When Hinata and the others returned to Konoha, it was already October.
The weather in the Ninja World is very strange. Some places have snow all year round, such as the Land of Snow and the Land of Iron; some places have rain all year round, such as the Land of Rain; some places have thunder all year round, such as the Land of Lightning; and some places have cloudy skies all year round, such as the Clover Gold Mine Mountain we just visited.
But Konohagakure in the Land of Fire is a place where the scenery is like spring all year round!
However, Hinata's mood at this moment was like that of the coldest winter month.
In the Hokage's Office, Tsunade was throwing a tantrum.
As for the reason for being angry... it's because Hinata blew up someone else's Gold Mine Mountain.
Although only a small corner was destroyed, the villagers of Jinguangshan had to spend a lot of manpower and resources to clear the ruins.
However, what angered Tsunade the most was that Hinata actually acted cute in public in order to get a five-star review.
Before leaving, Hinata showed the villagers at the Gold Mine Mountain just how lifelike her 'fist the size of a sandbag' was. Combined with her slender figure, it created a unique kind of adorable contrast.
Come on, stick your head over here and see if my big fist is cute?
In addition, in order to promote cultural exchange between the two countries, Hinata also put on an annual show called "Rampaging Lolita" for the villagers of the Gold Mine Mountain.
To help the villagers at the Gold Mine Mountain better excavate, Hinata even said on the spot, "If you see any mine that you don't like, just tell me, and I can help you raze it to the ground."
Isn't that generous?
We, the Konoha Ninja, have done everything we could for the villagers of your Gold Mine Mountain. If you have any difficulties in your lives, just tell me.
I, Otsutsuki Hinata, will never refuse.
To thank Hinata for saving them, the villagers of the Gold Mine Mountain treated Hinata and her companions to a big meal, paid them their mission reward, and gave them various local specialties before they left. They also swore that they would give Konoha a five-star review and introduce more high-quality customers to Konoha in the future.
When Hinata three companions left, the villagers of the Gold Mine Mountain were all in tears, their eyes filled with reluctance. The atmosphere at the scene was incredibly sad, enough to make anyone who heard or saw it weep.
'Bang!'
A loud bang.
Shizune stood to the side, notebook in hand, taking notes as she muttered to herself, "This is the third table this month..."
Good heavens! Isn't today only October 4th?
If that's an average of smashing one table a day, can Konoha's finances afford it?
Could it be that Tsunade is using the excuse of changing her desk to embezzle company funds to pay off her gambling debts?
Tsunade roared, "Hinata Hyuga! You'd better reflect on your actions! You clearly had more suitable Ninjutsu to defeat Raiga, so why did you insist on blowing up the mine?"
Hinata said with a pitiful expression, "Didn't we complete the mission very well? In fact, the officials from the Land of Rivers even sent a letter of thanks to Konoha!"
Tsunade retorted angrily, "The officials of the Land of Rivers thanked us because we helped them drive out the Kurotsuchi Clan, not because you blew up the mine!"
Hinata said with a face full of dissatisfaction, "Big sister, I think the reason why the officials of the Land of Rivers thanked us is because they witnessed the strength of our Konoha Ninja."
Hinata's 'Sage Art - A Fist the Size of a Sandbag' has a destructive power roughly equivalent to Tsunade's Monster Strength Fist delivered at full power while in 'Yin Seal Open' state.
It might even be stronger.
Where have ordinary people ever seen such destructive Ninjutsu?
After Hinata and her three companions drove away the members of the Kurotsuchi Clan, officials from the Land of Rivers arrived at the Gold Mine Mountain to take over the business.
Hinata's performance truly stunned everyone on the spot.
If this huge fist were thrown into the city, a few punches would be enough to flatten a small town.
Therefore, the villagers of the Gold Mine Mountain were genuinely grateful to Hinata, and the officials of the Land of Rivers probably also sent a letter of thanks to Konoha from the bottom of their hearts...
Hinata continued to argue, "Since the establishment of the ninja villages, there have been three major wars in the Shinobi World. Those major Shinobi Village actively started these wars, weren't they just after the village's reputation, the Daimyo's funds, and mission assignments?"
"My actions this time may seem a bit reckless, but they were well thought out."
"The Shinobi World has been at peace for so many years, and those ordinary people have probably long forgotten the power of ninjas. Only when we demonstrate our strength will they fear us, respect us, and dare not offend us."
"Moreover, Brother Neji and I represent the new generation of Konoha. By demonstrating our strength, Konoha can better win over the Land of Rivers."
"How is this any different from the Joint Chunin Exam various countries?"
Tsunade: "..."
"Well said!"
Danzo suddenly pushed open the door and entered, glancing at Hinata with a hint of appreciation before slowly walking to the ruins of Tsunade's desk.
Tsunade glanced at Danzo and said expressionlessly, "What are you doing here?"
Danzo took out a secret letter and handed it to Tsunade, saying calmly, "This is the latest intelligence that Root has received."
Tsunade looked somewhat suspicious. Danzo usually handled all the intelligence about Root on his own and rarely shared it with the Hokage. Would Danzo be so kind?
Teuchi the secret letter and glanced at it; her expression gradually turned serious.
Looking at Hinata and the other three, Tsunade said loudly, "You guys go back first!"
Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten replied, "Yes!"
Hinata pointed a finger at her nose and asked cutely, "Big Sister, what about me? I'm your secretary!"
Tsunade said calmly, "... You can stay here!"
Hinata stood at attention and shouted, "Yes, Madam!"
Hinata was extremely curious about the secret letter Danzo had sent. Logically speaking, there shouldn't have been any major events happening in the Shinobi World at this time!
Tsunade turned to Shizune and shouted, "Shizune! Immediately gather all Jonin missions in the office!"
Shizune didn't dare to delay, and after replying "Yes," she hurriedly ran out.
Danzo silently walked to the side, glanced at Hinata, and then said to Tsunade, "Tsunade, I think Hinata Hyuga is right. Only by showing the power of Konoha can we make our neighboring countries fear us and entrust us with their missions."
"This is what Kumogakure has been doing all these years! But Hiruzen... Hmph! Kumogakure's military power has been expanding all these years!"
If we're talking about the richest ninja villages in the Shinobi World, then it has to be Konoha and Kumogakure.
The relationship between Konoha and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is very good. Even in peacetime, the Daimyo will not cut Konoha's funding.
The key is that the Land of Fire is rich.
Furthermore, Konoha receives a large number of mission requests every year, and most ninjas of Chunin and above have considerable savings.
As for Kumogakure... facing those guys whose brains are all muscles, I'm afraid even the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning wouldn't dare to cut funding so easily!
The Five Great Shinobi Villages are sometimes quite conflicted. On the one hand, they yearn for peace, but on the other hand, they worry that the role of ninjas will become less and less important.
For a ninja village to protect itself, it must expand its strength. However, peace in the Shinobi World will reduce the number of missions the ninja villages receive.
This is the main reason why the Shinobi World Wars were so frequent.
The way ninjas lived was inherently problematic.
Tsunade remained silent.
For Tsunade, who inherited the Will of Fire, she still prefers to handle this incident with some gentler methods.
However, Hinata's methods were already quite 'gentle', at least for Hinata herself.
Moreover, the Clover Gold Mine Mountain incident turned out well in the end.
Only...
Tsunade clutched the secret letter in her hand; troubles were truly piling up one after another!