Tsunade Resigns, Danzo Falls, Yet Foolish Anko Remains the Same

The destruction of the Root was as swift as flowing water. When carrying out the mission, I felt like a toy wound up in time, my mind blank with only one thought remaining.

Kill them all.

Having waited so long, I didn't want to waste a single second. Afraid that this opportunity would be lost forever, I instinctively seized it tightly.

Now everything has settled, no matter how Danzo to prove himself. Even if he ultimately escapes, Root has been destroyed, and the dead cannot be brought back to life.

The two blood-soaked figures stood under the shade of trees outside the Hokage Building. Naruto looked at the clear blue sky and suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

Uzuki Yugao seemed lost in thought, her gaze unfocused. She leaned against a tree, arms crossed, her face expressionless, as if she had just relaxed from immense pressure.

Cicadas chirped incessantly in the trees, and a cool summer breeze blew.

No one spoke again, nor did they move. They simply remained silent, savoring the afterglow of victory after their revenge and the exhilarating feeling of pressure being released.

Someone came down from the Hokage Building, glanced at the two bloodied figures, then quickly looked away and left. Tsunade's right-hand men had dismantled Danzo's right-hand men.

This is a huge scandal, but no one in the know dares to say anything; they can only remain silent.

In the meeting room, Danzo was furious.

"Where's the evidence?! I ask you, is the evidence genuine? It's completely fabricated!"

Tsunade remained calm, seated at the head of the table, her gaze sweeping over the two old advisors. She even felt like laughing; the more agitated Danzo became, the more amusing she found it.

The Root is a thing of the past. In times of peace, Konohagakure only needs the Anbu.

He'd gone mad! Danzo throbbed; he was practically on the verge of losing control. That insane woman had used the brief moment of evidence presentation at the High-level Meeting to eliminate all the Root members he'd painstakingly cultivated.

"The evidence has been submitted, and its authenticity is entirely within a reasonable range," Tsunade said calmly. "The Root's premature rebellion has left us no choice but to suppress it."

"You!!" Danzo almost slammed his fist on the table.

A commotion arose in the High-level Meeting room, with two elderly advisors wearing grim faces. The patriarchs of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans sat on the other side, exchanging glances.

Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi looked at Shikaku Nara. Shikaku remained silent, staring at Tsunade in the head seat, lost in thought. The current situation was foreshadowed; it was merely the end result of a power struggle.

The Root Organization is gone; the bones have been reduced to ashes. As the saying goes, what can you do when someone is dead?

However, on the other hand, Tsunade's swift and decisive actions surprised everyone. Even if the procedure was just, it was still a very serious matter.

It might even force her to resign. If the Fifth Hokage abdicates, will the Sixth Hokage be... Kakashi? Shikaku Nara's eyelids twitched. He should have thought of this long ago.

Almost everyone in the Hokage Building knew that Kakashi had been working as Hokage intern and hadn't been on a mission for a long time. He was exhausted just getting familiar with the Hokage's duties every day, so Kakashi was working overtime Tenten.

Kakashi is such a hard worker.

Shikaku Nara snapped out of his daze; the meeting room was already deliberating. Tsunade and Danzo equally, and the old advisors Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, were holding both of them accountable.

Tsunade shrugged shamelessly, "What did I do wrong? This was just an emergency, something to be done urgently. Don't the Anbu even have this much authority?"

"The methods were a bit too extreme," the advisor said.

"There's nothing more to say. I'll just resign." Tsunade tossed a document onto the table, looking relieved, and almost laughed as she spoke.

"Then you can just pick anyone as the next Hokage."

"Tsunade!!" Danzo could no longer contain himself; this was practically a slap in the face. "You've been wanting to do this all along, haven't you? The evidence is all fabricated!"

"You're just trying to drag me down with you!"

"I didn't, Danzo, don't try to frame me like this." Tsunade's face showed a disdainful smile, as if to say, "What can you do to me?"

"At least I am still the Hokage, Hokage still has the rights. Please show me some respect."

Respect my ass! Danzo wished he could unleash Kotoamatsukami. But he just happened to run into a rogue Hokage who had absolutely no morals and was practically a madman.

Having replaced the Root, Danzo had no more power to rely on. Furthermore, he was currently beset by misfortune and faced accountability for allegedly betraying the village. Even if these matters were ultimately dropped, Danzo was destined to retire.

