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Takigakure, Takikage's Office.
Unlike the great Ninja Villages that control the military power of a nation, for smaller Villages like Takigakure, their Kage are often referred to as leaders by Ninja from the Five Great Nations outside.
However, if a Village like Amegakure, Takigakure, or even Kusagakure has some strength, then it doesn't matter much what they call themselves within their Village; fewer people will meddle.
However, the one seated in this office at this moment was a young girl, seemingly sixteen years of age.
Uchiha Hikari sat at the desk, her fair feet restlessly kicking under the table.
The light and shadows from outside the window outlined the girl's delicate, slender, cherry-pink toes, which she kept wiggling up and down.
Looking down at the papers on the desk, she clearly looked troubled.
As the ultimate weapon of the Uchiha in the past, she naturally hadn't received much education; in most cases, she even had difficulty accessing information from the outside world.
Even basic subjects like history and mathematics were taught to her when she was under Uchiha Madara's command.
Asking her to handle the government affairs of a Village was truly challenging.
However, if it were just this small problem, it would be manageable; what troubled her most was the current issue facing the Village.
They were running out of money.
No matter the government, the initial problems faced are always so simple and unadorned.
Over the past year, although Takigakure had not participated in the wars among the great nations due to its geographical advantage, her recent 'recklessness' and continuous 'recruitment of talent' from across the Ninja World, gathering various rogue Ninja and wandering Ninja, had significantly increased Takigakure's military strength.
Naturally, her Chakra reserves also grew considerably during this continuous development, becoming much larger than when she was first released.
However, with more people, the problem of feeding them naturally arises.
Ninja, besides killing, are basically not good at anything else—at least, that's her simple understanding.
Therefore, during this period, she had been relying on Zetsu's methods to continuously attract clients from outside Takigakure's territory, increasing the total number of missions for the Village, and even getting into a fight with Iwagakure Village because of it.
However, methods of increasing income and reducing expenditure can often only last for a while.
The war is over; where are there so many missions to be done in this world?
As for those mountain bandits, even if she was willing to send people to kill them, those people were just ordinary folk too poor to survive—and no one would pay for it.
Naturally, worry set in.
Just as Uchiha Hikari was feeling troubled, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the office, followed by a knocking sound.
"Takikage-sama?"
"Cough, come in."
Uchiha Hikari adjusted her sitting posture, propped her hands on the desk, and tried her best to appear mature and reliable, speaking calmly.
The female secretary outside the door entered with a stack of documents, her words not stopping:
"Takikage-sama, the Anbu said they caught another Iwagakure spy, and they are still interrogating him. I wonder...?"
"Again?"
Uchiha Hikari was startled at the words, her expression growing more serious: "Handle it as usual, probe their intelligence network, and if you really can't get anything out of him, kill him."
The so-called Kage essentially only manages the trivial matters within the Village; occasionally catching a spy is a huge deal, and it only happened a few times, so she had memorized these lines even if she had to recite them backward.
The only headache was that the previous battles must have made Iwagakure discover some issues; the recent probing had been quite annoying, making Uchiha Hikari even want to disregard her current various identities and go on a trip to Iwagakure.
Of course, this was just a momentary impulse.
For the final Engraved Tsukuyomi, matters still needed to be considered carefully.
"Yes."
The female secretary put down the documents while replying, "Also, there's the latest report on the Village's industries—"
Uchiha Hikari's expression immediately crumpled; she loathed these trivial matters and had no idea how to solve them.
In the past, she could only rely on Zetsu for advice—which was why she had originally planned to kill this guy after Madara died, but he had been kept until now.
However, even if she didn't want to listen, she had to grit her teeth and do so.
No matter what, Takigakure was currently her Chakra warehouse; if it collapsed due to mismanagement, she would be the one to suffer the most.
Clearly, the problems Uchiha Hikari faced now were almost identical to the situation Nagato and others faced after taking control of Amegakure Village, except that she didn't have as many Kage-level helpers now.
Just as she was listening with one ear in and one ear out, her expression suddenly became serious, and she abruptly raised her hand.
"Tachibana."
"Yes?"
"You go out first; we have a guest."
The female secretary, called 'Tachibana', was startled by the words and looked at her in confusion.
However, seeing Uchiha Hikari's solemn expression, she nodded slightly and quickly exited the office door.
"Whoosh."
