She was undeniably a striking woman.
Her golden blonde hair shone even brighter than Naruto's, with a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead. Her fair skin and tall, statuesque figure were accentuated by high heels, making her seem half a head taller than she actually was. She strode purposefully toward them with confident steps.
Trailing behind her was a black-haired girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, clutching a pink pet pig and jogging to keep up.
The pig, clearly uncomfortable with the jostling, flailed its limbs and let out a series of *oink-oink* grunts.
This duo quickly drew the attention of passersby in the village. Eyes followed them, and more than a few lingered on the blonde woman's impressively ample chest.
Uchiha Hikari and Bulma were no exception.
"Whoa…" Bulma's eyes widened, her face a mix of shock and awe. "That blonde lady's got *some* figure. Can a normal person even *grow* that big?"
"…"
Hikari didn't respond.
This was her first time seeing Tsunade in the flesh, and the visual impact was… intense. She'd met Kanroji Mitsuri, the Love Hashira, in the Demon Slayer world, and Mitsuri's proportions were already remarkable. But compared to *this* woman, Mitsuri was a step behind.
Just then—
A few nearby ninja, out shopping, recognized her.
"Wait, isn't that… Tsunade-sama?"
"It *is* her!"
"Tsunade-sama hasn't been back to Konoha in years. Why now, all of a sudden? Jiraiya-sama returned recently too—has something big happened in the village?"
"Shh—"
A villager who seemed in the know made a hush gesture, whispering, "Haven't you heard? Recently, some elder named Shimura Koharu dug up the Hyūga clan's ancestral graves. Got beaten up by the Hyūga clan head himself and sent to the hospital. My nephew in the Anbu told me!"
"…No way."
Amid the buzzing gossip—
Tsunade kept her eyes forward, not sparing a glance for Hikari or Naruto as she marched straight through the street toward the eastern side of the village.
"That direction…"
It wasn't toward the Hokage Tower or the Senju clan's compound, was it?
Hikari, having lived in Konoha for a while, had a decent grasp of the village's layout.
From what she'd learned from Fugaku, after the Second Hokage Tobirama's death, the Senju clan had gradually abandoned their surname, blending into Konoha's other clans through intermarriage. Only a small handful of Senju remained in their original compound, which had shrunk to a third of its former size.
Tsunade's residence was there.
And now…
Hikari's eyes flickered as a guess formed, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. "Naruto, Bulma, come on. Let's go see something interesting."
Bulma: "Huh?"
…
At the same moment Hikari spotted Tsunade—
Kakashi and Yūgao Uzuki, who'd been shadowing Naruto as usual, noticed her too.
Though unaware of the correspondence between Sarutobi Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, Kakashi immediately instructed Yūgao to report to the Hokage Tower while he discreetly followed.
Under several watchful gazes, both overt and covert—
Tsunade strode into Konoha Hospital and slammed a hand on the reception desk.
"Where's Danzō?"
"Uh… Tsunade-sama?"
The on-duty nurse quickly recognized the former hospital director, intimidated by her commanding presence. She pointed upstairs. "Danzō-sama is on the third floor, in the easternmost room…"
*Clack-clack-clack*—
Before the nurse could finish, Tsunade was already storming upstairs in her heels, heading straight for Danzō's room. She shoved the door open.
Their eyes locked.
"Tsun—"
"DAN!! ZŌ!!"
Danzō, lying in his hospital bed, froze, clearly caught off guard. Before he could process what was happening, Tsunade lunged forward and swung a fist at his face!
"Go to hell!!"
*BOOM!!*
Feeling the gust of force coming at him, Danzō's eyes widened. He rolled off the bed just in time, dodging as Tsunade's fist smashed into where he'd been lying. The steel bedframe crumpled, leaving a massive dent.
"…Tsunade, are you trying to *kill* me?!" Danzō roared hoarsely.
Tsunade ignored his protests, launching herself at him again with another devastating punch!
As Danzō scrambled to dodge with an awkward roll, the immense force of her fist exploded against the wall behind him, sending spiderweb cracks racing across it!
At that moment, Shizune Katō, who'd followed Tsunade, and the Anbu assigned to monitor Danzō rushed to intervene. "Tsunade-sama, please calm down!"
"Danzō is under the Third Hokage's direct orders for surveillance. Please—"
"Get out of my way! Even if the old man himself showed up, it wouldn't stop me today!"
Tsunade was in full demolition mode, her fists swinging with the force to tear down the building.
Faced with this relentless barrage, Danzō didn't dare stand his ground. With the Anbu covering him, he bolted toward the hospital's exit. Halfway down the stairs between the second and first floors, he seemed to falter, missing a step and tumbling down. Tsunade caught up from behind, landing a brutal punch to his shoulder that sent him flying!
*CRASH!*
Danzō sailed six or seven meters, hitting the ground and rolling several times before tumbling off the hospital's first-floor steps. When he finally staggered to his feet, his face was smeared with blood, and his shoulder bore a deep indentation—countless bones inside likely shattered.
In the courtyard below the hospital—
"…*Gulp.*"
Bulma stared, wide-eyed, swallowing hard. "Hikari, is this lady a ninja too? She's *way* too violent, beating up an old man like that…"
"That old man sent assassins after me once," Hikari said calmly.
"Huh?"
Bulma blinked, then pumped her fist. "Beat him up good!"
But Tsunade had stopped.
Seeing the blood on Danzō's face, her body stiffened, and she turned her head slightly, as if unable to look directly at it. Shizune seized the moment, rushing to stand between them, blocking their line of sight while signaling the Anbu to get Danzō out of there.
Hikari, watching it all, frowned slightly, realization dawning.
"Hemophobia, huh…"
It made sense. In the original story, Tsunade didn't overcome her fear of blood until Naruto inspired her much later. At this point in time, she was still deeply affected by it.
But…
If Tsunade was in this state, communicating with her might be a bit tricky.