Chapter 299: Tsunade’s Counterattack!

Tsunade shook her head. "Forget it. It's better to let things run their natural course."

Tsunade had naturally heard about the technique Uchiha Ren had used today to subdue Shimura Danzō. However, the effects of Izanami had only been described by the Uchiha clan head himself. Aside from Shimura Danzō, who had already fallen victim to it, no one knew what the technique was actually capable of.

So although Uchiha Ren's proposal was extremely tempting, Tsunade still rejected it.

Seeing this, Uchiha Ren understood what Tsunade was worried about. His eyes flickered slightly as he said, "There's no need to refuse so quickly. Since I'm willing to help you treat your hemophobia, I naturally have a condition."

"Why not hear my condition first before deciding?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that. There was a hint of suspicion in her eyes as she looked at Uchiha Ren.

Uchiha Ren paid no attention to her expression and calmly explained, "Don't misunderstand. I have no ulterior motives. My condition won't affect you in any way."

Tsunade thought for a moment before saying, "Go ahead. Let's hear it."

Uchiha Ren continued, "My condition is very simple. After I cure your hemophobia, you can continue living your current drunken, carefree life. Just don't interfere with the village's affairs or its development."

Tsunade was different from Jiraiya.

Uchiha Ren could afford to ignore Jiraiya, but he could not afford to ignore Tsunade.

Although Tsunade was currently nothing more than a wandering, carefree drifter, her status was extraordinarily prestigious.

She was the head of the Senju clan, the last surviving heir of the Senju clan, and a princess of the daimyō's court...

With identities like these, even if Tsunade were nothing more than an ordinary, powerless woman, everything she did could still have a tremendous impact.

Take the Uchiha clan's current relationship with the daimyō's court, for example. Although the two sides appeared to have an excellent relationship, compared with Tsunade, the Uchiha clan's influence within the daimyō's court was unquestionably inferior.

Uchiha Ren's plans still required the backing of the daimyō's court in many areas. If Tsunade decided to oppose them, even a few minor moves within the Daimyō's court could cause the Uchiha clan considerable trouble.

Therefore, Uchiha Ren wanted to eliminate this potential threat before it could become a problem.

Tsunade was no fool. She immediately understood what Uchiha Ren was thinking from his words alone.

But his intentions still filled her with anger.

Tsunade said coldly, "What exactly do you mean by that? What do you mean by 'continue living my drunken, carefree life'? You're trying to control my life, yet you call that a simple condition?"

Uchiha Ren realized that he had chosen his words poorly and hurriedly said, "Sorry. I worded that badly. I have no intention of restricting your life. You only need to refrain from interfering with our actions."

"Your actions?" Tsunade keenly caught the key word in Uchiha Ren's statement. "When you say 'our,' do you mean you and Minato Namikaze? Or are there other people involved as well? And what exactly are these 'actions'?"

Tsunade had already completely rejected Uchiha Ren's proposal in her heart, but that did not stop her from probing him for information.

Her heart had always been with Konoha and the village. The only obstacle preventing her from taking action was her hemophobia.

Now Uchiha Ren wanted to use curing her hemophobia as leverage to make her abandon Konoha and give up on the village.

Tsunade would naturally never agree to something so completely backwards.

Moreover, Tsunade had already found a way to reduce the negative effects of her hemophobia. She was actually considering returning to the village and coming out of retirement.

Especially now, with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane all weakened politically, while the true intentions of Uchiha Ren and Minato Namikaze remained unclear, Tsunade felt that she had to return to the village and keep an eye on things.

She could not allow Uchiha Ren to lead Konoha into an abyss.

This was not Tsunade being paranoid. Based on her understanding of the Uchiha clan, the Uchiha might not all be good or evil, but they were undoubtedly an extremely radical clan.

And the stronger an Uchiha was, the more extreme they tended to be.

The more extreme an Uchiha was, the stronger they became.

As far as Tsunade was concerned, there were things the Uchiha clan could not do only because she had not thought of them yet.

If the Uchiha clan were given control of the village, they might even dare to lead Konoha on a campaign to unify the entire shinobi world.

After all, quite a few Uchiha had proposed exactly that in the early days after the village was founded.

"We're simply 'us,'" Uchiha Ren said, making no attempt to answer Tsunade's questions. "This matter has nothing to do with you. You only need to consider the condition I offered."

Tsunade exchanged a glance with Jiraiya.

Both of them saw the concern in the other's eyes.

The more Uchiha Ren refused to explain, the more significant the matter seemed to be—and the more concerned they became.

Tsunade thought for a moment before her eyes suddenly shifted. She said, "Uchiha Ren, have you forgotten something?"

Uchiha Ren frowned slightly, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Tsunade gave a soft snort. "Although I don't know what kind of agreement you reached with the daimyō's court, that agreement involved me."

Uchiha Ren was momentarily stunned.

Only then did he remember the marriage proposal that the daimyō's court had previously put forward.

However, as far as Uchiha Ren was concerned, that proposal was nothing more than the daimyō's wishful thinking. There was no chance it would actually happen.

Uchiha Ren shook his head. "That matter has nothing to do with me. It was entirely the daimyō's idea. If you want revenge, you've come to the wrong person."

Uchiha Ren knew that since the daimyō had proposed the matter with such confidence, it could not have been completely baseless. The daimyō must have had some degree of confidence that it could be accomplished.

So Uchiha Ren assumed that the daimyō had used some means to pressure Tsunade, and that Tsunade had come looking for them to settle the score.

That was why he was so eager to distance himself from the matter.

Tsunade smiled. "You don't need to rush to defend yourself. I know you weren't the one who proposed it. But don't forget that this matter isn't completely unrelated to you either."

"As long as I agree, you'll have to accept the condition proposed by the daimyō as well."

Uchiha Ren's expression changed.

His face immediately darkened.

Seeing his reaction, the corners of Tsunade's lips curved upward slightly.

Just as she had expected, Uchiha Ren was unwilling to accept this matter as well.

And that gave her an opportunity to gain leverage over him.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who were standing nearby, were completely lost.

They had no idea what kind of riddle Tsunade and Uchiha Ren were speaking in.

After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Ren asked directly, "What do you want? But let me warn you first: don't push me too far. Otherwise, we can simply go down together. I won't be the one losing out."

Tsunade gave a soft snort.

"My condition is also very simple. Cure my hemophobia, and then we're even."

Tsunade had already made up her mind.

There was no way she would agree to the condition Uchiha Ren had proposed.

But if she could use that condition to have her hemophobia cured, she would have to pay virtually no price at all.

It was worth a try.

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