I Became a Demon Sword and Traveled the Anime Worlds

Tsunade casually shuffled a deck of cards and dealt them across the table.

A few landed in front of Jiraiya.

The rest remained before her.

She picked up her cards and narrowed her eyes at them, her expression giving nothing away.

Jiraiya did the same.

Then, while examining his hand, he continued the conversation.

"I'll say it again."

"Tsunade, making you the Fifth Hokage was the old man's decision."

Tsunade remained silent.

Jiraiya placed one card down.

"He even disbanded Root."

Tsunade's fingers stopped.

Jiraiya glanced at her.

"Danzō has been removed from power, and Root is being dismantled and redistributed throughout Konoha."

He leaned back slightly.

"The old man has cleared the way."

"So?"

"Still planning to refuse?"

Tsunade's expression finally changed.

She knew Hiruzen.

And she knew Danzō.

More importantly, she knew just how complicated the relationship between those two old men had always been.

They had argued for decades.

They had disagreed on almost everything.

Yet no matter how far Danzō pushed, Hiruzen had always hesitated to truly cut him off.

Even after acts that should have crossed every possible line, Danzō had remained one of Konoha's elders.

For Hiruzen to suddenly strip him of Root and dismantle the organization entirely...

That was not a small decision.

It was ruthless by Hiruzen's standards.

Tsunade stared at her cards.

Was this really the same old man she remembered?

What she did not know was that Hiruzen's decision had far less to do with clearing the path for the next Hokage than Jiraiya believed.

The greatest reason had been Naruto.

As long as Danzō retained control of Root, Hiruzen believed Naruto would never truly be safe.

Still, even after hearing all of this, Tsunade gave no immediate answer.

The tavern remained noisy around them.

Cups struck tables.

Customers laughed.

Someone shouted over a lost bet.

But at their table, the mood grew strangely quiet.

Jiraiya did not press her.

He knew Tsunade too well.

Forcing her would only make her more stubborn.

Eventually, she placed her cards down.

"Sorry."

Her eyes were serious.

"I refuse."

Jiraiya sighed.

He had expected it.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair.

The fire she had once possessed was gone.

Too much had been taken from her.

Her younger brother.

The man she loved.

The dreams they had carried.

The village she once believed in without hesitation.

One loss after another had worn away everything she had once wanted to protect.

In the end, she left.

She gambled.

She drank.

She travelled from place to place.

Anything that kept her from thinking too deeply about the past was good enough.

Becoming Hokage meant returning to all of it.

The responsibility.

The memories.

The darkness beneath Konoha.

She had no desire to face any of that again.

Jiraiya studied her for a moment.

Then, as though refusing to let the atmosphere grow too heavy, he grinned.

"That answer sounds familiar."

Tsunade looked at him.

Jiraiya rested his cheek against one hand.

"You said exactly the same thing when I confessed to you years ago."

Tsunade's eye twitched.

Before she could respond, Naruto spoke.

"Sorry to interrupt."

Both Sannin turned toward him.

Naruto had been sitting quietly beside Jiraiya, listening the entire time.

He looked directly at Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade."

His tone was respectful but firm.

"I don't know why you don't want to become Hokage."

Tsunade watched him.

Naruto continued.

"But Grandpa Third must have a reason for choosing you."

"So even if you refuse now, I'm not giving up."

Tsunade blinked.

Naruto's expression remained determined.

"I'll keep trying to convince you."

For a moment, Tsunade simply stared at him.

Bright blue eyes.

Blond hair.

That straightforward confidence.

That stubborn refusal to accept defeat.

Something about the boy pulled old memories to the surface.

Two figures.

Both gone.

Both once carrying dreams far too large for their own lives.

Tsunade slowly turned toward Jiraiya.

Then she laughed.

"Jiraiya."

"What?"

"This kid reminds me of your former student."

Jiraiya's expression shifted.

Tsunade looked at Naruto again.

"Not only his personality."

"Even his appearance."

She tilted her head.

"I wonder how his talent compares."

Jiraiya gave a quiet chuckle.

"If you compare most Shinobi to the Fourth Hokage, they're going to look ordinary."

Naruto listened without saying anything.

Then Jiraiya's expression became serious.

"But Naruto is different."

Tsunade noticed the change in his tone.

Jiraiya looked directly at her.

"Of every genius I have ever seen..."

"None of them compare to him."

Tsunade's eyebrows rose.

Coming from Jiraiya, that was an absurdly high evaluation.

He had trained Minato Namikaze.

He had travelled the Shinobi World.

He had seen countless prodigies from every major village.

And yet he was placing Naruto above all of them?

Tsunade looked at the boy again.

This time, there was genuine curiosity in her eyes.

"That much?"

Jiraiya smiled.

"You'll understand."

Tsunade picked up her sake and drained the rest.

Then she stood.

"A brat receiving that kind of praise from you..."

She smirked.

"Now I want to see it myself."

Naruto looked up.

Tsunade gestured toward the door.

"Come outside."

Jiraiya's grin widened.

"That sounds interesting."

He stood as well.

"Go ahead, Naruto."

Not long afterward, the group left the tavern.

Night had already fallen over Tanzaku Quarters.

Streetlights illuminated the road.

Tsunade and Naruto stood opposite each other in an open area while Jiraiya and Shizune watched from the side.

Tonton rested in Shizune's arms.

Tsunade smiled.

Then she raised one finger.

"I'll fight you with this."

Naruto stared at the finger.

Tsunade continued.

"If you can touch me even once..."

She reached toward the necklace around her neck.

A large pendant rested against her chest.

"I'll give you this."

Naruto's eyes moved to the pendant.

It was certainly hard to miss.

He quickly returned his attention to Tsunade.

