[BONUS CHAPTER]
After cursing, Tsunade continued to snatch the meat that Takuya had cooked.
"The war with the Mist Village won't end anytime soon. Konoha still needs to hold on. Luckily, we're dealing with just one front, so the pressure isn't overwhelming.
The frontline shinobi can also rotate to take breaks. I've already approved Minato and Nawaki's leave requests. They'll be back in a couple of days."
Ninja wars couldn't be decided in a single large-scale battle. Unless the power difference was massive, small skirmishes would still be the norm.
The back-and-forth engagements meant that it would take a long time, which in turn necessitated rotation for rest.
"It's good for them to come back and rest for a while. As long as no surprises happen, Orochimaru and Jiraiya should be able to hold their ground. The incident with the tailed beast going berserk is unlikely to happen again."
During the early stages of the war, Yagura caused all sorts of trouble, yet Orochimaru had stayed rock-solid. It was only the unexpected actions of the Third Mizukage that caught him off guard.
Now that the situation had stabilized, it was all about which side would give in first.
Compared to the Mist Village, Konoha had stronger foundations and was at an advantage.
Hearing this, Tsunade couldn't help but curse.
"The Third Mizukage is a lunatic. He even dared to throw his village's Jinchuriki onto the battlefield and deliberately unleashed a tailed beast just to try to deliver a fatal blow to us. Thank goodness we managed to hold it off, or we would have been in big trouble."
"How did a madman like that become the Mizukage?"
"Forget it, let's not dwell on it." Tsunade shook her head, worry clear on her face.
"I'm actually more concerned about the Stone Village than the Mist Village. The Stone Village has been expanding their activity range, and that's not a good sign."
The ambition of the Stone Village was obvious to anyone who wasn't blind.
During the Second Shinobi War, if not for the Cloud Village stirring up trouble in the rear and forcing Onoki to refocus there, Konoha and the Stone Village might have had an unavoidable showdown.
This time, Onoki seemed ready to make his move.
"If the Stone Village really joins the war, then I..."
Tsunade suddenly stopped mid-analysis, her gaze turning toward the private room door.
Hurried footsteps were approaching fast.
It was Kushina, and she looked anxious.
"Bang!"
The door to the private room was forcefully pushed open. Kushina, having returned, leaned against the door frame, panting.
"Takuya, Tsunade, the Hokage office just released an announcement. Many villagers have already gathered and are heading toward the Hokage office."
I knew this would happen.
Tsunade's face darkened, her chopsticks snapping in her grip.
Takuya put down his chopsticks, surprised.
"The announcement has already been released?"
Based on how the higher-ups usually operated, they would definitely choose to keep it under wraps for a while.
But somehow, things had changed. The announcement about the peace talks was out, much faster than expected.
The reality was that for the villagers, whether there were war reparations from the Sand Village or not didn't change much in their daily lives.
Even if there were reparations, the money wouldn't go directly into their pockets.
If there were no reparations, nothing would really change for them.
The difference lay in the psychological impact, the sense of loss. It was hard for the villagers to accept.
Whether Konoha needed those reparations or not was one thing, but whether you chose to take them was another.
In the grand scheme of things, even without the reparations, Konoha wouldn't be reduced to tightening its belt.
But the issue was that the reparations were there for the taking, yet they chose not to take them. That raised a lot of questions.
Once the villagers learned the truth, there was no avoiding their outrage.
Even though it wasn't really something they should be concerned about.
"What do we do now?"
The situation outside was nearing chaos, and many villagers were already expressing significant discontent. If the village didn't respond quickly, the uproar would only grow.
"Calm down!"
Tsunade's face was grim, and she grit her teeth.
"The old man said he would give the villagers an explanation. We don't need to interfere or worry about this. Kushina, go home and rest for now, and avoid wandering around aimlessly."
"I'm done eating. I need to head back. I don't want anyone to take advantage of this chaos."
Even though her head was buzzing from the alcohol, Tsunade couldn't sit still.
It wasn't anything else she was worried about—it was Danzo. She was concerned that the old schemer would take advantage of the situation.
Even if all the Root members in the Anbu had been cleared out, Tsunade didn't believe Danzo was completely without allies.
That old man had always hidden himself deeply.
As for the angry villagers…
That was the Third Hokage's issue. He had created this situation, so he could deal with the backlash from the villagers.
"Uh..."
Is this really alright?
Pakura was visibly confused, watching Tsunade storm off, followed by a concerned Kushina.
Tsunade was still herself—if she was capable of running and jumping around, then she'd be fine.
Though she'd be in a drunken stupor for a while—at least half a day.
"Forget it. Let's go back and rest. Tsunade will be fine," Takuya said.
And perhaps they might even get to see quite the entertaining spectacle.
Taking Pakura with him, Takuya left the hotpot restaurant. Walking down the street, hearing people talk about the situation, he knew that things had escalated.
More and more people were learning about it.
Most were visibly furious. Many villagers gathered in small groups, heading toward the Hokage office. Clearly, they wanted an explanation from the Third Hokage.
Public outrage is not easily quelled.
Even if the Third Hokage managed to calm the villagers down, this matter would not end so easily.
"Lord Takuya."
An Anbu ninja appeared, putting an end to Takuya's plan to watch the drama unfold at the Hokage office.
Takuya stopped in his tracks. "What's going on?"
The Anbu bowed. "Lady Tsunade has assigned you an important task. You are to carry it out immediately, and you are not allowed to leave until the commotion ends."
With that, he handed over a mission scroll.
Well, so much for watching the drama. What kind of mission could this be?
Takuya sighed, feeling resigned.
But as he unrolled the scroll, his eyes lit up. Though the mission would take up quite a bit of time, it was one that he liked.
Rolling up the scroll, Takuya cleared his throat.
"Go back and tell Tsunade that I will keep an eye on Danzo and won't let him leave his residence."
Goodness!
Takuya couldn't help but marvel.
Tsunade certainly knew how to seize an opportunity. While the Third Hokage and the Council were busy handling public backlash, she assigned him a mission straight away.
To monitor Danzo!!!
Heavens, Takuya was thrilled. He wasn't just grateful to Tsunade—he was in love with this mission.
He had long wanted to keep tabs on Danzo, but the Third Hokage wouldn't allow it. Now, the opportunity had arrived.
As for whether the Third Hokage would approve, that didn't matter anymore—the mission scroll bore the Hokage's seal.
The seal must have been stamped by Tsunade. Whether the Third Hokage would be angry later… who cared?
"Understood..."
The Anbu ninja gave Takuya a strange look before leaving.
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Next Bonus: 1300
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 500+ at Patreon com/ Emik01.
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