Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled, quite pleased with Uchiha Jiang Feng's reaction.
The kid across from him had a completely different kind of swagger from everyone else. Hiruzen had always wanted to see him lose his composure.
"How can Tsunade be considered a young, beautiful woman?"
Strictly speaking, Jiang Feng should have addressed Tsunade as "Lady Tsunade."
However, Jiang Feng was friends with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, two of the Sannin, and was also an old friend of Hiruzen Sarutobi's. He had every right to call Tsunade by her name.
Hiruzen explained, "Tsunade practices the Yin Seal, which allows her to preserve her youth. Lady Mito Uzumaki, who also practiced the Yin Seal, maintained the appearance of a woman in her twenties until shortly before her death.
"So how could Tsunade not be young?"
That was true. How could Tsunade not be young?
At least in terms of her appearance, Tsunade was absolutely young.
And once the question of her youth was settled, there was no need to say more about her beauty. Tsunade was definitely beautiful—one of the most beautiful women in the Ninja World, in fact.
Jiang Feng quickly got his thoughts in order. Yes, Tsunade was indeed a young, beautiful woman.
As for Tsunade's actual age... Jiang Feng's idol, Cai Lan, one of Hong Kong's Four Great Talents, had a four-character motto that countless people regarded as gospel: "Ugly? Still smash."
Against the word "ugly," Tsunade's actual age was completely irrelevant.
Smash! Smash anyway!
"But there's still a problem..."
Jiang Feng pointed out the crux of the matter: "Tsunade isn't in Konoha."
In the original story, had Tsunade left Konoha after the Second Shinobi World War or after the Third Shinobi World War?
The original story's vague background left Jiang Feng without an answer. In this world, though, Tsunade had left Konoha shortly after Nawaki and Dan Katō were killed one after the other, and the Second Shinobi World War ended.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya, on the other hand, had stayed in Konoha the whole time. Of course, Jiraiya often slipped away to gather inspiration—maybe he was chasing after Tsunade.
Hiruzen smiled. "That's your mission, then: bring Tsunade back to Konoha."
At last, Jiang Feng understood what Minato Namikaze had meant when he said Jiang Feng would see "A Tree of Pear Blossoms Blooms," and why Hiruzen had called them over.
"The Second Shinobi World War ended several years ago. Sunagakure has never recovered, but Kumogakure and Iwagakure have regained their strength, and even Kirigakure, which didn't participate in the Second Shinobi World War, seems to be stirring.
"The flames of war will soon engulf the Ninja World again. We need Tsunade's strength." Hiruzen spoke in a quiet, reflective tone as he explained why they needed to bring Tsunade back.
Though Hiruzen didn't say so, Jiang Feng knew another reason they wanted Tsunade back: leaving her alone out there was far too dangerous.
After the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade had developed severe Hemophobia. During peacetime, the great villages were cowed by her reputation and wouldn't make a move.
But once war broke out, there was no guarantee they wouldn't send someone to assassinate her. No matter how low the odds of success, they would still give it a try. A few Jonin working together would have a much better chance of killing Tsunade than of storming Konoha's headquarters and killing Orochimaru or Jiraiya.
And if they did try, Tsunade would be all but certain to die.
Bringing Tsunade back would protect her. Even if she couldn't go to the battlefield, her presence would still serve as a show of force against the other villages. She could also oversee Konoha's medical system and improve the village's ability to recover.
"Why not send Jiraiya?" Jiang Feng still felt that sending him to handle Tsunade was too much of a gamble. Jiraiya was the better choice.
"Jiraiya went once, but he failed."
Hiruzen sighed. "Tsunade said that whether she lived or died had nothing to do with Konoha, and whether Konoha prospered or fell had nothing to do with her. She told us not to look for her again."
That cold?
Jiang Feng thought it over. In the original story's Tsunade Search arc, Tsunade had said something similar. In short, she'd been stubborn, acting like she wanted to cut all ties with Konoha.
"If a girl tells you to stop looking for her, maybe what she means is that you absolutely have to keep looking." Jiang Feng shook his head.
Women—stubborn as ever.
"You know what Tsunade's thinking?" Hiruzen's eyes lit up.
"No."
"You can't figure her out, either?"
"No."
"Women are born knowing how men think, but men will never understand women.
"If a man thinks he understands women, he'll probably be in for trouble soon."
"But Jiraiya always claims he understands Tsunade."
"That's why he's always in trouble."
Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction. Whether Jiang Feng's words made sense or were complete nonsense, at least the kid always had something clever to say. He was far better than Jiraiya, that good-for-nothing who fell to pieces whenever he encountered Tsunade.
Besides, Uchiha Jiang Feng was very strong, with the abilities of a Jonin. Jiang Feng and Kurenai Yuhi together—two Jonin—would be more than enough to protect Tsunade.
"I'm entrusting this arduous mission of bringing Tsunade back to you... your team!"
Hiruzen patted Jiang Feng on the shoulder with a grave expression. "I'll classify this mission as S-rank. According to the information Jiraiya brought back, Tsunade is in Tanzaku Town.
"You'll leave tonight. By the time you get back, you can complete a few more missions and qualify for promotion to Jonin!"
Genin, Chunin, and Jonin were just the village's rankings for a ninja's overall ability, with strength being the main factor.
Being ranked a Jonin didn't mean you automatically had Jonin-level abilities. You had to pass exams, complete missions, and meet other requirements to prove you were capable of being a Jonin before you could receive the rank.
Jiang Feng already had the overall ability of a Jonin, but the lazy dog hadn't done enough missions and still hadn't earned the "credits" needed for promotion.
"No, let's forget about the Jonin promotion." Jiang Feng's face fell.
Aside from married female ninja, most ninja had a minimum number of missions they were required to complete for their rank. If Jiang Feng became a Jonin, he'd have to take on far more troublesome missions.
"Hahahaha! That won't do. If you get promoted to Jonin and leave the team, how will Asuma get a chance to win over a girl from the Shinku family?"
Hiruzen waggled his eyebrows. "So you'd better make things official with Shinku's daughter soon, so Asuma can settle down sooner."
A little over an hour later, the two finished their game of Go. Uchiha Jiang Feng left the Sarutobi Clan's residence, and Kurenai Yuhi and the others returned.
"Jiang Feng, Jiang Feng! What did Lord Hokage say to you?" Young Kurenai Yuhi hurried over and hugged his arm.
Jiang Feng told her honestly, "He wants us to bring Tsunade, one of the Sannin, back."
Kurenai Yuhi's dark red eyes lit up. "Lady Tsunade—the legendary Tsunade, the most beautiful and powerful kunoichi!?"
"Maybe," Jiang Feng said vaguely.
It was unwise to call another woman beautiful in front of a woman, no matter the circumstances. Even agreeing with her wasn't a good idea—even if Kurenai Yuhi was still young.
Jiang Feng never underestimated any woman.
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