After the Internal Affairs Department official left, Minato Namikaze finally had the chance to greet Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama, you're back."
"Mm, Minato, you look pretty spirited!"
Tsunade gave him a once-over, then frowned deeply and turned to her teacher.
"What exactly happened to the village? Why does it feel like someone else's home now?"
"This isn't the place to talk."
Hiruzen Sarutobi knocked out his pipe and gestured to her and Orochimaru. "Let's talk at my house."
Tsunade froze for a moment, then snorted and turned to Minato Namikaze. "Coming with us?"
Minato smiled. "No. Bandit activity at the border has been severe lately. I need to deal with it."
Tsunade nodded without saying more and followed her teacher away.
Holding Tonton in her arms, Shizune timidly looked around and followed close behind.
Orochimaru licked his lips and let out a low chuckle, following after them like a shadow.
The Sarutobi clan residence was still the same as ever, simple and tranquil.
The moment the group stepped into the courtyard, an elderly woman with graying hair but a vigorous spirit came out of the house to greet them.
She was Hiruzen Sarutobi's wife, Biwako Sarutobi.
"Tsunade? Orochimaru?"
When Biwako saw them, surprise flashed through her eyes, and her face was filled with affection.
"You two children finally remembered to come visit."
She stepped forward and took Tsunade's hand, then looked Orochimaru up and down. "You've gotten thinner. Both of you have."
Faced with Biwako's warmth, Tsunade's expression softened slightly.
"Biwako-sama."
"Hehe, so you still know how to address people properly."
Biwako laughed and patted her hand, then glared at Orochimaru beside her. "What about you? Gone mute?"
"Biwako-sama." Orochimaru bowed slightly, and much of the coldness on his face faded.
"All right, all right, come in and sit. I'll make you some tea."
Biwako busied herself warmly, as though they were still the little brats who used to trail behind Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Biwako," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "Go prepare a meal first. We have matters to discuss. Just bring the tea in later."
The smile on Biwako's face stiffened. She looked at her husband's serious expression, then at Tsunade and Orochimaru, and immediately understood.
She sighed and nodded. "I understand. You all... have a good talk."
Inside the study, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally poured tea for the two of them.
Without the identity of Hokage, he seemed more like an elder concerned for his juniors.
"Go on," Tsunade was the first to break the silence, getting straight to the point. "What happened while I was gone? Why isn't that bastard Danzo here? Something this big happened, and he didn't jump out to make his presence known?"
"He's dead."
The answer made Tsunade's pupils suddenly constrict.
"Dead? Who killed him? Kumogakure, or Iwagakure?"
"Neither." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, his tone complicated. "He died in the Land of Fire Capital. The new daimyo ordered his execution on charges of treason."
"What?!"
Tsunade sprang to her feet, her beautiful eyes fixed on Hiruzen Sarutobi. "The daimyo?! What right did he have to execute one of Konoha's Council Elders? What about Minato? He just stood by and watched?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a cloud of stale air. "Danzo intended to rebel."
He began recounting everything that had happened during this period.
Starting with the Daimyo Manor issuing an order that directly cut Konoha's financial budget by twenty percent.
As he described how Danzo had secretly rallied allies and attempted a coup, only to be crushed with thunderous force, Tsunade interjected.
"Then he deserved to die."
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not refute her. Grief showed in his eyes as he continued.
He spoke of how, after Danzo's death, the daimyo used the Genius Cultivation Plan and the Guardians of the Twelve as bait to thoroughly reshuffle Konoha's entire power structure.
Tsunade listened with growing alarm.
Her expression shifted from initial fury to shock, then to disbelief.
She could not imagine how the daimyo, who should have been providing financial support, had managed to reach directly into Konoha's heart.
This had shattered the power balance between shinobi and nobles that had existed since the First Hokage founded the village!
"...So now, all of the village's geniuses, all its future hopes, are nominally the daimyo's people?"
"Yes." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, bitterness appearing on his face. "And not only that. The revival of the Guardians of the Twelve has also driven the major clans into a frenzy."
"Now, the will of the Daimyo Manor moves through Konoha without obstruction."
Tsunade slowly sat back down, her chest rising and falling violently.
She felt as though she had just woken from an absurd dream.
"Hehe..."
Beside her, Orochimaru, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly chuckled. "Sarutobi-sensei, it seems you left out the most interesting part."
Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at him.
Orochimaru did not care in the slightest. He looked at the bewildered Tsunade.
"Tsunade, do you know? While our great daimyo was consolidating Konoha, something especially amusing also happened."
"He issued an edict to select consorts throughout the Land of Fire."
Tsunade frowned. "Selecting consorts? As expected, nobles have nothing in their heads but power and women! Is he trying to get his hands on Konoha's Kekkei Genkai?"
That was almost her immediate reaction.
"Exactly!"
Tsunade's reply made Orochimaru clap his hands and laugh heartily, with a joy he had not felt in a long time. "Everyone in Konoha thought exactly the same way!"
"Especially the Uchiha and the Hyuga!"
"Over at the Uchiha, Fugaku's wife personally took action, training her own younger sister like an offering, just waiting to send her to the daimyo's bed while dreaming that one person's success would lift the entire clan to heaven."
"The Hyuga had it even worse. At first, they refused no matter what, but after the Daimyo Manor investigated them over tax issues, their entire family fortune was nearly confiscated. In the end, they could only meekly hand over a list of the clan's geniuses..."
"Do you know what was funniest?"
Orochimaru leaned closer, lowering his voice, his face full of schadenfreude.
"In the end, everyone realized that the daimyo had never once mentioned wanting the women of their clans!"
"What he wanted was only their loyalty!"
"Selecting consorts was selecting consorts, and cultivating geniuses was cultivating geniuses. They were completely unrelated matters!"
"Hahaha... Just imagine it. Every clan in Konoha that thought itself clever was played like a monkey, spun around and around!"
"It was truly fascinating!"
Watching Orochimaru laugh so hard he swayed back and forth, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly realized that he could not remember how long it had been since he had seen him smile.
When Orochimaru laughed, he was still just like he had been as a child.
After hearing all this, Tsunade was completely stunned.
Her mouth opened, but not a single word came out.
Absurd!
It was far too absurd!
The village had actually become the butt of such a huge joke over something like this?
"However..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice rang out again, and a smile appeared on his face.
There was even a trace of gratification in that smile.
"Although the village has become like this, it may be a good thing for ordinary people."
"After ascending the throne, the daimyo abolished all war taxes and gave generous compensation to civilians crippled or injured in the war."
"Prices in the village are much lower now than they were during the war. Many families that used to live in poverty can now live stable lives."
Tsunade was taken aback.
Looking at the heartfelt joy on her teacher's face, she felt a jumble of emotions.
She suddenly felt that the teacher before her had become incomparably unfamiliar.
Only after a long while did she find her voice again.
"What about Jiraiya? Is he still at the border?"
"Mm, he is." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Our peace treaty with Kumogakure has not been formally signed yet. Someone needs to guard that place."
Tsunade nodded and said nothing more.
The study fell silent once again.
Master and disciples who had once talked about everything now faced one another without a word.
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