Looking at the familiar red gate, Naruto felt a surge of excitement. He had only been away from the village for a little over half a year, but it felt like he had been gone for a very long time.
"Naruto, come with me to see the Hokage first," Jiraiya said.
"Okay." Naruto didn't object. The main reason for their return was to pay their respects to the Third Hokage. At the thought, his mood sank once more.
As Jiraiya led Naruto into the village, a somber atmosphere washed over them. Although the Third Hokage had been buried yesterday, the grief in the hearts of Konoha's villagers had not yet faded.
He gently pushed open the door to the Hokage's office. Tsunade was hunched over her desk, looking at something. She looked up at the sound.
"Why are you two back?" Tsunade asked in surprise.
"Weren't you the one who told us to come back?" Jiraiya teased.
Tsunade knew he was referring to the letter she had sent. She shook her head. "I didn't mean for you to come back. I just wanted you to know, that's all."
"Granny Tsunade," Naruto interrupted before Jiraiya could speak, his voice impatient, "how did Grandpa Hokage die?"
Tsunade hesitated for a moment before saying, "It was a relapse of an old injury. He died suddenly."
"Wh-what? How could that be? Grandpa Hokage was always so healthy, wasn't he? How could he just die suddenly?" Naruto demanded loudly, his face a mask of disbelief. "I don't believe Grandpa Hokage died like that!"
Jiraiya remained silent, but his eyes, fixed on Tsunade, were filled with suspicion. He wanted to hear her explanation. He had caught her slight hesitation just now.
As someone who had loved her for so long, Jiraiya was all too familiar with Tsunade's every move. It was clear she wasn't telling the truth.
"Naruto..." Tsunade sighed. "That's just how it is. If you don't have anything else, you can go."
"No way! I still don't understand..."
"Naruto, you should go for now," Jiraiya suddenly interrupted, his voice serious.
"Wh-what...?" Naruto looked at Jiraiya, unwilling to back down. "Wh-why? Pervy Sage!"
"Just go for now," Jiraiya said, offering no further explanation, his expression still stern.
"D-damn it." Seeing Jiraiya's face, Naruto knew there was no room for argument. With a look of frustration, he retreated from the Hokage's office.
After Naruto left, Jiraiya asked, "What really happened?"
"What do you mean, 'what happened'?" Tsunade said faintly.
Several dark lines appeared on Jiraiya's forehead. "Do you still need to hide things from me?" he asked, his tone slightly annoyed.
Tsunade was silent for a moment. "Actually," she said, "the old man's death has something to do with Sakura."
"What did you say?!" Jiraiya thought he had misheard.
"This is all in the past. I don't want Naruto to know. But since it's connected to the old man, I might as well tell you," Tsunade said.
"What exactly happened?" Jiraiya's expression grew serious.
"A lot has happened in the six months you've been gone," Tsunade began slowly. "Danzo is dead."
"Oh." Jiraiya nodded. A moment later, it finally registered. "Who did you say is dead? Danzo?" he asked, agitated.
"That's right," Tsunade confirmed with a nod.
"Isn't that great? Now no one will oppose you anymore," Jiraiya said with a hint of schadenfreude, before his expression turned serious again. "It seems a lot has happened while I was away. How did he die?"
"He was killed by Sakura," Tsunade said calmly.
"Hm? Why would Sakura kill Danzo?" Jiraiya asked, confused. Then, a thought struck him. "If that's the case, does that mean Sakura is a rogue ninja now?"
"No, Sakura is fine. The one branded a rogue was Danzo," Tsunade said, shaking her head.
"Just tell me everything that's happened in the last six months," Jiraiya said, getting tired of Tsunade's bit-by-bit, toothpaste-squeezing answers.
"You'll never believe it," Tsunade said with a sigh, and began to recount the events.
As Tsunade spoke, Jiraiya's expression changed again and again. By the time she finished, he was silent, his face grave.
"Now do you see why I don't want Naruto to know?" Tsunade said helplessly. "Besides, it's all over now. Everything is back to how it was before."
"What happened to Sakura..." Jiraiya stroked his chin, silent for a long time before continuing, "...it's a bit incredible. If you hadn't told me, I would have thought I was listening to a fairy tale."
"But it's the truth," Tsunade said.
"Did you interrogate her afterward?" Jiraiya asked.
Tsunade shook her head gently. "After what happened, I didn't want to put any more pressure on her."
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya's face was serious, his voice low. "You know where I stand."
"I understand," Tsunade said, meeting his gaze. "Your position is my position."
"But you've changed," Jiraiya pointed out slowly. "This isn't how a Hokage should act. From your own assessment, her emotions can be influenced by that power. You haven't tried to control it at all. Leaving her in the village like this is like leaving a bomb waiting to go off. As Kage, you can't let your emotions get in the way. At the very least, you need to understand what that power is."
"And that's why I didn't want to be Hokage in the first place," Tsunade said, half-joking. "Otherwise, I'd give the position to you right now."
"And that's why I didn't want to be Hokage either," Jiraiya said, throwing up his hands.
They looked at each other and smiled. Then, Jiraiya asked, "So what are you going to do now?"
"I'll observe for now," Tsunade said, her hands clasped, elbows resting on the desk. "Once things calm down here, I'll go talk to her."
"I hope it's not too late," Jiraiya cautioned.
"Anyway, that's the gist of it," Tsunade said slowly. "The old man died from a relapse of two old injuries. The first was from Orochimaru's invasion. When you get old, your body declines. He pushed himself so hard back then that it left a hidden wound, and he never got it treated properly. Then, with what happened with Sakura, a new injury was added on top of the old one. But no one knows about this except you."
"Sigh! So that's how it was. I feel like the village has changed so much since I've been back. Things are getting more and more complicated," Jiraiya lamented.
"You know the situation now. You can go see the old man," Tsunade said, beginning to dismiss him.
"I'll go check in on Sakura first. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" Jiraiya couldn't shake the image of Sakura that Tsunade had just described.
"Do whatever you want. But don't do anything to make things difficult for her, you hear me?" Tsunade looked at Jiraiya like a mother hen protecting her chick.
"Relax, relax," Jiraiya said with a wave of his hand. "I know the kid well. Before we found you, she was even more... well, more than me... you know..."
Seeing Jiraiya's punchable face, Tsunade said irritably, "What are you still doing here? Get going."
"Haha, well, I won't disturb you any longer." Seeing that Tsunade was kicking him out, Jiraiya didn't linger.
After he left, Tsunade leaned back in her chair, her expression weary.
She knew what Jiraiya had said was true, but she had avoided asking about it. That wasn't how a Hokage should act; it was irresponsible to the village's safety.
But Tsunade trusted Sakura, so she had never asked about what happened that day. After Jiraiya's reminder today, however, Tsunade had to face reality.
She was the Hokage. She couldn't let this issue go unresolved. While she wouldn't do anything to Sakura, she still needed a detailed report on what happened that day.
It wasn't just to protect the village, but to protect Sakura herself. If a similar situation were to happen again, she needed to be able to stop her.