Clack...
The door to the Hokage's office was pushed open from outside.
Hatake Sakumo looked up and saw two people standing in the doorway.
The woman in front had long blonde hair and a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead. It was Tsunade.
Behind her, Shizune held the little pig Tonton and cautiously peeked out from behind her.
Neither Hatake Sakumo nor Nara Shikata was surprised to see Tsunade.
After all, ANBU had reported a few minutes earlier that Lady Tsunade had returned to the village.
Tsunade, for her part, was clearly aware that Hatake Sakumo was now sitting in the Hokage's seat.
She had run into an ANBU on duty downstairs in the Hokage's building and stopped him to ask a few casual questions, such as who was currently in charge of the village.
That was how she learned that Hatake Sakumo had been chosen at the earlier grand meeting to take command in a crisis, becoming the Fourth Hokage.
Tsunade didn't have much of an objection to it.
In her view, Hatake Sakumo was indeed well suited to the position.
Not only was he powerful, but the reputation of the Konoha White Fang was even greater than that of the three Sannin: herself, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya. More importantly, White Fang had always given selflessly of himself for the village and its people.
Tsunade had no idea that, two months ago, Hatake Sakumo had abandoned a mission to save his comrades and had subsequently been bullied by the entire village.
Although the news had spread fiercely, it had stayed within Konoha. Tsunade had been "traveling" elsewhere in the Land of Fire and really hadn't heard about it.
Shizune held Tonton and followed behind Tsunade, feeling a little nervous.
After all, the two men before her were both important figures.
One was the legendary Konoha White Fang, and the other was the head of the Nara Clan.
Shizune was only ten this year, just three years older than Kakashi, and still little more than a child. Only by hiding behind Tsunade did she feel a little less pressure.
Hatake Sakumo spoke first. "Tsunade, you're back. And little Shizune too."
He felt no qualms at all when he saw Tsunade.
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi was only Tsunade's teacher, not her father.
Besides, Hatake Sakumo guessed that their relationship wasn't all that good.
Why did he think so?
Simply because Tsunade's younger brother, Senju Nawaki, a child so young, had somehow managed to sneak out of the village and onto the battlefield during the Second Shinobi World War, only to be blown to death. He was Hashirama Senju's own grandson!
Tsunade was the princess of the Land of Fire, and Nawaki was its "crown prince."
Yet such an important boy had managed to sneak onto the battlefield during wartime, when the village was on heightened alert?
Was that reasonable? No, it wasn't!
Whether or not Hiruzen Sarutobi had anything to do with Nawaki's death, the fact remained that Nawaki had slipped out of the village and been blown to death. The Hokage could hardly escape blame.
Of course, this was all Hatake Sakumo's speculation. The original owner's memories held no further information about it.
But that was beside the point. There was another reason Hatake Sakumo truly felt no qualms: he was extremely powerful now.
Even if Tsunade did notice something, he could still run away.
The Shinobi World was so vast. Where couldn't he go?
Hatake Sakumo gave Tsunade a couple of glances.
Mm, they really were huge!
Tsunade was only in her early thirties now, and she looked much the same as Hatake Sakumo remembered from watching the anime before he transmigrated.
Even her outfit was exactly the same:
A short-sleeved kimono under a green jacket, paired with cropped pants and open-toed high heels.
He shifted his gaze to the timid little girl behind Tsunade.
Dan Katō's niece, Shizune.
After the Second Shinobi World War ended, Tsunade had taken the little girl with her when she left the village.
Dan Katō had been Shizune's last relative, and when her uncle died in battle, Shizune had no family left. So Tsunade took her boyfriend's niece along and "wandered" around the Land of Fire with her.
Hatake Sakumo had paid considerable attention to the matter at the time. For one thing, Shizune was young and needed someone to care for her. For another, Tsunade held a special status: she was Hashirama Senju's granddaughter and the princess of the Land of Fire.
Though Tsunade was strong, Hatake Sakumo had always given selflessly of himself for the village and its people, so he had still been quite concerned about the two of them leaving.
"Lady Tsunade," Nara Shikata greeted her as well.
Nara Shikata was more than ten years older than Tsunade, while Hatake Sakumo was three or four years older than her.
By rights, neither of them should have been so polite to Tsunade.
But there was no help for it. She was the princess of the Land of Fire, after all.
If Hatake Sakumo hadn't been the Fourth Hokage now, he too would have had to call her "Lady Tsunade."
