"Sigh!"
"I also want to kick him out of the higher-ups to stop him from causing trouble."
"But Danzo controls the Root division. If we act too forcefully, it will definitely lead to bloodshed."
"And that's something I don't want to see."
The Third Hokage sighed and shook his head.
"Forget it, I don't want to know about these things."
"I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving."
Tsunade stood up.
She had returned to Konoha to find Shishou, not to waste time on such matters.
Danzo's actions had also made her reconsider telling the Third Hokage about the truth behind the Tree World Birth technique.
In Tsunade's eyes, Shishou likely didn't want to reveal his identity because of Danzo.
With such a rogue high-ranking official, anyone would be cautious.
"What business do you have?"
"There are no gambling dens in Konoha..."
The Third Hokage held a file containing information about Shishou, ready to hand it to Tsunade. He was puzzled by her statement.
Because of Tsunade's return, he had shut down all the gambling dens in Konoha the previous night.
He had heard of Tsunade's reputation as the "Legendary Sucker."
"You don't need to know."
"And don't worry too much about the Tree World Birth. Just keep an eye on the Akatsuki organization."
Leaving these words behind, Tsunade walked out of the office, leaving the Third Hokage bewildered.
"Lady Tsunade, here's a list of everyone named Shishou in the village."
Outside the office, Shizune handed Tsunade several information sheets.
"Hmm, this one looks a bit like him."
"But he's too young, still in the academy."
"That guy who can use Tree World Birth and has multiple women can't possibly still be in the academy..."
"Otherwise, that would be too terrifying..."
Tsunade muttered as she walked, examining the information sheet for 'Shishou of the Aburame clan.'
Without thinking too much, Tsunade used the process of elimination to disregard the correct answer.
She handed the sheet to Shizune and looked at the next one.
Because Shishou had left a deep impression with his disguise skills, Tsunade was quick to eliminate those who resembled him.
After reviewing the sheets, she handed them to Shizune.
"That person can disguise himself at will, so the name might not be real either."
"Shizune, gather information on all fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds in the village."
"Hmm, I'll go meet some old informants and subordinates to leverage their help in finding him."
Since Shishou had inadvertently revealed himself as a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy, Tsunade decided to focus her investigation in that direction.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
Shizune responded and headed to the records room in the Hokage Building.
Meanwhile, Tsunade walked towards the residential areas of the ninja clans in Konoha.
Fire Source City Mansion
In the training room.
"How's your practice with the cursed seal transformation?"
Shishou asked, approaching Anko, who was practicing taijutsu.
Due to the rampant sage chakra in her body, Anko had awakened a power similar to Jugo's.
This allowed Shishou to master the use of the cursed seal through the sage chakra Anko provided.
Of course, Shishou still couldn't absorb sage chakra on his own.
He had to extract it from Anko's body using his parasitic bugs each time he used sage chakra.
"I can use it proficiently, but I'm still getting used to it."
Anko glanced at Shishou and stopped her training.
Hearing Anko's response, Shishou couldn't help but chuckle.
Every time Anko activated the cursed seal, her lower half transformed into a snake's tail, resembling a mythical snake-woman.
This sight not only intrigued Shishou but also made him daydream a little.
However, Anko found it uncomfortable and was still adjusting.
"By the way, where are Pakura and Mikoto?"
"Oh, there were some troublemakers at the mining site today, so they went to handle it."
"I was hoping they could continue practicing the cursed seal transformation."
Seeing the two women absent, Shishou felt a bit disappointed.
He hadn't kept any secrets and had also used the parasitic bugs to give Uchiha Mikoto and Pakura the ability to use the cursed seal.
However, like Shishou, they needed to absorb sage chakra from Anko to use it.
"Tsk, I bet you just want to see their clothes get torn apart during the transformation, you pervert!"
Anko shot Shishou a disdainful look.
"Haha, you caught me."
Shishou laughed heartily.
Every time he had Mikoto and Pakura practice the cursed seal, he tricked them into wearing easily torn clothes.
When they reverted from the transformation, they looked as if they were wearing revealing outfits, which was extremely enticing.
Mikoto had grown very close to Shishou, and under his persuasion, she agreed to it.
Pakura couldn't resist the temptation of increased power and eventually gave in to Shishou's coaxing.
"Anko, why don't you practice now?"
"Let me see your progress."
Shishou suggested with a smile.
"Tch, I'm not falling for that."
Anko pouted and walked towards the training room door.
"Really?"
"I was planning to take you to see Orochimaru today."
"Looks like I'll have to go alone now."
Shishou's words made Anko stop in her tracks and turn around with a look of surprise.
"You found Orochimaru?"
Shishou nodded, "Of course!"
"Hurry, take me to him."
Anko grabbed Shishou's hand eagerly.
"Ahem!"
"What did I just say?"
"Let me think..."
Shishou pretended to ponder, making Anko grit her teeth in frustration.
"You're such a pervert!"
Anko blushed and walked to the corner of the training room, taking out the specially prepared 'easily torn' outfit.
Seeing Anko comply, Shishou smiled broadly.
After changing into the outfit in the adjacent room, Anko returned with a red face and stood in front of Shishou.
As she activated the cursed seal, red scales appeared on her fair skin, and her legs transformed into a snake tail.
Shishou admired the sight of Anko transformed into a lamia-like creature. She was truly alluring.
Tsk, tsk, if only the scales were white.
Then maybe, I could play Xu Xian for once, Shishou thought with a smirk.
Xu Xian (Chinese: 許仙), courtesy name Hanwen (漢文), is a main character of the Legend of the White Snake, one of China's four great folk tales.