"On second thought—forget it!"
In less than a second, Sarutobi Hiruzen rejected the idea he'd just voiced.
Through the curling smoke, the wrinkles on his face seemed even deeper. "That idea is still too dangerous. We can't take that risk. There has to be another way—let me think."
"Konoha can't take any more hits right now. The village still hasn't recovered. Any move—no matter how small—could push Konoha into irreversible disaster."
"So you do nothing?" Tsunade let out a sigh. "Just stand there and watch the problem get worse and worse?"
"I didn't say I'd do nothing. I'm saying we need a steadier—better—solution."
Watching Hiruzen sink back into hesitation, Tsunade understood. The so-called "Hero of the Shinobi" really was gone.
The strength he once had, the decisiveness, the courage to step forward twice in times of crisis and lead Konoha through chaos… it was all gone.
Truthfully, the signs had already been there back when she proposed medical-nin reform. Years had passed, yet nothing had improved.
Even knowing the situation would only worsen, as long as he couldn't find a "perfect" method, he would take no action at all.
Now, he'd rather do nothing than risk being wrong.
But for a Hokage, inaction itself was a mistake. What "perfect decision" even exists?
Every decision carries risk. Every decision can be wrong. A truly qualified leader isn't someone who finds a flawless plan—it's someone who can solve the problem.
If you can't solve problems, what kind of leader are you?
A mission dispatcher?
But Hiruzen had lost that ability. Haunted by past mistakes and frightened of future risks, all he could do was wait, watch, shelve problems or push them down the chain, and hope that a solution that just happened to match his wishes would appear on its own.
Yet Konoha couldn't afford to lose the Uchiha.
Whether it was the "Akatsuki" threat mentioned in the drifting bottle, or long-term strategic reality—Konoha without the Uchiha would be like having its sharpest fangs ripped out.
Just losing the Fourth Hokage had already made Kumogakure bold enough to push Konoha around. Losing the Uchiha too—what would the other four great nations think as they watched like predators? At that point, even the Hidden Rain might dare to stick its nose in.
Tsunade braced a hand on his desk, her gaze sharp. "Old man—since you don't dare to act, then you just need to support me unconditionally."
Hiruzen froze, a flicker of shock passing through his cloudy eyes. "Tsunade, you—"
"I know what you're afraid of," Tsunade cut him off.
…
On the day she decided to take Hyuga Kiyonari as her student, she had once asked a similar question:
"What if everyone opposes you—what if they even try to stop you?"
Now, she gave the same answer Kiyonari had given her back then:
"Some things have to be done by someone. I just happen to have the ability."
"Tsunade!"
Tsunade stopped, but didn't turn back.
Hiruzen fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "Remember this: Konoha cannot afford a single failure anymore."
She pushed open the door and strode out of the Hokage's office.
Hyuga. Kumogakure. Uchiha… She sorted the tangled situation in her mind.
The Cloud delegation had only just left Konoha. It would take some time before they learned the Raikage's stance. If Kumogakure tried to make a fuss—whether they truly wanted war or were only trying to intimidate—Konoha could use that window to pull the Uchiha back into the center of power.
That would greatly ease the resentment brewing inside the Uchiha, and Fugaku would certainly welcome such an outcome.
But… just like the old man said, it wasn't a "good" idea.
War wasn't something you could control easily. It was like walking a tightrope—one slip and you fell into the abyss. You might think you're controlling the situation, but in reality, the situation might be controlling you.
Konoha would have to consider the attitudes of other nations, and Kumogakure couldn't ignore that either. Could they really fight?
And yet… the Raikage was impulsive by nature. He might truly get hot-headed.
And then there was Akatsuki—if the world fell into chaos, would they take advantage?
As she walked, Tsunade suddenly thought of the morning again.
Kiyonari had come to see her. Besides the soup, he probably had something else he hadn't gotten the chance to say—she'd left too quickly.
An orange glow hung in the sky at the edge of sunset. At this hour, Shizune should be back from the hospital.
Ever since Tsunade returned, the medical division had been coming by frequently. She was sick of it, so she'd shoved Shizune out to deal with them.
Tsunade quickened her pace. When she pushed open the front door, she happened to see Shizune holding a basket, standing in front of the leftover chicken soup from noon.
"Shizune, please call Kiyonari over to eat dinner with us. I want to ask his opinion about something."
"Okay. I'll go right now."
Shizune answered and headed out. She didn't hesitate—ever since she'd been won over by Hyuga Kiyonari's insights that day, this no longer surprised her.
Before long, Kiyonari arrived again.
"You're here." Tsunade pointed to the chair opposite. "Sit. Shizune, dinner's on you."
Tsunade poured two cups of water and handed one to Kiyonari. "This morning when you came to see me… did you have something else to say?"
Kiyonari took the cup, drank, then said, "I originally wanted you to guide me in training Shadow Clone, but it's resolved now. I met a kind person."
"And who was this kind person?"
"Uchiha Itachi."
"Uchiha Itachi?" Tsunade blinked in surprise. "How do you even know him?"
Kiyonari found her reaction a bit odd, but explained honestly. "It was a few days ago. I ran into a huge boar in the Forest of Death. Itachi and his younger brother Sasuke helped me out."
"And today I ran into them again at the training ground. You could say… Sasuke persuaded his brother, I guess."
Tsunade nodded. While they waited for dinner, she briefly explained what had happened in the Hokage's office earlier—how the conversation had led to that idea.
"War…"
Even Kiyonari found it surprising that the Third Hokage would propose that approach, even if he later rejected it.
"Sensei, I once read a story in a book."
Kiyonari organized his thoughts, then spoke slowly. "Long ago, there were two brothers dividing an inheritance. The older brother believed he should get more because he was the eldest. The younger brother believed it should be split evenly. Then a strong man suddenly barged in and said, 'Your land should be shared with me too, because I'm your neighbor.'"
"So the two brothers, who had been refusing to yield to each other, put their dispute aside and fought side by side to drive off the greedy neighbor first. After they succeeded, the older brother saw that the younger one had taken a heavy punch for him, and besides, the demand to split evenly wasn't unreasonable… so he agreed."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "So you're saying… Konoha and the Uchiha are the brothers in this story, and Kumogakure is the greedy neighbor."
Could war really be the medicine for the Uchiha problem?
But then Kiyonari shifted gears and continued.
"Except the story has another ending," he said. "The two brothers are both defeated by that strong neighbor."