Chapter 82: Tsunade's Forehead Kiss
Hanekawa woke up again, and it was already evening. He was still in Tsunade's arms, his face against her shoulder, enveloped in a faint scent.
Hanekawa subconsciously opened his eyes, and what came into view was a bustling street—Tanzaku Town. He shifted his eyes to the left, seeing Tsunade's snow-white neck and her golden hair hanging down.
"Are we going back?" Hanekawa moved his body and immediately felt the soft cushion beneath him.
"Why go back?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "We won so much money today; we should celebrate properly."
"Where are we sleeping tonight then?" Hanekawa yawned and asked.
"Don't worry, there's definitely a place to sleep." Tsunade stopped walking. In front of her was a lavishly decorated izakaya.
"Welcome, customers!" Seeing them stop, a young woman in a qipao immediately stepped forward to greet them.
"Bring me your best sake!" Tsunade said with a flourish.
"Yes!" The young woman smiled and said, "Please, come in."
"Get down now." Tsunade looked down at Hanekawa, bent over, and let him go.
"Thank you, Teacher." Hanekawa inwardly sighed, lamenting the loss of his pillow.
Tsunade ruffled his head and walked into the izakaya. She glanced around, seeing that it was full of customers, and asked, "Do you have a private room?"
"Yes, but it costs extra." The young woman replied immediately.
"That's fine." Tsunade walked towards the private room.
"Teacher, drink less." Hanekawa sat across from her and cautioned.
"I have my limits." Tsunade flicked his forehead and emphasized, "How many times have I told you? The teacher manages the student, not the other way around."
"I hope so." Hanekawa didn't believe for a second that she could control herself.
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, and since the sake pot had just arrived, she was too lazy to argue with the brat.
An hour later, Hanekawa was utterly exasperated.
"Come on, come on!" Tsunade was already drunk, her face flushed. She hugged Hanekawa and said, "You—you drink with me!"
"We should go, Teacher." Hanekawa snatched the cup away.
"No—not yet!" Tsunade shook her head and said, "Just—just one more drink, the very—the very last one!" Saying that, she reached out to grab it back.
Hanekawa didn't let go, and she tackled him. His vision went black as he was buried under a considerable weight. Thankfully, Tsunade got the cup and let him go.
"TEACHER!" Hanekawa couldn't help but roar.
"Why are you so loud?" Tsunade was startled, sobering up a bit.
"No more drinking!" Hanekawa said with a cold face.
"Fine, I won't drink." Tsunade met his gaze for a moment and then gave in, sounding a little wronged.
Hanekawa sighed. Question Shizune, understand Shizune, become Shizune. Tsunade really did need someone to look after her.
"Let's go. We'll pay the bill." Hanekawa got off the table and looked back to see Tsunade secretly picking up the cup again.
"Just a sip, just one sip." Tsunade held up her index finger.
"No!" Hanekawa walked over, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out.
"That damn brat!" Tsunade grumbled. "I'm your teacher!"
Hanekawa ignored her. He paid the bill and pulled Tsunade out of the izakaya.
Although another hour had passed, the street was just as crowded. The streetlights cast a warm glow, illuminating Tanzaku Town as if it were daytime.
Tsunade looked at Hanekawa's stern face and suddenly burst into a brilliant smile.
"This one will do," Hanekawa glanced around; the inn in front of them was the largest. He walked in and booked two rooms.
"Teacher," Hanekawa stopped at the door of their room, looking at the tipsy Tsunade, and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Now you're concerned about your teacher?" Tsunade snorted and asked.
"I've always been concerned about my teacher." Hanekawa paused and said, "I'll go ask the owner to prepare a hangover soup."
"No need." Tsunade flicked his forehead. "This much sake is nothing."
It was the truth. With her Yin Seal, curing a hangover was just a thought away. She only chose not to because she enjoyed the feeling.
"Stop flicking my forehead." Hanekawa complained. "It'll affect my intelligence."
"Okay." A smile appeared on Tsunade's face. She bent down and kissed his forehead, saying, "Good night." Then she opened the door and went into her room.
