Hokage's office.
Shikamaru Nara, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki stood in front of the desk with their heads down, looking depressed. Tsunade, who had just finished dealing with a large pile of documents and hadn't been nourished by Kirito for a long time, lay lazily on her desk. After listening to the report from Shikamaru and the other two, her pupils suddenly shrank. While feeling sorry for Asuma, the Konoha ninja, she hurriedly asked, "What about Kirito? Did Fujiwara Kirito participate?"
Although the Sarutobi clan and Kirito had an irreconcilable blood feud, Sarutobi Asuma was still a respected shinobi in the village.
If possible, Tsunade didn't want her little man to deepen the conflict with Konoha's shinobi because of Asuma's death.
"That's not the case." Kotetsu was stunned for a moment, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Based on the situation at the time, if the Fujiwara Kirito who defeated Kakashi and the others was really there, I'm afraid we would have been wiped out."
Hearing this, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief, and then heard Izumo Kamizuki say, "Then there's Kurenai… Asuma, he's... with Kurenai..."
When Kurenai was mentioned, the originally depressing atmosphere suddenly became strange, and everyone's mouths twitched fiercely.
Everyone knew that Kurenai had no romantic feelings toward Asuma, and Asuma had been castrated by Kirito early on, which made it even more impossible.
Without waiting for Tsunade to respond, Shikamaru said, "I'll talk to Kurenai later. As for Kurenai-sensei, I'll leave her to the Hokage."
"I know." Tsunade sighed helplessly. Just hearing Kurenai's name gave her a headache.
Time went back to two days ago.
Kurenai Yuhi had rarely come to see Tsunade alone.
"Godaime-sama, no, Sister Tsunade, I have something I want to talk to you about privately." That was the first thing Kurenai Yuhi said when she saw Tsunade.
"Wow, sister? You really know how to flatter." Tsunade rested her cheek on her hand and looked at Kurenai Yuhi with interest. She was over thirty but looked no older than her twenties. She touched the pure gold ring on her left ring finger and sighed inwardly—she really was well maintained. Though she would never age, never grow old.
"Shizune, go out." Tsunade said to Shizune.
"Yes." Shizune nodded and walked out holding Tonton.
"Go ahead." Tsunade looked at Kurenai Yuhi with a smile, but that smile didn't last long.
"Sister Tsunade, I'm here to resign. I've decided to step down as a ninja." Kurenai Yuhi moved a stool and sat opposite Tsunade. She was no longer as respectful as before but looked her straight in the eye, speaking as an equal.
Tsunade noticed the change in Kurenai's demeanor, and her smile disappeared. She frowned and asked, "Why? Did I, the Fifth Hokage, make some mistake that led you to resign as a jōnin? If there's something you're dissatisfied with, just tell me. If I've made a mistake, I'll correct it. Otherwise, what are you resigning for?"
"No, you've done a great job. The changes in the village these past few years are obvious to everyone. There's no more darkness in the village, and things are moving toward prosperity." Kurenai shook her head.
She hesitated, her cheeks flushed, and said something shocking: "I'm resigning because I'm pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Tsunade's eyes widened instantly, a spark of gossip lighting them up. She stood up and asked urgently, "Whose child? When did this happen? How far along are you? Who's the father?"
"Um..." Kurenai's face turned red, even her neck tinged pink. After hesitating slightly, she took a deep breath and said, "Sister Tsunade, please prepare yourself. Don't get angry."
While speaking, Kurenai took out a pure gold ring from around her neck, one slightly rougher than Tsunade's.
Under Tsunade's stunned gaze, she slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand.
At that moment, Tsunade understood everything. Pure gold was a special material only Kirito used.
And it also explained why Yuhi Kurenai, already over 30, still looked like a woman in her twenties.
It seemed this man had given that ring to other women long ago.
Tsunade suppressed the fury in her chest and tried to speak in a calm tone: "When?"
When?
Yuhi Kurenai recalled her past with Kirito—from the day they met, to his outrageous confession, to her current pregnancy.
"About ten years ago."
Kurenai gave her answer calmly.
"Ten years? Back then, he had just graduated from the Academy..."
Tsunade's expression was complicated. There was resentment, unwillingness, and anger—all these emotions passed through her eyes before finally becoming a weary sigh.
Damn it… after all this time, turns out I was the one who came last.
The memories ended there.
Tsunade's palm pressed down on her desk and—crack—the Yamato-crafted wood shattered instantly.
"Tsunade-sama, please calm down!" Kotetsu, Izumo, and Shikamaru thought she was furious about Asuma's death and quickly tried to calm her.
Tsunade shook her head, stood up, and walked to the window. With her back to everyone, she waved her hand and said, "I'm fine. You may all go."
Shikamaru and the others nodded and quietly left the Hokage's office.
"Tsunade-sama, what's wrong?" Shizune asked cautiously.
"Kurenai is pregnant." Tsunade bit her lip, tears falling silently from the corners of her eyes. Though she had long known what kind of man Kirito was—that he had probably cheated on her with many women—actually facing it was another matter entirely.
Tsunade was a strong woman, and strong women were possessive. That's why she got angry every time Kirito mentioned another woman.
But she also had a soft heart. Faced with betrayal, she couldn't help but feel grief and shed tears.
This time, Kirito had gone too far.
"Pregnant?" Shizune was stunned. Her gossip instincts ignited instantly. She asked the same questions Tsunade had earlier, "Who's the father? When did it happen? How far along is she?"
"It's that guy—Kirito." Tsunade cried.
"What? Kirito? Wait, what did you just say?" Shizune thought she'd misheard. "Kirito? That's your husband! How could he—"
"Then how do you think I got fooled by him?" Tsunade replied with a question.
Shizune listened, and it made sense.
The reason Lady Tsunade fell for Kirito had to do with that drunken night.
Later, after she got pregnant, her mindset started to change.
Otherwise, given Lady Tsunade's age—no, experience—there's no way she would've been attracted to a guy like Kirito.
But now, it's bad.
Kirito got another woman pregnant. And that woman's from the same village. And she came forward with it.
Yeah, next time Kirito shows up, things are going to get ugly.
(End of this chapter)
Want to read 70 more chapters check out my patreon!!!
https://www.patreon.com/john_smith_
Every 300 Power Stones+1 (5 ⭐ Review) = 1 Chapter+1Chapter