For Peace, I'll Become Hokage!

The inn.

The group sat together, eating some of Tanzaku Town's more famous takeout dishes. Tsunade and Jiraiya were drinking sake and were already showing signs of getting tipsy.

Kyohiko felt uneasy.

Ever since they'd started eating, Tsunade had kept glancing at him from time to time.

Wasn't she just using this as an excuse to fleece him?

He really had only been trying to help Shizune!

Kyohiko kept his head down and shoveled food into his mouth.

Jiraiya asked, "Tsunade, what time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"When did I say I was going back?"

Tsunade lowered her head. "Tomorrow, take Shizune back for me."

Sitting nearby, Kyohiko wanted to add fuel to the fire, but he knew this wasn't the right time for him to speak.

Jiraiya, Shizune.

Come on, give me something to work with!

"Lady Tsunade, I'm not leaving! Your health..."

Shizune jumped to her feet in a panic.

She understood perfectly well.

Tsunade was powerful, but she suffered from Hemophobia. If someone really wanted to capture her, all they had to do was make her bleed.

How could Shizune possibly feel at ease?

Jiraiya said, "Tsunade, you know your own condition. Are you really willing to take that risk?"

Kakashi and Kurenai Yuhi were full of questions.

Lady Tsunade...

Was something wrong with her?

They were curious, but didn't feel they could ask.

Tsunade sneered. "What good is a Medical Ninja with Hemophobia if I go back?"

What?

Kakashi and Kurenai Yuhi were stunned.

Hemophobia!

No wonder Lady Tsunade had left Konoha!

Once you developed this condition, your career as a ninja was practically over.

For a Medical Ninja, even more so.

Treating injuries and illnesses often meant using a blade and drawing blood. With this condition, she could pretty much say goodbye to surgery.

And Tsunade was the pride of Konoha's Medical Ninjas...

Kyohiko was a little surprised, too.

Tsunade had lost her composure.

What he hadn't expected was—

She didn't wait for Jiraiya to answer. Instead, she looked straight at Kyohiko.

"Kid, you had plenty to say earlier. Tell me, what good would I be if I went back?"

Tsunade's gaze was dark.

Kyohiko was briefly taken aback. Then delight welled up inside him, and he immediately gathered his thoughts.

His chance had come!

"I don't know much about Medical Ninjutsu or Hemophobia, but I do know that a ninja like you has plenty to offer through your experience, skills, and reputation. Take Shizune, for example. Under your guidance, hasn't her Medical Ninjutsu been improving day by day?"

Shizune nodded again and again.

Tsunade didn't reply. She simply drank another cup in silence.

"If teaching isn't what you want to pursue, why not try becoming Hokage? You could use your position to change the policies you dislike or disagree with."

Kyohiko's expression was serious. "Konoha's well-developed Medical Ninja system has saved a great many ninjas, and you have the standing and reputation to become Hokage."

"Kyohiko!"

Jiraiya panicked.

This kid really knew how to go straight for the sore spot.

Hokage...

That was Tsunade's most sensitive subject!

Tsunade sneered.

"Kid, Hokage... What do you know about it?"

"I'm young, so I really don't know much. But I'll make becoming Hokage my goal and do what I want to accomplish."

His young face was earnest and serious.

Kakashi and Kurenai Yuhi didn't even blink.

Kyohiko's ideas and way of speaking made him seem like an older peer of Jiraiya and Tsunade, not someone their own age.

And on top of that—

He had guts!

How could they ever dare say something like that?

She was Tsunade!

Tsunade was stunned, too.

She understood what Jiraiya had meant by Kyohiko's "way of thinking."

The kid's mind operated on a completely different level from an ordinary child's. It was like he was playing a different game altogether.

For a moment, she seemed to see the shadows of two other people in Kyohiko.

Tsunade fell silent.

Kyohiko kept eating, entirely unaware that everyone's attention was on him.

He ate calmly.

Jiraiya drank, but he kept his eyes on Tsunade the whole time.

