Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, The Village Hidden in the Leaves.
August 7, x791.
Ever since Naruto, Sasuke, and Jiraiya returned from Fairy Tail with Rock Lee after the Grand Magic Games, things have been business as usual in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The shinobi took missions, the children attended classes at the Ninja Academy, and the higher-ups filled out copious amounts of paperwork.
And the one who had the largest load of paperwork was the village's highest authority, the Hokage, also known as Tsunade. In fact, ever since taking the position three years ago, Tsunade could count the number of times she finished all her paperwork before the sun went down on the fingers of a single hand.
And today, to her absolute delight, would be the time that actually filled the aforementioned hand.
"Finally, I'm done." Tsunade said from behind her desk in the Hokage's Office in the Hokage Tower as she raised her arms over her head to stretch, causing her large breasts to stand out even more than they already did as they stretched the fabric of her grey kimono top. "Now, I should have time to have a few drinks and play a few rounds at the casino before I go home."
"Is that really a good idea, Lady Tsunade?" Shizune, with her pet pig, Tonton in her arms, asked apprehensively. "You have a meeting with Lord Third, Elder Koharu, and Elder Homura first thing tomorrow morning."
"Eh... Don't worry about those old fogies." Tsunade replied disdainfully. "Honestly, if I could, I would have removed them from their positions a long time ago. With their outdated ways of thinking, all they ever do is impede progress. But I can't exactly tell Sensei that he's no longer the Third Hokage, can I. And as long as he's still alive, he'll never let me get rid of the other two, either."
Hearing that, Shizune and the Anbu assigned to be Tsunade's guards could not help the cold sweat they could feel forming on their foreheads and backs. Especially when you consider just how beloved the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, has been for so many years.
"Lady Tsunade..." Shizune said, her tone even more apprehensive as she looked around to make sure that no one, who should not be, was listening.
"Stop worrying so much." Tsunade said, cutting off Shizune's complaint with a dismissive wave. "Anyway, let's get going. I've got money to win!"
Once again, Shizune and the Anbu felt cold sweat forming over their bodies. Over the years, especially for Shizune, they have all seen just how abysmal Tsunade's gambling ability was. And they all felt stomach pain at just the thought of how quickly she lost money whenever she stepped into a casino.
{BGM: "The Raising Fighting Spirit" -- ACN Music}
Yet, just as Tsunade stood up from her desk, the sound of an energetic guitar rift sounded in the room. And if one were to pay attention to where it was coming from, they would notice that it was coming from Shizune's kunai pouch strapped to her thigh.
"That ringtone really gets me pumped up." Tsunade said with a smile as stood up from her seat. "Asking Alfonzo to make something just for me was definitely the right idea. I just wonder how he came up with something so good. Seriously, is there anything that boy isn't good at?"
A moment later, however, Tsunade's shoulders slumped.
"*Sigh* But why did I have to hear it right now?" Tsunade asked in a forlorn tone. "Every time that thing rings, it usually means there's more work to do."
After saying that, Tsunade's eyes lit up as if she had a brilliant idea.
"Hey, Shizune." Tsunade said. "Just ignore it. Whoever it is will leave a message if it's important."
"Um... I don't think that's a good idea, Lady Tsunade." Shizune replied after pulling Tsunade's lPhone out of her kunai pouch. "It's Master Unohana calling."
Hearing that, Tsunade froze for a second. Then, she began to shiver at the memory of the training session Retsu put her through when she gambled away the money Mermaid Heel was planning to pay Alfonzo with. After a moment, she shook off the terror and started walking towards the office door.
"Just leave it." Tsunade said without looking back. "I'll tell her I was busy when I call her back. Just don't forget to remind me."
Before Shizune could respond and try to convince Tsunade to take the call, the ringtone ended.
"See?" Tsunade said with a smile. "She knows how busy I am these days. So, she'll understand."
*Ding!* *Ding!*
However, just as Tsunade's hand landed on the doorknob, her lPhone sounded, notifying that she received a text message. And that caused Tsunade to stop in her tracks, a bad feeling washing over her... A premonition that if she did not find out the contents of the text, she would regret it in the not so distant future.
"Who's it from, Shizune?" Tsunade asked while inwardly praying that it was not from who she thought it was from.
"Master Unohana." Shizune replied, shattering Tsunade's unrealistic hopes.
"What does it say?" Tsunade asked after taking a fortifying breath.
Shizune looked down at the lPhone once again to read the message. A moment later, she looked up and looked directly into Tsunade's eyes.
"She said that she would wait exactly one minute." Shizune replied. "After that, she is going to call again. And she said that you had better answer. Because if you don't, she will come to the Village Hidden in the Leaves and deliver her message in person. Then, she promised that you would not like the outcome if it came to that."
With that, the room fell into an unnerving silence. Tsunade, forgetting to even breathe, simply held eye contact with Shizune. As for Shizune, her hands, holding the lPhone her right and Tonton in her left, began to tremble in nervousness, which made Tonton tremble by default. As for the Anbu, they all remained silent, not wanting to draw Tsunade's attention.
{BGM: "The Raising Fighting Spirit" -- ACN Music}
Then, just as the one-minute mark passed, that familiar ringtone played once again.
"I hate that ringtone." Tsunade muttered without breaking eye contact with Shizune.
Meanwhile, Shizune, without responding, only raised the lPhone in her right hand, holding it out towards Tsunade.
"*Sigh* Fine... I'll answer it." Tsunade said after taking a deep breath.
