"Let's go," Tsunade said, smoothing her hair. "If we don't see him now, that old man will nag us endlessly later."
'This is such a headache. I could have been at the casino...'
At that moment, Tsunade was unaware that the Third Hokage had issued an order to all casinos in the village: no casino was to allow Tsunade to gamble.
If any casino deliberately let her in and she lost money, the village would not cover her debts.
Had she known this, this visit would have been far from a simple chat.
The Third Hokage was indeed clever.
Raj followed behind as the trio quickly reached the Hokage Building.
Minato was about to knock when Tsunade simply shoved the door open.
With her immense strength, pushing the door was no problem at all - the problem was the door itself...
Boom!
The door splintered into pieces.
It looked like it would need a complete rebuild.
Minato and Raj held their breath, unsure how to react.
One simply couldn't afford to provoke someone who had been drinking, especially Lady Tsunade.
The Third Hokage raised his pipe.
"Tsunade, how could you be so disrespectful!"
"And drinking, no less," two slightly aged voices echoed from within.
Raj peeked inside and saw two old men standing in the office.
They seemed to have been waiting for Tsunade and Raj to arrive, as if lying in ambush.
'What's going on here? A show of force?'
Raj wondered, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two men.
"Ah, it's you two," Tsunade said, kicking the splintered door aside.
"I didn't expect such a grand welcome from all three of you upon my return to the village. I'm truly flattered."
Tsunade had little regard for these elders.
While they had contributed to the village's governance, she had seen no progress under their leadership.
Instead, the village's strength and status had declined sharply over the years.
While frequent wars were partly to blame, these high-ranking officials couldn't escape responsibility.
Years ago, when she had advocated for integrating Medical Ninja into combat teams, it was these same old men who had opposed her.
"Tsunade, ahem... try to keep your temper in check. I know you strongly objected to being forced to stay and take charge of the eastern front, but didn't Minato and Raj help you? We're desperately short on manpower..."
The Third Hokage cleared his throat.
Tsunade's swift command and reorganization had inflicted heavy losses on Kirigakure's initial assault.
Without her authority and decisiveness, securing the eastern front would have been far more difficult.
"The war's over," Tsunade scoffed.
"I'll be leaving soon anyway."
"Ahem, Tsunade, calm down for now. We can discuss that later. Minato, Raj, the main reason I called you here is to ask: can the strategy you used against the Third Mizukage be applied to Onoki or Rasa?"
The Third Hokage brushed aside Tsunade's fiery temper and turned his gaze to Raj and Minato, who stood behind her.
While the eastern front had been secured, the northern and western fronts were still raging.
The northern front faced the greatest pressure.
Jiraiya's forces alone couldn't hold the line, and only Orochimaru's deployment of reinforcements had prevented a collapse.
This was why the Hyuga Branch Family members had immediately departed after the eastern front was secured-the need for manpower was dire.
Minato was about to answer, but then he hesitated.
In that battle, he hadn't been the primary force, so his opinion might not carry much weight.
So, he turned to Raj.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura frowned slightly.
'What's this about? Could it be that this strategy doesn't rely mainly on Minato, but on this unexpectedly powerful Black Cat? Impossible!'
"Meow, I don't know Onoki or Rasa. What do you think, Teacher Minato?"
Raj dodged the question.
"Well, if you ask me, Onoki is practically impossible. As for Rasa... I don't know him well, and my knowledge of his abilities is limited to written reports. We'd probably need to gather more information."
"Hmm, my apologies. We hadn't considered that thoroughly enough."
The Third Hokage looked somewhat disappointed, but after careful thought, he understood.
Many things are inherently non-replicable.
Even though both Raj and Minato could use the Flying Thunder God technique, allowing them to devise countless extraordinary combat strategies, their approaches couldn't be generalized.
Each situation required extensive intelligence gathering to formulate appropriate plans.
Moreover, Kirigakure's willingness to pay a high price to exchange for the Mizukage was likely due to the Mizukage's long tenure and significant contributions.
Rasa had only recently ascended to the position of Kazekage and had yet to achieve any significant accomplishments.
Capturing him would merely result in Sunagakure swiftly replacing him, serving no purpose other than further provoking the village.
"Hiruzen, what about Orochimaru and Jiraiya?" Mitokado Homura asked, his words lacking any consideration.
"You should rest first," the Third Hokage interrupted.
"Take some time to recover."
The Third Hokage cut off Mitokado Homura's thoughtless remark.
His partner's lack of tact was becoming increasingly apparent.
Immediately sending them back to the battlefield after their return?
Was he deliberately trying to provoke criticism?
Minato bowed respectfully and led Raj out of the office.
Raj had no intention of lingering.
It was clear the Third Hokage needed to discuss something important with Tsunade, and the presence of both elders suggested the matter concerned either the northern front or the Hokage position itself.
Regardless of the topic, hearing it would only bring trouble.
It was best to pretend ignorance and avoid unnecessary complications.
On this point, Minato and Raj found rare agreement.
Once the pair had left the office, the Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe before rising to his feet.
"Tsunade," he said gravely, "stay and succeed me as Hokage."
"Only a fool would become Hokage," Tsunade sneered coldly.
With that, she turned and strode down the stairs, her steps resolute and unwavering.
"You-!"
"Tsunade!"
Koharu Utatane and Mitokado Homura were furious.
This position, coveted by so many, was dismissed by her as something "only a fool would want."
This wasn't just an insult to the past Hokage; it was an insult to the entire village of Konoha.
However, the Third Hokage sighed and said, "Don't interfere in this matter. You know Tsunade's temperament.
None of us are suited to intervene directly. Too many people getting involved will only complicate things further.
Let's wait a while longer."
In recent years, the Third Hokage had indeed felt his strength waning.
He had long considered retirement but remained troubled by the lack of a suitable successor.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya were both promising candidates.
However, the Third Hokage couldn't fathom Orochimaru's true ambitions, while Jiraiya was too free-spirited and undisciplined to be Hokage material.
Only Tsunade possessed the necessary prestige, status, and qualifications.
"But-!"
"No buts. You may leave now."
Tsunade wandered aimlessly through the streets.