Konoha: Tsunade, I Am the Hokage! [15]

Scarlet flooded his vision.

The thick, metallic tang of blood invaded his nose.

It was Kagenori’s first time killing someone.

He froze, just for a heartbeat.

The next instant, a blade flashed past his eyes.

Kakashi’s White Light Chakra Sabre sliced down, swift as the wind, cutting down another attacking ninja.

“Don’t space out!”

Kakashi snapped briefly, then charged off toward the next enemy.

Kagenori snapped back to his senses.

Right—

This is a battlefield. There’s no room for hesitation.

Fortunately—

Kurenai’s genjutsu and Kakashi’s swordsmanship both shielded him from immediate danger.

Kagenori shook off the shock.

“Kakashi, cover me.”

Huh?

Kakashi didn’t quite get the plan, but he knew the routine and moved to coordinate.

He sped through hand seals.

[Raiton: Denshin] (Lightning Release: Ground Current)

Before he’d even finished, Kagenori was already in motion—an enormous wave of water surged from his mouth, flooding the area ahead.

The quickest of the enemy ninja used shunshin to escape.

But—

A few were too slow, caught in the torrent.

And then—electricity arced through the water!

“AAAH—!”

The current tore through those left behind, their screams jagged and fading as they convulsed in the water.

Kagenori had already released the jutsu.

These enemy ninja moved fast, and fought ruthlessly—seeing their comrades paralyzed by the lightning, their first reaction wasn’t to help, but—

Shik!

Steel needles rained down like a shower, piercing the helpless bodies before they could escape.

Kagenori and Kakashi immediately substituted with kawarimi and shunshin, swapping positions and dodging the next attack.

By the time silence fell again, the attackers had vanished without a trace.

Shizune stared from a distance, stunned.

Before, she’d only had a vague idea of Kagenori’s abilities—but now...

No wonder he became Jiraiya-sama’s student!

So fast. Such powerful Suiton...

“To get this good, he must have trained water release for years, right?”

Shizune murmured in awe.

Kurenai shot her a look, sighing, “It’s been about half a month.”

“What?”

Shizune’s disbelief was plain.

Half a month?

Impossible!

Even many chūnin couldn’t reach this level of ninjutsu.

Kurenai paused to sense the area.

“They got away quickly. Let’s check on Kagenori and Kakashi—make sure they’re not hurt.”

“R-right!”

Shizune jolted, snapping out of her daze—the battle had been so overwhelming she’d nearly forgotten they were still in danger.

“Kakashi, Kagenori, are you two all right?”

Kurenai and Shizune hurried over.

Kurenai was still carrying Kagenori’s leg weights—
They were surprisingly heavy!

“We’re fine. Shizune, can you check if any of these guys can be saved?”

Up ahead, the five ninja paralyzed by the lightning were sprawled on the ground.

“Okay.”

Shizune nodded, hurrying to those collapsed behind the old city wall.

Kakashi and Kagenori flanked her protectively, on guard for any half-dead attackers.

Unfortunately—

After checking a few, Shizune shook her head. “The needles were poisoned!”

A few seconds later, she called, “This one’s still breathing—barely. I need to treat him right away!”

“I’ll go get Lady Tsunade.”

Kakashi sheathed his blade and darted off.

If they could save a single enemy, there was a chance to dig out some intel.

Shizune hesitated, but said nothing more. She focused on using medical ninjutsu to sustain what little life remained and tried to draw out the toxin.

But sadly—

She hadn’t yet mastered precise poison extraction techniques.

A few seconds later, Jiraiya and Kakashi returned, but Tsunade was still at a distance.

Jiraiya took one look.

“Don’t waste chakra. He’s beyond saving.”

He crouched down.

Then, Jiraiya looked to Kagenori.

“You and Kakashi fought them up close—you’re the most familiar with their style. What do you think about their origins?”

