"It's finally over!"
After leaving the Federal Administrative Center, Tsunade was practically being supported by Hyuga Mirai as they walked out. The meeting had lasted three to four hours; however, the results were remarkable. Starting next month, the Sand Federation and Konoha would officially merge.
From then on, there would likely be no Sand Federation, only the Shinobi Federation.
The Federal Administrative Center building would remain the highest command authority, while Tsunade became a regional state-level administrator. The former Land of Fire was divided into four states, and the Sand Federation into five. Tsunade's authority had shrunk drastically, but she didn't care about power at all—she even wished she could be demoted further to the county level.
Although Tsunade's goal of having Kakashi replace her as Hokage wasn't achieved, thinking that she would only be responsible for the affairs of ten counties in the future made her feel a bit relieved.
As long as she kept working hard, one day she would finally be able to retire.
"Let's go drink! I've been busy for so long."
Tsunade nudged Hyuga Mirai with her elbow, looking at him expectantly.
"It's only four o'clock. Alright, I'll go back and tell Ayaka."
Hyuga Mirai originally wanted to refuse, but Tsunade noticed his intention and directly grabbed his clothes. Left with no choice, he agreed. He went back to inform Ayaka Uzumaki first. When Tsunade didn't find Kushina next door, she complained a bit, then enthusiastically headed to the izakaya with Hyuga Mirai.
Recently, Tsunade felt as if more than ten years' worth of Hokage duties had been crammed into a single month. On top of that, Kabuto Yakushi had been constantly watching her, leaving her no chance to rest.
Hyuga Mirai also knew how overwhelmed Tsunade had been lately, which was why he agreed to accompany her to the izakaya. He even had No. 18 send over several bottles of good liquor.
Ayaka wasn't interested in izakayas, and she had her own matters to attend to that afternoon. Although Hyuga Mirai didn't know what she was going to do, seeing her blushing face gave him a vague idea.
After arriving at the izakaya, Hyuga Mirai directly booked the entire third floor. After having some appetizers brought up, he dismissed the attendants from that level.
When Tsunade didn't see the good liquor she was expecting, she first drank a few cups of the izakaya's reserved sake.
"Whew, only drinking can really lift one's mood. That Kabuto Yakushi guy doesn't let me touch alcohol at all. He even said it was your idea—tell me, isn't he hateful, pushing the blame onto you?"
Halfway through speaking, Tsunade suddenly noticed Hyuga Mirai turning his head away. She frowned slightly and asked suspiciously, "Don't tell me it really was your order?"
"Drinking is bad for the body. What's wrong with arranging it this way?"
Before Hyuga Mirai could finish, an angry Tsunade grabbed his collar and shook him back and forth.
"So it really was you! No wonder Kabuto Yakushi had three-man patrol teams from the Security Force watching the izakaya. I couldn't even buy shochu using clones. You're absolutely unforgivable."
The Inuzuka, Hyuga, and Aburame clans conducted surveillance through chakra, scent, and physical presence. The Shadow Clones Tsunade sent out failed twice, and she had no choice but to abstain. She never expected the culprit to be the guy right in front of her.
Hyuga Mirai hurriedly said, "That's why I prepared shochu for you now. Don't worry—I've specifically arranged a shochu research team working day and night on fine liquor. Once you step down, all the shochu is on me."
Although he made that promise, Hyuga Mirai didn't truly believe it. Tsunade retiring? That would be at least several decades later.
"It's a deal."
Hearing that, Tsunade immediately smiled, released his collar, and happily took another drink.
Though she was very tired now, she felt herself getting closer and closer to her dream. Her lifespan had increased by several hundred years, so she no longer had to worry about aging. She also possessed the Rinnegan and a Sage Body, and under Hyuga Mirai's supervision, the development of chakra electromagnetization had grown deeper and deeper.
More than once, Tsunade had used Shadow Clones to accompany her grandfather, Senju Hashirama, traveling across the shinobi world. Under the Federation's rule, civilians lived the best lives, and prosperity was steadily increasing.
As for the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, and unreformed regions of the Land of Fire, civilians there were still much the same—most continued to suffer under aristocratic exploitation. Due to wartime demands, they constantly paid taxes to the daimyō's residence, living like walking corpses.
Only by unifying the shinobi world could war be eliminated. For civilians at the bottom, war was the greatest harm. Even if the flames of battle didn't reach their homes, the impact of war was the most brutal of all.
The reason the daimyō of the Five Great Nations were usually willing to allocate funds to ninja villages was that the money could be extracted from civilians. As for small countries, ninja villages might even send ninja to seize money directly—this was how Hyuga Mirai had met Ayaka.
Tsunade suddenly said, "Grandfather has gone back."
