Chapter 226: Stand Against Justice
The moment Tsunade returned to the inn, her first thought was to crash onto the floor and sleep, then wake up and go gamble recklessly at the Konoha casino.
But after collapsing onto the tatami mat, she immediately sat back up.
Tsunade lightly slapped her own cheeks with both hands.
"Been lazy for too long, always wanting to be lazy. I said so many angry, firm words to the Old Man, and now I'm back and don't want to do anything." Tsunade muttered, forcing herself to stand up, then looked at Shizune beside her.
"Shizune, you're coming with me to the Yamanaka Clan, the Akimichi Clan, and the Nara Clan, and then we're going to the Ninja Academy."
Tsunade said, suddenly galvanized.
Shizune was surprised: "Lady Tsunade, why these four places?"
Tsunade said expressionlessly: "I'm going to establish a Konoha Medical Squad, and one that doesn't take orders from the Old Man and his cronies. If I look for people elsewhere, I'm likely to find ninja loyal to the Old Man's command."
"Of those four places, the first three have already sided with Ikeizumi Uchiha. And the worldview of the brats in the Ninja Academy hasn't fully matured yet. Before they become the Old Man's loyal dogs, I'm going to go pick out the kids with Medical-nin talent."
Shizune was dumbfounded: "Isn't that blatant poaching from the Hokage, especially at a place like the Ninja Academy? There's no way the Hokage-sama will let you mess around, Lady Tsunade!"
Tsunade said, "What I mess around with is none of his business? Furthermore, Konoha wasn't founded by his Sarutobi Clan. And the Ninja Academy wasn't founded by him, Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"What are you standing there for? Let's go!"
Shizune shivered, a pained look on her face: "Yes, Lady Tsunade!"
The Ninja Academy.
Sasuke had been in a daze all day. Whether it was Iruka's lecture or Naruto's chatter beside him, it went in one ear and out the other. His brain seemed to have simply stopped thinking.
Sasuke thought he would quickly recover from the grief of his father's death.
He had clearly overestimated himself.
"Hah..."
He exhaled heavily, muttering in a voice only he could hear: "Since Father made a mistake, he must pay the price for that mistake. Just like Itachi Uchiha, I don't need to over-dwell on their deaths. Simple remembrance is enough. There's no need to be too fixated..."
Whether he had convinced himself a little or not, the dazed look on Sasuke's face finally showed some fluctuation.
"It looks like you've recovered."
The sudden voice caught Sasuke's attention. Turning around, he saw Ino Yamanaka sitting next to Naruto.
"Are... are you talking to me?" Sasuke asked, somewhat uncertain: "Were you secretly observing me?"
"Yes."
Ino Yamanaka nodded and said, "To be precise, I was openly observing you. To prevent you from getting any extreme ideas and making any wrong moves. After all, you Uchiha people... sometimes have a hard time controlling your emotions."
"If this matter makes you misunderstand justice, Naruto Uzumaki and I will control you immediately, lest you slip and fall into the abyss of evil. At that point, truly no one can save you."
Sasuke was speechless for a moment, because Ino was right.
Then he heard Naruto Uzumaki's slightly dissatisfied voice: "Hey, hey, hey, why do you snap out of it the moment Ino speaks? You didn't listen to a word of what I said to you!"
Sasuke gave a soft 'hmph', habitually snapping back: "That's because your consolations don't have an ounce of substance."
"What?!"
Naruto glared at Sasuke, looking like he was grinding his teeth.
Sasuke glared back, unwilling to be outdone.
Ino Yamanaka, watching this scene, stroked her smooth, fair chin.
"He's definitely recovered, then."
She muttered.
"Sasuke Uchiha is probably not the Child of Prophecy we are looking for. Naruto Uzumaki next to him has a higher probability. Plus, Naruto Uzumaki is Minato's child, right?"
Fukasaku-sama, standing on Jiraiya's shoulder, spoke slowly: "Minato was also a person you groomed as the Child of Prophecy. Perhaps his child has inherited some of his potential."
"Little Jiraiya, this time we can't be wrong. The Child of Prophecy Ikeizumi Uchiha spoke of, the one near him, is Naruto Uzumaki!"
Shima-sama, standing on the other shoulder, also spoke: "My husband and I are at least ninety percent certain that Naruto Uzumaki is the Child of Prophecy mentioned by the Great Sage. In the future, he will be the savior of the entire Ninja World."
Perched on the treetop within the Ninja Academy grounds.
Jiraiya looked at a classroom a hundred meters away. Through the window, he could see Naruto Uzumaki inside.
"Naruto Uzumaki..."
"The Child of Prophecy..."
Jiraiya finally felt a surge of excitement: "It seems my decision to return to the village was correct. I didn't expect to locate the real Child of Prophecy less than a month after coming back."
Jiraiya paused, then added with a touch of complicated emotion amidst his excitement: "Of course, this also involved making use of Ikeizumi. We used Ikeizumi's personal connections to pinpoint the Child of Prophecy."
"And Ikeizumi doesn't seem to mind being used. Or rather, he doesn't mind us figuring out who the Child of Prophecy is. He has no interest whatsoever in the Child of Prophecy..."
As he spoke, Jiraiya himself didn't know why a hint of despondency lingered in his heart.
Perhaps it was because the savior he valued so highly seemed to be just an ordinary child in Ikeizumi's eyes—even though Ikeizumi knew Naruto Uzumaki's true identity.
It wasn't so much that Ikeizumi Uchiha couldn't grasp the importance of the Child of Prophecy.
It was more that Ikeizumi Uchiha didn't hold the Child of Prophecy in the extremely special status that he, Jiraiya, did.
Jiraiya had the illusion that his entire perspective was being crushed by the other party.
"Jiraiya? What are you doing here?!" A sudden, familiar voice nearly made Jiraiya fall out of the tree.
He quickly looked down and saw Tsunade and her disciple Shizune had arrived at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
Before Jiraiya could scratch his head and offer an explanation.
Shima-sama, standing on his shoulder, preemptively spoke for Jiraiya: "Little Jiraiya is, of course, seeking the future savior of the Ninja World."
Tsunade, standing below the tree, narrowed her eyes: "A savior? That's the Child of Prophecy the Great Toad Sage spoke of, right? So, have you two toads already helped Jiraiya find the person?"
Jiraiya thought, This is not good.
Shima-sama and Tsunade had a history of verbal conflict.
Shima-sama said, "This has nothing to do with Shikkotsu Forest."
Tsunade said, "Hmph, that attitude tells me you really have found him."
The next moment, Tsunade's expression suddenly changed.
She stared at Jiraiya and slowly said: "Don't use the pretexts of seeking out or grooming the Child of Prophecy to do anything that crosses the line of justice. I advise the toads of Mount Myōboku, and you, Jiraiya, not to stand on the opposite side of justice."
"Otherwise..."
"I will not take our old friendship into account."
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