"…Slug Sage, haven't you always refrained from interfering in the affairs of the shinobi world? Why have you now chosen to intervene? Moreover, as a sage who has lived for over a thousand years, why would you stand on the side of a mere Uchiha junior?"
Cold sweat trickled down from Sage Fukasaku's forehead. He already knew that today, there was no way he could take away the Child of Prophecy.
Yet the doubts in his heart—he wanted answers from the Slug Sage.
The largest Slug Sage split body slowly spoke: "I do not know what the main body is thinking. I only know that I cannot allow you to take away this child, Uzumaki Naruto. This child's course of fate has already changed since encountering Uchiha Keizumi; he is now completely different from the 'Savior' in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy."
"I can only advise Mount Myōboku not to be too obsessed with Uzumaki Naruto. The shinobi world is not something that Great Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku can decide."
The Slug Sage split body paused, then added, "I am not particularly skilled in verbal arguments, but in any case, as long as I am in Konohagakure, Mount Myōboku must not lay a finger on Uzumaki Naruto."
"If you truly wish to, then call out the Great Toad Sage himself. You two juniors of Mount Myōboku do not possess that qualification."
Sage Fukasaku: "…"
Sage Shima: "…"
It was well known that among the Three Great Sage Regions, the Slug Sage was the one with the gentlest temperament, the most kind and friendly, and the most willing to help.
The words it spoke now were probably the harshest tone the Slug Sage had ever used in its entire life.
If Mount Myōboku continued to "pester endlessly," it was quite possible that this Slug Sage would actually take the initiative to strike.
"Little Jiraiya, today isn't the time." Sage Fukasaku could only whisper softly beside Jiraiya's ear: "The Child of Prophecy is indeed important, but you must not ruin the friendship between you and Tsunade because of it."
His words were phrased in a very smooth and tactful way.
He hadn't admitted that he was backing down.
"…Hah, fine." Sage Fukasaku's words finally let the boulder weighing on Jiraiya's heart fall. In a situation where Jiraiya was somewhat lacking in decisiveness, the opinions of the two sages of Mount Myōboku were obviously of particular importance.
And just at that moment—
Sarutobi Hiruzen and two ANBU shinobi finally arrived. Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately led the ANBU to stand between Tsunade and Jiraiya.
His aged face darkened. "Tsunade! Jiraiya! What are you two doing? This is the village! And both of you are the Sannin of Konoha—are you planning to start an internal conflict here in the village? If you do that, how will the shinobi of the village see you?"
His two students nearly fighting each other was something Sarutobi Hiruzen had not anticipated.
Originally, Sarutobi Hiruzen had thought that perhaps a spy from another village had appeared in the village and that Tsunade was about to fight the intruder—just that the commotion Tsunade caused was a bit excessive.
Who could have imagined that Jiraiya, who had just met with him earlier, would also be here?
And even more unexpected, Tsunade and Jiraiya were standing in opposition to each other.
"Old man, you'd better keep Jiraiya under control."
Seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen arrive, Tsunade's cold expression slightly eased, but her tone did not change. "If I'd come a second later, your precious Jinchūriki would have been taken away by him."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned.
He turned to look at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's face was awkward; scratching his head, he knew that at this point, even if he didn't explain, Tsunade would tell the whole story anyway—so he might as well say it himself.
"Old man, I've already told you about the Child of Prophecy," Jiraiya explained. "I need to personally teach him how to bring change to the shinobi world."
Sarutobi Hiruzen almost blacked out from anger—because of this matter, the two Konoha Sannin had nearly come to blows?
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath, steadying the turbulence in his heart.
He glared at Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, don't bring the nonsense from outside Konoha into our village!"
Jiraiya: "…"
Even though he had expected it, Jiraiya still hadn't thought that the old man would scold only him and not Tsunade.
That meant that, in the old man's eyes, his actions were wrong.
The old man still didn't believe in any so-called Child of Prophecy.
Nor did he believe in any Savior of the shinobi world.
Well, that figured…
If the old man believed in such things, he would have already accepted Keizumi's Absolute Justice long ago. This had led to the current situation where, although the old man and Tsunade stood in opposition, because of Jiraiya's actions he was now forced to take the same stance as Tsunade.
Jiraiya let out a faint sigh in his heart.
He could only scratch his head with an awkward smile.
He didn't know what to say.
Meanwhile, the two sages of Mount Myōboku had already chosen to stay silent, for from all directions, countless Slug Sage split bodies were watching them intently. The Slug Sage had already spoken so much—if they said anything more now, it would be the same as showing no respect at all to this Slug Sage.
