Chapter 291: Sasuke Defects, Sakura No Longer Cries
Tsunade's ascension as the Fifth Hokage brought a new atmosphere to Konoha, and everyone was immersed in the joy of having a backbone again.
Tsunade herself also hosted a banquet for her Konoha colleagues at the Akimichi family's barbecue restaurant. The entire Konoha was almost immersed in a sea of celebration on this day.
However, Akiyama Makoto was not invited. He was very calm about this, knowing that this was Tsunade's small way of demonstrating her authority.
Hiashi Hyūga even sent someone specifically to ask Makoto what the Hyūga clan should do.
Makoto's answer was that this was a small conflict between him and his "sister." The Hyūga clan should just do what they were supposed to do, and there was no need to have any conflict with Tsunade because of this.
So Tsunade's first day as Hokage passed smoothly.
Just when Tsunade arrived at the Hokage's office early the next day, planning to flex her muscles, the tragic current situation immediately darkened her face.
The great chaos of the Konoha Crush seemed to have passed, but in reality, the aftermath of the war had barely been dealt with.
Compensation for the deceased, defining the relationship with the Sand Village, and responding to the probing of the Cloud and Rock Villages.
The new Hokage also needed to report to the Daimyō, and at the same time meet with various lords and wealthy merchants—or bluntly speaking, Konoha's big clients—to renegotiate bulk employment terms.
As for the various demands involving various clans, as well as the personal demands of some ninja, there was no need to say more.
Looking at the mountain of documents on the desk, Tsunade was dumbfounded.
Although Tsunade had some knowledge, it was only knowledge.
Asking her to handle these government affairs personally was almost equivalent to being blind.
And she knew very well that she couldn't just throw these things to Koharu and Homura because of the difficulty, as that would be equivalent to giving up power to others.
Now without Danzō's constraints, if Tsunade gave up power to Koharu and Homura again, it would be too shameful.
But Tsunade also knew she didn't have the ability to handle these government affairs, so she could only ask Shikaku Nara for help.
Shikaku naturally wouldn't refuse such a thing, but even with his help, the two of them couldn't handle it all.
Most critically, some issues required Tsunade, the Hokage, to make the final decision. Even Shikaku didn't have any good solutions. But Tsunade had been wandering and indulging for so many years; how could she do these things well in an instant?
However, some things couldn't be delayed.
For example, the Sand Village was currently deploying troops on the border of the Land of Fire. It was heard that Makoto had deterred them with his own strength.
Whether to release or keep the three children of the Kazekage had to be concluded.
While Tsunade was overwhelmed, Makoto was enjoying life with the girls around him.
Anko, Kurenai, and Yūgao also had a temporary vacation because Tsunade's succession was completed.
Tenten and the others had no missions for the time being, and even Hanabi and Moegi were temporarily on vacation at home.
Makoto simply used the Flying Thunder God to take them to the Land of Waves for a trip.
Although the current Land of Waves hadn't changed enough in terms of construction, with the completion of the Great Naruto Bridge and Makoto's investment, the entire Land of Waves was thriving.
And Makoto also announced to everyone that almost the entire Land of Waves was his private property.
Knowing this, everyone was stunned.
They knew Makoto made a lot of money, but when did Makoto earn a country?
What about the original owner of this country?
The little girls couldn't figure out this question, while the adult women looked at each other and tacitly chose to ignore the answer to this question.
As ninja, they certainly couldn't do this.
But Makoto could, because he was a commoner.
Plus, the original tycoon of the Land of Waves, Gatō, had done many evil things. These women had heard of his notoriety in Konoha, so his death was of no consequence.
The only thing that concerned the women was that Makoto's subordinates were rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist. Was this okay?
Makoto didn't explain much about this either.
After all, it wouldn't be long before Zabuza and Haku returned to the Hidden Mist Village, so there would be no need to explain then.
The group soon arrived at Makoto's newly built villa.
It was more like a small manor than a villa.
It was more than twenty times larger than Makoto's original home. Not only were all kinds of electrical appliances available, but even the mixed bath hot spring and beds were more than double the size of the original home, and there was even an artificial lake.
Seeing this scene, Anko and the others smiled knowingly.
Tenten and the others couldn't wait to rush to the hot spring hand in hand.
Of course, Makoto had to be excluded, after all, Moegi and Hanabi were also there.
But if they weren't there, the girls could already accept mixed bathing with Makoto.
In the evening, Makoto gave each girl a key and told them they could come here for vacation at any time in the future.
Of course, Makoto knew very well that they were unlikely to come directly without asking him.
Comparatively, it was more appropriate to go directly to Makoto's home.
When Makoto returned to Konoha with the girls, Shizune was already waiting for him at his home.
"Sister Shizune, is something wrong?"
Makoto asked knowingly. Seeing Makoto surrounded by girls, Shizune sighed and said, "Lady Tsunade is going crazy from exhaustion. Can you help her once?"
Makoto shrugged. "It's better for her to come and ask me herself for this kind of thing."
