Chapter 275: Matters of the Heart Require Medicine for the Heart
Ino and the others started to act like wallflowers, and the Second Hokage knew who the main character was today. He carefully sized up Tsunade, a hint of confusion in his eyes. How old was this granddaughter of his now? She looked youthful and beautiful, twenty?
Was this some peculiar ninjutsu effect?
He pondered for a moment, then asked Ino, "It seems we met in Konoha last time. Little girl, I remember your name is Ino Yamanaka?"
Ino had introduced herself back then, and he still had an impression. However, the Second Hokage wasn't sure if this was the exact same person, especially with ninjas from these clans. It wasn't uncommon for fathers and sons, or even three generations of grandfather, father, and son, to look alike. For example, Shikaku, Shikamaru, and Shikadai, three generations of grandfathers and grandsons, all looked quite similar.
"Yes, I am Ino Yamanaka. You gave me a lot of guidance on Water Release ninjutsu back then, and I benefited greatly."
"Oh, it really is you. Memories get a bit jumbled after death... And this girl in black clothes next to you is?"
Shizune bowed respectfully, "Lord Second, I am Shizune, also Lady Tsunade's disciple."
"Good, all good children." The Second Hokage nodded. Tonton seemed to want to introduce itself too, but the Second Hokage ignored it.
The Second Hokage asked Ino, "How much time has passed since we last met?"
"Nine months and ten days."
"Is that so? Time flies. To me, it feels like an instant."
The Second Hokage calculated the Third Hokage's age at that time, and then Tsunade's current age. She must be using some secret technique to maintain her appearance; a normal fifty-year-old female ninja wouldn't look like this.
"Tsunade, you brought me out from the Reaper Death Seal. Is there something you need?" he asked seriously.
Seeing that she couldn't hide it any longer, with Ino and Shizune looking on as if expecting a good show, Tsunade could only tell the truth with a wry smile, "Great-granduncle, it's like this, I've contracted a disease called hemophobia..."
Tsunade began to pour out her experiences over the years. The Second Hokage didn't scold her as expected; instead, he listened patiently, offering a few words of comfort from time to time.
Shizune and Ino slowly backed out of the room. Tonton looked left, then right, saw they were both leaving, and quickly trotted after them.
"Excellent! This is truly excellent!" Senior apprentice-sister Shizune looked at the bright moon in the sky and let out a long sigh of relief.
Ino held the pet pig, pinched Tonton's very elastic bottom, smiled, and said nothing.
The fact that Naruto could sway Tsunade with just a few grand, empty phrases that even Konohamaru would find ridiculous showed that after so many years, Tsunade's psychological illness had mostly healed.
She didn't have a reason to see Kato Dan and Nawaki so desperately that she couldn't live without it. From this perspective, Orochimaru lacked understanding of Tsunade.
During wartime, which family hadn't lost a few relatives? Hadn't the Yamanaka and Nara clans lost people? Weren't ninjas from the Sarutobi and Shimura clans also sent to the battlefield batch after batch?
Time is the best medicine. No matter how sad, no matter how sleepless the nights were back then, after so many years, the wounds had long since healed.
The problem was that Tsunade, as the First Hokage's granddaughter, had too high a seniority. She was like an enhanced version of Konohamaru.
Konohamaru still had companions like Udon and Moegi, and his big brother Naruto to confide in. Tsunade only had that old pervert Jiraiya; what could she confide in him?
Those of her generation weren't qualified to persuade her, and as for the younger generation, it was even more out of the question; it wasn't appropriate for them to speak, nor could they. Many words could only be kept bottled up in her heart, and this went on for decades.
The Second Hokage was just right!
The First Hokage died early, so Tsunade's childhood was basically spent under the care of the Second Hokage. Never mind if you're fifty, even if you're eighty, the Second Hokage has the right to lecture you.
Compared to the unreliable First Hokage, the Second Hokage also possessed enough wisdom and life experience to console Tsunade. Shizune was also one of the top medical-nin of the current era; she felt that this time, the treatment was definitely a success.
The next day, Shizune deliberately cut her palm and had Tsunade help her treat it. Although a bit awkward, Tsunade completed the entire treatment process.
Her hemophobia was considered cured.
As for Kato Dan and Nawaki, they weren't even mentioned. According to the Second Hokage, many people died on the battlefield; why were you only thinking about those two? Weren't you thinking about your deceased great-granduncle?
The team expanded, becoming three people, one pig, and one ghost.
Tsunade wanted the Second Hokage to return to the village to take a look, but the Second Hokage directly refused: "I heard from Shizune that it's already the Fifth Hokage. My era has passed. There's no need to go back. You can just tell me about it."
Tsunade then roughly described the current situation in Konoha Village. Jiraiya had told her many things, so she was relatively well-informed about the village's true state. Tsunade also knew about many of the things the Third Hokage and Danzo had done, but she didn't say much. At that time, she wasn't in the village at all, and neither was Jiraiya. They were deserters back then, unqualified to point fingers at matters within the village.
Hearing that the Uchiha clan had been wiped out, the Second Hokage was slightly moved. This was not the ending he had wanted to see. He had hoped for suppression and control, incorporating the Uchiha clan's moderate faction into Konoha's system, rather than such a crude uprooting.
"It seems Hiruzen also developed a fear of the Uchiha clan due to old age. Time, it's truly terrifying," he pinpointed the crux of the matter.
Ino also nodded secretly. If the Third Hokage had been in his prime, he would have had enough strength to suppress the Uchiha clan. It was because he was old, his strength had plummeted, and he saw geniuses like Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha appearing consecutively in the Uchiha clan. Worried that Konoha Village would eventually fall into the Uchiha clan's hands, he made the decision to annihilate the clan.
Were there better ways at the time? Certainly, but he couldn't afford to wait.
After hearing about the Uchiha clan's annihilation, the Second Hokage immediately lost interest in village affairs.
Originally intending to change the subject, Tsunade suddenly remembered something: "By the way, Great-granduncle, did you... did you see Madara Uchiha's body back then?"
"What? Did something happen?"
"It's like this, on the night of the Uchiha clan's annihilation, it's said that a man calling himself Madara Uchiha appeared. He wore a mask and killed many Uchiha clan ninjas."
Tsunade pondered for a few seconds: "And in the year Ino and the others were born, the Nine-Tails Rampage occurred in the village. The Fourth Hokage, Teacher Sarutobi's wife, Akimichi Choza, and many elite ninjas from the village died in that battle. The person controlling the Nine-Tails at that time seemed to be the masked Madara Uchiha."
This information made the Second Hokage ponder.
"At that time, I examined Madara Uchiha's body. He should have died... however—" Even Danzo knew about the Uchiha clan's Izanagi, let alone the Second Hokage. When Tsunade first started her account, he had already thought of this possibility.
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