Looking at the "explanation" delivered by the Kaguya clan, the Third Mizukage fell silent.
The Kaguya ninja's skin was naturally pale, and in death, he looked like marble. A stark white bone spike was still firmly embedded in his chest.
The Mizukage had only forwarded Konoha's letter to Naoto Kaguya, expecting the clan to investigate internally. He never imagined the Kaguya clan would react so violently.
A simple inquiry had been interpreted as an accusation, indirectly driving a loyal Mist ninja to suicide.
The Mizukage summoned an attendant, suppressing his anger as he ordered:
"This matter has blown up. Inform Konoha directly. Tell them the Mist Village does not fear war."
He paused, looking at the corpse again. "Send him back to the Kaguya clan. Give him a proper burial."
---
Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi received the Mizukage's reply several days later.
By then, most of his anger had dissipated. Seeing that the Mist had "handled" the assassin and given an explanation, Hiruzen decided to let it go.
Although the letter was aggressive, intel from his spies in the Mist confirmed that a Kaguya clan member had indeed "committed suicide to atone for his crime." Hiruzen knew it was unwise to push another Great Ninja Village into a corner.
BANG!
A loud crash. The Hokage's office door was kicked open.
"Old Man!"
Before the person even appeared, her "thunder" arrived. Like headlights appearing before the car on a dark night, a certain pair of "assets" entered the room first.
Tsunade, fresh from the battlefield and still in her uniform, stormed up to Hiruzen's desk.
"What's the situation with the Mist?"
Hiruzen handed her the Mizukage's reply.
Tsunade scanned it quickly and nodded. "At least they know their place. I'm going home. I need to check if Nawaki has been slacking off. I'm going to test him right now."
Tsunade turned to leave, but Hiruzen stopped her. "How is the situation on your front?"
"The report is in the scroll. Don't worry! The enemy has routed. Jiraiya can handle the cleanup."
She tossed a scroll onto his desk and vanished before it even landed.
"She hasn't changed a bit. Always in a hurry."
Hiruzen smiled, not minding her attitude. He picked up the scroll to read the good news.
---
Outside the Konoha Training Grounds.
"Are you sure this is safe?"
Night Namikaze asked helplessly as Nawaki dragged him toward the dango shop.
"No problem! I have people watching. Big Sis will definitely report to the Hokage first when she gets back." Nawaki patted his chest confidently.
After being grounded for days, he was bored out of his mind. He calculated that Tsunade wouldn't be back for another few days, so he decided to exploit the time difference. He ran to the training grounds and grabbed Night to join him.
As they walked, Night suddenly felt a chill down his spine. A crisis was imminent.
Sure enough, a few steps later, he saw Tsunade standing not far away, her gaze cold as she stared at them.
Nawaki, being slower on the uptake, hadn't noticed yet. He was still complaining to Night.
"I'm telling you, my sister is a 'Humanoid T-Rex.' I seriously doubt she'll ever find a husband..."
Night knew he was doomed. He silently took a few steps away from Nawaki. Trash-talking Tsunade to her face? He didn't want to get splattered by the blood.
POW!
Hearing Nawaki badmouth her, Tsunade flashed forward and smashed her fist onto the back of his head. Nawaki stumbled forward.
"Someone dares to attack me in broad daylight?!" Although caught off guard, Nawaki quickly regained his balance and turned around angrily.
When he saw the nightmare standing behind him, his anger turned to terror. He forced a smile. "S-Sis... You're back so soon? The battlefield must have been tough..."
"Not tough at all. But I thought someone was grounded? And yet he has time to talk nonsense outside. It seems I've been away too long, and my words don't carry weight anymore."
Tsunade cracked her knuckles, doing warm-up stretches.
Nawaki was shaking so hard he couldn't speak. He cast a desperate, pleading look at Night.
Night knew he couldn't play dead anymore. He spoke up: "Lady Tsunade, Nawaki really has been grounded these past few days. Today we were just heading to the training grounds to practice."
Hearing the first half, Nawaki looked at Night with gratitude, thinking he was saved. Hearing the second half, he realized he was doomed.
Sure enough, Tsunade smiled sweetly. "Great. Perfect timing. Let me see how much you've improved."
Ignoring Nawaki's despairing gaze, she grabbed him by the collar and dragged him toward the training grounds like he weighed nothing.
As he was dragged away, Night could almost read Nawaki's lips: "Save me."
Night hesitated but decided to follow. After all, Nawaki's suffering was partly his fault. He could be shameless, but he had lines he wouldn't cross.
He followed them back to the training grounds they had just left.
Tsunade released Nawaki and stood in the center, curling her finger at her brother, who was still trying to mentally prepare himself.
Seeing Nawaki dawdle, Tsunade flared her chakra and stomped her foot!
BOOM!
The ground shattered, cracks spreading like a spiderweb from under her heel.
Startled by the noise, Nawaki snapped out of it. He rallied his fighting spirit and shouted:
"I've improved a lot too! Don't underestimate me!"
With a trace of tragic determination in his voice, he charged at Tsunade, actually intending to match her in taijutsu.
But a battle between stat-checkers is always won by the one with the broken stats. Prime Tsunade versus Nawaki was a massacre.
Less than one round later, Nawaki was on the ground. He got up to fight again, only to be crushed again.
Finally, Nawaki gave up resisting. He hugged Tsunade's leg, and she effortlessly shook him off, sending him flying.
Nawaki landed but didn't look discouraged. Instead, he wiped the dirt from his face and started giggling to himself.
Tsunade suddenly worried. Did I hit him too hard? Did I break his brain?
Nawaki stopped laughing but didn't attack. Instead, he pointed a finger at the ground beneath Tsunade's feet.
Watching from the sidelines, Night's jaw dropped. He never expected Nawaki to pull that dirty trick.