Takumi arrives at the door of the Hokage's Office with swift and decisive action.
But before he can enter, he hears a familiar voice from inside.
After a little distinguishing, he immediately recognizes the speaker's identity.
It's Asuma.
"Old man, Takumi's actions before were too reckless!"
Asuma complains discontentedly about Takumi's previous solo fight against the Third Raikage. "By doing this, does he still consider us comrades or not?"
"If he does everything alone, then what are we here for?"
"Might as well just let him handle everything, right?"
Although Asuma's words are complaints, they are more about feeling that Takumi is too arrogant, completely disregarding the consequences of not stopping the Third Raikage.
Fortunately, Takumi stopped him and won.
If he hadn't won, he couldn't imagine what situation Konoha, without any notification, would have fallen into.
Heavy losses would have been inevitable.
It would just depend on who was lost.
After all, that was the Third Raikage, whose record of fighting ten thousand Iwagakure's Shinobi alone commands respect from anyone who hears it.
Although he died from exhaustion in that battle,
Right up until his death, there wasn't a single wound on his body, enough to prove how strong he was.
"When you say these things, doesn't your conscience ache?"
Tsunade's steady yet slightly stern voice reaches Takumi's ears through the door panel.
He is a bit surprised, as he didn't expect Tsunade to be there too. He wonders what she's doing.
"How many times has it been that because of Takumi, Konoha didn't suffer too great a loss?" Tsunade continues. "If it weren't for Takumi, Sensei might have already..."
"..."
Hiruzen coughs, then asks, "Well, Tsunade, is there something specific for your visit this time? Is it that medical supplies are running low? Don't worry, I'll immediately send someone to purchase them."
"No, it's mainly that I've spotted a promising young talent. Her Chakra Control ability is very outstanding. I want to take her as a disciple."
Tsunade remembers the purpose of her visit to Hiruzen. "I came to tell you, Sensei, to try not to assign missions to this girl for a while. I want to focus on training her."
"Oh, it's Haruno Sakura, right."
Hiruzen says with a chuckle. "Among the current Genin, she's the only one with Chakra Control ability capable of catching your eye."
"She is indeed a good prospect. Train her well."
"But regarding missions, she also needs actual combat experience to temper herself. And her team leader is Kakashi; you should trust his strength, right?"
Hiruzen thinks: 'Right now, the village is short-handed; how can we let a Genin rest?'
"Hmph!"
Tsunade snorts coldly, immediately seeing through Hiruzen's little scheme in his heart.
But she doesn't lose her temper immediately. At least she has put her words out there; Hiruzen certainly won't go too far.
After all, she has specifically named the Medical-nin she wants to train; even Hiruzen has to give her that respect.
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking sound attracts the attention of everyone in the room.
"Come in."
Hiruzen says, his face wearing his trademark beaming smile.
Takumi pushes the door open and enters, finding not only Asuma and Tsunade but also Asuma's team of three.
"Hokage-sama."
He first nods in greeting to Hiruzen, then greets the others, "Tsunade-sama, Asuma-senpai."
"Hmph!"
Asuma snorts coldly, his voice sarcastic. "Is our hero here to accept a mission? Going off somewhere to shoot another movie?"
When he says this, Takumi can clearly see a hint of jealousy on his face.
Wonder if it's jealousy over being able to film movies, or jealousy over getting a lot of movie royalties.
"I am here to accept a mission, but not to shoot a movie."
Takumi's expression turns serious, looking gravely at Hiruzen. "This time, I've heard some rumors, concerning the Land of Hot Water."
"The Land of Hot Water?"
Hiruzen frowns in thought. He doesn't recall any recent developments in the Land of Hot Water?
"I think, Hokage-sama, you should have heard of the Jashin Cult in the Land of Hot Water, right?"
Seeing Hiruzen nod, Takumi continues, "This Jashin Cult is expanding its membership. Their method of expansion is kidnapping and extorting ordinary people. They also often use deceptive rhetoric to swindle honest folks out of their meager savings, and make them worship their evil god."
"If we allow this to continue, the people of the Land of Hot Water will likely face destitution."
"Therefore, I plan to go there and completely destroy the entire Jashin Cult, restoring a clear sky for the people of the Land of Hot Water."
His expression is righteous and stern; his whole person seems to be radiating an aura of justice.
Hiruzen hesitates a little. "But the Land of Hot Water hasn't submitted a mission request to us..."
"How could those people whose wealth has been drained possibly afford to pay a reward?"
Takumi loudly interrupts Hiruzen's words. "And the wealthy people of the Land of Hot Water wouldn't pay a high price for the rabble in their eyes either."
"If we remain indifferent to this, all those poor people will probably become sacrifices for the Jashin Cult."
"Then, with widespread suffering and devastation, does Hokage-sama wish for such a tragedy to occur?"
His gaze is aggressive, the righteousness in his eyes piercing at Hiruzen as they meet.
"Of course I don't wish for that..."
Hiruzen instinctively refutes.
"Then you agree, right?"
Takumi interrupts Hiruzen again. "Don't worry, although those Jashin Cultists are numerous, most are just ordinary people. I can go alone."
"No! I'll go with you!"
Tsunade is filled with righteous indignation by Takumi's words. "Those guys only bully the defenseless. Living, they only waste resources and food!"
"No! I can go alone."
Takumi immediately raises his hand to stop her. "Tsunade-sama has important responsibilities. Your presence in Konoha is more important than going on a mission."
"Only by training more excellent Medical-nin can your excellence be truly reflected!"
Takumi thinks: 'I'm going to kill people to make puppets. If you come along, how can I do that?'
No matter what, turning living people into puppets is very inhumane.
"Exactly."
Hiruzen chimes in at the perfect moment. "Tsunade, the place to display your talent is in training students. With more Medical-nin, Konoha's Shinobi can carry out missions with fewer worries about the consequences."
"Your battlefield has always been in Konoha, not on the front lines."
Hiruzen's words are spoken with utmost sincerity, mainly because he's afraid Tsunade might leave and not come back.