Hanekawa was stunned by her sudden attack, frozen in place for a few seconds before he reacted. His first thought wasn't that he'd gotten a bonus; it was danger! Because in the original story, everyone who got a forehead kiss from Tsunade died! This had the same effect as the First Hokage's necklace. He had now collected both. How was he supposed to survive?
Hanekawa's mouth twitched. He almost wanted to set traps around his room to protect himself. But he decided against it; his fate was strong enough. After all, he had the one-in-ten-thousand Term System.
A new day.
After breakfast, Hanekawa and Tsunade returned to Konoha.
"We're going to the Hokage Building to get our money," Tsunade suddenly remembered something. "It's the reward for a B-rank mission; we can't just leave it."
"Mm." Hanekawa glanced at her. She had already returned to her usual self, as if she had forgotten about last night. Hah, what a femme fatale!
The Hokage's Office.
The door suffered once again, taking a solid kick from Tsunade. But it didn't crack, a true hero among doors.
"Old Man—oh, Sakumo's here too." Tsunade walked into the Hokage's Office and noticed the tense atmosphere. "What happened?"
"I—I failed the mission—" Sakumo Hatake had shed his usual calm and looked utterly dejected.
"Failed?" Tsunade was surprised. For Sakumo Hatake to fail, that was a rare sight.
"Victory and defeat are common in war. Just start over." Tsunade thought for a moment and offered a word of comfort.
"Tsunade, it's not that simple." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "This time it caused great losses for the Land of Fire, and even the Daimyo was alarmed."
Hanekawa's heart stirred upon hearing this. This was clearly the mission in the original story that led to Sakumo Hatake's suicide. But he didn't expect to witness a live broadcast of it. Thinking about it, it made sense. He was an unexpected butterfly, and any of his actions could cause a butterfly effect. Moreover, in the original story, Tsunade had already left Konoha due to her fear of blood, let alone stand up for Sakumo Hatake.
"Let me see the situation." Tsunade walked over, picked up the mission scroll, and read it. Sakumo Hatake had written it in great detail. Besides the high mission difficulty, another reason for the failure was that Sakumo Hatake had chosen to save his comrades at a crucial moment.
"Since it's come to this, we can only try our best to salvage it. I'll go talk to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire." Tsunade put down the scroll and said in a low voice, "Old Man, blaming him won't solve the problem."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned. At this moment, Tsunade looked more like the Hokage. When he first learned of Sakumo Hatake's failure, his first thought was how to provide an explanation to the Land of Fire and Konoha. He even considered handing him over to the Daimyo to appease his anger. In the world of Naruto, shinobi serve the Daimyo. The key to this matter wasn't in Konoha, but in the Land of Fire.
Tsunade's approach was the most correct. Sakumo Hatake subconsciously looked up. He looked at Tsunade as if he were seeing the Will of Fire burning brightly.
"Then I'll trouble you to make the trip." Hiruzen Sarutobi composed himself and instructed, "Don't anger the Daimyo, or next year's budget will be affected."
"Don't worry, it's not a big problem." Tsunade chuckled. "The Daimyo owes me several favors."
"That's true." Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief. As a medical ninja, Tsunade had saved the Daimyo's family from a few serious illnesses, a life-saving grace.
Sakumo Hatake was dumbfounded. Was it really that simple to solve?
"Sakumo, it must have been tough for you to escape with your life this time. Go back and rest for a couple of days." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Sakumo Hatake and said. Mistakes deserve punishment. But he never wanted to kill him. After all, Sakumo Hatake was incredibly strong; without him, Konoha would be weakened. Missions had a possibility of failure. If every failed mission resulted in death, Konoha would have been an empty village long ago. In terms of danger, Orochimaru's threat in the original story was far more severe than Sakumo Hatake's single mission failure. But Hiruzen Sarutobi had a soft heart and let him go.
"Uncle Sakumo," Hanekawa caught up to Sakumo Hatake and said, "Kakashi has been worried about you."
"Kakashi?" Sakumo Hatake's heart warmed. "Where is he now?"
"It's Sunday, so he's at the teacher's house, training with Shisui and the others." Hanekawa thought for a moment and said.
"Thank you," Sakumo Hatake said with emotion. "With a friend like you, Kakashi is much luckier than I was."
