Tsunade sat upright behind the Hokage desk, her fingertips tapping lightly on the desktop. She listened as Kakashi finished his detailed and thorough mission report on the Land of Snow, her eyes dark and thoughtful.
A moment later, she raised her eyes to look at Kakashi, asking in a calm voice,
"Kakashi, how do you view this upheaval in the Land of Snow and this man Kazahana Dōtō?"
Kakashi lowered his eyes and pondered for a few seconds, his tone objective and fair.
"Kazahana Dōtō is a very capable ruler.
If we look solely at his ability, he is definitely qualified."
After saying this, Kakashi hesitated for a moment before continuing to add.
"Lady Tsunade, Konoha has just experienced the fall of the Third Hokage. During the Third's tenure as Hokage, internal conflicts within the village accumulated, factional undercurrents surged, the overall strength of the village declined, and its reputation in the outside world quietly slipped along with it."
"The safest approach right now is to actively project goodwill to the outside world and ease diplomatic ties."
"Establishing long-term cooperation with the Land of Snow, while simultaneously re-engaging Sunagakure to solidify our alliance, can stabilize Konoha's external situation to the greatest extent."
Tsunade nodded slightly, acknowledging Kakashi's judgment. The reason she asked Kakashi in the first place was precisely to resolve this problem.
Tsunade lacked political wisdom and political talent, but she had one very good trait: she simply did not care whether or not she was Hokage, so she used Konoha's people freely.
Kakashi could give her advice, and Shikaku Nara could also give her advice.
"You are right."
Tsunade endorsed Kakashi's view, but immediately, her tone shifted. Her expression suddenly turned solemn, carrying a hint of helplessness and regret.
"Aside from that, there is one more matter."
"Little Lee's condition is extremely grim."
"Even if I step in to treat him, I cannot guarantee a one-hundred-percent recovery."
Kakashi's expression sank instantly, a heavy wave of helplessness and bitterness welling up in the depths of his eyes.
He knew Might Guy's obsession all too well, and everyone had witnessed Rock Lee's efforts.
Unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, relying solely on unyielding passion and bitter day-and-night training, he had grown to this point purely through taijutsu.
The sweat shed day and night, the perseverance of never giving up, and the obsession to push one's limits were things everyone saw clearly.
"Lady Tsunade, is there really... no way at all?"
Kakashi asked in a low voice.
Tsunade shook her head gently, her tone heavy:
"There is only a fifty percent chance of a cure."
"But once the surgery fails and the injuries deteriorate completely, Rock Lee will die on the spot."
"I know this outcome is too cruel, and both Guy and Little Lee will find it hard to accept."
"However, you must remember that life is never limited to just the path of a ninja."
"Being unable to become a ninja does not mean your life is written off."
"Living as a carefree, ordinary villager and passing your days in peace might not be a kind of happiness after all."
Speaking up to this point, Tsunade subconsciously dropped an example in passing:
"Just like Miki Yūya. That guy lives unrestrained and unrestrainedly joyful, and that is pretty good too."
Crack!
The calm and composure on Kakashi's face instantly shattered. The corners of his mouth twitched violently, and his complexion turned bitter in an instant.
Joyful?
Indeed, Miki Yūya was joyful up to the heavens!
Yet not a single person who had ever crossed paths with Miki Yūya could ever be joyful!
From start to finish, everyone suffered, everyone was stifled, and everyone got heart attacks!
He sighed silently and nodded helplessly:
"I... will report this accurately to Guy."
The next day.
Miki Yūya was summoned to the top-floor Hokage Office.
Inside the office, Tsunade sat at her desk, looking at the teenager before her. Without any superfluous small talk, she pushed across a stack of brand-new banknotes and a sealed official document.
"Yūya."
"This is the special pacification subsidy given to you by the village."
"Following Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan and the subsequent infiltration of the village by Itachi and Kisame, you were innocently caught in the crossfire several times and suffered heavy injuries. The village is compensating you for this."
"Starting today, you may collect a fixed special subsidy of ten thousand ryō from the Konoha Finance Department every month."
A ten-thousand-ryō monthly subsidy! Free money for nothing, a lifelong welfare benefit!
