When Tsunade stepped out of the Hokage Building, Shizune came trotting over with Tonton in her arms.
"Tsunade-sama?"
The moment she saw Tsunade's expression—as though someone owed her several million ryō—Shizune felt a wave of unease.
It seemed that Tsunade-sama and the Hokage must have had a disagreement.
"The old man refused," Tsunade said expressionlessly. "In his eyes, assigning a medical unit to the Police Force would pose an enormous threat to Konoha."
Shizune asked hesitantly, "Then, Tsunade-sama, what are you planning to do next?"
Tsunade clicked her tongue and said indifferently, "Whatever I want to do, that old man has no right to interfere! Since he, the Hokage, isn't willing to do it, then I'll do it myself. In the end, he simply doesn't trust Uchiha Keizumi."
"He thinks that if the Police Force under Keizumi's control were to have its own independent medical unit, Konoha would no longer be able to control them at all. As if he can actually control them right now."
"If he won't do it, then I'll do it myself!"
Seeing Tsunade's expression suddenly brighten as determination began to rise in her, Shizune said softly, "Tsunade-sama, why are you going so far for that Uchiha Keizumi? What you're doing now almost looks like you're helping him on purpose."
Tsunade paused.
She said boldly, "I just want to see a shinobi world different from what it is now—a world where our loved ones don't have to keep dying on the battlefield one after another… and that brat seems like someone who can make that happen."
"And besides…"
"Even the Great Slug Sage has already acknowledged him. From the connection on that side alone, he and I are already in the same boat."
…
At the same time—
The Land of Rain.
"What's going on?!" Yakushi Kabuto muttered in confusion. Adjusting the glasses on his nose, he frowned deeply and said to himself, "Why can't I reach Orochimaru-sama at all… Could it be that Orochimaru-sama is in seclusion, researching some new human experiment?"
Kabuto had originally intended to send intelligence gathered from the Land of Rain to Orochimaru, but to his surprise, every message he sent disappeared without a trace.
He had not received a single reply from Orochimaru.
And within Kabuto's heart, a faint sense of unease began to rise.
"Maybe I can summon one of the snakes from Ryūchi Cave and ask what's going on—they should know something."
But just as Kabuto bit his thumb, preparing to summon his contracted beast—
He found that nothing happened at all!
He was stunned.
"Where's my summoning beast?!"
...
Tsunade, upon returning to the inn, wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed and sleep soundly, then head straight to Konoha's casinos for a long, wild gamble after waking up.
But just as she lay down on the tatami, she couldn't help but sit up again.
Tsunade gently patted her cheeks with both hands.
"Slack off too long, and your mind starts to crave more of it. After saying all those sharp words to the old man, I come back and suddenly don't feel like doing anything." Muttering this under her breath, Tsunade forced herself to stand, then turned to look at Shizune beside her.
"Shizune, come with me to the Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara clans—and then to the Ninja Academy."
She straightened her posture as she spoke.
Shizune blinked in surprise. "Tsunade-sama, why those four places?"
Expressionless, Tsunade replied, "I'm going to form a Konoha Medical Corps—and it's going to be one that doesn't take orders from the old man or his crowd. If I recruit people from elsewhere, I'll mostly find shinobi loyal to him."
"The first three places I mentioned have already sided with Uchiha Keizumi. As for the Ninja Academy, those brats still have unformed worldviews. Before they turn into the old man's lapdogs, I'll go and pick out the ones with talent in medical ninjutsu."
Shizune stared in shock. "Isn't that blatantly digging into the Hokage's foundation? Especially the Ninja Academy—there's no way the Hokage would allow you to just do as you please there!"
Tsunade said, "Whether I do as I please or not—what's that got to do with him? Besides, Konoha wasn't founded by the Sarutobi clan, and the Ninja Academy wasn't established by Sarutobi Hiruzen either."
"What are you standing there for? Let's go!"
Shizune shivered and pulled a bitter face. "Yes, Tsunade-sama!"
…
Ninja Academy.
Sasuke had been in a daze all day. Whether it was Iruka's lecture or Naruto's chatter beside him, everything went in one ear and out the other, as though his mind had given up on thinking altogether.
He had thought he could move on quickly from his father's death.
But he had clearly overestimated himself.
"Phew…"
He exhaled heavily, muttering in a voice only he could hear, "If Father did something wrong, then he has to bear the consequences of it. Just like Uchiha Itachi did. There's no need for me to dwell too deeply on their deaths. A simple remembrance is enough—no need to be so obsessed…"
Perhaps he had managed to convince himself a little, for his vacant expression finally showed a faint ripple of emotion.
