Tsunade waved back at the villagers calling her name, even though she disliked the title "Sannin."
As she waved, she scanned the crowd for someone in particular.
But she was bound to be disappointed.
The person she was looking for was still at home, fast asleep.
Takuya knew about the village's welcome ceremony, and Kushina had gone to join the crowd, but he had stayed behind.
Lately, Takuya had been working on his Sage Mode training with Snowy's help.
Every night, he would head to the Forest of Death, where natural energy was abundant, and train until dawn before returning home.
After more than two weeks of this, his schedule was completely flipped. He had no time or energy to join the festivities.
Takuya's Sage Mode was different from the one practiced in the three great sacred lands.
His was a tailed-beast-specific Sage Mode, much like Snowy's exclusive Nine-Tails Sage Mode.
With Snowy's help, he could absorb natural energy and refine Sage chakra without much risk. If anything went wrong, such as absorbing too much energy or messing up the refining process, Snowy would step in to fix it.
There was no danger of turning into stone or becoming a strange creature.
"Kushina!!"
Kushina happily ran up to Tsunade in the crowd and gave her a big hug.
Tsunade smiled and hugged her back, teasing her:
"It's been a while, and look at you, Kushina, all grown up!"
"No way, I'm still a kid!" Kushina stuck out her tongue playfully, making Tsunade laugh.
"By the way, where's that troublemaker, Takuya?"
"He's sleeping. He's been training every night and only gets back at dawn. His schedule's completely flipped, so he's probably dreaming right now."
Kushina didn't know what Takuya had been up to lately, just that he went out every night and came back looking exhausted.
Training at night?
Was he hiding something? Tsunade thought she might need to ask him about this.
"I'm heading to the Hokage's office. I'll come find you later," Tsunade said, waving as she walked off to join the other Jonin heading to the Hokage's office.
The people from the frontline, including Danzo, had returned to Konoha. A high-level meeting was scheduled, and Tsunade had to attend.
As for Danzo...
Tsunade had initially thought about sending him back to Konoha early, but then she realized that if he returned, he might try to scheme against Takuya behind the scenes.
So, she decided to keep him with the main group on their return.
The meeting was just a summary of the war, with the Third Hokage doing most of the talking while everyone else listened.
It dragged on for about three hours, and Tsunade could barely stay awake.
She would rather have been at the hospital helping the injured, gambling at the casino, or even just sleeping. Anything would've been better than sitting through that boring meeting.
But there was no escaping it.
When the meeting finally ended, Tsunade thought she was free to leave, but just as she was about to go, the Third Hokage stopped her.
"Tsunade, wait a moment."
"Old man, what is it? If it's nothing important, I'm leaving. I'm exhausted."
The tired look on Tsunade's face wasn't an act—she was truly worn out.
With Jiraiya and Orochimaru both stepping back from the battlefield, Tsunade had been left to handle everything on her own.
The Third Hokage sighed at the sight of her yawning.
"It's nothing major. I just wanted to ask how long it will take for Danzo to recover."
The Third Hokage needed Danzo's support, especially with the ongoing war in the Land of Rivers between Konoha and the Sand Village.
"Oh, he's going to need a few months, at least, unless he doesn't want to recover."
Tsunade could've healed him fully in a month if she wanted, but she wasn't in any hurry to get him back on his feet.
"A few months?" The Third Hokage frowned at the news. He didn't want Danzo out of commission for that long.
Koharu and Homura also looked concerned.
"Can't the process be sped up?"
Tsunade shot them a cold look and replied sharply:
"If you think it's that easy, you're welcome to try removing the toxins from his brain yourself."
"..."
Seeing the elders get silenced, the Third Hokage quickly intervened to ease the tension.
"Tsunade, they weren't questioning your skills. It's just that Konoha's situation is dire, and we need Danzo's help."
"I already told you, he needs a few months to recover. If you think someone else can heal him faster, go ahead and ask them. I could use the rest, anyway. I'm exhausted."
Tsunade wasn't going to be pressured.
Stretching, she asked, "By the way, have Jiraiya and Orochimaru returned?"
She understood why Jiraiya had left—he was always unreliable.
But Orochimaru? That was surprising. It must've been Danzo who pushed him too far.
"They've already gone to the battlefield in the Land of Rivers to assist Hatake Sakumo against the Sand Village."
Tsunade had said her piece, and the Third Hokage didn't push any further. He didn't want to risk losing her help too, which would have spelled disaster for Danzo.
After all, aside from Tsunade, there was no one else who could heal Danzo.
"They went to the Land of Rivers?"
"Yes, Minato and Nawaki went as well. I think it's time Jiraiya and Orochimaru step up as teachers."
"They should take their responsibilities more seriously," Tsunade remarked.
They left their students behind to join others? That was irresponsible.
But she quickly dropped the thought. With Jiraiya and Orochimaru around, Minato and Nawaki would likely be safe.
Tsunade decided to head home to retrieve the Raijin Blade she had promised to give to Takuya. After that, she would meet up with him and Kushina.
She had no more interest in discussing the meeting.
As she was about to step out of the room, she suddenly paused and turned back.
"What about Yagami Takuya?"
She must've been tired earlier and hadn't realized until just then.
If Minato and Nawaki had gone to the battlefield in the Land of Rivers, where was Takuya?
Tsunade distinctly remembered Kushina saying that Takuya had been asleep that morning.
His reversed sleep schedule had been going on for a while now.
That meant Takuya hadn't been sent to the battlefield. At least, the village hadn't assigned him to go.
How could a squad go to war while leaving their captain behind in the village? What kind of arrangement was that?
"Due to Takuya's past conflict with the Third Kazekage, it was decided that sending him to the battlefield would result in him being targeted. For the future of the village, we agreed to keep him here as a Jonin instructor," Koharu explained, glancing at the silent Third Hokage.
"Huh?"
"A Jonin instructor?"
Did she hear that right, or was this some kind of joke?
You want a kid barely over ten years old to be a Jonin instructor?
Tsunade's fatigue instantly vanished, and she was dumbstruck.
"Are you serious, old man?"
Tsunade couldn't help but laugh, pointing towards the Sand Village.
"Hatake Sakumo killed Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, and she hates him for it.
Why not leave Hatake Sakumo in the village too?"
Being targeted?
If Takuya wasn't going after others, that would already be a relief.
It all came down to the Uchiha bloodline and power struggles.
Tsunade chuckled, waving as she walked out.
"Do whatever you want. Takuya will be thrilled with this arrangement and thank you all for generations to come."