"Woah, who is this weakling, Enma?" Mito asked as soon as he joined her, Tsunade, and Shizune on the road.
Sakura, who was by his side, glared daggers at the girl, especially when she saw how beautiful she was.
"Who the hell are you?!" She screamed, and her outburst caught the young Princess off-guard.
"My name is Mito." She grinned and then playfully continued, "Senju Mito."
"You..." Sakura was about to shout at her again when she froze. "Senju?"
Enma smiled at her reaction and then stepped forward.
"Sakura, pay your respects to the Godaime Hokage, one of the Legendary Sannin, the Slug Princess, and the best Medical-Nin in the world, Lady Senju Tsunade."
Her mouth dropped open when she looked at the young lady, who was likely in her early to mid-twenties, and stunningly beautiful.
However, she quickly regained her wits and bowed to her, having read about her before.
She was indeed a legendary figure whom Ino looked up to and a lot of Kunoichi wanted to be like.
"I pay my respects, Tsunade-sama. My name is Haruno Sakura."
"I see."
She tensed you when she received a flat reply, and then nearly wanted to cry when she learned who the young girl was.
"Mito is her daughter."
"My apologies..." she nervously said and wanted to smack her fist in the girl's face when she mischievously giggled.
"And this is Shizune," Enma introduced the raven-haired girl. "She is Lady Tsunade's Student and Assistant."
"Hello. It's nice to meet you."
"Hello." Sakura liked this young lady as she was very polite.
"Will she be able to keep up with our speed?" Tsunade was sceptical about the girl's strength.
"We shall see." He lightly smiled and then patted his Student's head, who blushed a little. "Let's go. We are rushing back to Konoha as fast as we can."
"Yes," She nervously nodded her head and followed the group as they rushed into the woods.
Thankfully, Enma allowed her to deactivate her cuffs, and that was the only reason why she managed to keep up with them.
Sakura felt very unwell when hours passed by and Mito did not look even a bit fatigued.
Tiredness soon crept in her muscles and bones, but she gritted her teeth and refused to ask them to stop for her sake.
She managed to stay strong until late at night, when the group finally stopped, and was grateful to her friend that he prepared a meal for her and allowed her to rest.
At dawn, she felt refreshed, and after a sumptuous meal, followed by a half-hour break, the group resumed their journey and did not stop until nightfall again.
Tsunade curiously watched as the girl listened to every order that Enma gave her, and when she was sent to her tent to sleep, she raised her brow at him.
"Your student?" She guessed, and Mito perked up her ears at those words.
"Yes, she can be considered my student, but she is part of Team 7, which is led by Hatake Kakashi. She is also my classmate and old friend."
"Why is she with you if she is on another Team?" The little princess curiously asked.
"Kakashi-sensei was going to be busy training her teammates for the Finals of the Chunin Exams, and since she did not want to steal their time, she asked for his permission to train under me on our journey."
"How long has it been since she started training under you?"
"We are in the ninth week now."
Mito understandably nodded her head.
"She's weak."
"Of course, which is why she is working hard to grow stronger. She will get there." He smiled. "And she may be weak right now, but she's very smart when she is using her head for the right things."
"And when she is not?" She smirked.
"She's the same as you."
"Hey!" Mito lunged at him to punch him, but ended up crashing into a Lightning Clone, which paralysed her. "I hate you!!!"
Tsunade smirked as she watched her daughter suffer, and Shizune held back her giggles, especially after the little Princess glared her way.
"Where is he?" She asked, unable to spot her mortal enemy.
"He used the Substitution Jutsu with his Lightning Clone, and rushed into the woods. He is westbound right now..." Her mother informed her, and just when Mito was about to chase the boy, she heard her speak again, "go to sleep. If you dare go after him..."
It was an order, and even though she was very upset, she wisely went to her tent, not disobeying her mother's command.
Enma returned around thirty minutes later, carrying a large elk on his back, and he quickly created a wooden table and placed it on top of it.
Tsunade and Shizune curiously watched him skin the hunted animal, clean as possible, and then completing the dressing.
He buried the things they did not need, and then quickly processed the rest of meat, storing them inside foils which he then stored inside one of his Storage Scrolls.
He kept a portion out, and they curiously watched him set a fire pit and marinate the meat in spices. Afterwards, his clone started working on barbecuing the meat.
Exactly forty-five minutes after his return, he dispelled his clones and happily tasted the meat, nodding his head in satisfaction.
"Nothing for us?" Shizune playfully asked him, and she smiled as he walked over and handed her a stick full of meat skewers.
He gave one to Tsunade as well, and when the two tasted it, they were pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was.
"You get nightly cravings for elks?" The blonde smirked at him as she happily accepted another meat stick.
"Can you blame me? They are tasty." He shrugged, and Shizune shyly took the last remaining meat stick and devoured it.
"You're right... these are delicious!" She merrily chewed on the meat and even shared a few bites with the Ninja Pig, who was called Tonton.
"Go, get some rest. I will keep watch." Enma said to the two after they finished eating.
"Thanks."
The Hokage stood up and lazily stretched her body before joining her daughter in the tent, and Shizune entered the one where Sakura was sleeping.
Enma stayed in his place until he sensed them all drift to peaceful dreams, and then jumped up on a tree and sat down on a branch, resting his back against the trunk.
He quickly entered a meditative state, but instead of controlling his senses, he heightened them and sharpened his Mind's Eye.
In the morning, when the ladies woke up, they found the breakfast ready, and Shizune repeatedly thanked him for the meal as she ate it.
Usually, it was her job, and she was glad she got a break today.
Afterwards, the Uzumaki guided his student through her morning Chakra Exercises, and despite Mito's all efforts to piss her off, Sakura kept her cool and only listened to what Enma had to say.
