Senju Tsunade… If you asked a shinobi about her, they would call her an excellent medic and a strong shinobi, she was after all one of the three Great Sannin.
However, if you asked a gambler, they would respond that she was a Legendary Sucker. She had never won a single gamble against anyone in which she bet wealth or personal property of hers.
Because of the wealth inherited by her, all kinds of gamblers were excited to gamble against Tsunade and win some money. It was quite surprising that although Senju Tsunade had never won a single gamble, she was still not under debt. It just proved how much wealth she had inherited.
Well, it had only been 6-7 years since she started gambling like crazy. So, she still wasn't in debt… Nobody knew of the future, though.
Currently, while she was preparing to pack up from Fujigata and move from this city with her niece, she was approached by a surprising individual.
It was none other than her sensei who had come.
She knew that Konoha's state must be quite dire for her sensei to come here. She asked the Third Hokage, "Why did you come here, sensei?"
"You should know full well why I am here. What I want to ask you is when do you plan on returning, Tsunade?" The Third Hokage asks her clearly
Shizune who noticed that it was her sensei's sensei, she immediately goes to fetch some water for the old man.
"I won't be playing some games right now, Tsunade. Return to Konoha." The Third Hokage stared at Tsunade with a resolute and stubborn look in his eyes.
Tsunade was quite surprised when she saw how adamant her sensei was being. She spoke with a relatively helpless tone, "Why? It has only been a few years since I have left. I still haven't gotten over my fear of blood. I don't think I will be that useful to Konoha."
After saying that, she was about to turn away when the Third Hokage spoke, "I won't be hearing your excuses Tsunade. During that time, I let you go away in your sorrow because I believed this journey would be better for you to get over it. Since you haven't resolved those issues yet, it seems that this journey was just useless."
Before Tsunade could say anything, the Third Hokage continued even further, "Konoha will face a significant threat in the upcoming years. Your presence is necessary, Tsunade."
"Oh, really? Isn't there my cousin who is the Senju Clan Head in Konoha? He has even recruited quite a lot of people in the clan. Do you really need my presence there?" Tsunade asks offhandedly. Although she didn't want to get involved in some fights, she did keep herself updated with the news and rumours of the Senju Clan which has seemingly been revived.
"The Senju Clan?" The Hokage's face turned ashen upon the mention of the Senju Clan.
"The Senju Clan shows no sign of supporting Konoha in this upcoming war." The Hokage stated to Tsunade, careful in his words, though.
"Huh? Why? Can't you just order their head? Your seat has quite a lot of authority, you know." Tsunade offhandedly said to the Hokage. Apparently, even though she was keeping tabs about the Senju Clan, she was still unaware of a lot of things.
"The Senju Clan Head, your cousin, isn't a shinobi of Konoha, so I cannot order him. Moreover, as the Senju Clan Head, he has certain powers to overrule my order. I am sure you are aware of that, Tsunade." The Hokage looked really helpless when he mentioned it to Tsunade.
Tsunade was naturally aware of those powers. Previously, she had used one of her powers as the heir to Senju Clan to even run away from Konoha.
"You still aren't completely helpless. I mean, your powers are even more than that of a Clan head, whether it is Senju Clan or some other clan. You could still order him to assist you during the wartime." Tsunade was knowledgable about the rules and regulations of Konoha. It was a rule set up by her granduncle Tobirama to let the whole authority rest in the Hokage's hand during the time of war.
"You are right. I can use the pretext of war to order the Senju Clan head. However, the rest of the clans would start becoming more cautious against me. To them, it will seem as if I am trying to strip the power away from a clan head. Moreover, that rule also states that I can only order them once the war has been declared or Konoha will declare war within 1 year. The war is still 3-4 years away…" This seems to make the Third Hokage even more helpless.
"How are you so sure that the war is 3-4 year away?" Tsunade didn't understand how her sensei could know that. Since when did he change his job to a fortuneteller?
"Danzo has given me information about the war preparations going on in Kumo and Iwa." As he said Iwa, a dark look appeared in Tsunade's eyes.
The war against Iwa was the one where she lost Nawaki and Kato Dan. She clenched her fists unconsciously… She had still not gotten over their deaths.
Internally, the Hokage seemed quite happy at this. She was showing emotions… So, it wouldn't be impossible to convince her…
Around this time, Shizune arrived with two glasses of water. She handed one to the old Hokage and one to Tsunade.
The Hokage drank the water while Tsunade kept on thinking about something while holding the glass.
"If this goes on, this war could destroy Konoha. Are you sure you want to stay here continuing to wallow in your own self-pity while letting Konoha face destruction, the same village which has been founded by your grandfather?! The same village for which your granduncle sacrificed his life?! The same village which was loved by your little brother and your fiancé to the point they were willing to die for the village?!" The Hokage raised his voice after every sentence which shook up Tsunade.
Tsunade… She backed away a little at the adamant feeling that her sensei gave her right now. She was sure that her sensei wouldn't back away today.
Moreover, his words did touch her innermost feelings. How could she abandon this village when so many dear people to her had died for it?
Noticing that Tsunade was influenced by his words, the Third Hokage decides to strike the iron while it was still hot, "Return and take control over the Senju Clan. The Senju Clan Members shouldn't have an issue if you take control of the Senju Clan considering that you are the elder one, your power and prestige as well. If you return, the Konoha still has a chance of survival."
Tsunade nodded her head while she heard her sensei. Maybe it was finally time for her to stop looking down and raise her head to look upfront.
"Alright, let's return to Konoha. But you will need to give me some time to deal with my fear of blood…" Tsunade said to the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage nodded and replied, "You won't be fighting right now. Just your presence would be enough to boost the morale of Shinobi. Moreover, they would be more assured of fighting while putting their lives on the line knowing that the legendary medic has their back."
He internally thought 'And if Senju Clan does come under you, I would be able to order both Araki and Kushina. This would be perfect!'
However, unknown to the Hokage or maybe Danzo as well, this time, they had blundered. They had miscalculated by massively overestimating themselves…