With no obstructions, Takuya walked straight into the Hokage's office, completely ignoring the ANBU guards posted at the entrance. Pakura hesitated for only a moment before following him in.
The ANBU guards at the door made no move to stop them. They had been thoroughly chastised by their captain just the day before for overstepping their duties—someone had decided to keep a close eye on Takuya and Pakura right after they returned to the village, and Tsunade had blown her top about it.
Everyone had a distinct sound to their steps, along with a unique chakra presence. More importantly, the person entering had just barged in without knocking.
Tsunade, who had been slumped over her desk, looked up to see Takuya, with Pakura standing behind him. Raising her eyebrows, she said, "Not bad, kid. You disappeared without a word. If it wasn't for the ANBU reporting to me, I wouldn't have even known you'd returned."
"Do you realize the penalty for abandoning your post, boy?"
Is this… an interrogation? Pakura blinked in confusion. Didn't you say everything was fine?
"Alright, cut it out. I know you're exhausted, but don't take it out on me," Takuya said as he dropped heavily onto the couch, pointing over at Pakura. "Can you help her get registered? Without ninja identification, moving around is difficult."
"Fine, fine. It'll be done in no time."
What's with you, kid? You head to the battlefield and bring back a pretty kunoichi as a prisoner? What's your plan? Dominate the world?
"How are things at the front?" Tsunade asked.
"Same as usual. After capturing Rasa, Sunagakure didn't dare fight back. We're just waiting for our esteemed Hokage to handle negotiations. As for the outcome… who knows?"
Takuya didn't have much faith in the upcoming talks. He wouldn't have been surprised if, a few days from now, Tsunade ended up shocked by the report.
He remembered that during the Third Shinobi World War in the original storyline, Sunagakure—after their defeat—had put forward some rather unusual demands. The Third Hokage had agreed to them in an effort to buy peace and gain a stable ally. In the end, all Konoha got was an unreliable ally, and even the war reparations were waived.
Frankly, Takuya never really understood the Third Hokage's logic. Giving up so much for an uncertain alliance—it made no sense.
"You don't think this negotiation will go well?" Tsunade said, instantly picking up on the undertones in his words.
"I didn't say that."
Not my problem if this goes wrong.
Who knew, maybe the Third Hokage would suddenly decide to wring Sunagakure dry? Until the final result was in, anything could happen. He couldn't fully rely on the original story—doing that risked getting smacked in the face by reality.
Takuya straightened up, leaning on one arm as he shared his thoughts.
"I'm just wondering, if Sunagakure is truly looking for peace, they won't resist as long as our terms aren't excessive. But do you think they might use the negotiations to make some demands of their own?"
"Demands? They dare to make demands?"
Are you joking?
Tsunade nearly threw the scroll she was holding at Takuya's head.
Sunagakure's request for a peace negotiation was essentially their admission of defeat. They were in no position to bargain. What gave them the audacity to think they could?
"I said 'if,'" Takuya retorted, rolling his eyes at Tsunade's overreaction.
Forget it. I won't say anything else.
"Get someone to take her for registration," he said, gesturing at Pakura. "If she has to go through the usual channels, who knows how long it'll take."
No doubt, everywhere had its share of bureaucracy. If Takuya really took Pakura to wait in line, there was no telling when she'd actually receive her identification. There'd be plenty of frustrating checks and endless questions. But with Tsunade, Takuya was sure she'd have the ID ready in under half an hour—no queueing, no interrogation.
"Got it," Tsunade said with a sigh, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied Pakura.
Finally, she said, "You're his responsibility. I hope you genuinely intend to join Konoha and don't have any ulterior motives. If anything goes wrong, this kid will have a lot to answer for."
"Rest assured, Lady Tsunade. Having severed ties with Sunagakure, I'm committed to Konoha. I, Pakura, will not harbor any ill will against the village," Pakura said, bowing slightly.
"See that you don't forget it." Tsunade nodded before calling out toward the door. "Take her down to get registered. If anyone has questions, tell them to come to me. I want that ID on my desk in an hour."
"Understood, Lady Tsunade," an ANBU member said, stepping inside to gesture for Pakura to follow.
Once the non-essential personnel had left, Tsunade tossed the scroll in her hand aside. Under Takuya's bewildered stare, she pulled out a bottle of sake from beneath the desk, uncorked it, and took a long swig, letting out a satisfied sigh as she relaxed back into her chair.
Unbelievable!
She was really doing this—drinking while on duty. Either Tsunade had nerves of steel, or she'd moved from being a casual drinker to some kind of alcohol deity.
"What are you staring at?" she snapped, noticing Takuya's incredulous look. Blushing slightly, she barked, "I've been working my fingers to the bone here. I deserve a drink to unwind."
"..."
Takuya's face twitched slightly. "A drink isn't a problem, everyone needs to blow off steam. But are you sure you won't get too tipsy to handle the paperwork?"
The Third Hokage smoked when stressed, and Tsunade drank—no big deal. Takuya himself took long soaks in hot springs whenever he needed to clear his mind. Everyone had their own way of coping. But drinking during work hours?
He just hoped she wouldn't accidentally get drunk and start making decisions while seeing double.
"I won't let it interfere with my work," Tsunade said dismissively, taking two more gulps before reluctantly setting the bottle down. She knew how to relax, but she also knew her limits—there was a line she wouldn't cross.
She let out a contented burp, her spirits visibly lifting. The saying was true—a good drink really could lift your mood. The fatigue that had been visible on her face was now replaced by a more vibrant energy.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you," Tsunade said, leaning forward with a smile. "You didn't let me down. Sunagakure's going to pay dearly for this. No matter how those old men try to negotiate."
"Let's see if Orochimaru has the guts to keep vying for the Fourth Hokage title against me now," she added with a huff.
"..."
If that's the case, Orochimaru might just want to crawl into a hole somewhere and disappear.
Takuya stretched out on the couch, grinning. "Sunagakure definitely took a blow. The Third Kazekage is dead, Pakura switched sides, Sasori defected—leaving only Rasa. They won't be able to stir up much trouble for a while."
"And from what Pakura mentioned, the Third Kazekage agreed to some tough demands from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. They're in for a rough time."
Everyone knew what the Wind Daimyo was like. After losing the war, Sunagakure wasn't going to have it easy.
Poor Rasa—he wasn't even officially the Fourth Kazekage yet, but he was already stuck paying debts by digging through the desert for rare resources.
"And that's assuming we don't bleed them dry further," Takuya said with a smirk.
"Pah, that bunch of bureaucrats in the Daimyo's court—what good are they?" Tsunade scoffed.
Even though she herself was related to the Fire Daimyo, Tsunade had always despised the behavior of those pompous officials.
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Next Bonus: 600
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