After putting away the summoning scroll, Tsunade left a large pile of scrolls for Makiya.
"These are all the medical ninjutsu insights I've compiled recently; you take them," Tsunade said, pointing to the scrolls piled on Makiya's bed. "Don't get the wrong idea. I don't mean anything else by it. It's just rare to find a decent student, and I can't bear to see your talent go to waste."
Perhaps it was because she had just finished soaking in the hot spring, but a faint pink flush graced the velvety-soft skin of Tsunade's fair cheeks. Her eyes flickered away from Makiya's gaze, wandering between the floor and the roof of the tent.
"Thanks a lot!" Makiya's eyes lit up as he looked at the bed full of scrolls. Rubbing his hands together, he picked one up and began to browse, discovering it contained records of special cases Tsunade had treated in the past.
"Oh, I forgot to ask—since you're not going back to Konoha, where do you plan to go? Still wandering the ninja world to gamble?" Makiya looked up and asked curiously.
'That girl Shizune is still in Konoha waiting for "Lady Tsunade" to come home and collect her. Is she not planning to take Shizune this time?'
Tsunade shook her head, walked over to the adjacent dressing area, and pulled the curtain. As she began to change, she said casually, "I'm not in the mood for casinos for a while. I plan to head to the Land of Grass."
Dim, amber light filtered through the thin curtain, casting an alluring glow. Tsunade gently untied her sash, and her yukata slid off silkily, revealing a curvaceous and sultry silhouette. The constant rustle of fabric was enough to make anyone's heart race.
"The Land of Grass?" Makiya looked up in surprise, eyeing Tsunade's hazy figure through the curtain. "Are you planning to search for intel at the site of our previous battle?"
"Exactly," Tsunade confirmed. "You mentioned that the underground passage was extremely deep and that the enemy escaped through it. There's a high probability their intel is still down there."
Donning her coat, Tsunade pulled back the curtain and stepped out. Having returned to her classic look, she appeared much more energized. The delicate, flirtatious air had vanished, replaced by the commanding presence of a formidable woman.
She had already sent word to Shizune, telling her to wait at a border town between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass. The two would reunite at a casino in that city.
Iwagakure had recently clashed with Kumogakure, resulting in a significant decrease in ninja forces operating within the Land of Grass. Only a handful of insignificant stragglers remained—more than manageable for someone of Tsunade and Shizune's caliber.
Makiya didn't stop her but offered a kind warning. "The enemy is bizarre, and the situation in the Land of Grass is incredibly complicated. If you encounter an opponent you can't defeat, just channel chakra into this seal. I'll sense it."
With that, he tossed a kunai engraved with a Flying Thunder God seal to Tsunade. It was better not to mention the mark he had already placed inside her body.
"A Flying Thunder God seal... Alright, I've got it." Tsunade caught the kunai gracefully and tucked it away without a change in expression. Then, a teasing smirk played on her lips as she draped an arm around Makiya's shoulder. "Hey, brat, are you worried about me?"
Though Tsunade acted like a feisty, delinquent older sister, her long-untouched body seemed to ask if she really intended to stay single forever. Her physical reactions betrayed her spirit; in the face of the young man's concern, her hormones began to stir naturally.
Makiya looked solemn, using immense willpower to tear his gaze away from the "bountiful peaks" before him. "Don't go getting ideas," he said sternly. "I'm mainly interested in that mysterious person. He managed to slip away last time, but if I run into him again, I'm going to beat the absolute crap out of him."
"Tch." Tsunade rolled her eyes, her hormones instantly turning into cold indifference.
Tsunade left in a whirlwind, even swiping some of Makiya's ninja tools and medicinal herbs. By the time Makiya finished packing and stepped out of his tent, the various clans and civilian ninjas planning to return to the village had mostly gathered. The main force officially began its march toward Konoha.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office back in Konoha.
A closed-door meeting of Konoha's high-ranking officials was underway, the atmosphere inside the office stiflingly heavy.
Hiruzen was puffing heavily on his pipe. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado sat on one sofa, their faces tense and expressionless, lost in thought. Danzo sat on the opposite side.
"Hiruzen, the people the Anbu arrested today are mine. They were on a secret mission," Danzo said, sitting bolt upright with a solemn expression. He struck his cane heavily against the floor. "There must have been some misunderstanding. Release them at once."
"A misunderstanding...?" Seated upon the Hokage's throne, Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Why were members of Root at Konoha Hospital? What 'secret mission' were they carrying out?"
Many of the mutated ninjas had been gathered at Konoha Hospital for treatment. Though it was called 'treatment,' Konoha's medical ninjas were actually at a loss. To some extent, these mutated ninjas had completely transcended the human category, becoming some sort of hybrid creatures. This was a total blind spot in their knowledge—they simply didn't know how to handle it.
Hiruzen saw through Danzo's intentions clearly. His old comrade-in-arms, unable to stomach the boiling public resentment in the village, had intended to send skilled subordinates to infiltrate the hospital and silence the witnesses. However, they were discovered by Anbu who had been lying in wait. The Anbu swarmed them, capturing the Root members in a matter of moments.
Upon receiving the news, Danzo was furious. 'What happened to our tacit cooperation between light and shadow? I sent people to clean up the mess, and you detained my men without so much as a word. This isn't what we agreed upon!'
'Damn dog—no, Monkey, you've changed. You're no longer the good partner who used to let me run wild and cause trouble.'
"Naturally, it was to ensure the safety of those mutated hy—ninjas. If they were assassinated by spies from other villages, the clans would never let it go," Danzo replied without blinking. "The other Great Nations would certainly not miss an opportunity to undermine our internal unity."
In reality, this was the cover story Danzo had prepared. Had the assassination succeeded, he would have pinned the blame on other ninja villages. He even had the headbands and ninja corpses ready for the frame-up.
Of course, the clans weren't idiots and would surely suspect Danzo's claims. But no one would stick their neck out for the dead. Between threats, bribes, and political maneuvering, the matter would eventually be buried. To Danzo, this was simply how politics worked—interests always came first.
Hiruzen glanced at Danzo and nodded slightly. "There's no need for you to trouble yourself. The hospital has been taken over by the Anbu. Safety is no longer a concern."
"Danzo!" Koharu Utatane spoke up suddenly, her tone severe. "There are only a few of us here; stop the act. We need a proper explanation for what is happening with those people!"
"Indeed. Dragging this out is not an option. Many ninjas have returned from the front lines, and their intentions are clear. Danzo, you can't just hide the truth and hope this blows over anymore," Homura Mitokado added, always standing in lockstep with Koharu.
Danzo felt deeply wronged. His process of abducting people for experiments had been running smoothly for so long without issue. Why did it have to be exposed now, at such a critical moment? And those ninjas—everything he did was for the sake of Konoha! These clans were nothing but a pack of ungrateful wolves!
"You should ask the Hokage's 'star pupil,' Orochimaru," Danzo said, turning the pressure back on Hiruzen. "According to those captured, Orochimaru was the one in actual control of that base. It's been so long since this started—where is he now?"
Danzo stood up and walked over to Hiruzen. "I dispatched Root ninjas to assist Orochimaru's research in hopes of bringing new Kekkei Genkai to Konoha. Since Orochimaru took it upon himself to target our own comrades, he is the one who needs to explain himself to us."
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