Almost the instant the female secretary left the room, a completely black figure abruptly appeared in the center of the office, silently looking at Uchiha Hikari behind the desk with a pair of emerald green eyes.
"Swish, swish, swish—"
At the same time, several Takigakure Anbu members appeared around him in unison, surrounding him in a combined attack formation.
Uchiha Hikari stepped out from behind the desk, her eyes unconsciously turning crimson, and she looked at him coldly:
"Who are you?"
Then, the figure opposite him bowed gracefully, as if he didn't put the surrounding Anbu members in his eyes at all:
"It seems the rumors were not wrong."
"Takigakure has been taken over by a young girl from the Uchiha."
"But at this age… it's truly astonishing."
Uchiha Hikari's expression became solemn, subtly revealing a hint of killing intent.
Judging by this guy's total Chakra, he seemed to be a pretty good master.
"Since you've come, don't even think about leaving."
"If you have nothing else to do, then stay here."
The figure opposite shook his head slightly: "Please be clear, Takikage-sama, I am here to help you this time, and I have brought you information that is probably very important to you."
As he spoke, he took off his hood, revealing a face half-covered by a mask.
Among the several Anbu present, someone recognized his identity at a glance and said in surprise:
"Kakuzu?!"
"What?!"
Upon hearing the name, everyone present was astonished, quickly filling in his identity with a few words:
"Is that the long-lived Ninja with a bounty of one hundred million Ryo from Konoha, and it's still increasing?"
"I heard he once left an indelible scar on Konoha's First Hokage with an electric massage stick!"
"Not only that, but his blood seems to have the ability to extend one's lifespan, and the bounty underground has nearly accumulated to four hundred million Ryo, yet he's a monster who hasn't been captured until now!"
"Not only that, I heard he even escaped alive from Konoha's That Person, Sawara, and before leaving, he left a half-meter-long purple mood stick in Konoha, which is said to be his exclusive weapon."
"Legend has it that Konoha even secretly issued a Ninja World extermination order for him: only dead, not alive!"
"He seems to be a rogue Ninja from our Takigakure too…"
Just one name brought out so much information at once, even Uchiha Hikari couldn't help but look at the man in front of her with renewed respect—when she was released, Konoha had already started fighting Sunagakure, so she had no idea such a person existed.
However, the moment Kakuzu heard this string of 'additional content,' his entire face almost couldn't maintain its composure.
Damn it!
Who added so many 'rumors' about me again?!
If not for that, I would be hunting bounty criminals and counting money every day, how could I have fallen into this predicament now?!
"Shut up!"
"Those are all rumors!"
Kakuzu couldn't hold back and roared.
The office immediately fell silent, everyone staring at him, as if searching for the next purple mood stick he might pull out from who knows where.
"Cough."
Uchiha Hikari coughed twice, and though her wandering gaze still couldn't help but sweep over him, she brought the conversation back to the main topic, saying solemnly:
"Information?"
"Are you planning to cooperate with Takigakure?"
Kakuzu took a deep breath, finally suppressing the anger in his heart, and reluctantly said: "Not me personally, but the organization I belong to, hopes to cooperate with you."
"What kind of cooperation?"
Uchiha Hikari frowned.
She was unwilling to cooperate with someone of unknown origin like him.
However, Kakuzu answered irrelevantly: "According to our department's investigation, Konoha recently annexed Roran and also obtained a treasure from it. They are now building a giant base around it. Has Takikage heard anything about it?"
"I've heard a little. Is that your information?"
Uchiha Hikari was clearly impatient, apparently ready to make a move.
Kakuzu, however, remained calm: "The name of that treasure is… the shinju seed."
The girl's eyebrow twitched.
A seed?
What use could that be?
However, Kakuzu's next words suddenly shocked her.
"The so-called God Tree is the original source of all Chakra."
"As long as you possess this item, you can continuously produce Chakra using the Ryumakyu energy—"
Watching Uchiha Hikari's astonished expression, a faint smile finally slowly appeared beneath Kakuzu's mask:
"I presume, Takikage-sama, you would be interested in this item, wouldn't you?"
By the time Sawara carried the drunken Tsunade back to the Senju Residence, it was already late at night.
Tsunade, flushed from drinking, had one arm loosely draped over his shoulder as he supported her.
As they walked, she used her drunken state to ramble and shout at him, occasionally giggling and fumbling around on him, though he didn't know what she was looking for; her drinking habits were quite terrible.
