Sasuke's departure didn't seem to stir up much trouble in Naruto and Shinju's lives.
Aside from missions feeling a little emptier with one less teammate.
Of course, judging by Shinju's current strength…
He could already handle any mission below S-rank on his own.
One day, Shinju was outside the village, teaching Naruto how to form the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken.
Suddenly, he spotted a large group of shinobi marching straight toward Konoha.
After going through Orochimaru's chaos and Sasuke's defection, even the usually careless Naruto had become more alert.
"Who are those guys? Don't tell me they're here to attack the village again!"
Sensing the chakra of the approaching group carefully, Shinju made a judgment:
"They're probably from Kumogakure. Most of them have lightning-natured chakra."
As he spoke, Shinju's gaze landed on the leading shinobi wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
That man's chakra reserves were enormous—comparable to the Fifth Hokage's.
Which meant… this had to be the Raikage of Kumogakure.
Sure enough, after the group from Kumogakure entered Konoha in full force…
Shinju received a signal from Tsunade, summoning him to join the meeting.
...
Konoha's central conference room.
A long, massive table stood in the middle.
On one side sat Konoha's top brass; on the other, Kumogakure's Raikage and his delegation.
As Shinju walked in, all eyes turned toward him.
The Fourth Raikage, A, eyed Shinju with an oddly approving gaze.
"So this is the boy who accidentally captured B and several of our Kumogakure shinobi, huh?"
"A true genius at such a young age—impressive!"
Though it sounded like praise, Shinju caught a glint of ruthlessness in his eyes.
If this weren't such a public setting, the man probably would've attacked him already.
Shinju found it somewhat amusing.
At that moment, another high-ranking Kumogakure representative spoke up.
"This kid captured our shinobi and strained relations between our two nations. He must be punished severely!"
On Konoha's side, Tsunade leaned her elbow on the table, her lips curling into a dangerously playful smile.
"Elder, you sure know how to joke."
"It was your Kumogakure shinobi who attacked Konoha first."
"And now you're trying to twist things around and blame us?!"
"Do you still think Konoha is the same?! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ) "
"When the Third Hokage stepped down, he made it clear—the Hyuga incident was a tragedy that will never happen again!"
"Don't tell me Kumogakure plans to use war as blackmail again?!"
BAM!
Tsunade slammed the table with a thunderous force and rose to her feet, her voice sharp and commanding.
"Konoha is not afraid anymore!"
Shinju silently gave his sensei a mental thumbs-up.
That's my Tsunade-sama!
(⌯︎¤̴̶̷̀ω¤̴̶̷́)✧︎
Pure! Unstoppable! Dominance!
This… this was what a Hokage should look like.
If Neji were here to see this, he'd probably feel proud.
Standing beside Tsunade, even Danzo's eyes flickered with admiration.
For someone who'd always coveted the Hokage position, he'd never had a good opinion of a female Hokage.
But seeing Tsunade stand so firmly to defend Konoha's dignity, even Danzo couldn't help but feel… respect.
Of course, alongside that came a growing sense of danger.
He'd been planning to gather evidence showing Tsunade's incompetence, combine it with his private forces, and overthrow her.
But now… with Tsunade gaining more and more support within Konoha, his plan was becoming harder to execute.
Danzo clenched his fist tightly.
"Hokage, you're getting a little too emotional," Raikage A said, clearly displeased.
He was known for his explosive temper.
Yet somehow, this new Hokage's temper burned even hotter than his. Before he could blow up, she'd already erupted first.
"Fine then," A grumbled. "Let's move on to the matter of compensation."
Tsunade's fierce aura vanished instantly as she calmly sat back down, smiling faintly.
"As we agreed earlier, one million ryo per captured shinobi."
"I assume Raikage-sama brought the payment with you?"
A's expression darkened, his face alternating between shades of green and pale white.
Paying out that much meant tens of millions of ryo in total. Kumogakure could afford it… but it'd hurt.
"Hokage… I assume you called me here because Konoha has an alternative solution in mind?"
Raikage's voice dropped, clearly fishing for a softer deal.
"Talking money all the time hurts friendships."
"Of course," Tsunade replied casually.
"We can lower the amount—but in exchange, I want Konoha and Kumogakure to sign a formal alliance."
"Also, I'd like your Killer B to train our Naruto for a while… to help him master his control over the Tailed Beast."
"That's it?" A raised his brows.
He hadn't expected Konoha to go so easy on them.
He thought for sure Konoha would demand at least 20% of Kumogakure's high-ranking mission commissions.
After all, for a shinobi village, missions were the biggest source of income.
"Of course, Raikage-sama," Tsunade said firmly, her voice carrying authority.
"I hope you understand—Konoha is a village that seeks peace. We don't start conflicts, but we're never afraid of them!"
Hearing that, even Kumogakure's representatives started seeing Tsunade in a new light.
After a brief silence, A finally nodded.
"Fine. I accept your conditions."
Tsunade immediately gestured for a Konoha shinobi to bring out the prepared alliance document.
"Just sign here," Tsunade said lightly, spreading the papers across the table.
"I trust Kumogakure is a village that honors its promises—and would never act dishonorably by betraying an alliance."
Raikage A felt a twinge of guilt but took the document anyway, skimming through its many clauses.
When his eyes fell on [Clause 113: Before the alliance is finalized, Kumogakure must pay a lodging fee of 200,000 ryo per Kumogakure shinobi currently residing in Konoha. Additionally, for every assassination operative, Konoha's Shinju must be compensated with a 300,000 ryo mental damage fee], his composure cracked instantly.
"Hokage, what the hell is this?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻"
"Didn't you say signing the alliance agreement would waive all fees?!"
"You're dressing up 'lodging fees' and 'mental damage fees'—but you're just making us ransom our own people!!! (▼ヘ▼#)"
Tsunade shrugged innocently.
"I said we could reduce the payment, Raikage-sama. I never said we'd erase it completely. ┐(´-｀)┌"
"Your assassination squad stayed in Konoha for quite some time. Food, shelter, supplies—that all costs money."
"And besides, this payment isn't even for the village. It's for him."
Tsunade pointed straight at Shinju.
"Do you even realize the trauma your assassination squad caused this poor boy's innocent little heart? (๑òᆺó๑)"
"Shinju, isn't that right?"
Shinju nodded obediently. "Yes. (๑❛ᴗ❛๑)"
"During that whole period, I lived every day in fear, constantly on edge from their attacks. (´□`」 ∠)"
"My emotional distress fees, medical costs, lost training time, supplementary ninjutsu funds…"
"Kumogakure should at least cover some of that, don't you think?"
"Unless, of course, you'd rather I… spread the story around? (•‾̑⌣‾̑•)✧˖"
Raikage A: (▼皿▼#)
If it weren't for all the witnesses here, he'd have torn this brat to pieces.
...
Half an hour later, negotiations concluded.
Ding!
Shinju's account received six million ryo!