After Mikoto left, Isamu's expression turned cold again. From beginning to end, he hadn't spared Senba a single glance.
Senba also knew that his father was waiting for him, so he stepped forward and knelt directly before him.
Tsunade didn't know what to say either. After all, she had just belittled Isamu as if he were nothing, and now she stood there awkwardly.
"Stop looking so pitiful. I'm not buying it!" Looking at his son kneeling before him with his head bowed, Isamu glanced at him and spoke indifferently.
"Father, I'm sorry, I…"
Before Senba could finish, Isamu cut him off.
"Don't tell me you're sorry. You haven't done anything to wrong me. If I hadn't wanted to see your mother so heartbroken, I wouldn't have bothered saving you at all!"
Hearing his father's words, Senba looked back at his mother before lowering his head again, his heart filled with self-reproach.
"Isamu, why don't we just let it go? Our son barely escaped death. Otherwise…" Tsunade said cautiously.
Garuda echoed her, "That's right, Isamu. Senba hasn't had it easy either. After this incident, he should have realized a lot of things. He's still young, after all, so don't be too…"
"Hmph! It's precisely because you two protect him too much that he ended up like this today. What's wrong with making him kneel while I scold him? Even if I whipped him right now, do you think he'd dare complain?"
Seeing that Isamu was genuinely angry, Tsunade and Garuda fell silent.
Looking at Senba kneeling on the ground, Isamu sighed and slowly said, "I told you long ago that Konoha's waters weren't easy to navigate, but you refused to believe me. Did you really think Konoha's power was yours to control? When they need you, they'll raise you up. When they no longer need you, they'll just as easily cast you aside. You didn't listen when I warned you, so how does it feel now? Are you satisfied?"
Senba didn't say a word. He simply listened with his head bowed, completely losing his former stubbornness and arrogance.
Seeing that Senba didn't even argue back, Isamu felt as though he had punched a pillow. He immediately picked up a nearby wine cup and took a large gulp.
The room fell silent.
After a while, Garuda spoke again to break the tense atmosphere.
"Isamu, don't be so angry. Senba has realized his mistake, so don't keep dwelling on it." Garuda stepped forward and pleasantly refilled Isamu's wine before asking, "By the way, how are Little Itachi and Little Sasuke? They shouldn't be in any trouble, right?"
Hearing Garuda's words, Tsunade finally remembered her two little grandsons. She had been so heartbroken over Senba that she had completely forgotten about them.
Tsunade immediately stepped forward and asked anxiously, "That's right, Isamu. How are Little Itachi and Little Sasuke?"
"So you finally remembered to ask about your grandsons? I thought you only had eyes for your son!" Isamu rolled his eyes at Tsunade. He clearly hadn't forgotten how she had belittled him earlier.
"Why are you being so petty? I was just too anxious before. Can't I admit that I was wrong? Isamu, just tell me about our two grandsons, okay? Please?"
Tsunade tugged on Isamu's arm and acted coquettishly, believing he wouldn't stay angry with her.
"Alright, alright, stop that. What are you doing?" Feeling his arm trapped as Tsunade clung to him, Isamu quickly stopped her. There was truth to the saying that people who knew how to act spoiled often got what they wanted.
Isamu glanced at Senba, who was still kneeling on the ground, and said indifferently, "Don't worry. Although the two grandsons are in a somewhat difficult situation, they're doing much better than this brat. At least they didn't lose their lives!"
Hearing that her two grandsons were safe, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. But when she heard that their situation wasn't good, she quickly asked, "What's happening with Little Itachi and Little Sasuke? Isamu, tell me!"
Senba also pricked up his ears. He didn't know what had happened to Itachi and Sasuke either, and he wanted to hear the information from his seemingly all-knowing father.
"Their situation is a little complicated. Itachi has probably defected from Konoha Village and gone to the Hidden Rain Village in the Land of Rain. As for Sasuke, he should be unconscious in Konoha Hospital right now."
"Defected to the Land of Rain? How could that happen? Isamu, what exactly happened?" Hearing that her grandson Itachi had defected from Konoha, Tsunade immediately became worried.
Hearing that his eldest son had defected to the Land of Rain, Senba said nothing, but he was equally shocked.
"Hmph. Surprised that Itachi defected? You were willing to risk your life for Konoha without even knowing what was happening behind the scenes. Tell me yourself—was your 'death' this time worth it?"
Isamu looked at his kneeling son with disappointment.
"Enough, enough. Why are you bringing this back to Senba? Weren't we talking about Little Itachi?" Seeing that Isamu was about to lecture their son again, Tsunade quickly interrupted and changed the subject.
"This matter actually has everything to do with this brat. If he hadn't gotten in someone's way, how could things have turned out like this? The position of Anbu Commander carries enormous authority. How could those old men allow such an important position to remain in someone else's hands, especially during a sensitive period when the person in charge of the Anbu happens to be an Uchiha?"
"Uh… Isamu, are you saying Senba got in the way of those old men, and that's why…"
"Exactly. If he had listened to me and remained an ordinary Ninja, none of this would have happened!"
Senba didn't argue.
Yes, if he had chosen to remain an ordinary Ninja in Konoha, perhaps today's events would never have happened. Unfortunately, there were no second chances, and he could never truly have been content with remaining an ordinary Ninja.
"Then what about Little Itachi? Why did he defect?" Tsunade asked in confusion.
"It can't really be called a defection. The Uchiha in Konoha had become increasingly ambitious, and there were already signs that they were preparing for a coup. The old men sent people to work with Itachi to wipe out the entire Uchiha Clan, including Senba, and then pinned the blame for the Clan Massacre entirely on Itachi!"
"What?! How dare they do that? The Old Man and the others have gone too far!" Tsunade was furious upon hearing this.
But then she thought of Itachi and continued, "Wait. If that's the case, why isn't Itachi considered a defector?"
"A powerful expert appeared in the Hidden Rain Village in the Land of Rain. He killed Hanzō, the former leader of the Land of Rain who called himself a demigod, and then secretly took control of the country, declaring himself a god. The old men feared that this person would eventually threaten Konoha, so they sent Itachi there as a spy."
Isamu deliberately avoided revealing the person's identity, merely describing him as a powerful expert.
"That old fellow Hanzō was actually killed? That's quite surprising." Tsunade frowned upon hearing this. She knew Hanzō's strength was formidable. For someone to kill him, that person had to be extraordinarily powerful.
While Tsunade was focused on Hanzō, Garuda voiced her indignation on Itachi's behalf.
"Those people in Konoha are truly despicable. They made Little Itachi bear the blame for the Clan Massacre and then continued using him for their own purposes. That's simply too cruel!"