Tsunade's Second Transaction

Chapter 14: Tsunade's Second Deal

The Third Hokage was undoubtedly an excellent politician.

He understood people.

He did not directly persuade Tsunade. Instead, he used the wishes of the two people she cared about most, Nawaki and Dan Katō, to persuade her to calm down.

Resurrection.

Even if such a forbidden method truly existed, it would certainly come with an even greater price.

Bang—!

Tsunade slammed both hands onto the table, making a thunderous sound. Gritting her teeth, she glared at her teacher.

"Why does protecting Konoha require a mere genin to sacrifice himself?"

"That is war, Tsunade." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was filled with helplessness as well.

He knew very well that Tsunade had always harbored resentment because of her younger brother's death.

Some of it was directed at herself, and some at Konoha.

Dan Katō's death had merely ignited that resentment.

Back then, Tsunade had even deceived herself into believing that throwing away one's life for the sake of protecting Konoha was simply foolish.

"No matter what."

Tsunade stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, word by word, "Since there's a chance, I will definitely bring them back!"

"" Hiruzen Sarutobi took another drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled a smoke ring before saying, "If you really can bring them back, I won't stop you. But the price absolutely cannot be harming Konoha. This old man still has some savings. Take it for now."

He first stated his bottom line, then offered his help.

Hearing those words,

Tsunade's anger gradually faded.

She lowered her head.

She picked up the Badge Shen Mo had given her and turned to leave. Only after reaching the door did she look back.

"Thank you."

Her voice was clear. Then she strode away.

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued smoking, one puff at a time.

It was better to unblock than to suppress.

He understood Tsunade. There was still love for Konoha in her heart; it had merely been covered by the pain of losing those important to her. As long as someone awakened it, she would love Konoha even more deeply.

Because at that time, she would also carry the will of those two people, Nawaki and Dan Katō, to protect Konoha.

"Cough, cough."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly coughed softly twice and adjusted his Hokage hat slightly.

Beneath that hat, which symbolized authority, his aged face looked even older.

A ninja spent his whole life fighting. Even if he was lucky enough to live to his age, he would inevitably bear old and hidden injuries. He no longer possessed the vigor of his former days as the Shinobi of the God of War.

However, he still could not grow old.

Because he had yet to find a suitable successor.

His gaze shifted to the potions Tsunade had left on the table.

It landed on a small red bottle.

A label reading "Can Treat Hidden Injuries" had been stuck onto it. The handwriting belonged to Tsunade.

"After being gone for so many years, your heart still hasn't changed."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled in relief. He picked up the bottle, sniffed it, identified it, and then drank a little.

What—?!

It was only a tiny amount, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes immediately changed.

Then he took another sip and drank more than half of what remained.

Afterward, he closed his eyes and silently felt the changes.

He understood his own physical condition better than anyone. Even Tsunade, a top Medical Ninja, had been helpless against some of his hidden injuries. Combined with his aging, he was actually much frailer than anyone imagined.

But!

After drinking that mouthful of potion, his body was repaired in every aspect.

Although the amount was insufficient to heal him completely, those long-standing hidden injuries, which resembled rust stains, had indeed been alleviated by the potion.

"Are these the items sold by that mysterious merchant?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the remaining potion, his gaze flickering slightly.

Even hearing it from Tsunade

could not compare to experiencing it personally.

It seemed that the background of this mysterious merchant truly deserved attention.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not completely believed Tsunade's account of a merchant from the New World. In his view, Shen Mo, whom Tsunade had examined and confirmed to be an ordinary person, was most likely merely a Puppet, deliberately placed before Tsunade by some entity and used to exploit her feelings for those she had lost in order to achieve some purpose.

Tsunade would probably continue trading.

Meanwhile, Tsunade and Shizune walked out of the Hokage Office Building.

"Lady Tsunade." Seeing Tsunade's expressionless face, Shizune could not help asking, "Did the Third Hokage refuse just now?"

They had originally planned to have Konoha provide the money to purchase Jars from that mysterious merchant.

Especially Level 3 Chests.

But the conversation just now

"He is the Hokage, after all."

Tsunade spoke calmly, seemingly not disappointed by the result.

A Level 2 Chest cost five hundred thousand yen.

A Level 3 Chest cost five million yen.

That was not a small sum. It was impossible for him to simply decide to hand over a large amount of money to someone else based on a few words from her—even if resurrection was truly possible, Nawaki and Dan Katō were not worth that price to Konoha.

"Then what do we do now?" Shizune was somewhat at a loss.

They still owed a huge gambling debt, and the Senju Clan existed in name only. Relying on the two of them, no one knew how long it would take to earn enough money to buy the Jars needed for resurrection.

"Of course, we call the jar merchant over and trade first." Tsunade did not slow her steps. "Didn't the old man say he still had some savings? He wouldn't refuse a business deal, would he?"

"But"

Shizune had originally wanted to say that amount of money surely would not be enough, but when she looked into Tsunade's eyes, she could not bring herself to say it.

Because that gaze held a firm goal.

Tsunade directly took the "savings" Hiruzen Sarutobi had mentioned and then returned to her former home. She had not been back for many years, yet everything here remained as it was. There were not even many weeds in the courtyard. Clearly, someone in Konoha had always been maintaining the place.

Perhaps it was the Hokage's order. Perhaps it was out of respect for the Senju Clan.

Tsunade looked at the familiar surroundings from her memories.

The once-lively clan compound now had only her left.

"Phew—"

After letting out a long breath, Tsunade did not dwell on her emotions for long.

She took out the Badge and, following Shen Mo's previous instructions, pressed the eye-shaped button in the center.

A moment later, the sound of beeping came from inside.

Then.

"Hello?" Shen Mo's voice came through. "Is that Miss Tsunade? Please wait a moment. Hikari, stop moving around."

"Meow, meow!"

"Smack, smack."

"Hold still!"

All kinds of strange noises came from the Badge. Tsunade and Shizune exchanged glances. Only after quite some time did everything finally quiet down.

"I'm terribly sorry. There's a little something going on here." Shen Mo's voice came through. "Miss Tsunade, did you contact me because you want to purchase Jars?"

"That's right." Tsunade answered in a deep voice. "I have some money with me now."

"Then—" There was a brief silence on the other end.

Then, with a soft bang, something happened in front of Tsunade rather than coming through the Badge.

Shen Mo appeared directly before them, dressed in a black formal suit with his sleeves rolled up. In his hands, he held a tiny white kitten that was soaked from head to toe and wore an utterly world-weary expression.

I had planned to look up some information, but I got hooked on rewatching Naruto. I'll have to make up the rest tomorrow, haha.