blogombal Chapter 121 Tsunade Leaves the Village
Chapter 121 Tsunade Leaves the Village
Seeing the plumes of dust rising from the woods ahead, Orochimaru's face darkened, and he quickened his pace.
Tsunade, who was preparing to meet up with Orochimaru's team in the distance, heard the explosion and saw the smoke in the distance. Her heart suddenly clenched with pain, as if reminding her that something bad had happened.
This situation made Tsunade somewhat flustered. Ignoring the group, she quickened her pace and headed towards the smoke and dust. A bad premonition filled her heart, making her feel anxious and uneasy.
Soon, Orochimaru saw Senju Nawaki lying on the ground, covered in blood, and most importantly, some of his internal organs were missing. This situation ignited Orochimaru's anger.
A chilling aura emanated from Orochimaru, radiating killing intent. Orochimaru was truly intent on killing those individuals; their reckless actions had genuinely enraged the usually brooding Orochimaru.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance. When Orochimaru saw the figure, his cold aura instantly dissipated, and he stood there helplessly. This was the first time Orochimaru had felt guilty.
The person who arrived was Tsunade, who rushed over quickly. When she saw Orochimaru and the figure lying on the ground, the pain in her heart intensified instantly. In a flash, she appeared beside the body lying on the ground and reached out her hands to the opposite side.
Green chakra rapidly appeared in her hands as she moved towards Senju Nawaki's mangled body. Tsunade's medical ninjutsu was indeed arguably the best in the ninja world, but against Senju Nawaki, who was already dead and whose internal organs had been partially destroyed, medical ninjutsu was utterly useless.
But Tsunade continued to gather green chakra and pour it towards Senju Nawaki's body. Her trembling body and tear-streaked face proved that Tsunade was aware of his condition.
Orochimaru gazed at Tsunade before him, a wave of guilt washing over him. Tsunade had entrusted her younger brother to him, and now he could only watch helplessly as she passed away. This left Orochimaru bewildered and at a loss, unsure how to face Tsunade again.
Tsunade, her eyes blurred with tears, stared at the blood on her palm, the blood like a brand of death, piercing her heart with deep pain. She felt the warmth of Senju Nawaki's body gradually fading, like a cold wind sweeping through, icy and bone-chilling. Her body trembled more and more violently, like leaves in a storm, even the chakra she was gathering scattered like startled birds. Once again, she helplessly watched her loved one pass away before her eyes. Medical ninjutsu was useless, unable to stop the march of death, leaving him to die without dignity before her.
Tsunade knelt blankly beside Senju Nawaki's corpse, her body trembling unconsciously, tears streaming down her face and dripping onto Nawaki's body.
Orochimaru watched silently from the sidelines, unsure how to comfort Tsunade, or even how to face her. It was the first time he had ever seen Tsunade so vulnerable.
Perhaps this kind of emotion is the greatest enemy of ninjas, even the usually strong Tsunade has become so weak.
When other Konoha ninjas appeared nearby, Orochimaru went up to Tsunade, pulled her up, and without saying a word, pressed on the back of her neck, causing her to instantly faint.
......
Upon returning to Konoha, Tsunade went straight to the Senju clan's territory and never showed her face again.
Orochimaru returned directly to his laboratory, taking no action. He awaited Tsunade's decision. If Tsunade decided to retaliate against Konoha's higher-ups, Orochimaru would intervene to help her. He was now completely disillusioned with Konoha's leadership, and even with the entire village.
Konoha returned to peace, but many Konoha ninja sensed something unusual. First, some ninja retired without explanation, then left the village with their families for the capital of the Land of Fire. Many of these were core members of the village, including over 20 Jonin. Hiruzen Sarutobi made no attempt to stop them, readily agreeing to their departure.
Secondly, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire announced that due to natural disasters that occurred throughout the Land of Fire this year, resulting in a significant tax shortfall, the military budget for Konoha Village next year will be reduced by 30%, and there will be no other material support.
Finally, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire announced the formation of the Twelve Guardian Ninja to protect the safety of the officials in the capital. He hoped that all ambitious individuals from the Land of Fire would travel to the capital for the selection process.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi and other high-ranking officials were gathered together to discuss the events that had occurred recently.
A hint of killing intent flashed in Shimura Danzo's eyes as he spoke directly:
"Those who retired and left Konoha before, we need to send out the Anbu to kill them all on their way, so that they know that Konoha is not a place they can leave at will."