Tsunade then stepped towards Shizune, who remained perfectly still, hoping that Tsunade would take the lPhone before the ringtone stopped playing again. Luckily, her hopes were not dashed. Tsunade, just as afraid of what it meant were Retsu to come to the village to deliver her message in person, did not dilly-dally, answering the phone with a surprising level of composure once the lPhone was in her hand.
"Good evening, Master Retsu." Tsunade said, doing everything she could to keep her voice from trembling. "Sorry I missed your call. I wanted to finish going over the last of my paperwork for the day before I switched my focus. Unfortunately, I was just a moment too late to answer your call."
{"Hmm... Let's just pretend I believe you."} Retsu replied from the other side of the phone. {"I'll pretend that you weren't thinking of just ignoring me so that you could do something like lose all your money and possibly a large sum of the village's funds while gambling and drinking."}
"*Cough* *Cough* Uh... So, did you need me for something, Master Retsu?" Tsunade asked, obviously trying to change the topic after being seen through so easily.
{"I do, actually." Retsu replied. {"I intend to retire for good. And since you are still registered as Mermaid Heel's master, you need to come back and settle everything. The guild cannot be without a master, after all."}
"Huh?" Tsunade intoned in an unfortunately, unintelligent tone. "You're going into full retirement, but why? What about the Magic Council?"
{"The Magic Council will be fine without me."} Retsu replied nonchalantly. {"There are enough former guild masters in its ranks that they will hardly miss me. In fact, that old pervert, Makarov will probably be shedding tears of joy once he finds out."}
"Well, I can't argue with that." Tsunade replied while the image of a short old man appeared in her head. "But what broughh this on?"
{"I was defeated."} Retsu replied after a few moments of silence. {"So utterly and completely that my desire for battle has been mostly quenched."}
"Seriously? How are you even still alive?" Tsunade asked in a dumbfounded tone. She then felt the silence from the other side of the phone call grow heavy, so she continued before Retsu decided she needed more training. "I mean, you told me that you wanted a great battle to the death that would force you to use all your strength and skill. So, shouldn't such a battle have ended in one of you losing your lives? Now that I think about it, who could even be strong enough to spare your life in a battle like that?"
With her quick save, Tsunade could feel the unsettling aura that had been building up on the other side of the call settle down, causing her to exhale a silent sigh of relief.
{"Did none of your shinobi report to you on this year's Grand Magic Games?"} Retsu asked, the murderous aura that caused Tsunade's unsettling feeling completely absent from her tone.
"Well, Naruto and Lee both reported to me." Tsunade said, an oncoming headache beginning to make her head throb. "But from the way they reported it, I really couldn't get much more than the fact that Fairy Tail took all three of the top spots and Alfonzo's team won. As for Sasuke, he left the report to Naruto. *Sigh* And don't even get me started on Jiraiya... The only thing he's brought me since he got back was an uncountable number of complaints from bathhouse owners and their female clientele"
{"I see."} Was the only response Retsu could give. {"Either way, you need to come back to the Mermaid Heel HQ to settle the issue about your successor. And you won't be able to return until a sixth guild master is in place. So, you'll need to arrange for someone to cover while you are absent."}
"I understand." Tsunade replied in a resigned tone. "I will make the proper preparations. At least I won't have to worry about the Akatsuki causing trouble thanks to Fairy Tail. Hopefully, I'll be able to make it back before the end of the month."
{"Good."} Retsu replied. {"Then, I'll be waiting for you at the Mermaid Heel HQ. I'll do everything I can to help you through this situation. I'll also forward a message to the Magic Council that says you are unable to take on the role of a Council member because of your position as the Village Hidden in the Leaves' Hokage."}
"Thank you, Master Unohana." Tsunade replied in a downcast tone because she knew that her free time after finishing her paperwork early had been cut short.
{"I'll see you soon."} Retsu said before hanging up promptly.
Listening to the sound of the call ending, Tsunade stood in place for a few seconds while wearing an expression that was only a moment away from crying. Meanwhile, the other people in the room, Shizune and the Anbu remained silent, as well. Knowing Tsunade's temper, no one wanted to become the outlet for her discontentment.
"Damn it!" Tsunade shouted after coming back to her senses. "Why now? Why me? Why did I ever decide to become the Mermaid Heel guild master or the Fifth Hokage? Why~~~~~~!?"
No one really knew how to answer any of Tsunade's questions. And to be perfectly honest, Tsunade was not expecting any answers, either. So, the only thing Shizune and the Anbu could do was continue to remain silent as Tsunade started stomping around her office with visible rage in her expression.
However, Tsunade's enraged state did not last long. Because after about a minute, she realized that she never got an answer from Retsu to the question she most wanted an answer to.
"Damn it!" Tsunade shouted once again. "She distracted me! I still don't know who it was that defeated her! On top of that, why would that cause her to go into full retirement!? Damn you Master Retsu! You tricked me!"
After getting that outburst out of her system, Tsunade calmed down significantly. She then put on a serious expression and looked towards Shizune.
"Shizune, call the elders." Tsunade ordered. "We have a lot to discuss. There are plans that need to be made for my absence. And as much as I really don't want to, I'll have to give the reigns back to Sarutobi-Sensei for the time that I'm gone. I just hope his conservative, outdated ideals don't end up cancelling out all the work I've done over the last three years before I get back."
"Understood." Shizune replied, snapping to attention immediately. "I'll go right now."
With that, Shizune, with Tonton still in hand, rushed out of the Hokage's office. Meanwhile, Tsunade stomped back to her desk, pulled out a scroll, and started drafting plans for both the time before she left the village and the time she would spend away from it.