After the Internal Affairs Department official left, Minato finally had time to greet Tsunade.
He said, "Tsunade-sama, you have returned."
"Mm. Minato, you look well."
Tsunade glanced at him, her gaze sweeping over him, then she frowned deeply and asked her teacher,
"What exactly happened to the village? Why does it feel like someone else's home?"
"This is not the place to talk."
Hiruzen extinguished his pipe and waved his hand at her and Orochimaru. "Let's talk at my house."
Tsunade paused, snorted coldly, and said to Minato, "Coming along?"
Minato chuckled. "No, the border has been plagued by bandits recently. I need to go deal with it."
Tsunade nodded, said nothing more, and followed her teacher away.
Shizune, holding Tonton, timidly looked around and followed closely behind.
Orochimaru licked his lips, chuckled softly, and followed like a shadow.
The Sarutobi compound was still the same, ancient and serene.
As the group stepped into the courtyard, a white-haired but spry old woman emerged from the house to greet them.
It was Hiruzen's wife, Biwako.
"Tsunade? Orochimaru?"
Biwako's eyes flashed with surprise upon seeing them, her face filled with maternal affection.
"You two children, you have finally decided to visit."
She stepped forward and took Tsunade's hand, then looked Orochimaru up and down, muttering, "You have gotten thin, both of you."
Biwako's warmth softened Tsunade's expression slightly.
"Biwako-sama."
"Heh heh, you still remember to greet people."
Biwako smiled and patted her hand, then glared at Orochimaru beside her. "And you, cat got your tongue?"
"Biwako-sama." Orochimaru bowed slightly, the chill on his face dissipating considerably.
"Alright, alright, come in and sit down, I will make you some tea."
Biwako bustled about enthusiastically, as if they were still the little brats who used to follow Hiruzen around.
"Biwako," Hiruzen said, "go make dinner first. We have matters to discuss. The tea can be brought in later."
The smile on Biwako's face froze. She looked at her husband's serious expression, then at Tsunade and Orochimaru, and immediately understood something.
She sighed and nodded. "Understood. You all... talk well."
In the study, Hiruzen personally poured tea for the two.
Without the title of Hokage, he now seemed more like an elder worried about his juniors.
"Speak," Tsunade broke the silence first, getting straight to the point. "What exactly happened while I was away? Why is that scoundrel Danzō not here? With such a big event, would he not jump out to seek attention?"
"He is dead."
This answer caused Tsunade's pupils to contract sharply.
"Dead? Who killed him? Kumo, or Iwa?"
"Neither." Hiruzen shook his head, his tone complex. "He died in the Land of Fire Capital. The new Daimyo ordered his execution on charges of treason."
"What?!"
Tsunade abruptly stood up, her beautiful eyes fixed on Hiruzen. "The Daimyo?! How dare he execute a Konoha Advisor! What about Minato? Did he just stand by and watch?"
Hiruzen slowly exhaled a turbid breath. "He tried to commit treason."
He began to recount the events that had transpired.
Starting from the Daimyo Manor's decree, which directly cut Konoha's financial budget by twenty percent.
He spoke of how Danzō secretly conspired, attempting to launch a coup, but was swiftly suppressed. Tsunade interjected, "Then he deserved to die."
Hiruzen did not refute, a mournful look in his eyes, and continued his narration.
He explained how, after Danzō's death, the Daimyo used the Genius Cultivation Program and the Twelve Guardian Ninja as bait to completely reshuffle Konoha's power structure.
Tsunade listened with a pounding heart.
Her expression shifted from initial anger, to shock, and then to disbelief.
She could not imagine how the Daimyo, who was supposed to provide financial support, managed to directly extend his hand into Konoha's heart.
This had already broken the tacit balance of power that had formed between ninja and nobles since the First Hokage established the village.
"...So, now all the geniuses of the village, all the future hopes, are nominally the Daimyo's people?"
"Yes." Hiruzen nodded, a bitter smile on his face. "Not only that, the re-establishment of the Twelve Guardian Ninja also caused all the major families to scramble."
"Now, the will of the Daimyo Manor is unobstructed in Konoha."
Tsunade slowly sat down, her chest heaving violently.
She felt as if she had experienced a very absurd dream.
"Heh heh..."
Beside them, Orochimaru, who had been silent, suddenly chuckled softly. "Hiruzen-sensei, you seem to have missed the most interesting part."
Hiruzen glared at him.
Orochimaru, however, paid no mind. He looked at the bewildered Tsunade.
"Tsunade, do you know? During the process of our great Daimyo integrating Konoha, something particularly amusing happened."
"He issued an edict to select concubines throughout the Land of Fire."
Tsunade frowned. "Selecting concubines? Sure enough, those nobles have nothing but power and women in their heads. Is he trying to get his hands on Konoha's bloodline limits?"
This was almost her first reaction.
"Exactly."
Tsunade's answer immediately made Orochimaru clap his hands and laugh heartily, a rare burst of genuine joy. "Everyone in Konoha thought the same as you."
"Especially the Uchiha and the Hyuga."
"On the Uchiha side, Fugaku's wife personally stepped in, grooming her own younger sister like an offering, just waiting to send her to the Daimyo's bed."
"The Hyuga were even more miserable. At first, they refused outright, but then the Daimyo Manor investigated them over tax issues, almost confiscating all their assets. In the end, they still sheepishly submitted a list of all the family's geniuses."
"Do you know what the funniest part is?"
Orochimaru leaned closer, his voice lowered, his face full of schadenfreude.
"In the end, everyone discovered that the Daimyo, from beginning to end, never mentioned wanting women from their families."
"What he wanted was just their loyalty."
"Selecting concubines is one thing, and the Genius Cultivation Program is another, they are completely separate matters."
"Hahaha... Imagine that scene, the entire Konoha, all the families who prided themselves on their intelligence, being played like monkeys."
"It is truly too interesting."
Hiruzen watched Orochimaru laughing so hard he was bent over, and suddenly realized how long it had been since he had seen him smile.
He laughed just like he did when he was a child.
Tsunade was completely stunned after hearing this.
She opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.
Absurd.
Too absurd.
How could the village become such a laughingstock because of something like this?
"However..."
Hiruzen's voice sounded again, a smile also appearing on his face.
That smile, surprisingly, carried a hint of relief.
"Although the village has become like this, for civilians, it might be a good thing."
"After the Daimyo's ascension, all war taxes were abolished, and high pensions were given to civilians injured and disabled in the war."
"Now, prices in the village are much lower than during the war, and many formerly poor families can now live stable lives."
Tsunade was startled.
She looked at the heartfelt joy on her teacher's face, her heart a mix of emotions.
She suddenly felt that the teacher before her had become incredibly unfamiliar.
After a long while, she found her voice again.
"What about Jiraiya? Is he still at the border?"
"Yes, he is." Hiruzen nodded. "Our peace agreement with Kumo has not been officially signed yet, so someone needs to guard that area."
Tsunade nodded, not speaking further.
In the study, silence fell once more.
The teacher and student, who once had endless conversations, now sat in wordless contemplation.
(To be continued.)