Starting the Showdown Early

"Oops, definitely Tsunade."

Naruto thought to himself that something was wrong, as though he'd seen something he shouldn't have. He quickly looked away and turned to leave.

"You little brat!! Ignoring me?"

A shadow descended from the sky, landing heavily on the ground. The earth cracked like an eggshell, splitting open a gap over a meter wide.

Tsunade crouched and looked up, glaring at Naruto with a hostile gaze.

"Sorry, Tsunade-sama."

Naruto showed his extremely flexible moral line—whether or not he knew what he did wrong didn't matter, he just apologized first.

"Just now, you tried to run, didn't you?"

Tsunade, wearing high heels, gracefully kicked aside a nearby stone, stepping forward with a clicking sound, looking down on Naruto with narrowed eyes, bending over slightly.

"Well... my eyesight isn't that good," Naruto quickly passed the food he was holding to her, saying, "Tsunade-sama, please accept this gesture."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade's face, still clouded with anger, softened a little. She flicked her hair and spoke.

"Since you put it that way, I haven't eaten yet either, so I won't be polite."

Naruto gave a fake smile, thinking it was voluntarily offered.

After all, it was food for Jiraiya. Maybe he had already eaten, but who else would Tsunade listen to in the middle of the night if not him?

There were no pedestrians on the street, and the surrounding area was dimly lit. A few people stood outside stores with their lights on, curiously watching, but they didn't dare approach.

"Meeting you at midnight, brat, what a mood killer," Tsunade said, in a bullying tone, completely ignoring the stiff expression on Naruto's face.

"Yes, yes, please go back and take the position of Fifth Hokage," Naruto said helplessly.

"Is that how you're begging me?" Tsunade asked.

"If you really don't want to return, that's fine, it's okay. If it becomes unbearable, I'll just run," Naruto yawned. "Actually, there's no need to think too much about me."

"You openly talk about defecting in front of the Fifth Hokage. You really have guts."

"The Fifth Hokage?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Although I'm still thinking about it, as soon as I go back, I will definitely become the Fifth Hokage, so in a sense, I am temporarily the Fifth Hokage right now."

"Is this how older women talk? You really are sly," Naruto said with a deadpan expression. "No, more accurately, this is a complete fallacy."

"Until you return to the village, you're still one of the Legendary Three Ninjas, not the Fifth Hokage. Although that statement is very misleading, I know getting you back is not a simple matter."

"Don't casually guess a woman's thoughts. You little brat, saying such serious things is really funny," Tsunade teased, poking Naruto's forehead.

"It hurts," Naruto sucked in a breath and covered his forehead.

Tsunade smiled lightly, finished her tempura and sukiyaki, and handed the takeout bag back to Naruto.

"Still, thank you for treating me."

Naruto twitched his face, reluctantly accepting it. Unsure of how to respond, he just decided not to answer.

"Brat, if the Nine-Tails jinchuriki is completely released, you'd die, right?" Tsunade asked.

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