When Tsunade returned to the villa, the barbecue was already over, leaving only Xin sitting in the yard with a plate of grilled meat on the table.
Everyone else had already gone.
Xin pushed the plate toward her, took a sip of his juice, and gave her a once-over.
"They went to visit Nawaki and brought him some grilled meat. He must be getting bored, lying in the hospital all day. Looks like you had some good news, judging by that glow in your eyes."
"Here."
Tsunade tossed the seal onto the table and grabbed some grilled meat to eat.
She was hungry, and even with her mouth full, she didn't forget to speak:
"Today was intense. For the first time in my life, I've experienced the joy of buying whatever I want."
"?"
Xin picked up the seal that Tsunade had thrown over. Sure enough, it was the seal of the Logistics Department.
The Third Hokage couldn't withstand Tsunade's spending spree and, fearful that she'd go even further, was forced to give in and hand over the Logistics Department to her.
Looks like some people are about to have a bad day.
"Mmm, delicious."
"Oh, right."
With the last bit of grilled meat in her hand, Tsunade muttered through her chewing:
"The old man promised there won't be any more targeting of you. You can relax now."
Yeah, right.
Xin just smirked and didn't take it to heart.
Sure, most of the time it was the Elder Council and Danzo causing problems, but the Third
Hokage wasn't exactly innocent either.
You could listen to what these people said, but trusting them? Only a fool would do that.
Still, with Tsunade now in charge of the Logistics Department, as long as Xin didn't touch any sensitive interests, the chances of being targeted again were slim.
As long as he didn't align himself with the Uchiha.
The next day, Tsunade went to audit the Logistics Department, and when she returned, her expression wasn't very pleasant.
It was clear that Konoha's current financial situation wasn't great.
It was lucky that Iwagakure and Kumogakure hadn't made any moves yet. If they had joined the war, Konoha would have been in deep trouble.
Tsunade stayed in the village while the fighting on the front lines raged on.
Even the arrival of the new year didn't put an end to the war.
The good news was that Sunagakure couldn't hold out any longer. They were retreating, pulling back deeper into the Land of Wind.
It seemed like surrender was only a matter of time.
And indeed, Sunagakure didn't last much longer. Despite the Third Kazekage's best efforts,
Sunagakure ultimately became the losing side.
In the end, they had no choice but to wave the white flag and surrender to Konoha.
What followed was an intense round of negotiations.