While Sawara Kiri chatted with her intermittently, he supported her body and walked into the house, his steps unusually heavy.
However, from his angle looking down, one could immediately see the deep ravine usually hidden beneath her loose haori, heavily pressing against her trembling clothes, creating a profound cleavage.
As a standard gentleman, Sawara Kiri disdained taking advantage of a woman when she was not conscious.
But his eyes were disobedient.
Is this what they call gravity?
Sawara Kiri thought to himself.
"Kiri!"
Just as he tried his best to look up, attempting to disrupt his various wild and entangled thoughts, he heard a sudden shout from inside the room.
Sawara Kiri immediately straightened his posture, causing Tsunade, who was supported on him, to almost stumble and fall to the ground.
Immediately after, there was a light sound of footsteps from inside the room.
Sawara Yuki ran quickly to his side, wearing only a large cloak over what was clearly pajamas—it was indeed late, and time for a child to be asleep.
However, as soon as Yuki ran to them and saw Tsunade completely drunk, she immediately adopted the air of a little housekeeper and complained, "Seriously, why are you coming home at this hour!"
"I thought you had another urgent mission."
"And Lady Tsunade, why are you so drunk? Did you go drinking at the district again?"
Hearing someone call her name, Tsunade swayed and looked up, seeing Yuki standing in front of her with her hands on her hips, she immediately grinned like an old man and chuckled as she leaned closer:
"What, is that Yuki?"
"You've grown so big, let me kiss you."
"No way, you stink."
Yuki slapped away Tsunade's hand that was reaching for her small chest, looking like a strict mother, she scolded angrily:
"Next time you drink this much, just sleep outside!"
"And Kiri!"
The girl turned her head and looked at him sternly.
Sawara Kiri immediately raised both hands, giving a military salute, indicating surrender.
Yuki scanned him for a while, then leaned in to sniff, and finding no smell of alcohol on his breath, she finally breathed a slight sigh of relief:
"Kiri, you must not learn from Lady Tsunade in the future!"
"That would make you useless."
"Yes, yes."
Sawara Kiri honestly accepted the criticism.
Seeing his resigned look, Yuki finally relaxed, and then said, "Have you had dinner? I left some late-night snacks for you in the kitchen, it might be a bit cold now. I'll heat it up after I send Tsunade to take a bath. You can't sleep like this, the blankets will get smelly."
Upon hearing this, Sawara Kiri finally smiled and rubbed his stomach: "Indeed, Lady Tsunade started flipping tables after she drank, so I didn't get to eat much before everything was overturned. Luckily, she had money in her purse."
"You should have tried to persuade her, you know Lady Tsunade's temperament."
The siblings mumbled about their household affairs and together helped the drunken Tsunade into the room.
After another while.
By the time Tsunade sobered up, her body was already immersed in warm hot water, and most of the alcohol fumes from the night had dissipated in the warm sensation. Only her cheeks remained rosy, whether from residual drunkenness or the warm steam in the bathroom.
Some blurry memories were also restored by the steam.
She first glanced at her fair body fully immersed in the warm water, then subconsciously scanned the familiar family bathroom furnishings around her, and the clearly dark night outside the blurry window. In her still slightly aching head, fragments of memories related to Sawara Kiri suddenly intruded.
"Splash—"
Almost instinctively, Tsunade suddenly hugged her body, squeezing it into an impressive curve in the hazy steam, her arms waving, stirring up a large splash of water.
Her entire face seemed to be tense.
A hot flush continuously climbed up her face from her pumping heart.
What's going on?!
Did I drink that much today?
Could it be that that brat Sawara Kiri already succeeded?
Until, as if remembering something, Tsunade reached out her hand underwater and rustled around, seemingly feeling for something, then she slowly let out a breath.
It seems not yet.
However.
She lowered her head again, looking at her fair body, her expression suddenly becoming a bit embarrassed.
Who took off her clothes?
Perhaps hearing the sound of water from the bathroom, Sawara Kiri's familiar voice came from outside the door, as if he knew something in advance:
"Lady Tsunade, have you woken up?"
"Yuki changed your clothes, and then asked me to keep an eye on you here, lest you accidentally drown in the bathtub."
Upon hearing his voice, Tsunade, who had been embarrassed and at a loss, felt the urgent tension in her heart immediately ease, and she secretly let out a breath.
Right, although this brat is a pervert, he's not the type to take advantage of someone in their vulnerable state.
