"Sharingan: Genjutsu!"
Uchiha Fugaku's Sharingan slowly spun, soon taking the form of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The genjutsu of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan would have been enough, but Uchiha Fugaku feared it might not be reliable enough and used his Mangekyō to cast it instead.
Then Uchiha Fugaku walked out of the clan compound. The Root members present ignored him completely, as though they had not seen him.
"Next, I need to find Lady Tsunade."
Uchiha Fugaku was brimming with confidence, certain that finding Tsunade would be a piece of cake!
Uchiha Fugaku first went to Tsunade's home. No one was there.
Then Uchiha Fugaku went to the casino, but he did not find Tsunade there either.
Finally, Uchiha Fugaku went to the bar, but he still could not find her!
"This... how is this possible?!"
Uchiha Fugaku searched for hours, yet he could not find Tsunade at all!
"Where has Lady Tsunade gone?"
Uchiha Fugaku could not figure it out. Aside from those places, was there anywhere else Tsunade liked to go?
Meanwhile, Tsunade...
"Ah, this business with Orochimaru..."
Tsunade soaked in the women's hot spring and thought about Orochimaru. She had thought about this more than once lately.
She kept feeling that something was suspicious. Besides, how could Orochimaru have died so easily?
Orochimaru often talked about death, but in Tsunade's eyes, he was the one least likely to die.
More than half of Orochimaru's abilities were devoted to survival. How could he have died so easily?
After a brief spell of anger, Tsunade had sunk into prolonged contemplation, considering the possibility that Orochimaru had survived and the suspicious circumstances of his death.
"Jiraiya!"
Suddenly, Tsunade sensed a very familiar presence. A vein instantly bulged on her forehead, and she put on a bathrobe before throwing a punch at a particular spot!
The wall collapsed with a crash, and a tall, white-haired man was sent flying dozens of meters!
"Jiraiya, you damned pervert!"
Wearing her bathrobe, Tsunade went over and punched Jiraiya several more times.
Then, looking at Jiraiya's bruised and swollen face, she went to get dressed, satisfied.
Jiraiya's arrival had also dispelled much of the sorrow in her heart.
"Hehehe... I saw it!"
Despite his bruised and swollen face, Jiraiya suddenly broke into a lecherous grin.
"I've got it! I'll call it The Untold Story of a Violent Beauty and a Handsome White-Haired Hero!"
Jiraiya chuckled, having already thought of the title for his next book!
"Honestly, that Jiraiya..."
Tsunade rubbed her head, then headed home.
Soon, Tsunade reached the vicinity of her home.
"You're... Uchiha Fugaku?"
When Tsunade returned home, she saw someone standing outside her door.
"Lady Tsunade! You're finally back!"
Uchiha Fugaku had been standing there for hours.
After failing to find any trace of Tsunade anywhere he searched, he had decided to wait outside her home for however long it took.
He did not believe Tsunade could stay away from home forever.
But he waited and waited, and waited some more. Only after dark did Tsunade return.
"Uchiha Fugaku, I don't believe we're particularly close, are we?"
Tsunade looked at Uchiha Fugaku with narrowed eyes, unsure why he had come to see her.
"Lady Tsunade, you're the only one who can help the Uchiha Clan now!"
Uchiha Fugaku immediately bent at the waist and bowed to Tsunade, catching even her off guard.
"There's no need for that. What exactly is the matter?"
Seeing Uchiha Fugaku bowing at a ninety-degree angle, Tsunade hurriedly helped him straighten up.
"Shimura Danzō targeted us before, forbidding us from leaving the village on missions. We accepted that!"
Uchiha Fugaku's face filled with resentment at the mention of Shimura Danzō.
"But now he won't even let us leave our clan compound! Are we still part of this village? He's trying to erase the Uchiha Clan from Konoha!"
Uchiha Fugaku poured it all out at once, then looked expectantly at Tsunade.
"How dare that old bastard Shimura Danzō!"
Tsunade slapped the railing, shattering the railing outside her door with a single blow!
"Lady Tsunade, the conflict between the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha ended long ago. We're all part of Konoha now. The Uchiha Clan won't rebel. Could you see that justice is done for us?"
Seeing Tsunade's reaction, Uchiha Fugaku immediately struck while the iron was hot.
"Don't worry. Go home. I'll go see the old man right now. If he dares to keep letting that old bastard Shimura Danzō oppress the Uchiha Clan, I'll deal with Shimura Danzō myself!"
From another perspective, if someone's beloved grandfather had indirectly died at the hands of a rival clan member, they would feel uncomfortable about it even if they said nothing.
But Tsunade was judging the matter from an entirely impartial standpoint. Even Uchiha Fugaku could not help feeling profound respect for this princess of the Senju Clan.
He even found himself wondering whether the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village would improve considerably if Tsunade became Hokage.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade. I'll await your good news!"
Uchiha Fugaku bowed once more, then quickly disappeared from Tsunade's doorway.
"Great-Uncle... was passing your position to the old man really the right decision?"
Tsunade had already lost faith in this rotten Konoha.
That disappointment did not stem from those at the bottom, but from the higher-ups' misconduct and their willingness to turn a blind eye.
"Forget it. This isn't the time for self-pity. If Great-Uncle saw me like this, he'd probably think I was a disappointment too."
Tsunade smiled self-mockingly, then headed straight for the Hokage's office.
Meanwhile, Nawaki heard the loud crash outside from his room and came out to investigate, only to find an empty walkway.
The Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was working late, reviewing documents.
Usually, he could not finish reviewing his documents before ten at night.
"Lord Hokage!"
Tsunade pushed the door open and addressed Hiruzen Sarutobi with utmost respect.
"Tsunade, have you still not forgiven me?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed upon hearing how Tsunade addressed him.
"I didn't come to see you today to waste words, Lord Hokage. I just want to ask: you don't intend to rein Shimura Danzō in anymore, is that it?"
"Are you simply going to let him harm the clans in the village?"
Tsunade fired the two questions straight at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Danzo... is doing it for the village's sake too!"
After struggling for a long while, Hiruzen Sarutobi produced an answer that even he barely believed.
"For the village's sake? All of this is just for his own personal gain!"
"He's after Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan and your Hokage position!"
Tsunade mercilessly stripped away Shimura Danzō's hypocritical mask.
"Lord Hokage, don't tell me you can't even see that!"
Tsunade pressed him relentlessly, looking Hiruzen Sarutobi in the eye. Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, did not dare meet her gaze and averted his eyes to avoid looking at her.