You Go Deal With Tsunade

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled, quite satisfied with Uchiha Jiang Feng's reaction.

That young fellow before him carried an aura distinctly different from everyone else, a kind of forced swagger, and he had always wanted to see the kid lose his composure.

"How could Tsunade not be considered a young and beautiful woman?"

Strictly speaking, Jiang Feng ought to address Tsunade as "Tsunade-sama."

But Jiang Feng was friends with two of the Sannin—Jiraiya and Orochimaru—and had a cross-generational friendship with Hiruzen Sarutobi, so he had the right to call Tsunade by her name directly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi explained, "Tsunade cultivates the Yin Seal, which keeps her eternally young. Mito Uzumaki-sama, who also cultivated the Yin Seal, maintained the appearance of someone in her twenties until shortly before her death.

So how is Tsunade not young?"

Indeed, how was Tsunade not young?

At least in terms of appearance, Tsunade was absolutely young.

With the youth issue settled, beauty needed no further elaboration—Tsunade was definitely a beautiful woman, even one of the most beautiful in the ninja world.

Jiang Feng quickly adjusted his mindset. Mm, Tsunade was indeed a young and beautiful woman.

As for Tsunade's actual age... Jiang Feng's idol, one of Hong Kong's Four Great Talents, Cai Lan, had a four-character maxim that countless people held as gospel: "Ugly? Still take."

In the face of the word "ugly," Tsunade's actual age was utterly irrelevant.

Take! Still take!

"But there's still one problem..."

Jiang Feng pointed out the crux: "Tsunade isn't in Konoha."

In the original story, did Tsunade leave Konoha after the Second Shinobi World War or after the Third?

Limited by the vague backdrop of the original plot, Jiang Feng couldn't be sure. But in this world, Tsunade had left Konoha shortly after the Second Shinobi World War ended, following the successive deaths of Nawaki and Dan Katō.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya, on the other hand, had stayed in Konoha. Of course, Jiraiya often slacked off and slipped out to gather inspiration—probably chasing after Tsunade.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a grin, "So that's your mission—bring Tsunade back to Konoha."

Jiang Feng finally understood what Minato Namikaze meant when he said he'd seen "A Tree of Pear Blossoms Blooms," and why Hiruzen Sarutobi had called them over.

"The Second Shinobi World War ended years ago. Sunagakure is still reeling, but Kumogakure and Iwagakure have both recovered their strength, and Kirigakure, which didn't participate in the war, is starting to stir.

The flames of war are about to ignite the ninja world again. We need Tsunade's power." Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was somber as he explained why they had to retrieve Tsunade.

Though Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't say it, Jiang Feng knew another reason for bringing her back: leaving Tsunade wandering alone outside was far too dangerous.

After the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade had developed severe hemophobia. In peacetime, the great ninja villages feared Tsunade's reputation and wouldn't make a move.

But once war broke out, it was hard to guarantee they wouldn't send assassins after Tsunade. Never mind the success rate—they'd still try. The odds of several jonin joining forces to kill Tsunade were certainly higher than a few jonin charging into Konoha's headquarters to kill Orochimaru or Jiraiya.

And if they made the attempt, Tsunade would almost certainly die.

Bringing Tsunade back was a form of protection. Even if she couldn't take the battlefield, she could still serve as a military deterrent to other villages, while also overseeing Konoha's medical system and boosting the village's recovery capabilities.

"Why not send Jiraiya?" Jiang Feng still felt that sending him to handle Tsunade was too unorthodox; Jiraiya was a better choice.

"Jiraiya went once and failed."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "Tsunade said her life or death had nothing to do with Konoha, and Konoha's rise or fall had nothing to do with her either. She told them not to look for her again."

That cold-hearted?

Jiang Feng thought it over. In the original story's Tsunade retrieval arc, Tsunade had indeed said something similar—stubborn, acting like she wanted to sever all ties with Konoha.

"If a girl tells you not to come looking for her again, maybe she means you absolutely should." Jiang Feng shook his head.

Women—your name is stubbornness.

"You know what Tsunade's thinking?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes lit up.

"No."

"Even you can't figure her out?"

"Women are born understanding men, but men will never understand women.

If a man thinks he understands women, he's probably about to run into trouble."

"But Jiraiya always boasts he understands Tsunade."

"So he always runs into trouble."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with satisfaction. Whether what the kid said made sense or was just sophistry, at least he could spin a good yarn—far better than that useless Jiraiya, who turned into a mess the moment he faced Tsunade.

Besides, Uchiha Jiang Feng was strong, at jonin level. Jiang Feng plus Kurenai Yuhi—two jonin protecting Tsunade was more than enough.

"I'm entrusting this arduous mission of retrieving Tsunade to you... to your team!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Jiang Feng's shoulder solemnly. "I'll rank this mission as S-class. According to the intel Jiraiya brought back, Tsunade is in Tanzaku Town.

Set out tonight. By the time you return, after a few more missions, you'll be eligible for jonin promotion!"

Genin, chunin, jonin—these were just the ninja village's assessment levels for a ninja's overall ability, mainly strength.

It wasn't that being rated jonin meant you had jonin-level ability; you had to first pass exams and missions to prove you had jonin capability before you could be rated as such.

Jiang Feng had long possessed jonin-level comprehensive ability, but because he was a lazy dog who hadn't completed enough missions, he still hadn't accumulated the "credits" needed for promotion to jonin.

"No, let's just forget about the jonin promotion." Jiang Feng's face immediately fell.

Aside from married female ninja, the vast majority of ninja had minimum mission quotas corresponding to their rank. If he got promoted to jonin, the missions he'd have to carry out would become much more troublesome.

"Hahaha, that won't do. If you don't get promoted and leave the team, how will Asuma ever have a chance to pursue the girl from the Kurenai family?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi winked. "So, you'd better settle things with the Kurenai family's daughter soon, so Asuma can finally focus."

Over an hour later, their game of Go ended. Uchiha Jiang Feng left the Sarutobi Clan compound, and Kurenai Yuhi and the others returned.

"Jiang Feng, Jiang Feng, what did the Hokage tell you?" The young girl Kurenai Yuhi ran over quickly and hugged Jiang Feng's arm.

Jiang Feng told her truthfully: "He wants us to go bring back one of the Sannin—Tsunade."

Kurenai Yuhi's dark red eyes lit up instantly. "Tsunade-sama, the most beautiful and strongest female ninja in legend!?"

"Maybe," Jiang Feng said vaguely.

It was never wise to praise another woman's beauty in front of a woman, even if you were just agreeing, even if Kurenai Yuhi was very young.

Jiang Feng would never underestimate any woman.