"Makoto-kun—"
Shizune raised her hand, but Makoto stopped her directly. "Sister Shizune, if it's just a favor between friends, once or twice is naturally fine, but obviously what Sister Tsunade needs is not just once or twice."
"So let me and her solve this kind of thing. Sister Shizune just needs to do her job well."
Shizune looked enlightened and wanted to say something more, but Anko was already holding Shizune's arm, saying, "Shizune, we haven't seen each other for many years, right? Come, come, since you're here, let's soak in the hot spring and catch up."
Then Shizune was dragged to the hot spring involuntarily. Makoto watched Anko winking at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Later, facing the scrutinizing gazes of Tenten and the others, Makoto raised his hands in surrender. "Sister Shizune and I really only have a sister-brother relationship."
"Don't believe it."
"Don't believe it at all."
"Not a bit."
"As long as Makoto-kun is happy."
Looking at the girls' seemingly kind but actually dangerous smiles, Makoto coughed lightly and said, "Alright, you have missions tomorrow too. Shall I send you back?"
"No need. How can you send us alone? Let's go, let's go—Sakura, aren't you leaving?"
Sakura smiled bitterly. "Sasuke hasn't fully recovered yet, so our team has temporarily stopped missions."
The girls looked understanding, and then their faces became dangerous one by one.
"No stealing."
"No sneaking away."
"Sakura, take safety precautions!"
Sakura's face turned red instantly. Facing Hinata, who looked kind and caring but had chakra threads jumping on her fingertips, she said, "Don't worry! I won't do that kind of thing!"
Sakura finally persuaded the others to leave, and watched Moegi rubbing her eyes to go to sleep. Only then did she come to sit beside Makoto with a cat-like smile.
No stealing?
If she didn't steal, could she still be called Sakura?
Just as Sakura was thinking about what opening line to find, Makoto's hand had already restlessly wrapped around her waist.
"It seems you plan to stay today?"
Sakura immediately went soft in Makoto's arms, her face flushed, and nodded slightly.
"Then sleep in my room, or yours?"
Sakura's body trembled. Although she wanted to sleep with Makoto, she eventually suppressed her mood and said, "It's fine to sleep in my own room, but—"
Sakura looked up, her eyes full of affection, and gently opened her red lips. What she wanted to do needed no words.
Makoto wouldn't refuse either, and lowered his head.
It wasn't until Sakura was dazzled that Makoto picked her up, went to her room, and put her on her bed.
Then Makoto lay down too.
Sakura screamed in fright, covering Makoto's face with a red face. "Why... why are you here too!"
"Didn't I just ask, should we sleep in my bed or yours?"
"So the subject of your question was 'we'?!"
Sakura looked like she was going to explode from shyness and wanted to push Makoto away, but the strength in her hands slowly softened.
Finally, she said shyly, "Mom reminded me that it's still a bit early. In another two years—"
Makoto burst out laughing. "That wasn't what you thought the day I gave you the True Spirit Seal."
"I... I was too immature then... But now I've grown up!"
Makoto subconsciously looked at Sakura's chest, and was surprised to find that the size seemed to have indeed changed.
Sakura originally wanted to cover her chest shyly, but realized Makoto's surprise, and then proudly puffed out her chest.
Obviously, this was the effect brought by the True Spirit Seal, allowing Sakura to achieve growth beyond her original physical constitution.
Makoto nodded with satisfaction. In another two years, even if Sakura couldn't reach Anko's level, she would definitely exceed the size of Makoto's palm.
Seeing that Makoto still had no intention of leaving, Sakura lowered her head with a red face and said, "Um... if you are interested here, I can let you... but only this far, okay?"
Then, under Makoto's gaze, Sakura took off her clothes and drilled into the quilt, leaving only a red little head outside.
As for Makoto, since he received Sakura's invitation, he wouldn't be polite.
Deepening feelings one-on-one was also the only way for their relationship to heat up!
Thus, Makoto and Sakura slept cleanly for a night, doing absolutely nothing excessive.
As for why their clothes also became clean, maybe they didn't sleep peacefully enough.
When Makoto woke up the next day, Sakura was lying on his chest, a happy smile still on her lips.
Makoto pinched Sakura's waist, scaring her into jumping up. Then she looked down at herself and snatched the quilt to wrap around herself.
But she glanced at the morning Makoto, and her face became even redder. She squatted at the foot of the bed without saying a word, as if she was no longer pure.
Makoto squeezed her shoulder. "Don't forget the rule for waking up at my place."
"Rule—"
Sakura didn't understand at first, but then she nodded with moist eyes and proactively offered a sweet kiss to Makoto.
Good morning kiss, this was an indispensable part.
When Makoto and Sakura went downstairs, Anko was looking at Sakura with a teasing look. Even Kurenai couldn't help asking, "Sakura, is your body okay?"
Steam rose from the top of Sakura's head, and she stammered and waved her hands. "We didn't do anything, really!"
