"Haha, this is hilarious. I just thought of a bunch of reasons, but I didn't expect Fufu to go with the most straightforward one in the end—too ugly. Nice, nice, that's totally something she would do."
"But even if she really thinks it's ugly, she can't just say it right in front of Tsunade. Put yourself in her shoes—I feel like I'd be raging too. That's straight-up petty."
While keeping an eye on the bullet comments, Furina didn't forget to sneak a glance at her master. Sure enough, just as the comments said, although Tsunade still had a smile on her face, no one would think anything good was about to happen next.
"You said that mark is ugly, so does that mean I've been ugly this whole time with it on my forehead? Answer me!"
"How could that be, Master? For anyone else it might affect their appearance, but you're different. Your beauty isn't diminished in the slightest by the mark—in fact, it makes you look even more beautiful.
Yes, exactly like that. Alright, if there's nothing else, Master, I'll head out first. It's not good to keep them waiting too long, right?"
As she spoke, Furina slowly backed toward the door. Then, noticing that Tsunade showed no intention of stopping her even after she reached the doorway,
Furina didn't hesitate anymore and fled the scene like the wind, leaving Tsunade staring at her departing figure deep in thought.
"Could it really not look good?"
Although she didn't say it out loud, Tsunade couldn't help pondering what Furina had just said. She had never heard such an opinion before, but she had to consider whether it was because of her own esteemed position that no one dared to say it, rather than no one thinking it.
Tch, what an annoying little brat. The moment she comes back she ruins my mood. How could the mark not look good? When I see it on her, it looks pretty nice. She has no taste at all.
Recalling Furina's final expression, Tsunade already had her own answer in her heart. She wouldn't let other people's opinions lead her by the nose. She would only believe the conclusions she reached herself. Yes, exactly like that.
"Dying of laughter—Fufu just made her own master lose confidence."
"I'm cracking up, but I actually thought Fufu looked pretty good with the mark. Why does she think it doesn't look good? It can't just be to mess with Tsunade's emotions, right?"
"Don't think like that. Maybe the way this master-disciple pair interacts is just like this. Who knows, they might both be enjoying it."
"Both enjoying it? Do you hear yourself? I'd believe Fufu is enjoying it, but Tsunade... did you not laugh while typing that?"
After a while, the emotions Tsunade had just been stirred up gradually calmed down. She walked to the window and watched Furina and the others chatting and laughing as they gradually walked away. Many thoughts flashed through her mind.
The shrine maiden from the Land of Demons and that girl named Hikari were fine, but that Seven-Tails jinchūriki... After a moment, with Tsunade's arrangements in place, the Anbu who had hidden themselves around the area reappeared.
"Shibuki, go call Danzō over here. As quickly as possible."
Although Tsunade didn't say what it was about, due to the nature of their work and often being by the Hokage's side, the Anbu still had some understanding of Danzō—the elder who called himself the Root of Konoha.
Well, not a very positive understanding.
However, neither the Hokage's nor the elder's affairs were something they could interfere in. After one Anbu accepted the order, the surrounding Anbu quickly dispersed, and the office returned to calm once more.
"I hope my position as Hokage will make him restrain himself a bit more. Otherwise... sigh."
Although Tsunade didn't like Danzō much, he was still a member of Konoha after all. In this turbulent era, having one more force was always better than internal strife wearing them down.
But Tsunade also clearly understood Furina's personality. If someone targeted the people around her, she definitely wouldn't care that you were also a Konoha ninja. At best, out of consideration for being from the same village, she might give you a quick death.
...
"Hokage-sama, Elder Danzō has arrived."
"Elder Danzō, many things are clear to both of us. I called you here this time just to remind you: at a time like this, don't make any moves you shouldn't.
I won't bring up your past actions for now. From here on, I hope you won't do anything embarrassing again. I'm different from the old man—I won't tolerate you without reason forever."
"Tsunade, are you really that confident about letting a jinchūriki from another village move freely in Konoha? Are you so sure your disciple can keep watch over her?
Or do you want another Nine-Tails Disaster to happen in Konoha again? Handing her over to me is the best choice. I will make sure she serves Konoha forever."
"Elder Danzō, I'm not discussing this with you this time. I'm notifying you.
Remember: I am the Hokage!"
"Tsunade, you and Hiruzen—no, you're even more indecisive than he was. One day,
you will regret this!"
"Bang"
...
"Sorry to make you run back again. Goodbye."
After waving and seeing the Anbu off, Furina finally looked at the letter the other party had delivered. The ink on it hadn't fully dried yet, clearly written not long ago.
Serve Konoha—meaning serve you, right? Hilarious.
The letter contained the recent conversation between Tsunade and Danzō, along with Tsunade's reminder for her to be careful.
Furina wasn't surprised by this, or rather, she had already guessed what would happen after returning to the village. Still, Danzō's thick skin made her unable to resist scoffing.
"What's wrong, what's wrong? You don't look like it's good news."
"Hehe, nothing much. Just that with more people in the village, there are inevitably some who want to disrupt unity. In plain words, someone is secretly eyeing you.
But you don't need to worry. For the next while, just try to stay with me or Hikari and avoid being alone. That way, nothing will happen for sure."
As she spoke, the envelope in Furina's hand was wrapped in deep blue chakra and instantly vanished completely, as if it had never existed.
Facing Fū who had leaned in, Furina roughly explained the situation. Since this was a letter addressed directly to her and meant as a warning for her to be cautious,
Tsunade hadn't held back in describing Danzō's true face in the letter—she wrote it out plainly. Such blunt wording naturally wasn't suitable for everyone to see.
"Is that so? Alright then, from now on my safety is in your and Miss Hikari's hands. Hehe."