Capital! Seeing Tsunade Again!

Land of Fire.

After leaving Konoha,

Chiba transformed directly into an afterimage and headed toward the Capital of Land of Fire.

With chakra empowering him,

Chiba's speed reached a terrifying level.

The dense forest rushed backward beneath his feet.

The gale he stirred up sent leaves whirling through the sky.

Sensing that horrifying aura, the wild beasts were so frightened that they lay trembling on the ground.

In less than a day,

as the sun slanted westward,

the towering walls of the Capital of Land of Fire appeared in Qi Ai Ni Ye's sight.

As the political center of the Land of Fire,

the capital was far more prosperous than Konoha.

The streets bustled with carriages and merchants.

The shops on both sides were hung with red lanterns.

Chiba walked along the bluestone road.

His immense sensory ability spread out, instantly covering nearly half the capital.

Very quickly,

Chiba locked onto a powerful and familiar chakra signature.

It belonged to Tsunade.

Inside a luxurious gambling hall,

"Big! Big! Big!"

Tsunade planted one foot on a chair.

She stared fixedly at the dice cup in the dealer's hand, fine beads of sweat gathering on her forehead.

The chips before her were already nearly gone.

Shizune stood beside her, holding pink Tonton with a look of utter despair.

"Lady Tsunade."

"We don't even have money for lodging anymore..."

Shizune muttered softly.

Tsunade ignored her completely.

This was the Capital of Land of Fire.

When she had money, she could naturally stay at an inn.

If she had no money, she could just go straight to the Daimyo Palace.

"Open!"

The dealer lifted the dice cup.

"One, two, three. Small!"

Tsunade looked as though she had been struck by lightning.

She slumped back into her chair, her eyes filled with unwillingness.

Yet deep down, she did not care about winning or losing as much as she appeared to.

Over the past few days,

intelligence from Konoha had flown into her hands like snowflakes.

Danzo was dead.

The Four Great Clans had bowed their heads as well.

The boy she had taught for over a year was about to ascend to the position of Hokage.

Everything had happened too quickly.

So quickly that Tsunade had not mentally prepared herself at all.

She was both happy and uneasy.

Happy because the Senju Clan would finally wash away its humiliation.

Uneasy because that youth named Chiba was even more extreme in his methods than the Uchiha.

He was practically a Demon King born to destroy the old order.

Just as Tsunade's thoughts ran wild,

the gambling hall suddenly fell silent.

The silence was extremely strange, as if every sound had been severed from thin air.

The gamblers who had been shouting moments ago all stopped moving and instinctively backed away to either side.

An indescribable pressure spread through the room.

There was no killing intent.

Only pure, absolute suppression from a higher level of life.

Tsunade suddenly turned around.

Chiba stood at the entrance of the Gambling House.

He wore a pure black kimono without any clan crest.

There was no expression on his handsome face.

Yet even standing there quietly, he was like an insurmountable mountain.

"You..."

Tsunade opened her mouth.

It had only been a few months since they last met.

This brat had become stronger again!

That aura, restrained to the extreme, was even more terrifying than when he had activated Sage Mode.

Chiba walked toward the gambling table.

The crowd automatically parted, opening a broad path for him.

"How much did you lose?"

Chiba stopped before Tsunade, his tone calm.

"Not much."

"Only a few million ryo."

Tsunade tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Settle her debt."

Chiba took out a thick stack of banknotes from his robes and tossed it directly onto the gambling table.

When the assets of the Four Great Clans had been liquidated,

everything that belonged to the Senju Clan had returned to Chiba's hands.

To the current Chiba, a few million ryo was nothing.

Looking at that huge stack of banknotes,

the dealer's eyes widened.

But the aura of the boy before him was too frightening, and he did not dare step forward at all.

"I'm done gambling."

Seeing this,

Tsunade grabbed the banknotes from the table.

She pulled Shizune by the arm and walked straight out.

Chiba tucked both hands into his sleeves and followed behind them at an unhurried pace.

Inside an izakaya,

the table was covered with grilled skewers and sake.

Tsunade downed three large cups of alcohol in a row.

Then she slammed her cup heavily onto the table.

"You really have some nerve, brat."

"You tore Danzo's arm off in front of everyone, and even forced Teacher Sarutobi to step down."

"Aren't you afraid of pushing Konoha into outright rebellion?"

Tsunade drank another three cups in succession.

Then she slammed her cup heavily onto the table.

"Rebellion?"

"Who would dare?"

Chiba picked up a piece of grilled meat.

His voice was soft, yet it carried absolute dominance.

At those words,

Tsunade's breathing caught.

She looked at the young face before her.

For a moment,

she seemed to see the shadow of her Great Grandfather, Hashirama Senju.

No.

Great Grandfather had not been so cold or so ruthless.

This brat was more like a fusion of her Second Grandfather, Tobirama Senju, and Uchiha Madara.

"You went too far with the Four Great Clans."

"I heard that Shikaku squeezed them dry."

"Those old men have deep roots in Konoha. If you push them too hard, they'll fight to the death."

Tsunade sighed.

"Fight to the death?"

"Are they worthy?"

"If it weren't for you,"

"and if Sarutobi Hiruzen were not your teacher,"

"then that day at the Senju Compound,"

"I would have used Wood Dragon to crush every last one of them into pulp."

Chiba smiled.

But his smile carried a trace of contempt.

Shizune listened from the side, her heart pounding.

She did not even dare pick up her chopsticks, afraid that making the slightest sound would disturb them.

On the other side,

Tsunade fell silent.

She knew very well what disgusting things the Konoha High Command had done over the years.

The decline of the Senju Clan.

The isolation of the Uchiha.

The White Fang's tragic death.

Which one of those had not involved those old men?

Even if Chiba truly wanted to slap them to death, Tsunade could not find a reason to plead for them.

"You came to the capital this time to meet the Daimyo, right?"

"Don't worry."

"I've already discussed it with him."

"You only need to make an appearance before returning to take office!"

Very quickly,

Tsunade changed the subject.

"In a few days, it will be my Succession Ceremony."

"Teacher, don't you want to go back and see it?"

Chiba lifted his cup and took a light sip.

Meet the Daimyo?

Chiba had never considered the Daimyo important.

His reason for coming here was primarily Tsunade.

Hearing Chiba's words,

Tsunade's hand around her cup suddenly tightened.

Return to Konoha?

That place that had broken her heart.

Nawaki's grave was there, as was Dan's memorial tablet.

After running from it for so many years, was she really going back to face all of it?

"I'm not going back."

"You're stronger than I am now, and your methods are harsher too."

"Whether I attend the ceremony or not doesn't matter at all."

A moment later.

Tsunade shook her head and still refused.

Even though Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others had already stepped down.

Tsunade had no desire to return to that village now.

Chiba had no intention of forcing Tsunade.

He merely set down his wine cup and looked at Tsunade calmly.

"The Senju Clan's name has been silent for far too long."

"So long that many of the younger generation of ninjas know only the Hokage, not the Senju."

"This ceremony is not merely my own ascension, but the complete revival of the Senju Clan."

"I will make the Senju Clan's name resound throughout the entire Ninja World once more."

"Teacher."

"If you're tired of wandering outside, then come back to Konoha."

"Konoha will always be your home!"

"..."