"Understood, understood, didn't do anything. Since you didn't do anything, why did you stay specially?"
Sakura wanted to explain, but Makoto pulled her into his arms and said, "If you bully her again, she might faint from shyness."
"Wow, a hero saving a beauty. Having a new love and forgetting the old—"
Anko wanted to say something more, but Makoto let go of Sakura and dragged Anko to another room.
More than half an hour later, Makoto came back clapping his hands.
As for Anko, she had fallen asleep, satiated.
Makoto thought this would be a peaceful morning, but halfway through his breakfast, an Anbu ninja appeared to deliver a letter.
Makoto frowned. This almost meant something quite serious had happened.
Sure enough, when Makoto arrived at the Hokage's office, Tsunade was listening to her subordinate's report with a serious face.
"What happened?"
Makoto spoke. Seeing Makoto arrive, Tsunade breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "Sasuke... he left the village."
Tsunade didn't use the word "defect," because once used, Sasuke would be a rogue ninja.
In fact, ninja could leave a ninja village peacefully. After all, the relationship between ninja and ninja villages was also a cooperative relationship, not a personal dependency relationship.
Of course, strictly speaking, the ninja's identity documents and other related documents were in Konoha, and Konoha had the power to manage ninja.
But as a citizen of the Land of Fire, if a ninja insisted on leaving, Konoha could only choose to let them go or erase them.
It was just that this kind of thing didn't happen often, because although a ninja's life was dangerous, they were solidly in the wealthy class of the ninja world. It wasn't wrong to say they were a rentier class.
Giving up the ninja life to be a commoner required not only courage, but also the rigid demand of the ability to survive.
Because most ninja were trained as ninja from a young age, they didn't know how to survive other than being a ninja.
This explained why in the original story, Sasuke left the village for several years, killed so many people, did so many things, and could still return to the village safely and even threaten to become Hokage.
Sasuke indeed had this qualification, not only because of his strength, but also because his leaving the village was essentially the same as Tsunade and Jiraiya's behavior. Officially, he had never been treated as a rogue ninja.
Now the original storyline was replaying.
The only difference was probably that Sakura, who cried and begged Naruto to bring Sasuke back, was giggling in Makoto's arms last night and played with Makoto until midnight before falling asleep.
But this wasn't a bad thing.
Originally, the brotherhood between Naruto and Sasuke was the brotherhood between the reincarnations of Asura and Indra. Letting Sakura intervene was just forcing Team 7 together. It was better to let everyone go their separate ways now.
"So what's your plan?"
Makoto asked smoothly. Seeing Makoto speak, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Currently, the vast majority of ninja in the village have received missions and started operations. Not to mention the people I can mobilize."
"So I hope you—"
"I refuse."
Makoto refused directly, which made Tsunade's eyes widen in anger.
"Akiyama Makoto, I'm just asking you for a favor—"
"Hokage-sama, since Sasuke isn't defecting, just leaving the village, I won't interfere with him."
"He has his freedom and his goals."
Tsunade's knuckles cracked. "Just because of this? Aren't you afraid that after he goes to Orochimaru, he will become a rogue ninja who kills Konoha ninja?"
"If that day really comes, I will naturally deal with him when I meet him. But now—"
Makoto spread his hands. "Hokage-sama, find someone else."
Then Makoto waved his hand and turned to leave.
The reason he didn't agree was not only because Tsunade wanted to get something for nothing, but also because he had already sensed Itachi Uchiha's presence.
In other words, this time Itachi Uchiha would watch Sasuke go to Orochimaru's base, and probably wouldn't leave until he confirmed Sasuke was safe.
Since Itachi, the older brother, had taken action, Makoto naturally didn't need to help.
Tsunade didn't know this. She gritted her teeth, finally made up her mind, and began to summon the Konoha rookies.
When Makoto returned home, only Karin and Temari were left at home.
"What happened?"
Karin asked curiously. Makoto told her what happened, then looked at Temari thoughtfully.
"Is there anything I need to do?"
Temari felt something. Makoto nodded and said, "You and Karin go help Sakura. She should also participate in the Sasuke retrieval mission. If anyone asks for your permission to act, say I let you go."
Temari's eyes lit up. Did Makoto mean that she could not only leave Konoha village, but also regain her chakra?
Sure enough, the next second Makoto released Temari's seal.
Feeling the chakra returning to her body, Temari asked in confusion, "You trust me that much?"
"I've already left a mark on you. You're mine wherever you go. Of course, you can also take the opportunity to do what you want, but if I find out, I'll spank you when you come back."
Temari's face blushed, and her hand subconsciously reached back to cover her butt. She had really been spanked by Makoto there.
But she then cheered up, looked at Karin, and said, "Let's go, let's go help."
"It's time for Konoha to re-recognize the strength of me, the Princess of the Sand!"
Then, Temari took back her fan and excitedly dragged Karin out of Makoto's house.
As for Makoto, he poured a cup of tea and quietly waited for the end of this mission.
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