Chapter 545: Two People (Part 1)
While the heavy rain poured down in the Land of Water, the weather in the Land of Fire was excellent.
The bright sun shone high in the sky, a clear and sunny day in late autumn.
Konoha, Hokage Rock.
The scenery here was excellent. Looking down, one could take in the entire Konoha into their view. The neat houses at the foot spread out in a fan shape in an orderly manner, extending beyond the horizon, until the towering Konoha walls blocked the line of sight.
When the sun was setting in the west, a pair of men and women, seemingly close yet distant, full of ambiguity, skipped their official duties and slipped to the rooftop of the Hokage Rock, leisurely enjoying the rare warm sunshine.
Of course, a bottle of sake and two plates of appetizers serving as dinner were indispensable.
After a few cups of sake, the man's eyes couldn't help but become hazy.
"I say... Tsunade," the burly man's Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke indistinctly, "Is it okay for us to be so leisurely?"
He sat on the edge of the rooftop, his body swaying with the wind, making one worry if he would fall off.
"Hm?" Tsunade turned her head and glanced at him.
On that fair, smooth face like a young girl's, there was an extra layer of faint, intoxicated flush; the moment she looked back, she was full of amorous feelings, charming and coquettish, without the slightest majesty of the Fifth Hokage.
"Didn't we agree not to talk about official business, Jiraiya?" She gave the man an annoyed eye-roll, but her lips curled up softly, smiling, "Alright, I know you're worried about Naruto... Don't worry, with Sakura and Sasuke there, nothing will happen."
Tsunade moved her gaze away from the man's face, looking at the buildings of Konoha Village at her feet extending to the distant horizon, her expression becoming leisurely.
"I dared to let the three of them execute this super high-end mission independently, naturally I have my basis." The woman said slowly, "Over the past two years, don't think that only Naruto has been growing!"
Jiraiya turned his head, gazing intently at the beauty beside him, seeing the familiar confident smile on those tender red lips.
"Hm?"
Tsunade nodded slightly and said: "Especially, Sakura."
Haruno Sakura. Her second disciple.
She was the biggest reliance Tsunade had to dare let the three of Team 7, including the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the Uchiha orphan, execute a dangerous mission.
"If I say," Tsunade suddenly turned her head, smiling with great interest, "Haruno Sakura has completely surpassed me... and undoubtedly has already surpassed you, do you believe it, Jiraiya?"
"Oh?"
Jiraiya's first reaction was that Tsunade was joking with him.
"Hehe." He shook his head and smiled, lowering his head to fill up Tsunade's and his own cups.
"Drink."
"Cheers."
The wine glasses clinked lightly with a clear ding, and Jiraiya drank it all in one gulp.
When pouring the third cup, Jiraiya seriously sized up Tsunade and finally realized she didn't seem to be joking.
"Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm joking with you?"
The man frowned slightly.
She really felt that way.
That's why Jiraiya found it unbelievable.
"I don't believe it." Jiraiya was very confident in himself. He knew very well that he could reach this current level not by relying on luck or the blessing of his ancestors' bloodline, but by relying on great perseverance and great courage, overcoming countless difficulties and obstacles to gain such strength. Relying on petty shrewdness and taking shortcuts opportunistically could never reach that realm, let alone surpassing himself in just two or three years. Orochimaru was the best example. Wanting to take the shortcut to immortality, he ended up being surpassed by Jiraiya.
Haruno Sakura surpassed him at such a young age? This was simply a fantasy tale.
However, after taking a sip of wine, Jiraiya turned his head and exchanged a glance with Tsunade, his gaze clear, but said: "But now I believe it."
Tsunade stared at him intently for two seconds.
Jiraiya believed in himself, but at this moment chose to trust her judgment.
"You find it inconceivable, right? Sometimes I also find it hard to believe. But that's the fact. Haruno Sakura, she..." Tsunade paused for a moment, as if organizing the words in her brain, her expression carrying a bit of melancholy, "She perfectly mastered Senjutsu, and developed many secret techniques from who knows where... Hehe, seriously, as her master, I can no longer see through her depths."
"Her limit... is probably far above yours and mine."
"Seeing my disciple's growth with my own eyes, gradually realizing I am being surpassed by young people... this feeling constantly reminds me that I am no longer young. I am already old."
Jiraiya pursed his lips and didn't reply.
He quietly listened to Tsunade speak, just like many times before, acting as a qualified listener.
At this moment, what Tsunade needed was not rebuttal or agreement, but simply quiet listening.
Tsunade, who mastered various secret techniques, kept her appearance at the most youthful and beautiful age, never aging. At least from Jiraiya's perspective, from such a close distance, the woman's face was still as smooth and flawless as before, maintaining an astonishing elasticity and glamour like a young girl. As long as Tsunade still had chakra, she could maintain this outward appearance forever, stay young forever, and not age.
But the change in mentality, the aging of psychological age, could not be suppressed by chakra and secret techniques.
