Tsunade strolled leisurely through the forest.
Though she claimed to be searching for traces of Sarutobi Hiruzen, in reality, she was just taking a casual walk.
"That old fool wouldn't have gone to the red-light district like that idiot Jiraiya, would he?"
Tsunade pondered as she walked, stroking her chin in thought.
Hiruzen had worked hard his entire life.
After retiring as Hokage, following the logic of 'I've fought my whole life, surely I can enjoy myself now' it would make sense for him to relax in the red-light district...
'Wait!'
Tsunade suddenly realized the flaw in her logic.
She had clearly told Hiruzen and Jiraiya about Makoto, asking them to find ways to gather information from the future Sasuke and Boruto.
Even the usually unreliable Jiraiya hadn't thought about going out to play and was seriously collecting information.
How could the Third, who cared more about the village than anyone, go to the red-light district at a time like this?
"Hmm?"
Tsunade felt she had stepped on something with a weird texture.
Looking down, she saw a patch of grass stained with a spot of dried blood.
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief.
After these days of psychological adjustment while teaching Sakura and Ino Medical Ninjutsu, her hemophobia was gradually healing.
Seeing a small spot of blood like this wasn't paralyzing her anymore.
"Why is there blood here?"
Frowning, Tsunade followed the blood trail forward.
As she walked, Tsunade stopped, her legs beginning to tremble uncontrollably.
A large rock marked the last spot where the blood appeared. Protruding from behind the rock was a human leg.
Tsunade took a deep breath and walked over.
She saw what was hidden behind the rock—and instantly passed out.
...
Evening.
Sakura and Ino, having waited for their teacher Tsunade in the Medical Department without success, went to the Hokage's office to look for her, only to encounter Shizune.
Upon learning that Tsunade was also missing, Shizune hurriedly took the two to the forest outside the village.
"First the Third Hokage disappears, now Lady Tsunade... please, not her too..."
Shizune ran through the forest, constantly looking around for clues, her face full of anxiety.
Fortunately, before long, she spotted Tsunade lying on the ground and rushed over.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Shizune checked Tsunade's physical condition. Confirming there was no life-threatening issue, nor even any injuries, she sighed in relief.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
"What... what is this?"
Sakura and Ino had followed as well, but the first thing they caught sight of was another object some distance away from Tsunade.
"That is..."
Shizune followed their gaze, and her pupils instantly contracted.
Now she understood why Tsunade had collapsed here.
Having just recovered from hemophobia less than half a day ago, before she could fully regain her mental fortitude, she was confronted with the gruesome sight of someone close to her dying tragically.
The mutilated body of the Third Hokage was collected, while Tsunade was sent to the Medical Department.
Since she wasn't physically injured, Tsunade quickly regained consciousness under Shizune's treatment.
Tsunade's eyes snapped open as she sat up in the hospital bed, showing none of the weakness associated with her hemophobia.
"WHO DID THIS?!" Tsunade clenched her fists.
"Lady Tsunade, the medical team has already examined and analyzed the Third Hokage's body. Due to extensive animal bites around the wound area, we can only confirm that the fatal injury was a pierced and destroyed heart. As for what specific method the murderer used..."
"It must be Danzo!"
While Shizune was reporting, Tsunade hadn't been listening at all.
After spacing out for a moment, her expression suddenly sharpened. She threw off the blankets and got out of bed.
"Eh! Lady Tsunade—"
A bewildered Shizune watched as Tsunade stormed out of the Medical Department and hurriedly chased after her.
...
At the entrance to the Root Organization's underground base.
"Hokage-sama, are you here to see Lord Danzo? I'll go inform—"
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
Crash!
"Arghhh!"
Without another word, Tsunade charged straight in. The Root Organization specialized in poison, but that was completely ineffective against her.
Shizune arrived hastily with the Anbu, following behind Tsunade, only to see Root members lying scattered across the floor.
"Danzo, you beast! How dare you murder the Third Hokage!!!"
Tsunade kicked open the door to Danzo's office as the Root leader looked up.
