chsdbacks Chapter 39 But then again...
Chapter 39 But then again...
boom!
With a loud bang, the wooden door was kicked open, and Hiruzen Sarutobi in the Hokage's room almost jumped off his chair.
He stared blankly at the toes dangling in the air by the doorway, still not understanding what had happened.
Over the years, he and Danzo had their share of arguments in this Hokage's room.
The two would argue every few days, often escalating to Danzo slamming the door and leaving with a loud bang.
But Danzo at least used his hands...
Could it be that the Cloud Village has launched an attack?
"Old man!"
It wasn't until a lazy shout that Hiruzen Sarutobi finally realized who had kicked down the door.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe hovered in the air as he watched Tsunade stroll in with an air of nonchalance, his lips twitching uncontrollably.
He's so stupid.
He should have realized sooner; besides Tsunade, who else would dare to open the Hokage's office door with their foot...?
"I have no money left."
Seeing Tsunade sit down properly, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke decisively.
The year is only halfway over, and Tsunade has already taken nearly a million ryo from the Hokage's office.
It may not sound like much, but the problem is that Tsunade already owes Konoha 20 million ryo.
First, he borrowed ten million taels in the name of the First Hokage.
Then, he borrowed seven million ryo in the name of the Second Hokage.
Then, in the name of the Senju clan, they borrowed three million taels...
To fill this huge hole, the Dark Division has been working themselves to the bone for the past few years.
If they knew that all the money they worked so hard to earn was being spent on this, they would probably have a meltdown.
However, upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Tsunade didn't say anything this time. She simply rolled her eyes and said, "Don't worry, old man, I didn't come here to borrow money from you."
However, upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not relax; instead, he became even more serious.
Because Tsunade used this same line when she first borrowed money.
Hiruzen Sarutobi has already paid a heavy price.
He brought the pipe to his lips, took a deep drag, and helplessly spread his hands, saying, "Tsuna, I really have no money left."
"Tsk."
Tsunade clicked her tongue in annoyance, got up from the sofa, strode over to the Third Hokage's dark square table, and slammed her hands on the table.
Snapped!
"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not here to borrow money!" Tsunade said through gritted teeth.
By what right do you insult someone's innocence?
"Okay, okay..." Hiruzen Sarutobi said dismissively.
But he was still thinking of trying to negotiate, and he stopped halfway through his sentence.
He noticed that Tsunade was staring at the documents on his desk.
Is it because it's on silent mode?
Unbeknownst to them, the little girl who had followed Tsunade through thick and thin had become a genin.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart stirred, and he silently reached out and adjusted the document to face Tsunade.
Tsunade said nothing, but simply picked up the ninja squad assignment list, returned to the light brown sofa, and began to read it without uttering a word.
Looking at Tsunade's thoughtful profile.
A look of disbelief flashed across Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.
To be honest, he hadn't seen Tsunade with such a serious expression in many years.
Since suffering the pain of losing his relatives and loved ones, his student has become depressed and even developed hemophobia, losing his mind whenever he sees blood.
As the most outstanding medical ninja, to be unable to hold a scalpel again is the greatest punishment imaginable.
From then on, Tsunade took the girl named Shizune and left the village, living a life of wandering.
Even when he occasionally returns to avoid debt collectors outside the village, he either drinks himself to death at an izakaya or gives money to people at a casino, and then turns around and asks the Hokage for money. There are basically no other possibilities.
However, Tsunade's reason for returning this time was special. It wasn't to avoid debts, but because Shizune was coming back to take her graduation exam.
Now that Shizune has successfully graduated, they will soon leave again and continue their wanderings.
unless......
Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind raced as he quietly watched Tsunade flip through the list.
Only after Tsunade put down the document and silently closed her eyes did the Third Hokage speak:
"Xiao Gang, are you interested in this year's students?"
"Don't try to get close to me, you old codger," Tsunade said, opening one eye and lazily glancing at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Give up, I'm not staying in the village."
"..."
Before he could say anything, his thoughts were seen through, and Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately fell silent.
He naturally wanted Tsunade to stay.
Konoha may appear strong now, but it actually has quite a few problems; it's outwardly powerful but inwardly weak.
The younger generation has no shortage of talented ninjas, but they still need time to grow.
The older generation did have themselves and Danzo as pillars of support, but they were all gradually growing old.
As for the three legendary Sannin of Konoha from the middle generation, they were also his students...
Jiraiya was completely fooled by a talking toad, and kept talking about going to find his prophetic child.
Tsunade was addicted to gambling and drinking, and wandered around with Shizune, a girl.
Looking at it this way, only Orochimaru seems to be somewhat ambitious... but Hiruzen Sarutobi always felt that the other was hiding something from him.
Two of the three students were ruined, and there was still a worry about the third. Every time Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about it, he got a headache and wondered if there was something wrong with his educational philosophy.
In recent months, the other major ninja villages have been sending people to the Konoha border from time to time.
Although Konoha issued condemnations each time, they quickly withdrew their people.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi could still clearly sense that their attitude was different from before.
Or rather, after the legendary White Fang of Konoha committed suicide in the village, the fear that other ninja villages had of Konoha had diminished considerably.
Therefore, he now desperately hopes that his two students, Tsunade and Jiraiya, can return.
Putting Jiraiya aside, even if Tsunade is unable to fight now, as long as she returns to Konoha, she will at least have one more Kage-level fighter on paper.
In the future, even if we need to negotiate with other villages, we will have more confidence.
"Tsuna..." Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but want to offer some more advice.
But Tsunade looked away.
She looked up at the familiar ceiling of the Hokage's room and suddenly remembered how she used to stand on her grandfather Hashirama Senju's desk and make a ruckus when she was a child.
Smiling faces flashed through her mind; everything back then was so vivid, but now everything has changed.
"I can neither fight nor perform surgery... Old man, you no longer need to care about me." Tsunade lowered her eyes, looking at her hands. "I'm just a cripple now."
From then on, Hiruzen Sarutobi could say nothing more, only sighed softly and started puffing on his cigarette.
A long time passed.
"But then again..."
Tsunade looked at her long, slender fingers and said leisurely:
"If you're willing to lend me a little more money, I might consider working as a mentor in the village for a few days."
As she spoke, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and her languid almond-shaped eyes lingered on a profile picture in the document for a long time.
He was a handsome young man with messy hair.