kazuki, Homura, as well as the deceased Koharu and Danzo.
But Tsunade had no such reservations toward Kazuki at all.
"...."
The Third Hokage wanted to say "of course," but the words stuck in his throat.
Even if he said it, Homura wouldn't believe him anyway.
"Are you saying Tsunade trusts Kazuki unconditionally?"
"Uchiha Kazuki's home is Tsunade's second home."
With that, Homura rose and left, leaving the rest for the Third Hokage to figure out on his own.
Homura believed the Third Hokage could figure it out. Whether he could accept it was none of his concern.
The relationship between Tsunade and Kazuki was... "zero distance."
Anyone with eyes could see it!
People just pretended not to notice.
Otherwise, no matter how much Tsunade trusted Kazuki, she wouldn't hand over various powers or let him handle major village affairs.
"I'll be damned..."
The Third Hokage was stunned for a long moment before letting out an involuntary crude curse. It had taken him quite a while to guess the answer.
Now I understand.
Having grasped the whole situation, the Third Hokage couldn't help but feel metaphorical black lines forming on his forehead.
So, when Kazuki said Tsunade had gone out to clear her mind, Homura and Shikaku immediately believed it. They only kept me in the dark?
"Sigh..."
After an unknown amount of time, the Third Hokage let out a long sigh.
"Forget it. Forget it."
Tsunade's actions had undoubtedly bound Kazuki tightly to her, forcibly making Kazuki part of the "Hokage faction." Even though Kazuki came from the Uchiha, the result was the same.
No wonder the Uchiha were becoming increasingly low-key, more obedient than ever. They were avoiding suspicion!!!
While exasperated, the Third Hokage also felt some strange thoughts stirring within him.