Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Cedar.
August 29, x791.
"Why in the hell is Master Retsu in such a hurry?" Tsunade asked as she stepped out of the train station in Cedar. "I mean, it's only been three years since I took over as Hokage. Is there really something so urgent that she can't wait for a few more years?"
It has been a weeks since Tsunade received the call from Retsu ordering her to get the Mermaid Heel's guild master situation taken care of. Since then, Tsunade, who tried to slack off from her official duties as often as possible, was forced to work overtime so that she could make time for a three-day trip back to the guild that helped her through some of the toughest times in her life, having lost both her fiancé and her younger brother in short order. Retsu was even the one who helped her get over the hemophobia that had developed when she was not able to save either of their lives.
While Tsunade, who was irritable from losing her drinking and gambling time over the last few days, continued to grumble, the two who accompanied her on this trip, her disciples, Shizune and Sakura, both rolled their eyes at their teacher's shamelessness.
"It's only been three years, she says." Sakura said in an exasperated tone. "She pulls her old mentor out of retirement for three years and thinks there's nothing wrong with that. *Sigh* Sometimes I wonder what goes through Lady Tsunade's head."
Shizune could only chuckle wryly at Sakura's question. As someone who had been traveling and living with Tsunade since she was even younger than Sakura, who was sixteen this year, she knew Tsunade's personality better than most. So, she was able to see through Tsunade's thoughts much better than the younger kunoichi.
Even so, Shizune decided to keep her thoughts to herself. And the reason became obvious only a moment later.
"What did you say, Sakura?" Tsunade, who Sakura did not think was paying close enough attention to hear her through her ranting, asked in a menacing tone without turning around. "It sounded like you were asking me for more instruction on the [Magic Enhanced Strength] technique. Well, since you're in such a hurry to continue improving, we'll have a spar when we get to Mermaid Heel. I'm sure that will help answer all your questions."
"Huh? What? No!" Sakura replied in a fluster. "I didn't say anything about that."
"Oh, then what did you say?" Tsunade asked as she looked back over her shoulder with her eyes narrowed, her gaze daring Sakura to repeat what she said before.
Meanwhile, Sakura shot a pleading gaze in Shizune's direction. However, her elder apprentice sister only looked away, finding the scenery of the town of Cedar quite interesting, despite having seen it quite often for the last fifteen, or so, years.
"Tch! Traitor..." Sakura muttered under her breath.
"Don't blame me, Sakura." Shizune whispered back. "Getting on Lady Tsunade's bad side when she's in this kind of mood is not worth the trouble. Honestly, I thought you would have figured that out by now when considering how smart you are."
"Well?" Tsunade asked as she came to a stop and turned around. She then crossed her arms under her more than impressive chest and stared at Sakura coldly.
Seeing Tsunade's posture, both Shizune and Sakura, who had much more modest assets, felt as if they had been punched in the gut when they saw her proud peaks standing out even more. And when Tsunade saw that, she grinned triumphantly as she straightened her back even further, emphasizing them even more.
"Life isn't fair." Sakura muttered to herself while looking down at her own chest.
"I can definitely agree with that." Shizune added while doing the same thing.
"I'm waiting." Tsunade said in an impatient tone while tapping her right index finger on her left bicep.
"Oh... Right..." Sakura stammered while trying to think up something to say. "Right... What I said was... Naruto should be ready to be Hokage soon. He's going to be a Jōnin soon. So, once he's got a few more missions under his belt, you can promote him. Then, he will be ready to take the position from you. And when that's done, you'll be able to take over as Mermaid Heel's guild master again. If Master Unohana could just be a little more patient, everything would settle itself."
Hearing that, Tsunade nodded her head. Because despite still being in a position of authority as Mermaid Heel's guild master, the workload was considerably lower. And that meant she would have much more time to drink and gamble, which she would always call a win in her book.
"Oh, even better than that..." Sakura said, trying to earn a few more brownie points. "You could make Kakashi-Sensei the next Hokage. That way, you could kill two birds with one stone. Especially since the last time that Fairy Tail wizard, Laki came by, she mentioned something about Miss Porlyusica researching the Sharingan. Maybe she could find a way to integrate it into Kakashi-Sense's bloodline."
That did more than just make Tsunade nod in agreement. It also made her eyes light up in anticipation.
'If Sakura's right, Kakashi's magic power amount would no longer be a problem.' Tsunade thought to herself. 'And with his only weakness taken care of, he would be the perfect Hokage candidate. Then, I will be able to retire even sooner. And just like Sakura said, it would kill two birds with one stone. Looks like I need to make an official visit to Fairy Tail to discuss things with Porlyusica. *Sigh* But there's a chance she won't even see me. Her hatred for other humans is well-known among the medical community of Fiore. I'll have to consider this more carefully.'
Seeing Tsunade fall into contemplation with an excited glint in her eyes, Sakura could not help sighing in relief. She then turned to look at Shizune. And when she saw the impressed expression on the older Kunoichi's face, she felt rather proud of herself. However, she also noticed something strange in Shizune's expression that she could not place.
Meanwhile, Tsunade was feeling a bit of glee at Sakura's expression. A rather dark glee, at that.
'Yes, let's make Kakashi Hokage.' Shizune thought to herself. 'Ever since Lady Tsunade came back to the village, I've been giving that man hints that I'm interested. Yet, the only thing he cared about was reading that smutty book Jiraiya wrote. And when he does finally show interest in a woman, it's an outsider. That's not to say that I have anything against Laki, she's actually quite nice, if not a bit weird. But still, Hmph! He deserves all the long days of paperwork for ignoring my feelings.'