Miki Yūya's eyes lit up instantly. Pure ecstasy was written all over his face, and in his heart, he hailed it as a massive profit!
"Holy shit! Awesome!
Konoha finally did something human! Lord Hokage, you are still the best, unlike that old piece of trash the Third."
He snatched up the thick stack of banknotes from the desk, shoved them into his chest pocket, and then pointed at the sealed document, asking with curiosity:
"Lord Hokage, what's written on that?"
The document was dense with the professional handwriting of medical ninjas, winding and obscure, making it impossible for Miki Yūya to understand a single word.
Tsunade couldn't be bothered to explain much to him and brushed him off casually:
"A subsidy collection voucher. Just keep it safe, and from now on, getting your money depends entirely on it."
Miki Yūya didn't suspect a thing, shoved it casually into his pocket, and felt immensely pleased with himself.
Little did he know, however-
This was not any kind of collection voucher at all!
This was the entire Shinobi World's one-of-a-kind, sole officially certified:
[Konoha Medical Headquarters Special Psychiatric Evaluation Report]
The evaluation details clearly recorded:
Subject: Miki Yūya.
Cause of illness: Repeatedly caught in the crossfire of battles involving S-rank rogue ninjas and Kage-level powerhouses, suffering irreversible trauma on a psychological level.
Diagnosed symptoms: Aggressive hyperactivity, erratic logical thinking, habitual sarcasm and provocation, intermittent rambling, a lack of awareness regarding secular rules, emotions unbound by conventional restraints, accompanied by mild cognitive bias.
Rating: The Shinobi World's first documented case of a mixed psychiatric abnormality with asymptomatic presentation.
Purpose: To be incorporated into the Konoha Special Medical Research long-term project.
Put bluntly-
Throughout all of Konoha, by official certification, Miki Yūya was the only certified lunatic!
As for Tsunade's abacus, she calculated it brilliantly.
Giving Miki Yūya a ten-thousand-ryō subsidy every month looked like the village was losing money.
In reality, under the pretext of researching "the Shinobi World's first special psychiatric disorder," she claimed fifty thousand ryō in special research funding from Konoha's finances every month!
The fifty thousand ryō in acquired funds went entirely into Tsunade's own pocket to pay off debts, gamble, and squander!
The crucial part was that this evaluation had been signed and approved by all Konoha High Command and every single Medical Ninja!
The whole village acknowledged it: Miki Yūya had a broken brain, the project was genuine and valid, and the funding was reasonable and compliant!
Miki Yūya was completely oblivious to all this, feeling only that getting free money was exceptionally cozy, and blooming with joy inside.
Being a ruffian was indeed comfortable.
Just as he was happily preparing to turn around and sneak out to enjoy himself, Tsunade spoke up once more, instructing him with a serious expression:
"There is one more matter."
"Little Lee is heavily injured and bedridden, and in all likelihood will never be able to become a ninja again."
"I want you to visit the hospital, counsel him, and get him to pull himself together. Tell him not to give up on himself; even becoming an ordinary villager is fine."
As soon as Tsunade said this, Miki Yūya froze. Was she asking him to go do ideological work on Little Lee and make Little Lee peacefully content with being a villager?
As if that was possible! A mere Konoha Genin dared to come act like a ruffian?
"Hahahaha! Counsel him? Counsel my ass!"
"Good thing Jiraiya begged and pleaded for me to become a ninja back then and I firmly refused!"
"See that? This is the end result of being a ninja!"
"Working yourself to the bone, training to the death, gambling everything, only to end up severely injured with your future completely ruined!"
"Little Lee was a loser to begin with-he can't use ninjutsu, he can't use genjutsu, and he's utterly useless. Yet he insisted on squeezing into the ninja circle, and now he's crashed and burned?
Serves him right!"
He wore a look of utter disdain, waved his hand, and flatly refused:
"If you want to counsel him, go do it yourself! I'm not going!"
Miki Yūya would never do such a thing.
"When you get right down to it, Lord Hokage is also a quack!"
"Back then Orochimaru lost the use of an arm, and you couldn't cure him!"
"Now Little Lee is heavily injured, and you still can't cure him!"
