The next day, in the Hokage's office.
Morning light squeezed through the gaps in the blinds, cutting alternating strips of brightness and shadow across the floor.
Both sides of the long table were filled with people.
Hiashi Hyuga sat with his back perfectly straight, his pale eyes half-lowered.
Shikaku Nara rested his folded hands on his knees, his gaze calm and unreadable.
Inoichi Yamanaka sat as still as a pine, a kunai he had yet to put away held between his fingers.
The clan heads of the Inuzuka and Aburame clans sat a little farther away. One held a ninja hound in his arms, while the other was surrounded by the faint, barely audible hum of insects.
The two elders, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, occupied the seats near the head of the table. Their aged faces wore their usual solemn expressions.
"Why did Hokage-sama call us here?" someone asked in a low voice, confusion threaded through his tone.
"No idea." The person beside him shook his head. "ANBU summoned us first thing in the morning, and the only reply we got was that everything was peaceful. Nobody knows what's going on."
Everyone looked at one another, completely at a loss.
Some lowered their heads to check the time. Some flipped through the blank notepads in front of them. Others leaned close to whisper with their neighbors.
What exactly was Hokage-sama trying to do?
Koharu frowned and lightly tapped her cane against the floor.
"Shizune, where is Tsunade?"
Shizune stood behind the chair Tsunade usually sat in, holding Tonton in her arms.
Her expression was slightly awkward.
"Elder, I... I don't know either."
She paused, then lowered her voice even further.
"I wasn't with Hokage-sama last night."
She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously stroking Tonton's back.
A faint worry stirred in her heart.
Where had Tsunade-sama gone last night?
She had a guess. She was even a little jealous.
But could she say it?
She bit her lip and swallowed that name back down.
Just then...
Clang!
The office door was shoved open.
Everyone turned in unison.
Tsunade stood in the doorway.
She wore her signature green robe, and her golden hair shone softly in the sunlight.
That face, usually carrying a trace of fatigue, was now radiant.
Her eyes were bright, as though filled with spring water.
Most striking of all was the faint blush on her cheeks.
It made her look several years younger.
"Tsunade-sama?"
Shizune was the first to speak.
Her voice carried a hint of surprise even she did not notice.
Tsunade froze slightly under all those gazes.
For some reason, she felt a little guilty.
The blush on her cheeks deepened by another shade.
In her heart, she cursed Teizawa eight hundred times over.
That bastard. He was like a wild bull.
He had kept going until morning.
If not for him, how could she have been late?
"Ahem..."
She cleared her throat, ignoring the curious and probing looks around her.
She strode to the main seat and sat down.
Her movements were crisp and decisive.
But the instant she sat, a dull ache still throbbed through her waist.
Her expression did not change.
Only her fingers slipped beneath the table, quietly rubbing her lower back.
"Tsunade..."
Homura was the first to speak, his voice low and stern.
"We are busy handling Danzo's matter. Why did you suddenly summon us here?"
"Exactly." Koharu picked up the thread, tapping her cane against the floor again. "The ANBU searching for Danzo still have not sent back any news. We were just preparing to send additional teams..."
"Recall the ANBU."
Tsunade interrupted her. Her voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear.
"There's no need to look for Danzo anymore."
The air in the office froze.
"What?"
Homura's pupils shrank slightly.
"Hokage-sama..."
Hiashi leaned forward, a trace of shock flashing through his pale eyes.
Shikaku's brow furrowed slightly.
Inoichi's fingers paused on the kunai.
The Inuzuka clan head nearly lost his grip on the ninja hound in his arms.
The hum of insects around the Aburame clan head suddenly thickened for an instant.
Everyone was digesting the same sentence.
No need to look anymore?
Danzo had done so many wrong things, and now they were not going to pursue it?
Was Hokage-sama planning to let him go?
For a moment, the room filled with varied expressions.
Some frowned. Some fell into thought. Some exchanged meaningful looks.
Koharu and Homura glanced at each other.
A flicker of excitement passed through their cloudy old eyes.
They had suggested it before.
They wanted Tsunade to negotiate with Danzo, to turn a major issue into a minor one, then let the minor one fade away.
After all, everyone was doing it for Konoha.
But Tsunade's stance had been firm.
She had insisted on making Danzo pay the price.
Now, had she changed her mind?
The two elders could not help feeling excited.
Of their old friends from that generation, only Danzo remained.
If possible, of course they wanted to protect him.
"Tsunade..." Homura's tone softened slightly, carrying a hint of cautious probing. "Have you decided to negotiate with Danzo?"
Tsunade glanced at him in surprise.
Her eyes seemed to say, What nonsense are you talking about?
"Negotiate?"
She repeated the word, her tone odd.
"Who said anything about negotiating with him?"
Koharu froze.
"Then when you said we should stop pursuing him..."
"What I mean is..." Tsunade raised her brows and said each word clearly, "Danzo is already dead. There's no need to keep him on the wanted list."
Dead silence.
You could have heard a pin drop.
Then...
"That's impossible..."
"What?"
"Are you joking?"
The entire Hokage's office erupted.
The scrape of chairs against the floor, the sound of teacups being knocked over, the startled low growl of a ninja hound, the sudden buzzing surge of insects...
And the rising wave of shocked exclamations and doubtful voices.
All those sounds tangled together like a pot of boiling porridge.
Hiashi shot to his feet, his pale eyes wide.
Shikaku's brow furrowed even tighter. His fingers lightly tapped against the tabletop, as though he were calculating something.
Inoichi set down his kunai.
Both hands braced against the table as he leaned forward.
Koharu's cane slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor.
Homura sat frozen in his chair.
His mouth hung open, unable to close for a long moment.
"Danzo is dead?" Koharu's voice was dry. "How did he die? Who killed him?"
Tsunade leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.
Her gaze swept over every shocked face in the room.
She did not answer immediately.
Instead, that man's appearance surfaced in her mind.
Young. A little roguish. The kind of face that made her grit her teeth in anger, yet left her helpless.
And, somewhere deep down, carrying a tenderness she refused to admit.
The corners of her mouth lifted faintly.
Then she quickly pressed them back down.
"This matter..." She paused. "Is classified. It is not convenient to disclose for the time being."
Her relationship with Teizawa had to remain absolutely secret.
So the person who killed Danzo...
Could only be left vague.
(End of Chapter)
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