The Usual Pattern with a Different Person

Hinata was currently standing inside the Hokage's office and was staring at Tsunade hard enough to almost set her aflame.

Although Tsunade knew that whatever Hinata wanted from her would probably be incredibly annoying, ignoring her wouldn't work out either. Even though Hinata was currently considered clanless, her actual backing was no joke.

"*Sigh* What do you want, Hinata?"

"The third part of the chunin exam will start soon, and you will go to Suna to spectate the contest, right?"

Tsunade wasn't sure where Hinata was going with this, but since her departure will be made public soon, there was no point hiding it from Hinata.

"Correct, I will leave in two weeks."

"Alright, I will be part of your entourage."

Tsunade tilted her head in confusion when she heard Hinata's words.

'That's all she wants? Considering Hinata's abilities, that is no problem at all. Why were my instincts telling me that this would be annoying, despite it being such an easy request? My instincts could be wrong, but I usually trust in them. There must be more to it.'

"Why do you want to be a part of my entourage, Hinata?"

"I want to travel to Suna. At first, I just wanted to go without asking, but after thinking about it for a while, I decided to get permission first."

Tsunade's eyebrow was twitching in irritation when Hinata casually mentioned leaving the village without permission. If she did that, she would be considered a missing-nin and be hunted down by Konoha.

Well, that was at least what should happen, but considering Hinata's relationship with Yuna and the Uzumaki clan, Tsunade doubted that Hinata would face any consequences as long as she returned at some point.

Tsunade took a deep breath and took a sip of the tea standing on her desk to push back her irritation.

'At least she decided to ask for permission. If it were Yuna, she would already be on her way to Suna right now. It seems like at least not all of Yuna's behavior was picked up by Hinata.'

"Right, it's good that you decided to ask for permission first. Very good. So, why do you want to go to Suna?"

"I need to assassinate someone."

"*Pff* *cough* *cough* DAMNIT!!!"

After Tsunade asked her question, she made the mistake of drinking another sip of tea, resulting in a splendid spit-take.

The tea was shot towards Hinata, but it changed direction and parted in front of her just before it hit her.

"So, anyway, do you mind starting the journey a little bit earlier? For example, right this instant."

"Definitely not! First of all, why in the world do you suddenly want to assassinate someone in Suna, and who is it?"

"I want to assassinate her because my instincts are telling me that she is getting closer to Yuna, so I have to eliminate her before it is too late and she joins the harem. As for who she is, I have no clue, and it doesn't matter anyway. Besides, it is not a question of whether I go or not, but a question of going with or without your permission."

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose before taking a few more deep breaths.

'Should I ask her how she knows about that? No, that will only make my headache stronger, and there is no point in knowing anyway. It will just be another nonsensical answer anyway. I can somewhat understand why she doesn't want Yuna to pick up more women, but assassination is out of the question.'

"I won't be taking you with me to Suna and I will make sure that you won't leave on your own, even if I have to use force to sto..."

*THUD*

A loud sound echoed through the room as Hinata placed a big wine gourd on Tsunade's table.

Considering the usual pattern with Yuna, she had a very good idea of what was going on, and she couldn't help but feel a little ashamed that she was happy about receiving some good alcohol as a bribe today.

Well, that shame vanished instantly when Hinata opened the bottle, resulting in the smell of its contents spreading through the room, which allowed Tsunade to smell it.

'Yup, she got me. Well, I can at least try to reduce the danger a little.'

"Fine, you can come, but no assassination."

"How about I talk with Yuna and the other woman first and then decide whether I will go the assassination route or not?"

"*Urgh* Why are you so hellbent on assassination? You shouldn't kill someone from another nation just because she is a little friendly with Yuna. If you actually kill someone, it could cause a lot of trouble and might even result in a war. Are you really fine with that?"

After hearing Tsunade's question, Hinata started pondering about it. Her first instinct was to answer the question with a yes, but after thinking about it a while longer, she realized that a war would be a bad thing.

'Even during times of peace, there are quite a few missions, which would significantly increase during a war. That would mean that the time I could spend with Yuna would be reduced even further, which is unacceptable.'

"Fine..."

Tsunade sighed in relief when she finally managed to get Hinata to stop with the assassination nonsense; unfortunately for her, Hinata wasn't done speaking yet.

"...If I have to assassinate her, I will make it look like an accident, so no worries."

Tsunade could only groan and facepalm when she heard Hinata's words.

"Whatever, get out of here. We will begin traveling in two days, not earlier."

Hinata pondered Tsunade's words before nodding in agreement. Although she would prefer to go immediately, waiting only two days was still fine with her.

The moment Hinata left the office, an old-sounding male chuckle echoed through the room.

"Hehe, your willpower is quite weak, Tsunade."

Tsunade glared at the owner of the voice, Hiruzen Sarutobi, before snorting in disdain.

"Like you are one to talk about a weak will, sensei. I am sure you have made all kinds of backdoor deals with Yuna."

A sad smile appeared on Hiruzen's face when he heard Tsunade's accusation.

"Please don't mock me like that, Tsunade. I am a man of integrity."

Tsunade's glare intensified even further when she heard Hiruzen's words, but no matter how hard she glared at him, she couldn't see any flaws in his behavior.

'Weird, recently it has gotten harder and harder to read sensei's behavior patterns. What is going on with him?"