Chapter 433 I'll Stand Up And Pedal It

Tsunade was drunk at this time, so she naturally would not overthinking things at the moment. Even if she had known what Naruto was up to, she wouldn't have cared about his little schemes.

"We're out of it, get your own drink!" Tsunade's expression was full of annoyance as she shooed him away.

Naruto wasn't bothered. With a cheeky grin, he ran off to fetch a pot of tea, then he came right back shamelessly. He sat down in front of Tsunade and brazenly swept his gaze over her.

All he saw was an ample figure, and suddenly, a phrase from an old Chinese poem sprang to his mind: 'Smooth and newly formed, soft as jade.'

He thought to himself, 'The reward for Task Line III were akin to restoring youth. And compared to Tsunade's physical rejuvenation technique, it was a thousand times more effective.'

Tsunade was one of the few people who could keep Naruto in check. In his heart, he always held a sense of gratitude because Tsunade had helped him during his most critical moments.

Simple repayment wouldn't be enough, so the reward from Task Line III, which involved restoring youth, was already reserved for her. However, it wasn't the right time now, so perhaps one day when the time was right, he'd bring it up.

He didn't believe in any nonsense about being the 'protagonist' or the 'Child of Destiny'. Every gift in life came with a hidden price tag. The kindness Tsunade had shown him was something he felt he needed to repay.

Maybe Tsunade had never thought of it that way, but Naruto couldn't take it for granted. All relationships in this world needed maintenance, or there would be no story to tell in the future.

"What do you want?" Tsunade didn't really feel like dealing with him. She yawned, trying to lay her head on the table but failing, which made her a bit irritated.

"If it's nothing important, go bother Kakashi. Don't annoy me."

Naruto: "… Am I really that annoying?"

"Don't you know what kind of person you are?" Tsunade frowned and stared at him. She flicked her finger against the ceramic cup with a clear clinking sound.

"Tsunade-sama, you're being a bit..."

Before Naruto could finish his sentence, there was a 'bang', and the small sake cup that had just been sitting still on the table suddenly shattered into dust. One second it was whole, and the next, it was nothing but powder.

"A bit... wasteful! We'll have to pay for that!" Naruto quickly changed his tone and instantly backed off, 'This old lady is too scary.'

"If you have something to say, just say it. Stop talking nonsense." Tsunade seemed genuinely annoyed. She switched to a new cup and continued to drink by herself.

"Oh, right, nothing big. Just wanted to report my recent plans to you, Tsunade-sama." Naruto didn't say it directly, but started the conversation in a roundabout way.

Hearing this, although Tsunade wasn't pleased, she didn't interrupt him.

"The village's communication system is too backward. I've got a new... oops, I mean, cough, cough, misspoke there. The Land of Rain and the Land of Snow have already adopted new Chakra-based communication systems."

Naruto took a sip of water, smacked his lips out of habit, and casually said, "The times have changed. It's about time we upgrade our communication system too."

That wasn't exactly beating around the bush, as after a brief intro, he went straight to the point. After Tsunade heard this, she actually took a moment to consider it before rejecting the idea.

"I can't make that decision, and right now, we don't have the time or energy to focus on such things." Tsunade said, furrowing her brows, "Talk to Kakashi about it later."

"Kakashi? He already agreed. He just told me to ask for your opinion."

"Why?" Tsunade looked up at him.

"Because I said that the new communication method can replace the new video method. In human terms, it means that he can see the first-hand drafts of the Icha Icha Paradise."

Naruto leaned in close, his upper body nearly sprawled over the table as he raised three fingers, speaking in a mysterious tone.

"Three limited edition, gold-bound collections of Icha Icha Paradise, uncensored versions."

Tsunade was speechless for a moment. After being silent for a long time, she reluctantly asked, "Why three sets? Isn't one enough?"

"One set for reading, one set for collection, and the other set as a backup for collection." Naruto spread his hands and said with a smile, "In case the first one gets lost, you won't have to worry about whether to open the collector's set."

