Konoha, Tsunade's Return

From the surprise attack on Sunagakure, the nighttime occupation of the Capital of the Land of Wind, to the complete control of the Land of Snow, it seems like a lot happened, but in reality it only took about ten days.

When he finished dealing with all these matters and rushed back to the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha, Tsunade newly appointed Hokage whom everyone had been waiting for, had just returned to Konoha.

Tsunade, being a decisive person, immediately went to the Hokage Tower upon her return to receive reports from everyone.

Mitokado Homura: "This period has been the most somber and darkest time since the founding of Konoha."

We lost the Third Hokage, and Elder Shimura Danzō Danzo, along with the Root Organization, was also killed by the Uchiha who secretly infiltrated the village.

Hiss... Huff...

At this point, he couldn't help but take a deep breath to calm his grief and indignation at losing two old friends who could protect him, and then continued:

"Furthermore, the Book of Seals was stolen, and we didn't keep copies of many of the forbidden techniques on it. In the future, we can only watch as the Uchiha use our Konoha's forbidden techniques against us."

Then, the ninja tool depot, supply depot... the granary was mostly looted, and medicines and equipment were also greatly reduced! It can be said that at least 70% of the reserves were taken away!

"Uchiha Feng came in person, and I had a chance to retrieve the items."

But he used the same secret technique he used to move a large number of the Uchiha Clan members and supplies away from Konoha, and quietly took away everything he had stolen before I could make a move."

Jiraiya, who was standing behind Tsunade, then spoke up to add to the discussion.

"That's what the old man brought on himself. When I left Konoha, I told him to keep that old dog Danzo in Danzo, not to be too lenient with him, and not to be too harsh on the Uchiha."

Now, haha, it's just reaping what you sow."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade showed no sadness or anger, but rather a hint of schadenfreude.

The suspicious circumstances surrounding Nawaki's death back then already made her resentful of Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had always indulged Danzo. Now that both menaces were gone, the fact that she didn't set off Hiruzen Sarutobi had been her teacher.

The only reason she's willing to come back now is because Konoha is the culmination of her two grandfathers' efforts, and she herself fought for the village; she still has some affection for it. Otherwise, a few words from Jiraiya and Naruto wouldn't have been enough to persuade her to return.

Especially since Orochimaru weren't sealed in this world, no one pressured Tsunade. If she really didn't want to return to Konoha, Konoha couldn't do anything to her.

At this moment, Utatane Koharu, spoke up to smooth things over:

"Tsunade, now is not the time to say hurtful things."

Now, the Uchiha have conquered the southern part of the Land of Fire and integrated it with the former site of the Land of Whirlpools to rebuild the New Land of Whirlpools, which has taken up a large part of our resources.

The daimyo, having lost large swathes of southern territory, was quite dissatisfied with us and refused to provide any aid whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Ōnoki and A, who are located on either side of Konoha to the north, will certainly not miss the opportunity to stab us in the back. Currently, Kumogakure has already sent a team to our village under the guise of medical assistance.

However, I declined their aid offer because the new Hokage had not yet been decided, and simply told them to stay in the embassy and not to move around freely.

While Iwagakure didn't send anyone, they did send someone to Otogakure to form an alliance with Orochimaru. Because we've tightened our defenses, we're temporarily unaware of the situation regarding Iwagakure and Orochimaru.

"Tsunade, if this continues, Konoha, which your two grandfathers protected with their lives, will be devoured by various forces in the Ninja World."

"It's not just Konoha that's being divided up by various factions," Jiraiya chimed in again, his gaze drifting south.

"Before I came to you, the Great Toad Sage came to me once and passed on a new prophecy."

He saw that in the future, the entire Ninja World would be littered with corpses and bloodshed under the swords of giants controlled by several pairs of Red Eye, and countless countries would be destroyed as a result, including Konoha and the Land of Fire.

Red Eye, the ability to control giants—this is clearly the Sharingan and Susanoo of the Uchiha.

In the Ninja World, the entire Uchiha is currently under the Uchiha Feng, and it's almost certain that the future prophesied by the Great Toad Sage will be their doing.

Therefore, if we don't do something, it won't just be Konoha; the entire Ninja World will likely be dragged into the war by that guy, starting the Fourth Shinobi World War."

"A prophecy, huh..."

Tsunade frowned upon hearing this. Although she disliked the eccentric Toad from Mount Myōboku, even the Slug Sage himself admitted that the toad's prophecy was truly remarkable.

But the current situation is not that Konoha can deal with the Uchiha however they want; rather, Konoha is completely helpless against them!

With Uchiha Feng's Susanoo, who in the entire Konoha, besides her and Jiraiya, could possibly defeat it?

Not to mention that guy can use the Flying Thunder God Technique without warning, and he's an invincible person who has no ties left because of Konoha. Who the hell would dare to mess with him?

However, Tsunade suddenly remembered Uchiha Feng, who had sought her help in finding his family before Konoha Crush, and clenched her fists, "Feng... Aunt Tōka..."