Don't talk like you're giving a final will! Hanekawa's eyes shifted. "I wouldn't say we're friends. Kakashi always wants to beat me, but his sword skills are still lacking."
"You brat, daring to look down on my family's swordsmanship?" Sakumo Hatake was stunned for a moment, then laughed and scolded. "When I get back, I'll put him through special training. You'd better be careful!"
"I'll be waiting." Hanekawa nodded hard.
Sakumo Hatake walked a few steps, then it dawned on him. Hanekawa seemed to be deliberately trying to persuade him. They weren't that close; was he saying this for Kakashi Hatake's sake? "Kakashi, you've truly found an excellent friend this time." Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but say.
Hanekawa didn't return to the Hokage's Office but waited at the door. A moment later, Tsunade walked out.
"How was it?" Hanekawa asked.
"The money's in my hand!" Tsunade said, shaking the bankbook.
"I mean, Uncle Sakumo's situation. Do you have it handled?" Hanekawa corrected.
"Of course." Tsunade put away the bankbook and said casually, "You don't understand the Daimyo. As long as it doesn't threaten his rule, this kind of loss is nothing."
Hanekawa understood with a slight realization. In the constant wars of the shinobi world, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire couldn't afford to be without Konoha. As long as it wasn't a rebellion, it wasn't a problem.
"Just right, you're coming with me." Tsunade ruffled his head. "If you get the Daimyo's approval, your path to becoming Hokage will be a lot smoother."
"Okay." Hanekawa was also curious about the bustling capital of the Land of Fire.
"We'll rest for a night and leave tomorrow." Tsunade mused. "The matter is already like this; there's no point in rushing."
Hanekawa was about to speak but stopped. Now that there was no "public opinion" to worry about, there was indeed no need to rush. After all, fewer than five people knew about Sakumo Hatake's failed mission.
Just then, a hurried footsteps sounded. Hanekawa looked up and saw a grim-faced middle-aged man.
"Tch." Tsunade made no attempt to hide her disgust. "Hanekawa, let's go."
"Yes." Hanekawa followed Tsunade.
"Tsunade!" Danzo Shimura snorted. He looked at Hanekawa, feeling a deep sense of regret. He should have been more forceful back then and taken him from Hiruzen Sarutobi. Now he could only watch as Hanekawa's genius reputation grew louder. His swordsmanship was no less than Kakashi Hatake's, his genjutsu was on par with the Uchiha's, and his medical ninjutsu was unparalleled among his peers. Every time Danzo thought of Hanekawa, he felt a heart-wrenching pain. He pulled his gaze back, took a deep breath, and walked into the Hokage's Office.
"Hiruzen," Danzo said with a serious face. "Sakumo Hatake must be severely punished!"
"No need." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.
"What do you mean 'no need'?" Danzo frowned. "Hiruzen, do you know how great the losses he caused were?"
"I know." Hiruzen Sarutobi said calmly. "Tsunade will explain it to the Daimyo."
"Tsunade? She's just being ridiculous!" Danzo's face darkened. "If this matter isn't explained to Konoha and the Land of Fire, how can we earn the trust of the people?"
"This is the explanation, Danzo." Hiruzen Sarutobi said faintly. "As long as the Daimyo doesn't pursue it, the matter is settled."
"What about Konoha?" Danzo said resonantly. "Sakumo Hatake violated the shinobi code!"
"Rules are dead, people are alive." Hiruzen Sarutobi paused and retorted, "Do you remember how many shinobi codes you've violated?"
"I'm different!" Danzo immediately adopted a righteous expression. "Everything I do is for Konoha!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was speechless. You can fool yourself, but don't try to fool your old friend. Some things were indeed for Konoha, but others were hard to say.
"Enough! I am the Hokage!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was too lazy to argue and ended the conversation directly.
"You'll regret this!" Danzo said subconsciously.
"This matter, you'd better be careful!" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him and said in a low voice. "I'm not old yet!"
Danzo's expression stiffened. He knew Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't joking. Although it was frustrating, he had no choice but to comply. This was the reason for his arrogance over the past few decades; in crucial matters, it was still Hiruzen Sarutobi who made the decisions.
....
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