"And then I said, they traveled all the way back from the Land of Fire's border! I heard they went to many interesting places!"
"If only I had gone too! Ino and Sakura are so sneaky, and Hinata too! They didn't even tell me!"
"But who would have thought Tsunade-sama's luck was so bad! She actually lost so much money! Hahaha!"
"She's practically a little cash cow just waiting to be fleeced!"
Naruto, chattering loudly all the way, completely failed to notice the figure that had appeared behind him.
Tsunade's face was hidden in shadow, only her eyes emitting a crimson glow.
That was killing intent.
Thud!
Naruto went spinning through the air.
He landed heavily, embedded in the wall.
Everyone looked at the unconscious Naruto with pity.
"S-Such power!" Kiba exclaimed in a low voice.
The people around him nodded frantically in agreement.
However, they didn't know yet.
This was the result of Tsunade suppressing her strength.
If she had used her full power, Naruto would probably need a hospital bed next to Sasuke.
"Tsunade, one of the Sannin?" Sasuke's voice was somewhat hoarse, "C-Can you cure the poison in my body?"
"Such a cocky look." Tsunade leaned forward slightly, letting Sasuke see her face, "As expected, an Uchiha brat. Just saying a few words makes you so annoying."
With that one sentence, Sasuke madly clenched his fists. He gritted his teeth so hard it seemed he might shatter them.
"Are you questioning me with that statement? Uchiha brat?" Tsunade said proudly, tilting her head back, "I am the best Medical-nin in this world. A mere poison? As long as I intervene, there's no poison I can't cure."
Hearing this, a glimmer of light finally appeared in Sasuke's gloomy eyes.
"Y-You will really treat me?" Sasuke's voice trembled slightly.
He felt as if he were dreaming.
One moment ago, he was a paralyzed cripple. And now, Tsunade, hailed as the best Medical-nin in the Shinobi World, was here to save him.
"Nonsense." Tsunade rolled her eyes, "If it weren't for this kid Takumi gambling with me and making me come back to save you, why would I ever return to this village?"
"Don't waste time. Let's start quickly." Tsunade put on gloves and flipped Sasuke over like a pancake.
"Alright, I'm going to treat this brat now. Except for Shizune, all you kids get out." Tsunade said irritably, shooing the others away.
"Ah..." Sakura said dejectedly, "I thought I could watch Tsunade-sama perform the treatment."
"Me too." Ino also looked disappointed.
"Shoo, shoo, shoo! You're not even Shinobi yet, what could you possibly understand?" Tsunade waved her hand impatiently.
Everyone had no choice but to helplessly file out.
Even Takumi, who wanted to observe, was firmly driven out by Tsunade.
As he left, Takumi didn't forget the unconscious Naruto embedded in the wall and carried him out.
Finally, only Tsunade, Shizune, and the patient Sasuke remained in the room.
"Shizune, do you remember the specific steps for poison extraction?" Tsunade said, pretending to be calm.
"Yes, I remember the general treatment process." Shizune replied, "But it's been over three years since I last performed it. I'm not sure if my skills have gotten rusty."
"Wait." Sasuke felt something was wrong. He quickly looked up and asked urgently, "Aren't you the one treating me?".
"Isn't forcing the poison out of your body the most important thing for you?" Tsunade retorted, a hint of mockery at the corner of her mouth, "Do you care who performs the treatment?"
"Enough talk. We're starting the treatment." Tsunade declared, "Begin anesthesia."
Saying this, she formed a chop with her right fingers and chopped the back of Sasuke's neck.
Sasuke immediately lost consciousness.
Tsunade, already prepared, immediately lifted Sasuke onto the bed and flipped him over like a pancake again, making him lie face down.
"According to the diagnosis results, although the poison was suppressed and stopped damaging his internal organs, it was forced into his lower back." Tsunade said, looking at Sasuke's waist, "So, the poison gathered there, causing this brat to become paralyzed."
Due to past experiences, Tsunade unfortunately developed hemophobia. This prevented her from actively performing this surgery herself because she couldn't see blood.
That's why she assigned Shizune to perform the treatment for her.
Fortunately, this treatment was relatively simple. They just needed to be careful not to damage his spinal nerves when extracting the poison. Otherwise, Sasuke would truly become disabled.
"First, numb the pain nerves in his lower back." Tsunade directed and pointed at a spot on Sasuke's lower back, "Then make an incision here to extract the poison."
"Understood." Shizune, now wearing a mask, nodded seriously and quickly began the procedure.
Tsunade immediately turned around, not wanting to see any blood appear.
Shizune's hands were coated with Chakra Scalpels. She severed Sasuke's pain nerves through the skin. Although this seemed absurd, they could reconnect them after extracting the poison.
With the numbness issue handled, Shizune then made a small incision at the spot Tsunade indicated.
Blood immediately gushed out.
Shizune didn't hesitate. She immediately probed inside with two fingers together, her fingertips coated with a unique Chakra. This was a Medical Ninjutsu specially developed by Tsunade for extracting latent toxins from the body.
After a while, Shizune withdrew her fingers. Her fingertips were now covered with poison. If not for the special Chakra protecting her, she would have been poisoned herself already.
She washed the severe poison off in a basin.
She repeated this process seven or eight times.
Only then was the treatment nearing its end.
