Inside the inn, Jiraiya and Shizune realized Tsunade was nowhere to be found.
Just as they were about to head to Tanzaku Street to find her, they ran into Tsunade and Naruto returning.
Tsunade was holding a scroll in her hand.
"Tsunade-sama, could it be that you…"
"Tsunade, you didn't agree to Orochimaru's deal, did you?" Jiraiya's face turned cold. "Did you forget what I told you last night? If you do anything to betray Konoha, I'll kill you myself!"
"Relax. I didn't heal Orochimaru's hands."
Tsunade rolled her eyes and explained how Naruto trapped Orochimaru and forced him to hand over the forbidden jutsu scroll.
After hearing this, both Jiraiya and Shizune stared at Naruto in disbelief.
This kid was that good?
"Hahaha! That's my student — a genius just like me!"
Jiraiya shamelessly laughed. "By the way, where are you keeping Orochimaru? I need to go see him!"
"At Tanzaku Street," Tsunade shot him a glance.
"I'll be right back!"
Jiraiya's whole body tingled with excitement, and he couldn't run fast enough — he was eager to see the captured Orochimaru.
Unfortunately, by the time he got there, Orochimaru had already escaped.
That night, everyone went drinking at a bar in Tanzaku Street.
It was their last night here. After tonight, Jiraiya's poison would be gone, and Shizune would be back to normal.
Tomorrow, they would head back to Konoha.
Jiraiya was thrilled his mission was complete and got completely drunk.
Tsunade also drank quite a bit, but she seemed troubled.
Naruto noticed and thought she was still worried about using living sacrifices, so he said, "When we get back, let's just have Morino Ibiki find us two death row prisoners to experiment on. They're going to die anyway, so what's the difference?"
"I'm not worried about that," Tsunade shook her head. "It's just… in my current state, I might not be able to serve as the Fifth Hokage."
"What, you're going to back out?" Naruto frowned.
Jiraiya also stopped drinking and stared hard at Tsunade.
If she dared to back out, he would be furious too.
"No. I'll keep my promise. But right now, I have hemophobia. If Konoha faces a crisis, I might not even be able to fight."
Tsunade clenched her fists, her face full of worry. "As the leader of a village, I can't show fear."
"So?" Naruto knew Tsunade had a point.
If a village's Kage lost their nerve before a fight even started, the whole village would hang its head in shame.
Tsunade might even end up with the title of "Most Cowardly Kage."
"So, when I can overcome my fear of blood, that's when I'll take the position of Hokage. Until then, the village should pick someone else for now," Tsunade said.
Pick someone else?
Who in the village could be more suited than you?
Jiraiya didn't want the job either…
Naruto glanced at Jiraiya and saw he looked like he wanted to say something but held back.
Clearly, he also knew Tsunade's worries weren't without reason. But did Konoha really have the time to wait?
The drinks in the second half of the night suddenly didn't taste as good anymore.
…
That night, Naruto rewatched the episode about how Tsunade overcame her fear of blood, and came to one conclusion—only the one who tied the knot can untie it.
In the original story, Tsunade broke free from her inner demons because she wanted to protect Naruto, who reminded her so much of her little brother and her lover, and with Orochimaru pushing her over the edge, she finally conquered it.
But now, he was a different Naruto from the original. Naturally, he couldn't be the one to help Tsunade defeat her inner demon.
So the only way was to bring back Nawaki and Dan, and let the two of them help Tsunade break free.
The problem was, Orochimaru's scroll for the forbidden jutsu had to be real.
If it was fake, things would get troublesome.
Thinking of this, Naruto got up from the inn with a speechless look.
If he had known it would be this troublesome, he would have tested the forbidden jutsu himself to see if it was real.
But now Orochimaru had escaped and was nowhere to be found.
Looks like he'd been happy too early…
He randomly picked two guys who were harassing girls in the middle of the night—killed one and knocked the other out.
Then he carried them to a deserted corner and began performing the Reanimation Jutsu from memory.
Tiger – Snake – Dog – Dragon
Impure World Reincarnation!
As Naruto pressed his hands together, the living man's body was wrapped in soil, and in the next moment, he had turned into someone else!
"Wha… where am I? Wasn't I dead?"
Seeing the person revived before him, Naruto let out a sigh of relief.
Didn't expect Orochimaru to be this decent—the jutsu was actually real.
That meant he had a way to deal with Tsunade's fear of blood.
A few days later, they returned to Konoha.
They didn't go to the Hokage building first, but instead headed to Konoha's cemetery.
"To use the Reanimation Jutsu, we first need to take some flesh and blood from the person we want to bring back. That means we have to dig them out of the ground."
After seeing the jutsu for himself, Jiraiya asked Tsunade, "Are you sure you want to use this technique? For Dan and Nawaki, this isn't a good thing."
Defiling the dead!
And not just any dead—people she loved deeply. Was this really something worth doing?
Tsunade didn't answer.
Since she had come here, she was already prepared for this.
More than that… what she cared about most was whether she could see Dan and Nawaki's smiles again.
Seeing the serious look on Tsunade's face, Jiraiya knew he couldn't talk her out of it, so he said, "Since you've decided, I'll go request two death row prisoners from the two advisors… Just don't regret what you do today."
Jiraiya left, while Tsunade went straight to the Third Hokage's grave. Staring at the familiar yet distant face on the tombstone, her face showed no emotion.
"Lady Tsunade."
Shizune handed her one of six sorrowful purple roses she had bought earlier.
Tsunade took it and placed it in front of the Third's grave. Shizune put one down as well, and the two of them stood there for a long time before leaving.
"It's been so many years since I last came here~"
Tsunade and Shizune placed two white roses in front of Dan and Nawaki's graves, their minds filled with countless thoughts.
Beside them, little pig Tonton was held in Naruto's arms, also looking very sad.
No one knew how much time had passed when Jiraiya arrived with the two advisors, several Anbu, and two death-row prisoners.
"It's been a long time, Tsunade."
"This time, the village really has no other choice. We have to trouble you to come back and take the position of Fifth Hokage."
Tsunade raised her hand to stop the two advisors from continuing. "Jiraiya should have already told you about my condition, right?"
"Hemophobia can be dealt with, but the position of Hokage can't stay empty forever," Mitokado Homura said in a deep voice. "For Konoha, Tsunade, you must make this sacrifice!"
Tsunade stayed silent for a long time before speaking calmly. "I need to take care of my own matters first. If there's nothing else, please leave."
Homura and Koharu didn't say more. They wisely turned and left.
They knew this wasn't something to push too hard. Becoming Hokage still required Tsunade's willingness.
But for the sake of Konoha, they had Anbu hide nearby to secretly watch Tsunade, preventing her from reviving Dan and Nawaki and then escaping the village.
Willingness or not, until she agreed to be Hokage, there was no way she would be allowed to leave.
...
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