Tōshirō quietly sneaked up beside Tsunade, resting his elbow on her shoulder with a teasing tone, saying, "The Princess of Konoha sure is popular."
Tsunade shot him a cold glare and said, "Take your claws off me, or I'll break them in the next second. Do you believe that?"
Tsunade meant what she said. Tōshirō wisely withdrew his hand immediately, saying, "I was just joking, but I really envy you, Tsunade. So many admirers confess their love for you."
Tsunade raised her eyebrows indifferently and said, "Do you know why so many people love me?"
Tōshirō asked in surprise, "Why?"
Tsunade proudly tossed back her golden hair and replied, "Because I'm exceptional enough."
She then added sarcastically, "Do you know why no one likes you or confesses to you?"
Tōshirō: "??"
Tsunade smirked and said, "Because your personality is so strange that no normal girl could ever find you attractive."
Laughing with interest, she continued, "Honestly, as your childhood friend, I'm starting to worry that you might spend your life alone without anyone wanting you."
Tōshirō: "???"
With that jab, Tsunade laughed mockingly and said, "I would really love to see the girl who would be crazy enough to fall for someone like you."
Tōshirō felt insulted and made a disgruntled noise, refusing to continue the conversation with Tsunade, and then left with Orochimaru.
Tsunade, feeling victorious after this small exchange, left in a good mood.
At that moment, as Jiraiya and Ranmaru were busy bickering, they noticed that Tsunade had already disappeared, leaving the two of them staring at each other in confusion.
"Do you know who I am?" Ranmaru asked angrily.
After Tsunade's departure, Ranmaru dropped his pretense entirely.
He was deeply resentful. He hadn't expected to face such difficulties in a place that seemed like a remote village. In the past, just one word from him was enough for people to rush to serve him, but here, in this humble place, he had been insulted beyond belief.
Furthermore, no one treated him as the daimyo's son here, and even Tsunade, whom he saw as a golden opportunity, rejected him without hesitation. He considered it a grave insult, especially when she threatened him with violence. To him, this was proof of poor upbringing.
But Jiraiya didn't care who Ranmaru was. With a simple flick of his ear, he said indifferently, "What's that got to do with me?"
"You..."
"What?"
"How dare you treat me with such disrespect?"
At this, Jiraiya furrowed his brow and said, "You don't stop insulting people, do you? Are you tired of it? Do you want me to hit you?"
"Hit me?" Ranmaru said in shock, his eyes widening. He had never been insulted like this in his life.
Laughing angrily, he said, "Repeat what you just said if you dare."
Jiraiya didn't hesitate: "I'll hit you."
Ranmaru, still challenging, replied, "Say that again!"
Jiraiya, completely unconcerned, simply repeated, "I'll hit you."
This back-and-forth continued, with Jiraiya repeating his threat and Ranmaru trying to provoke him, until Jiraiya eventually grew tired, thinking that Ranmaru was just seeking more humiliation.
"I've never seen anyone ask to be insulted like this before!" Jiraiya said with mild boredom.
"You..."
But Jiraiya wasn't interested in continuing the argument. He warned Ranmaru to stay away from Tsunade, then left, leaving Ranmaru so furious he could barely contain his anger.
"What a lowly person!"
Ranmaru could no longer tolerate it. He decided to return home the next day to complain to his father about the actions of Konoha and demand a significant reduction in the village's budget.
At that moment, Ranmaru fully understood why his father wanted to get rid of these shinobi by any means necessary. These people had no respect for the daimyo.
Ranmaru clenched his fists in anger and began to walk away.
This person was having terrible luck. Even when drinking water, he felt like he was choking. After only a few steps, he bumped into someone and fell flat on his rear.
"Damn, that hurts!"
He then saw an elderly man leaning on a cane. Despite the wrinkles on his face, his eyes were as sharp as a blade, sending a chill down Ranmaru's spine.
Anyone who saw those eyes would stop underestimating the man, but Ranmaru didn't notice this at first. He was still brimming with anger from his earlier encounter with Jiraiya, and he needed to vent. So, when he realized that he had bumped into an old man and fallen, he immediately began shouting and insulting, "Old man, are you walking blind?"
The old man remained silent, looking at him coldly.
When Ranmaru's eyes met the old man's gaze, he suddenly felt a deep fear, as if a frog had come face-to-face with a venomous snake.
The old man, who was Itachi, no, Uchiha Madara, continued walking with his cane without stopping or paying Ranmaru any attention, as if the person he had bumped into was already dead.
Madara didn't want to cause trouble with the boy, but he had already implanted a genjutsu in him that would drive him to commit suicide by nightfall.
His goal wasn't just revenge for bumping into him; there were deeper reasons for wanting to kill him.
Reason number one:
Tsunade represented an important piece in his plan, and he wouldn't allow anyone, whether worthless or weak, to get close to her. Within two years at most, he would train Tōshirō to develop his strength to a certain level. If no tangible progress was made between him and Tsunade during that time, Madara would have to intervene personally and push their relationship forward.
Thus, anyone standing in the way of the relationship between Tsunade and Tōshirō would face a decisive stance from Uchiha Madara: death! He would eliminate anyone attempting to approach Tsunade.
Of course, not everyone. Only those with a real potential to get close to her.
For example, there was a boy from the Sarutobi family, and Madara planned to kill him later, but the boy met an unexpected accident that spared Madara the effort.
As for people like Jiraiya, who had no chance, Madara didn't care about them at all.
Even though Tsunade didn't harbor any positive feelings toward Ranmaru, which didn't warrant killing him, what drove Madara to want him dead was his unique situation. Ranmaru's father had previously coveted the power of the Uchiha and sought an alliance through marriage to gain that power, but Madara, as the clan leader at the time, saw through his plan and rejected it sharply and without hesitation.
It seemed this was the first time Ranmaru's father had faced rejection, as he reacted emotionally and clashed with Madara. Had it not been for Hashirama's intervention, Madara would have killed him on the spot.
A short time after the village was established, Madara had considered tightening his grip on Konoha's financial control.
He believed that the daimyo, who had no combat skills, had no right to control Konoha. To him, the daimyo was just a 'money box' for the village.
All he had to do was pay the protection tax.
And this tax didn't mean that the village would protect him in exchange for money.
Rather, it meant: if he paid the money, the village wouldn't rob him of his tax.
In the end, Hashirama intervened, seeing this behavior as immoral and unfair. Madara respected Hashirama's view and gave up on the idea.
When Madara saw that Ranmaru was trying to get close to Tsunade, he concluded that perhaps his greed had shifted from the power of the Uchiha to the more gentle Senju clan.
Generally, Madara didn't care about such things.
But the daimyo made a big mistake by trying to get close to Tsunade.
From Madara's perspective, Tsunade represented an extension of Hashirama's power since she possessed a genetic potential to acquire the Mokuton (Wood Release), making her an embodiment of Hashirama's strength.
The daimyo daring to even think about approaching Hashirama's power was an intolerable affront in Madara's eyes.
"Hashirama's power? Does a mere mortal dare to think of touching it? This is sheer madness and utter foolishness."
So, Madara wasn't happy.
He was furious.
And the consequences were dire.
He decided to kill Ranmaru.
Reason number two:
Madara was bored of staying in Konoha and wanted to entertain himself by watching how Tobirama's students would handle the murder of the son of a daimyo's relative in Konoha.
If he could stir up a conflict between Konoha and the Land of Fire, potentially leading to a permanent break, Madara thought that would be fun and exciting.
Of course, this wasn't enough to motivate Madara to act personally. But since Ranmaru had come to Konoha himself, Madara decided to handle him easily.
(End of Chapter)
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