“Tonan, are you alright?” Seeing him finally walk out from the mess, Uzumaki Kushina rushed over and sized Uchiha Tonan up. Namikaze Minato looked at Jiraiya who was glaring at Tonan like a tiger eyeing its prey. He hesitated for a while and then walked over to Tonan’s side, making his position clear.
Tonan adjusted his glasses and turned his head to look into the distance, “Sensei, why did you stop me from killing the evil remnants of the human experiment? She destroyed the Konoha Welfare Institution and nearly killed the baby and the elderly people inside.”
A breeze blew and Hiruzen appeared beside Jiraiya along with a group of Anbu members. Hiruzen lowered his head and looked at Tsunade’s injury, subconsciously sighing in relief. He looked at Tonan with a complicated gaze, “Do you know her?”
“Of course, I do. She said she came to avenge that scum Orochimaru who captured innocent villagers to perform human experiments. She must’ve something to do with it as well.”
Tonan looked at Tsunade, who was on the verge of death, with deep seeded hatred in his eyes. After a pause, he stared at Hiruzen in disbelief, “Could it be that she has an important background and you want to let her go sensei? Have you forgotten about the dead villagers?”
Hiruzen answered with a gloomy look, “She is Tsunade. And don’t say that you didn’t hear how others were addressing her when you were fighting?”
At this moment, a figure walked out from the dark corner of the street. “What if she is Tsunade? Hiruzen, you are the Hokage. Orochimaru should die because he performed human experiments. Tonan is a hero who upheld Konoha’s justice. But Tsunade attacked him to avenge a criminal. And you… not only did you not denounce her but you are questioning Tonan? What if Tonan knew Tsunade’s identity from the beginning? Could it be that because of her noble status, she can do whatever she pleases in Konoha?”
Hiruzen looked at Shimura Danzo, who was walking over and coldly said, “Danzo, that’s not what I meant. And this has nothing to do with you.”
Danzo snorted and asked, “How does this have nothing to do with me? I’m also a part of Konoha. When someone is using status to take revenge on a Leaf hero, if I don’t come out to help, then who’ll speak out for me when someone treats me in the same way, someday?”
Danzo walked over to Tonan’s side and stood beside him. He looked straight at Hiruzen and said, “Justice is in people’s hearts and it isn’t afraid of status.”
Tonan raised his eyebrows slightly. “I had written this in my diary recently. I would’ve never imagined Danzo’s comprehension was so much higher than Hiruzen’s. He can use such a sentence flexibly already!”
He turned to Danzo and solemnly said, “Danzo-sama, thank you for speaking out for justice.”
Hiruzen looked at the two people who seemed to be singing a duet. He narrowed his eyes lightly and leisurely said, “This is surprising. I never thought you would stand on Tonan’s side one day, Danzo.”
Danzo raised his head high and looked straight at Hiruzen, speaking without the slightest fear, “I stand on the side of justice.”
For a moment, everyone present could sense that the two people seemed to be repelling each other. In the next moment, all the Uchiha jonin looked at each other and began to stand behind Tonan.
The Leaf ninjas were indecisive. Hiruzen had been the Hokage for so many years and his prestige had been deeply rooted in people’s hearts for a long time. Even though they knew that this was Tsunade’s fault, they didn’t dare to oppose Hiruzen. But they couldn’t hide their dissatisfaction while looking at him either.
At this moment, an angry shout came from the security line made by Anbu members.
“Catch him.” Crackle, crackle… A lightning flash broke through the Anbu members’ defense line and appeared beside Tonan. The dissipating lightning revealed Kakashi, who was panting, “Tonan, I’m late.”
Tonan supported Kakashi and said with a grateful look, “Kakashi, thank you.”
Seeing this, Danzo said, “Hiruzen, why did you make the Anbu seal this place? How about we take this opportunity to let the villagers judge this matter together?”
Hiruzen knew that he was in the wrong. If the villagers were involved, his authority as a Hokage would plummet. Even now, it seemed that the Leaf ninjas present were unhappy with him.
“No, it’s just a misunderstanding. Tsunade didn’t want to do anything to Tonan. It was just that when she returned to Konoha, she heard of Orochimaru’s death and couldn’t control her emotions. She just wanted to find someone to vent. I understand Tonan’s ability and knew that he wouldn’t have a mishap. So, I let him become her sparring partner. I didn’t expect it would escalate so much. This was my carelessness.”
Hiruzen opened his mouth and in a second turned the revenge target into a sparring partner, making a big fiasco into a small misunderstanding. Jiraiya reacted immediately as well and chimed in, “Yes, sensei specially exhorted me before we set off, instructing me to watch over them so that no one gets injured.”
The trick worked. Much of the dissatisfaction of the Leaf jonin decreased with Hiruzen and Jiraiya’s explanation.
Hiruzen sighed and hastily changed the subject, asking Shizune, “Shizune, how is Tsunade doing?” At this moment, Shizune had stopped the treatment and the wound on Tsunade’s abdomen had almost healed.
“It’s not a big problem.”
Hiruzen nodded, “Take her to the hospital to recuperate for a while. I’ll properly straighten her out after she wakes up.” After speaking, he turned to the protagonist of the ordeal, Tonan, and said in an inexplicable tone, “Tonan, I’ve already explained the misunderstanding. Do you understand?”
Tonan and Hiruzen looked at each other for a long time. Finally, Tonan adjusted his glasses and replied with a gentle smile, “I didn’t expect Tsunade-sama to be so affectionate and righteous. I can understand her sentiment about losing a partner. As long as you don’t vent your anger on me because I accidentally injured her, it’s all good, sensei.”
Hiruzen paused after hearing Tonan’s words and took a deep look at him. Immediately afterward, a kind smile appeared on his face, and he softly replied, “I won’t.”
He waved his hand and sighed, “The misunderstanding has been resolved. Everyone be on your way now.
