A bright crescent moon hung in the sky, its silver light spilling into every corner of Konoha!
At Konoha's Hokage Building~
Inside the conference room~
At the front stood a red desk bearing the Hokage emblem. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the red chair before it, dressed in his Kage Ceremonial Robe!
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked rather grim, worry showing in his eyes. He brought the red pipe in his right hand to his mouth and took a puff, then exhaled clouds of smoke for a while before relaxing!
Two yellow desks stood on either side, aligned beside the Hokage's desk. Seated in the yellow chairs, from left to right, were the Hokage Advisor, Shimura Danzō, and the elders, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura!
The three of them looked no better, but they continued waiting!
Seated at the first row of red desks below were the heads of Konoha's major clans, Anbu squad leader Hatake Sakumo, and the Third Hokage's students, Orochimaru and Jiraiya!
The seats behind them held elite Jonin, Jonin, and Medical-nin!
Bang!
The conference room door was shoved open, and Tsunade walked over with an icy expression and sat at the end of the first row!
A little while later~
Dan Katō also entered the conference room, walking in a daze to the Medical-nin seats at the back and sitting down!
Utatane Koharu was in charge of logistics. Seeing Tsunade and Dan Katō behaving so rudely, she turned toward Tsunade and loudly reprimanded her:
"Tsunade, slamming the door and not even greeting the Hokage or the elders-have you no manners?"
Everyone's eyes gathered on Tsunade, eager to see how this woman whom no one in Konoha dared provoke would snap back at Utatane Koharu, the logistics elder!
Sure enough~
With a tremendous bang~
Tsunade slammed her hands on the desk and shot to her feet, angrily shouting at Utatane Koharu:
"Just mind your own business! The Hokage hasn't even said anything, so what are you running your mouth for?"
After speaking, Tsunade completely ignored Utatane Koharu's face, which had turned purple with rage. She sat straight back down and turned toward the window, Uchiha Lei's figure appearing before her eyes!
Utatane Koharu was furious. Breathing heavily, she turned toward Hiruzen Sarutobi and slowly said:
"Hiruzen, look at Tsunade! What has become of her? She actually lashed out at an elder in public!"
"Koharu, the war situation is urgent. Don't dwell on these little things!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned and answered casually, then looked at Hatake Sakumo seated at the desk opposite him and continued:
"Sakumo, brief everyone on the situation!"
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
Hatake Sakumo stood up, then spoke loudly:
"According to reports from our ninja on the front lines, Amegakure ninja have launched a large-scale invasion along the Land of Fire's border. Leading them is Hanzō, the man known as the Demigod!"
Partway through his report, Hatake Sakumo turned toward Tsunade on his right and said:
"Also, Hanzō's summon, Ibuse, has extremely potent poison. Lady Tsunade will need to counter it, and we also need large numbers of Medical-nin to treat our wounded. That concludes my report!"
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's signal, Hatake Sakumo sat back down in his seat!
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned toward the distracted Tsunade and called softly:
"Tsunade, Tsunade..."
Beside her, Orochimaru nudged Tsunade's fair arm with his own and quietly reminded her:
"Tsunade, Sensei is calling you!"
Only then did Tsunade come back to herself. Planting both hands on the desk, she stood and asked:
"Old man, what do you need?"
"Ahem!"
Tsunade's way of addressing him made Hiruzen Sarutobi choke as he smoked. After taking a moment to recover, he quietly instructed her:
"Tsunade, there's the poison from Hanzō's Ibuse, and the front lines need large numbers of Medical-nin. I'll leave both matters to you!"
Tsunade knitted her brows tightly, then said:
"I can try to formulate an antidote for Ibuse's poison, but we have limited medical ninja. Training them takes time!"
"Tsunade, what's so difficult about that? Just pick people from among the regular ninja and teach them Medical Ninjutsu!"
Utatane Koharu looked as though her argument made perfect sense, then glanced at Mitokado Homura and Shimura Danzō beside her, signaling them!
Mitokado Homura chimed in:
"I think Koharu has a point!"
Shimura Danzō also voiced his agreement:
"Medical-nin are indispensable. We can use this opportunity to train more of them for future needs!"
Her face filled with anger, Tsunade turned toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, wanting to hear what he thought!
Hiruzen Sarutobi sought a middle ground between everyone's opinions and spoke softly in a kindly tone:
"Tsunade, it would be good to take this opportunity to train more Medical-nin. That would ease the pressure on you!"
"Then who's providing the ninja? You should at least tell me that!"
