In the real world, not much time had passed, although in the world of illusion, it felt like an eternity. In reality, only a brief second had gone by.
When Kisame Hoshigaki witnessed Uchiha Itachi perform Tsukuyomi, he suddenly lost control of his body and passed out. Blood and tears streamed from his eyes, showing the severe trauma he had endured.
"What did you do to Itachi-san?" Kisame questioned coldly.
Though Kisame had never personally experienced the power of Tsukuyomi, he had a clear understanding of Itachi's strength. However, Sasuke had defeated Itachi so easily, which indicated that Sasuke's power was extraordinary, possibly even surpassing both Itachi and Kisame.
Hearing this, Sasuke smiled slightly and replied, "What did I do? Well, I guess you'll just have to experience it for yourself!"
With that, Sasuke prepared to use genjutsu on Kisame. Kisame shouted, hoping Sasuke would stop, but Sasuke ignored his plea.
As Sasuke's eyes locked onto him, Kisame instantly felt the same torment Itachi had endured. Just a second later, Kisame let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Tsunade and Shizune were shocked. They hadn't expected Sasuke to defeat two S-rank rogue ninjas so easily.
"Sasuke, your strength must be nearing Uchiha Madara's level, right?" Tsunade asked with curiosity.
Hearing this, Sasuke laughed disdainfully. "Uchiha Madara? If he dared to show up in front of me, I'd send him straight to the Sage of Six Paths!"
Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, stop boasting."
She clearly didn't believe that Sasuke had such power. However, Sasuke leaned close to Tsunade's ear and whispered, "You don't believe me? Then I'll show you just how powerful I am tonight!"
He blew gently on her ear, causing Tsunade's face to flush red. Embarrassed, she pushed Sasuke away and said coquettishly, "Who wants to see how powerful you are? Really."
Afterward, Sasuke, Tsunade, and Shizune finished their meal and continued on their way back to Konoha. As for Itachi and Kisame, Sasuke made sure they were cremated, not wanting to give his enemies any chance of reincarnation. He kept Itachi's Sharingan and Kisame's arm to perform the Earth Reincarnation Jutsu and then burned them with flames.
Several days had passed by the time Sasuke and the others returned to Konoha. During this time, Sasuke had grown very close to both Tsunade and Shizune, subjecting them to his affectionate torture.
As soon as Tsunade returned to the village, the Konoha gate guards noticed her.
"Am I hallucinating? Is that really Lady Tsunade coming back?" one ninja said, wide-eyed in disbelief.
"No, you're not hallucinating. I see her too," the other ninja replied, equally shocked.
The two looked at each other before shouting in surprise, "Lady Tsunade, is it really you? You've finally returned to Konoha?"
They were still in disbelief over Tsunade's return. Tsunade smiled at them and said, "Yes, I've returned to Konoha to take on the role of the Fifth Hokage."
Hearing this, the two ninjas were overjoyed.
"That's great! If Lady Tsunade becomes Hokage, everyone will definitely support her!"
"Of course, after all, Lady Tsunade is the granddaughter of the First Hokage!"
The news of Tsunade's return to the village and her intention to succeed as Hokage spread quickly. Upon hearing the news, Kakashi immediately rushed over. From a distance, he saw Tsunade and Sasuke standing together, feeling a wave of mixed emotions.
As he approached, he noticed Sasuke and was taken aback. "Didn't you say you had something important to do outside? Why are you here?" Kakashi asked in confusion. Given Sasuke's expression at the time, he thought it was something crucial.
But here Sasuke was, back so soon with Tsunade. Kakashi wondered if things had gone too smoothly, or if something unexpected had happened.
"It's already done; that's why I'm back!" Sasuke replied, a faint smile on his lips as he glanced at Tsunade.
Kakashi instantly understood and shook his head helplessly. So that's it—this so-called important task was just an excuse to find Tsunade.
He couldn't help but sigh. Who would have thought that for Sasuke, going out on an important mission meant finding a woman?
"If it weren't for the fact that I persuaded Tsunade, do you think she would have been willing to come back and become Hokage?" Sasuke retorted, clearly unbothered.
He had put in a lot of effort to convince Tsunade to take on the role of Hokage.
Kakashi suddenly remembered something. "Didn't you say your wish was to become the Hokage's man? Why did you suddenly think of handing the position over to Lady Tsunade?"
After all, Kakashi recalled Sasuke once saying something like that.
Hearing Kakashi's question, Sasuke chuckled. "My wish is indeed to become the Hokage's man—that's right!" Sasuke deliberately emphasized the word "man."
Kakashi immediately understood and was momentarily speechless. He had been naive back then, thinking Sasuke merely wanted to become Hokage.
Turns out... he was talking about being the man of the Hokage.
"Alright, enough talking. Tsunade and I have just returned and need to get some rest," Sasuke said with a smile.
Kakashi shook his head again. I don't think you want to rest—you can't wait to spread your branches and leaves.
"Alright, alright, go ahead. I'm leaving now," Kakashi said, shaking his head as he turned and left.
Sasuke watched Kakashi's retreating back, a smile playing on his lips, before turning to walk toward his residence with Tsunade.
Back home, Sasuke found Sakura and the others waiting for him in the living room. They looked at him longingly, swarming around him as soon as he entered. Sasuke was caught in the middle, nearly suffocating until he used his perfect escape technique.
But seeing the fiery looks in the girls' eyes, he knew his waist was about to suffer some old pains!
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