Downstairs.

"What are they talking about?" Naruto smelled the blood on his body, and the temperature around him was getting higher and higher. "I can't take it anymore, let's go."

"The meeting is almost over, it seems we're really not needed anymore," said Uzuki Yugao, turning her gaze away and nodding.

"Let's go."

The two went back to their respective homes, both eager to take a shower.

Emerging from the bathroom, Naruto collapsed onto the sofa. Nine-Tails was nowhere to be found. Staring at the ceiling, he completely relaxed.

In the dimly lit living room, the clock on the wall ticked away.

Thinking about what happened today, he had a vague feeling. Tsunade resigned to take responsibility and disposed of Danzo and Root.

Incidentally, this would also weaken the power of the advisors, eliminating some unstable factors while they are still in office. In this way, Konohagakure could start afresh, experiencing a second spring under Kakashi's leadership.

A second spring.

With Tsunade stepping down, it's basically time for me to step down too. I'll stop causing trouble in Konohagakure and turn my attention to places beyond the village, Land of Snow.

But thinking about it carefully, time seems to have flown by. Six or seven years have passed in the blink of an eye, as if that summer when I was twelve was just yesterday.

Tsunade reluctantly succeeded Fifth Hokage, pulling him to stand beside her. He listened as she told him that his future path would be smooth, that he would always be surrounded by admirers walking on a bustling, crowded avenue.

I didn't really take it seriously at the time, but looking back now, it seems Tsunade really did it. Part of it was the result of her own efforts, and another part was thanks to Tsunade.

She served as Hokage for six years, enjoying a smooth and successful life. Only towards the end did she realize that time had passed, and Tsunade would no longer be the Fifth Hokage.

What about her life after retirement? Where will she go? Will she continue to travel? Like she did years ago, traveling and gambling to pass the time?

Shizune will probably go too, but the Medical Unit is still short-handed.

Naruto's eyelids grew heavier and heavier as his thoughts raced through his mind. No matter how he thought about it, he felt as if something important had come to an end with the revenge.

When I woke up, I found Uzuki Yugao sitting across from me on the sofa.

She still had a cold expression, and a bag of money lay at her feet. It was probably the one million taels she had promised; she said she would do it as soon as possible this morning, and it should be evening now.

"When did you arrive? And why didn't you turn on the lights?"

Naruto sat up from the sofa. No matter what, he still wasn't used to sleeping on the sofa; it was too soft and made his back ache. He stared at her blankly for a while before slowly coming back to his senses.

"I've been here for quite a while, about half an hour," Uzuki Yugao replied without any ceremony, propping her feet up. "Here's the one million taels you wanted, it's all here."

"Hmm." Naruto nodded. "Soon, you should be promoted to Anbu Captain, right? You have enough experience and qualifications, and Kakashi needs trustworthy people."

"Perhaps." Only then did Uzuki Yugao relax, her perpetually cold face finally softening a little. "It's all over, everything is over."

"It's really over." Naruto sighed.

Uzuki Yugao left after a while, Naruto casually stuffed the one million into the cabinet, pondering how to deal with this sudden change in the situation.

Putting Tsunade's matter aside for now, he had, after all, participated in the operation. He was now officially on the advisor's radar, Tsunade leaving, he needed to prepare for his own departure as well.

It wasn't that the village couldn't accept him, but rather that for him, traveling around like Jiraiya and Tsunade was the most comfortable state. Staying in the village meant either being ordered around or being feared.

The sword in the former Hokage's hand wasn't just sitting there empty. In short, Kakashi definitely wouldn't let him do anything too dangerous, and Naruto was actually quite bored staying in the village anyway.

Uzuki Yugao was able to stay because she was a good fit; her abilities and qualifications were designed to make her the Anbu Captain the Sixth Hokage's ANBU after Tsunade stepped down.

Kakashi also served as the Anbu Captain, and was in the same class as Uzuki Yugao. In a sense, both Uzuki Yugao and Kakashi were trained by Tsunade.

But Naruto is different; his identity is far too special. Rather than being a direct descendant of Tsunade's lineage, he's more like a closer relative.

From the initial extraction of the Tailed Beast to Tsunade's blatant favoritism towards Naruto, it's clear that as long as Naruto remains in Konohagakure, this issue will never die down.

