"Isn't it obvious?" Tsunade said, exasperated. Shizune felt a bit awkward. Yoruha looked quite young; if he wasn't a newcomer, could he be an old-timer?
"But why is he eating at an izakaya? He surely isn't of age yet, right?" Shizune was somewhat displeased with Yoruha's behavior.
After all, Yoruha seemed to be underage. Tsunade smiled, sipping her drink, and said, "An interesting little guy. He noticed us earlier, and he must know who we are, yet he didn't come over to greet us. It seems he doesn't want to get acquainted with us." Listening to Tsunade's analysis, Shizune formed an initial impression of Yoruha.
Arrogant, presumptuous, lacking respect for his seniors. Not a great impression. Tsunade, however, didn't feel that way.
She just found Yoruha quite intriguing. Recognizing her but not coming over to curry favor was something Tsunade had never encountered before. After all, Tsunade held a high status, not only as one of the Sannin but also as the granddaughter of the First Hokage.
With these two identities, any ninja from Konoha would generally want to know her and establish a connection. Tsunade watched for a while, but since Yoruha didn't look their way again, she lost interest and continued drinking on her own.
Indeed, after glancing at Tsunade once, Yoruha didn't pay her any more attention. Even though Yoruha knew that Tsunade would eventually become the Fifth Hokage and his superior, he had no intention of ingratiating himself with her in advance. There was no need; Yoruha didn't want to do that, and Tsunade certainly wouldn't like such a person.
After a while, when the food arrived, Yoruha finished eating in just over ten minutes. Just as he was about to pay and leave, two people walked in from outside. Seeing them, Yoruha frowned. He had planned to leave but decided to sit back down.
By this time, Tsunade, already quite drunk, was slumped over the table, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt, seemingly unafraid of being taken advantage of by the patrons in the tavern. Next to her, Shizune was actually asleep, hugging her pet pig. Watching this master and apprentice duo, Yoruha's mouth twitched, "It's a miracle these two are still alive."
When a ninja gets drunk, they're no different from ordinary people. The reason Yoruha wasn't in a hurry to pay and leave was that he saw Tsunade was dead drunk and Shizune was asleep. He also recognized the two people who had just entered.
Yoruha was concerned about what these two might do to Tsunade and Shizune. The reason for his concern was that he recognized one of them. The two who walked in were ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village, one of whom was a nearly two-meter-tall man with bronze skin, none other than the current Fourth Raikage, A.
The other person Yoruha didn't know personally but had an impression of, as if he had appeared during the Fourth Shinobi World War. With these two appearing, and given the ongoing tensions between the Hidden Cloud Village and Konoha, Yoruha couldn't just ignore it.
Even though Yoruha didn't want to meddle, seeing two fellow villagers potentially in danger compelled him to act. After all, Yoruha wasn't disloyal to Konoha. He was a part of the village himself, and just because he didn't seek fame or fortune didn't mean he would abandon fellow ninjas in danger.
Especially when it involved a heavyweight ninja like Tsunade. If anything happened to her, it would be a significant blow to Konoha.
Shadow. However, Yoruha had no confidence in defeating the Fourth Raikage. Moreover, the Fourth Raikage's status was far above that of a mere Chūnin from Konoha like Yoruha.
Therefore, Yoruha dared not act rashly, as it could lead to a diplomatic incident. Yoruha had no desire to cause trouble. Instead of settling his bill, he took out his notebook and continued reading, though his attention was already focused on Tsunade.
The Fourth Raikage, accompanied by his guard Amayi, found Tsunade. Seeing Tsunade drunk and slumped over, the Fourth Raikage instinctively frowned. He thought it was quite inappropriate for someone of her stature—one of the legendary Sannin and the granddaughter of the First Hokage—to be in such a state.
Thus, the Fourth Raikage called out in a deep voice, "Tsunade-hime, get up." His voice, though low, was infused with chakra and very rough. The patrons in the tavern turned to look in their direction.
The Fourth Raikage paid them no mind. His eyes remained fixed on Tsunade. The patrons glanced between the Fourth Raikage and Tsunade.
Though they didn't know what was happening, they sensed trouble and hurriedly paid their bills and left. The tavern owner wanted to ask the Fourth Raikage what was going on.
But seeing his towering figure and bulging muscles, he didn't dare approach, only praying that these people wouldn't destroy his establishment. Yoruha sat to the side, seemingly engrossed in his book, but his attention was entirely on Tsunade and the Fourth Raikage. Meanwhile, Tsunade, who had been sleeping on the table, struggled to get up upon hearing the Fourth Raikage's voice.
She looked at the two standing before her with a bewildered expression. "Who are you?" Tsunade was so drunk she didn't recognize the Fourth Raikage standing right in front of her.
Even Yoruha was speechless at Tsunade's words. Although the Fourth Raikage was a generation younger than Tsunade, he was still the Fourth Raikage, a figure she should have recognized. Yet here she was, utterly confused.
Shizune, on the other hand, was even more out of it, sleeping soundly with drool on her face, showing no signs of waking up. The Fourth Raikage looked at Tsunade, clenching his fist. If he didn't need her help, he would have turned and left, not wanting to associate with this woman who was drunk as a skunk.
Amayi, standing behind the Fourth Raikage, had to introduce him. "Lady Tsunade, this is the Fourth Raikage of our Hidden Cloud Village." Upon hearing "Hidden Cloud Village," Tsunade's expression immediately changed, becoming very serious.
"Hidden Cloud Village? What do you want this time?" Clearly, Tsunade held no fondness for the Hidden Cloud Village.
The Fourth Raikage remained silent, but Amayi stepped forward and knelt before Tsunade, saying, "Lady Tsunade, I beg you to help heal one of my comrades. My medical ninjutsu is too weak to save him, but you are the greatest medical ninja in the ninja world. You can do it." Looking at Amayi kneeling on the ground, Tsunade coldly replied, "Hmph, Hidden Cloud Village, the ones who covet the Byakugan of our Konoha's Hyuga clan. I won't help you." It was clear that Tsunade was still very displeased with the actions of the Hidden Cloud Village from years ago.
The Fourth Raikage frowned but still said nothing. He knew that only Tsunade could save the person. Amayi tried to explain, "The matter from back then was peacefully resolved, wasn't it?"
Tsunade coldly retorted, "You really know how to argue." Although the issue from back then was indeed resolved, the fact remained that a Hyuga, Hizashi, had died. Tsunade still couldn't stand the Hidden Cloud Village.
Amayi wanted to explain further, but the Fourth Raikage couldn't hold back any longer. He said sternly, "Tsunade, even if you refuse, I will take you by force." The atmosphere in the tavern became extremely tense.
Tsunade also became serious. "Oh, take me by force?" At this moment, neither the Fourth Raikage nor Tsunade knew much about each other's strength.
So neither the Fourth Raikage nor Tsunade believed the other could defeat them. The Fourth Raikage said seriously, "I'll be waiting for you outside." He had decided to use force to take Tsunade away, but doing so here would destroy the tavern, so he wanted to take the fight outside.
Tsunade frowned. However, she noticed that Yoruha was still there. Although he appeared to be reading, seemingly uninterested in the situation, Tsunade knew very well that Yoruha hadn't left because of the earlier confrontation between her and the Fourth Raikage.
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