A red-haired woman sat behind the desk, dressed in a robe. A blue diamond-shaped mark sat in the middle of her forehead. She was fair-skinned, beautiful, elegant, and noble, with the air of someone accustomed to being in a position of power.
"Grandma."
Tsunade walked over with a bright smile.
Watanabe froze.
Grandma?
This woman was Tsunade's grandma?
You could tell me she was her mother, or even her older sister, and I'd believe you!
Watanabe was deeply shocked.
"Why are you back so late at noon?" Mito set down the documents and looked at the two of them.
Tsunade gave Watanabe a meaningful glance. He immediately understood and said respectfully, "My respects, Senior Mito."
"And you are?"
Tsunade answered for him. "Grandma, he's my classmate. His name is Watanabe, and he's run into some trouble recently..."
Then Tsunade told Mito everything, from how she had caused Root to target Watanabe to what had happened afterward.
"That's the whole story, Grandma. You said Root is an underground organization that operates in the shadows. Watanabe got dragged into this because of me. I can't just watch him walk into a fire pit."
Mito furrowed her delicate brows. "Root has gone too far."
She had opposed the creation of Root from the beginning. Hearing that Kitahara Jo had used Illusion Technique and force in an attempt to take Watanabe away had only made her more displeased.
As an Orphan of Martyrs, Watanabe deserved to be treated well by Konoha High Command. Yet Root was trying to force him to join. Their actions were utterly without limits, treating ordinary villagers as if they weren't even villagers.
The Konoha her husband had founded hadn't been like this.
"Exactly! I think they've gone too far too. How can they treat their own villagers like this?" Tsunade agreed indignantly.
"Watanabe, I know what happened. Don't worry. I'll make sure Danzo gives you a proper explanation," Mito declared. "And since you aren't strong enough yet, graduating early would do you no good. You should continue attending the Ninja Academy."
"Thank you, Senior Mito!" Watanabe said with heartfelt gratitude.
Even without his connection to Tsunade, Mito would have stood up for him after learning what had happened.
As long as she was still around, she would never allow anyone in Konoha to wield absolute power, nor would she allow any villager to be treated unjustly.
If even the departments run by Konoha High Command were rotten, Konoha wouldn't be far from destruction. Mito took Root's outrageous conduct extremely seriously.
After leaving Tsunade's home, Watanabe felt as if the whole thing had been unreal.
It had been too easy.
A few casual words from Mito had resolved a matter that could have cost him his life. It had gone so smoothly that he could hardly believe it.
"Someone as important as Senior Mito might not do everything she can to help me. I can't put all my hopes in someone else."
"I'd better wait and see. If Root comes after me again, then I'll leave Konoha..."
Watanabe made up his mind.
That afternoon, following Mito's instructions, Watanabe went back to the Ninja Academy.
The boys in his class didn't care much that he'd missed the entire morning, but the girls were very interested in him. His fight with Tsunade the day before had made him a dreamboat in the eyes of quite a few girls, and now they were all gathered around him, asking after him.
"Watanabe, why didn't you come to school this morning?"
"Were you badly hurt yesterday?"
"If you're not feeling well, you should stay home and rest. I can take notes for you."
"..."
[Received concern: sense of security -3, inferiority +2, fear +2...]
Watanabe: "..."
He wanted to tell the girls to stop messing with him.
For the first time in his life, Watanabe felt that being popular was such a troublesome thing. He fended off the girls' concern with casual replies.
Tsunade kept glancing toward the corner of the back row. She suddenly remembered that she'd brought Watanabe a bunch of medicinal herbs for his injuries, but still hadn't given them to him.
"He's full of energy. He doesn't even look injured."
Tsunade grumbled to herself. Seeing Watanabe surrounded by the girls in class made her feel strangely uncomfortable, so she abandoned the idea of giving him the herbs.
"Grandma's already dealt with the threat from Root. I don't owe him anything anymore. We have nothing to do with each other."
Watanabe finally escaped his predicament when the bell rang for the first class.
If the girls kept fussing over him, he was afraid he'd blurt out, I'm insecure. I'm really afraid of the dark. Every night, when darkness falls, I'm a complete mess.
The afternoon's lesson was about the Will of Fire.
For the first time, Watanabe seriously considered what the "Will of Fire" meant. Before, he had thought it was hypocritical and ridiculous. But after meeting Mito at noon, his opinion had changed somewhat.
The Will of Fire wasn't ridiculous. The people who preached and promoted it were.
Perhaps when the First established the Will of Fire, he had truly been thinking of the village's younger generation. But the Konoha High Command who came to power afterward hadn't inherited the First's ideals. They cared only about the power in their own hands, and they would stop at nothing to seize more.
"If Konoha were ruled by people who had truly inherited the Will of Fire, would things be better than they are now?"
The thought suddenly occurred to Watanabe.
Then he shook his head and put the thought aside. The high command was far beyond his reach. His most urgent task now was to get stronger as quickly as possible.
Once he improved his strength, he'd be able to handle any threat on his own, even without help from Tsunade or Mito.
With that thought, Watanabe relaxed and slipped into slacking off.
[Slacking off: Chakra (vitality) +5, +5, +6...]
"I'm still getting stronger too slowly this way. It'd be great if I could spar with Tsunade every day."
Watanabe suddenly found himself missing Tsunade's fists.
As he slacked off, the afternoon passed in the blink of an eye.
After school, Watanabe had planned to keep his promise and treat Tsunade to a lavish meal, even if it cost him dearly. But as soon as school let out, Tsunade hurried home so fast she vanished from sight. Watanabe didn't want to chase after her, so he went home by himself.
When he reached his front door, Watanabe froze.
The door Kitahara Jo had kicked in at noon had been repaired, and replaced with a sturdier iron one.
"Who did this?"
Watanabe stepped into the entryway and saw two uninvited guests in the living room.
One was Kitahara Jo. The other had bandages wrapped around half his face and exuded a chilling aura. He was none other than Danzo, one of Konoha's most powerful figures.
Watanabe's heart lurched, and he instantly panicked. He wished Tsunade were beside him.
Without Tsunade, he didn't feel safe at all.
"We've come without notice. I hope you won't take offense," Danzo said as he stepped forward and addressed Watanabe.
Kitahara Jo followed behind him, his face full of humiliation and resentment.
Though Watanabe was panicking inside, he forced himself to remain calm. "Have you come to make me join Root again?"
Danzo was surprised by his composure and shook his head. "No. We've come to apologize to you."
Mito had put immense pressure on him that afternoon. She had called a meeting of the high command and publicly forced him, one of Konoha's most powerful figures, to agree to humble himself before Watanabe. And with Mito's interference, whether Root could even survive remained uncertain.
Before you continue