Tsunade's Grandmother

Tsunade: "..."

"What are you doing?"

"Thanks for helping me out. This money's to treat you to a meal," Watanabe said generously, even though handing over two hundred ryo pained him.

He knew full well that if not for Tsunade, Kitahara Jo would never have let him off so easily, much less paid him compensation.

"If you're treating me to a meal, then do it properly. What's with just giving me money?" Tsunade found it strangely funny. Watanabe had a very unusual way of thinking.

"Besides, you don't think this is all over now, do you?"

Watanabe silently pocketed the coins.

Of course he knew this was far from over. Both Danzo and Kitahara Jo would probably come after him again. He absolutely couldn't join Root.

He had already begun thinking about fleeing Konoha.

"I didn't expect the Ninja Academy to let you graduate early just so you could join Root. That department isn't a place for normal people. No matter what, you can't go," Tsunade said indignantly on his behalf.

Tsunade felt deeply guilty. The reason Root had set its sights on Watanabe was all her fault. If she hadn't deliberately gone easy on him yesterday, Watanabe wouldn't have caught Danzo's attention.

Hearing her describe Root that way, Watanabe's thoughts stirred. "What does that department do?"

Tsunade didn't hold back. She told him everything she knew:

"Root is a secretive organization that was established in Konoha not long ago. Danzo leads it directly, and it specializes in handling certain shady missions that can't see the light of day. Only a handful of people in the village know about Root."

"When Danzo first proposed creating Root, my grandmother was the first to oppose it. Unfortunately, he established it anyway."

Watanabe pondered this. No wonder he'd never heard of Root. Tsunade was different: she was the First's granddaughter, and her grandmother was still alive. It made sense that she knew secrets ordinary people didn't.

"In short, Root does nothing normal, and its members are all abnormal, too. You'd be better off graduating normally with the other students than graduating early to join Root."

Watanabe couldn't agree more. He hadn't wanted to join Root in the first place, and after hearing Tsunade's explanation, he wanted to join even less. It was just...

"But now Danzo has his eye on you. If you don't join Root, I'm afraid he won't let it go. What are you going to do?" Tsunade looked at him.

Watanabe fell silent.

What am I going to do?

That's a good question.

How the hell should I know?

Of course, he wasn't going to tell Tsunade he planned to flee Konoha.

Seeing Watanabe say nothing, Tsunade couldn't help growing anxious.

She'd caused this trouble for Watanabe, so it was only right that she help him resolve it. But she hoped he would ask her for help himself. Otherwise, bringing it up on her own felt a little awkward.

And so, for a while, the two of them sat in companionable silence.

Why is she still hanging around my place? Is she really expecting me to treat her to a meal?

Watanabe frowned to himself.

The longer he stayed in Konoha, the more likely Root was to cause him trouble. He had to get out of there as soon as possible, and he needed to plan his escape carefully.

Just as he was about to send Tsunade on her way—

"I'll help you!"

Tsunade suddenly spoke up.

Watanabe paused, then asked suspiciously, "How?"

Tsunade's eyes darted away. "I'll ask my grandmother to talk to Danzo and tell him to stop targeting you. Then you'll be fine."

Watanabe paused again.

"Th-that's it? Just like that?"

He couldn't believe it. For him, this was a matter of life and death. Could Tsunade really solve it with one casual remark?

Tsunade pursed her lips. "My grandmother is Konoha's most senior elder. With her stepping in, Danzo obviously won't dare touch you."

Watanabe: "..."

Tsunade's grandmother was the First's wife. If she stepped in on his behalf, she really would have that much influence.

Then I don't have to flee Konoha?

At the thought, Watanabe's heart began to race. Of course he wanted to stay in Konoha if he could. He knew nothing about the Shinobi World. If he left Konoha without a plan, he'd surely end up wandering from place to place.

"Will your grandmother help me?" Watanabe asked calmly, forcing down his excitement.

Seeing him still so composed, Tsunade grumbled, "If she wouldn't help, why would I bring it up?"

"..."

"Why are you helping me so much?" Watanabe asked, voicing the question on his mind.

He'd barely spoken to Tsunade in class. They weren't friends, so she had no reason to help him.

Tsunade bit her lip and told him the truth. "I'm the reason Danzo set his sights on you."

"I didn't want you to lose too badly in front of your classmates yesterday, so I deliberately went easy on you. We ended up fighting for a while, and afterward Teacher Rukawa reported our sparring match to the Hokage's office. Danzo must have seen that report and decided to recruit you into Root."

Watanabe understood in an instant. The answers to all the questions that had been bothering him fell into place.

So that's why. No wonder.

"I don't want my actions to have a bad effect on you. My grandmother already opposed Root's existence, so if I talk to her again, she'll step in for you."

Tsunade felt that she'd caused Watanabe trouble, so as she spoke, she kept glancing away instead of meeting his eyes.

Watanabe took a deep breath. "In that case, thank you."

He didn't think Tsunade had caused him trouble. Instead, he was quite touched that she was looking out for him.

If Tsunade really could resolve the threat Root posed, then he'd absolutely treat her to a meal, even if it cost him another thousand ryo!

"I told you, I'm the one who caused this. You don't have to thank me," Tsunade mumbled.

"Come on. Let's go see my grandmother right now."

Tsunade's home was much grander than Watanabe's. It was in the commercial center, and it was a three-story house with its own courtyard. Even from a distance, Watanabe could tell how impressive it was.

Although Watanabe rarely interacted with Tsunade, he'd heard a little about her through the grapevine.

Tsunade's parents had both died in the First Shinobi War. Now, the only family she had left were her grandmother and younger brother.

As soon as Watanabe stepped into the courtyard, he spotted a little boy practicing throwing kunai, drenched in sweat.

"Big Sis!"

The moment he saw Tsunade, the boy dropped his kunai and scampered over.

Tsunade rubbed his head and introduced him to Watanabe. "This is my younger brother, Senju Nawaki."

"Hello," Watanabe said, nodding to him.

Watanabe knew of Nawaki. He'd seen him a few times at the Ninja Academy. Nawaki was a first-year student, and thanks to the glow of his grandfather's reputation, he was a well-known figure at the academy, just like Tsunade. He was always going on about how he wanted to become Hokage.

Nawaki blinked. "Sis, who's he? Don't tell me you brought home a brother-in-law?"

Tsunade's face darkened. "Don't talk nonsense. Go practice your kunai. We need to discuss something with Grandma."

"Oh, okay."

Nawaki seemed to understand, but his eyes stayed fixed on Watanabe.

His sister had never brought a boy home before, so naturally he was curious.

In the study on the second floor, Watanabe met Tsunade's "grandmother."