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The List of The "ANBU" Member:
-ar4ngel
-Cain
-Ryan biggins
-Kreios
-Sabo
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Tsunade's loud voice echoed far down the hallway, causing the ANBU ninja stationed at the door to quickly lower his head, hoping she wouldn't notice him.
"Why don't you all take a break?" Shizune suggested, waving at the ninja to leave. She then carefully closed the door behind her and whispered, "Hokage-sama, can you lower your voice? Do you want the entire building to hear about this?"
She shot Kazuki a helpless look that seemed to say, 'You're on your own for this one.'
Kazuki, unbothered, calmly responded, "What do you mean, 'what did I do?' You were the one who dragged me out drinking, and I didn't even have a choice! I still have a splitting headache. The real issue is 'you', Tsunade!"
Taking a few steps forward, Kazuki slammed his palm on the desk and accused her.
"Why did you sleep in my room instead of the guest room? And even more outrageous, why did you crawl into my bed and cuddle with me? Do you know how inappropriate that is for someone of your age? You took advantage of me!"
'The best defense is a good offense!'
Kazuki had decided to turn the tables immediately to block any of Tsunade's arguments and seize the upper hand.
'Wait… what?!'
Shizune stared wide-eyed at Tsunade, while Tsunade herself blinked in confusion, pointing at herself.
"Are you saying 'I' crawled into 'your' bed?! Wasn't it 'you' who lifted my clothes and touched me?!"
'Oh my god.'
Shizune felt her brain about to explode. 'What kind of absurd exchange is this?'
Kazuki's face darkened. "If you hadn't barged into my bedroom and crawled under my blanket, would anything have happened? Aren't you a little too old to be pulling stunts like this? For the record, I 'have' a girlfriend, and what you did was completely inappropriate!"
"You little—!"
Tsunade felt like she was about to cough up blood. She couldn't scream it out, nor could she swallow it down. To make matters worse, her blood pressure was skyrocketing.
'Too old?'
'And now it's 'my' fault?'
"Get over here! If I don't beat you to death, I'll change my last name to yours!" Tsunade roared, clutching the back of her head in frustration as her rising blood pressure made her veins feel like they were about to burst.
Sensing the tension, Shizune quickly interjected. "Um, Hokage-sama, how exactly did you end up in his bed?"
Tsunade froze, her indignation replaced by a moment of doubt.
'Yeah… how did I end up in the master bedroom? Wasn't I supposed to sleep in the guest room?'
Could it be that Kazuki was just as drunk and had no idea what happened either?
Tsunade grew suspicious.
Kazuki then asked, "Shizune said I spanked you. Is that true?"
"..."
Tsunade didn't respond.
'Another blackout drinker…'
Realizing that neither of them remembered anything, Tsunade couldn't pin the blame entirely on Kazuki. She also bore some responsibility for drinking so much.
Still, the words "you're too old" echoed in her head, making it hard to let go.
'Too old?! Who's too old here? I'm the one who lost out!'
Deciding to deal with the matter later, Tsunade chose to focus on eating first. Her empty stomach and nausea were making her miserable.
As she devoured her food, Kazuki let out a silent sigh of relief.
The storm seemed to have passed—for now.
But he silently vowed never to drink with Tsunade again. When she got drunk, there was no telling what chaos she'd cause.
Mid-bite, Tsunade suddenly remembered something. "By the way, what did Hiashi want with you?"
Kazuki, lounging casually on the sofa, crossed his legs and replied nonchalantly, "What else? The usual Hyūga clan drama. Given how your leadership style is much more assertive than the Third Hokage's, and the Hyūga clan's problems have been a headache for generations of Hokage, it's not surprising they'd approach me as your advisor."
Tsunade nodded, saying nothing further, and returned to her meal.
She had no time to deal with the Hyūga's issues for now. The pile of problems on her desk was already overwhelming, and the Hyūga situation wasn't something that could be resolved quickly anyway.
After finishing her meal and sipping on some hot tea, Tsunade finally felt the hangover's effects begin to subside.
However, her mood remained foul, and she had no desire to work.
Unfortunately, the sheer volume of pressing matters left her no choice.
Frustrated, she clawed at her hair, fantasizing about quitting but knowing she couldn't.
When her gaze fell on Kazuki lounging idly, her annoyance flared up again.
"If you've got nothing to do, why don't you take care of this mission that's been sitting around for ages?" she snapped, tossing a scroll at him.
"?"
Kazuki hadn't expected trouble to come his way just for sitting quietly. Catching the scroll, he opened it and raised an eyebrow.
"These cultists are getting this bold? After the wars impacted the Village Hidden in Hot Water, their strength has been declining. It won't be long before the village disappears entirely.
To deal with the growing threat of the cult, they've had to issue external missions seeking help."
"Well, I'll handle it then," Kazuki said, standing up. 'If I'm not busy, I might as well go. A little trip sounds better than sitting here.'
---
Later, at Kurenai's house, Kazuki found her having lunch.
"Have you eaten?" he asked.
"I have."
Without hesitation, Kazuki scooped her up and sat her on his lap, taking in her light floral scent as he rested his chin on her shoulder.
"There's a mission related to the cult in the Village Hidden in Hot Water. Interested in coming along?"
"No. My team has other tasks to handle."
In truth, her team had no active missions, but Kurenai didn't want to become a burden to Kazuki.
She was an independent woman who disliked relying on others, even if it was someone as close to her as Kazuki.
"Alright," Kazuki replied with a shrug. His plan for a mission/date thwarted, he decided to approach Fugaku instead.
Meeting with Fugaku, Kazuki expressed his intention to take Shisui and Itachi along for the mission.
Fugaku nodded. "It's good for them to get some experience outside. Especially Itachi—he's in your care for this mission. But hold off until tomorrow. I've moved the clan assembly to tonight because it's about your appointment as an elder."
Kazuki grimaced slightly. 'Do I really need to attend something like this?'
Though he wasn't eager, Fugaku's insistence and the rescheduling made it hard to refuse, so he reluctantly agreed.