Not long after, Kairen saw Tsunade push open the Senju estate gate and storm in, furious.
She kept cursing: "Old hag, old politician, shameless…"
What happened to Tsunade?
Kairen paused, switched out of State Two, and approached Tsunade.
A wooden tendril slithered upward and formed a wooden chair; Kairen pressed Tsunade down into it.
He gently rubbed Tsunade's shoulders, slowly soothing the anger in her chest.
The boldness on Tsunade's face gradually calmed.
Seeing this, Kairen asked, "What happened?"
Tsunade took a breath; anger still flashed in her eyes.
"Sarutobi-sensei talks about the greater good of Konoha, but in the end he still wants to pick a puppet to be the Hokage's aide."
"He talks about elections — bullshit! Which of the Inuzuka, Aburame, Akimichi, or the three of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans isn't led by Sarutobi's house?"
"And in the end?"
Tsunade shook her head. "In the end they picked the elder of the Nara clan — Nara Shige."
"But I disagreed. I overturned the hall, demanded they open voting to more ordinary shinobi — that's the only fair way."
"But he refused. When things got out of hand, I summoned a slug."
Kairen listened quietly. The shinobi houses of Konoha would never side with Tsunade — her support lay with the common ninja, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had already accounted for that.
That old man's greed for power was completely hidden behind his kindness; anyone who reached for it would be cut off!
A hard glint appeared in Kairen's eyes; a huge aura rose to the sky. He said coldly,
"I'll go kill that old bastard and make you Hokage myself."
Tsunade reached out and grabbed Kairen's face, a smile touching her lips.
"Stinky, the Hokage isn't chosen that way. Only someone with majority recognition can be Hokage — and after all, he is my teacher."
Kairen said lightly, "So what do we do now?"
Tsunade calmed herself and slowly replied,
"The position of Hokage's aide hasn't been finalized after my commotion. I, together with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, pressured the higher-ups. Sarutobi-sensei finally agreed."
"The Hokage's aide will be re-voted on, and the voting scope will be expanded. In three days the village-wide vote will begin — but the common shinobi's vote carries little weight."
Tsunade still sounded a touch uncertain.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's control over the village was too strong; in everyone's eyes he was like a benevolent father. If he designated who should be the Hokage's aide, no one would object.
Of course, aside from the Uchiha and a few shinobi who saw the truth about the higher-ups.
Kairen thought quietly — as long as there's one more chance.
When that time comes, every scheme he has will be on the table; he'd push Tsunade straight into the Hokage's aide position.
He rubbed Tsunade's shoulders, soothing her slowly.
"There's still a chance. Give me three days, I'll think of a way and make you one of Konoha's upper echelon."
Tsunade's expression softened; a flush touched her face as she thought of last night's dream.
He so handsome, so manly — it'd be a shame to waste him on others!
"Ding!"
"Tsunade has developed a slight greed for you!"
Kairen froze, glanced down at Tsunade, and met her brown eyes; he seemed to see a hidden greed buried deep within her.
She's lusting after my body — Tsunade, you're slowly falling!
Tsunade shook her head violently, driving away the improper thoughts.
Kairen still bore the important duty of inheriting the Senju line; she could not monopolize him alone.
Tsunade stood up slowly and walked toward the Four Pillars' house to soothe her anger and rid herself of those strange thoughts.
Kairen watched Tsunade leave and smiled softly.
...
He then turned and summoned his shadow clones for a meeting.
Kairen used Wood Release to make a round table.
"The round-table meeting is officially beginning!"
Around fifty shadow clones in black suits gathered, guarding the important meeting and watching for any suspicious activity.
One clone pulled a white snake out of the grass and sneered,
"White Snake operative, trying to eavesdrop on the round-table? You think our FBI are amateurs?"
He tossed the snake to another clone.
"Lock it in the dungeon, give it harsh interrogation — see who's behind it."
That clone was speechless. "Who's behind White Snake other than Orochimaru?"
"Enough talk! The atmosphere must be controlled; the protocol must be followed. Take that white snake away and interrogate it harshly. We must extract whoever is behind it!"
White Snake: (||๐_๐)
Kairen looked at his shadow clones seriously and asked the century-old dilemma,
"Everyone, Tsunade has feelings for me now. How long do you think it will take me to get her?"
"…"
"One day!"
"One month!"
"One year…"
Kairen waved a hand. "Drag the one who said a year down and chop off his head!"
"I was wrong!"
Kairen then asked, "Now how do we push Tsunade into the Hokage's aide position?!"
Nearby, Canon scoffed, "Voting… my ass! We'll bring out the wooden puppets. Whoever doesn't vote for Tsunade gets a Senju Buddha warning!"
Cloud Kairen shook his head.
"That's too crude. We're civilized people. I think we should win over the major shinobi houses of the village, promise them benefits, and pull them to our side."
"Prime Minister is brilliant!"
"He truly is a political genius!"
The surrounding shadow clones nodded.
Cloud Kairen stood, cupped his hands respectfully.
"Therefore, we should use the 'ladies' policy — break the defenses of the clan leaders' wives and win them over to our side!"
"Good idea!"
Kairen gave a thumbs up, then continued,
"Think of any underhanded tactics — anything — and guarantee we'll secure the Hokage's aide position in three days."
Shan raised his hand.
"You say it!"
Shan said, "We can open a newspaper in the village, guide public opinion. Even if the high-level meeting ignores the villagers' views…"
"But waves of public opinion are hard to ignore forever. We can control speech and continuously smear the higher-ups."
"Excellent!"
Kairen nodded and gave Shan a thumbs up.
Canon suggested, "Boss, didn't you say to form an army? Let the shadow clones infiltrate all corners of the village."
"Academies, izakayas, where the aunties gossip… bombard them nonstop with the high-ups' scandals."
"Commander Canon is brilliant!" Kairen gave a thumbs up.
There was nothing in this world more inevitable than the aunties' idle chatter; they were the behind-the-scenes drivers of the village's small talk.
Canon looked at Kairen. "Then give me the post of admiral of this army?!"
Kairen shook his head, lecturing.
"I have an important task for you. You still need to complete thirty kills, forty kills — this is vital to my grand plan!"
"Boss is wise!"
"The king is wise!"
Voices of agreement filled the air.
Kairen looked at Cloud Kairen.
"I'll give you the admiral post; make sure you stir up Konoha's public opinion."
"White Fang died because of this — it's a killer tool and must be used for my purpose!"
Cloud Kairen scratched his head. "But Kushina—"
"Isn't Flying Thunder God fast enough for you? Hold off for now; after Minato dies I'll personally step in."
"The king is wise!"
Cloud Kairen bowed and flattered.