The assassination turmoil had finally settled, leaving only embers that had yet to die out and the occasional crackle.
"These people were clearly targeting me."
Tsunade sat beside the campfire with one leg crossed over the other, deep in thought.
"The ninja who used Wood Release and knew in advance that I was returning to the village... Could Orochimaru have been behind this?"
To Tsunade, the assassination attempt had been a complete mystery.
The only person she seriously suspected was Orochimaru.
The human experimentation involving Wood Release had been one of the reasons Orochimaru had defected from Konoha.
Besides, Orochimaru knew the village's information channels inside and out, so intercepting intelligence about Tsunade's impending return would have been easy.
Other than Orochimaru, Tsunade couldn't think of anyone else capable of training a Wood Release ninja.
Kazuhiko, of course, knew exactly who was behind the assassination plot.
He could even guess Danzo's reason for launching the attack.
Given Danzo's obsession with the Hokage Position, he obviously wouldn't sit by and let Tsunade, the leading candidate to succeed him, return to the village unimpeded.
Danzo was capable of anything if it meant getting his hands on the Hokage's hat.
Kazuhiko sat across from Tsunade, his back ramrod straight.
He wasn't sitting that way to show off, of course. It was so he could look down at the scenery in the mountains.
He'd always considered himself a ladies' man, so he'd always followed his heart in word and deed.
"Lady Tsunade, someone among us actually knows who planned this assassination."
Kazuhiko turned to Kakashi with a knowing smile.
"Kakashi, you should know that there's a Wood Release ninja in the village, right?"
Kakashi had dealt with Yamato before and knew that he was a Wood Release ninja from Root.
The two of them