"Hehehe." Shizune then started to giggle maliciously while those thoughts ran through her head, causing Sakura to take a step back.
In fact, Sakura was not the only one who was put off by Shizune's giggle, as everyone in the vicinity, except for Tsunade, who was off in her own world, took a step back, the malice rolling off the black-haired kunoichi making them all feel uneasy.
"Um... Lady Tsunade... Shizune..." Sakura called out after recovering from her initial fear. "I think we should get going. We wouldn't want to keep Master unohana waiting, would we?"
That question snapped both women back to their senses. A moment later, after nodding their heads, they both started moving towards the town gate closest to mermaid Heel's HQ as if nothing happened, leaving Sakura standing there dumbfoundedly.
"Seriously, how can they act like they weren't both being creepy as hell just now?" Sakura asked herself in a volume even lower than a whisper, having learned her lesson earlier.
Sakura, after shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts, mostly for her personal safety, hurried to catch up with Tsunade and Shizune. And before long, the trio passed through the town gate. Then, they picked up the pace, vanishing from the sights of the people near the gate when they started moving at full speed.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Mermaid Heel HQ.
About an hour later, the trio arrived at the small town that served as the Mermaid Heel HQ. Wasting no time, they made their way to the headquarters building. And just before Tsunade opened the doors, Shizune asked a question that had been on her mind for a while.
"By the way, Lady Tsunade..." Shizune said in an inquisitive tone. "Who have you chosen to take over as the new guild master? Because I doubt that Yoruichi would accept it. On top of that, her free-spirited nature doesn't really make her a good fit for the position."
"I had no intention of making her the guild master in the first place." Tsunade replied without looking back. "There's actually only one real choice."
Then, without explaining even further, Tsunade opened the doors to the guild hall. And just like always, she found the hall filled with members of the guild who were not currently on quests.
As soon as the guild hall's doors opened, the hall quieted down as everyone looked to see who entered. And when they saw their absentee guild master, more than a few mouths opened in surprise.
"Master Tsunade?" Araña asked dumbfoundedly. "She's actually here?"
"How long has it been since we saw her?" Beth asked curiously.
"Should we still call her master?" Risley asked. "Didn't she retire to become the leader of her village?"
"No, she didn't retire, Meow!" Millianna replied. "Kagura said she was serving as the guild master and Hokage of her village at the same time."
"Does that mean she's finally back to lead us again?" Beth asked, a slight hint of fear in her tone. "But we just got used to having the guild not be in debt."
"Don't worry, Beth." Araña said while patting Beth on the shoulder. "I'm sure everything will be fine."
The rest of the girls sitting at the table all looked at Araña skeptically. Even Araña, despite trying to console Beth, did not truly believe what she just said. And when she looked away from the piercing gazes of her team mates, it made that fact clear to the others.
Many more conversations of a similar nature could be heard all over the guild hall. A fact that made the veins on Tsunade's temples pulse violently.
At the same time, Shizune and Sakura, who were standing behind Tsunade, had to do everything they could to not laugh out loud at the guild's misgivings about having Tsunade come back to take over as the guild master once again. Yet, they both knew that if they were to lose their battles with their laughter, life would not go well for them in the near future. So, they had to do everything they could to not laugh, from pinching their thighs to thinking about some of the most gruesome kills they've made during their shinobi careers to keep the impulses in check.
"Enough!" Tsunade bellowed, her anger finally getting the best of her. "It looks like without me here, your respect for your guild master has left, as well. Looks like I'll need to remedy that before I head back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
The malicious smile on Tsunade's face, combined with her threat, silenced the guild hall immediately. Seeing that, Tsunade nodded in satisfaction. Then, she returned to scanning the main hall as she, alongside Shizune and Sakura, entered the building.
"Hmm...?" Tsunade hummed after not seeing the people she was looking for. She then turned to Araña and asked a question. "Where are Master Retsu, Kagura, Yoruichi, and Sui-Feng."
"Oh... Um... Yoruichi and Sui-Feng are on a quest with Rangiku right now." Araña replied. "As for Master Unohana and Kagura, they are at Master Unohana's residence, making the final preparations for Master Unohana's departure."
"I see." Tsunade replied after taking a few moments to think. She then looked up and let her gaze drag over all the members of Mermaid Heel in the main hall. "In that case, I'll go to see Master Unohana. As for all of you, don't leave on any quests until I return. I have an announcement to make."
With that, and before anyone could respond, Tsunade turned around and walked out of the guild hall with Shizune and Sakura following closely behind her. As for the other members of Mermaid Heel, they could only watch her retreating back before exchanging glances.
A few minutes later, Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura arrived at the modest, two-floor Japanese-style home that served as Retsu's residence while she stayed at the Mermaid Heel HQ.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
Without any hesitation, Tsunade knocked on the door of the residence. Then, she and her two apprentices waited for someone to answer the door. Before long, the door was opened. However, instead of Retsu, Kagura was the one who opened the door, her usual emotionless expression on her face.
"Good afternoon, Master Tsunade." Kagura said calmly. "Master has been expecting you. Please, come this way."
Then, without giving Tsunade a chance to say anything, Kagura stepped aside, allowing the trio to enter. Then, once all three were inside, Kagura closed the door behind them before leading them to where Retsu was.