Naruto: Linked to Kaguya, Corrupting the Ninja World

The next day. 

Hiroki woke up refreshed and in high spirits. 

Tsunade, on the other hand, despite having slept, still felt both her body and mind were exhausted. 

She never thought simply being the Hokage could be this exhausting. 

Especially since Hiruzen Sarutobi had passed away so unexpectedly, and Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were both extremely cautious, barely speaking more than necessary. Because of this, no one properly handed things over to her, forcing her to personally get familiar with each department one by one. 

Looking at Shizune bustling about in the kitchen, a small comfort warmed Tsunade's heart, improving her mood significantly. 

Shizune was probably currently the only person in Konoha who allowed Tsunade to truly relax. 

"Shizune, you definitely won't leave me, right? You'll stay by my side forever, won't you?" Tsunade suddenly looked troubled, her brows revealing sadness and fragility, her voice filled with hope. 

Shizune mistook it for thoughts of her broken relationship with Jiraiya, as well as the deceased Hiruzen and others from the past, and immediately answered, "Tsunade-sama, I will never leave you—I swear." 

"Great then! I'll leave all today's official duties to you." Tsunade suddenly smiled radiantly, her heart now bright and clear. 

Shizune's face immediately fell. She finally realized Tsunade had just been pretending, asking hesitantly, "Tsunade-sama, you haven't officially taken office yet—really, is this okay?" 

"Forget it then. I'll let Hizashi take care of it." Tsunade sighed. 

Around nine o'clock in the morning, Hizashi Hyuga was summoned to the Hokage Building looking rather confused. 

Tsunade had a desk specially set up for him and let him handle some low-priority tasks in her stead. 

Hizashi twitched his lips, musing with a touch of amusement: Brother, if you don't get back soon, I might just climb higher than you... 

When word spread that Hizashi was busily signing documents nonstop inside the Hokage Building, members of other clans couldn't help but feel green with envy. 

Looks like the Fifth Hokage is favoring the Hyuga Clan... they thought amongst themselves. 

At the Ninja Academy, Hinata and Neji returned to class once again. 

In Iruka's classroom, however, two seats remained empty. 

Hardly anyone cared about Naruto's absence, considering he had only attended school for a few days anyway. 

Plus, he'd already left temporarily before—no one gave it much thought. 

As for Sasuke, however, people mentioned him constantly. 

Especially girls like Sakura Haruno, who all seemed to have lost their dreams, sighing dejectedly every now and then. 

"Iruka-sensei, where exactly did Sasuke go?" someone asked. 

Iruka helplessly replied, "Sasuke is undergoing secret training. Now that Tsunade-sama has taken office, naturally she needs to train her own personal guard—you understand, right?" 

"Oh, that's how it is," many students nodded knowingly. 

Iruka instantly exhaled in relief. 

Truth was, someone from the Hokage Building had already clued him in. 

Sasuke had defected... 

However, Iruka had also been warned not to reveal this information under any circumstances. 

So he came up with this lie instead. 

"If it's a secret, how could we possibly be allowed to say anything about it?" Ino muttered softly.

Shikamaru sighed, "Some questions are best left alone. Your uncles probably told you to keep a low profile, right?"

Ino and Choji silently nodded at the same time.

Even Akamaru, sitting atop Kiba's head, barked in agreement.

After spending about an hour inside the Hokage Building, Tsunade had finally had enough and stormed outside.

Shizune thought for half a minute before deciding to throw in the towel and followed right after.

Tsunade was thinking: They wanted me to learn Sage Arts, didn't they? But now that I'm Hokage, where would I find so much free time? I really need to go ask that guy about this.

The title of Hokage... is actually a form of restraint.

Meanwhile, Yugao was out for a walk as well.

Tsunade casually hooked her arm through Yugao's and dragged her into an izakaya.

Seeing how close the two looked together, Anko and others who'd always kept their distance from Yugao were completely stunned.

As Yugao and Tsunade stepped into the izakaya, Shizune chased in right behind them.

"How much longer will Hiashi take to finish his copy?" Hiroki muttered, narrowing his eyes toward the sky.

"There are still other things that need to be handled."

He searched all around the Hokage Building without finding any trace of Tsunade, so he went to Kaguya and inquired specifically about her exact location.

Inside the izakaya, Tsunade spoke up, "Yugao, what are your plans? If you want, I can help restore your original identity."

Taking a sip of alcohol, Yugao replied, "Tsunade-sama, I think my current life suits me just fine. Being a ninja feels more like a restriction to me now. Now I can go wherever I want, stay in whichever country I wish — I feel free. Of course, I'll still help out when needed."

Tsunade couldn't help but sigh, feeling a headache coming on, "Then exactly who am I serving as Hokage for? It feels like the person who made me take this position probably doesn't care much about it either."

Shizune silently drank her alcohol while giving some food to Tonton in her arms.

Hiroki followed the direction and walked over, taking the empty seat at their table.

Looking at the group briefly, he asked, "Tsunade, did The Third come back to life?"

"Buried already, last night," Tsunade said in a flat tone, "Right in that coffin I commissioned especially for him, beneath the tombstone engraved with his name — personally buried by me."

Noticing her somewhat detached tone and distant attitude, Hiroki calmly refilled her half-empty glass, "Even if he were alive, he wouldn't have welcomed you back with open arms anyway. In his eyes, you were the one who caused him endless humiliation."

"He would've kept hurting you like Jiraiya did — over and over again. Only Kaguya and I kept giving you second chances."

What he said at first seemed fine enough, but as she processed the latter part of his words, Tsunade couldn't help but twitch her lips uncomfortably, her expression turning odd.

Those kinds of words might fool some naive kids into feeling touched — but trying such tactics on me? How quaint!

"Come on, be sincere..." Tsunade gave a dismissive scoff, refusing to answer directly. Instead, she asked, "Even if you wanted to kill the Third, why not just kill him straight up? Why go through such an elaborate performance?"

Hiroki didn't respond for a moment.

He knew he had to get this sorted with them today.

If he didn't explain things clearly to Tsunade—who had such deep ties to both Jiraiya and Hiruzen—it could lead to trouble. Even Yugao might have kept some doubts to herself.

"Maybe because I rarely take lives personally, causing you to misunderstand something?"

"Don't speak in riddles. Say what you mean," Yugao replied.

"I did consider what would happen if the Third hadn't died. He probably would have changed drastically after enduring unbearable humiliation—like someone twisted by bitterness, hiding in some dark corner, desperately howling about reclaiming control over Konoha, even stooping to all sorts of dirty tricks."

"And as for Jiraiya," Hiroki continued, "he would have become someone just like Hiruzen—a man crippled by sentimentality and hesitation, reluctantly indulging everything."

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