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Spit rained down around her.
She looked up at the sky, a bitter smile on her lips.
She knew the whole truth. If she, with the credibility of the Hokage, made that truth public… how many detours could Konoha have avoided in facing the challenges to come?
But now… she wasn't the respected Hokage. She was a sinner, the target of a thousand pointing fingers.
A truth coming from her mouth? Who would believe it? Who would accept it?
She felt she understood Sasuke a little better now.
After his rebirth, at the fork in the road at the Valley of the End, he'd chosen to shoulder the identity of a rogue ninja. He wouldn't turn back, not even for a single day to discuss it with his comrades before deciding.
It wasn't arrogance. It wasn't prejudice.
It was simply… not wanting to waste time.
"Lady Tsunade… why are you doing this?!"
Among the crowd, those who truly supported her couldn't bear to watch and turned their heads away.
"Enough… enough already…"
Shizune wept openly, her protests drowned in the tide of malice. In her arms, Tonton the pig glared at the beasts in human skin and grunted through clenched teeth.
"Master Guy! I can't watch this anymore!"
Rock Lee clenched his bandage-wrapped fists. The person being targeted wasn't just the Hokage of Konoha. She was the one who'd saved his life.
Just a year ago, Gaara's sand had crushed him. His shinobi career was declared over.
It was Lady Tsunade. With her peerless medical ninjutsu, she had helped him stand again, giving him the right to chase his dream as a shinobi once more.
That debt was immeasurable.
So his thick eyebrows were on fire. Literally on fire. His eyes blazed.
This wasn't Lee's usual comical expression.
He was angry. Truly angry.
"MASTER GUY!!! PLEASE… LET ME STOP THEIR VIOLENCE!!!"
Might Guy's gaze was like a torch. The same hot blood ran in his veins. How could this man not be angry?
But his fiery spirit had been tempered, weighed down by the gravity of experience.
"LEE! Your teacher understands your desire to defend the person you revere! But look! Look at Lady Tsunade's eyes!!"
Lee focused, his heart shaking. "What kind of look is that? She's enduring immense humiliation… yet there's not a trace of dissatisfaction in her eyes! She's looking… at the distant sky. What's there?"
Lee couldn't help but look up himself. There were only oppressive dark clouds shrouding the peak of Mount Kikyo.
Might Guy's voice was low. "That's right. That's the look of conviction. Lady Tsunade must have come here with full resolve to stand before everyone and accept their curses and their spit. This is all a trade. She's putting down her dignity, enduring this shame and suffering, to pick up something she believes holds greater value!"
"So, Lee… rather than ruining the scene with your fists, let us bear witness! Witness Lady Tsunade carrying out her resolve!"
Rock Lee wiped the bloody tears from the corners of his eyes. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "YES!! MASTER GUY!!!"
In the crowd, another pair of eyes watched with complex emotions.
Sakura Haruno.
Time rewound, just a little.
In Sunagakure, during their master-disciple meeting.
When Tsunade saw the unique Yin Seal on Sakura's forehead, she knew. Her beloved student had already made contact with 'that side'.
She smiled, genuinely pleased. "Sakura. Seeing you like this, I know there's nothing left for me to teach you."
Sakura was humble. "Master, I still have a long way to go with my medical ninjutsu…"
Tsunade shook her head gently, a faint smile on her face. "You've even mastered the Ten Thousand Magnets Byakugō—the one with the highest difficulty. As for other medical techniques, once you know the hand seals, you'll perform them effortlessly."
Tsunade's solemn announcement made Sakura tremble. She bit her lip, her expression grave. "Master…"
Tsunade continued, "Sakura, I'm going to face everyone. It's very likely I'll suffer a crisis of trust. So… I'm prepared to resign as Hokage."
"Master…" Sakura's eyes lowered, swirling with pity and conflict.
Tsunade smiled. "You're not denying the possibility with empty platitudes like you used to. Your insight has grown."
"I'm sorry, I—"
"No need. I heard from Lady Katsuyu. It was you. Just from the fact that I couldn't be reverse-summoned, you deduced I'd fallen into Obito Uchiha's hands. You staked your life on it and got the Three Great Sages to lay their cards on the table. Truly remarkable. Sakura, I failed to see your true potential. As your master, I was lacking."
"That's not true! If Sasuke hadn't provided me with intel through his genjutsu, I could never have made such an accurate judgment!"
"Sakura, no need for such modesty. I declare it: you have officially graduated. From this day on, you may go wherever you wish and do whatever you must, as long as you believe it is right and necessary. I trust your judgment. Any choice you make will keep you on the right path."
"So… go. Do what you believe is right."
Sakura turned silently.
In the crowd, the girl with the Byakugan stood, her eyes devoid of light.
Sakura came up behind Hinata and whispered in her ear.
The lightless eyes suddenly held a glimmer.
Sakura vanished.
Hinata bit her lip, glanced around, and then slipped away quietly.
Only Neji noticed. His eyes flickered, and he followed.
After the crowd vented their aimless hatred through spit, an endless emptiness followed. An aimless confusion.
They depended on Konoha, this shinobi collective, to have a place in the world. They believed associating with shinobi had given them extraordinary insight, yet they lacked the power to change their circumstances.
The irony was that they dared direct their anger at Tsunade because, subconsciously, they knew she had a broad enough mind not to hold it against them.
So when their rage subsided and reason returned, they jolted awake.
Lady Tsunade had endured this. Would she still protect them as a Konoha shinobi? She said she'd resign? Was she going to leave the village like Jiraiya? If powerful enemies attacked again, what would they do?
"Has it… ended?"
Tsunade raised her eyes. Her hair, her clothes, her face, her body—all were damp with saliva.
Those who had spat on her shifted their gazes guiltily.
BOOM!
With a slam of her palm for the Summoning Technique, a Katsuyu clone rose on the open ground.
Tsunade leaped onto the slug's head. Even covered in filth, her bearing remained majestic and imposing.
"If it's over, then hear my announcement. From this day, I resign as Hokage. The one to succeed me is Kakashi Hatake. If you object to my decision, you may submit an impeachment request to the Daimyō of the Land of Fire. If there are no objections, follow his command."
"…" Utter silence filled the grounds.
Tsunade said, "From today, you must stand in the shinobi world on your own strength."
Then, the leader of the mob demanded, "You… you're going to abandon us?"
Tsunade shook her head and smiled faintly. Under everyone's gaze, her body slowly sank into Katsuyu's skin.
The filth covering her was washed clean. With the white smoke of a reverse summoning, she vanished before the entire crowd.
In that moment, the people of Konoha awoke as if from a dream.
So, the Hokage really could just walk away.
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