At this point, the ANBU were beginning to realize that letting Kushina leave Konoha might have been a mistake.
Aside from the Third Hokage, it seemed no one could truly rein her in.
Well—not entirely true.
If one judged purely by strength, there were plenty of people capable of stopping Kushina. But no one would actually dare to do so. After all, did you know who her boyfriend was?
Were you prepared for Minato Namikaze to flash in front of you in a blink and ask questions afterward?
When Kushina led Hagoromo into Tsunade's tent, the guards didn't attempt to stop them.
At the moment, Tsunade was presiding over a military briefing. She simply nodded at Kushina, signaling her to take a seat, and continued the meeting.
"Our current situation is very favorable," Tsunade said.
"Chiyo has already entered the battlefield on the Sand side, but her offensive posture has been neutralized by our forces. The enemy's vanguard has been pushed back into the Land of Rivers."
"In fact, Sunagakure's war potential is close to being squeezed dry. If we deliver one more decisive blow, their only option will be surrender—unless the Land of Wind wants to risk annihilation."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"At present, the Land of Wind is fighting on two fronts, while we're facing enemies on four. Sunagakure has deployed roughly six thousand troops against Iwagakure, and about four thousand are locked against us."
"But our effective combat force here numbers only around two thousand five hundred. In terms of manpower, we're still at a disadvantage."
"And with the loss of Hatake Sakumo, we've lost the blade that could pierce straight through Sunagakure's defenses…"
At this point, Tsunade clenched her teeth.
"To lose Konoha's White Fang for such a ridiculous reason—someone capable of turning the tide of an entire battlefield…"
"I truly don't know what those idiots in Konoha's upper leadership were thinking!"
Her anger finally erupted.
BOOM.
Tsunade slammed her fist down onto the table.
The table shattered instantly—and a massive crack spread across the ground beneath it, extending all the way out of the tent.
Hagoromo's eyebrow twitched involuntarily.
This was the legendary power of one of the Three Legendary Sannin, Konoha's true princess.
From Hagoromo's perspective:
Tsunade was unquestionably one of Konoha's greatest beauties—
but with a terrifying temper.
One of the shinobi world's greatest beauties—
with absurd combat power.
One of the greatest beauties in history—
with an extremely flexible age.
Elegant features. Outstanding figure. Noble lineage.
And yet… destined for a lonely life.
"…How many tables is that now…?"
Hagoromo wasn't sure if he imagined it, but he thought he heard a shinobi nearby mutter quietly.
Tsunade's fury was understandable.
If Konoha's White Fang were still alive, the war against Sunagakure would never have reached such a stalemate. Sakumo alone had been enough to strike fear into Sand shinobi—this war might have ended long ago.
Once Chiyo entered the battlefield, Tsunade—who could counter her poisons—naturally became the supreme authority on this front. Buried daily under countless strategic and logistical matters, she found herself cursing Konoha's leadership more often than not.
Whenever that happened, the shinobi around her pretended not to hear a thing.
First, while they didn't dare speak as freely as the "princess," they agreed with her completely. With the White Fang present, this front had been far easier to manage.
Second, Tsunade wasn't just the Third Hokage's disciple and one of the Sannin—she was the First Hokage's granddaughter, the last active Senju on the battlefield.
Even if she tore down the village gates all the way to the Hokage Tower, who would dare stop her?
After losing her younger brother and her lover in the previous war, Tsunade's tolerance for Konoha's upper echelons had already reached its limit.
She had long harbored the desire to leave Konoha.
But as the First Hokage's granddaughter—the living symbol of the Senju—she couldn't simply walk away.
Still, she had already made up her mind.
Once the war with Sunagakure ended, she would leave Konoha.
Her grandfather's legacy no longer meant much to her.
After venting her anger, Konoha's princess finally calmed down and motioned for the meeting to continue. Everyone straightened up and resumed their seats as if nothing unusual had happened.
Clearly, Tsunade losing her temper in public was nothing new.
"Nara Shikaku," Tsunade said,
"Continue."
Having lost patience for explanations, she handed the briefing over to her strategist.
"The Fourth Kazekage, who was hastily elevated, lacks the authority of the Third Kazekage," Shikaku said calmly.
"He's unable to fully unify the Land of Wind for an all-out war."
"Our intelligence indicates that, with the war situation failing to improve, pro-peace factions within Sunagakure and the Land of Wind are once again gaining influence."
"However, we face two major problems."
"First, although one decisive strike could force Sunagakure to withdraw, our limited manpower and extended supply lines prevent us from launching a large-scale offensive."
"Second, although Lady Tsunade has once again破解—countered—Chiyo's new poisons, the shortage of medical-nin prevents us from mass-producing antidotes."
"Regarding the second point," Kushina spoke up,
"the twenty medical-nin dispatched from Konoha arrived today."
Shikaku glanced at her and nodded.
"That's a tremendous help."
"In short, although the balance of the war is tilting in our favor, the stalemate on the front lines may continue for some time. Everyone should be prepared for that."
After outlining a continued strategy of gradually eroding Sunagakure's active forces, the meeting quickly concluded.
Most of the shinobi filed out of the tent.
Only after handling some documents did Tsunade finally have time to speak with Kushina.
"Sorry, Kushina. When did you arrive?"
Perhaps due to similarities in their personalities, Tsunade's tone toward Kushina was noticeably warmer than with others.
They were, after all, friends.
"We arrived not long ago, Tsunade-sensei," Kushina replied.
She had once studied medical ninjutsu under Tsunade and naturally addressed her as "sensei."
Only then did Tsunade notice the kid standing behind Kushina.
She frowned slightly.
"Your disciple?"
"Just graduated from the Academy, I assume. The battlefield isn't a place for kids like this."
Every time Tsunade saw children like this on the battlefield, memories she most wanted to forget resurfaced—memories she could never fully suppress.
And they always left her in a foul mood.
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