"Two losers-one crippled ninja, one useless doctor-putting your heads together just gives you common ground to huddle for warmth! You go counsel Little Lee, and he'll accept it immediately.
Hahaha!"
[Ding! Conqueror's Haki +8]
[Ding! Conqueror's Haki +7]
Tsunade's previously calm expression instantly turned livid!
Damn it, she was still being called Lord Hokage when the money was being handed out just now, and now he was calling her straight by her name, calling her a quack on top of that-I'll quack your head off!!
BOOM!!
Ultimate fury surged straight to the top of her head!
She slammed both hands heavily onto the office desk!
The entire office trembled violently, and all the stationery on the desk bounced up!
Her chest heaved and swayed violently, her rage soaring to the heavens!
"Miki Yūya!"
"Get the hell out of here!!"
"Don't force me to lay a hand on you!!"
Calm down, I must calm down. Miki Yūya was an unbred orphan; there was no need to get worked up over a guy like this. Don't be angry, don't be angry.
Tsunade constantly comforted herself.
Miki Yūya didn't care about any of that. Upon seeing the system prompts, he knew Tsunade was panicked and had been jabbed right in her sore spot.
"Panicked! You're panicked!"
"Hit right where it hurts and too ashamed to face it, right?! Quack broke her defense!"
"Old hag, you probably can't cure Little Lee, which is why you don't dare to go, hahaha."
Unbridled and utterly devoid of reverence! And to dare humiliate her like this!!
Holy crap!!!
At that moment, Tsunade completely lost the ability to suppress the raging fury at the bottom of her heart!
Yin Seal!! Release!!
Chakra flooded her entire body in an instant, and the airflow around her exploded.
She leaned down, hooked a heavy solid-wood Hokage desk with one hand, and exerted fierce force-
CRASH-BOOM!!!
The office desk, weighing over a thousand pounds, was hoisted completely off the ground by her bare strength!
She spun around and hurled it fiercely forward!
Crack! Boom-!!
The sturdy walls of the Hokage Building instantly fractured and exploded!
Massive shards of stone and brick flew everywhere, and the entire wall was smashed straight through, leaving a huge gaping hole!
Bright sunlight and fierce winds poured into the office instantly!
And the moment the desk was thrown, Tsunade's figure surged forward, matching the extreme speed to catch up to Miki Yūya who had dodged her previous strike!
No one saw her movements; they only heard a sound of ultimate explosive air-tearing!
THUD----!!!
A heavy blow containing the power of a Kage-level powerhouse slammed accurately into Miki Yūya!
Miki Yūya flew straight back. Mid-air, his eyes rolled back instantly, the muscles on his face distorted, and his entire body went rigid!
Nosebleeds and blood splattered wildly from his mouth!
Like a shooting star with a snapped string, he was blasted straight out of the Hokage Building through the hole in the wall!
WHOOSH--!!
BOOM!!
His body slammed heavily onto the street. Upon landing, he couldn't stop at all, bouncing and rolling wildly across the hard pavement!
Ten meters! Twenty meters!
Flying gravel and billowing dust trailed all the way until he collapsed limply in the middle of the street, motionless, completely knocked unconscious.
At the top floor of the Hokage Building.
Tsunade looked at the chaotic breach outside the window and the corpse-like figure of Miki Yūya lying on the distant street. The white smoke on her palms slowly dissipated, and after panting heavily for a moment, her anger gradually subsided.
Ah, that felt good. If you're in a bad mood, you really do need to vent it out.
She gazed in the direction where Miki Yūya had flown off, a trace of regret and admiration flashing through the depths of her eyes.
"To think he hasn't refined a single bit of chakra, never stepped foot in the Ninja Academy, and knows neither ninjutsu nor genjutsu."
"Relying purely on raw talent to train his taijutsu to this extent... sigh."
"Those who want to become ninjas lack talent and can only work hard, while those who don't want to be ninjas happen to possess such terrifying talent."
Tsunade genuinely knew how strong Miki Yūya's combat power was; judging by taijutsu alone, Miki Yūya could already match some weaker Jōnin.
Yet stubbornly, Miki Yūya was not a ninja, while Little Lee wanted so badly to become one yet lacked Miki Yūya's talent.
Before you continue