🚨Insert Some Funny Memes or GIF🚨
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Jiraiya stood up from the ground, rubbing his aching back.
Several people walked over to the tatami mat and sat down on either side of the coffee table.
Shizune skillfully brewed hot tea for the group, even forgetting to pour a cup for Naruto.
Tsunade calmly lifted her teacup and sipped slowly.
Naruto, however, looked irritated. Sitting beside Jiraiya, he crossed his arms, turned his head, and did his best to keep Tsunade out of his sight.
Hikaru, like Tsunade, sipped his tea quietly.
The room was silent for more than a minute before Jiraiya finally broke the tension.
"Tsunade, the old man is ready to step down. He wants you to return to the village and take on the role of Fifth Hokage."
Tsunade set her teacup on the table and looked at Jiraiya with calm indifference.
"I thought I made myself clear. I'm not going back to be Hokage."
"If anyone wants the title, they can take it. Shizune and I are doing fine outside the village. Why should we return?"
She spoke in an even tone.
Jiraiya fell quiet at her words.
"Because of what happened with Dan and Nawaki…"
Hearing those names stirred the memories Tsunade most wanted to forget.
A flicker of impatience and anger crossed her face.
"Enough. Don't bring them up again. No matter what, I won't return to a village that let me down."
Faced with her rejection, Jiraiya was momentarily at a loss. Under the table, he poked Hikaru with his finger.
This kind of talk isn't my strong suit. Better leave it to Hikaru—he always has some wild card to play.
Hikaru calmly set down his teacup and looked straight at Tsunade, speaking in a tone that immediately made everyone uneasy.
"If you don't return to the village… it may soon bear the Uchiha name."
!!!
Like the saying goes, "Simple ingredients need bold seasoning."
Tsunade was never one to hide her emotions—so to reach her, I had to drop a bombshell.
Tsunade stood up in shock, her face a mix of disbelief and confusion.
Jiraiya looked bewildered—his expression clearly said, "What the hell are you trying now, Hikaru?"
Shizune, having left the village at a young age, didn't know much about the current political climate and looked lost.
Naruto had no idea what the adults were talking about.
To Tsunade, the idea sounded so absurd it felt like watching Jiraiya lose interest in women and suddenly chase men.
In her memory, the Uchiha clan had always been distrusted, even despised by much of the village. Things were worse by the time she left.
To think that Konoha would now be turning into an Uchiha-led village? Even the Senju clan, founded by her grandfather and great-uncle, never accomplished that.
While Tsunade was still trying to process the thought, Hikaru continued:
"Danzo led Root in an attempt to wipe out the Uchiha—and was killed."
"Hiruzen enabled and covered up Danzo's abuses. He spent years oppressing the ninja clans. In the end, we united and forced him to step down."
"He's only allowed to keep the Hokage title to save face. All actual decision-making is handled by Shikaku."
"We've been waiting for you to return—to give Hiruzen a proper excuse to step down."
With a few simple statements, Hikaru laid bare the village's current state.
Tsunade was still reeling, but she could grasp the implications.
Who would've thought Danzo would go that far—targeting not just the Uchiha, but other clans too?
If the village was truly this corrupt… what was the point of returning?
Tsunade sat down again, disappointment etched across her features.
"With the village like this, what good can I do by going back? I've been gone for so long."
"I've gotten used to this life. There's too much darkness in the higher-ups. I don't want any part of it."
"I can't even properly heal the injured anymore—how could I run an entire village?"
Jiraiya looked disheartened. Even Hikaru can't convince her?
Under the table, he clenched his fists tightly.
Suddenly, Hikaru slammed his palm against the table.
The loud crack startled Naruto so badly he toppled backward into Jiraiya's lap.
Jiraiya caught the boy, glancing back at Hikaru with newfound hope. He's not done yet.
Hikaru glared at Tsunade.
"How long are you going to run away? Where's the woman once called the Slug Princess among the Legendary Sannin?!"
"Have you forgotten your grandfather and granduncle—the First and Second Hokage? They built Konoha alongside the Uchiha. As the last of the Senju, how can you abandon it?!"
"Are you honoring your brother Nawaki's will? He was only twelve when he died—but he understood. Why don't you?!"
Tsunade flipped the coffee table.
Hikaru's words tore through her defenses, and the weight of years of sorrow and guilt burst forth like a flood. Grief and rage took over.
"What the hell do you know?! Everything was for that damned village! Grandpa, Granduncle, Nawaki, Dan—they all died!"
"The Senju are nearly extinct! I'm the only one left!"
"What more do we have to give?! Haven't we done enough for Konoha?!"
By the end, Tsunade collapsed to her knees, a single tear rolling down her cheek.
Hikaru softened his tone and activated his MangekyĹŤ Sharingan, locking eyes with her.
"My parents died in the Third Great Ninja War. At first, I believed they'd died in service to the village."
"But later, I uncovered Root files… and learned they were assassinated during the war—by Danzo's men."
"For a long time, I hated Konoha. I wanted to abandon it. But I didn't."
"My parents gave their lives for this village. I couldn't let their sacrifice go to waste. So I made a choice…"
"I decided to change it."
"To purge it of everything rotten."
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