"I don't want to be Hokage!"
The blonde ninja's refusal was immediate. In the past, both Nawaki and Dan Kato, who had dreamed of becoming Hokage, had died one after another. The position held no appeal for Tsunade; she had no desire to return to a place filled with such heartbreak.
"Actually, I don't think you're a good fit either..." Hashirama Senju stroked his chin and nodded, then tried to persuade her. "But we have no other choice, do we? That little guy Jiraiya doesn't want the job, so they say you're the most suitable candidate..."
"So it's just the job that idiot Jiraiya rejected!" Tsunade's eyes widened in anger. She looked at her grandfather in disbelief and couldn't help but ask, "Are you really my grandfather?"
"Tsunade, don't be willful," Hashirama said softly, patting her head. "I've only just been revived, so I don't know much about the village's current affairs. Let's find little Jiraiya first. He's also looking for you..."
"Tch!" Tsunade turned her head away stubbornly. With Hashirama's arrival, she felt the old habit of acting a little spoiled in front of her great-grandfather resurfacing.
But as she turned, she saw a tall, sturdy, white-haired old man in the crowd, holding a photo and grinning perversely.
"...That idiot," Tsunade cursed under her breath.
Just then, Jiraiya spotted Tsunade and the others at the casino entrance. His eyes lit up, and he quickly ran toward them. Before he could even greet Tsunade, his nose twitched, and his expression turned ugly. "Has Orochimaru been here, too?"
The trail that man left behind always had a cold, damp aura. Jiraiya was particularly sensitive to it; it was the scent of a natural enemy.
"Yeah, that's right. He came with Great-Grandpa's younger brother," Tsunade said with a nod, raising an eyebrow. "He wants me to use my medical ninjutsu to help him with his human experiments... Want to know what he offered?"
"Tobirama?" Hearing Tsunade's words, Hashirama suddenly looked up and leaped onto a nearby roof, searching for any trace Orochimaru might have left behind. It was useless, of course. And even if they found Orochimaru, they didn't have Naruto with them, so there was no guarantee they could save the reanimated Tobirama Senju.
Jiraiya looked at his old teammate and asked in a low voice, "He attacked Konoha, killed the old man... Tsunade, you wouldn't agree to his offer, would you?"
Jiraiya immediately understood what she was implying. Very few things could sway Tsunade. Besides reviving Nawaki and Dan Kato, nothing else held any real attraction for her. Having witnessed the horrors of the Impure World Reincarnation firsthand, Jiraiya didn't have to think hard to know what Orochimaru had offered.
It was to revive Nawaki and Dan Kato, wasn't it?
Jiraiya couldn't be sure if Tsunade would agree. Based on his understanding of her, she was rational on the battlefield, but she became very emotional when it came to Nawaki and Dan.
To this day, those events were her greatest obsession. He suspected that Tsunade herself probably couldn't even tell anymore whether she still cherished their memory or if she was just looking for a reason for her own existence.
The blonde woman watched with interest as Jiraiya's expression grew tense, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Ha, Jiraiya, are you scared, too?"
"Yes, I am," the white-haired man nodded, not hiding his worry. "The power of two Sannin isn't simple addition. Tsunade, if you agree to his offer and harm Konoha, I might have to kill you."
"With your strength, Jiraiya?"
Their first meeting in years was already thick with tension. What should have been a joyful reunion had instead become a clash of beliefs.
Tsunade waved her hand and prepared to use the Body Flicker Technique to leave. "Great-Grandpa already told me why you and Orochimaru are here. I need to think it over carefully..."
"Wait for me, Lady Tsunade!" Shizune hurriedly bowed to Jiraiya and followed after her.
"..."
Jiraiya froze, then scratched his head in frustration. "Honestly, what was I even thinking... With the First Hokage and Naruto here, there's no way Tsunade would cooperate with Orochimaru!"
Hashirama leaped down and stood beside Jiraiya, his expression serious. "I heard that... Little Jiraiya, don't say those things anymore."
"What?"
"Don't talk about killing Tsunade," Hashirama said, gripping Jiraiya's shoulder firmly. "I believe in my granddaughter. She will shoulder the responsibility of protecting the village."
"..." Jiraiya shook his head helplessly and looked up at the sky. "It seems Lord First Hokage doesn't know some things about Tsunade... Shall we find a place to talk?"
That was right... the First Hokage had been dead for so long. How could he know what Tsunade had gone through? Hashirama wouldn't understand just how much his granddaughter missed those two people.
"Alright, but did we forget something?" Hashirama paused, pressing his brow.
"Naruto!" Jiraiya slapped his own head, then waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. He's not important right now."
