Chapter 246: The Fifth

The message arrived at the Hokage Tower.

"Lady Tsunade is returning."

Tonbo jumped from his chair.

"Shikaku, come with me. We will welcome the Fifth Hokage home."

Shikaku set down the document in his hand and looked at Tonbo's delighted smile.

For most shinobi, the Hokage was a dream reached only by the greatest effort. Tonbo treated it as a job, and not even a desirable one. The office seemed worse to him than ordinary work because it consumed every hour and placed countless lives beneath each decision.

That attitude proved Tonbo lacked the impulse to devote his entire life to the village until death. Shikaku could not deny his ability. He had watched Tonbo grow, and the younger man performed well in every position he held. Even while resenting the Hokage's duties, he kept the administration orderly.

"Let us go," Shikaku said. "It has been years since I saw Lady Tsunade."

Perhaps she would be more diligent than Tonbo. Shikaku's own workload depended upon it.

They left with the ANBU guard assigned to the Acting Hokage.

At Konoha's great gate, Tsunade looked at the repaired wall and scowled.

"That old man allowed Orochimaru to damage the village this badly. Hiruzen really had become old."

"It cannot be helped," Jiraiya said. "We are all in our fifties. Age reaches everyone."

A cool breeze crossed the road. Naruto and Shizune, who had been about to greet the gate guards, quietly stepped away.

Tsunade's fist launched Jiraiya into the dirt.

"Age applies to you. I am still young."

He returned with blood beneath his nose. "Yes, yes. Let us keep moving. The advisers and Tonbo have probably waited long enough."

Several figures descended from the sky.

"Lord Jiraiya. Lady Tsunade. Welcome back to Konoha," Tonbo said.

At last she had arrived. Freedom stood only a transfer of office away.

Tsunade studied his unfamiliar face. She recognized Shikaku and the ANBU behind him.

"Who are you? And how do you know me?"

"Tobitake Tonbo, head of the Analysis Team and Acting Hokage. Of course I know the legendary sannin, the greatest medical shinobi in the world, the strongest woman in history, the one person who keeps Jiraiya under control, Konoha's future Fifth Hokage, and the pillar upon which the village's recovery will stand. It would be absurd not to know you."

Shikaku listened in silence. Tonbo's desperation to surrender the office could not have been more obvious.

Every title in the introduction placed another responsibility on Tsunade before she had agreed to carry even one. Tonbo delivered it with such cheerful admiration that refusing in front of the gate already felt like disappointing the village he described.

Naruto looked inspired. Someday he wanted praise like that. If everyone admired him so much, Sakura would surely fall in love with him.

Jiraiya heard the meaning beneath the compliments. "You really are not suited to be Hokage. You have no attachment to it at all."

"I think he may be perfectly suitable," Tsunade said. "Why not leave him in the office? Konoha is damaged, but it appears to be functioning."

The praise had not deceived her, though the slight curve of her mouth showed she enjoyed it.

"That is impossible, Lady Tsunade. The jōnin voted for you. Your appointment carries the support of the whole village, not only a temporary decision by Fire Country's officials."

Tonbo drew a tired breath and let his eyes redden.

"My wife is pregnant. I need time with her. After one month in the Hokage's office, I already feel I have failed my family."

"Your wife?"

Shikaku explained before Tonbo could increase the performance. "He already has twins, and Ayame is pregnant again. That part is true."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Convenient timing. Why does this feel deliberate?"

Tonbo maintained the expression of an exhausted husband. Ayame truly was pregnant, and he truly wanted more time with her. The fact that they began trying while Tsunade was being sought did not need to become the first subject of their acquaintance.

If he had enough energy to get his wife pregnant while leading a damaged village, perhaps the office had not exhausted him as thoroughly as he claimed.

"Not at all. I simply do not adapt well to the position. The responsibility is too heavy. My duty to my family already leaves me mentally and physically exhausted."

Tonbo shook his head as if the weight might overcome him at the gate.

"Fifth Hokage, the advisers are waiting. We should continue this discussion at the Tower."

He gave Tsunade no time to build another objection. After she, Jiraiya, Naruto, and Shizune completed the ordinary entry registration, Tonbo led them into the village.

Repair crews filled the main street. Residents carried timber, replaced roofs, and cleared stone from damaged houses. A month had not erased Orochimaru's invasion.

Some buildings remained covered only by tarps. New beams showed pale against scorched walls. Mission shinobi moved around civilian crews instead of waiting for the streets to clear, while merchants conducted business from temporary tables beside broken storefronts.

Tsunade also saw children playing between the workers and merchants reopening their doors. Whatever else Tonbo had done, he had guided Konoha through the first period without allowing foreign enemies to exploit the weakness.

The borders had remained quiet, Sand had requested peace, and daily life had resumed before every structure was whole. Tsunade could criticize the young Acting Hokage's methods after she read them. She could not claim he had abandoned the village while waiting for her.

"Uncle Tonbo," Naruto asked, "are Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei all right?"

"They are perfectly fine except for being unable to wake. I take them apples every day."

Naruto imagined Kakashi and Sasuke asleep in their beds, somehow lifting apples to their mouths.

"They can eat while unconscious? Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke really are amazing."

He walked several steps before the contradiction reached him.

"Wait. How can they eat apples if they are asleep?"

Everyone laughed.

"I eat the apples for them," Tonbo said. "I kindly bring a reward, and they refuse to appreciate it. It would be wasteful to leave the fruit."

"Uncle Tonbo, that is shameless."

Tsunade's expression became serious. "Have medical shinobi examined them? Are their conditions stable?"

"Their bodies are stable. We cannot wake their minds. I inspect them every day."

Tonbo had used genjutsu to deceive their bodily signals into accepting nutrition more efficiently, preventing deterioration while their consciousness remained trapped. He had also studied the distinct reactions of Kakashi's transplanted Sharingan and Sasuke's natural eyes.

Neither patient had regained awareness. Kakashi's continuing chakra drain complicated the coma, while Sasuke's younger nervous system responded differently to the same Mangekyō technique. Tonbo could preserve their condition, but he preferred to leave the final restoration to the medical specialist whose arrival would also free him from office.

"Take me to them after the succession meeting," Tsunade said.

"Of course. Konoha needs its Fifth Hokage and its finest physician."

Tonbo finally allowed himself to breathe more easily. Naruto had reignited Tsunade's fighting spirit, and the state of the hospital would give her immediate work. She would probably accept the office.

The enthusiasm might not last. Tonbo expected the Fifth eventually to return to drinking and gambling whenever the administrative burden became tedious. By then, the hat would be her problem.

Shikaku, walking behind them, seemed to read that satisfaction. He said nothing. If Tsunade tried to escape later, the Nara suspected he would become the person responsible for dragging either her or Tonbo back to the desk.

He continued toward the Tower with a smile that Tsunade did not entirely trust.