Tsunade's meaning was simple: she did not believe that the five great ninja villages, which had been fighting fiercely before, could set aside their grudges and work together wholeheartedly. However, under the current situation in the ninja world, even an alliance filled with ulterior motives was still far better than each side fighting alone and getting picked off one by one.
The Raikage who proposed this suggestion most likely held a similar view. Contrary to his rough and rugged appearance, the Raikage was clearly someone who could think clearly.
"However, even though I have this idea, the attitudes of the other Kage and the location for holding the Five Kage Summit still need to be discussed and settled. I hope the remaining Kage can also recognize the threat of the Akatsuki in time."
After finishing the serious business, Tsunade's expression visibly relaxed a lot. Her previous attention on the Akatsuki also shifted to Furina.
Looking at the other party's appearance, which was almost identical to before she left the village, Tsunade's eyes flickered slightly as if she were pondering something. After a brief pause, she spoke in a quiet voice.
"You've been out for so long. You shouldn't have neglected the techniques I taught you, right?"
"Of course, Master. While I was outside, I was constantly honing my taijutsu. I didn't slack off at all."
Facing Tsunade's suspicious gaze, Furina appeared very calm, showing not the slightest bit of embarrassment.
Although that was what she said, in Furina's heart there was actually no confidence at all. It was true that she had been continuously improving her taijutsu, but that was only in the practice of taijutsu itself.
As for the Strength of a Hundred Technique, the Yin Seal, and the series of extended abilities that Tsunade had taught her, she had only practiced them occasionally after becoming familiar with them and rarely set aside time to train them further. Most of her energy was still focused on her own ninjutsu and taijutsu.
Right now, she was playing with words by linking Tsunade's series of abilities closely to taijutsu, trying to muddle through in front of her master.
"Are you sure?"
Although Furina spoke quite convincingly, Tsunade was no fool. Having been Hokage for so long, she had long been wary of Furina's habit of saying half a sentence to lead others into misunderstandings. Naturally, she easily caught the "improper wording" from the other party.
Seeing her master's half-smiling, half-not expression, before Furina could think of a way to explain, Tsunade suddenly raised her fist and swung it toward Furina, though the speed was not very fast.
Seeing this, although Furina was a bit puzzled, she quickly understood the other party's intention. She immediately adjusted her stance and met her master in the same way.
Although neither side was moving very quickly, the huge sound produced the instant their fists collided, along with the airflow that blew the papers on the desk flying backward, fully demonstrated the immense power contained in this seemingly ordinary attack.
After the single clash, the two of them stepped back several steps in perfect synchronization. White vapor rose successively from the fists that had just collided, and the damage from the impact recovered rapidly during this time.
The only difference was that after their fists met, Furina's bangs in front of her forehead were temporarily blown upward, revealing a diamond-shaped mark on her smooth forehead similar to Tsunade's.
However, Tsunade's was purple, while hers was blue.
"Hmph~ It looks like you really didn't neglect my techniques. Alright, I'll let you off this time, but from now on, remember not to slack off."
Looking at the mark on Furina's forehead, Tsunade nodded lightly. This mark represented that the Yin Seal had been successfully trained, and judging from the control the other party displayed, she should also be proficient in using the subsequent series of abilities.
When they had just met earlier, seeing that her disciple's forehead had no mark, she had thought the other party had completely neglected training the Yin Seal.
After all, given the talent Furina had shown before, even if she trained haphazardly—three days fishing and two days drying the net—she should have mastered it by now with occasional practice.
But there was no trace of it on Furina, so she hadn't paid it any attention at all. Therefore, Tsunade had actually felt a bit angry at that moment.
She knew you had extraordinary talent and many self-developed ninjutsu, but you couldn't just treat her own techniques as nonexistent and ignore them completely, right?
No one would feel good if the abilities they valued most were disregarded by others, let alone when the other person was their own successor. That made it even worse.
But looking at it now, Tsunade knew she had misunderstood earlier, and she couldn't help feeling a bit apologetic in her heart. However...
"Why did you hide the mark of the Yin Seal? Is it to conceal information and use it at a critical moment to catch enemies off guard? Or is there some other reason?"
"It's not that. It's just that I think this mark doesn't look good, so I hid it."
Facing Tsunade's question, Furina's answer was clearly a bit inappropriate, but did she not know that her answer was unsuitable? Of course she knew, but well.
Always acting too calm made it hard to generate any real emotion. Sometimes, acting out of character and being playful was what attracted more attention.
Although teasing Tsunade's emotions was quite fun, Furina's current target was not her, but the audience in another world.
In order to gain more Affection Value, she could only reluctantly act a little more petty to attract more attention. For this already deviated world...
At this moment, the scene projected in Furina's consciousness was precisely the current situation in the office. Clearly, the conversation between Furina and Tsunade, which contained a lot of important information, was worth projecting. Scenes like this that filled in the world background were essential for most stories.