[Uchiha Clan Grounds]
Tsunade followed Rengoku all the way to his home.
Looking at this not-so-large courtyard, Tsunade was a little surprised. She had thought Rengoku's house would be very big.
"Tsunade-sama, please come in."
Rengoku opened the courtyard gate and walked inside. Tsunade looked around and also followed him in.
"Onii-chan, you're back? Huh? Who is this?", Ryuri, sitting in a wheelchair, was basking in the sun and, hearing the sound, poked her head out.
"Mm, I'm back. This is Tsunade-sama. She's here to discuss some things," Rengoku walked over, picked Ryuri up with one hand, and pinched her little face.
Tsunade's observational skills were extremely sharp. In an instant, she noticed that under Ryuri's skirt, it was empty, and her left hand was also severed at the wrist.
Ryuri tilted her head to glance at Tsunade and gave a sweet smile, "Hello, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade's expression was very gentle, "Mm, you must be Rengoku's younger sister. So cute."
"Hee hee hee, thank you, Tsunade-sama,"Ryuri smiled sweetly.
At this moment, Kaori, from the kitchen, also came out wearing an apron.
"Rengoku, this is?"
Rengoku nodded slightly, "This is Tsunade-sama."
"This is my family, Kaori."
With Rengoku's introduction, Kaori blushed slightly and looked a little shy.
But who Tsunade was, Kaori still knew.
"Hello, Tsunade-sama. You two probably have things to talk about, let me take Ryuri."
Rengoku also handed Ryuri to Kaori accordingly.
"Tsunade-sama, let's talk inside," Rengoku led Tsunade into the living room.
The two sat opposite each other. Tsunade asked directly, "Ryuri's body?"
Rengoku gently shook his head, "From the Nine-Tails' Rampage seven years ago."
Tsunade hadn't expected this to be the reason. Back then, the top brass led by the Third had been over there endlessly speculating that the Nine-Tails was controlled by someone from the Uchiha.
Yet the Uchiha Clan Leader's own sister had become disabled because of the Nine-Tails' Rampage.
It had to be said, it was especially ironic.
"This is the reason you recruited Orochimaru?", Tsunade, who had somewhat come to understand Rengoku, asked this.
Rengoku said slowly, "Although cloning still has many technological barriers not yet overcome, there is always hope."
He continued, "Do you know how many from our Uchiha clan dropped out of the combat force due to physical disabilities during the Third Shinobi World War?"
Tsunade naturally couldn't know. Rengoku didn't wait for her answer before continuing, "One hundred seventy-nine people."
"One third of them have trouble even living a basic life."
"Though our Uchiha clan can afford to support them, the psychological trauma caused by physical disability, as a medical ninja, you should understand it well."
Tsunade slightly nodded. She had seen too many such cases. Many ninja were glorious when healthy.
But once they were injured and disabled, unable to take missions anymore, life became extremely difficult.
In this world, medical resources were extremely scarce.
Besides the Five Great Shinobi Villages and some named small villages with proper hospitals, in many places, there weren't even medical ninjas or doctors.
When ninja got injured, they usually just endured it, or left it to fate.
This was also why many rogue ninja wanted to attach themselves to major villages.
Major villages had complete mission systems, intelligence systems, medical systems, which could greatly reduce mortality rates.
"And as far as I know, Konoha also has quite a few people who dropped out of the combat force for the same reason, right?", Rengoku continued.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow slightly, "Oh? I didn't expect Clan Leader Rengoku to have this kind of plan?"
"But relying on cloning for treatment, wouldn't that be extremely costly?"
Rengoku casually waved his hand, "Money sitting there is just paper. Using it to serve its proper purpose is the best."
"After all, using it for experiments can save more people."
"Better than losing it all in the casino."
At this point, Rengoku suddenly launched an attack on Tsunade.
The warmth on Tsunade's face instantly turned iron cold, "What does Clan Leader Rengoku mean by that?"
Rengoku stood up and looked out into the courtyard, turning his back to Tsunade, "Tsunade-sama, do you know at what age I started taking missions?"
"Ten years old!"
"After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, all the burden of the family fell on me."
"I had to constantly take missions, go to all kinds of dangerous places, just so my family could survive."
"But even such a simple wish was especially difficult to achieve."
Tsunade seemed slightly moved, "So what? Who hasn't come through that?"
Rengoku shook his index finger side to side, "If it were just that, then forget it."
"But those filthy guys like Hiruzen wouldn't let our Uchiha clan go."
"If I didn't resist with all my might, our Uchiha clan would have long been erased."
Tsunade knew the first conflict between Uchiha and Danzo clearly, so she knew Rengoku wasn't lying.
"Clan Leader Rengoku, if you have something to say, just say it," Tsunade really couldn't stand Rengoku's roundabout speech anymore, her tone slightly irritated and anxious.
Rengoku snorted coldly, "I just want to tell Tsunade-sama, I've been working for my family since the beginning, and now I'm striving for a better life for the Uchiha."
"I am the clan leader of the Uchiha clan, a senior advisor of Konoha."
"If I want to be Hokage in the future, I can just wait for the Third Hokage to die of old age."
Rengoku was now only 17. He could outlast the Third to death.
Moreover, once Rengoku's power and influence were fully established, he probably wouldn't wait for the Third to die naturally.
In today's Konoha, aside from Tsunade, no one was more suited than Rengoku to inherit the position of Hokage.
"Tsunade-sama has never suffered in this life. Money comes easily and goes just as easily."
"Because of Nawaki and Dan's deaths, every day you just drown in wine and luxury, wasting time."
"If you had spent the time you used gambling to study medical ninjutsu, who knows how many people you could have saved."
Tsunade's eyes flashed coldly, "That's my personal matter. No need for you to worry about it."
Rengoku sneered back, "If you want to lie flat, then just lie flat. But don't meddle in Konoha's affairs."
"If you want to manage Konoha's affairs, then don't waste your talents."
Though Rengoku's words were harsh, his tone made it sound like he was doing it for Tsunade's sake, which Tsunade truly couldn't figure out.
"What do you mean by all this?"
The time was not yet right, so Rengoku wasn't in a hurry to tell Tsunade about Edo Tensei and Rinne Rebirth.
After all, things that couldn't be realized were no different from a blank check.
Hearing Tsunade's question, Rengoku only smiled, "I want you to check and balance the Third Hokage a bit. Don't always come bothering me. After all, our Uchiha clan also wants to develop peacefully."
The current Third Hokage had no ability to fight the Uchiha.
But a toad hopping on the instep might not bite, but it itches.
Sending Tsunade was like throwing a meat bun to a dog, gone with no return.
Rengoku spoke lazily, "If next time the Third Hokage offends our Uchiha clan again, as the clan leader, I can't guarantee another disaster won't occur in Konoha."
Hearing this half-threatening statement, Tsunade's expression also became serious, "If the Uchiha clan remains peaceful, the Konoha upper echelon won't trouble you."
Rengoku nodded in satisfaction, "If we can develop peacefully, then someday, I will send Tsunade-sama a great gift."
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