Pretending to check him over, she put on her best serious face.
"Danzo-sama, is he going to be alright?" Asked one of the ninjas nervously, clearly alarmed by Tsunade's exaggerated concern.
Danzo, with his eyes still closed, was silently cursing his luck. He wanted nothing more than to leap up and strangle this idiot.
Could you be any denser?
I'm perfectly fine! Tsunade is just pretending!
At first, Danzo was worried about any lasting effects from his fall, but when he saw Tsunade's shoulders subtly shaking as she turned away, he knew.
She was laughing at him.
Danzo realized it then: Tsunade was faking her concern, just as he was faking his injuries. Both were putting on a show. But he couldn't call her out on it-if he did, she'd expose him. Worse, she'd tell everyone about how he broke the bed and rolled around on the ground.
"Leave us," Tsunade finally ordered, waving off the Root ninjas. One of them hesitated, glancing at Danzo's still-pained expression before bowing and scurrying out of the room.
"They're gone," Tsunade said with a huff, slumping back into her chair.
Danzo opened his eyes and snorted in response, saying nothing. He picked up the file Tsunade had been reading earlier, returning to his silence.
For a while, the two simply sat there, working in their respective ways. Eventually, Tsunade broke the silence.
"Usagi Xin is under my protection," She began, her voice firm. "And I expect that misunderstandings-those that could lead to conflict-won't happen again."
"Everything I do is for the village," Danzo countered, his tone calm but unyielding. "As the Hokage's advisor, I act with the village's best interests at heart."
Ah, the village's best interests. The same old excuse.
Tsunade's lip curled into a sneer.
"I'm sure you believe that," she said with a mocking chuckle. "But let me tell you something, Danzo. I have records-about Sarutobi and your own Shimura clan-highlighting some... let's call them 'irregularities' in their development."
Danzo's one good eye widened, and his pulse quickened.
Impossible.
Tsunade had never shown any interest in such matters before. She couldn't have looked into the questionable dealings of the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, could she?
The 'irregularities' she mentioned referred to how the two clans had used their influence to make it seem like their families were just ordinary civilians, benefiting from all the village's public resources. In truth, they were still major players within Konoha.
The Shimura clan wasn't the worst offender, but the Sarutobi clan? They were the most blatant.
Just because Tsunade hadn't spoken about these things before didn't mean she didn't know. It just meant no one had crossed her.
Until now.
Danzo's recent behavior had pushed her too far. She knew that once they returned to Konoha, he'd likely rally the Third Hokage, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado against her. Together, they'd try to pressure Xin.
Tsunade wouldn't let it come to that. So, she dug up some old skeletons.