Tsunade acknowledged them, then turned to Shizune.
"Shizune, find somewhere to rest for a while. I'll come find you later."
As if granted a pardon, Shizune gave an "Mm," then hurried off with Tonton in her arms.
Once Shizune left, only three people remained in the office.
Tsunade tucked the blonde hair hanging in front of her face behind her ear and asked, "Sakumo, have you found out who really murdered my teacher these past few days?"
Hatake Sakumo didn't answer, instead turning his gaze to Nara Shikata.
Nara Shikata looked back at Hatake Sakumo.
He felt a little awkward. They really hadn't been able to find anything.
After hesitating for a moment, Nara Shikata spoke.
"Lady Tsunade," he said, weighing his words, "regarding Lord Third's murder... we really haven't found any substantial clues these past few days."
"Whether it was spies from an enemy village outside the village, or someone else who infiltrated it... they left no trace."
Hatake Sakumo listened, nodding from time to time to show that Nara Shikata was right.
Hatake Sakumo thought, Tsunade came back pretty quickly.
That was indeed the case.
If she'd been two days later, they would barely have been able to keep Hiruzen Sarutobi's body any longer. They had only kept it from rotting these past few days by packing it in ice.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had lost an arm, a leg, and his head, leaving only his torso.
Besides a large amount of ice, Hiruzen Sarutobi's coffin now contained a stone head of Hiruzen Sarutobi, carved in haste by a craftsman who worked on Hokage Rock.
The only reason Hiruzen Sarutobi had yet to be buried was that they hadn't gotten to the bottom of anything. Word hadn't spread through the village, and the ordinary civilians still didn't know that the Third Hokage had been murdered.
Everyone was waiting for the investigation to uncover the truth so they could provide an explanation and then hold a village-wide memorial.
Tsunade didn't respond. She was silent for several seconds before speaking.
"So... even now, you don't have a single lead to pursue?"
Nara Shikata opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He hesitated for a few seconds before speaking.
"Lady Tsunade... I wouldn't dare jump to conclusions."
"But, forgive my frankness, the Third was in his prime, yet the enemy easily severed his head, arm, and leg. It was nothing short of brutal. And yet Lady Biwako, who was in the same bedroom, was unharmed, merely knocked unconscious."
"Moreover, the Root Base, which was destroyed that same night, collapsed completely, as if there had been an earthquake. Although quite a few people did feel slight aftershocks, how could an earthquake occur only on the west side of the village?"
"Whoever could defeat the Third Hokage in his prime so easily, then destroy the Root Base with a force akin to a natural disaster, must be extremely powerful."
"All we can do is speculate whether it might have been someone from the older generation who bore a grudge against the Third. But they left no clues at all, so we have no idea."
After hearing him out, Tsunade felt an even greater headache coming on.
She had only learned that the Third had been murdered and hurried back, unaware of the other details.
Hearing all this, she thought that only a powerful member of the older generation could have done it.
But she couldn't think who it might be.
Her grandparents were both dead. Could any of the other old geezers have lived this long? But if it wasn't someone from the older generation, how could anyone of her generation or younger possess such strength?
With that, the Hokage's office fell quiet for the moment.
Hatake Sakumo broke the silence. "Tsunade, would you like to go see the Third? Since we still haven't found a single clue, his remains have been preserved and haven't been buried yet."
Tsunade pressed her temples. "I understand."
Hatake Sakumo knew full well that Tsunade didn't want to be Hokage. At least until Naruto was born and, as the original story went, taught her a lesson with Talk no Jutsu, Tsunade wouldn't want the position.
That was the conclusion Hatake Sakumo had drawn from watching the anime before he transmigrated.
But he still had to make a token offer.
He said, "By the way, Tsunade. Now that you're back, you should take the position of Fourth Hokage. Whether it's your status or your other qualities, you're better suited to it."
Tsunade had already turned around, but she quickly looked back when she heard that.
She knew her own situation best.
She spent her time wandering aimlessly around the Land of Fire, drinking and gambling whenever she had nothing else to do. Leaving aside her tendency to faint at the sight of blood, there was the question of whether she wanted the position.
She truly didn't want to return to the village, to this place filled with sadness.
"Better not." Tsunade waved a hand. "In terms of seniority and reputation, the Konoha White Fang has the edge. Besides, I really don't want to be Hokage."