Inside Tsunade's Room
Sakura was immediately startled by Tsunade's words. A problem with her body? What problem? She felt fantastic.
"W-What... What kind of problem, sensei...?" Sakura asked, her face paling, her voice trembling.
"Pfft," Tsunade chuckled, seeing Sakura's frightened, pale face. "It's nothing major. Just lie still, and I'll treat it for now."
Sakura, relieved to hear it was treatable, sighed and lay down on the bed. "So, what's wrong with my body?"
"When you were fighting that man in black, your movements were slightly different from a few months ago. You might not notice these differences, but for someone like me, whose impression of you is from a few months back, it was immediately obvious," Tsunade explained, placing her hands on Sakura's body.
"Really? I didn't feel anything wrong..." Sakura asked, puzzled, from her prone position.
"I told you, you wouldn't notice it. Have you been using Lightning Release to train your body these past few months?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes, applying a bit more pressure with her hands, causing Sakura to wince and grit her teeth.
"Ow, ow, ow..." Sakura teared up from the pain Tsunade inflicted. "Not Lightning Release body training, but I did use Lightning Release to boost my strength."
"How did you use it? Tell me," Tsunade asked.
Sakura then described how she combined the Lightning Release Chakra Mode with Creation Rebirth during her fight with Sasuke.
"Stupid and naive," Tsunade commented after hearing Sakura's explanation.
"Uh... Is there something wrong with that method? I felt like, apart from consuming lifespan, it didn't have any major drawbacks for increasing strength," Sakura said cautiously.
"If you don't want to end up paralyzed later in life, you'll stop using that method," Tsunade said, her expression blank. "Using a small amount of Lightning Release chakra to enhance your strength is fine if it affects only a small part of your body."
Tsunade paused, her tone becoming more serious. "You applied it to your nerve cells. In the short term, it increases your reaction speed, but nerve cells are the hardest cells to repair. It's only thanks to your use of Creation Rebirth that you don't see any problems after using it occasionally. But with long-term use, the damage will outpace the repair. You should understand the consequences, right?"
Sakura broke out in a cold sweat. And here she was, thinking of using that method to improve her strength. Lightning Release body training was definitely not so simple.
"I understand, sensei. That's why I stopped using that method for training afterward," Sakura said, a bit shaken.
"Good. Today, I'll give you a simple treatment. Repairing damaged nerve cells isn't easy. I hope you remember this lesson and won't be so reckless in the future. Don't just blindly experiment with your training. If you have any ideas, ask me," Tsunade said, her voice laced with a hint of reprimand.
"Mm? sensei, does that mean you've agreed to return to the village?" Sakura gleaned from Tsunade's words that she was leaning towards returning. Asking her about training matters... Sakura couldn't possibly follow Tsunade around everywhere. The only way that would work was if Tsunade returned to the village.
"..." Tsunade paused for a moment, then said, "Yes, let's go back. The village is truly going downhill. If I don't go back, who knows what kind of trouble you'll get into. Who's your jounin sensei?"
"It's Kakashi-sensei," Sakura replied, delighted. It seemed her chances of becoming a chunin were looking up. She had initially thought it was a lost cause.
"Hmph, that brat Kakashi, huh? Very well..." Tsunade let out a couple of cold chuckles.
Tsunade had many reasons for returning. There was the three-year bond she shared with Sakura as her master. There was the way she saw a reflection of her younger brother in Naruto. And... there was the burning anger from this assassination attempt. This incident was clearly aimed at preventing the Third Hokage's succession plan. Tsunade was furious to learn she was the target of a bounty. Certain individuals in the village were becoming far too brazen. Tsunade decided to return and settle the score.
Meanwhile, in Sunagakure
Elder Chiyo frowned as she listened to the ANBU's report.
"You're dismissed," Chiyo said.
"Yes," the ANBU member acknowledged.
After the ANBU left, Chiyo turned to her younger brother. "It seems we've been dragged into Konoha's power struggle."
"It certainly appears that way," Ebizo agreed, nodding.
The ANBU had just reported on the bounty hunter's attempt to assassinate Tsunade. From that information, combined with Danzo's actions, Chiyo had reached a tentative conclusion.
"What should we do next, Sister?" Ebizo asked.
"Terminate the operation. It's better to have Tsunade as Hokage than to let Danzo influence Konoha," Chiyo said after a moment's thought. "We'll agree to Danzo's demands for now."
"Sister, I agree with terminating the operation, but the compensation Danzo is demanding... that's not a small sum. Are we just going to give it to Konoha?" Ebizo asked.
Sunagakure's reasoning was simple. Based on the intelligence, the people of Konoha were searching for Tsunade to bring her back to the village. Combined with Danzo's demands, it was highly likely they were asking Tsunade to become Hokage.
Therefore, Sunagakure decided to abandon the conditions offered by Danzo. Having Tsunade in power was far better than having Danzo in power. If Danzo took control of Konoha, who knew how he would torment Sunagakure?
"Let's give Konoha a portion for now. Once Tsunade takes office, we'll negotiate with her," Chiyo said.
"That's one way to do it. We might even be able to get out of it," Ebizo added.
Sunagakure was playing the timing. The Third Hokage had put Danzo in charge of handling the situation with Sunagakure, while simultaneously planning to hand over the position to Tsunade. Danzo wanted to eliminate Tsunade before she returned to the village, and he conveniently had Sunagakure as a leverage point. If Sunagakure had foolishly eliminated Tsunade, then Danzo would still be the one dictating the terms of the compensation.
Now, Sunagakure had learned from the bounty hunter that Konoha's people were searching for Tsunade. Danzo's willingness to risk being exposed for killing a fellow villager to eliminate Tsunade, strongly indicated Konoha was inviting Tsunade to become Hokage.
The situation was convenient because the bounty hunter hired by Sunagakure failed to kill Tsunade. If Tsunade returned to the village and became Hokage, Sunagakure could send representatives to negotiate again. By subtly altering the details of the agreement with Danzo and presenting it to Tsunade, they were confident Tsunade wouldn't make things too difficult for Sunagakure.
That was the advantage of having intelligence. If Danzo's plan had succeeded, he could have squeezed Sunagakure dry. Now, with this information, Sunagakure had a chance to fight back.
"What we need to do now is erase the underground exchange before Danzo does," Chiyo said.
"And the ninja who went to assassinate Tsunade. He needs to be eliminated as well," Ebizo reminded her.
Danzo, who was closely monitoring the situation, would know the operation had failed. Sunagakure needed to destroy all evidence before Danzo could obtain proof of Sunagakure's involvement. And Danzo, knowing the operation failed, would be desperately trying to gather evidence of Sunagakure's involvement to gain leverage.
Sunagakure, from the very beginning of the hiring, had planned to silence the involved parties. Therefore, they had already deployed intelligence personnel to monitor the underground exchange. But knowing Danzo, Chiyo was certain he wouldn't sit idly by. So now, it was a race against time.
A battle of shadows was about to begin.
__________________
patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls