Chapter 138

Chapter 138:

"Tsunade-nee!"

Watching the towering Tsunade teasingly poke at his face, Uchiha Yosuke felt a wave of helplessness. He feigned a serious expression, only to make Tsunade burst out laughing.

"Hehe, guess I can’t call you a little boy anymore. You’ve grown into a big man now."

Tsunade teased as she stood before Uchiha Yosuke, rising on her tiptoes to measure their height difference. She chuckled, "You've really grown. When you first came here, you barely reached my chest."

Faced with her playful demeanor, Uchiha Yosuke raised an eyebrow and deepened his tone. "Tsunade-nee, are you even listening to me?"

Seeing the serious look on his face, Tsunade stretched lazily before turning away to sprawl onto the sofa. With a light laugh, she said, "Alright then, keep massaging my head while you talk. Let’s continue."

Uchiha Yosuke had no choice but to resume using medical ninjutsu to knead the tension from Tsunade's temples. As he worked, she spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Sakumo Hatake's strength rivals those old fools. More importantly, he’s a hero. That’s why all the major clans are backing him. Even your Uchiha clan sees value in him, which says a lot about his character.

"As for those old fools taking action against him, isn’t that expected? From the moment the great clans supported Sakumo for the position of the Fourth Hokage, they declared their stance and choice."

Her calm words laid bare the dissatisfaction the great clans felt. While they had tolerated the Third Hokage’s policies, they drew the line at allowing his camp to dominate the selection of the Fourth Hokage.

Sakumo Hatake was their chosen candidate.

"Even without our support, Sakumo would inevitably rise to prominence. And those old men? They’re almost fifty—already halfway to the grave. Are they planning to cling to power until they die?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, now 49, and the other senior advisors were indeed approaching old age. In the ninja world, reaching fifty was an accomplishment in itself. Selecting a new Hokage was only natural.

Watching Tsunade’s confident demeanor, Uchiha Yosuke couldn’t help but feel exasperated. He wanted to tell her: You’ve grown a lot, but you still underestimate human nature.

"Tsunade-nee, I’ve received information that someone plans to target White Fang…"

"What’s the point?" Tsunade interrupted, raising her gaze lazily as if to question the logic.

Her blunt response left Uchiha Yosuke stunned. What’s the point? Did this even need justification?

Seeing his confused expression, Tsunade shook her head. "Sakumo ascending benefits everyone. The Sarutobi clan and other advisors’ families will gain stability. If it were me competing for the position of the Fourth Hokage, they’d have reason to worry. But Sakumo? He will focus on balancing the great clans. Maintaining the status quo is his priority."

At that moment, Uchiha Yosuke realized where Tsunade's confidence stemmed from. She based everything on the assumption that those old men would relinquish power because of their age.

But oh, Tsunade-nee, how naive you are.

Did she think the aged would willingly let go of power? Sarutobi Hiruzen continued his tenure until 69, holding onto his position until his death. Even Danzo Shimura clung to relevance until 73.

Sighing inwardly, Uchiha Yosuke noted how Tsunade, despite her growth, remained blind to the bottomless greed of human ambition. While her personality seemed to align with Tobirama's calm rationality, her sheltered upbringing had left her ill-prepared for the darker depths of human nature.

Tsunade would always be Tsunade. She couldn’t become Tobirama.

"Fine, tell me what you’ve heard," Tsunade said, breaking the silence with a smile. Stretching out leisurely, she reclined fully on the sofa.

Uchiha Yosuke, used to her casual behavior, began massaging her shoulders as he responded, "The information I gathered isn’t complete, but it seems someone intends to strike at Sakumo during a mission to discredit him. There might be a deeper conspiracy, but I haven’t uncovered it yet."

Tsunade, her eyes half-closed, replied dismissively, "It’s just a mission. What ninja hasn’t failed a mission or two? To sabotage him this way, they’d need to deploy Kage-level forces. And which village would dare make the first move?

"Despite the chaos in the ninja world, no village would risk provoking the strongest among them—Konohagakure."

Her unwavering confidence left Uchiha Yosuke speechless. Even now, she underestimated the ruthlessness of human ambition.

At that moment, his mind sharpened. If this event unfolds as an “accident,” it might pass without much thought. But with prior knowledge, it ceases to be an accident. Let this incident teach Tsunade-nee a lesson she’ll never forget: that the depths of human malice know no bounds.

Just then, Uchiha Yosuke’s expression changed. Glancing at Tsunade, he noticed she had shifted positions, placing her legs casually across his lap.

"Keep massaging, boy," she teased.

Suppressing a laugh, Uchiha Yosuke scoffed internally at the allure Tsunade used to toy with him. If you want to achieve greatness, you must resist such trivial temptations.

Meanwhile, Tsunade, still lounging, gazed at the young man before her. Her eyes lingered on the necklace glinting around his collarbone. If I weren’t a Senju, and he weren’t an Uchiha, this boy might truly have been mine…

Her eyes turned wistful. She knew her feelings well. After he risked his life for her multiple times, she had long since fallen for him. But a union between Senju and Uchiha would shake the very foundations of Konoha—unless they achieved such prominence as to make it unavoidable.

For now, Tsunade suppressed her emotions, knowing the turbulent state of the ninja world left no room for such thoughts.

"Tsunade-nee, that’s enough," Yosuke said calmly.

Tsunade smirked, teasing him once more. "Well? Are my legs softer than that girl Kushina’s?"

Uchiha Yosuke took a deep breath. The delicate relationship between him and Tsunade still needed a spark to ignite the flames fully.

But he had already prepared that sp

ark. It was just a matter of waiting for the winds to fan it into life.

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