Chapter 288: Tsunade's Heart Stirred
"Thank you for speaking up for me earlier."
Tsunade pouted slightly, her tone a bit annoyed. "Otherwise, that old man would've shot my proposal down again."
The Lightning Release clone—Sakumo —shook his head. "No, I wasn't speaking up for you."
He began walking, and Tsunade followed beside him as he continued, "War is cruel. I just want more of our comrades to survive."
Hearing that, Tsunade thought of her younger brother Nawaki and sighed. "Yeah… war is cruel. Who knows how many more will die this time."
Sakumo stopped. Facing Tsunade's confused pause, he smiled confidently and said, "I'll do everything I can to end this war quickly—so no more lives are lost."
A mature, handsome face. A confident, resolute smile.
In that moment, Tsunade seemed to see her brother again—the boy who once promised to protect their comrades on the battlefield and become the greatest Hokage.
Both of them were filled with conviction. Both had hearts devoted to protecting the village and their comrades.
"Don't you… hate that old man?" Tsunade finally couldn't hold it in and voiced the question that had long weighed on her heart.
She'd heard bits and pieces of what had happened to Hatake Sakumo years ago. She could guess the political games involved, and she knew Hiruzen had played a part.
She also believed that someone as sharp as Sakumo saw through it all too.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have abandoned the Konoha ninja system and chosen to live as an ordinary villager.
Clearly, he knew what part the Third had played in that betrayal.
Yet here he was, still loyal to the village, still obeying Hiruzen's orders and ready to fight again. Tsunade was dying to know—what did he really feel?
Didn't he hate him?
With hands clasped behind his back, Sakumo turned and resumed walking. Slightly tilting his head toward the direction of his home, he smiled and said, "My home is in the village. What more reason do I need to protect it and my family?"
So what if there was hate?
So what if there wasn't?
Was protecting your family something you needed to weigh against personal grudges?
Hate or no hate—it didn't change his determination to protect.
That was his answer. Tsunade understood—and in that moment, she fell.
Her heart, unknowingly, had already tied itself to him.
The emotions of a smitten woman—nothing new.
From ancient times, the trope of "hero saves beauty, beauty falls in love" had never gone out of style for a reason.
At the moment when no one else had spoken, Sakumo had stepped up and supported her—making a proposal that had been rejected repeatedly by the Third finally get approved. That alone was no different from a hero coming to her rescue.
Especially in that moment when no one else believed in her—he did.
That validation lifted the weight from her weary heart. And that kind of shift in emotion—that subtle but sudden impact—was what made people fall.
On top of that, the conversation they just had, and Sakumo 's striking spiritual resemblance to Nawaki, made Tsunade see a reflection of her brother in him. Years of suppressed longing now had a new focus.
All those emotions combined, and Tsunade—who had never experienced love—fell deeply and completely.
Love at first sight, in its purest form.
Tsunade's heart may have been easily stirred, but to continue this bond would require Sakumo to make the right move—to seize the opportunity.
Otherwise, a proud woman like her wouldn't pursue it, even if she was infatuated.
In the original timeline, Dan Katō had done just that. Sensing Tsunade's interest, he promptly seized the moment, escorted her home, and deepened their connection—ultimately winning the heart that Jiraiya could never reach.
Had he not died, as the man of Konoha's "princess," Dan might've had just as much chance at becoming Hokage as Minato.
Unfortunately, he died.
Sakumo didn't know the details of Dan and Tsunade's past, but his trajectory now mirrored it closely.
And just like Dan, he made the right move—he seized the moment.
At a fork in the road where the two would have parted—
Under the moonlight, Sakumo 's silver hair gleamed. Without hesitation, he turned toward the path leading to Tsunade's home.
"It's late. Let me walk you back," he said calmly, as though it were perfectly natural, without any pretense.
"…Okay." Tsunade lowered her head slightly and gave a soft, barely audible reply.
In that moment, no more words were needed.
One offered. The other accepted.
They walked side by side. And under the moonlight, the shadows cast before them gradually drew closer together.
They both understood that shared desire to be near each other. It was the signal to keep going.
As they chatted along the way, the connection deepened, and their hearts moved closer.
"Good night."
After walking her home, Sakumo didn't linger. He simply said goodbye and turned to leave.
"Good night."
Tsunade stood at her doorstep, watching until his figure disappeared around the corner before heading inside with unusually light steps.
And just around that corner, Sakumo could no longer suppress the joy in his heart. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his lips curled up.
"Interesting, interesting… didn't expect a bonus like this."
"Haha, I'm sure the day Hiruzen finds out one of my clones got Tsunade pregnant will be very interesting."
He walked home with a grin—the grin of a man who had found a new avenue to get revenge on the Third Hokage.
Because from beginning to end, all Sakumo thought about was how to use Tsunade to hurt Hiruzen. Love? He hadn't been moved in the slightest.
He wasn't some inexperienced boy.
At the same time, back at the side hall of the Hokage building, Fire Release clone—Fugaku—and Hiruzen had just finished their first round of private conversation.
"What do you think of my proposal, Clan Leader Fugaku?"
Fugaku looked at the roster Hiruzen had handed him—Uchiha members slated for deployment—and was a little surprised.
Every single name on the list belonged to a radical—those most hostile toward the Third Hokage.
He hadn't expected Hiruzen to assign the very Uchiha who hated him the most to the frontlines.
Was he not worried they'd awaken Mangekyō Sharingan after losing comrades in battle?
Fugaku didn't get it—but he didn't plan to overthink it either. Who got sent out didn't matter. As long as he could go, it was fine.
Now that Sakumo was becoming the man of Konoha's princess, if he could distinguish himself in this war, the Hokage seat was as good as his.
And if not? Once he gained Kamui, he could just use genjutsu to take it by force.
With Amaterasu Fire Release fully developed, Fugaku's Mangekyō wasn't that crucial anymore. He could now afford to use Izanami on two people.
One of those people had already been selected by Li Yao—Orochimaru.
Once he had Tsunade, Sakumo , Orochimaru, and the Uchiha Clan behind him, how could the Hokage seat possibly escape him?
As for any resistance from Danzo or Hiruzen?
Heh.
Fugaku grinned coldly.
Once Li Yao's true body emerged from the Dragon Vein, and had copied Izanami's chakra… he'd easily force Hiruzen to abdicate.
And once Fugaku was Hokage, Li Yao would personally capture those two old dogs—Danzo and Hiruzen—possess their souls into dog bodies, send them back to Konoha, and tell them everything.
Then he'd make them watch as their families and clans were erased by his hand.
(END CHAPTER)
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