Next was suturing the wound and waiting for Sasuke to wake up.
…
Hokage's office.
Hiruzen sat somewhat anxiously behind his desk, waiting for the Anbu to bring back Takumi's diary.
Since last night, when Takumi brought Tsunade back, his heart had been filled with unease.
Because... he hadn't come to report?
Logically, an upright youth like Takumi, upon returning to the village, should first seek out his close and kind Grandpa Hokage to report, right?
Like what interesting things happened on the journey.
What difficulties he encountered while searching for Tsunade...
The two of them should sit in the office, talking and laughing happily together!
But none of that happened!
So a thought popped into Hiruzen's mind.
'Could it be that Tsunade said something unnecessary?'
'If Takumi found out the truth about why Tsunade left the village back then...'
'If he found out that I tacitly allowed others to force Tsunade out...'
'If he consequently stopped trusting me, stopped trusting the village...'
The more he thought about it, the more Hiruzen felt fear.
The talent Takumi had shown delighted him.
At the same time, he understood he must control Takumi.
Such a talent, only by growing under his guidance could he become part of his legacy.
If Takumi left during his tenure as Hokage, like Tsunade did, or even became an enemy of the village...
He didn't dare think further about the consequences.
Before long, the office door opened.
An Anbu's member walked up to Sandaime Hokage and placed the desired item on the desk.
Then, understanding his role, he vanished with a whoosh.
Sandaime immediately opened the diary.
'Notes on Welcoming Tsunade-sama Back to the Village'
[This journey was really long, and full of difficulties.]
[But after all the hardships, I finally convinced Tsunade-sama to return to the village. I'm very happy, now Sasuke can be saved.]
[And Hokage-sama will be happy because of this too.]
Seeing this, a gratified glint appeared in Hiruzen's eyes.
At least Takumi still respected him greatly.
[However, after returning to the village, I heard some rumors.]
[All about what happened when Tsunade-sama left the village.]
[I am skeptical of some of the statements, but I became curious.]
[Perhaps because she trusts me, when I went to ask Tsunade, she told me about the events back then without any hesitation.]
[After hearing it, I feel a bit shaken.]
'It's happened!'
Seeing this, Hiruzen's pupils sharply contracted.
His worst fear seemed to have come true!
[Why did the village do that? Tsunade-sama contributed so much to the village!]
[Tsunade-sama was completely considering the entire village's benefit, so why did the village instead force her out?]
[Why did Konoha's higher-ups do this? They even deceived Hokage-sama, making him suspicious of his own beloved student.]
[I believe Hokage-sama is absolutely not that kind of person. It must all be the fault of the other Konoha's higher-ups who deceived Hokage-sama!]
[Otherwise, how could someone as good as Tsunade-sama be forced out?]
[Tomorrow, I must bring Tsunade-sama to ask carefully about what exactly happened back then.]
[Those hateful village's higher-ups, I really hope Hokage-sama will punish them!]
[Otherwise, isn't this making the heroes shed both blood and tears?]
"Phew..." Hiruzen put down the diary, his face suddenly darkening.
'As expected, the matter was exposed.'
'You really can't wrap fire in paper!'
'The reason for Tsunade's departure had still reached Takumi!'
"This... is hard to handle now." Hiruzen muttered, smoking his pipe gloomily, his brows tightly locked.
'The thoughts in Takumi's diary clearly showed he had begun to doubt the village.'
'If he continued doubting like this, I'm afraid the Will of Fire won't hold!'
'By then, how could I make him shine? How could I make him make Konoha great again?'
'Therefore, his doubts must be eliminated!'
'Even if it requires using some rough methods!'
"Go, notify the two advisors and Danzo. Tell them I have urgent business." Hiruzen said, his face dark and gloomy, his voice vicious.
"Yes!" An Anbu hidden in the shadows responded and quickly left.
Before long, Homura, Koharu, and Danzo arrived together.
Before Hiruzen could even speak, Danzo spoke up as soon as he entered.
"What's going on? How did Tsunade come back?"
"You have the nerve to ask!" Hiruzen roared.
This sudden roar stunned the other three.
Usually, Hiruzen was weak and incompetent, submissive towards them.
They didn't know what had gotten into Hiruzen today, to be in such a foul mood!
Yelling at them right as they entered?
"Later, I will summon Tsunade. All of you will apologize to her properly!" Hiruzen commanded.
"What do you mean?" Danzo's brows immediately furrowed.
"Why should I apologize to her? What have I done wrong?" Danzo looked completely self-righteous.
Homura and Koharu were also puzzled.
"Indeed, you should at least give us a reason." They said.
Slap! Slap!
Hiruzen moved swiftly, immediately rushing forward and slapping Danzo and Homura hard across the face!
He didn't lay a hand on Koharu due to her being a woman.
"Reason? Do you still fu**ing need a reason?" He roared, "Wasn't it you who forced Tsunade out back then?!"
"What's wrong with making you apologize?"
"As long as you apologize, my student can return to the village and contribute her part to Konoha's development!"
Hearing this, Danzo and Homura were as if struck by lightning, frozen on the spot!
Koharu also looked utterly shocked!
They looked as if they had seen a ghost!
'Weren't you the one who tacitly approved of that matter?'
'Now you're pushing all the responsibility onto us?'