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Tsunade spotted the village gates from afar, a hint of nostalgia flickering in her eyes.
"Back then, Gatekeeper Raishu…"
"He died on a mission. The ones guarding the gate now are Kamizuki and Hagane, two newly promoted chunin."
"Newly promoted, huh. No wonder I didn't recognize them."
She had been away for more than a year. Konoha looked the same, hardly changed at all, yet the people standing at its entrance were completely different.
She let out a quiet sigh.
The expectation she'd carried with her suddenly faded, leaving a trace of disappointment across her face.
But then—
As they reached the gate—
"Tsunade-sama? Tsunade-sama is back!"
"What?!"
The two guards practically shouted in shock.
And then—
Ninjas and villagers who happened to be passing by all stopped at once, rushing over in a tide of excitement.
"Tsunade-sama!"
"Tsunade-sama, you're back!"
"Where is she? I wanna see, I wanna see!"
Parents lifted their kids high above the crowd so they could peer toward the gate.
Most of those children were born in the past year or two. They didn't remember Tsunade at all.
But clearly—
Their parents had told them her name, and the reverence had already taken root.
In the blink of an eye, the once spacious gate area was completely packed with people.
Tsunade froze.
A mix of emotions caught in her throat, a thousand thoughts she couldn't put into words.
"Don't block the path, move aside!"
Kamizuki waved frantically.
Only then did the crowd part, opening a narrow passage.
Jiraiya walked behind Tsunade as their group made their way into the village.
Even Kakashi, who was always composed, was so excited the skin under his forehead protector was flushed red. No one could see his expression beneath the mask, but it was obvious he was overwhelmed.
Kurenai was the same.
Honestly—
Very few people could stay calm with all eyes on them like this.
Many in this generation had once been protected or healed by Tsunade. Even in Naruto's era in the future, countless people still admired her. Moments like this made the reason obvious.
They continued forward.
Only near the Hokage building did the crowd finally disperse under the direction of the ninjas.
Inside the building, Tsunade leaned against the wall and looked at Jiraiya.
"You go report in. I'm skipping that part."
"Alright."
Jiraiya didn't try to persuade her.
"It was only a C-rank mission, nothing important. Kakashi, Kurenai, you two can go. Rest up and be ready for training tomorrow."
"I'm resting too."
Tsunade yawned.
Leo quickly asked, "Tsunade-sama, what you said earlier… does it still count?"
"What?"
Tsunade blinked, thought for a moment, and then smirked. "You really want a beating?"
"A ninja like you rarely teaches people like us genin. Of course I want the chance!"
Leo was brutally honest.
Shizune couldn't help but admire him.
If she hadn't witnessed Tsunade's strength herself, she would've dismissed his words as ignorance.
But considering he had seen it with his own eyes and still dared to bring it up…
That was genuine courage.
Tsunade laughed softly. "Bold kid."
She looked at Kakashi and Kurenai.
"What about you two?"
"We'd love to have your guidance!"
Both answered instantly.
Tsunade put her hands on her hips. "Fine. I've got nothing better to do. Tomorrow morning, seven o'clock, at Training Ground Ten in the Forest of Death. Don't chicken out."
"We'll be there!"
All three answered together.
Shizune felt envious, but she didn't volunteer to join.
She had traveled with Tsunade for years and was already half a student. She'd been guided plenty; there wasn't much point in squeezing in this time.
…
In the Hokage office—
Jiraiya finished his report and unsealed one of the corpses.
Hiruzen's expression turned serious.
"Based on your judgment, how likely is it that they were targeting Tsunade?"
"Hard to say."
Jiraiya shook his head.
He hadn't been at the initial scene, so he couldn't gather all the details.
However—
"One thing is clear. They wanted their targets alive. Whether it was Tsunade and Shizune or Leo and the kids, I'm not sure. But the first wave of tools wasn't poisoned, so framing a murder seems unlikely."
"Is that so?"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
Then he looked at Jiraiya. "What will you do next?"
"I promised Kashin Koji I'd go to the Land of Waves. I'll investigate things there, but I hope you'll look into this from your end too."
Hiruzen nodded.
"I'll take care of it."
"Then I'm off!"
"Tsunade is back, so be careful. Don't go doing anything foolish again."
Hiruzen said dryly.
Jiraiya froze, coughed lightly, waved him off, and jumped straight out the window.
…
The next morning, Training Ground Ten of the Forest of Death.
This time, there was no exam setup. And they wouldn't be fighting as a group.
It was one-on-one.
Tsunade stood there looking quite pleased.
"You three going one at a time, or all together?"
She pointed at them.
Kakashi and Kurenai immediately hesitated.
All together would test teamwork. One at a time would test individual skill…
"Can we do both?"
Leo whispered.
He might still look like a kid, but mentally, he was an adult.
Why not take everything?
Tsunade couldn't help laughing. "You greedy brat. Careful or I'll beat you so hard you'll be stuck in bed all day."
"I'm not scared!"
Leo forced himself to sound brave.
Of course he was scared.
But a free chance to spar with a Kage-level ninja? Backing out would make him an idiot.
A ninja should be fearless.
Kakashi and Kurenai nodded quickly, agreeing with him.
"If you're not scared, I'm not wasting energy. We'll do three one-on-one matches. Who's first?"
Tsunade didn't mind either way.
Since she was already here…
Beating one person or three didn't make much difference, though fighting all three at once would require a bit of thinking.
"I'll go!"
Kakashi reacted instantly, stepping forward.
Leo sadly pulled his raised foot back.
So—
Kakashi's reflexes were definitely better than his. No surprise.
"Good."
Tsunade smiled and traced a small circle on the ground with her foot.
"I only feel like punching people today. I don't feel like moving much, so I'll use just one hand. If you can force me out of this circle, you win."
Kakashi focused on the terrain.
The circle was tiny, barely any space to move.
With a range this small…
"Can I use exploding tags?"
"Of course. Ninja tools are part of your strength."
Tsunade's smile widened.
Kakashi nodded. "I'm ready."
"Then let's begin."
The moment she finished speaking—
Tsunade stared directly at him, her stance completely relaxed, but—
Cold sweat poured down Kakashi's forehead.
His lips trembled. His hands shook. He stood frozen on the spot.
Kurenai was baffled.
"Genjutsu? But I didn't sense any chakra fluctuations!"
"It's not genjutsu. Just pure killing intent."
Leo's expression turned solemn.
In the anime, Kakashi had twice been paralyzed by Orochimaru's killing intent.
And that was when he was already a jonin.
Right now—
He was only a chunin facing Tsunade, someone with Kage-level pressure.
No wonder he couldn't move.