Minato: I'm not alone this time

Several guards watched Hyuga Miyuki and her group depart, when one of them suddenly asked, "The Hyuga Clan doesn't usually use ninja tools, right? Why bring such large storage scrolls?"

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

"No, not at all."

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

"I was just reminded of a ninja tool shop a friend of mine runs. His daughter was born—I think her name is Tenten—and they're having a sale on ninja tools right now. It's cheaper if I go buy some."

"You're advertising now? That friend wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

The captain patted his shoulder in silence, looked toward the spot in the village where Katsuyu had previously appeared, and said earnestly, "We are just gatekeepers. As long as we keep spies and dangerous rogue ninjas from coming and going, that's enough. Don't think too deeply about certain things."

Having lived for so many years, he understood the principle of self-preservation well.

The Anbu had warned them not to concern themselves with the village's unrest just moments before, and then the Hyuga Clan had left the village with an order from the Hokage. The waters clearly ran deep; it was better not to dwell on it.

Hearing their captain's words of wisdom, the men put their thoughts aside and prepared to continue their watch, only to see a blonde woman approaching with a dark expression.

"Lady Tsunade?"

The woman heard their voices, looked up, and her expression grew even gloomier as she walked out of the village without a word.

The guards at the gate felt the immense Chakra radiating from her and swallowed hard, not daring to stop her.

In the distance, the figures of Anbu and Root operatives appeared faintly, only departing once they saw Tsunade leave the village.

"What is this? Was I actually escorted out of the village?!"

Not until she was a kilometer outside Konoha did Tsunade punch a tree in frustration, her heart filled with indignation.

As the princess of the Senju Clan and one of the Sannin, she had actually been "invited" to leave the village?

It was simply ridiculous!

Previously, after realizing no one was coming to support her, she had intended to approach the compounds of several ninja clans, but the appearance of the Anbu told her it was useless.

Most of the ninja clans had likely already reached an agreement; otherwise, the two advisors who represented the interests of the clans would never have agreed to lend out the Anbu.

The voices within the ninja clans were divided; there were the younger generation who yearned for the Will of Fire, and the elders who refused to let go of past glories. Whether they had reached a consensus or one side had completely suppressed the other, the situation was far more severe than Tsunade had imagined.

She didn't know who to trust, and she had no time to communicate with each clan one by one.

Originally, the Hyuga and Uchiha could have served as allies. The former was because the Main Branch could represent everything with little internal dissent, while the latter was simply too arrogant to get along with most other clans.

But... with the Caged Bird seal-breaking technique being one of the catalysts, going to the Hyuga now?

She would only be met with a cold shoulder.

The main force of the Uchiha was on the battlefield, and the remaining ninjas weren't even enough to staff the Military Police Force, so they were out of the question as well.

And while the clans that favored the Hokage could have provided support, the appearance of that old man Sarutobi Meisho had plunged her ideas into the abyss.

"Princess Tsunade, in the current situation, what good would it do even if you gathered people? It would only bring chaos and make us a laughingstock to the spies of other ninja villages."

"The village's defenses are already somewhat lax. If other villages find out that Konoha is in the midst of internal strife, they will surely seize the opportunity to strike. In this war, the Cloud Village's losses haven't been that severe."

"The war has dragged on for a long time; the villagers and ninjas are exhausted. Do not drag Konoha further into this quagmire of war out of a moment of anger. It would chill the hearts of the ninjas fighting hard on the front lines who wish to end the Third Shinobi World War."

Heh, as expected of the older generation, standing on the moral high ground comes so naturally to them.

It was clearly Danzo and you lot who struck first, yet in the end, I'm the one who has to concede? What kind of logic is that?

You won't even let me fight back?!

But she still had to consider the other side's argument.

The Cloud Village had retreated because the Third Raikage had suddenly sacrificed himself, and the Fourth Raikage needed to return to take up the mantle and stabilize the situation; otherwise, they could have kept fighting.

Among the other villages, Iwagakure had suffered significant losses while besieging the Third Raikage and fighting Konoha, but a man like Ōnoki, who dared to use ten thousand ninjas to surround the Third Raikage, did not lack courage.

If he could get a piece of the pie from the Cloud Village, he wouldn't mind taking advantage of the situation.

And while the Sand Village was an ally, they still required caution.

After much deliberation, she could only have Katsuyu return, and with a heart full of resentment, she walked out of the village under the watchful eyes of the Anbu and Root.

Staying there might lead to being backstabbed, and having to face those disgusting people every day was worse than just leaving.

Had the Old Man never considered what his three old friends might get up to?

Supporting the front lines was one thing, but to leave no restrictive measures in place—he was truly becoming more muddled with age.

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

The last clone left behind by Katsuyu appeared before Tsunade with Shizune. The thirteen-year-old Shizune looked at the furious Tsunade, lowered her head, and apologized repeatedly.

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

"Say no more."

Tsunade looked at the constantly apologizing Shizune, feeling her inner anger gradually dissipate, her expression softening into something serene and gentle.

She pulled Shizune into a hug and whispered, "It's good that you're safe."

Another reason she had left was the fear that Danzo would use Shizune to threaten her again.

Compared to dealing with her, finding and capturing Shizune was clearly much easier.

She no longer wanted to lose anything else...

Shizune was stunned by the gentle demeanor Tsunade rarely displayed; a soft smile appeared on her face as she hugged her back.

Lady Tsunade must be very worried about me...

The two comforted each other, and soon Tsunade pulled herself together, saying to her:

"We are going to the battlefield. Since the Old Man caused this mess, he must provide a solution."

As she spoke, Tsunade instinctively took out her dice, wanting to roll them to see if her choice was good or bad, but she stopped herself, remembering what had happened before.

Using gambling to predict the future was likely unreliable; she had clearly lost, and Shizune had essentially died once.

She had clearly lost...

Tsunade's expression turned strange as she thought of a certain someone who had said before the bet that whether he won or lost depended entirely on whether he wanted to.

That brat Hyuga Hane... he wouldn't be cheating, would he?

Inside the frontline command room, Jiraiya and Minato had been arguing about a single matter for a long time.

"Minato, you are the Hokage now; you cannot take risks like you used to."

"Teacher, I know, but this is simply my style of combat."

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

"This isn't a question of trust, Minato. Have you not considered your own situation?"

Jiraiya sighed. "Your deterrent power on the battlefield is even greater than that of the Third Raikage. Ōnoki had the audacity to deploy over ten thousand ninja to surround the Third Raikage. How do you think the Third Mizukage will react?"

The current Third Mizukage of the Mist Village was a member of the First Mizukage's Shadow Guard; if the Second Mizukage Hozuki Gengetsu hadn't been so powerful, the position of Second Mizukage would have been his.

Would a Third Mizukage who could mobilize the entire strength of the Mist Village, and who had very likely witnessed the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God, not have considered how to deal with Minato?

"I am not alone this time."

Minato glanced at Hyuga Hane, his eyes filled with trust, and smiled at Jiraiya: "I have Kakashi, Yakuwan, Hane, and Kushina by my side. Don't worry."