At that moment, a large number of Police Force shinobi also hurried over. They all stood firmly on Tsunade's side and, even in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen, shouted in unison: "Tsunade-sama!"
The synchronized shout from the Police Force shinobi made Sarutobi Hiruzen's already darkened face grow even darker.
It seemed…
Tsunade had already gained the trust and approval of quite a number of Uchiha shinobi within the Police Force.
All the things this old man had done for the Uchiha Clan back then had earned him no recognition from anyone except Itachi, Fugaku, and Shisui.
And what had Tsunade done now? Simply by believing in Absolute Justice, she had gained the trust and acknowledgment of so many Uchiha?
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a tinge of jealousy in his heart.
He couldn't help but look toward Tsunade, his voice hoarse as he slowly spoke. "Tsunade, it seems there are many in the village who support you. Even the Uchiha Clan… are no exception."
Tsunade met Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze, and before all eyes, replied without the slightest politeness, "If I didn't have everyone's support, how could I possibly run for Hokage?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
He keenly sensed that while Tsunade was showing such a tough attitude, quite a few of the Uchiha shinobi seemed somewhat excited.
It was as if, with just one wave of Tsunade's arm, these Uchiha from the Police Force would, without hesitation, rush straight at him—the Hokage. Of course, this was merely Sarutobi Hiruzen's own malicious speculation.
"Old man, you have one week." At this moment, Tsunade suddenly spoke first.
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. "What do you mean?"
Tsunade said slowly, "In one week, most of the village's ninja clans and shinobi will unite to submit a formal letter to you, the Hokage, requesting that you open a new round of Hokage elections."
Tsunade enunciated each word clearly. "This is the will of Konoha's people. Sarutobi-sensei, surely you won't oppose the people's will and choose to ignore it, will you?"
"And by that time, I will be your only opponent."
Her way of addressing Sarutobi Hiruzen had changed—from "old man" to "Sarutobi-sensei."
Although it sounded more formal and more polite—
It had also become much more distant.
"Little Jiraiya, your old friend who can summon the Slug Sage seems ready to completely turn against Konoha's Third Hokage," Sage Shima said with a mocking tone. "So much for respecting her elders; I can still remember very clearly the tone she used when speaking to me."
Jiraiya broke into a cold sweat.
Elsewhere—
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances; both could see a slightly dazed expression on each other's young faces. Although they too believed in Absolute Justice, most of the time they stayed in the ninja academy and weren't sensitive to the village's political situation.
Clearly, they hadn't known that this "Granny Tsunade" intended to run for Konoha's next Hokage.
Not until Tsunade made it plain before everyone.
Only then did Naruto and Sasuke realize it.
Naruto scratched his head, muttering, "So I'm not the only one who wants to become Konoha's Hokage. If she becomes Hokage, then what should I do?"
Sasuke calmed himself a little and said, "It's not like she can stay Hokage of Konoha forever. Not everyone sits in that seat as long as the Third Hokage did."
"When you grow up, maybe she'll have already stepped down. After all, I've heard that this member of the Sannin of Konoha is already in her forties or fifties. By the time you're old enough to run for Hokage, she might be sixty or seventy."
Naruto clapped his hands together, suddenly realizing, "Right! After all, she's already a granny—she definitely won't be able to hold the position for long."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "…"
Tsunade: "…"
The two brats hadn't spoken quietly; their voices naturally reached both of them.
Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't expected that, in Naruto's eyes, this old bag of bones of his was also someone who should hurry up and retire. Because Naruto hadn't shown any dissatisfaction about his current situation, that meant the boy didn't care at all whether he stepped down or not.
Meanwhile, several faint, twitching veins had already begun to bulge on Tsunade's forehead.
The term "granny" dealt too much damage to her.
To the point that Tsunade directly ignored Sarutobi Hiruzen, turning around and cracking her knuckles as she walked toward Naruto, the aura emanating from her body even more terrifying than that of a man-eating demon.
Shizune, seeing the situation, tactfully stepped aside to make way.
"Brat!!!"
Tsunade's teeth were almost grinding to dust. "What did you just call me?"
Sasuke's whole body stiffened; feeling the pressure emanating from Tsunade, he immediately broke into a cold sweat.
Naruto instinctively opened his mouth. "I called you gran—"
Sasuke hurriedly covered Naruto's mouth, dragging him backward with all his strength.
Sasuke forced out a stiff smile. "This idiot dead-last was just spouting nonsense. Please don't take it to heart."
Watching the two little brats flee in panic—
Tsunade's aura gradually subsided, and her gritted-teeth expression of anger returned to normal. She murmured, "Fugaku's boy seems to be slowly coming out of the gloom of losing his father."