"It seems you've recovered."
The sudden voice drew Sasuke's attention. He turned his head and saw that Yamanaka Ino had, at some point, taken a seat beside Naruto.
"You… were you talking to me?" Sasuke asked, a little unsure. "Have you been secretly watching me?"
"Mm."
Yamanaka Ino nodded. "To be precise, I've been openly observing you. To prevent you from getting any extreme ideas and doing something wrong. After all, you people of the Uchiha clan… sometimes have a hard time controlling your emotions."
"If this matter causes you to misunderstand Justice in any way, Uzumaki Naruto and I will restrain you immediately, lest you slip and slide into the abyss of evil. By then, there will truly be no one left who can save you."
Sasuke was speechless for a moment, because what Ino said was indeed correct.
Just then he heard Naruto's disgruntled voice: "Hey, hey, hey—why is it that the moment Ino speaks, you snap out of it? I've said so much to you and you didn't take in a single word."
Sasuke snorted lightly and shot back out of habit, "That's because your consolation has not a single bit of nourishment in it."
"What?!"
Naruto glared at Sasuke through gritted teeth.
Sasuke glared right back, refusing to be outdone.
Seeing this, Yamanaka Ino stroked her chin.
"It does look like you've recovered."
She murmured it.
…
"Uchiha Sasuke should not be the Child of Prophecy we're looking for. On the contrary, the one beside him—Uzumaki Naruto—seems more likely. And Uzumaki Naruto appears to be Minato's child, doesn't he?"
Standing on Jiraiya's shoulder, Sage Fukasaku spoke slowly: "Back then, you also raised Minato as the Child of Prophecy. Perhaps his child has inherited some potential from him."
"Little Jiraiya, this time we shouldn't be wrong. The Child of Prophecy that Uchiha Keizumi said was at his side is Uzumaki Naruto!"
Standing on Jiraiya's other shoulder, Sage Shima also spoke: "Father and I are at least 90% certain that Uzumaki Naruto is the Child of Prophecy spoken of by the Great Toad Sage. On some future day, he will be the savior of the entire shinobi world."
On the treetop of a tree within the Ninja Academy.
Jiraiya looked toward a classroom about 100 meters away. Through the window, he could see Uzumaki Naruto inside.
"Uzumaki Naruto…"
"The Child of Prophecy…"
Jiraiya finally grew a little excited. "Looks like my decision to return to the village was the right one. To think that in less than a month after coming back, I've already pinpointed the true Child of Prophecy."
He paused for a moment, then added in a tone that mixed excitement with complexity, "Of course, this also counts as having made use of Keizumi. By following Keizumi's connections, I managed to identify the Child of Prophecy."
"Moreover, Keizumi doesn't seem to mind being used. Or rather, he doesn't care that we've guessed who the Child of Prophecy is. He has absolutely no interest in the Child of Prophecy at all…"
As he spoke, Jiraiya didn't even know why, but a faint sense of discouragement lingered in his heart.
Perhaps it was because the savior he regarded with utmost importance appeared, in the other's eyes, to be nothing more than an unusual child—and the other clearly knew what Uzumaki Naruto's true identity was.
Rather than saying that Uchiha Keizumi failed to understand the significance of the Child of Prophecy, it would be more accurate to say that he simply didn't place it in as exalted a position as Jiraiya did.
Jiraiya felt as if his own scope of vision had been utterly crushed by the other's.
"Jiraiya? What are you doing here?!"
A sudden, familiar voice almost made Jiraiya fall from the tree.
He hurriedly looked down—and saw that Tsunade and her disciple Shizune had, at some point, arrived at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
Before Jiraiya could scratch his head and awkwardly explain himself, the Sage Shima standing on his shoulder spoke up first: "Little Jiraiya is, of course, searching for the future savior of the shinobi world."
Standing below, Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "The savior? You mean the Child of Prophecy that big toad spoke of? So, you two toads have already helped Jiraiya find him?"
Jiraiya thought to himself that this was bad.
Sage Shima and Tsunade had previously exchanged harsh words.
Sage Shima said, "This has nothing to do with the Shikkotsu Forest."
Tsunade clicked her tongue. "Tch, with that attitude, it seems you really have found him."
The next moment, Tsunade's expression changed.
She fixed her gaze on Jiraiya and said slowly, "Do not use the excuse of searching for or training the Child of Prophecy to do anything that violates the boundaries of Justice. The toads of Mount Myōboku—and you, Jiraiya—I advise you not to stand on the opposite side of Justice."
"Otherwise…"
"I will not show mercy for the sake of old friendship."