“Their techniques and methods feel like Sunagakure ninja, but I don’t think it’s them... They shouted about using us for a hostage exchange, but are rogue ninja really this capable?”

Kagenori voiced his doubts.

It didn’t add up.

Sunagakure had suffered heavy losses in the Second Shinobi World War; a lot of their elites had died. Right now, their best option was to recover and lay low.

Besides—

The Third Kazekage was still alive and well. Starting trouble with Konoha now would be madness.

Jiraiya glanced over the scene, then pulled out a sealing scroll, sealing all the corpses inside.

“We’ll take them back for the professionals to examine. Maybe they’ll find some clues.”

He couldn’t identify them either.

Outside, Tsunade quietly asked, “What’s the situation?”

“Hard to say for sure, but I doubt they’re just rogue ninja. It could be someone trying to frame another village, start something between us and Sunagakure.”

Jiraiya replied.

That was Kakashi’s take, too.

The enemy’s tactics were so on-the-nose it was almost suspicious.

Still—

Kagenori saw an opening.

He raised his hand.

“Sensei.”

“Speak.”

“We only arrived in Tanzaku Town today, just to do a C-rank mission. There aren’t any real ninja involved with the Fukagawa family, and Fukagawa Ken isn’t exactly a big shot.”

Kagenori looked at Tsunade, hesitating. “Could it be they were after you, Lady Tsunade?”

Tsunade’s brow lifted.

“Kid, you think that kind of small fry could take me down?”

“Of course not—but Shizune might be another story.”

Kagenori started, his reasoning becoming clearer by the moment.

“I’ve heard some stories about you... You’ve been away for over a year now. I’m guessing the Pavilion here isn’t the only place you owe money?”

Tsunade’s face darkened.

Seriously?!

It’s not like I have that many vices—how does everyone seem to know about them?

She shot a sharp look at Jiraiya.

Without a word, Jiraiya quickly waved his hands.

“It wasn’t me!”

“So you think they want to kidnap Shizune to force me to pay up?”

“Could be other motives too. Maybe they want you to research jutsu for them, or hand over your techniques.”

Kagenori replied.

They hadn’t captured those mercenary samurai, after all.

The attackers probably picked up some information from them.

Tsunade fell silent.

He wasn’t just being alarmist.

Outsiders didn’t know her situation, but with Shizune always at her side, it was true—if anything happened, Shizune could become a vulnerability.

Jiraiya’s face was grave.

“Tsunade, Kagenori’s not wrong. You know your own circumstances—maybe it’s time to think about Shizune’s safety.”

“Lady Tsunade...”

Shizune’s face went pale.

Was Tsunade going to send her back to Konoha?

“Shizune, maybe it’s better if you go back to Konoha.”

“Tsunade, it’s not safe for you alone, either,”

Jiraiya’s tone hardened. “Why not come back, at least for a while? Let me talk to the old man and figure out what’s really going on. When things settle down, you can leave again if you want.”

Tsunade hesitated.

Over this year away from the village, Shizune had taken care of her daily life.

If Shizune left...

Tsunade really wasn’t used to managing on her own.

“Even if she goes back, Shizune won’t be assigned to a team right away, will she? Maybe they’d just send her back to the Academy?”

Kagenori added softly.

Jiraiya, secretly impressed, gave Kagenori a thumbs-up—

This kid is sharp—he’s got Tsunade figured out completely!

On paper, Shizune was just an attendant, but Tsunade obviously saw her as family—otherwise she’d never have taken her when leaving the village.

Shizune’s safety and future were things Tsunade cared about deeply.

Tsunade fixed Kagenori with a glare.

She couldn’t deny—

He’d hit the mark.

“It’s late. Whatever we decide, we’ll spend the night here in Tanzaku Town.”

---

T/N: oughhh i still dont know should i use the japanese names for jutsu or english names beakalseasg

This is a fan translation of 木叶：纲手，我才是火影！by 卖身葬节操 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!