By the time Tsunade left the Hokage's office and reached Konoha's gate, the towering Wood Human was already in sight. Her emotions stirred at once.
"It really is Grandfather's Wood Release."
Tsunade spoke with clear excitement and instinctively reached for the emerald-green crystal hanging around her neck. It was the only thing Hashirama Senju had left her, a crystal formed from Wood Release chakra that could somewhat suppress Tailed Beasts.
"That brat. He really only knows how to show off."
After calming herself a little, Tsunade looked at the approaching Wood Human and cursed with a smile.
She knew better than most how much strain the Wood Human Technique placed on the user, yet Jie had controlled it all the way from Kumogakure back to Konoha.
He really had too much chakra and nowhere to spend it.
Now that they were near the village, though, there was no need to keep the jutsu active. With its size, letting it enter Konoha would only cause trouble.
Jie clearly thought the same. He released the Wood Release jutsu, and the Wood Human slowly broke apart into ash. As the jutsu came undone, the strain on him eased, and he let out a breath.
The Gedo Statue's arm crashed to the ground with a loud boom, sending tremors through the area.
"Home really is better."
"Let's head in."
The arm could stay outside the gate for now. It was not as if anyone could steal something that big.
When Jie led the three little ones and Itachi to Konoha's gate, the surrounding Konoha ninja and civilians burst into cheers.
They did not know exactly what their Hokage had done outside the village, but the vanished giant and the arm left outside said enough.
Tsunade smiled slightly at the cheers, but by the time Jie reached her, she had already returned to her usual expression.
"Brat, you never come back without giving the village a headache. You went out for a Chunin Exam and somehow tore down someone else's village."
Konoha had already received the report from Kumogakure, and even Tsunade had been stunned when she first read it.
Jie had only been gone for a few days. In that time, Kumogakure had been destroyed, Kirigakure had been badly damaged, and Akatsuki, the organization that had once targeted Konoha, had fallen apart.
On top of that, Kirigakure now had to pay war reparations to both Konoha and Kumogakure.
Jie could not be blamed for everything, but pretending he had nothing to do with it was even more ridiculous. He had destroyed Kumogakure, wrecked Kirigakure, and somehow brought Konoha another village's war reparations on the way back.
Even Tsunade did not know what to say to that.
Jie did not care about her complaints. After five years of arguing with her, he knew exactly how seriously to take her scolding.
He ignored Tsunade completely and turned to Izumi beside her.
"Izumi, long time no see."
Since Jie greeted her first the moment he returned, Izumi could not help feeling a little shy.
"Jie, you must be tired too."
Tsunade watched the two of them and felt her patience thinning. She had already seen enough of this kind of sweetness to last a lifetime.
'Should I find someone too?'
Looking at Jie and Izumi, Tsunade actually considered it for a moment. Then Jiraiya's greasy face flashed through her mind, and she immediately killed the idea.
Staying single was not so bad after all.
Tsunade shook the thought off and said, "You two can catch up later. Deal with the village's backlog first."
Jie did not keep teasing her. After telling Itachi to take the three little ones home, he took Izumi's hand, placed his other hand on Tsunade's shoulder, and brought them back to the Hokage's office with Flying Thunder God.
Tsunade barely reacted. After five years, she was already used to it.
The main issue waiting for them was Kirigakure's reparations. Konoha already had precedents with Kumogakure and Iwagakure, but this case was different.
Kirigakure had attacked Kumogakure, not Konoha. No matter how strong Konoha was, demanding payment for someone else's war still needed a proper excuse.
That was what troubled Tsunade. Ask for too little, and Konoha would lose out. Ask for too much, and Kirigakure might refuse. If that happened, Konoha would not have a clean reason to push harder.
But while Tsunade had her concerns, Jie had none at all.
"What's there to think about? Make Kirigakure pay the highest rate."
"They've had years to recover. If their treasury is full enough for them to meddle in Kumogakure's affairs, then Konoha can help them put that money to use."
Jie said it casually.
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, three had already suffered at Konoha's hands. Jie had originally planned to leave Kirigakure alone, but since it had stepped into the mess itself, there was no reason to be polite.
If Kirigakure still had the strength to interfere in Kumogakure's affairs, then it could afford to pay. Konoha just happened to need funds.
Tsunade silently pitied Kirigakure for a moment, but only for a moment. As one of Konoha's leaders, she naturally wanted Konoha to grow stronger. As for the other villages, the fewer there were, the better.
If the entire Ninja World came under Konoha one day, that could be called peace too.
Up to 40 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Vristikk