Two of the four top leaders resigning in one day is not a good thing for Konohagakure. The various clans are also not to be underestimated, and they lack trust in Kakashi.

But with the support of the two advisors, plus Kakashi's status as a direct descendant of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Hokage, all doubts and noise will disappear, leaving only white noise.

"So when are you leaving?" Anko asked, her feet propped up on the sofa, eating a fruit platter as she did so. "Oh, by the way, I've already been transferred to another job."

"Teaching at the Ninja Academy? How was your first day?" he asked without looking up, fiddling with her foot with one hand.

"It's alright, not as boring as I imagined," Anko said casually. "The Ninja Academy used to have far fewer activities than it does now; all the courses were designed for the battlefield."

"It's as if you've been on the battlefield many times, but actually you haven't been many," he laughed.

"I was just a Genin then, what would I have done rushing forward? Was I just going to die?" Anko said indignantly. "Besides, going to the battlefield isn't that fun."

"For a mediocre person like me, it's like hell."

"So you finally admit you're a lazy bum?" Naruto chuckled, his hand tracing the curve of his leg upwards before stopping.

Anko sensed something was wrong and hugged the fruit plate in her arms tighter.

"Go cut it yourself if you want to eat it."

"That's not what I meant," he said. "We can't just come here to chat, can we?"

"You said the same thing last time, then you snatched all my Red bean dumplings and ate them before leaving." Anko gritted her teeth in anger. "You provoked me and then just left! You're such a jerk!"

"Who told you to eat sweets when I caught you? Didn't I tell you you could only eat fruit at most?" Naruto said matter-of-factly. "Do you want to get as fat as a barrel?"

"You're the one with the water bill. Aren't I already controlling my diet?" Anko complained, but she still obediently controlled her diet.

In the past, she would have been indifferent, thinking that she was just a lazy bum in this life, able to eat whatever she wanted. Letting herself go was no problem at all.

But once she'd tasted the sweetness, her free spirit was bound to succumb to the allure of skill. Not wanting to lose her competitive edge, she kept saying she wouldn't gain weight, but secretly she'd already begun learning makeup techniques from Kurenai Yuhi.

I didn't think too much about it, I just felt comfortable. Wanting to maintain a positive attitude makes me feel better and more engaged during that time.

As for their relationship, Anko is very open-minded.

Thinking about relationships is a burden for her; she's already exhausted from work every day. Involving emotions would only make life worse; keeping things as they are is much easier and more enjoyable.

What will happen when we get old? Anko just shrugged. She's already in such a sorry state. What else can happen when she's old? She'll just be even worse off. Whatever happens, happens.

She only wants the present! The fleeting pleasures of youth are better than the security of old age when beauty fades.

That's the nature of being a ninja—a profession with no future and no past. Those with exceptional talent ascend to the heavens, while the unknown are ignored.

Even after a long time, the warmth remained.

Anko leaned against the wall as she left the room, groggily going to the kitchen to get some water and rinse her mouth. Her head was still a little foggy, and as she closed the door, she suddenly smiled faintly.

She never imagined that the blond-haired guy who had argued with her in the exam hall six years ago would now be her good card-playing partner, and even get along very well with her.

The two would talk about trivial topics and complain about mundane things. They were driven by needs, not genuine feelings; getting emotionally involved would be too complicated, and Anko knew she couldn't win that battle.

Having always been so unlucky, she didn't think she could ever steal a man.

"When are we leaving? I'm not quite sure either." Naruto stood at the door, about to leave Anko's house, when he suddenly remembered this question.

Anko stood barefoot in the entryway, her jade-like feet white and tender, the tips of her toes a vibrant blood red.

"Then tell me you were lying to me. I thought you wouldn't stay in the village for long, so I went there a few more times. How could you lie to me? You're so mean!"

"Not really, it depends on Lord Tsunade. I'll probably leave some time later." Naruto's eyelids twitched as he explained.

"From now on, I'll be wandering around, only occasionally returning to the village," he said with a smile.

"Then there's not much time left?" Anko bit her nails, thinking about how to squeeze more time out of the already limited time.

"Wait, something's not right." She suddenly realized, "You're leaving, but you haven't decided on Ino and Hinata yet? You can't just leave like that, can you?"