"Really?"

Tsunade smiled confidently.

"Really."

Naruto's expression sharpened.

"Then it's a deal."

His hand moved.

Several three pronged kunai appeared between his fingers.

Tsunade's smile faded slightly.

Those weapons looked familiar.

Naruto threw them.

Whoosh!

The kunai scattered around Tsunade.

Then Naruto disappeared.

Flash!

Golden light crossed her vision.

Tsunade's eyes widened.

"What?"

Naruto appeared beside one kunai.

Then vanished again.

Flash!

Another position.

Then another.

Tsunade froze.

"The Flying Thunder God?"

Her composure finally broke.

At his age?

And he was not merely using it.

His movement was smooth.

Controlled.

Natural.

This was not someone barely managing the technique.

Naruto had already reached a level of genuine proficiency.

Tsunade suddenly understood why Jiraiya had spoken about him that way.

This was terrifying talent.

Then a hand touched her shoulder.

Tsunade's eyes widened.

Naruto stood beside her.

He smiled.

"Does that count?"

Tsunade remained silent for a moment.

Then she laughed.

"All right."

She removed the pendant from around her neck.

"A deal is a deal."

Naruto began retrieving his three pronged kunai.

Before Tsunade handed over the necklace, however, she stopped.

"One question first."

Naruto looked at her.

"Of course."

Tsunade held the pendant loosely in one hand.

"What is your dream?"

Naruto did not need to think.

"My dream is to become Hokage."

His voice was clear and unwavering.

"I'll surpass every Hokage who came before me."

Tsunade's eyes trembled.

Naruto continued.

"And one day, I'll change this cruel world with my own hands."

Silence.

For Tsunade, the boy in front of her seemed to overlap with ghosts from the past.

Nawaki.

Dan.

Both had spoken of becoming Hokage.

Both had believed that title meant something.

Both had carried dreams of protecting the village.

And both had died before they could ever reach them.

Tsunade had buried those memories as deeply as she could.

Yet Naruto had dragged them back with only a few words.

Something inside her chest tightened.

A heart she had long thought dead seemed to beat again.

Tsunade looked down at the pendant.

Then she stepped forward.

She placed it around Naruto's neck herself.

Naruto looked at it in surprise.

Tsunade gave a bitter smile.

"I'll admit it."

"You moved me."

Jiraiya remained silent nearby.

Tsunade's hand slowly fell away from the pendant.

"But there's still a problem."

Naruto looked at her.

Tsunade's expression became more subdued.

"I suffer from hemophobia."

Naruto blinked.

"I can't stand the sight of blood."

Tsunade looked away.

"And someone like that has no business becoming Hokage."

Naruto frowned.

Then he answered with complete confidence.

"You can overcome it."

Tsunade looked back at him.

Naruto's expression was serious.

"I believe you can."

No hesitation.

No pity.

Just certainty.

Tsunade found herself unable to immediately reject him.

Jiraiya, who had been watching the entire exchange, finally smiled.

He could see the change in Tsunade.

Small.

But real.

The timing was right.

"Well."

He stretched his shoulders.

"Hemophobia isn't exactly easy to cure."

Tsunade gave him a sideways look.

Jiraiya grinned.

"Looks like we'll be busy for a while."

Tsunade sighed.

A helpless smile appeared on her face.

Behind her, Shizune quietly relaxed.

She held Tonton closer and smiled.

For once, she was genuinely happy.

If Tsunade returned to Konoha...

Maybe their days of running from debt collectors could finally end.

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Sasuke was becoming increasingly restless.

He trained.

He sparred with Kakashi.

He studied ninjutsu.

He pushed himself harder every day.

But none of it felt fast enough.

Naruto was still pulling farther ahead.

The gap between them continued widening.

And every time Sasuke remembered Itachi, that gap became unbearable.

If he remained in Konoha and continued improving at this pace...

Could he really kill that man?

Could he truly avenge the Uchiha Clan?

His thoughts eventually turned toward the being now connected to him.

Asuramaru.

Sasuke sat alone and closed his eyes.

"Asuramaru."

No response.

Sasuke hesitated.

Then asked,

"Is there a way for me to become stronger quickly?"

Darkness swallowed his vision.

His consciousness was dragged away.

When Sasuke opened his eyes again, he stood once more at the boundary between an endless sea and an endless sky.

The mental world.

Nearby, Orochimaru remained bound in place.

His presence lingered through the Cursed Seal.

And apparently, he had been talking for quite some time.

"Is there truly no other way to restore my hands?"

Sasuke glanced toward him.

Orochimaru's spiritual form now lacked both hands entirely.

The portions of his soul corresponding to them had been taken by the Shinigami.

A short distance away, Asuramaru sat quietly.

A pair of glasses rested on his face.

A book was open in his hands.

He looked thoroughly bored.

Without even lifting his eyes from the page, Asuramaru replied,

"The souls of your hands were taken by the Shinigami."

He turned a page.

"If you want them back, retrieve them from the Shinigami."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

"So there is no other method?"

"No."

A pause.

Then Orochimaru carefully asked,

"Not even for you?"

Asuramaru finally stopped reading.

His eye twitched.

He lowered the book.

For what felt like the hundredth time, Orochimaru was testing him.

Asuramaru stared at the former Sannin.

"I can restore your hands."

Orochimaru's eyes lit up.

Then Asuramaru continued.

"But why would I?"

Orochimaru's smile stiffened.

Asuramaru closed the book.

"Have you forgotten your position?"

His voice sharpened.

"The only reason your consciousness still exists here is because Sasuke needs access to the Cursed Seal."

A dangerous smile appeared.

"If that were not the case..."

"I would have erased you long ago."

....

[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]

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