At this point, the Anbu guards were starting to realize that letting Kushina leave Konoha might have been a massive mistake. It seemed that, aside from the Third Hokage himself, no one could truly keep her in check.
That wasn't entirely true—if it came down to raw strength, plenty of people could restrain her. But no one actually wanted to lay a hand on her. If you bruised her, did you really want to deal with her boyfriend? Are you prepared for the "Yellow Flash" to suddenly flicker in front of your face with a kunai at your throat?
When Kushina led Hagoromo into Tsunade's command tent, the guards didn't stop them. Tsunade was in the middle of a strategic briefing, so she merely nodded at Kushina, gesturing for her to sit, and continued addressing the room:
"Our current position is favorable. Lady Chiyo has entered the fray for the Sand, but her initial offensive has been neutralized. We've pushed their vanguard back into the Land of Rivers. Their war potential is reaching its limit. One more decisive blow, and the Sand will have no choice but to surrender—unless the Land of Wind wants to face total collapse."
"Currently, the Sand is fighting on two fronts, while we are beset on four. They have 6,000 troops deployed toward the Stone, and 4,000 facing us. However, our active combat strength here is only about 2,500. We are still at a numerical disadvantage, and without Hatake Sakumo, we've lost the sharpest blade capable of piercing their defenses..."
At the mention of that name, Tsunade's expression soured.
"To lose a war-altering asset like the White Fang over such a pathetic reason... I truly wonder what those idiots in the village leadership have for brains!"
Unable to contain her fury, Tsunade slammed her fist into the desk before her.
CRACK!
With a deafening boom, the desk disintegrated into splinters. A jagged fissure ripped through the earth, snaking across the floor and extending right out of the tent.
Hagoromo's eyebrows twitched. This was the legendary strength of the only woman among the Sannin, the true Princess of Konoha. From his perspective, Tsunade was undoubtedly a top-tier beauty—but that temper... and that sheer, world-shaking power.
"Is that the third desk this week? Or the fourth?" Hagoromo thought he heard a nearby ninja whisper under his breath.
You couldn't blame Tsunade's anger. If the White Fang were still alive, the war against the Sand wouldn't be this drawn out. His mere presence was a deterrent. After the Sand deployed Chiyo, Tsunade—the only one capable of countering Chiyo's poisons—was naturally placed in charge of this front. Between the logistical nightmares and the constant pressure, she spent half her time cursing the village higher-ups.
Whenever she did, the surrounding ninjas practiced the "art of the ostrich," pretending they heard nothing. First, because they secretly agreed with her—life was much easier when Sakumo was around. Second, she was the First Hokage's granddaughter. She could theoretically tear down the village gate and the Hokage building, and people would still probably just hand her a fresh hammer.
Since losing her brother and lover in the previous war, Tsunade's patience with the system had reached its breaking point. Only her status as a symbol of the Senju clan kept her here, but she had already decided: once the war with the Sand ended, she was leaving. The "will of fire" her grandfather left behind now looked like a pile of ash to her.
After her outburst, the Princess calmed down and signaled for the meeting to continue. "Nara Shikaku, continue."
Shikaku, the young genius tactician in his twenties, stepped forward. "The Fourth Kazekage was pushed into power hastily. He lacks the absolute authority of the Third. He can't unify his village for a war of attrition. We have intel that the 'Peace Faction' in the Sand is gaining ground as their situation worsens."
"However, we face two issues. First, we lack the numbers and supply lines to launch the final, large-scale offensive needed to break them. Second, while Tsunade-sama has countered Chiyo's latest toxins, our shortage of medical ninjas prevents us from mass-producing the antidotes."
"Regarding the second point," Kushina piped up, "the twenty medical ninjas from the village have arrived."
Shikaku nodded, relieved. "That helps immensely. Even so, expect the stalemate to continue for a while longer."
The meeting concluded with a plan to systematically chip away at the Sand's remaining forces. As the other ninjas filed out, Tsunade finally turned her attention to Kushina.
"Sorry about that, Kushina. When did you get in?" Tsunade's tone softened. Because of their similar fiery personalities, she treated Kushina more like a friend than a subordinate.
"Tsunade-sensei, we just arrived," Kushina replied. She had studied medical ninjutsu under Tsunade, hence the title.
Tsunade then noticed the boy standing behind Kushina, and her brow furrowed. "Is this your disciple? A brat fresh out of the Academy? The battlefield is no place for children."
Whenever she saw a child in a flak jacket, memories she tried desperately to suppress—memories of those she couldn't save—bubbled to the surface, bringing a familiar, bitter irritability.
The Weight of a Princess
Tsunade's position is unique: she is a general, a doctor, and a royal symbol, all while mourning the loss of the "Old Konoha" she once believed in.
Current Situation: You are standing before a woman who could literally level the camp with a punch, and she's currently projecting her trauma onto your presence.