"Old man! I'll settle scores with you later!"
Tsunade, her breathing calmed, pointed at Hiruzen and shouted, then grabbed Jiraiya's ear.
"And you, pervert! Come with me!"
Shinji tactfully ignored Jiraiya's plea for help and politely made way for Tsunade.
"Hey! Tsunade, let go."
"Give me some face!"
Seeing his junior abandon him, Jiraiya could only beg Tsunade for mercy.
"Face! I'll skin you alive later!"
Tsunade ignored him and walked straight towards the main door.
Bang!
The door to the Hokage Office slammed shut with a thunderous sound, making Shinji's eyelids twitch involuntarily.
Senpai, I hope you survive.
"Sensei—"
Shinji flashed, appearing beside Hiruzen. His eyes were full of curiosity. Although he had heard a general outline from outside just now, the main details were unclear. Shinji guessed that Hiruzen had done something.
"Hehe, Shinji, don't ask." Hiruzen chuckled, completely unconcerned by Tsunade's recent threat.
I am her sensei, she can't really tear me apart, can she?
Shinji, unable to get an answer, roughly understood that it was definitely arranged by Hiruzen.
It's just that Tsunade and Jiraiya are quite strong, so how did this happen?
Tsk—
These two have something going on between them.
"Alright, help me deal with these first." Hiruzen pointed at the documents on the desk.
Shinji looked at them and couldn't help but feel speechless.
No way?
He had just finished everything last night, so how was it almost piled up again today?
Hiruzen pressed Shinji into the seat he had just occupied and walked towards the sofa himself.
"No, sensei, are you just passing the buck?" Shinji was full of confusion.
Was this position one he could sit in now?
"Otherwise? I want to live a few more years. You handle them, and then have someone take them away." Hiruzen happily puffed on his pipe.
He had to admit, sitting on the sofa and watching someone else work was comfortable.
However, seeing Shinji already processing the documents, Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh.
Why was Shinji so skilled as soon as he started?
It made him feel a lack of accomplishment. Are young people's minds just that nimble?
The office was quiet, with only the sound of Shinji's pen continuously writing and Hiruzen occasionally sipping tea.
Hiruzen suddenly remembered something and looked at Shinji, saying, "By the way, I heard that Ōnoki has officially stepped down in Iwagakure, and Kitsuchi has become the Fourth Tsuchikage."
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Shinji looked up at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen puffed on his pipe and said, "Ōnoki announced it to the Ninja World. He has officially submitted his resignation to the Daimyo of the Land of Earth."
"It seems Kitsuchi must have recovered." Shinji put down his pen and couldn't help but ponder.
Even if his punch hadn't shattered Kitsuchi's heart, it was impossible for him to recover so quickly.
Unless—
Thinking of Obito, whose half-shattered body could also be saved, Shinji's eyes narrowed. It seems Ōnoki paid a considerable price.
Shinji looked at Hiruzen and said, "With Kitsuchi in power, the Land of Earth should not be underestimated from now on."
Born from death, Kitsuchi, who almost died once, has probably become different. Otherwise, Ōnoki wouldn't have handed over the Tsuchikage position to him so quickly.
Hiruzen nodded. "Indeed, I already instructed Shikaku this morning to urge the Land of Earth to compensate us as soon as possible."
The Ninja World, while not vast, wasn't small either.
Ōnoki hadn't passed on the title because there was truly no one capable of taking over, or perhaps his standards were simply too high.
After all, the Second Tsuchikage and he himself were both survivors of the First Great Ninja War. Their expectations for the younger generation were too high.
"By the way, sensei, has Itachi sent back any news?" Shinji then thought of the Akatsuki.
Itachi had been gone for so long, and no news had come back.
"There was one half a month ago." Hiruzen rubbed his temples.
That intelligence report gave him a headache. The Sage's Eyes, almost all members of the team had Kage-level strength. Moreover, the masked man, whom Konoha had searched for so long without finding, was also in that organization.
"That's it?" Shinji listened to Hiruzen's narration.
Hiruzen shook his head and said, "That's all. I guess that organization is wary of him, so he doesn't dare to transmit too much."
Even though he had issued the rogue ninja order for Itachi, who was a fool?
Whether it was true or not, it was just Konoha's word.
Shinji leaned back in his chair. In truth, he wanted to know more about whether the Akatsuki had recruited new members. After all, the three he had killed were enough to make the Akatsuki ache.
He just didn't know if Nagato would send his substitute to act as a new member or search for rogue ninjas in the Ninja World.
If it was the latter, Shinji felt a headache coming on. The range of choices was too vast.
Knock knock—
A knock sounded at the door.
Hiruzen called out, "Come in."
"Hokage-sama! Shinji-sama!"
Shisui opened the door. Seeing Shinji sitting in Hiruzen's seat, he wasn't curious and greeted Hiruzen and Shinji.
"What's wrong, Shisui?" Hiruzen looked curious.
Shisui was usually responsible for acting as his personal guard.
"Hokage-sama, information just came in."
Shisui handed the report to Hiruzen with a serious expression. This intelligence was independent of the intelligence department. And currently, the only one with this channel was Itachi.
Hearing this, Hiruzen immediately stood up and took it.
As he walked towards Shinji, looking at the paper in his hand, Hiruzen's expression immediately darkened.
Seeing this, Shinji came to his side.
'Akatsuki, recruiting new members: Hiruko, Raiga, and an unknown strong individual (Shinno).'
'Akatsuki is preparing to capture the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.'
A few very brief sentences, but they made Shinji frown.
The timing was off. The Six-Tails Jinchuriki should have been captured sometime after Naruto returned to the village. But now, this time had been moved up by several years.
"Hiruko—"
Hiruzen looked at the name in the intelligence report, his eyes filled with coldness.
It was known that this person was once a Jonin of Konoha, a close friend of Jiraiya and the others. However, he was discovered by the Anbu conducting an experiment. Ultimately, Jiraiya and the others volunteered to pursue him, but he still managed to escape.
"The forbidden Ninjutsu this person was experimenting with at the time was very dangerous."