Tsunade and Shizune had barely set off when they were stopped by messengers sent by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Tsunade, what are you—"
Before Hiruzen could finish speaking in his office, Tsunade cut him off. "Old fool, I don't have time to listen to your nonsense. We'll meet again if fate allows."
With that, she tossed her hair and smashed straight through the office doors, running off with Shizune close behind.
Leaving a stunned Hiruzen standing there, completely flustered.
Didn't she promise to help with Lady Hyuga's pregnancy? That woman's still carrying the child!
You don't even bother pretending anymore?
Suddenly returning, then suddenly leaving. And she wouldn't even say why.
Tsunade, you've truly gotten more impulsive with age.
Hiruzen could only sigh bitterly.
It took Tsunade and Shizune three days to reach the Country of Hot Springs from the Land of Fire.
At the same time, news spread across the Ninja World: the Yeyue clan from the Land of Lightning had attempted a coup d'état, assassinating Fifth Raikage Yugito Nii, but ended up being wiped out instead.
Shocks rippled throughout the nations.
Strong. Unyielding.
That was how everyone described this Raikage.
People in Konoha knew this all too well. Previously, Kumogakure had tried to dominate Konoha, but the Third Hokage refused to submit, leading both sides into war.
In the end, Konoha lost and had no choice but to send envoys for peace talks.
Many onlookers mockingly called this the "useless war"—Konoha asked for a beating—and got one.
Several ninja villages were shocked—yet secretly delighted—at the destruction of the Yeyue clan.
"No great clan has ever been completely wiped out in the Land of Lightning before, right?"
"This must be an omen of the village's downfall! Haha…"
"Could she actually become the last Raikage ever?"
Jokes and mockery aside, none of the ninja villages dared openly declare war against Kumogakure.
What if that Raikage decides to take on another fight head-on?
Youngsters just can't stay calm. Unlike the old folks in Konoha who endure practically anything.
A few days later, Jiraiya left Konoha to track down Orochimaru and investigate the Akatsuki Organization.
Country of Hot Springs.
Hidenaga White Zetsu gathered all palace guards together.
"Everyone, I will now introduce you to a new comrade."
His subordinates looked puzzled. They couldn't understand who would deserve such a personal introduction by the Daimyo himself.
Tsunade stepped forward at that moment.
Standing at the crowd's edge, Shizune wore a confused expression.
She didn't get why, if Tsunade wanted to serve under a Daimyo, she chose this minor country instead of the powerful Fire Daimyo.
Still, regardless of anything, she'd follow Lady Tsunade forever.
The moment Tsunade appeared, a few guards instantly perked up.
They were warriors who lived by martial might—they naturally paid closer attention to renowned ninja than did the palace officials.
Indeed, someone had already recognized her.
"That's one of Konoha's Sannin, the legendary medic ninja Tsunade. Why is she here?"
"Correct," Hidenaga White Zetsu said loudly. "I'm sure some of you have already figured it out."
"No matter who she was before, starting today, Tsunade will be serving our Country of Hot Springs—as your new team leader."
"If anyone has objections or wants her position, they can challenge her. Defeat her and you'll become the new leader."
"We understand," the guards shouted in unison.
Tsunade remained indifferent, merely giving a cold nod.
Once, there were more who followed her orders without question.
Once, those admiring eyes burned far brighter with admiration.
...
"This is what you stole?" Hiroki Hyuga asked, holding up a blue Grel Stone.
Inside this room were several White Zetsus disguised as ministers besides him.
"How could you call it stealing? We're just making good use of resources and redistributing them fairly. Those people don't even need all those stones! They're practically swimming in them—what's wrong with giving us a few?"
Hiroki Hyuga smiled slightly. "How did you find out about them?"
"We spotted some weirdly dressed samurai near the Land of Wind and followed them back to their base. Those samurai embed these stones into their bodies or weapons as a power source."
"One of the White Zetsus got curious and shoved a stone into his body. He found he could absorb its energy for chakra use."
"So that's how it was..."
White Zetsu shrugged, wearing a proud expression. "Besides, when those samurai absorb energy from the Grel Stones, their bodies undergo mutations. But we experience no such changes at all."
"Exactly! If we needed to replenish chakra before, we had to fight and kill outside ninja. That worked fine once or twice, but over time, we'd risk exposure. Now with these stones, we won't have to worry about that..." another White Zetsu added.
"How many did you take?"
"To avoid detection by those strange samurai, we only took about twenty at a time."
"Whatever. If you think they're useful, keep 'em," Hiroki Hyuga replied lazily.
To avoid arousing Obito's suspicions, White Zetsu also brought back some Grel Stones for Obito to inspect.
However, Obito simply played with them briefly, showing little interest.
These items could never replace Tailed Beast chakra for him — to him, they were like chicken ribs — neither worth eating nor worth discarding.
Tsunade had found a place where she could practice the Wood Release techniques. When Hiroki Hyuga walked over, she was attempting Hashirama Senju's signature jutsu.
[Wood Release – World Tree Emergence]
Several trees sprouted from the ground, but within seconds, their growth halted. The area covered was less than one room in size, and the trees weren't thick at all, looking rather slender and thin enough that one could wrap an arm around them completely.
Hiroki Hyuga almost burst out laughing. "Did someone mistake this for a flowerbed?"
Tsunade gave him a cold, dismissive glance without saying a word.
Shizune, standing not far away, explained on her behalf, "She's just starting out. It's completely normal for the jutsu's power to be weak right now."
"Tsunade, why don't you learn Sage Art instead? It could enhance your Wood Release abilities. Didn't Hashirama Senju possess Wood Release techniques that could only be used in Sage Mode?"
"You sure know quite a lot. Why do you both want me to learn Sage Art?"
Without answering her question, Hiroki Hyuga suddenly said, "Tsunade-sama, I do acknowledge your excellence. Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen you as my companion. Actually, I quite hope to receive your guidance. There are some things about medical ninjutsu I'm still trying to get my head around..."
Tsunade twitched the corner of her mouth.
'Sama' only when you want something, and otherwise you drop it like it never existed, huh?
...
Country of Frost.
"Daimyo-sama, the Daimyo of the Country of Hot Springs has arrived for a visit," a subordinate reported.
"What does he want?" Daimyo Cangyan muttered to himself. "Let him in."
Hidenaga White Zetsu strolled in, fanning himself.
"Cangyan, I heard there were some unpleasant incidents recently in the Country of Frost?"
Daimyo Cangyan's face darkened. Did he come here just to rub salt in the wound?
The recent events in the Ninja World—Kumogakure losing an entire clan made headlines, while the total destruction of the Frost Village barely made a blip.
Simply because many people only learned of this ninja village's existence when they heard it had been wiped off the map.
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