CH 42

Chapter 42: The Attitude of Konoha’s High-level Officials

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When Tsunade returned home, it was already late. Kushina, Nawaki, and Grandma Mito had all gone to bed. Tsunade rummaged through the fridge and found a piece of cake left for her with a note saying, “Remember to eat, Tsunade.”

“This little girl.”

Tsunade smiled at the cake and note, then took another piece of cake without a note, which was even bigger. She had to consume a large amount of chakra every day, so it was important for her to replenish her energy. As for Kushina’s little trick, it was useless against her.

After eating and drinking, Tsunade tidied up and went straight to bed.

The next morning, Tsunade heard Kushina’s exclamation in the kitchen and quickly pretended to be asleep. Even when Kushina came in and slapped her on the butt twice, Tsunade still pretended to be asleep. After a while, Kushina had to leave for her team gathering and left the house.

A while after Kushina left, Tsunade got up from bed. Nawaki had already placed her breakfast on the table when she came out.

“Sister, breakfast is ready.”

After saying this, Nawaki silently walked upstairs. Ever since he found out he couldn’t become a ninja, he had been very depressed. For a young boy who was just about to realize his dream but had it interrupted, being unable to become a ninja was a huge blow. Even after over a year, he had barely returned to a normal life.

“Nawaki!”

Tsunade called out to Nawaki, and when he turned around, she said firmly, “I promise you, you will become a ninja within a year at most!”

Nawaki’s eyes slowly regained some of their sparkles after hearing this. Seeing the confidence on Tsunade’s face, hope ignited in Nawaki’s heart once again.

In the past, when Tsunade made promises to him, her face showed more reluctance than confidence. Now, she seemed truly confident, as if she had really found a solution.

“Thank you, sister, but don’t force yourself.”

“Don’t worry; it’s easy for me!”

After saying this, Tsunade drank a bowl of miso soup and then ran upstairs to find Mito Uzumaki. After a while, she came out laughing and changed her clothes before leaving the house.

“Tsunade, are you saying that Cain wants to collaborate with you to research a potion that can improve the human physique and heal everything?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s face was serious as he repeated Tsunade’s words. He knew that Tsunade had been researching regenerative medical ninjutsu recently, so he was worried that her concern for her brother would be exploited.

Koharu and Mito Uzumaki also looked incredulous. According to Tsunade’s description, this potion could regenerate severed limbs in just a few seconds, almost comparable to the First Hokage’s physique.

“To be precise, it’s not a potion, but a serum that can change the way the human body functions.”

Tsunade briefly explained to the three of them, but only Koharu understood some of it, while the other two were still confused.

After silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, “Tsunade, can we trust what Cain said?”

“Should we ask the Jonin Shinku Yūhi and the Yamanaka Clan to investigate his background?”

Koharu suggested her intention was clear. With genjutsu and mind-reading techniques, they could basically uncover all of a person’s secrets as long as there were no protections in their mind. In front of the Yamanaka Clan, no one had secrets.

However, Koharu’s suggestion was immediately refuted by Tsunade, “No way, you better give up on that idea. What he brought out is clearly not something one person can research. Even a medical team would take a long time to study it. If you take action against Cain, you won’t get anything, and you might even provoke the anger of the people behind him. At that time…”

Speaking of this, Tsunade paused for a moment and continued, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. The progress on the medicine has not been smooth, so you want to get the formula from Cain, right? Give up on that idea as soon as possible. As long as he doesn’t threaten the safety of Konoha, no one should lay a hand on him!”

“What kind of tone is that, Tsunade?”

Koharu was furious when Tsunade exposed her secret and questioned her angrily.

“I’m doing this for Konoha. What if he harbors ill intentions towards Konoha?”

Tsunade snorted and said, “Harboring ill intentions towards Konoha? Do you want me to have Grandma Mito observe Cain again? Apart from making money in the past two years, he has hardly done anything else. If this can be called harboring ill intentions, you might as well arrest all the merchants who come to Konoha for questioning!”

Koharu was speechless after being choked by Tsunade’s words, “You…”

“Enough, stop arguing!”

Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted and quickly stopped the quarreling pair. Then he told Tsunade, “Tsunade, the village’s finances are very tight right now, and it’s impossible to allocate more research funds.”

“I’ll find a way to handle that. I just wanted to let you know.”

Tsunade said with a slight frown. Although she knew that the old man was unlikely to allocate funds, being rejected so bluntly still made her feel a bit annoyed.

“In that case, I hope you can report the progress of the medicine to the village at any time. After all, Danzo was also seriously injured in the Second Shinobi World War.”

Danzo was injured by a puppet master from the Sand Village. Despite their best efforts to save him, he lost an eye and half of his shoulder, forcing him to wear bandages.

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s words meant that he didn’t want to spend money but still wanted to benefit from the successful experiment. Tsunade couldn’t help but smile when she heard his words and then said, “I’ll do my best.”

Cain would provide the serum and equipment, while Tsunade would provide the manpower and money, so they could share the results. Does someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi, who wants things but is unwilling to pay, really have the value of a Sannin?”

After saying this, Tsunade left the Hokage building. She needed to discuss it with Cain first. If necessary, she would sell some of the Senju Clan’s treasures to raise enough money for the experiment.

Cain was still waiting at home for Tsunade’s news. If she agreed, he would be the biggest beneficiary once the research was successful. Moreover, if Tsunade agreed to the research, she could also help train Nono Yakushi.

Thinking of this, Cain went to the neighboring pharmacy to ask about Nono Yakushi’s learning progress.

When he entered the store, he saw Kaikou explaining the medicine to a regular villager. However, when she saw Cain, she respectfully asked, “Boss, what do you need?”

But before he could finish his sentence, Cain gestured to the villager, indicating that he should first deal with the villager’s issue.

After the people in the store left, Cain approached and said, “It seems that quite a few people come to the store to buy medicine.”

“Yes, medicines can be stored, and most families will prepare some common medicines. Like the person just now, this is already his third time buying medicine.”

“You can remember that? It seems he bought quite a lot.”

Kaikou shook his head and smiled, “Not really, it’s just that he’s too conspicuous and hard to forget.”

Cain recalled that the man was indeed a bit dark-skinned, which was rare in the village. However, he didn’t think much about it and asked Kaikou about Nono Yakushi’s situation.

Although Kaikou had lost a hand, his medical ninjutsu knowledge was still intact. Over the past year, he had often taught Nono Yakushi.