Naruto: Tsunade's Brother

Chapter 217: Sasuke Defects

In less than half an hour, Arima had laid out a whole table of delicious dishes, and he had even specially prepared some sake for Tsunade.

The two of them chatted loudly at the table, seemingly having completely forgotten Shizune's presence. From time to time, Tsunade's cheerful laughter rang out during the meal.

By the time the meal was over, Shizune felt a bit uncomfortably full. Tonight's food had really stuffed her, so much so that it was almost overwhelming.

On the way back to the Hokage Building with the Fifth, Shizune couldn't help but ask, "Lady Tsunade, what do you think of Lord Arima?"

Tsunade pondered for quite a while before saying, "He's a very interesting man. Even though he never openly expresses his feelings, I can sense them in every little detail. Sigh… if only I'd met him earlier…"

As she spoke, Tsunade couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Shizune didn't continue the topic, afraid of touching on Lady Tsunade's painful memories.

The next two days passed calmly, without incident.

On the morning of the third day, all of Konoha's residents gathered in the plaza before the Hokage Building to witness the inauguration of the Fifth Hokage.

It was exactly ten in the morning when the inauguration ceremony officially began.

Standing atop the Hokage Building, Tsunade, under the witness of Jiraiya and the others, received the Hokage hat from Homura, placed it upon her head, then stepped forward to the railing.

Facing the passionate, excited crowd below, she raised her arm and declared, "From today onward, I am Konoha's Fifth Hokage!"

The deafening cheers from the crowd below stirred her emotions. In her heart, she thought, 'Nawaki, Dan… your dreams, I've finally fulfilled them for you today!'

For some reason, Tsunade suddenly looked in the direction of Arima's little shop. However, she didn't see his figure.

Just as a trace of disappointment welled up within her, the people below suddenly began pointing at the sky, crying out in surprise.

Following their gazes, Tsunade looked up and saw that the clouds had actually formed a line of words, reading: "Fifth Hokage, do your best!"

The villagers took it as a divine miracle, and their admiration for Tsunade instantly reached new heights.

Even Konoha's higher-ups felt that something about this was uncanny. Jiraiya even muttered to himself, "Could this really be a revelation from the Sage of Six Paths?"

As for Tsunade, she knew perfectly well what was going on. Just from the tone alone, she could more or less guess whose handiwork this was.

Earlier, when she hadn't seen him appear at her inauguration ceremony, Tsunade had felt somewhat dejected.

Now, seeing this romantic scene, she couldn't help but murmur to herself, "Arima… thank you."

Scenes of her past interactions with Arima began to occupy her thoughts. She didn't even know when exactly his figure had taken root in her heart.

Because of this "miracle," the Fire Daimyo even specially increased Konoha's military funding, and the two advisors, Koharu and Homura, also adopted a much gentler attitude toward Tsunade.

Since taking office as Hokage, Tsunade had grown increasingly busy, sometimes so much so that she couldn't even find time to eat.

Shizune felt sorry for her. Every mealtime, she would seize a moment to run to Arima's shop to pick up takeout.

Arima, for his part, always had the meals prepared in advance, and they were never the same from one day to the next.

Tsunade and Arima shared a tacit understanding, each of them would learn about the other's latest situation through Shizune.

To reward Shizune for her role as a little messenger, Arima even specially prepared a beautifully made meal for her as well.

As a result, Shizune became even more enthusiastic about passing messages between the two of them.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, a full month had passed since Tsunade assumed the position of Fifth Hokage.

The unrest that had occurred during the Chunin Exams had been completely quelled, and Konoha and Sunagakure had officially signed an offensive and defensive alliance.

Everything seemed to be developing in a better direction.

Although Tsunade had been run ragged during this period, thanks to Arima's presence, her days had become increasingly comfortable.

However, accidents always had a way of intruding, like a stone thrown into calm water, stirring up ripples.

Early one morning, while Tsunade was still asleep at home, she was woken by Shizune. On the way to the Hokage Building, Shizune reported the news of the Uchiha survivor's defection.

Hearing this, Tsunade couldn't help but frown. According to reports from Kakashi and Anko, Sasuke's defection was certainly inseparable from Orochimaru's influence.

She made a decisive call and immediately dispatched two jōnin to track down his whereabouts.

Orochimaru had caused enormous damage to Konoha during the Chunin Exams, severely tarnishing the village's image.

This forced Konoha's jonin to frequently go out on various difficult missions.

At such a critical juncture, Sasuke's defection from Konoha could only be described as exquisitely timed on Orochimaru's part.

To ensure Sasuke's capture, Tsunade on one hand dispatched the newly promoted Chunin Shikamaru to lead several genin in pursuit.

On the other hand, she sent a request for assistance to Sunagakure, asking them to set up interceptions along the border.

That very afternoon, the two jonin who had gone out to track Sasuke were rushed to Konoha Hospital. They were gravely injured, their lives hanging by a thread.

Tsunade immediately returned to her old profession, treating the two of them. She worked nonstop until nightfall before finally pulling them back from the brink of death.

Before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, a third critically injured patient was brought in. This time, it was Choza's son, Choji, one of the members of the second tracking squad.

When Tsunade entered the operating room, she saw Choji's body reduced to skin and bones, no longer bearing the plump physique characteristic of the Akimichi clan.

The Akimichi clan had three secret pills: the green Spinach Pill, the yellow Curry Pill, and the red Chili Pill.

All of them could boost one's explosive power, but among them, the red Chili Pill was the most tyrannical in effect, and also had the most severe side effects.

Tsunade was well aware of the terrifying aftereffects of consuming the Chili Pill.

She immediately conducted a thorough examination of Choji and found his condition to be extremely grave. She couldn't even guarantee that she would be able to save his life.

A wave of guilt rose in Tsunade's heart. The danger of this mission had exceeded her expectations.

But clearly, this was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. With Shizune's assistance, Tsunade immediately threw herself into the rescue effort.

By late the next morning, the sun already high in the sky, Tsunade, who had worked through the entire night, was utterly exhausted.

Fortunately, Choji's condition had finally stabilized. Next, she only needed to find a suitable antidote to eliminate the residual toxicity left by the Chili Pill.

However, misfortune never comes alone. Another severely injured patient was brought in. Tsunade didn't get even a moment's rest before plunging straight into another surgery.

This time, the patient was once again a member of the tracking squad, Hyuga Neji.

After a brief examination, Tsunade discovered that the boy was covered in external wounds, had lost a massive amount of blood, and even had a horrifying penetrating wound in his abdomen, as if he had been pierced by a high-speed, spinning arrow.

After learning about the circumstances at the battlefield, Tsunade had a pretty good idea of what had happened.

Looking at the curse mark on this pitiful child's forehead, Tsunade had no time for sighs or sentiment. All she wanted was to save his life.

At that moment, Shizune entered the emergency room and whispered into the Fifth Hokage's ear, "Lady Tsunade, Lord Arima has arrived, and he's brought the meal he prepared for you."

Warmth immediately spread through Tsunade's heart, and the exhaustion she felt seemed to ease considerably.

She leaned close to Shizune's ear and whispered, "Have him put on medical attire and come here."

Although Shizune was a little puzzled, she still passed the message along to Arima.

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