Chapter Forty-Two: The Attitude of Konoha’s Leadership

It was already late when she returned home; Kushina, Nawaki, and Granny Mito had all gone to bed. Tsunade rummaged through the refrigerator and found a piece of cake left for her, with a note attached: “Big Sis Tsunade, remember to eat.”

“That little rascal…”

Tsunade chuckled at the sight of the cake and the note. Then she took the other, larger piece of cake that had no note. She consumed a vast amount of chakra every day; she needed to replenish her energy, and Kushina’s little tricks were useless against her.

After eating and drinking her fill, Tsunade tidied up briefly and went straight to bed.

The next morning, Tsunade heard Kushina’s startled cry from the kitchen while still half-asleep. She quickly feigned sleep, even when Kushina came in and slapped her twice on the backside. Tsunade’s act was so convincing that she didn’t stir. After a while, Kushina had to hurry to her squad’s meeting and didn’t stay long before leaving.

Once Kushina had gone, Tsunade finally crawled out of bed. When she emerged, Nawaki had already placed her breakfast on the table.

“Big sister, breakfast is ready…”

With that, Nawaki silently headed upstairs. Ever since he learned he could not become a ninja, he had been deeply depressed. For a young boy whose dreams were abruptly shattered, the blow was immense. Even after more than a year, he only barely managed to return to normal life.

“Nawaki!”

Tsunade called out to him. When he turned around, she looked at him with resolute confidence, saying, “I promise you, you will become a ninja—within a year at most!”

Hearing this, a spark of hope returned to Nawaki’s eyes. Seeing the confidence on Tsunade’s face reignited his own. In the past, when Tsunade made such promises, her expression was forced. Now, she was brimming with confidence, as if she had truly found a way.

“Thank you, Sis. But don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Don’t worry, it’s easy for me!”

Tsunade replied, then picked up her bowl of miso soup and drank it. Afterwards, she ran upstairs to find Uzumaki Mito. After a while, she came out smiling, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and left the house.

…

“Tsunade, are you saying he wants to work with you to develop a serum that can improve physical constitution and heal anything?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi repeated the question with a grave expression. He knew Tsunade had been researching regenerative medical ninjutsu recently, and worried that her concern for her brother might be exploited.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado’s faces also showed disbelief. From Tsunade’s description, this serum could even regenerate severed limbs in mere seconds, rivaling the legendary constitution of the First Hokage.

“To be precise, it’s not a medicine, but a serum—a serum capable of altering the body’s operating mechanisms…”

Tsunade gave the three of them a brief explanation, but only Koharu Utatane seemed to grasp some of it. The other two remained confused.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment, then slowly exhaled smoke. “Tsunade, can this Kahn be trusted?”

“Should we have Jonin Yūhi Shinko and the Yamanaka clan investigate his background?”

Koharu Utatane suggested, her intent clear. Genjutsu and mind-reading techniques were sufficient to uncover every detail about a person, unless their mind was protected by a seal. Otherwise, there would be no secrets before the Yamanaka clan.

But Tsunade immediately objected loudly, “Absolutely not. You’d better give up that idea. What he’s brought forward is clearly not something one person could have developed. Even an entire medical team would need a long time to achieve such results. If you act against Kahn, you’ll get nothing—and you might provoke the wrath of those behind him. Then…”

Here, Tsunade paused, then continued, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. Since you haven’t managed to crack the formula, you want to get it from Kahn? Forget it. As long as he poses no threat to Konoha, no one is to lay a hand on him!”

“What’s with that attitude, Tsunade!”

Koharu Utatane, her ulterior motives revealed, angrily retorted,

“I’m only thinking of Konoha. What if he harbors ill intentions toward the village?”

Tsunade snorted, “Harboring ill intentions toward Konoha? Should I have Granny Mito observe him again? In the past two years, he’s done nothing but earn money. If that counts as ill intent, we might as well interrogate every merchant who comes to Konoha!”

Koharu Utatane was left speechless, “You…”

“Enough, stop arguing!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his voice to halt the dispute, then turned to Tsunade. “Tsunade, the village’s finances are extremely tight now. We really can’t allocate more funds for research…”

“I’ll find a way on that front. I just came to inform you.”

Tsunade spoke with a slight frown. Though she’d expected the old man to refuse funding, the blunt rejection still annoyed her.

“In that case, please keep the village updated on the serum’s progress. After all, Danzo was badly injured in the Second Ninja War…”

Danzo had been wounded by a Sand ninja puppeteer. Despite their best efforts, he lost an eye and half a shoulder, forcing him to wear bandages ever since.

Hiruzen’s words made it clear he wanted the results for free, without investing anything. Tsunade smiled bitterly at his shamelessness and replied, “I’ll do my best.”

He would provide the serum and equipment, while she would supply manpower and funds—only then could the results be shared. Sarutobi’s approach, wanting the benefits without paying the price, as if her status as a Sannin was enough to warrant such value.

With that, Tsunade left the Hokage building. She needed to discuss matters with Kahn; if necessary, she’d sell some of the Senju clan’s treasures to raise enough money for the experiments.

…

Kahn was still waiting at home for Tsunade’s reply. If she agreed, he’d be the biggest beneficiary once the research succeeded; and if Tsunade accepted, she could mentor Nonoyu as well…

Thinking of this, Kahn made his way to the neighboring pharmacy to ask Kaya Mirai about Pharmacist Nonoyu’s learning progress.

When he entered the shop, he saw Kaya Mirai explaining medicines to a villager. Upon seeing Kahn, Kaya Mirai respectfully began, “Boss, is there anything you need—”

Before he could finish, Kahn gestured to the villager, indicating he should finish helping them first.

After the customer left, Kahn stepped forward, saying, “It seems you get quite a few customers here for medicine…”

“Yes, since medicines can be stored, most households keep some common remedies on hand. That man earlier has come to buy medicine three times already.”

“You remember that? He must have bought quite a lot.”

Kaya Mirai shook his head and smiled, “Not really, it’s just that he’s so striking it’s hard to forget him.”

Kahn recalled that the man was indeed unusually dark-skinned, a rare sight in the village. He didn’t dwell on it, and instead asked Kaya Mirai about Pharmacist Nonoyu.

Although Kaya Mirai had lost a hand, his knowledge of medical ninjutsu remained intact, and he had often taught Nonoyu over the past year.