They set off for Konoha at 7 am, and covered the remaining distance of 500 kilometres in exactly seven hours.
When they arrived at the gate of the Village, they saw that it was still under repair, and a lot of sections of the walls were also being rebuilt, the boundary stretching outward.
The two Chunins, who were on duty, bowed to him, and he politely greeted them back before he asked for passes for the 'guests', which were quickly granted.
"Why the passes?" Sakura curiously asked after they entered the Village, and Enma smiled at her.
"Lady Tsunade wishes to take a look around the Village first," he informed her and then gently patted her head. "Go see your parents. They are at home."
At his words, her eyes immediately teared up.
She quickly bowed to him, and then to Tsunade and the rest before taking her leave.
Ever since she had read the news, she was scared if she would find her parents alive or not, and now, she was immensely relieved and wanted nothing more than to hug her mother and rest her head in her lap.
"Hungry?" Enma asked the three ladies, who nodded their heads, and Mito frowned when he brought them to a Ramen Restaurant.
When they entered, the pair of father and daughter, who owned and ran the shop, brightly smiled his way.
"Enma! Long time no see. Where were you?"
"Was busy with some missions, Teuchi-san, and I just returned. I am glad to see that you are fine."
Tsunade, Mito, and Shizune took seats by his sides, and when the owner of the restaurant laid eyes of the new Hokage, he froze.
The Uzumaki chuckled when he saw Teuchi deeply bow for her.
"Tsunade-hime."
"Yo, Teuchi. So, you did quit being a Shinobi and opted to become a chef." She smiled, and the man sighed.
"I was never cut to be a Shinobi. Making ramen is what brings me happiness." He sincerely said and then wrapped his arm around his daughter's shoulder. "This is my daughter, Ayame, and she helps me nowadays."
"Hello," Tsunade nodded to her and then ordered four servings of his best Ramen, and even though Mito was quite sceptical, she really enjoyed the meal as she found it very delicious.
However, what she did not pay attention to and others did was how well-informed the man was about everything that was happening in the village.
"It was a sad day, Tsunade-hime..." he sighed. "The Elders were killed, Hokage-sama died protecting the Village, and Danzo-sama is missing." He meaningfully said his last words.
When Teuchi finished telling them everything, he smiled at the Uzumaki.
"Karin-hime actively helped the civilians and made sure everyone in our district reached the shelter. The locals here consider her their hero."
"Is that so?" He chuckled. "I missed the opportunity to become a hero then. She's going to rub it in my face now."
Teuchi laughed and Ayame giggled at his words, but Mito curiously looked at him.
"Who's Karin?"
"My little sister, and teammate."
"Ohh..."
Once they finished their meal, they walked out on the street, and Tsunade smiled.
"How convenient..." She whispered, and only Enma understood what she was talking about.
Danzo was missing, having presumably escaped the Village after Kushina saved it, confirming his involvement in the Invasion and the death of the Third. Root was gone, and so were the Elders and the Advisors of the late Hokage.
The Uzumaki knew that his Aunt had made her move and taken the opportunity to clean the village during the invasion, and he was quite amazed at how flawlessly she had completed everything.
In the hearts of the people, she was their saviour, and she now held an unshakable image and position in Konoha.
Next, they toured around the village, where the Jonins and other senior Shinobi saw them, and Nara Shikaku immediately came forward and bowed to the new Hokage.
Tsunade chatted with him, asking for his account of the events, and then ordered him to gather all the Clan Heads and the Jonins at the Council Hall for a meeting at 8 pm tonight.
Once they completed their tour of the Village, they arrived at the dilapidated Senju Compound, which was smaller than all other Clan Compounds in Konoha.
A lot of its area had now been converted into extra Training Fields, and the rest into the expansion of the Konoha Hospital.
Tsunade frowned a little at the changes, but did not think much of it.
After opening the seals and entering her old home, she toured the palce, and sighed in relief to find that it was still livable from the inside.
"If you want to live here, I can order my Clan to restore it for you."
"Do it, but I won't be living here. The Hokage Residence is a better place. I will have that restored and renovated by your Clan as well."
His brow twitched at her words, but he nodded and accepted the command.
At 6:30 pm, they arrived at the Hokage Office, and the Anbu Forces, led by their Captain, greeted their Godaime Hokage.
Tsunade called them all inside the office, and after staring at the sinking sun through the window, she took her seat and asked for their reports, starting with the most important ones.
"Uchiha Itachi and one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kiri, Hoshigaki Kisame, infiltrated the Village five days ago," The man with the Bear Mask, who was the Anbu Commander, informed them. "They were intercepted by Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenei, but both were quickly overwhelmed by Itachi. If Kakashi had not come to their rescue in time, they would have been killed, but he too fell into some sort of Genjutsu. It was Guy who came to all their rescue at the last moment. Both the intruders escaped when they sensed the reinforcements closing in. Their objective was Uzumaki Naruto, and later that day, they tried to kidnap him from the Fire Town, but Jiraiya-sama, who was accompanying him, thwarted their attempt. Uchiha Sasuke, however, became a casualty as he fell into a coma, just like Kakashi. The two had taken a lot of damage to their brains..."
"Where are the two now?"
"Uchiha Sasuke was taken back to the Uzumaki Compound by Uchiha Hazuki and her daughters, as for Kakashi, he is resting at the Hospital."
"Still in Coma?"
"No. Uzumaki Kushina visited him at the hospital and helped him break out of the genjutsu."
"I see. Continue..."
The Anbu then gave the detailed list of all the Shinobi losses, as well as their report on the truth of the matter.
Event though she had summoned everyone at the Coucil Hall, Tsunade stayed in her Office, listening to the reports of Anbu, and it was at 9 pm that she arrived at her first Council Meeting. An hour later than her given time.