Discovering she was surpassed by a junior, realizing her disciple no longer needed her to shelter them from wind and rain, but instead she sometimes needed to rely on Haruno Sakura's power... these facts were silently telling Tsunade that she was indeed old.
"Haha, how could that be." After a moment of silence, Jiraiya tried to comfort her, laughing dryly, "Aren't you still quite young! Unlike me, my wrinkles have already started to show."
Zero points.
Simply as straightforward as "drink more hot water", a typical straight man's answer.
Perhaps being bolder and taking the opportunity to pull Tsunade into his arms is the correct answer. Who knows, the woman might faintly be expecting this development in her heart? Otherwise, why would she repeatedly show her weakest side to a man in private?
But what she got was only Jiraiya's clumsy response, as if the soul of that uncle who always spoke frivolously had suddenly disappeared without a trace from his body.
Really making people anxious to death!
Tsunade bit her lip. In Jiraiya's eyes, her soft and glutinous red lips were still bright and dripping. The man's heart stirred, and just as he was about to speak, the woman laughed first and said: "Hah! So I sent the three of them out with peace of mind. With Sakura there, I think even if they encounter Akatsuki's leader Pain or Nagato or whatever, they can retreat completely!"
"Mm hmm..." Should not be a big problem. Jiraiya subconsciously responded.
Stealing a glance, the bright smile reappeared on the woman's face; the weakness and low spirits just now seemed like merely one of Jiraiya's illusions.
"Hey." Tsunade nudged Jiraiya lightly with her elbow, smiling with hidden complacency, "You used to always beat me. This time, in terms of cultivating disciples, I finally won a round back from you!"
"Hey hey, don't declare victory on your own. Naruto still has a lot of potential unexcavated! Who wins and who loses is still uncertain... alright alright, consider you winning one point first, don't look at me with that kind of gaze!"
"Hmph. Glad you know what's good for you. Cheers."
"Cheers."
Draining the remaining wine in her cup, Tsunade's eyes rippled, and she changed the subject: "Seriously, Jiraiya. Both you and I are getting on in years. No matter how much we refuse to accept aging, we have to seriously consider the issue of a successor. Speaking of which... what do you think about the Hokage?"
"Hokage..." Jiraiya was slightly stunned, then gave Tsunade a meaningful glance, "You want to talk about the issue of the next Hokage?"
Tsunade nodded: "Kakashi, Asuma, how about them?"
"Don't joke around, Tsunade." Jiraiya smiled mockingly and waved his hand, "Kakashi lacks drive, and Asuma... the old man would be the first to disagree."
Kakashi was good in all aspects, and his strength was passable, it was just his personal image that wasn't right: too lazy, often late, and walked all over the streets openly carrying a porn book every day. If this guy became Hokage, Konoha's image would become weird...! As for Asuma, even Jiraiya, who had low political sensitivity, knew it was impossible to choose him as Hokage. Asuma's strength was too weak, at most the level of an elite Jonin; letting him be Hokage would be equal to killing him.
But this way, it seemed no one in this generation was capable of taking on the great responsibility. As for the others, their strength was mostly inadequate, not to mention prestige or anything. Konoha's talents had a gap of a whole generation!
"So simply consider" Jiraiya's voice came to a sudden halt. He turned his head to look at Tsunade, who was looking at him with a smile but said nothing.
"Consider the next generation's Naruto and Sakura."
Jiraiya subconsciously finished the sentence.
After saying this sentence, Jiraiya himself was startled by it first.
A teenage Hokage? What a joke!
But the nonchalant smile still remained on Tsunade's face, as if not only did she not find this proposal shocking, but it actually coincided perfectly with her thoughts.
The white-haired sage was instantly a bit bewildered.
"They are only fifteen! And"
And the last time they did cross-generation inheritance, passing the position to a grand-disciple instead of a disciple, it caused a great disaster. This was how Orochimaru became alienated from Konoha.
"I know what you're worried about." Tsunade put away her smile, raised a finger to explain, "But the situation is different from the past, no need to taboo this. First, Kakashi is not an ambitious person like Orochimaru. Second..."
She paused and took a small sip of sake.
"Second," the woman continued, "I didn't say I would pass the position to a newcomer right now... I'm not so old that I can't move yet!"
Saying that, she rolled her eyes charmingly at the man.
This made sense.
Jiraiya sized her up suspiciously a few times, staring fixedly into her eyes, wanting to see through her thoughts through the woman's beautiful eyes.
"So... do you want to designate Sakura to be the next Hokage, Tsunade?"
He raised his wine glass and said calmly and collectedly.
Although Jiraiya didn't know much about politics, he understood Tsunade. Setting aside those emotional words and introductions, with just a little thought, he could always extract silk from cocoons, find the key point from the mess, and hit the nail on the head regarding what Tsunade truly wanted to express.
The woman's thoughts were guessed right.
The extra expressions on Tsunade's face quickly faded, and her look became stern.