I Think They Were Pretty Ashamed

Ye Ning's heart softened.

Tsunade had meant well.

Her methods might have been a little extreme, but her intentions were good.

If he were Tsunade, he might not agree to let himself become a ninja either.

But he had no choice but to defy her. The thought of powers in the future like Super Shinra Tensei and Complete Body Susanoo, which could wipe out an entire village, made Ye Ning's desire for strength all the more urgent.

Not to mention a jutsu like Infinite Tsukuyomi, which could cover the entire Shinobi World.

He didn't want to entrust his life to the two protagonists who hadn't even been born yet.

He wanted to control his own fate.

It wasn't as if he lacked a cheat of his own. Who didn't have one these days?

"Don't worry, I won't die." Ye Ning pursed his lips and reassured her, "I'm the sort who treasures his life most. In the future, I'll be the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. I wouldn't want to die."

Only after realizing Tsunade wouldn't attack him again did Ye Ning relax. He sat cross-legged on the ground. "I spent two and a half years talking to Father about coming to Konoha and becoming a ninja. He actually had the same concerns as you."

"Ninjas live dangerous lives. We all know that. That's exactly why my old man came all the way to Konoha to pressure the Third and demand the Scroll of Seals for me..."

All he had ever asked for was to go to Konoha.

But his good-for-nothing old man had gone and demanded the Scroll of Seals outright. How could Ye Ning not know what he was thinking?

Perhaps, in the mind of an ordinary person like his father, the Scroll of Seals, kept by successive Hokage, must contain the most powerful jutsu. Then, if his son learned the jutsu in it, he wouldn't get hurt, right?

"The Daimyo came in person to demand the Scroll of Seals?"

Tsunade came over and sat beside Ye Ning as well, looking curious.

"Would the old man agree?"

The Third wasn't old at this point—not even close to being an old man—but Tsunade still called him that, and there was little respect in her tone.

"The Third had wanted to refuse, but my old man threatened to cut off Konoha's funding for the year if they didn't lend me the Scroll of Seals. That forced the Third to agree."

Tsunade paused, then broke into a smile. "That's a good approach."

It seemed only the Daimyo could make the Third and Danzo swallow their anger and back down.

"Here, this is the Scroll of Seals the Third gave me."

Ye Ning took a scroll from his ninja pouch and tossed it casually to Tsunade.

She took one look and scoffed.

"This Scroll of Seals is incomplete."

As the First's descendant, Tsunade had a special status. The Scroll of Seals, beyond the reach of ordinary ninjas, wasn't all that mysterious to her. Besides, her family had collected most of the jutsu recorded in it.

So it was no surprise that she could tell at a glance that some jutsu were missing.

"If the Third had actually lent me the original Scroll of Seals, that would've been something."

With his hands behind his head and his arms serving as a pillow, Ye Ning returned to their earlier topic.

"I really want to become a ninja. I know I'm still far from being a true ninja. I'm lacking in genjutsu and taijutsu, among other things, but that's what I have you for, isn't it?"

"Tsunade, you wouldn't really refuse to teach me, would you?"

Tsunade hesitated.

Her original plan had been to leave Konoha and travel.

The war had ended, and there was no one left in Konoha she held dear. Maybe leaving Konoha, leaving this place of sorrow, would help her feel better.

But now...

"All right."

Tsunade agreed readily.

"But you need to be prepared. I'll be very strict with you."

At that, the corner of Ye Ning's mouth curled into a subtle smile.

In the original story, Tsunade had left Konoha after suffering severe emotional trauma and losing all faith in the village because of White Fang's suicide. Now, to help him survive his career as a ninja, she had chosen to stay.

It was a good start.

Ye Ning believed he could gradually heal Tsunade's wounded heart.

A cousin was still a younger brother, after all.

If she could even cure Naruto, a complete stranger to her, there was no reason she couldn't cure him.

At worst, it would just take a little more time.

As for Hemophobia...

Wasn't it just a lingering effect of psychological trauma?

Once she worked through that trauma, the Hemophobia would naturally go away.

"By the way, do you know Hatake Sakumo?"

"Sakumo? Of course. He was a man worthy of respect. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have won the war against the Land of Wind so easily."

At that, Ye Ning suddenly realized something.

Compared with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Tsunade might have felt the impact of the White Fang incident more deeply.

After all, Tsunade had been on the battlefield in the Land of Wind. Without her, Konoha would have had no way to deal with Chiyo's poison.

After fighting on the same battlefield for so long, Tsunade and White Fang must have been close.

That was exactly why White Fang's suicide had made Tsunade lose all faith in Konoha and the Third, becoming the catalyst for her departure.

Ye Ning thought it over briefly, then spoke softly.

"You've been cooped up at home drinking so much that you probably haven't heard, but when I arrived, I heard rumors about Hatake Sakumo in the village. Most of them blamed him for abandoning a mission to save his comrades. It must have had quite an impact."

Tsunade was taken aback. Her political instincts weren't weak, and she quickly grasped the key issue. Anger surged through her, and she ground her teeth. "How dare they?"

Seeing her reaction, Ye Ning couldn't help finding it a little amusing. Tsunade looked ready to storm over to the Hokage Building and demand answers, so he hurriedly pulled her back and soothed her. "Don't worry. I've heard of Hatake Sakumo too. I know he's a hero of Konoha."

"I was so angry that I already confronted the Third and Lord Advisor."

Lord Advisor...

Danzo!

Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly. She said nothing, but she had clearly reached her own conclusion.

"After I gave them a passionate lecture, the Third and Lord Advisor felt deeply remorseful and ashamed. They've agreed to investigate the matter thoroughly and promised to catch whoever spread the rumors. The village should be free of them by now."

"Remorseful? They know how to be ashamed?"

"I think they were pretty ashamed. Anyway, they did offer a sincere apology."

Though Ye Ning said that, he couldn't help sneering to himself.

Ashamed?

They were willing to let Hizashi Hyuga die. Slandering White Fang was nothing more than a drop in the bucket.