"Uzumaki Naruto, you sure do think things through." Tsunade frowned, but then shifted the conversation, "What's wrong with you lately? Why are you so suddenly interested in communication systems?"

"For the sake of the village, of course!" Naruto, of course, wouldn't admit the truth and tried to joke his way out, "As a Konoha's Shinobi, we either risk our lives for the village or install things without concern for the dangers."

After a moment of reflection, Naruto decided to drop the act. He looked at Tsunade and spoke seriously, "Fine, no more jokes. The communication system is something Ino's been working on."

"Oh~. Well, I still don't have time for it right now, so talking to me won't help." Tsunade repeated her earlier statement, her brows furrowed as if she were pondering something else.

"Alright." Naruto didn't continue to pester her and immediately stood up and prepared to leave.

Tsunade set down her cup, stared at him for a while with a frown, and finally opened her mouth to call him, "Wait."

"Alright." Naruto was also very patient and stopped immediately.

"I've got a tricky situation to deal with lately. If you can help me, I'll consider what you're proposing," Tsunade said, her eyes scanning him.

"Danzo?" Naruto wanted to laugh in his heart, 'That old dog Danzo had finally been targeted.'

"Hasn't he been due for a cleanup for a while now? If you were more decisive, it wouldn't have dragged on this long."

"You make it sound so easy. Do you think Danzo is that easy to deal with?" Tsunade rolled her eyes, "This kind of thing is not as simple as fighting and killing. There is no way to deal with it in a short time."

"But Root's usefulness to Konoha has greatly diminished, and it's practically become Danzo's private organization now." Naruto said, "That's unreasonable. Isn't that a valid excuse to act?"

Tsunade didn't respond immediately. She rubbed her cup thoughtfully before speaking, "The independent deployment of the Root is indeed a constraint on the Anbu." Tsunade sighed, "But while it's easy to talk about, executing it…"

"After thinking about it, it seems that there is really no one more suited for this than you."

Having said this, Tsunade stopped what she was doing and put down the cup.

"Suited?" Naruto was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that Tsunade had already considered it, "You're not saying... you want me to deal with Danzo, are you?"

"You're too sly. How could I possibly..."

"I don't know, but you must have a way." Tsunade said after thinking it over again, "Kakashi isn't suited for this, but you might be."

"Because you're shameless, thick-skinned, and don't care about rules."

"Tsunade-sama, now that's going too far! You're slandering me!" Naruto didn't feel anything at first, but the more he listened, the more he felt something was wrong.

'Was this how people complimented others now?'

"The communication system is actually not that complicated. If you can get approval from two generations of Hokage, it's basically..." Tsunade glanced at him, the meaning was self-evident.

"I don't have many strengths, but I do have solutions. You sure know how to judge people." Naruto immediately changed his attitude, grinning as if he were a completely different person.

But what Tsunade said was not wrong… Naruto wasn't afraid of Danzo. In fact, he had been holding back plans against him for years. He had already come up with several strategies to deal with Danzo.

But in the final analysis, it is necessary to first dismantle Danzo's personal assassination force, the Root.

"That plan won't work." Tsunade waved her hand and said bluntly, "Most of the Root is under Danzo's control, and in the future, perhaps..."

Hearing this, Naruto was a little unhappy, 'Even at this stage, they were still holding back against Root?'

"Tsunade-sama, if you had the opportunity to use the private property of your enemy, what would you do?"

"What would I do?" Tsunade frowned.

Naruto grinned mischievously and raised an eyebrow, then said in a mean way, "I'll stand up and pedal it!" (T/N: It's a Chinese meme: You are reluctant to use your favorite bike, riding it slowly, but when other was allowed to use it, they would stand up and pedal it as hard as they can. And usually, it had hidden meaning, which is the bike is actually your girlfriend.)

Tsunade: "???"