Tsunade asked in an unfriendly tone!
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the clan heads in the first row opposite him. Seeing their troubled expressions, he remembered that the Ninja Academy students were graduating today and answered:
"Tsunade, you can take your pick of today's Ninja Academy graduates!"
Tsunade immediately objected:
"That's not enough! There are too few of them, and they're all students whose chakra control isn't up to standard. That won't work at all!"
Thinking of the regular ninja in the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued with a somewhat troubled expression:
"Then what if we add the regular ninja in the village?"
Tsunade could see that the clan heads did not want to provide anyone. Thinking that even if they did, it would be useless if those people refused to cooperate, she reluctantly agreed before sitting down:
"All right, I'll try!"
"Good. I'll leave it to you, Tsunade!"
Having settled the matter of the Medical-nin, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued with a serious expression:
"As for the border, I intend to send the Hokage Advisor, Shimura Danzō, as commander-in-chief, with Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade assisting him. Does anyone have any other opinions?"
Everyone looked at one another, then finally shook their heads!
Satisfied to see that no one objected, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued making arrangements:
"Tomorrow, apart from Tsunade, the other clans will assign capable personnel to follow Danzo and the others to the border. Meeting adjourned!"
Without stopping to greet Orochimaru or Jiraiya again, Tsunade stood straight up, used the Body Flicker Technique to leave, and hurried home!
Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest and couldn't help complaining:
"What's going on with Tsunade? Being distracted is one thing, but she actually agreed to form Medical-nin squads with those people. Will that really work?"
"Tsunade had no choice either. The village won't give her anyone. I'm going back to pack!"
After putting in a good word for Tsunade, Orochimaru left the conference room with the Body Flicker Technique!
"So that's how it is!"
Jiraiya caught on. Remembering Hiruzen Sarutobi's troubled gaze, he realized he had misunderstood Tsunade, so he too left the conference room with the Body Flicker Technique!
Elsewhere~
At Tsunade's Mansion~
Tsunade returned home looking exhausted, then flickered to her door and opened it!
The light inside brought surprise to her eyes. She closed the door and entered the room, finding Uchiha Lei dressed in black pajamas, looking sleepy and yawning rather than sleeping. Warmth filled her heart:
At least he has some conscience. He actually knew to wait for me so we could rest together!
Uchiha Lei noticed Tsunade's return and the fatigue on her face. He came to the bedside, put on his slippers, then walked to her side!
He bent down, supporting her beneath her arms with one hand and behind her knees with the other, then lifted her sideways against his chest and said:
"Lady Tsunade, let's get ready for bed!"
"All right!"
Tsunade answered softly, wrapping her fair arms around Uchiha Lei's neck. A blush rose on her pale cheeks, and she lowered her head to rest against Lei's firm chest!
She watched as Lei thoughtfully carried her bridal-style!
Listening to Lei's strong, powerful heartbeat, she felt all her displeasure from that evening's meeting melt away!
Uchiha Lei walked to the bedside and gently laid Tsunade on the bed. He bent down to remove her Ninja Shoes, and when he noticed her pale pink feet tremble, he couldn't help chuckling!
"Hehe~
"Lady Tsunade, are you scared?"
Seeing Uchiha Lei sit down beside the bed with a mischievous smile, her pride got the better of her, and she softly retorted:
"Of course not! What would I be scared of?"
"You're scared that no one understands your difficulties!"
The mischievous grin on Uchiha Lei's face turned into a sunny smile. He raised his right hand to cup Tsunade's fair cheek and continued reassuring her:
"I'll be your confidant and listen to your troubles!"
Tsunade hesitated a little, because these were confidential village matters, and it would be wrong for her to speak of them!
But seeing Lei's sunny smile and clear, unclouded eyes, she hesitated for a second before recounting the contents of that evening's meeting!
"Do you think I did the right thing? I didn't keep arguing my case and demanding more people!"
"Just believe in yourself. You don't have to keep worrying about other people's reactions."
Uchiha Lei supported Tsunade's head with one hand and her slender waist with the other, helping her lie down on the bed before tucking her in. Before pulling his own covers over himself, turning out the light, and closing his eyes, he said softly:
"It's late. Let's rest!"
"Good night, Lei!"
Tsunade answered softly, then turned over and pressed her pink lips to Lei's cheek. Wrapping her fair arms around his waist, she closed her beautiful eyes and went to sleep!
[Thanks to "Reimu from the Masalembu Islands" for sending Power of Love ×1!]
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