Although it was only an hour of interaction, Uchiha Dan was very sincere and did not hide anything when Uzumaki Mito questioned him, but imperceptibly, he was always drawing closer to her, Uzumaki Mito.
If it were anyone else, they would only feel comfortable getting along with Uchiha Dan and wouldn't think otherwise.
But how extensive was Uzumaki Mito's experience? With her ability to discern people and objects far beyond ordinary people, how could she not see Uchiha Dan's intentions?
Although she trusted the Nine-Tailed's judgment of Uchiha Dan's good and evil emotions, coupled with her rich experience, she was confident that she basically understood Uchiha Dan's thoughts and character.
But for her foolish granddaughter, being with such a deep-scheming person, was it a blessing or a curse?
"Grandma, what are you thinking?" Tsunade pouted unhappily when she saw her grandmother's worried expression.
"Nothing!" Uzumaki Mito smiled gently and continued, "I just want to tell you that Uchiha Dan shows the most goodwill towards the Namikaze Toneri family."
"Especially towards his younger brother, Minato Namikaze, he loves him to the bone. Perhaps you can find a way from this angle."
Tsunade's eyes lit up.
Perhaps it really could work!
Saving the country by a circuitous route, as long as Minato Namikaze accepts me, wouldn't it be simple then?
"But what surprised me was that his malice towards Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and Utatane Koharu was extremely strong, exceeding the sum of his malice towards all other people."
"Especially towards Koharu, that can no longer be called malice; it's practically deep-seated hatred. It's estimated that given the slightest chance, he would not hesitate to kill Koharu."
"I don't even know where such intense hatred came from."
"I do know some things!" Tsunade explained in a low voice, then recounted what she knew about Utatane Koharu's long-term crazy exploitation and harsh humiliation of Uchiha Dan.
Upon hearing this, Uzumaki Mito didn't know what to say.
She was just surprised. Was the Utatane Koharu Tsunade spoke of really the well-behaved and sensible girl who used to follow Tobirama?
Indeed, one can only judge a person's true nature through in-depth interaction.
If it weren't for the Nine-Tailed's help, she wouldn't have dared to trust Uchiha Dan so quickly.
"It seems the harm Koharu inflicted on him is indelible," Uzumaki Mito said slowly.
"But Tsunade, it's not impossible to help Dan!" Uzumaki Mito said, "He has no dissatisfaction with the Village, and no complaints about other people in the Village."
"But his attitude towards the Village's high-ranking officials... It's not out of the question that Uchiha Dan could become our enemy in the future."
"But can we blame Dan?" Tsunade, in her desire to help Uchiha Dan, was already losing her sense of impartiality. "Ultimately, isn't it Second Grandfather's doing?"
"By the way, how strong is Dan's malice towards Second Grandfather?"
"What surprised me was that it wasn't particularly strong, far less than towards Koharu, and even less than towards Danzo and Hiruzen."
Uzumaki Mito was truly surprised.
Originally, she thought Uchiha Dan would surely hate Senju Tobirama, the culprit, the most, but who would have thought this boy didn't really hate Senju Tobirama that much?
Even Uchiha Dan himself didn't know that ever since he gained Senju Tobirama's talent, his hatred for Senju Tobirama had been slowly diminishing with the benefits the talent brought him.
Insulting Senju Tobirama was purely a habit for him; he didn't truly hate him to the bone.
"Why is that?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"Perhaps it's because of you!" Uzumaki Mito said with an amused smile.
"He... he hates me so much now, how could it be because of me..."
"Perhaps it's slowly diminished after spending a long time with you!" Uzumaki Mito explained. "So Tsunade, I want to ask you one last question."
Tsunade swallowed, nodding nervously.
"Do you have the confidence to keep Dan stable?"
"I... before today, I had confidence. Recently, my relationship with him has been getting better and better, but now... I'm not sure."
"However..." Tsunade added, "If his brother and I work together, I should have confidence."
"But even if we can stabilise him, what if my teacher and Utatane Koharu are determined to eliminate him, constantly escalating the conflict?" Tsunade voiced her concern.
"Grandma, can you persuade them?"
Uzumaki Mito shook her head self-mockingly: "I'm just a retired person!"
"Although they don't dare to disrespect me, they are becoming more and more outwardly compliant but inwardly disobedient. Everything they show me is just on the surface."
"Power, ah, truly a blood-letting blade. In just seven years, I hardly recognise them anymore."
"Forget it, since the conversation has come this far, call Dan in!"
"During our conversation just now, I saw that this child has a lot of ideas. As long as I can temporarily stabilise Hiruzen Sarutobi, he might be able to break the deadlock himself in the end."
After Uchiha Dan returned to the backyard, Uzumaki Mito, Tsunade, and he talked in secret for a long time.
In the end, it was indeed Uchiha Dan himself who proposed a solution to the deadlock.
Tsunade was very surprised by Uchiha Dan's resourcefulness, while Uzumaki Mito was quite calm.
She knew how much potential a person could unleash for survival.
From the results of her probing, she believed that Uchiha Dan's nature was not bad.
But how could this child, who had survived in such an environment for so many years and had already devised a plan to break the deadlock by manipulating Tsunade years ago, not have a backup plan?
That's right, Uzumaki Mito saw that Uchiha Dan was using Tsunade to break the deadlock.
But she wasn't too angry, because in her many years of experience, Uchiha Dan truly had feelings for Tsunade.
But what was this? Twisted love?
Never mind, children and grandchildren have their own future, let him be!
Regarding this, Uzumaki Mito, who had always been very discreet, did not say much.
Early the next morning, Uzumaki Mito personally went to the Hokage Office.
She informed Hiruzen Sarutobi that Uchiha Dan was currently developing three Medical Ninjutsu with unprecedentedly superior healing effects.
She also mentioned that Uchiha Dan and Tsunade said they would teach her these Ninjutsu as a form of medical exchange between them.
She was very happy when she heard Tsunade mention this, which is why she came to inform Hiruzen Sarutobi about it.
The development had progressed to the point where one of the Ninjutsu was basically complete, which was the one used during the competition with Tsunade.
However, the other two Ninjutsu required some past Medical Ninjutsu for reference, so she came to ask Hiruzen Sarutobi for some less confidential Medical Ninjutsu on Uchiha Dan's behalf.
She also stated that once Tsunade mastered these techniques, she would immediately begin training a group of Medical Ninja for the Village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was naturally very pleased.
Tsunade was a true Hokage loyalist, with a pure lineage, and she was also his, Hiruzen Sarutobi's, proud disciple.
As long as Tsunade mastered those three techniques, wouldn't that mean Konoha also mastered them?
Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally wouldn't refuse such a good thing, and he even had some expectations for the effects of those Ninjutsu.
His intention to eliminate Uchiha Dan was temporarily put aside.
As long as Uchiha Dan could provide value to Konoha, he didn't mind keeping him for now.
After all, he was just a Medical Ninja with no power; what kind of trouble could he cause?
Moreover, it was already widely known in Konoha about Uchiha Dan and Tsunade's relationship. If the two of them could end up together, sparing Uchiha Dan wasn't out of the question.
Wouldn't it be better to let him continue to dedicate his talent to Konoha?
Without Sakumo Hatake reporting, and lacking a crucial piece of information, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally wouldn't think too much about it.
As for Tsunade, she received an invitation from Utatane Koharu at noon and went to the Pharmaceutical Department again.