Chapter 162: Tsunade's Wager
"Fifth Hokage?"
Tsunade's voice was sharp, cutting through the dim, sake-fumed air of the small bar in Tanzaku Quarters. She slammed her cup down, the liquid splashing onto the worn wood.
"An Uchiha?"
Her laughter was harsh and disbelieving. Recently, Tsunade had been deliberately drowning her sorrows in the clatter of dice and the haze of cheap alcohol, losing herself in the casinos day and night.
She had done her absolute best to ignore the world, especially any news from Konohagakure (Village Hidden in the Leaves). Thus, she had no idea that her grand-uncle, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been replaced.
"W-What a joke!" she sneered, her golden-brown eyes narrowing at the man standing beside Jiraiya.
"When did Konoha's Hokage change?"
"And it's an Uchiha?" She spat the name like a curse.
"Will those old fogeys on the council? The elders? Will Danzō let an Uchiha become Hokage?"
"What exactly is going on, Jiraiya?! Is this one of your sick jokes?!"
A tumultuous wave of disbelief and anger surged in Tsunade's heart. This was fundamentally impossible.
Although she had abandoned the Village many years ago, she wasn't stupid. She knew the political landscape she'd left behind.
The Uchiha Clan was a caged tiger, always feared, always ostracized, always pushed to the margins by the Village's higher-ups.
How could anyone from that clan, of all clans, possibly ascend to the position of Godaime Hokage (Fifth Hokage)?
This was even more outrageous, more unbelievable, than her winning a high-stakes bet!
She fixed her suspicious glare on her old teammate. "Jiraiya, are you playing some elaborate, unfunny trick on me?"
"Do you think I'd believe such nonsense? You probably lost a bet to this kid and had to call him 'Hokage' for a day."
Jiraiya sighed, the sound heavy with resignation. His usual lecherous grin was entirely absent, replaced by a rare, weary seriousness.
"What I said is all true, Tsunade."
His voice was low. "Sensei... the Third... has already stepped down."
"Now, Uchiha Akira is Konoha's Godaime Hokage."
"If you don't believe me, you can see for yourself."
Saying that, Jiraiya reached into his vest and handed a formal, sealed scroll to Tsunade.
Tsunade's eyes flickered from Jiraiya's grim face to the scroll. She snatched it from him, half-believing, half-doubting, and unrolled it with tense, jerky movements.
It was an official appointment letter. It was immaculate.
It was personally signed by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
And beneath that, it bore the joint seals of all members of Konoha's Jōnin Council, and even the seals of the village elders, Homura and Koharu.
"It's... it's real…" she whispered, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the heavy parchment.
"This man… Uchiha Akira… is actually the Fifth Hokage!"
She slowly raised her head, her mind reeling, and truly examined Uchiha Akira for the first time.
He was too young. Far younger than she, Jiraiya, or Orochimaru had been in their prime. He couldn't be much older than thirty, if that. He wore a simple, dark robe, and his black hair was tied back.
Yet, he sat there, exuding an aura of absolute, unnerving calm that unsettled her more than any overt threat. His dark eyes watched her, not with arrogance, but with a simple, factual patience.
So young, and he had already become Hokage?
How? How exactly did he do it? What happened to Hiruzen? What happened to Danzō and the ANBU?
Akira looked at her shocked expression, his dark eyes unwavering. He did not rush to speak.
He gave her enough time to let the foundations of her world crumble and resettle.
After a long, tense silence, broken only by Shizune's nervous breathing and the soft oink from Tonton, Tsunade finally managed to forcefully suppress the shock.
She rolled the scroll back up with a sharp snap.
She shoved it back at Jiraiya, her tone becoming stiff, her famous defenses slamming back into place. "So what?"
Her voice was cold again. "Even if you are the Hokage, what of it?"
"What exactly do you want from me, coming all the way out here to this dump?"
She didn't want to be involved with Konoha anymore. She couldn't be.
That place... that village... it brought her nothing but endless, excruciating pain. The ghosts of her little brother, Nawaki, and her fiancé, Dan Katō, haunted every street corner. Every memory was laced with blood and loss.