"Huh? Gone back where—the Pure Land?" Hyuga Mirai froze for a moment before realizing she meant Senju Hashirama.
Tsunade exhaled a breath of alcohol and said, "Before he left, he let me take the Yang Power that the Sage of Six Paths left him. After touring the shinobi world for a while, he also acknowledged your ideas."
"Is that so? That's fine, but the First Hokage left a bit too early. He could have continued helping Konoha."
"Exactly! That's what I told him too!"
Tsunade strongly agreed, but in the next moment she saw the suspicious look in Hyuga Mirai's eyes.
"Tsunade, the First Hokage returning to the Pure Land so early—don't tell me you kept forcing him to handle matters that were supposed to be yours?"
Hearing this, Tsunade's face instantly flushed red as she loudly retorted, "That's slander! How could I do such a thing? That's my grandfather." Her voice grew softer toward the end.
Hyuga Mirai had only asked casually, but seeing her reaction, the truth was probably just that. He changed the topic and asked, "Did the First Hokage say anything else?"
"Nothing much—just things like governing properly and shouldering my responsibilities. Nothing else."
Tsunade slightly turned her head. Thinking of her grandfather's final words, inappropriate images always surfaced in her mind. Senju family inheritance had nothing to do with her, and among so many people in the shinobi world, there was almost no one she fancied. The only one was about to get married anyway. In that regard, her grandfather only talked nonsense.
"Only that?"
Hyuga Mirai frowned slightly. He wanted to know more about the Sage of Six Paths, but Senju Hashirama had left so suddenly. The First Hokage was somewhat unreliable—leaving in such a hurry. Could it be that he sensed Madara was already dead and rushed back?
The Pure Land was also one of Hyuga Mirai's goals, though not an urgent one. Still, necessary information had to be gathered and recorded.
Tsunade shook her head, then asked, "That's all. By the way, are you interested in Yang Power?"
After absorbing the Yang Power from her grandfather, she still hadn't used it.
Hyuga Mirai said to Tsunade, "No interest. I can use Yang Release, but the Sage of Six Paths' Yang Power might be problematic. Come to my lab in a couple of days—I'll check it for you."
In the original story, the Yin-Yang power the Sage of Six Paths gave to Sasuke and Naruto seemed temporary. Uchiha Madara could preserve it because he had the Rinnegan and could absorb all chakra. Tsunade used the same method.
However, Hyuga Mirai didn't trust the Sage of Six Paths. Their stances were different, and maintaining basic vigilance toward every action of an enemy was necessary.
"Got it. You're really cautious."
Tsunade casually agreed, then happily enjoyed the fine liquor.
As they drank, they chatted about other things. Hyuga Mirai didn't really like drinking, so Tsunade ended up finishing all the alcohol on the table by herself.
As a result, she passed out completely in the end, and Hyuga Mirai had to take her back.
"It's already confirmed?"
Kakuzu said in a deep voice, still harboring some doubts.
"Is that guy really Madara? Does he really have such strength, able to use space-time dōjutsu to transfer so many people at once?"
The White Zetsu clone shrugged and said, "Kakuzu-san, Madara possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan. You should know that he was able to fight the First Hokage because of those eyes. And just how strong the First Hokage was—you know that better than anyone."
The news of the real Madara's death was known only to Hyuga Mirai, Tsunade, and a few others, so the White Zetsu clone directly used Uchiha Madara's name to deceive others.
"The Mangekyō Sharingan… power rivaling the First Hokage. That truly is terrifying."
Upon hearing the name Senju Hashirama, Kakuzu nodded slightly in agreement. After all, he had fought Hashirama before—by that logic, he himself was that strong too.
"This is from Lord Madara for you. Kakuzu-san has worked hard to facilitate the alliance. This kind of thing is useless to Lord Madara, so he gave it to you."
After the White Zetsu clone finished speaking, he had several other clones bring over a few enormous boxes.
"Th-this is…"
Kakuzu already had a guess, though he wasn't completely certain. He opened the boxes to take a look, and with that single glance, he froze in place.
They were filled with money. Based on Kakuzu's experience, each box contained at least one hundred million. There were three boxes.
"Zetsu, tell Mr. Madara to rest assured. I'll personally keep watch over this matter."
Kakuzu said solemnly. From now on, whoever dared to sabotage the shinobi alliance would be his enemy—an enemy to the death.
"Let's go, Black Hoe. Keep an eye on Kusagakure. They're the slowest. I'll go make them hurry up!"
Hearing this, Raiga frowned and shouted at Kakuzu, "Damn it, Kakuzu! Call me Raiga. Don't casually address people by their surnames—it's weird!"
"I'm not familiar with you. Calling you Black Hoe is fine!"
"Damn you, Kakuzu!"
(End of chapter)
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