He was afraid Tsunade would slam the table!

The kind of slam that smashed it to pieces.

But—

Tsunade only smiled. It was a somewhat terrifying smile, but...

At least she didn't hit anyone.

"Are you dissatisfied with the village?"

"I am!"

Kyohiko put down his bowl and chopsticks.

He spoke earnestly. "We've all lost loved ones in war. How could we possibly be satisfied with the village as it is? I'm going to become Hokage and put an end to war!"

"..."

Jiraiya's eyelid twitched.

The kid had the audacity of someone dancing on a grave.

Tsunade propped her head on one hand and glanced sideways at Kyohiko. Her expression was remarkably calm.

"Put an end to war? It's not that easy."

"If you never try, you'll never be disappointed? I don't think that's right."

Kyohiko gathered his dishes.

He'd said his piece. Time to make a quick exit!

He stood and bowed.

"Sorry, I'm going to train."

Kakashi quickly finished eating, then echoed him and hurried to leave.

The atmosphere was far too oppressive!

Training was better than this.

Half reclining, Tsunade looked at Shizune and Kurenai Yuhi, her voice calm.

"Aren't you going to train?"

"I-I'm full, too!"

Kurenai Yuhi turned deathly pale with fright. She immediately stopped eating, set down her bowl and chopsticks, bowed, and hurried out.

Shizune was still a little worried.

Tsunade was intimidating at the moment, but—

Shizune was more worried that Tsunade would leave without her while she had the chance.

Tsunade was capable of doing that.

After hesitating for a moment, she said, "I'll go outside."

Only Jiraiya and Tsunade remained in the room.

They drank in silence.

A few seconds later, Tsunade snorted, drained the sake in her cup, and reached for another.

Jiraiya stopped her.

"Don't drink anymore."

"I'm not allowed to drink now?"

Tsunade shot him a glance, then quietly finished the next cup. She didn't pour another.

After a long while, she tossed aside the bottle.

"Let's go."

"Where?"

"To the roof. I want some air."

Tsunade waved a hand.

They went up to the roof.

From there, they could look down and see Kyohiko, Kakashi, and the others training.

"What's so great about being Hokage?"

"..."

Jiraiya had no answer.

He wasn't particularly keen on becoming Hokage himself. Otherwise, he'd surely have been nominated as the next one.

Tsunade looked up.

"My student lectures me, and you're not going to say anything? Maybe you could stand in for your student and help deal with those old geezers in the village?"

"Ahem, ahem. If I became Hokage, then I'd be the one you wanted to deal with."

Jiraiya blushed.

Tsunade toyed with the sake bottle, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "Let's go back and see which side sent those people. We'll find out what's going on first."

"If it's safe, I won't stop you from leaving," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade lowered her head and didn't respond.

Down below—

The three of them were training hard.

"We'll see."

[You successfully persuaded a wandering Kage Level ninja (incomplete) and an elite Genin to return to the village]

[Successfully recruiting talent is the key to a village's prosperity. Hokage, keep up the good work.]

[Reward: Strength of a Hundred (Beginner)]

Holy crap!

It really worked!

Kyohiko tried to get a feel for it and soon had a rough understanding of the Strength Enhancement Technique.

At the beginner level, he only had the basic skills and knowledge. He'd have to figure out and practice anything more advanced himself. The technique also required extremely precise chakra control.

With the beginner-level Strength Enhancement Technique, he'd have to handle that part on his own.

In other words—

Using it carried some risk?

Wait!

This reward didn't seem right. Tsunade had agreed to return, so why was the Strength Enhancement Technique only at the beginner level?

Kyohiko looked over the description.

"Incomplete," "incomplete."

It seemed...

The problem lay in those two words.

Fine.

Kyohiko couldn't do much about it for now, so he could only console himself—

What more could he ask for?

Learning the Strength Enhancement Technique was already pretty good!

With time, he could keep studying and practicing, then find another chance to get more rewards out of Tsunade. If he kept at it, he might eventually reach proficiency or even go further.