The most important thing was to win over the woman the village wanted as its Fifth Hokage. The situation in Konoha was perilous. If they couldn't bring Tsunade back soon, Danzo, who was lurking in the shadows and coveting the Hokage position, would surely not let this opportunity pass.
They didn't know yet that Danzo's body had already been cremated. The one who killed him was currently in a meeting.
-----
In a secret cave, several illusory figures appeared on an altar, their bodies flickering unstably. This was the Akatsuki's secret communication technique, the Astral Projection Jutsu, which allowed for remote communication over any distance.
The leader of the Akatsuki, Pain, a man with the Rinnegan standing at the edge of the altar, was the first to speak. "Itachi Uchiha, you killed Danzo. This will alert Konoha."
"It was for my own safety," Itachi retorted calmly, his scarlet Sharingan glinting. "Orochimaru and Danzo have always been in collusion. I suspected he already knew I had joined the Akatsuki and even had intel on the organization, which is why I moved to kill him."
"This matter really can't be blamed on Mr. Itachi," Kisame Hoshigaki's shadow spoke up. "We were just scouting for information on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and happened to run into Danzo. Who would have thought that old guy couldn't even last a few minutes against Mr. Itachi's attack..."
"I understand," Pain said, expressionlessly cutting Kisame off, though he was still somewhat dissatisfied. "Danzo was a high-ranking official in Konoha and held a lot of intelligence. For you to kill him directly is truly a waste..."
As the leader of Akatsuki, he would have preferred to capture Danzo alive, not hear that a member had acted on their own. With Pain's abilities, he could have easily extracted all the information from Danzo's brain while properly torturing his soul. It was a pity he just died like that.
A blond youth laughed. "Danzo was a big shot, after all. I heard about him when I was in the Stone Village. He was an amazing guy. I should have been the one to kill him and give him a grand funeral, hm."
"He was hardly a big shot. Now that he's dead, he's just useless trash," another member interrupted coldly. Pain then looked back at Itachi and Kisame. "So, did you get any intel on the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
"No detailed intel yet," Itachi shook his head. "We are tracking him. We should be able to find out more soon... It's just that capturing him might be somewhat difficult."
Not 'somewhat,' Itachi thought, 'extremely' difficult. But he couldn't just say, "With the people in this organization, don't even think about catching the Nine-Tails in this lifetime," could he?
"That's right," Kisame added softly. "And the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki himself is very strong. He's also protected by the reanimated First Hokage and Jiraiya of the Sannin."
"The First Hokage?"
"We believe it's a puppet created by Orochimaru using a forbidden jutsu. Besides the First Hokage, there's also the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. The Third Hokage has already been dealt with by Mr. Itachi." After his brief explanation, Kisame continued, "However, the First Hokage seems to have broken free from Orochimaru's control. We haven't seen him fight, but with his title as the God of Shinobi, he probably won't be easy to deal with."
"Attempt to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!" Pain's finger twitched. He glanced at two others who were looking rather relaxed. "Jiraiya... is not without his weaknesses. He's actually not that hard to deal with. As for the First Hokage, I will send you reinforcements."
"...Yes," Itachi replied, feeling nothing. No matter who Pain sent, they would just be going to their deaths against such a powerful lineup.
The Akatsuki leader was, of course, not that foolish. Pain pondered for a moment, then looked at the immortal duo. "Kakuzu, Hidan, you two will assist Itachi and Kisame. You must capture the Nine-Tails!"
"Fine, but before that, I have a question..." Kakuzu glanced at Itachi and said in a gruff voice, "How much of his original strength did the First Hokage retain?"
"Hey, Kakuzu, who cares!" Hidan chuckled beside him, looking at his partner with disdain. "Are you afraid of your old rival?"
"...Idiot!"
"Who are you calling an idiot!"
"Silence!" Pain stopped their argument. "Since Itachi could easily kill the Third Hokage, it's clear the reanimated ninja are not as powerful as we imagined..."
"Ha, that's different. There's a big gap between the Hokage," Kisame shook his head and explained. "My opponent at the time was the Second Hokage. His strength... was probably greater than anyone present!"
-----
Bonus:
Pain: Go capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!
Itachi Uchiha: With all due respect, I can't. He has people protecting him—Jiraiya and the First Hokage. Aren't you scared?
Pain: I am a little scared. Fine, I'll give you two reinforcements!
Itachi Uchiha: Who's coming?
Pain: Kakuzu and Hidan. Kakuzu fought the First Hokage back in the day!
Itachi Uchiha: ...Are you serious?
Kakuzu: ...Are you serious?
Pain: What's wrong?
Kakuzu: I was just bragging. I actually got beaten up by Hashirama Senju...
Itachi Uchiha: I knew it. The First Hokage defeated the Mangekyo Sharingan. How could he be a 50/50 match with Kakuzu? He's not Kakashi!
Pain: ...