Konoha's command tent, Suna frontline.
"That concludes the first mission report of the Legendary Cyclone Storm Ultra-Roaring Squad Zero of the Blades of Gale, Flash, and Spiral!"
Minato gave a full debrief to Tsunade. On the side, Mitsuki stood quietly, obviously impatient, wanting to wrap up the tedious report and move on to his own affairs.
Ignoring the ridiculous name of the squad, Tsunade, completely unconcerned with decorum, sat slouched in the command chair, one leg crossed over the other. She rested her chin on her hand and addressed Mitsuki casually.
"Oh? Stronger than what you showed in the forest, and you fired it six times in a row? That's not a normal chakra reserve. If I remember correctly, the Shimizu clan doesn't have any kekkei genkai."
Mitsuki, previously zoning out in boredom, perked up at her words and replied with a confident smile, "I have some insights when it comes to chakra control."
Looking at the boy's self-assured smile, Tsunade was struck by a memory of Nawaki. He had smiled the same way once, filled with confidence, vowing that one day he'd become Hokage. But Nawaki didn't have the talent Mitsuki did — and ended up dying namelessly on the battlefield.
Feigning a nonchalant tone, Tsunade asked, "Oi, brat, what's your dream? Don't tell me you want to be Hokage too?"
Mitsuki didn't feel the need to put on a front with Tsunade. He answered honestly, "Hokage? I'm not interested. My dream is just to live happily every day with the people I trust most. That's enough for me."
"Hey, kid, do you even know what being Hokage means?"
They say women are hard to read, but Tsunade's thoughts were a mystery even to herself.
She had expected the boy, who reminded her so much of Nawaki, to declare proudly that he wanted to become Hokage — like most kids his age in Konoha would. Then she'd shut him down, tell him bluntly that the position of Hokage was meaningless and the village was rotten to the core.
But hearing Mitsuki say he didn't want to be Hokage? That somehow left a bitter taste in her mouth.
After all, this was the village her grandfather built with his own life. "Not interested in being Hokage?" Did this brat even understand the weight of what he was saying?
Mitsuki didn't know how to respond to the shift in Tsunade's mood, so he simply folded his arms, closed his eyes, and stood silently.
Well, what could he say? She might still look young on the outside, but Tsunade was definitely approaching that age where hormones start picking fights for no reason. Combine that with endless years of war, and you'd be lucky to find anyone in this world who's still mentally stable.
In short: empathy is essential.
Mitsuki understood that much.
Tsunade, however, was just growing more irritated by the second. She couldn't even pinpoint why exactly. She just was.
Especially looking at Mitsuki, calmly standing there with his eyes closed and his 'whatever' attitude—it made her want to punch something.
As it turns out, not even the legendary Sannin are immune to the emotional toll of being ignored.
Even though she genuinely despised the village and the Hokage title, even planning to leave Konoha after the war, there was still a part of her deep down that cared about the legacy her grandfather left behind.
She looked around the room. That damn Jiraiya, usually clinging to her like a leech, was nowhere to be found—meaning she didn't even have anyone to take her frustrations out on.
Her eyes landed back on the boy who had unknowingly lit the fuse to her foul mood.
Mitsuki, nearly twelve now, had a well-developed physique thanks to years of training. He didn't have any overly muscular build, but his body was lean and strong — definitely not the frail type.
"You look like you've got a problem with me, kid. Wanna step outside?" Tsunade smirked, raising an eyebrow with a clearly provocative tone.
"L-Lady Tsunade…" Minato began, trying to intervene but unsure what excuse to use. What was he supposed to say? "Please don't pick a fight with a kid"? From Minato's perspective, Tsunade was just venting her personal emotions—Mitsuki hadn't done anything wrong.
But as Jiraiya's student and technically Tsunade's junior, Minato didn't have the guts to scold her.
Mitsuki, on the other hand, heard her challenge and wasn't about to back down. He wasn't the Third Hokage — he wasn't about to put up with anyone's temper tantrum.
"Lady Tsunade is the commander. I wouldn't dream of disobeying an order" he replied coolly.
Then he turned and walked out first.
Mitsuki wasn't someone who liked meaningless fights, but he also wasn't a pushover. Not even the Sannin would get a free pass.
Sure, he had a nostalgic filter for Tsunade due to the original storyline — but that didn't mean he'd endlessly tolerate the people he used to admire.
What he liked in his past life was Tsunade the Fifth Hokage, the one who had faced her inner demons and learned the true meaning of strength and purpose.
Not this version—this immature woman who acted like the world owed her everything just because she lost her lover and her brother.
Yeah, it was tragic. But in this world, who hasn't been through some kind of tragedy?
So today, Mitsuki was going to teach this woman a lesson. Even if Jesus himself showed up, he wouldn't stop him — his words.
Meanwhile, Tsunade was already regretting her own challenge the moment it left her mouth. Why the hell was she picking fights with a kid?
It all traced back to something else that had happened on the battlefield recently.
Chiyo from Sunagakure had developed a new type of poison — not particularly deadly, but extremely fast-acting.
Although Tsunade quickly formulated an antidote, there was a delay before it could be distributed. During that time, a lot of shinobi got injured from the poisoning, which meant the medical unit had been under enormous pressure lately.
Even Shizune, Tsunade's ever-present companion, had been busy around the clock at the medical tents, leaving Tsunade alone. Without her emotional buffer, Tsunade's moods had been increasingly unstable.
Just a few days ago, she even punched Jiraiya out of the command tent over a minor disagreement.
No wonder he hadn't shown his face since—he was probably hiding.
Thinking of Jiraiya's absence and noticing that his student Minato was still here, Tsunade gave him a look. She figured Minato could offer some lame excuse to de-escalate things and give her a way out.
Instead, Minato just stammered for half a minute and said absolutely nothing useful.
Like master, like student. Useless when it matters most!
And what was Minato thinking at that very moment?
He was deeply regretting his decision to bring Mitsuki with him to the report in the first place.
His original intention had been good: Mitsuki was strong — he'd likely be promoted to chunin or even jonin soon and lead missions himself. So why not let him familiarize himself with the process?
Plus, bringing Mitsuki along was a subtle way of letting everyone know that he'd been instrumental in the mission's success.
Two good intentions. So why...Why had they collided to create such a mess?