Fourth Hokage

Konoha Village, Hokage Office.

At that moment, a blond man with a sunny face sat behind the desk in the Hokage Office. He was none other than Namikaze Minato, the current Fourth Hokage of Konoha Village.

He rested his chin on his hands and quietly listened to an Anbu Ninja kneeling before him as the man gave his report.

"Lord Fourth, this is the investigation report on the massive chakra fluctuation detected at the Land of Fire's border a month ago."

As he spoke, the Anbu Ninja took out a scroll and respectfully handed it to Namikaze Minato.

Namikaze Minato took the scroll and read it carefully, his brow furrowing unconsciously.

After finishing the report, he looked at the Anbu before him and said, "I understand. You may leave."

At his words, the Anbu bowed respectfully, then vanished in an instant.

Once the man had left, Namikaze Minato rubbed the corners of his eyes, weary.

He felt utterly exhausted, all because of the chakra fluctuation a month ago.

As soon as he sensed it, he had immediately sent Anbu to investigate.

But after a month of searching, the Anbu he had dispatched had come back with nothing.

They had even clashed with spies from other countries during the investigation, leaving Konoha's Anbu with a few casualties.

And that wasn't all. On the very day the chakra burst occurred,

a Genin squad led by an Elite Chunin had been attacked while carrying out a mission to eliminate bandits.

In the end, none of them had been hurt. They had merely been knocked unconscious, and all their ninja tools and money had been taken.

But when they woke up and returned to the bandits' camp, they discovered that every bandit there had been killed.

The incident had also caught Namikaze Minato's attention. He had a persistent feeling that the two events might be connected.

But despite the investigation, the Anbu he had sent out hadn't gathered a single useful clue.

Of course, this was also because Konoha was short on talent at the moment.

Konoha had far too few high-level fighters. Out in the open, there was only him, the Yellow Flash.

There was also the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, while Shimura Danzō lurked in the shadows. Beyond them, there was practically no one.

Oh, Uchiha Shisui of the Uchiha Clan was pretty capable, but aside from him, Konoha really had no one.

But he couldn't just use either of those two at will. Otherwise, it would give the outside world the impression that Konoha had grown weak.

Besides, he couldn't freely call upon the Uchiha Clan's people, either. The Third Hokage and the others wouldn't allow it.

Namikaze Minato had only recently taken over as Hokage, and he still couldn't consolidate much of his authority. That left many of his plans impossible to carry out.

Thinking of it left Namikaze Minato deeply weary. He had often lamented that he wished his teacher were still in Konoha.

Just then, a series of knocks sounded at the door.

Namikaze Minato cleared his throat, straightened the papers on his desk, then called, "Come in!"

The door opened, and Kotetsu Hagane walked in respectfully.

Seeing Kotetsu Hagane, Namikaze Minato put on a serious expression. "It's you, Izumo. Is something wrong at the gate?"

It was no wonder Namikaze Minato had guessed that. He and Izumo Kamizuki both loved working at the gate, as if they had some sort of fixation on it.

Working the gate didn't earn them much money, but they loved doing it anyway.

At Namikaze Minato's question, Kotetsu Hagane shook his head, bowed, and said, "Lord Hokage, nothing's happened at the gate. Lady Tsunade has returned to the village."

At this, Namikaze Minato sprang to attention and hurriedly asked, "Are you sure it's Lady Tsunade?"

Kotetsu Hagane nodded. "I'm certain. But Lady Tsunade returned with three strangers. I thought it was important, so I came to report it to you."

Namikaze Minato furrowed his brow, then looked at Kotetsu Hagane and said, "I understand. I'll handle this. You may go."

"Yes!"

Kotetsu Hagane answered respectfully, then immediately left the Hokage Office.

After he had gone, Namikaze Minato tapped the desk with his right index finger.

In an instant, an Anbu with a white fox mask and spiky silver hair appeared.

Namikaze Minato's gaze softened when he saw him, but he still said solemnly, "Silver Fox, please invite Lady Tsunade over."

Namikaze Minato held Lady Tsunade in high regard. To begin with, she had reformed Konoha Hospital and reduced the number of shinobi casualties by a great deal.

And his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, had stayed at the Senju Ancestral Residence when she first came to Konoha.

While he was courting Kushina, Lady Tsunade had helped him many times. All of that made him respect her from the bottom of his heart.

"Yes!" the Anbu replied, then immediately vanished.

Meanwhile, at the Senju Ancestral Residence in Konoha Village,

Tokiju and the others had already crossed the bustling streets of Konoha and arrived at the somewhat quiet Senju Ancestral Residence.

Looking at the residence before him, Tokiju sighed to himself. It seemed the Senju Clan really had fallen into decline.

Tsunade pushed open the door and immediately saw the courtyard, long covered in dust. She at once called on everyone to start cleaning.

If Kushina Uzumaki hadn't occasionally arranged for people to clean the place, it would have been overgrown with weeds by now.

Everyone present was assigned a task, even the pregnant Uzumaki Miku, who was given some light work.

As the only man in the household, Tokiju was naturally assigned the hardest jobs.

Tokiju, of course, wasn't happy with that arrangement.

But Tsunade used her authority as his older sister—and her loving iron fists—to convince him.

Just as everyone was hard at work cleaning, someone suddenly knocked on the front door.

"Coming!"

Shizune, who was closest to the door, called out first, then went over to open it.

When she opened the door, she found an Anbu wearing a white fox mask standing outside.

Shizune looked at the Anbu and asked in confusion, "May I help you?"

The Anbu looked at Shizune, nodded, and asked, "Is Lady Tsunade here? Lord Hokage requests her presence."

Tsunade walked over just then. Looking at the silver-haired Anbu, she said, "Got it. We'll come once we've finished cleaning the house."

The Anbu nodded at once, then vanished with a flicker.

An hour later, at the Hokage Building.

After they had finished cleaning the residence, Tsunade led everyone here.

When they arrived, Tsunade gave them a serious reminder. "When we meet the Hokage, show him some respect. Got it?"

Once everyone had agreed, Tsunade led them inside.

The Hokage must have known they were coming and given special instructions, because no one tried to stop them along the way.

When they reached the Hokage Office, Tsunade kicked the door open.

Seeing Namikaze Minato seated in the main chair, wearing the Hokage's haori, she greeted him at once. "Hey, Minato! You're doing a pretty good job as Hokage!"

As she spoke, Tsunade's gaze shifted to an old man sitting off to the side, a pipe clenched between his lips.

Her brow furrowed slightly when she saw him, but she still greeted him. "Oh, old man. I didn't expect you to be here too!"