Akira finally spoke. His voice was as calm and steady as his gaze, cutting through her abrasive words.
He looked directly into Tsunade's eyes, bypassing all her hardened defenses.
He spoke bluntly, his voice devoid of pity or pleading. "I need your strength."
"Konoha needs your medical ninjutsu."
"Come back to the Village with me, Tsunade."
Upon hearing this, Tsunade didn't just scoff; she burst into a bitter, mocking laugh. It was a hollow sound that made Jiraiya wince.
"Go back to the Village?" she sneered, her voice rising.
"You waltz in here, flash a piece of paper, tell me you're the new boss, and order me to go back?"
"And I'm just supposed to... what? Obey? Heel, like a dog?"
"Who do you think you are?"
Her emotions, which had been simmering just beneath the surface, suddenly boiled over. Her grief and rage erupted.
"I've already said it! I told Jiraiya, I told Sensei! I will never go back to that damned place!"
"Dream on if you want me to go back! Find someone else to fix your broken shinobi! I'm done!"
Shizune, holding Tonton tightly, looked at her mentor, her face full of worry. "Lady Tsunade... please..."
Jiraiya also had a look of guilt, lowering his head. "Tsunade... it's different now... The Village needs you."
Akira waited patiently for her tirade to finish, his expression completely unmoved.
"Are you done speaking?"
Tsunade was startled by his absolute lack of reaction. He wasn't pleading like Jiraiya. He wasn't angry. He wasn't sympathetic. He was... waiting.
"I don't care what you've experienced in the past," Akira stated, his voice flat and impersonal. "Nor how much resentment you hold towards Konoha."
"Those things, your tragedies, your pain... have nothing to do with me."
"I only know that your talent, your Senju blood, and your unique medical skills belong to Konoha."
"You are a resource of the Village. And you must serve Konoha."
"You...!"
Tsunade trembled, not with fear, but with pure, unadulterated rage at his utterly domineering, impersonal words.
He spoke of her as if she were a tool, an object to be reclaimed.
"You bastard! How dare you... How dare you speak to me like that?!"
"Because I am stronger than you."
Akira's answer was simple, direct, and landed with the force of a physical blow.
Tsunade's breathing suddenly caught. Her furious retort died in her throat.
He was right.
In this shinobi world, the brutal world she had tried so hard to flee, the strong prey on the weak. The fist, the jutsu, the power... that was the greatest, and only, truth. Her ideals had died with Dan and Nawaki. Only this cold reality remained.
"Fine!" she snarled, a dangerous, desperate light igniting in her eyes.
She stared at Uchiha Akira, leaning across the table, enunciating each word with venom. "You want me to go back with you? You want to force me? Fine!"
"Let's make a bet, Lord Hokage." She spat the title.
"As long as you can defeat me in an arm wrestle!"
"If you win," she said, her voice dropping to a low growl, "I'll go back to Konoha with you. I'll be your dog. I'll be at your command, and I'll never speak of my past again."
"But if you lose," she leaned in, a triumphant, cruel smirk spreading across her face, "you will immediately take your people, turn around, and disappear from my sight!"
"You will never bother me again! You will accept my retirement! Deal?"
She proposed a gamble that, in her opinion, she absolutely could not lose.
Arm wrestling.
It was a competition of pure, unadulterated strength.
And she, Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin, granddaughter of the First Hokage, possessed kaiwan—monstrous strength. It was her signature, more so than her healing.
She had never lost an arm wrestle. Not to Jiraiya. Not to Orochimaru. Not even to her grand-uncle Hiruzen in his prime.
She had never lost to anyone in terms of raw, physical power!
She refused to believe that this seemingly refined, almost slender Uchiha in front of her, a clan known for their eyes and not their muscle, could ever surpass her in strength!
Shizune's eyes lit up when she heard the terms of the gamble. A wave of profound relief washed over her.
"Excellent! It's arm wrestling!" she whispered to Tonton, who oinked in agreement.
"Lady Tsunade will definitely not lose! We're safe, Tonton! We don't have to go back!"
