That's not all. Most importantly, Tsunade, with her terrifyingly high status yet complete lack of political ambition, is practically invincible.
Wherever she goes in the village, she's treated like royalty, even in the territory of the Uchiha clan, who are always at odds with the Senju.
Even the Hokage, Uchiha Touhuan, only receives polite treatment as long as Tsunade doesn't set up a gambling den in the Hokage Building.
"Reason?" Tsunade slumped unceremoniously in her chair, staring up at the ceiling of the Hokage Building. "Is it simply that I don't want to go back to the village?"
"Of course." Uchiha Touhuan nodded. "The village respects Miss Tsunade's choice."
"Hey, you Uchiha brat." Tsunade looked at Uchiha Touhuan.
"I've read your plan, and it is indeed very feasible.
However, haven't you considered how much more money this method of training medical ninjas will cost compared to now?"
"It seems that Miss Tsunade doesn't need to worry about funding.
That's something I, as the Hokage, need to consider." Uchiha Touhuan smiled. Although Tsunade said she didn't want to return to the village, she was quite concerned about Uchiha Touhuan's plan, which meant that inviting her back to oversee the village's medical school was negotiable.
"Your plan to train medical ninjas will require several times the current funding, and it will take at least ten years to see results.
During this time, it's basically burning money—the kind of money that can't be stopped, otherwise all the initial investment will be wasted.
Are you really willing to do that?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"For the sake of my comrades' mission survival rate, what's there to be unwilling about?
As for the money, I've said it before, that's something I, as the Hokage, should be concerned about," Uchiha Touhuan said.
Tsunade gave Uchiha Touhuan a deep look, and after a long while, she said, "Let me think about it some more."
"Of course, no problem. The position of Dean of Konoha Medical School will always be reserved for you," Uchiha Touhuan said. " Putting everything else aside, you're much more decisive than this old man in this matter," Tsunade laughed. "Is there any wine?"
"Lady Tsunade..." Shizune, standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore. After all, this was the Hokage's office; Tsunade's behavior was a bit inappropriate.
"Inahikasa, go buy a few bottles of wine for Lady Tsunade, and bring back some snacks to go with them." However, Uchiha Touhuan turned around and shouted towards the outside of the office.
"You Uchiha brat are quite amusing," Tsunade chuckled upon seeing this.
"Lady Tsunade, I am, after all, the Fifth Hokage of the village," Uchiha Touhuan said helplessly.
"Alright, I know! I won't call you that in front of outsiders," Tsunade waved her hand dismissively.
"By the way, Lady Tsunade, I have a personal matter I need your help with," Uchiha Touhuan said.
"A personal matter?" Tsunade looked at Uchiha Touhuan suspiciously. "Are you unwell? You don't seem to be."
"It's like this, I've recently encountered some confusion regarding my training. While reading the clan's records, I came across an ancestor named Uchiha Asato, a contractor of Shikkotsu Forest.
The problem I'm facing is similar to what he experienced. However, the clan's records are quite unclear due to the passage of time. Therefore, I would like to ask the Slug Sage for help in resolving my doubts," Uchiha Touhuan said.
"There's an Uchiha contractor in Shikkotsu Forest?" Tsunade was taken aback upon hearing this. She then retrieved the Shikkotsu Forest contract scroll from her sealing scroll, unrolled it, and searched upwards from her name.
She indeed found a contractor named Uchiha Asahi.
"Oh, there really is one." Tsunade hadn't expected that the contract scroll passed down to her by her grandfather would contain a name from the Uchiha clan.
After saying this, Tsunade bit her finger and activated the Summoning Jutsu. As the smoke dissipated, a slug the size of a thumb appeared on Uchiha Touhuan's desk.
"Lady Tsunade, is there something you need?" The summoned slug sage's clone raised its two tentacles and looked at Tsunade.
"It wasn't me looking for you, it was him." Tsunade gestured for the slug sage to turn around. The slug sage wriggled and turned to look at Uchiha Touhuan.
"Greetings, Slug Sage," Uchiha Touhuan said with a smile.
"You have fluctuations of natural energy around you. Are you also a user of Sage Mode?" the Slug Sage asked.
"Yes," Uchiha Touhuan nodded. "I called you out to inquire about my clan's ancestor, Uchiha Asahi."
"A descendant of Lady Asahi? You're from the Uchiha clan?" The Slug Sage was taken aback.
"That's right," Uchiha Touhuan said. "In our clan's ancient texts, I found clues about how our ancestor Asahi used natural energy to solve the problem of blindness caused by overuse of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
However, because so much time has passed, the techniques he left behind are severely incomplete. Therefore, I would like to ask the Slug Sage for clarification."
