"Now is not the time to discuss this..."
Koharu Utatane sighed. She also tacitly agreed with the existence of Root, shaking her head as she continued, "What we need to discuss now is how to resolve the misunderstanding between Tsunade and Kagura and prevent the worst outcome from truly occurring..."
"Once Kagura is forced to defect and leave Konoha..."
Mitokado Homura felt uneasy, unable to imagine how to handle such a problem if the worst outcome were to occur.
Perhaps...
They could only commit seppuku to apologize?
Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura were shocked, suddenly thinking of Kakashi Hatake's father, Hatake Sakumo, who committed seppuku amidst Konoha's gossip due to a failed mission...
"I'll go try to persuade Kagura..."
Jiraiya rushed to the Root Base, wanting to meet Akihara Kagura: "If it's a misunderstanding, then let's resolve it as soon as possible."
Root Base.
Akihara Kagura felt more aggrieved than Tsunade.
"Karin is proficient in all of Konoha's Medical Ninjutsu; Lady Tsunade likely has nothing to teach her. Moreover, I've already consulted with Lady Tsunade, and she bluntly told me she just wants to transfer my assistant away from Root..."
"Jiraiya-sensei."
"You should know..."
"This conflict was bound to happen eventually."
"I've always supported Lady Tsunade, even bearing infamy, but she wants more..."
Akihara Kagura looked at Jiraiya with a seemingly calm face: "The conflict will erupt sooner or later, so it would be better to set the boundaries early to avoid greater troubles in the future..."
"Tsunade isn't thinking that way..."
Jiraiya shook his head in frustration, continuing: "Tsunade isn't that kind of person, she wouldn't want to see you leave Konoha..."
Akihara Kagura had readied a knife he had sharpened in advance: "Jiraiya-sensei didn't even believe that Lady Tsunade wouldn't allow me to revive the previous Hokages, yet when she returned to Konoha, her first act was to allow me to revive them. The conflict will erupt eventually; it's better to trigger it early to avoid future troubles..."
"!!!"
Jiraiya felt some discomfort.
Akihara Kagura shook his head, sighed, and said: "The Tsunade that Jiraiya knows is one person, but the Fifth Hokage that Jiraiya doesn't know is actually another."
"..."
Jiraiya planned to go and persuade Tsunade again.
Jiraiya was somewhat relieved he hadn't left Konoha yet.
However, after Jiraiya left the Root Base, the four Hokages appeared before Akihara Kagura, with Senju Hashirama still not quite understanding why Akihara Kagura was in conflict with Tsunade.
"This is a power struggle!"
"This is an attempt to force Tsunade to relinquish her authority!"
Senju Tobirama was very clear about Akihara Kagura's operations.
Because he had once used public opinion against Uchiha Madara, he didn't expect that as time passed, what's reversed, and the descendant of the Senju Clan got trapped by this tactic!
"Alas..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen recalled the troubles faced by his disciple, and couldn't help but sigh: "Tsunade only accidentally took the wrong step..."
Back then...
Didn't I also ask Danzo for Akihara Kagura?
Why didn't such a thing happen in the village? Was it because I had reason on my side, and even Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura supported me!
"Because this is a step she was bound to take wrongly!"
Senju Tobirama looked at Akihara Kagura, speaking coldly: "This youngster has always been extremely obedient to Tsunade, even siding with her against others, which made Tsunade misjudge his loyalty to her..."
"Furthermore, this fellow has always respected Tsunade, willing to tarnish his reputation to pave the way for Tsunade, so Tsunade believed placing Karin near her was beneficial to Konoha, feeling she could issue the order freely without considering his feelings..."
"Besides..."
"Even if Tsunade didn't take the wrong path, it wouldn't matter."
"Because Akihara Kagura, this scoundrel, used us to pressure Tsunade into initiating war, yet he ended up as the hero who ended it, with prestige above Tsunade, standing unbeaten before the conflict even began."
Senju Tobirama understood these political struggles thoroughly, shaking his head while revealing the truth: "Even if this guy refrains from communicating with Tsunade and merely spreads some rumors about her being jealous of his achievements, there'd still be quite a few foolish people believing it, though it would cause some trouble..."
"Alright, Root is about to start spreading rumors that I'm forced to defect by Lady Tsunade..."
"Four Hokages, would you consider persuading Lady Tsunade to surrender before it begins..."
Akihara Kagura's map, where he hid his dagger, is short, but the dagger hidden within is long, enticing the Hokages to initiate tasks: "A struggle between the Hokage and Hokage Assistants will plunge Konoha into chaos; won't you consider calming the situation?"
"How do you calm it?"
Senju Tobirama eyed Akihara Kagura, extremely dissatisfied with his scheming, and said in a deep voice: "Taking away power? Do you know how to govern Konoha?"
"Actually, I'm not quite sure; shouldn't you all understand?"
Akihara Kagura looked at the four Hokages present and spoke: "As long as I can protect my subordinates from being taken away with a single word, I'll accept whatever way to calm it..."