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Inside a Konoha tavern, Shin and Tsunade sat together.
“I didn’t expect Jiraiya to ask me to be Hokage. It’s almost laughable.” Tsunade took a sip of sake, a humorous expression on her face.
She had left Konoha after the Second Shinobi World War. Later, after Hiruzen branded Nawaki a missing-nin, Tsunade completely severed her ties with the village in her heart.
To her, Konoha meant nothing—She had only attended Hiruzen Sarutobi’s funeral out of respect for their past teacher-student relationship.
“Even if Jiraiya asked, it wouldn’t matter. Even if you wanted to become Hokage, Danzō, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane would definitely try to stop you.” Shin tore off a chicken leg and started eating it.
Thwack!
Tsunade smacked Shin’s hand with her chopsticks.
“Can’t you use chopsticks? Isn’t eating with your hands embarrassing?”
“Big Sis~ we’re in a private room. Who’s going to see?” Shin retorted, though he picked up his chopsticks anyway. When eating roasted chicken, Shin preferred using his hands; chopsticks were too troublesome.
“Big Sis? Are you mocking my age?” Tsunade slammed the table and stood up, glaring angrily at Shin.
Shin blinked, momentarily stunned.
“Alright, alright. I’ll call you Little Sister from now on. Happy?”
“You little…!” Tsunade playfully punched his arm, then sat back down.
“Shin, you’re saying even if I wanted to become Hokage, it would be impossible, right?”
“No, I never said that.” Shin shook his head directly.
“Although Danzō and the others would definitely object, if you wanted to become Hokage, it would be simple. Just use force to suppress them… Do you even want to be Hokage?” Shin asked Tsunade curiously.
“Why don’t you guess? Guess whether I want to become Hokage or not.” Tsunade didn’t answer, instead prompting Shin to guess.
“Do I even need to guess? You definitely wouldn’t choose to become Hokage.”
“Why? You must have a reason for guessing that!” Tsunade looked at Shin, pressing him for an answer.
“Do guesses need reasons?” Shin asked back.
“Alright, if you want to know the basis for my guess, I can tell you. But promise me first—you absolutely won’t attack me.”
Shin said, seeing the dissatisfaction on Tsunade’s face. However, his next words would likely make her even more dissatisfied.
“Fine, I promise. I absolutely won’t attack.” Tsunade assured Shin. How much weight that promise held, only Tsunade herself knew.
“The basis for my guess is… because you’re too lazy. Someone as lazy as you would never become Hokage. It would be like—the sun rising in the west.”
After speaking, Shin unhesitatingly flickered away from his original spot.
His action was indeed correct. Tsunade’s fist immediately smashed into the place where Shin had been sitting, punching clean through the floorboards.
They were on the second floor of the tavern; the punch created a large hole.
“Didn’t you promise not to attack? Tsunade, you actually broke your word! Good thing I was prepared, otherwise I’d be getting hit right now.” Shin said with a smile, reappearing nearby.
“Count yourself lucky you dodged quickly. Otherwise, I’d have given you a proper beating!” Tsunade grumbled, quite annoyed.
“I was telling the truth. If you don’t believe me, ask Kushina and Mikoto when you get back. They’ll agree with me!” Shin, apparently not afraid of death, dared to continue.
“If you say that again, you’re going to regret it!” Tsunade became even more embarrassed and angry, shaking her fist threateningly at Shin.
“Stop threatening. Let’s run quickly. The owner will make us pay for the damages soon.” Shin grabbed Tsunade’s hand and instantly flickered away.
The tavern owner, who subsequently came upstairs, saw the large hole punched through the floor and almost burst into tears.
In reality, even if the culprit hadn’t fled, the owner wouldn’t have dared to demand anything. But with them gone, he felt incredibly wronged.
——
“Why did we run? It’s not like we can’t afford to pay,” Tsunade asked Shin, speechless.
“Because it’s exciting,” Shin said with a grin.
“Should we head back to the Land of Whirlpools now?”
“No! Why go back so soon? Let’s stay in Konoha for a few more days,” Tsunade didn’t want to leave yet. This was a rare opportunity to spend some quality time alone with Shin.
“By the way, Shin, about Nawaki’s girlfriend situation—you asked him, right? Does he have a girlfriend?” Tsunade suddenly remembered this issue and asked Shin.
“No. Regarding Nawaki, you probably know him better than I do. Just guess, and you’ll know the probability of Nawaki having a girlfriend.”
“That idiot! I’m going to give him a piece of my mind!” Tsunade said, clenching her fists.
Shin silently mourned for Nawaki. Nawaki would probably avoid Tsunade like the plague in the future.
Shin and Tsunade began strolling through Konoha.
——
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Tower, Jiraiya’s expression was heavy.
“Jiraiya, you suggesting Tsunade become Hokage? Absolutely not!” Homura Mitokado stood up and declared.
“Tsunade left Konoha long ago. If she really became Hokage, Konoha wouldn’t be Konoha anymore.” Koharu Utatane agreed with Homura.
The two of them always seemed to be on the same page—one wondered if there was some unspoken relationship between them.
Jiraiya took a deep breath, then asked, “Then who do you think is suitable to become Hokage? Konoha can’t remain without a Hokage, right?”
Honestly, Jiraiya had only mentioned it briefly this time.
Tsunade had already refused; Jiraiya hadn’t held much hope anyway. But just mentioning Tsunade as Hokage met with opposition. It seemed impossible to proceed down that path.
“Regarding the Hokage position, I am the most suitable candidate. I nominate myself!” Danzō shamelessly recommended himself.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane’s mouths twitched. They exchanged glances, shaking their heads in silent agreement.
Danzō becoming Hokage was absolutely unacceptable.
Previously, Homura and Koharu often sided with Danzō, but that was because Hiruzen Sarutobi was still alive. They needed to unite their power to contend with Hiruzen. But now, they were competitors.
Konoha’s power was limited; dividing it further weakened everyone.
They absolutely had to refuse Danzō becoming Hokage.
The main reason was that they knew Danzō too well. Precisely because they understood what kind of person Danzō was—they couldn’t let him become Hokage. If Danzō became Hokage, the first people he would target would surely be them.
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