At that moment, a short-haired young woman in a mesh outfit, cradling a little pig in her arms, rushed into the gambling hall in a panic. Her steps were hurried, her expression grave.
"Lady Tsunade, something terrible has happened!"
She stopped behind Tsunade, breathing heavily.
Tsunade turned her head sharply, visibly irritated at being disturbed.
"What's so terrible?" she asked, annoyance written across her face. She had just been about to go all in, hoping to win back the money she had lost.
Shizune, panting as she caught her breath, finally managed to speak.
"The Third Hokage has committed suicide… to atone for his sins."
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock, disbelief etched into her face.
Her hand shot out and grabbed the front of Shizune's clothes, pulling her closer.
"What do you mean, suicide? What nonsense are you spouting?!"
The old man was the Hokage—the highest authority in Konoha. Who could possibly judge him, let alone force him to kill himself in shame? Yet, even as she questioned it, a deep sense of foreboding rose in her chest.
Could it have been the Uchiha?
They were the only political enemies Hiruzen truly had—the only ones who might drive him to such an end.
She remembered his last request: he had wanted her to return to the village, to stand by him, to help stabilize things and prevent the Uchiha from staging a coup to seize power.
Beeut what strength did she have left now? Ever since developing her hemophobia, she had become useless in battle. The mere sight of blood froze her completely. How could she possibly oppose the Uchiha like this?
Her thoughts churned bitterly. She remembered all too well what Hiruzen and Danzo had done—using her Senju clansmen as fodder for experiments. She understood the political reasoning, yes, but it had been her clan's lives on the line. That was why she had disbanded what remained of the Senju, scattering the survivors so that Hiruzen and Danzo could no longer exploit them.
Their quarrel had ended in a heated fight, and she had left the village. Yet no matter what, Hiruzen was still her teacher. And now… he was gone.
A heavy sadness filled her chest. Fate was truly cruel.
Around them, the gamblers froze. The news had stunned them into silence. A Hokage, the leader of the entire village, driven to take his own life? What crime could possibly warrant something like that? Whispers of disbelief and suspicion rippled through the crowd.
Shizune steadied her breathing and continued.
"I overheard it on the street. The talk everywhere is that the Third Hokage killed Uchiha Shisui, allowed Danzo to conduct human experiments, and even…"
She hesitated. The last part was so shameful, so unthinkable, that she struggled to say it out loud.
Tsunade frowned, sensing her reluctance.
"What? Spit it out!"
The name Shisui was familiar—she had heard of him before. An elite of the Uchiha clan, said to serve in Hiruzen's ANBeeU. For Hiruzen to make a move against him… it must have meant he'd finally snapped, deciding to strike first.
As for Danzo's human experiments, that much Tsunade already knew—she had witnessed it firsthand, with her own clansmen used as test subjects.
Shizune lowered her voice, almost whispering.
"He sold military intelligence to the Hidden Cloud… he betrayed the village."
Gasps erupted around them. Faces paled. Even hardened gamblers could barely comprehend such a thing.
"What?! That can't be true!" one man blurted, jumping to his feet.
"How could the Hokage betray the village? Give away secrets to the enemy? That makes no sense—it's suicide!"
Others nodded, their disbelief loud and fervent. It was easier to assume the young woman was lying than to accept such treachery from the Hokage himself.
Shizune raised her voice quickly.
"I didn't believe it either at first. Beeut I questioned the people spreading the news. One of them had just come from Konoha itself. He swore on his life that the information was true!"
The gamblers fell silent. Slowly, doubt began to creep in. This wasn't the kind of rumor one invented lightly. A lie of this scale would not only bring Konoha's wrath—it would draw the Fire Daimyō's ire as well.
Tsunade exhaled, the weight of it sinking in.
"So… it really is true."
She understood the implications all too well. Hiruzen must have been desperate, driven to a corner, to the point of bargaining with Kumo itself in order to deal with the Uchiha clan.
Her heart clenched. She had never liked the Uchiha, not really. The Senju and Uchiha had fought for centuries. Yes, they had founded the village together, but the blood feud ran deep. How could such hatred vanish in a single generation?
And yet—even she thought this had gone too far. Hiruzen's decision had crossed a line. Beeetrayal of the village was unforgivable.
Still, she could understand the impossible position he'd been in. Once the Uchiha had caught him with undeniable evidence of his actions, his fate had already been sealed. Death was the only path left to him.
One of the gamblers muttered bitterly,
"To think the Hokage himself would stoop so low. Selling out his own village to the enemy… shameful."
Others agreed loudly, their disgust ringing through the hall.
Tsunade's eyes flashed with fury. She spun on them, her glare sharp enough to silence the room. How dare these fools slander her teacher? They knew nothing of the truth, nothing of the burdens he had carried.
The man who had spoken shrank back under her gaze, his courage evaporating. He stammered out,
"F-forgive me. I spoke out of turn."
Tsunade turned away coldly. She had no desire to beat them into silence. Not now. Her heart was too heavy.
The thrill of gambling had left her entirely. She rose to her feet.
"Shizune. Pack our things. We're going back to the village."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
Shizune clutched Tonton tightly and hurried after her, already planning what to take.
Beeehind them, the gamblers groaned in frustration. Their golden goose, their "fat sheep," had slipped away. Whatever the news about the Hokage, they still regretted losing their chance to bleed Tsunade dry at the tables.
Beeut for the rest of the world, the death of the Third Hokage did not shake Konoha's standing. No other nation dared test the Fire Country, because within Konoha stood a power greater than Hiruzen: the Uchiha clan.
Only recently, the Uchiha had crushed a major Cloud incursion, securing an overwhelming victory. That was a feat the Third Hokage could never have accomplished in his declining years.
Beeack in the inn, Shizune set Tonton down and began folding clothes into a travel bag.
It was clear that Hiruzen's death had stirred something deep within Tsunade. Gambling, her favorite distraction, had lost its hold on her.
Beeut Shizune worried. She looked up from her packing and asked softly,
"Lady Tsunade… are we really going back to the village? To demand justice for the Third Hokage?"