Chapter 127

Chapter 127

As Haneda anticipated, Tsunade squandered another hundred thousand ryo of the funds he had given her. If not for Shizune's insistence, she might have lost the entire million overnight.

Leaving the Red Star Casino, they headed to a nearby tavern. Tsunade stopped, found a secluded spot, sat down, leaned her face on her hand, and said, "Sit down. Tell me what you want to discuss after I have a drink."

Without waiting, Tsunade called out to the owner behind her, "Three bottles of your best liquor and three plates of meat snacks. Hurry!"

"Lady Tsunade, you're not holding back, are you?" Haneda sat across from her.

"Jiraiya says you're loaded now. Surely a meal under a thousand ryo isn't going to hurt, right?"

Tsunade was broke, and Shizune wasn't much better off. She figured she could wring a little more out of Haneda, the wealthy Uchiha prodigy who was rumored to have scored a hefty amount in the Land of Waves.

Shizune sensed the nature of their conversation and went to sit with Kurenai. The two, who knew each other from their academy days, quickly reconnected.

With his crush busy talking to Shizune, Asuma had little else to do. He sat beside Haneda, glaring at Tsunade.

When the drinks and snacks arrived, Tsunade began drinking straight from the bottle. Feeling satisfied, she offered Haneda one, saying with a grin, "You know, kid, your scent has gotten more familiar over the past few months. You know who I'm talking about?"

"Lady Tsunade's younger brother?" Haneda responded instinctively.

"No, my grandfather."

Tsunade took a deep drink, exhaling alcohol fumes, and continued, "You're here to ask me to go to the Land of Rivers or the Land of Rain, right?"

"Though Konoha is the village my grandfather built, it doesn't matter anymore. Konoha will defeat Suna, though with high or low casualties."

Asuma couldn't hold back and shouted, "Casualties?! Those are real lives, our comrades!"

"Oh, the Third Hokage's kid. Huh~ Still as hot-headed as ever," Tsunade mocked.

Seeing Asuma about to argue further, Tsunade cut him off, saying, "I've healed countless people you call comrades, maybe thousands. And you, just a low-ranking ninja, think you can talk down to me?"

Asuma was left speechless, anger boiling, yet unable to retort. He turned to Haneda for help.

"What you resent isn't Konoha, but its hypocritical leaders—like the current Hokage and that rat hiding in the shadows, Danzo, right?"

Haneda pushed the drink Tsunade offered back to her and, locking eyes with her, said, "I've heard of your story. Your younger brother, Nawaki, died in the Second Shinobi War, and your lover, Dan Kato, met the same fate. The real culprits were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado, who tacitly agreed to war. They, not just Hanzo of the Salamander, led to your brother's and lover's deaths."

"Lady Tsunade, it's Konoha's upper echelon that you truly despise."

Hearing this, Tsunade seemed to snap, slamming the table hard enough to split it and crack the floor.

"Enough!"

"What do you know, kid?"

"Do you realize who the current Hokage is to me?"

"Or what kind of trouble you could get into if this gets out?"

Haneda stood his ground, activating his three-tomoe Sharingan, staring right back at her. "The Third is your teacher, your granduncle Tobirama's student. Close enough, right?"

"You watch the decay and corruption of Konoha, and it hurts, doesn't it?"

"Thinking of those who died in battle or those you saved only to see them die again hurts, doesn't it?"

Tsunade, stunned by his words, sank back into her seat, unable to respond.

Before she could regain her composure, Haneda pressed on, "That's why you developed hemophobia, why you left Konoha, refusing to serve your teacher. You drown yourself in gambling and drink, reminiscing about the good old days. But will this change anything? Will it make a difference for Konoha, the village your grandfather built?"

"You know the death toll in this Suna-Konoha war, right?"

"How many Konoha ninjas will fall to Suna's poison? You're aware, right?"

"Those left behind—their loved ones and friends—will suffer the same pain you feel!"

"And you, Lady Tsunade, have the power to change this, but you sit here gambling, drinking, and drowning your sorrows!"

His words hit Tsunade hard. In frustration, she slammed the table, shattering it.

"Enough, brat!"

"Who are you to lecture me?"

"Jiraiya wouldn't dare. Orochimaru wouldn't dare. Even your teacher, Sakumo, wouldn't dare. The old man certainly wouldn't!"

"I have the right to speak because I carry the command of Sakumo Hatake, the Land of Rivers' commander, and the hope of over a thousand Konoha ninjas."

Haneda met Tsunade's gaze without a hint of intimidation. He handed her the mission scroll Sakumo had entrusted to him and said firmly, "Will you accept this mission?"

Seeing no response, Haneda tossed the scroll on the table in front of her, turning to leave. He called out coldly, "If you're unhappy with the world, change it. Don't just avoid it or complain."

"Let's go, Asuma, Kurenai."

Asuma gave Tsunade one last look, sneering, "So, this is the legendary Sannin, Lady Tsunade? Can't even compare to Haneda."

Then he followed Haneda out of the tavern.

Tsunade stared after Haneda, momentarily lost in thought. In him, she saw a shadow of her grandfather.

*

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