"Honestly, we're not entirely sure either," one of the guards replied. "But we heard that Shimura Danzō offered the Uchiha clan extremely generous terms, so the two sides ended up joining forces."
The two guards clearly didn't know the internal details. All they could do was repeat the rumors circulating on the surface.
Tsunade frowned when she heard this and murmured quietly,
"Terms? Would those Uchiha really forget their hatred just for a bit of benefit?"
Although she was born into the Senju clan, Tsunade didn't actually harbor much prejudice against the Uchiha.
On the contrary, precisely because of her Senju background, she understood this "ancient rival" clan far better than most people.
She knew that the Uchiha were notoriously stubborn people. On the surface they seemed cold and indifferent, but in truth they valued emotions more deeply than anyone else.
When she was young, she had even heard her second granduncle, Tobirama Senju , once remark that the Uchiha were truly "the clan of love."
Could people like that really abandon their past grudges for mere benefits?
Tsunade frowned in thought, already beginning to consider the possibility of returning to Konoha to investigate the situation herself.
Just then, the tavern door was pushed open once again.
Two figures dressed like shinobi walked in. However, neither of them wore a forehead protector.
Like the two guards earlier, their eyes lit up the moment they spotted Tsunade, and they walked straight toward her.
"Tsunade-sama!"
The two first bowed respectfully to her, then turned their scrutinizing gaze toward the two guards beside her.
"ANBU from Konoha?" Tsunade asked.
Although she already had a guess, she still voiced the question aloud.
The two men hesitated for a moment before shaking their heads.
"No. We're shinobi of the Sarutobi clan."
In truth, they were ANBU.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer Hokage, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the former ANBU Commander, had died in the earlier attack. Hiruzen had therefore lost his authority over the ANBU and had no legitimate reason to mobilize them.
Because of that, before sending them out, Hiruzen had specifically instructed them not to act under the identity of ANBU, lest someone seize upon it as evidence against him.
"Shinobi from the Sarutobi clan?" Tsunade frowned again, her assessment of Konoha's current political situation growing even more grim.
"So," she said calmly, "what does the old man want with me?"
The two shinobi exchanged a glance but did not answer immediately. Instead, their eyes drifted toward the two guards beside Tsunade.
The implication was obvious.
With outsiders present, it wasn't convenient for them to speak.
Seeing this, Tsunade waved her hand casually.
"Don't worry about them. They were sent by the Fire Daimyō to bring me back for a political marriage with the Uchiha clan. You could say they're on the same side."
The Fire Daimyō?
A marriage alliance with the Uchiha?
The two men froze on the spot, utterly dumbfounded.
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had sent them here to ask Tsunade to go to the Daimyō's residence and sever the connection between the Daimyō and the Uchiha clan.
Yet now the Daimyō wanted Tsunade to return and marry into the Uchiha?
That would clearly strengthen the connection instead.
This made the situation far more difficult for them to explain.
Seeing their hesitant expressions, Tsunade's heart stirred and she quickly formed a guess.
"So," she said directly, "the old man sent you here because of the matter between the Uchiha clan and the Daimyō's court, didn't he?"
Since she had already asked the question outright, the two shinobi no longer hesitated.
One of them spoke:
"Yes. It's because of that issue. The connection between the Uchiha clan and the Daimyō's court has put the Third Hokage in a very passive position—especially now that the Uchiha are supporting Elder Shimura."
"The Third Hokage said that even if Elder Shimura fails in the election for Fourth Hokage, the alliance between the Uchiha and the Daimyō means that even if Minato-sama becomes Hokage, he may not be able to exercise his authority normally."
"And if Elder Shimura decides to fight to the bitter end… the village could truly be in danger."
Tsunade immediately understood what Hiruzen was worried about.
And indeed, it was a very serious issue.
After pondering for a moment, she asked,
"Do you know what conditions that old man Shimura Danzō used to convince the Uchiha clan to support him?"
This question had been bothering Tsunade the entire time.
She had a strong feeling that something about this arrangement was deeply wrong.
The shinobi thought for a moment before answering:
"There are reports saying that Elder Shimura promised the Uchiha clan that if they helped him ascend to the Hokage position, he would grant them a seat as a Konoha Elder and the position of Hokage Advisor."
"He offered the Hyūga clan the same conditions."
"But the intelligence is only about 70% reliable. We can't confirm it with complete certainty."
The two of them had left the village to search for Tsunade before Hiruzen personally visited Uchiha Ren, so their information was still several days outdated. They didn't yet know that Hiruzen had already confirmed Danzō's offer through Ren.
"Konoha Elder… Hokage Advisor…"
Tsunade murmured softly.
At first glance, the terms sounded extremely generous.
But the more she thought about it, the less it seemed enough to erase the hatred between Danzō and the Uchiha clan.
Such conditions might be enough to win over the Hyūga clan—after all, Danzō had never targeted them the way he had targeted the Uchiha.
But the Uchiha had always been obsessed with the position of Hokage itself.
And even if someone actually offered them the Hokage seat, it was still questionable whether they would truly forgive their deep-seated grudge against Danzō.
No matter how she looked at it, the whole situation felt strange.
The Uchiha supporting Danzō was like—
a mouse serving as the cat's bridesmaid.
Completely against common sense.
Shaking her head, Tsunade decided to stop overthinking it for now.
She turned to the two guards from the Daimyō's court.
"Go back and report to the Daimyō," she said. "Tell him that regarding the matter between myself and the Uchiha clan, I'll make a decision after I meet this Uchiha Ren."
Until she understood the truth, Tsunade decided it would be safer to delay everything and wait for the situation to become clearer.
That way she could avoid making any serious mistake.
"Yes!"
The two guards responded immediately. After bowing to Tsunade, they left the tavern.
Tsunade then turned to the two shinobi from Konoha.
"You two wait for me outside the town," she said. "Once I've packed up, I'll head back to Konoha with you."
The two men hesitated.
Their mission wasn't to bring Tsunade back to Konoha—it was to escort her to the Daimyō's residence.
"I'll explain things to the old man myself," Tsunade snorted. "You don't need to worry about it."
Ignoring them after that, she turned to the young woman beside her.
"Shizune, go compensate the tavern owner for the damages here. Then head to the inn and pack our things."
"We're returning to Konoha."
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70+ chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Sagamaster789