Tsunade's Home.
"Here's five million ryo."
A stack of money was placed on the table, brought by Anko.
Shizune looked at the money and couldn't help but say, "Lord Hokage really gave it to you? He's way too good to you."
Anko, however, muttered in her heart—good, my ass.
I traded my body for this.
"Alright, just take the money to cover the urgent needs. No rush to pay it back."
Shizune gratefully said, "Really, thank you so much, Anko."
Anko simply waved her hand nonchalantly.
At that moment, Tsunade returned from outside.
Seeing Anko and the money on the table, she looked slightly surprised.
"Anko, you're here." Tsunade smiled.
"These funds…"
Anko explained, "Shizune mentioned you were in a bit of trouble, so I thought I'd help out."
Tsunade, however, frowned slightly. "That's not a small amount. Where did you get so much money?"
"I asked the Hokage for it."
"…I see."
Since Anko was both a junior and a friend of Shizune, and she was willing to contribute this money, Tsunade couldn't refuse.
"Really, thank you, Anko."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Anko took her leave.
As soon as Anko left, Shizune eagerly asked Tsunade, "Lady Tsunade, how did it go?"
Tsunade slumped back onto the sofa with a sigh. "What do you think? Same as before."
Shizune's face fell. "So you didn't get the money?"
Tsunade covered her forehead with her arm.
The money was available, but owing so many favors just to cover one hole—she was reluctant to do so.
If this matter got out, she feared she'd become the laughingstock of the entire village, and it would also affect Shizune.
After thinking it over, she realized she should have just asked one person from the start—someone who had the power to settle this matter—rather than running around begging different people.
Shizune, growing anxious, said, "What do we do now? The deadline is coming up, and we're still short so much money…"
"Lady Tsunade, do you have any other solutions?"
Tsunade remained silent, lying on the sofa, her eyes fixed on the stack of money on the table.
She never imagined there would come a day when she'd be so troubled over this.
Turning away, she finally said, "I'll go find someone later."
Shizune was taken aback. "Who?"
At this point, who else could they turn to for tens of millions?
Ordinary people couldn't possibly afford to lend that much, and giving such a large sum to them would basically be throwing money into a black hole—they might never be able to repay it.
Tsunade sat up, poured herself a cup of tea, and took a sip.
"I'll go to the Hokage."
Shizune froze for a moment.
She knew that Lady Tsunade and the Hokage didn't have the best relationship, and Tsunade had never liked him.
For her to swallow her pride and go beg him now—it was already a huge compromise.
"Lord Hokage… do you think he'll lend us the money?"
"We'll only know once we ask."
After taking a sip of water, Tsunade got up and left her house.
She didn't head straight to the Hokage's office.
Instead, she wandered aimlessly through the village on her own.
To her surprise, she ran into Kushina on the street—along with her child.
"What a coincidence, Lady Tsunade."
"Kushina…"
Kushina was holding Naruto's hand and gestured for him to greet Tsunade.
"Naruto, this is…"
But she stopped mid-sentence.
She had always considered Tsunade to be her senior, but that was only because of Minato.
But this child had nothing to do with Minato anymore.
"Just call me 'Auntie,'" Tsunade said with a faint smile.
Naruto obediently greeted her, "Auntie Tsunade."
Tsunade turned to Kushina. "His name is Naruto, right?"
"…Yeah."
"Who named him?"
"…Makoto."
Tsunade had read Jiraiya's Tale of the Gutsy Ninja before.
When he had just finished writing it, he had eagerly shown it to her—making her one of its first readers.
But why had the Hokage given his own child this name?
And Naruto had been born right around the time Jiraiya and Minato defected.
Tsunade couldn't quite figure it out.
This was one of many things about Makoto that remained a mystery to her.
Thinking about her upcoming meeting with him, she suddenly fell silent.
"Lady Tsunade, we'll be heading off now," Kushina said.
They had only exchanged a few words.
Their relationship had once been close, but after everything that had happened, neither had reached out to the other.
"Naruto, say goodbye to Auntie Tsunade."
"Goodbye, Auntie Tsunade!"
"Goodbye…" Tsunade replied with a soft smile, watching them walk away.
The streets bustled with people, the noise of the crowd fading into the background like white noise.
She stood in place for a long time before finally setting off toward the Hokage's office.
Arriving at the door, Tsunade took a deep breath and knocked.
"Enter."
Inside the office, besides Hyuga Makoto, there was also his stunning assistant—a tall, curvaceous woman with short golden hair, exuding a striking yet cold beauty.
Faced with such a woman, one might easily feel inferior.
But Tsunade was not one to feel inferior.
Seeing that Makoto remained focused on his paperwork without even sparing her a glance, she cleared her throat.
Only then did Makoto look up at her.
"Something you need?"
"…Yes."
"Alright, speak."
His indifferent attitude made it even harder for Tsunade to bring herself to say it, especially with someone else present in the room.
Standing there, she felt somewhat uneasy—an unusual sensation for someone of her nature.
After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"I need to talk to you… Can you give me some time?"
She was usually straightforward, and this hesitant demeanor was rare for her.
At that, Makoto finally set his pen down and shot a glance at Samui.
The assistant, perceptive as ever, quietly left the room, the sound of her high heels fading against the wooden floor.
Leaning back in his chair, Makoto regarded Tsunade with a casual expression.
"You can speak now."
Tsunade said, "I need money."
She met Makoto's gaze, and since he remained silent, she continued, "About… fifty million ryo."
"I know it's a lot, but I really need it…"
At that moment, Makoto suddenly let out a laugh.
But there was little kindness in it—more amusement than anything else.
"Tsunade, what exactly is the relationship between you and me?"
That question caught Tsunade off guard.
She didn't understand what he was implying.
"As friends? I don't think so. I've never visited your home, nor have you ever come to mine. Even the number of times we've spoken can be counted on one hand."
Tsunade had no response to that.
Makoto continued at a leisurely pace, "Superior and subordinate, then?"
"Tsunade, you're just an ordinary Jonin in the village, a regular director at the hospital. Yet when you see me, you never even offer a greeting. I've even heard from several people that you've spoken ill of me behind my back."
"Before, when life was going well for you, you avoided any association with me. You were afraid of owing me a favor."
"But now, out of nowhere, you come to me asking for fifty million ryo. Is this how you ask someone for help, Tsunade? I don't feel the slightest bit of respect from you."
"You don't even want to call me Lord Hokage."
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