That guy, who was also all alone like her, was very likely their only living blood relative.

So, if we really have to say what the opponent's weakness is, well, I, the Hokage of Konoha, might be their only weakness.

"Kakashi, I heard you went to negotiate with the Uchiha. What was the result?"

Thinking about her relationship with Feng, Tsunade was overwhelmed with mixed feelings and had no desire to lead Konoha to become enemies with him.

What she really wanted was to find the other person, talk things out, and reconcile, so as to avoid a violent confrontation between the two of them, who were each other's only family.

"The talks didn't go well." Kakashi raised his hand to speak when he heard Tsunade's question. "But the Uchiha Clan didn't refuse either. From what I've observed, it seems that Uchiha Feng, who is in charge, has been delayed by something and isn't currently at the border between the Fire and Uzumaki clans."

Tsunade paused for a moment, lost in thought, then took a deep breath and spoke:

"I understand. Continue to follow up on this matter. Tell Uchiha that I, Tsunade, and the Fifth Hokage of Konoha are willing to personally have a good talk with their clan leader Uchiha Feng. Notify me immediately if there is any news."

I think Uchiha Feng will give me the courtesy of talking.

"Then... Lady Tsunade, Kumogakure and Iwagakure..."

"Iwagakure doesn't take any action for now, don't interfere. Kumogakure's 'medical team' wants to help, let them. Hiding things will only make them look down on Konoha."

Then, Jiraiya, you should personally go to Sunagakure and tell them that Konoha believes they were being used by Orochimaru, and if possible, restore the alliance between the two sides.

I think that Sunagakure needs an alliance more than we do right now, and they certainly won't refuse."

"Um... Tsunade, I need to go find the prophecy..."

Jiraiya hearing this, Jiraiya laughed it off, unwilling to take on the task.

Then "Bang!"

Before he could finish speaking, Tsunade punched him into the wall.

"Hmph, you brought me back, but you want to avoid doing any work?!"

Believe it or not, I'm quitting too!

After beating the person up, Tsunade still cursed a couple more times, not satisfied with that.

"Jiraiya, now is not the time to be willful. I will go with you when we go on our mission to Sunagakure."

Tsunade, don't just casually say you're going to quit and leave.

Konoha today cannot do without the two of you; it needs you two to hold the line and stabilize morale.

At this moment Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu simultaneously spoke up to persuade Jiraiya and Tsunade.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade frowned. Despite her obvious disdain for Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, she calmly agreed to their suggestion.

"You two old guys really should get moving."

Elder Koharu, since Elder Yan has volunteered to accompany Jiraiya to Sunagakure, then you should keep an eye on those people from Kumogakure."

Although she disliked those two disgusting old men, Konoha couldn't withstand any more turmoil, so she could only make the best use of them and send them away to avoid seeing or hearing them.

Outside the Hokage Tower, Naruto, who had Jiraiya, looked up repeatedly at the village, where many parts still had not been rebuilt, lost in thought.

Hinata and Kiba Inuzuka stood behind him, saying nothing, simply keeping their companion company.

"Kiba, Hinata..." Naruto suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Why do you think those people did this to the village? Can't we just sit down and talk things out?"

Upon hearing this, Kiba thought for a moment, then took Akamaru off his head, held him in his arms, and replied:

"Some are after resources, for survival; others are after weakening Konoha, for their own ambitions."

This is similar to how, among Akamaru's companions, some dogs fight to become the leader of the dog tribe, while others fight simply to get more food. It's a simple and normal situation.

His explanation was simple and straightforward, and upon hearing it, Naruto felt as if something in his mind was about to suddenly become clear.

But in an instant, a surge of Chakra from the depths of Naruto's soul rapidly swept through his body, causing him to speak inexplicably:

"I want to become stronger. Strong enough to protect the village and everyone."

Next time... next time, no matter who comes to Konoha, I will make sure they sit at the conference table and have a proper talk. I will never let the village suffer this kind of harm again."

Upon hearing this, Kiba looked at Naruto with a complicated expression. He felt that Naruto's words were full of mistakes, yet he found himself inexplicably wanting to follow in Naruto's footsteps.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, you'll definitely succeed."

Hinata, on the other hand, is love-struck and doesn't think about anything else; she just agrees with Naruto.

In the distance, their teacher, Kurenai Yūhi, watched them from afar, then turned to her boyfriend, Asuma Sarutobi, as if asking a question or seeking confirmation, and said:

"Asuma Sarutobi, we'll be alright, won't we?"

"Yes, winter has arrived early in Konoha, but spring will naturally come sooner as well."

Asuma Sarutobi gently squeezed Red's hand and replied softly.

After saying that, he looked up and gazed at the Hokage Rock, which had only been built a few years ago. The Hokage of Konoha had been watching over everyone all along.

He believed that as long as the Will of Fire, as his father had said, continued to burn in everyone's hearts, one day, everything that had been lost would return to Konoha.

By then, there will be a stronger, more united Konoha that will never be invaded by anyone again.