Jiraiya, on the other hand, had to actively suppress a loud snort. He turned his head away, but his broad shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. A strange, gleeful smile spread across his face.
Oh, this is too good, he thought, barely containing his mirth. "Arm wrestling?"
Tsunade, oh Tsunade, you stubborn woman... This time, I'm afraid you're really going to hit a brick wall. A wall made of pure, unadulterated lightning.
He had personally witnessed Uchiha Akira's terrifying physical strength during the Konoha Crush. It was power comparable to a Tailed Beast, especially when he used that jutsu. This was going to be priceless.
Akira looked at Tsunade's self-assured, triumphant expression, and a rare, almost imperceptible, playful smile touched his lips.
It was a tiny shift in expression, but it sent a sudden, terrible shiver down Shizune's spine.
"Alright."
He agreed without a shred of hesitation.
"It'll be as you say."
"However," he added, his voice still level, "I hope you are a person of your word, Princess Tsunade."
"Don't go back on it if you lose."
The group moved, finding a sturdy, old stone table in the bar's small, overgrown courtyard.
Akira and Tsunade sat opposite each other, the stone between them cold and solid.
Shizune stood behind Tsunade, wringing her hands and looking very nervous.
Although she had absolute, unwavering confidence in Tsunade's monstrous strength, she didn't know why... Looking at the unnervingly calm, black-robed Hokage opposite her, she had a terrible, ominous premonition clenching her heart.
Jiraiya stood to the side, arms crossed, looking relaxed and positively eager for the show to begin.
He was already impatient to see Tsunade's famously expressive face when she was finally, thoroughly, and utterly put in her place.
It would definitely be very exciting.
On the table, Akira and Tsunade planted their elbows in the designated positions, their forearms meeting.
They clasped hands. His grip was firm and steady; hers was like a steel vice.
Their eyes met, and in the air, it was as if invisible electric sparks were flashing. The atmosphere grew heavy, charged with unspoken power.
"Are you ready?" Akira asked indifferently.
Tsunade snorted coldly, a confident, predatory curve forming at the corner of her mouth. "That's a question I should be asking you, kid."
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
"My strength is considerable. It's not for show."
"If I break your arm later, don't come crying and begging me, Konoha's 'greatest medical-nin', to heal you."
As she spoke, the chakra in her hand began to surge. A powerful, visible aura of blue chakra shimmered, and a flow of air spread outwards from her arm as its center.
This was the precursor to her Chōzetsu Kairiki (Monstrous Strength)—the perfect, precise control of chakra, concentrated in a specific part of the body, ready to be unleashed to generate terrifying, mountain-shattering power.
Akira looked at her, his expression still calm and unperturbed, as if facing a gentle breeze.
"Don't worry."
"My bones are much harder than you imagine."
The moment his words fell.
Zzzzt—CRACKLE!
A blinding, violent torrent of blue electric light, like countless tiny vipers, wildly surged along his entire arm. It erupted from his skin, emitting a piercing, high-pitched roar that drowned out all other sound.
The air was instantly superheated, and the smell of ozone filled the courtyard.
Raiton Chakura Mōdo! (Lightning Release Chakra Mode!)
Moreover, this was not a simple, flawed application. This was the strongest form, perfectly enhanced and stabilized by his 'Sage Body'.
[Inorin's Note: The 'Sage Body' (Sentai) is a fanfiction-specific concept, likely referring to Akira possessing Hashirama's cells or a similar enhanced physique derived from Senju DNA. This allows him to use extremely demanding jutsu, like the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, to its absolute peak without the normal self-injury or stamina drain.]
"This is..."
Tsunade's confident pupils suddenly contracted to pinpricks. The sheer power radiating from his arm was suffocating.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode?!" she choked out, her voice suddenly strained.
"Isn't this the hiden (secret) jutsu of Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village)?!"
"Isn't this the Yondaime Raikage's ninjutsu?!"
"How does he know it?!"
"And... the intensity of this chakra... the sheer, raw power... it's astonishing! It's... it's even greater than the Raikage's!"
Her confidence, for the first time in her life regarding her strength, began to waver.
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