"The Chunin Ninja Exams?"
Shin Uchiha paused at Tsunade's words, then asked in some confusion:
"Isn't everything for the Chunin Ninja Exams pretty much ready? What is it? Did something unexpected happen?"
Just then, Shizune, who stood beside them, could no longer hold back and spoke up indignantly:
"Shin, actually, almost all the preparations for the Chunin Ninja Exams are finished. Even the invitations have already been sent out."
At this point, Shizune's expression turned angry, and she continued:
"It's those two elders, Elder Utatane and Elder Mitokado. Seeing that you've been away from Konoha lately and Lady Tsunade is pregnant, they wanted to take this opportunity to pressure her into handing over some authority over the village.
"But Lady Tsunade couldn't bring herself to kill them outright, so she had to keep dealing with them. That's why she came back so late."
Before Shin Uchiha could respond to Shizune's words, Tsunade said with some displeasure:
"Shizune, you're saying too much."
Then Tsunade turned toward Shin beside her and gently kissed the corner of his mouth before continuing:
"Shin, just let me handle this. After all, they were Second Grandfather's students. Even if they haven't made any great contributions to Konoha's development, they've still worked hard for it. There's really no need to take their lives over something so minor. I'll make sure they retire for good."
After hearing Tsunade's words, Shin Uchiha said nothing more on the matter. He planted a firm kiss on her lovely cheek before saying:
"All right. As long as you know what you're doing, I can rest easy.
"But if they really refuse to see reason, just leave them to me."
Shin Uchiha was not surprised by the sudden challenge from the two old elders who remained on the council.
After all, ever since