Minato: This Time, I'm Not Alone

Several guards watched Hyuga Miyuki and the others leave. One of them suddenly asked, "The Hyuga Clan generally doesn't use ninja tools, right? Why bring such a huge storage scroll?"

His companion replied, "Maybe they also have a mission to deliver supplies to the front lines. What, do you think something's wrong with the Hyuga Clan?"

"No, no."

The puzzled ninja shook his head. No one believed the Hyuga Clan would defect. The Main Branch had no reason to, and the Branch Family had no ability to.

"I just remembered my friend's ninja tool shop. His daughter was born—her name's Tenten, I think. The shop's having a sale right now, so you can get a discount if you go."

"You're advertising now? This friend of yours wouldn't happen to be you, would he?"

The captain patted him on the shoulder, speechless. Looking toward the spot in the village where Katsuyu had appeared earlier, he said earnestly, "We're just gatekeepers. All we need to do is keep spies and dangerous rogue ninja from coming and going. Some things are best not thought about too deeply."

He'd lived long enough to know the wisdom of keeping his head down.

Anbu had warned them not to get involved in the village's unrest, and right after that, the Hyuga Clan had left the village with the Third Hokage's orders. There was clearly a lot going on, so it was best not to think too much about it.

Taking the captain's advice to heart, the others put the matter out of their minds and prepared to resume their watch. Then they saw a blond woman approaching in the distance, her face dark with anger.

"L-Lady Tsunade?"

Hearing them, she looked up. Her expression darkened further, but she said nothing as she walked out of the village.

Feeling the powerful Chakra radiating from her, the gate guards swallowed nervously and didn't dare stop her.

In the distance, the figures of Anbu and Root appeared briefly. Only after seeing Tsunade leave the village did they disperse.

"What was that supposed to be? I actually got escorted out of the village?!"

Tsunade didn't stop until she was a kilometer from Konoha. Furious, she punched a tree, her heart full of indignation.

She was a princess of the Senju Clan, one of the Sannin—and they had actually "asked" her to leave the village?

What a joke!

Earlier, after realizing that no one was coming to support her, she had tried to approach the compounds of some ninja clans. But when Anbu appeared, she knew it was pointless.

Most of the clans had probably already reached an agreement. Otherwise, the two advisors representing their interests wouldn't have agreed to lend out Anbu.

There were different voices within the clans: younger generations who looked up to the Will of Fire, and elders who clung to past glories. Whether they'd reached a consensus or one side had completely overwhelmed the other, the situation was graver than Tsunade had imagined.

She didn't know whom she could trust, and she had no time to speak with each clan one by one.

The Hyuga and Uchiha could have been potential allies. The former were an option because the Main Branch could speak for the entire clan, leaving little room for internal disagreement. The latter were too arrogant and got along poorly with most other clans.

But now that the technique to undo the Caged Bird was one of the sparks that had ignited this crisis, should she go to the Hyuga?

She'd only be turned away.

The Uchiha's main forces were on the battlefield, and those who remained weren't even enough to staff the Military Police Force. They were no help either.

There were also clans that sided with the Hokage who might have supported her, but the appearance of that old geezer, Sarutobi Meisho, had dashed her hopes.

"Princess Tsunade, what would you accomplish by gathering people in this situation? You'd only cause chaos and give spies from other villages something to laugh about."

"The village's defenses are already somewhat lax. If other villages learn that Konoha is in the midst of internal strife, they'll surely take the opportunity to attack. The Cloud Village hasn't suffered that much in this war."

"The war has dragged on for a long time. Both the villagers and the ninja are tired of it. Don't let a moment of anger drag Konoha back into the quagmire of battle. Think of the ninja fighting desperately on the front lines, the ones hoping to end the Third Shinobi World War. You'll only break their hearts."

Heh. As expected of the older generation. They could spout words from the moral high ground without a moment's thought.

Danzo and the rest of you were the ones who struck first. And now I'm the one who has to back down? What kind of logic is that?

And I'm not even allowed to fight back?!

Still, she had to consider their argument.

The Cloud Village had withdrawn because the Third Raikage had died unexpectedly. The Fourth Raikage had to return to take the position and stabilize the situation. Otherwise, the fighting could have continued.

Among the other villages, Iwagakure had suffered significant losses from surrounding the Third Raikage and fighting Konoha. But Ōnoki was bold enough to use ten thousand ninja to surround the Third Raikage. He wasn't lacking in nerve.

If he could get a share of the spoils from the Cloud Village, he wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of the situation.

And although the Sand Village was an ally, they still had to be wary of them.

After thinking it through, all she could do was send Katsuyu back and leave the village, enduring the humiliation beneath the watchful eyes of Anbu and Root.

Staying there might get her ambushed, and she'd have to face those disgusting people every day. Leaving was better.

Had the old man really never considered what his three friends might do?

Going to support the front lines was one thing, but he hadn't even left behind any safeguards. He was getting more muddleheaded with age.

"Lady Tsunade, I-I'm sorry."

The last fragment Katsuyu had left behind appeared in front of Tsunade with Shizune. Only thirteen, Shizune lowered her head and apologized over and over as she saw Tsunade seething with anger.

"It's all because of me that you had to..."

"Don't say that."

Tsunade watched Shizune apologize again and again. The anger in her heart gradually faded, and her expression softened into one of gentle calm.

She pulled Shizune into her arms and murmured, "As long as you're safe."

Another reason she had left was that she feared Danzo might use Shizune to threaten her again.

Finding and capturing Shizune would clearly be easier than dealing with her.

She couldn't bear to lose anyone else...

Tsunade rarely showed such gentleness. Shizune froze for a moment, then a tender smile appeared on her face as she hugged Tsunade back.

Lady Tsunade must have been worried about me...

After comforting each other, Tsunade quickly pulled herself together and said to her:

"Let's go to the battlefield. The old man caused this mess, so he'll have to come up with a solution."

As she spoke, Tsunade instinctively took out her dice, intending to roll them and see whether this choice would turn out well or badly. But remembering what had happened before, she stopped.

Gambling to predict the future probably wasn't reliable. She'd clearly lost, yet Shizune had still nearly died.

Even though she'd lost...

Tsunade thought of someone who'd said before a bet that whether he won or lost depended entirely on what he wanted. Her expression turned strange.

That kid, Hyuga Hane... Could he have been cheating?

In the front-line command room, Jiraiya and Minato had been arguing over one matter for a long time.

"Minato, you're the Hokage now. You can't keep taking risks like you used to."

"Sensei, I know. But this is how I fight."

Minato looked at Jiraiya, who refused to let him go deal with the Tailed Beast unit, and shook his head helplessly. "Do you still not trust me? I can retreat whenever I want."

"This isn't about whether I trust you. Minato, have you even considered your own situation?"

Jiraiya sighed. "Your deterrent power on the battlefield is even greater than the Third Raikage's. Ōnoki had the nerve to send more than ten thousand ninja to surround the Third Raikage. What do you think the Third Mizukage will do?"

The Third Mizukage of the Mist Village had been a member of the First Mizukage's Shadow Guard. If the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki, hadn't been so powerful, he would have taken the position of Second Mizukage.

Wouldn't a Third Mizukage who could bring out the full strength of the Mist Village—and who had likely witnessed the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God—have considered how to deal with Minato?

"This time, I'm not alone."

Minato glanced at Hyuga Hane, trust in his eyes, and smiled at Jiraiya. "Kakashi, Yakuwan, Hane, and Kushina are with me. Don't worry."