"Oh? Looks like we came back at a bad time, Lord Fourth Hokage?" Tsunade spoke first, her voice carrying a hint of laziness, but the jealousy and gunpowder in her tone were so obvious that even Kushina, who was hiding behind Ling and trying to make herself less noticeable, heard them perfectly clearly.
"Managing countless affairs every day, yet still finding time to have 'in-depth exchanges' about work in the Hokage Office. You really have it tough."
Kushina's face reddened even more. Tugging at Ling's sleeve, she said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's, "Ling, I-I'll head back first..." With that, scarcely daring to meet Tsunade's eyes, she lowered her head like a startled little red rabbit and quickly slipped out through the gap beside Tsunade. Before leaving, she secretly pinched Uchiha Ling's arm, signaling that he should deal with the trouble he had caused himself.
Only Ling and Tsunade remained in the office.
For a moment, the atmosphere stiffened. Tsunade still stood with her arms crossed, her sharp gaze fixed on Ling as though she wanted to find flowers growing on his face.
Ling smiled helplessly and walked to the door, shutting it first to block any possible outside prying.
Then he turned to face the obviously jealous Tsunade, his tone candid yet carrying an assertiveness that brooked no refusal. "You've worked hard, Tsunade. Did everything go smoothly?"
"Thanks to you, it went very smoothly." Tsunade snorted and walked past him, then sat down in the Hokage's chair behind the desk as if it were only natural. She even brazenly propped her booted feet on the mahogany desk where Ling had just been reviewing documents, leaning back until the chair creaked under the strain.
"The Feudal Lord and his bunch of noblemen were even more spineless than