"?"
Danzo looked at the furious Tsunade, feeling genuinely confused af.
Which murder attemp was Tsunade referring to?
Was it when he sent Yamato to assassinate Hiruzen? Or when he conspired with Orochimaru to invade the village?
Bringing up old matters to cause trouble—was this new Hokage planning to make an example of him?
Danzo frowned. "Tsunade, don't make baseless accusations without evidence."
"Baseless? On the day the old man asked me to become Hokage, didn't you appear? Didn't you say to him, 'Hiruzen, you'll regret this'!"
Tsunade angrily smashed the table in front of Danzo with one punch.
"There are no enemies appearing in the village right now, yet the old man died in the woods not far outside the village. If it wasn't done by someone from within the village, then who?"
"..."
Danzo was speechless.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this"—wasn't this their usual conversation end?
That was basically his catchphrase!
How could this count as evidence?
"Wait, you said Hiruzen is dead?!"
Countless emotions flashed through Danzo's single visible eye.
There was grief and sorrow, relief and happiness, as well as pity and mockery.
Danzo and the Third Hokage were indeed a star-crossed couple who loved and fought each other for decades!
"Who killed him?" Danzo asked coldly after composing himself.
"Still pretending?" Tsunade tightened her fists, ready to strike.
"If I wanted to be Hokage, I should be killing you, Tsunade! What use would killing the retired Hiruzen be to me!" Danzo's eyes narrowed as he retorted coldly with impeccable logic.
"..."
Tsunade had no response and took a step back, just as Shizune arrived with the Anbu to support her.
"Hiruzen is truly pitiful. Had he died by Orochimaru's hand, perishing together with him, he could have gloriously fallen in battle as a hero of Konoha. But now? Silently killed by someone in the woods, without anyone even knowing who the murderer is—his death is lighter than a monkey's hair."
Danzo sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
There was also some genuine resentment mixed in.
After all, if Hiruzen had died by Orochimaru's hand back then, Danzo might have had a chance to become Hokage.
But instead, Hiruzen survived, and Tsunade was directly appointed by him, leaving him with no room to maneuver at all.
...
Tsunade left the Root's underground base in embarrassment.
"Lady Tsunade, if you suspect it was Danzo, you could have the Interrogation Department question him," Shizune suggested while supporting Tsunade.
"It wasn't him."
Tsunade now looked utterly fragile, her body limp, completely devoid of her earlier ferocity.
In truth, she knew perfectly well it wasn't Danzo—she just want someone to blame.
Escape from a conclusion that, even without knowing the murderer yet, was already clear: if she hadn't acted on her own, her teacher Hiruzen would certainly not have died.
If she hadn't thought to conceal the news of the future Sasuke and Boruto's arrival, she wouldn't have sent her teacher and Jiraiya to investigate alone, and this wouldn't have happened.
Taking it a step further, if she had informed Makoto, and Makoto had been in Konoha, the outcome would be different.
Even if her teacher had been pierced through the heart, based on what she'd learned from Sakura about Makoto's ability to remove Hanabi's Caged Bird Seal, he likely could have healed him instantly.
Just like that.
Tsunade, who had only recently regained her fighting spirit, fell back into despair, holing up at home drinking and sleeping every day.
Fortunately, before this breakdown, she had delegated the Hokage's authority to others so she could slack off, so there were people handling official duties for her, and Konoha continued to operate as usual.
However, the Third's death couldn't be kept secret for long.
After the medical team could extract no more new information, they began notifying the family.
Konohamaru, who was in the village, was the first to know.
Sarutobi Asuma wasn't in the village, as he was on a mission with Choji and Shikamaru.
They would have to send someone else to notify him.
"Please, Jiraiya-sama." Shizune handed the mission scroll to Jiraiya.
"Let's go, kids."
Jiraiya, without his usual frivolous expression, looked back seriously and solemnly at the three-person team he was leading this time: Konohamaru, Naruto, and Boruto.
He had finally gotten the chance to leave the village, but at the cost of his teacher death and his friend despair.