The Senju Clan Compound.
Dawn was just beginning to break. Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had only just woken up, looked utterly bewildered as he was brought there.
"Lady Mito, I need to get to work now."
"There's a guest you need to receive," Mito Uzumaki said calmly.
Hiruzen was left somewhat speechless.
What sort of guest needed the Hokage himself to receive them?
Before long, a figure appeared in Hiruzen's line of sight.
"And you are?"
Looking at the woman before him, he turned toward Mito behind him, his expression full of confusion.
"Monkey, this is a guest from Shikkotsu Forest," Mito explained.
"A guest from Shikkotsu Forest?"
He finally understood why receiving a guest required the Hokage's presence.
Shikkotsu Forest, one of the Three Great Sage Lands?
Did humans actually live there too?
He was somewhat skeptical.
According to the Second, there should have been only a single slug living in Shikkotsu Forest.
The woman before him didn't look like a slug.
Nor were there any chakra fluctuations coming from her, ruling out the possibility of a Transformation Technique.
She was clearly human.
"So you're a guest from Shikkotsu Forest," Hiruzen said with a smile. "Hello, I'm Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha."
Seeing the two begin their conversation, Mito had no intention of lingering.
After yawning a few times, she sheepishly took her leave.
At Hiruzen's words, Shobue gave a slight nod. "Hello, Lord Hokage. My name is Shobue. I'm a guest retainer of Shikkotsu Forest."
"Ah, a guest retainer of Shikkotsu Forest," Hiruzen said in understanding.
"May I ask what brings you to Konoha?" he asked directly.
He had urgent matters to attend to and couldn't waste too much time here.
Shobue paused, then explained, "I merely accompanied a companion back to Konoha. I didn't mean to