Tsunade couldn't understand why Hiruzen Sarutobi had grown increasingly extreme in his actions.
Senju Hanaki wanted Tsunade to stand firmly for the Senju clan, not to be held back by her teacher-student bond, and said:
"Tsunade, this is your first time facing Konoha's political struggles, so there are many things you don't understand.
When the Third Hokage was Uncle Tobirama's disciple, he was gentle and valued his comrades. But after becoming Hokage, he grew more and more hypocritical. The root cause is his lack of strength.
Father and Uncle Tobirama could suppress the entire village. No one dared defy the Hokage Building's orders.
Forget just Konoha, back then, was there any shinobi village in the entire ninja world that dared oppose Konoha?
At the First Five Kage Summit, Father sent a few letters, and the other four Kage had no choice but to attend.
Though the Third is called the Professor of Ninjutsu, his strength is far below Father's and Uncle Tobirama's.
The Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans, and top geniuses like Sakumo Hatake, all had their own demands.
The Third Hokage had no choice but to rely on Danzo Shimura, using ruthless and underhanded methods to achieve his goals.
Since the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War, countless villagers have died or been injured. Konoha's strength has greatly declined, and his authority has been further damaged.
You, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru fought Hanzō to a draw and earned the title of Legendary Sannin, which helped preserve some of the Third's prestige.
Tsunade, the Senju clan can lie low within the medical system for a while.
But we know this is only a temporary measure. Eventually, we will return to the stage.
The essence of any struggle is strength, combat power.
Your forbidden-technique concepts should be researched faster.
Only having the level of an elite jōnin, only having the Sannin title, is not enough to revive the Senju clan.
Look at Sakumo Hatake, he was the genius captain of the Anbu during Uncle Tobirama's era.
After the Third became Hokage, Sakumo was told to retire from the Anbu, but even then the Third had to rely on him during the war.
In Konoha, strength is always the top priority."
Tsunade nodded repeatedly; her aunt's analysis was completely correct.
She needed to focus on mastering the Yin Seal and step into the Kage-level threshold as soon as possible.
At that moment, Tsunade suddenly turned her head toward the restroom beside them.
With a single elbow strike, she shattered the bathroom wall, only to find it empty.
She rushed into the hallway outside the office.
The corridor was empty as well.
At the far end was an area under expansion, where windows and walls had been removed.
Tsunade looked down. At some point, water had begun flowing out of the restroom, covering the floor.
The water ran toward the end of the corridor and fell through a gap.
There were no footprints, and no traces of another person's chakra.
But she clearly sensed that someone had been nearby just moments earlier.
Who had such a fast escape technique, vanishing as if jumping through space itself?
Senju Hanaki followed her out. "What happened?"
Tsunade said, "I sensed someone in the restroom next door. They were incredibly fast, gone in an instant."
Hanaki's expression became stern.
Even inside Konoha, danger lurked everywhere.
In the woods behind the hospital, Yoru exhaled in relief, no one was chasing him.
Earlier, while Hanaki was busy, he hid inside the restroom beside the director's office.
He opened the faucet just a little, letting the water slowly spread across the floor until it reached the end of the corridor and dripped down the wall.
When Tsunade discovered it, Yoru immediately used Water Body Flicker to escape.
Wherever there is water, the Water Body Flicker can be used.
In the courtyard, a hose used for watering the bricks was still running. Under the cover of night, Yoru used a second Water Flicker and quickly escaped Konoha Hospital.
The risk was worth it; he had gained a lot of intel.
First, the Senju clan's stance.
The Senju clan had abandoned their illusions, recognized reality, and now stood entirely opposite Konoha's leadership.
Senju Hanaki was a perceptive woman, more rational and calm than Tsunade, and now the director of Konoha Hospital.
After becoming one of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade's status in Konoha had risen greatly; she was no longer merely a "pretty princess."
Tsunade was researching forbidden techniques suited for herself, and her strength would soon increase even further.
Second, information about Sakumo Hatake.
From his age, Sakumo had been a genius Anbu captain in his teens, and only retired when Hiruzen took power.
This provided a foundation for an alliance between Sakumo and the Senju clan.
No wonder the higher-ups suspected that the Senju were colluding with Sakumo, there really was a connection.
If Sakumo Hatake and the Senju clan joined forces, their combined strength would be enough to rival Konoha's leadership.
Yoru suddenly felt uneasy… a slight urge to betray the Anbu.
What should he do…?
Returning to Anbu HQ, Yoru reported to Yellow Dog:
"Captain, Senju Hanaki and Lady Tsunade have been busy at Konoha Hospital. There's no evidence that they're in contact with Sakumo Hatake."
Yellow Dog nodded. "The Anbu monitoring Sakumo also reported that he spent the whole night studying maps. No Senju ninja visited him."
Yoru cautiously asked, "Is the Senju clan really going to be integrated into the medical system? How will the village react?"
Yellow Dog replied:
"Senju Hanaki has been spreading information throughout the village, claiming that for the sake of the Nine-Tails, the Senju clan sacrificed Lady Mito, Clan Head Senju Rinki, and nearly seven hundred shinobi.
She even publicized that Kushina Uzumaki is the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, completely ignoring secrecy.
The village has been forced to increase Kushina's protection level.
Hanaki's actions have earned the Senju clan a great deal of sympathy.
And with the war's heavy casualties and the shortage of medical-ninja, the Senju clan's move into the medical system faces little resistance, most jōnin support it.
As for chūnin and genin, they welcome any Senju with exceptional medical skills.
Senju Hanaki is even harder to deal with than Rinki.
Rinki would never abandon the Senju's honor, but Hanaki is extremely pragmatic.
Princess Tsunade, having lost her brother and lover, is like someone holding an explosive tag, no one dares provoke her.
She saved many people on the battlefield, and her prestige is the highest among the Sannin.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya support her, and there's no effective way to deal with her now.
The older people get, the more they fear the young. For some reason, even the Hokage seems a bit afraid of his three disciples."
Yoru thought:
It seems making Senju Hanaki clan head was an unexpectedly brilliant move.
Under her leadership, the Senju clan is cautious and pragmatic. They no longer shout about sacrificing everything for the village, no longer clamor to become Hokage. They avoid risks and seek to lie low.
Yellow Dog handed Yoru a new mission scroll:
"Fox, the follower list of Sakumo Hatake you submitted last time, Anbu will investigate their motives one by one.
One follower, named Shinmei, is only a chūnin, yet holds a high position within the group. Very suspicious.
He is about to be deployed to the Land of Wind for preliminary intel gathering.
Follow him, investigate him, and see whether there is anything unusual."