Seeing the interested expression on Li Anshi's face, Tsunade rolled her eyes at him.
"Hehehe..."
Seeing that Tsunade was unwilling to talk, Li Anshi knew that she must have made a fool of herself in some way.
Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have gone to the trouble of taking her to a village ravaged by bandits just to see the consequences of their rampage.
After all, compared to bandits, the daimyo, the nobles, and the "ninjas" seemed to be the ones who caused the most harm to ordinary people.
The daimyo and the nobles, there was no need to say much about them.
Their so-called "noble status" and "lofty position" were all obtained by exploiting ordinary people.
Of the grain the common people grew, the livestock they raised, and the linen they wove, not even one-tenth remained in their own hands.
And as for ninjas, some, when on secret missions, if accidentally seen by villagers, would kill them to maintain secrecy.
Also, the many years of war in the ninja world, although secretly pushed by the daimyo and nobles of various countries, kept the ninjas in a constant state of conflict. In order to survive, they had no choice but to accept missions, becoming blades in the hands of the ruling class, preventing them from awakening their own consciousness and overthrowing their rule.
So, although it wasn't openly stated, in secret, when the daimyo and nobles collected taxes from the common people, they would always drop hints about how the ninjas were the cause, and therefore, more taxes were needed.
As a result, it would be abnormal for the common people to have a favorable impression of ninjas.
Perhaps, in the beginning, Tsunade had still believed that the disasters suffered by these villages were truly caused by those bandits.
But as she grew, gained more knowledge and experience, and thought more about the world, she would inevitably come to know the truth of the ninja world.
That's why she felt a sense of shame about her younger self.
Perhaps this was also one of the reasons that drove her ever forward!
Li Anshi smiled and didn't press the matter.
"As for Nawaki's future, you don't need to worry about that either."
"What I'm having him learn now, besides the method for sensing spatial fluctuations, is the ninjutsu philosophy behind the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"You also know how profound the Second Hokage's skill was in creating jutsu."
"As long as Nawaki can absorb the creative philosophy of the technique, even if he ultimately fails to learn it, he will grow immensely in his ability to learn and create other ninjutsu."
"Although in the short term, his strength will stagnate for a period."
"But in the long run, this will allow him to grasp the essence of ninjutsu more deeply."
"You know this too, right, Tsunade?"
"Learning powerful ninjutsu can, at most, earn you a place among the jonin."
"To become an elite jonin, you must have your own unique ninjutsu."
This was no exaggeration on Li Anshi's part.
For an ordinary ninja, jonin was their limit.
An elite jonin was someone who could briefly hold their own against a Kage-level powerhouse.
The number of elite jonin in any village was never large.
Even in Konoha, there were no more than ten.
The other great villages had even fewer.
The ones with more might have four or five.
The ones with fewer, below the Kage, might only have one or two.
They were all the juniors that their respective Kage had cultivated and valued, powerhouses with the hope of becoming the next "Kage."
If one couldn't even reach the level of an elite jonin, there was simply no chance of touching the "Kage" level.
"Mm, with you looking after him, I'm much more at ease."
Tsunade nodded, also approving of his teaching method for Nawaki.
"Alright, you should head back now."
"I need to start refining the antidote."
Stretching, Tsunade tossed the bento box back to him and walked towards her tent.
Although Elder Danzo would be arriving at this stronghold in two days with his troops and the antidote to take her orders, she was not the type to place all her hopes on others.
If Danzo was easy to deal with, then all would be well.
But from what she knew of him, even in his current passive situation, he probably wouldn't hand over the antidote so easily.
Under these circumstances, Tsunade had to have enough confidence to face him down.
And the antidote was her greatest source of confidence on this battlefield.
As long as she refined enough of it, she could let Danzo know that it was not she who was begging him, but he who needed to earn her approval in this war, to accumulate more merits for Konoha, so that he might have a chance to continue living in the village later on.
"Oh, right, for dinner, I want saury and grilled meat!"
Before entering her tent, Tsunade turned back and said to him.
"Got it, I'll bring it to you."
After waving to her, Li Anshi activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, moving through space within his sensory range.
In less than a minute, he had made over thirty long-distance spatial jumps within the Land of Fire, returning to his shop in Konoha.
Opening the shop door, he sensed the spatial mark he had left on Nawaki. Seeing that he was within the village, he decided not to meet with him.
He pulled open a drawer, glanced at the money inside, and hesitated.
"Saury and grilled meat..."
"This much money doesn't seem to be enough for a few good meals for Tsunade."
"Forget it, I guess I'm just destined to work hard..."
"Let's get to it. I'll carve more wood carvings today and earn some more money."
With that thought, he carried a pile of softwood from the corner of the shop to his workbench. Then, a dagger appeared in his hand, and he began to carve.
Wood shavings flew. In order to let Tsunade eat a little better, Li Anshi was working at his fastest speed.
Of course, it was the fastest speed while still guaranteeing the quality of the carving.
Although he wanted to make money, he did not want to become a "black-hearted merchant" in the eyes of his customers.
Not to mention, the wooden ninja tools in his shop were toys for children under six to play ninja games with.
For every wooden kunai, shuriken, White Fang short sword, and other weapon toys, he had to ensure they had the same appearance as the real thing, but he had to work on the edges. The blades of his wooden toys had to look sharp, but in reality, upon contact with a child's body, they had to maximize the properties of the softwood, ensuring they would not cause injury.