Upon hearing Danzo's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo with an expression as if he were an idiot, while Homura Mitokado, standing beside him, interrupted Danzo's ramblings.
"The upper echelons of Konoha all know their situation. If we attack them now, are you trying to ignite a civil war in Konoha? Danzo."
"What can we do then? Just watch them leave Konoha and head to the capital of the Land of Fire? That would be tantamount to increasing the power of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, and Konoha's status would continue to decline in the future."
Shimura Danzo showed his dissatisfaction and loudly reminded the people present.
Upon hearing Danzo Shimura's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a hint of helplessness and could only explain, "Don't worry, those who left won't have any impact on Konoha. You must understand, as long as Tsunade is still in Konoha, those people won't have any influence on the village. Moreover, their departure has reduced the instability in Konoha and made the village more stable."
My current concern is that the Daimyo is reducing Konoha's military budget. Without funds, Konoha won't have enough resources to train more ninjas, and many of Konoha's experiments will have to be halted.
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, the most worried person became Danzo Shimura. He controlled Root, a major spender on military expenditures, and many experiments within the organization couldn't be stopped—these were crucial to Danzo's chances of regaining the Hokage position. Furthermore, Root had many spies whose intelligence gathering required substantial funding.
As for the Twelve Guardian Ninjas, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't take them seriously. At most, he would only gain twelve Jonin from the Daimyo, which wouldn't have any impact on Konoha or threaten its status.
This shows that Hiruzen Sarutobi had absolutely no political talent.
Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't even figured out the fundamental reason why the Fire Country Daimyo formed the Twelve Guardian Ninja. This news sent a message to other countries that the Fire Country Daimyo had completely lost trust in Konoha. They could now easily attack Konoha, and the Fire Country Daimyo would no longer expend significant resources to support the village.
For Konoha, other issues can be resolved with perseverance. Thanks to the foundation laid by the previous two Hokage, Konoha can overcome these difficulties. However, the last point—the denial of Konoha's legitimacy—is the most fatal blow. This is merely a test of Konoha's attitude and reaction. If Konoha doesn't change, then the Fire Country Daimyo will truly declare Konoha illegitimate, and Konoha will truly disappear from the ninja world.
Although ninjas dominate the ninja world, the ruling class consists of the daimyo of each country. If the daimyo of the Land of Fire denies the legitimacy of Konoha, then Konoha will become a target for other countries to devour. Since ninjas are a non-productive profession without a stable supply of resources, they will quickly disappear into history.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi was still worried about that meager military budget, completely oblivious to the more critical issue facing Konoha. If Tsunade made up her mind, Konoha would gradually become history.
It's important to know that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is a relative of the Senju clan, and Tsunade is a princess appointed by the Land of Fire. If she were to deny the legitimacy of Konoha, the village would definitely fall apart.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely unaware of Tsunade's importance. Now, the Daimyo of the Fire Kingdom was just waiting for Tsunade to make her final decision. The Daimyo's lineage and the Senju clan were blood relatives. Once the Daimyo could no longer maintain this relationship with Konoha, then Konoha would have no value in continuing to exist.
The same applies to other major powers. If the ninja villages were to completely break away from the ties with the daimyo of various countries, then the era of ninja villages established by Hashirama Senju would immediately revert to the Warring States period.
Just as Konoha was in crisis, the powerful ninja clans of Konoha, who had considered these consequences, could no longer contain themselves. They were far more aware of the situation than the ninjas from the small family of Hiruzen Sarutobi. They all sent people to communicate with Tsunade, hoping that she would consider the fact that Konoha was built by her grandfather and give it a good talking to.
Tsunade spent a long time contemplating the situation in the Senju clan's territory. She was deeply disappointed with Konoha as it was now, and even considered abandoning the village altogether. However, when she saw the enormous Hokage statue in the village and the smiling children playing there, Tsunade decided to keep Konoha alive. It held so many memories of her childhood, and she didn't want the village her two grandfathers had worked so hard for their entire lives to disappear into the annals of history.
A month later, Tsunade went directly to the Hokage's office for a final meeting with Hiruzen Sarutobi. Tsunade said nothing, simply smashed the Hokage's desk, and then left the Hokage building.
Then, taking Kato Shizune, who had become an orphan, directly left Konoha.
However, both the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the major clans of Konoha received Tsunade's decision: she would leave Konoha, a place of sorrow, to go out and clear her head.