Konoha

"Tsunade-sama has returned."

The three of them entered through Konoha's gates without registering anything. All they needed was Tsunade's face. Though they were curious about the man walking ahead of Tsunade, the two gatekeeper chunin did not ask.

In any case, the intelligence would soon reach the Hokage, who would naturally investigate the matter.

In fact, the Hokage had known long ago. Konoha's intelligence network was not to be underestimated. The moment they stepped onto the Land of Fire's soil, Konoha's shinobi had already sent news of Tsunade back to the village.

After all, she was returning to Konoha, so Tsunade could not be bothered to hide her tracks.

By now, all of Konoha knew. Tsunade had returned, and she had brought back a man of unknown identity.

"I'm back!" Tsunade said with a face full of emotion. She had been away for years, yet Konoha seemed to have changed very little.

Even Shizune looked nostalgic. She had followed Tsunade ever since graduating from the Ninja Academy and had not returned to Konoha in many years either.

"Let's go. You're the host, and I'm the guest. I'll follow your arrangements from here on," Richard said, looking at Tsunade.

"Fine. Let's head back to the Senju Ancestral Residence first." Tsunade led the way, and the group returned to the Senju Ancestral Residence.

Tsunade had been gone for years, yet the Senju Ancestral Residence was spotless, which showed that someone came regularly to maintain it.

Richard did not know whether it was the Senju Clan or the Hokage who had arranged for people to clean it.

Come to think of it, although Tsunade often owed enormous gambling debts, those were merely external assets. She had never touched the foundation and inheritance the Senju Clan had kept in reserve.

So this gambling addict still knew where to draw the line.

Before long, an Anbu arrived before Tsunade and conveyed the Hokage's order that he wished to see her.

Tsunade's status was special. Since she had returned to Konoha, she still had to meet the Hokage.

Richard did not care what arrangements she had. He was quite busy himself, anyway.

Busy studying Sealing Technique, busy combining the Sealing Technique system with the Alchemy system.

Then there were the Rinnegan and Sharingan he had acquired. They were certainly good things, but he had no way to use them directly.

He did not want to learn an entire Chakra system just for these items either. After thinking it over, the only option left was to refine the two into something like magical artifacts.

Magical artifacts were not so easy to refine. Dragon Race Alchemy had no knowledge of biological artifact refinement. At most, it involved adding things like dragon bones when forging alchemical weapons. There was nothing concerning eyeballs.

How was he supposed to refine these? One mistake could destroy the Rinnegan and Kamui Eye. He had to be cautious, then even more cautious.

Richard could not even come up with a feasible plan yet. He could only design it slowly.

He had originally wanted to @ Feng Baobao and ask her to gather Divine Machine Refinement as soon as possible. It would be fine if she could not obtain the other Eight Miraculous Skills, but Divine Machine Refinement was something he could not afford to miss. With it, refining magical artifacts would become much easier.

But after considering Feng Baobao's behavior, he decided against it. Lin Feng had long since sent Feng Baobao the plot of Under One Person World.

Yet judging by her actions, Feng Baobao had not actively collected the Eight Miraculous Skills. At present, she only had the Old Farmer Art, which was suspected to be Origin of Qi.

Xu San and Xu Si had always prioritized keeping Feng Baobao hidden. They were already trying their best to avoid the inheritors of the other Eight Miraculous Skills, so how could they let Feng Baobao voluntarily gather with them?

Her initiative was severely lacking. Still, Feng Baobao could not be blamed. Her strength was insufficient, yet she possessed the secret of immortality.

If she were truly exposed, not only the Outsider World but also powerful figures in the mundane world would go mad.

Outsiders in the Outsider World lived quite miserably. Every one of them hid themselves. Even those with some strength did not dare show it, wishing they could conceal eight or nine layers out of ten.

Perhaps he should make a trip to the Under One Person world next time.

Elsewhere, at the Hokage Office Building.

"Tsunade, you won't be leaving again this time, will you?" the Third Hokage asked with a smile.

At this critical time for Konoha, when the younger generation had suffered a gap in succession, Tsunade's return was immensely encouraging.

Konoha had once been overflowing with talent, with Kage-level fighters everywhere. Now, the Fourth Hokage and his wife had died in battle, Orochimaru had defected, Tsunade and Jiraiya had left, Hatake Sakumo had committed suicide after the Second Shinobi War, and only the aged Third Hokage remained to hold everything together.

Of course, the Third Hokage deserved no sympathy. Konoha's current state was directly related to his inadequate governance.

According to conspiracy theories, the Third Hokage was an expert at internal struggles and useless in foreign conflicts, an old schemer. The ultimate mastermind, the highest-ranking spy planted in Konoha by the four major shinobi villages.

He pushed Danzo out front to take the blame, then dealt with the Kage-level fighters who threatened his rule one by one.

But based on what Richard had learned from talking with Tsunade along the way, Sarutobi Hiruzen was simply a conflicted man. He had ambitions for power, yet he also loved Konoha.

He was also easily swayed and indecisive. He had hesitated when suppressing Hatake Sakumo, and he had hesitated several times when dealing with the Uchiha Clan.

The Uchiha did not deserve sympathy either. The hawks among them had crazily clamored about overthrowing the Hokage. The entire Uchiha Clan was extremely proud, and the only clan in Konoha they considered worthy of their regard was the Senju Clan. But the Senju Clan had long since disbanded.

They had alienated every other shinobi clan in Konoha. The destruction of such an Uchiha Clan could not be called undeserved.

Konoha was not lacking in experts. The Third Hokage simply did not dare trust them. For example, the fool Uchiha Shisui was at his peak during this period. After awakening the Mangekyo, he was unquestionably a Kage-level combatant.

"Stay? So I can watch Konoha rot and decline?" Tsunade sneered.

"It was all my fault. So, are you willing to remain and become the Fifth Hokage?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked. Many in the village opposed his rule, and many resisted his return to power.

It would be better to hand over the position of Hokage now. Of course, he would only hand over the title of Hokage. As for power, they could forget about that. Just like the Fourth Hokage, being a rubber stamp would be enough.

Ever since his eldest son died, he had stopped obsessing over turning the Hokage position into his family's private property. So long as he obtained actual benefits, that was enough.

"Do you take me for an idiot? Only an idiot would become Hokage." Tsunade spoke disdainfully.

"Tsunade, Konoha truly needs you. You wouldn't want to see the hard work of the First Hokage and Second Hokage decline like this, would you?" The Third Hokage's words carried the distinct style of a certain country that had been having a pretty good time.

"Heh!" Tsunade said nothing more, but her expression had already said everything.

"Forget it. It is rare for you to return. Let's not talk about this. Tell me about the man you brought back," the Third Hokage said, changing the subject.

"Richard? My advice is not to provoke him, especially Danzo. Keep him under control, or the consequences will definitely not be what you want to see," Tsunade warned.

"Oh? Is he very strong? Where did he come from? He should not be from one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, right?" the Third Hokage asked.

"I've warned you already. Whether you believe me is up to you." Leaving those words behind, Tsunade turned and departed.