This was the "reputation" he had built over twelve years.
Since he had left the Ninja Academy, not a single child who had bought a wooden ninja tool toy from his shop had been injured by one.
Twelve years had passed. Many of the children who had once bought toys from him were now married with children of their own, and they brought their children to his shop to buy the same wooden ninja tools.
These were toys that they themselves had certified, toys they could trust their children to use for their "ninja games."
He would not relax his quality standards just to make a little more money.
Even without considering his reputation, he could not bring himself to joke with the lives of those children.
While he was carving, adults and children would occasionally enter the shop to pick out their favorite wooden ninja tools.
They all tacitly avoided disturbing him. After choosing the toy they wanted, they would gently place the money on the side of his workbench.
In any case, in the twelve years since he had opened his shop, the prices of his goods had never gone up.
What they cost twelve years ago, they still cost today.
When he finished a carving and placed it on the shelf, he would put the money from the workbench into the drawer.
…
"Sensei, Sensei..."
As the sky began to darken, Nawaki rushed into the shop, calling out to him.
Although Li Anshi heard him, he was just about to finish the carving in his hand, so he didn't pay him much mind.
After making the final cut, he blew the wood shavings off the carving with a "poof" and then looked up at him.
"Nawaki, as a qualified ninja, you should be able to remain unfazed even if the Hokage Rock were to crumble before you."
"Look at you, in your current state, any ninja with a bit of experience could analyze a great deal of information about you from your tone, movements, heartbeat, and expression."
"A ninja's battle, before one's strength reaches a certain level, is a battle of information."
"You haven't even gathered intelligence on the enemy, yet your own information has already been thoroughly figured out. Tell me, what advantage do you have in a fight?"
"I'm afraid the enemy could target the weaknesses in your intelligence report and kill you with just a bit of chakra, without even getting injured."
"I'm sorry, Sensei. I have disappointed you." After being lectured by him, Nawaki lowered his head, his face full of shame.
"To know one's mistake and be able to correct it, there is no greater good!"
Li Anshi nodded, acknowledging his attitude.
"Alright, now you can tell me. What happened that made you lose your composure like that?"
"Yes."
Nawaki took a deep breath, calming his heart and his breathing, then asked, "Sensei, I saw nearly a hundred ninjas leaving in formation on the street earlier. Has something major happened in Konoha?"
"Oh?"
His eyebrows twitched slightly.
"You saw a ninja unit?"
Normally, unless it was for a large-scale battle, ninjas operated in small teams.
And because there were spies from other villages in their midst, any important mission would be carried out in secret, never exposing themselves to the eyes of the villagers.
"Yes. They left from that direction, passing in front of the Hokage's building on their way out of the village."
"I don't think I've ever seen these ninjas before."
"And the feeling they gave me, whether it was their gaze or their expression, they didn't seem human, more like puppets."
"It's Danzo Shimura."
Hearing Nawaki's words, Li Anshi only needed a moment's thought. Combining it with the information he had received at noon, he knew that this ninja unit was Danzo's "Root."
Perhaps due to some twisted psychology, Danzo's training and control over the members of "Root" was arguably the darkest in the ninja world.
The ninjas of Root were brainwashed by him from a young age, completely trained into emotionless "machines" that only followed his orders.
Although these individuals were slightly inferior in strength compared to ANBU ninjas, because Danzo had erased their emotions, they didn't even care about their own lives. If he ordered them to strap themselves with explosive tags and become human bombs, they would not hesitate in the slightest.
Therefore, in actual combat, except against the very top tier of ninjas, they were not much weaker than ANBU.
In fact, because they didn't even care about their own lives, they were even more efficient than ANBU when carrying out certain special missions.
Normally, Danzo kept this clearly immoral unit hidden in the shadows, not letting them see the light of day.
But this time, to lead them on an expedition with such fanfare...
It seemed he was extremely dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's punishment.
So he was using this attitude to strike back?
Li Anshi shook his head.
No, perhaps on a deeper level, it was that Danzo was afraid of death.
He knew that since what he had done had already spread among the jonin, if not for the fact that the current situation in the ninja world did not allow for any instability in Konoha, he would have definitely been branded a "rogue ninja" and executed.
Even so, from their attitude of agreeing to send him to the battlefield, it was clear that they also wanted him to die there, to reduce the turmoil in the village.
And Danzo did not want to die.
He had done so much, prepared for over a decade, not to go and die on some battlefield.
He still wanted to increase his prestige, still wanted to compete for the position of the Fourth Hokage...
How could he be willing to let all his years of effort turn into nothing?
Therefore, before Hiruzen and the others could announce his crimes, Danzo had put on a show of going on an expedition for the sake of Konoha, casting himself in the role of a "hero."
Li Anshi estimated that Danzo's subordinates were probably already starting to publicize the conflict between Konoha and the Rain.
And he, Danzo Shimura, was the hero going to the border to stop their invasion!
More importantly, after the victory in the battle with the Rain, Danzo could return to Konoha with this achievement, in the guise of a hero.
At that time, even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would have to consider the attitude of the villagers if he wanted to act against him again.
After all, if a "hero" of their village were to be imprisoned or killed for no reason, the villagers would start to suspect that there was a problem with the village's leadership.
Just like when the future Danzo wanted to make a move against Sakumo Hatake, he hadn't dared to act against him directly, but had used certain means to make him abandon his mission, and then had greatly publicized and exaggerated the consequences of the mission's failure in the village.