After Tsunade understood this, she relaxed, leaning her back against the tub, yet habitually adopting her usual experienced demeanor, she said through the bathroom door:
"What a pity, I thought I'd wake up in a hotel bed."
"Kiri, you're still just a kid."
Sawara Kiri's voice seemed to hesitate for a few seconds, then he asked, as if inquiring:
"Should I come in now?"
"Hmph."
Tsunade scoffed, "Why come in now? To scrub my back?"
"Doing something else is fine too, Yuki is already asleep."
"Tch, there's only one chance!"
Despite saying so, Tsunade subconsciously lay further down into the warm water, trying her best to submerge her entire body, except for her head, into the mist.
Her contradictory demeanor was almost on display at the door.
"Sigh."
Sawara Kiri obediently showed a regretful expression and sighed.
Tsunade's habit of teasing young men seemed unchangeable. Even without using Six Eyes, Sawara Kiri knew what the situation inside was like.
She was just tough with her words.
If she really woke up in a hotel bed the next day, she would probably tear him apart and eat him with soy sauce.
"What time is it now?"
"Around one or two o'clock, Tsunade. You even went to a second place after finishing your first drink, almost smashing their signboard."
Hearing this, Tsunade's expression couldn't help but show embarrassment. A section of her calf emerged from under the water, kicking up a misty spray on the surface as if in anger, though it was unclear who she intended to kick.
"Brat."
She said, scooping up a handful of water and gently washing her face twice, as if finally washing away the last bit of drunkenness. However, she showed no intention of chasing away the little fellow keeping watch at the door, seemingly finding nothing wrong with him being outside, and casually said:
"You're not learning good things at such a young age. Be careful, you might end up like Jiraiya later."
It was well-known that Jiraiya was Konoha's exclusive epithet for a pervert.
"Who knows."
Sawara Kiri didn't seem particularly bothered: "In another ten or twenty years, becoming a Sawara version of Jiraiya doesn't seem so bad either."
When one reaches middle age, being full of vigor is better than being exhausted.
"Then Konoha would be finished!" Tsunade retorted angrily.
"Then what do you want me to become, Lady Tsunade?"
Sawara Kiri's voice came from outside the door.
Tsunade paused at his words, gazing at the young man just beyond the door, her eyes inexplicably lost in thought, wondering what she was pondering.
After a long silence without a reply, Sawara Kiri asked again:
"Or, what will Lady Tsunade become?"
"Splash—"
Another splash of water echoed, accompanied by Tsunade's annoyed voice:
"Don't ask so many questions, brat."
"Even in fifty years, this old lady will still look like this!"
This woman probably thought Sawara Kiri was calling her old—or rather, she was particularly sensitive to topics related to her age.
"Pfft."
Sawara Kiri's laughter came from outside.
This only made Tsunade in the water even more furious, wishing she could run out and punch him right then.
After a few more seconds of silence, Sawara Kiri's gentle voice came from outside the door:
"My point is that since the Third Hokage fell into a coma, the position of Hokage has been vacant for a long time."
"Although the Substitute Hokage Council is currently managing things, that is still a wartime system. This position will eventually need someone to take over."
"Lady Tsunade, do you want to become the Fourth Hokage?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade, immersed in the water, fell silent.
At once, numerous thoughts seemed to flood her mind, causing fragmented, disconnected memories to flash through her mind, yet it was as if she wasn't thinking of anything at all, just staring blankly.
Hokage?
Although this title had disappeared from public view for less than a year, Tsunade felt as if she hadn't heard anyone mention it for a long time.
Her mood, too, became somewhat inexplicable.
Could she really be a good Hokage?
Tsunade turned her head, looking at the young man beyond the door, wondering what she was thinking.
"Splash."
After a long silence, there was another splash from inside the door.
"Lady Tsunade?"
Sawara Kiri turned his head, somewhat puzzled.
Then, Tsunade, wrapped in a bath towel with her wet, light-gold hair disheveled, walked out casually, completely disregarding the young man's puzzled gaze. She simply passed him, wrapped in her trembling bath towel, and said casually:
"Is there any late-night snack at home? I'm hungry."
"And a bit thirsty. I'll just have two more drinks."
Sawara Kiri immediately showed a helpless expression and reminded her:
"Lady Tsunade, Yuki will scold you tomorrow morning."
"Who cares about her!"
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