"I understand. However, I also have no answer regarding how to solve your eye problem.
Although Lady Asahi learned Sage Mode in my Shikkotsu Forest, he later embarked on a completely different path from the Sage Mode of the Three Great Sacred Lands," the Slug Sage said.
"However, Lord Asahi left something for your Uchiha clan in Shikkotsu Forest. He said that if any descendants of the Uchiha clan come in the future, they should give it to him. Please wait a moment while I go look for it."
After a while, a summoning jutsu appeared on the table, and a scroll appeared on Uchiha Touhuan's desk.
"This is it. Lord Asahi asked me to keep the scroll safe," said the slug sage's clone.
"Thank you, Slug Sage." Uchiha Touhuan nodded, unfurling the scroll. The text on the scroll was indistinct, with two completely different sealing technique formulas inscribed above.
Uchiha Touhuan carefully examined the sealing techniques for a while.
"A seal that requires the combined power of Mangekyou Sharingan and Sage Chakra of the same origin to open?" Uchiha Touhuan frowned. It seemed that compared to the one Black Zetsu had given him, this was the real deal.
Uchiha Touhuan carefully put away the scroll and said to the Slug Sage again, "Thank you for your help, Slug Sage."
"It's nothing," the Slug Sage replied. "This was originally left to us by Asahi; I'm just keeping it safe."
"Slug Sage, could you tell me about this Uchiha Asahi?" Tsunade asked curiously. "I didn't know there were Uchiha clan contractors in Shikkotsu Forest before."
"It's normal you didn't know, because it's been so long. Even your grandfather, Hashirama, didn't know about it," the Slug Sage said.
"However, Asahi was indeed the most talented contractor in Shikkotsu Forest over the years," the Slug Sage said.
"Including my grandfather?" Tsunade asked, somewhat unconvinced.
"In a sense, yes," said the Slug Sage. He was one of the witnesses to the millennia-long entanglement of the chakra of the brothers Ashura and Indra.
When Hashirama Senju first came to Shikkotsu Forest, he recognized him as a reincarnation of Ashura's chakra.
Although Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha could be considered the strongest ninjas in the ninja world over thousands of years, in terms of talent, Asahi Uchiha, without any special identity, suppressed the reincarnations of Ashura and Indra of his generation solely through his own exploration.
It was just a pity that Asahi Uchiha failed when trying to reach a higher level.
At this moment, Inahi Uchiha returned to the Hokage's office with the food and drinks he had bought. Seeing this, the Slug Sage said, "You two continue your conversation, I'll head back now."
"Take care, Slug Sage," Touhuan Uchiha said with a smile.
"Child of the Uchiha clan, you give me a very special feeling. Seeing you is like seeing the young Asahi-sama.
I hope that when we meet again, you will have completed the path that Asahi-sama did not finish," said the Slug Sage.
"Then I'll take your kind words, Slug-sama," Uchiha Touhuan replied with a smile.
After speaking, the Slug Sage's clone turned into a wisp of smoke and dissipated, returning to Shikkotsu Forest.
Seeing this, Uchiha Touhuan placed the wine and food that Uchiha Inahisa had bought on the Hokage's desk.
Tsunade immediately took the wine bottle, grabbed a cup, and poured two cups of wine.
"Lady Tsunade, isn't this inappropriate?" Shizune quickly advised.
"What are you saying? Even the Hokage doesn't care, so why are we saying so much?" Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, then placed one of the cups in front of Uchiha Touhuan.
"Come on! Drink!" Tsunade said domineeringly.
"Lady Tsunade, I'm not old enough to drink yet," Uchiha Touhuan said.
"Don't give me that. I've heard everything Jiraiya did in the village," Tsunade said. "You got the old man out of office, and now you're telling me you can't drink? If you drink this, I'll agree to let you stay in the village and be the dean of the Konoha Medical Academy."
"Alright, since Lady Tsunade invited me, I'll gladly oblige." Uchiha Touhuan raised his glass.
"Disrespectful to the Will of Fire?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"Lady Tsunade is joking." Uchiha Touhuan was somewhat amused by this lady. "It's just a private banquet, there's no need to be so formal. Come, Lady Tsunade, I'll toast you first, to thank you for saving my life on the battlefield a few years ago."
"That's more like it." Tsunade nodded, clinked glasses with Uchiha Touhuan in a hearty manner, and drank the wine in her glass in one gulp.
After finishing his drink, Uchiha Touhuan turned to Shizune beside him and said, "Don't stand there, sit down and have something to eat."
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(End of Chapter)