Chapter 115: Jealousy Makes People Unrecognizable

Tobirama's face, which had been devoid of expression, immediately lit up with a smile the moment he saw Tsunade.

"Tsunade, come here, let Second Grandpa give you a hug."

Hashirama set Tsunade down on the ground, and Tsunade scampered over to Tobirama, extending her arms. Tobirama reached out and scooped Tsunade into a hug. "Tsunade, were you a good girl today? Did you make Grandma angry?"

Tsunade's big eyes darted around, and she shook her head at Tobirama, saying, "No, Tsunade was very good. Torifū-nii can vouch for me!" She then pointed in Torifū's direction, and Torifū nodded. "That's right, Tsunade was very good. I can attest to that."

Tsunade's face immediately broke into a smile. "Second Grandpa, where's my reward?"

Tobirama looked up at the sky, fishing around in his pocket with one hand. "Hmm... reward... reward. Let Second Grandpa find it."

Tsunade waited for a long time, and just as she was about to be disappointed that Tobirama hadn't pulled anything out, he exclaimed, "Found it!"

Tobirama pulled a lollipop from his pocket. It looked like one made by a master chef, and it was quite exquisitely crafted. Tsunade happily took the candy and gave Tobirama a loud smooch on the cheek.

This made Hashirama so incredibly sour, his face practically twisted. "Alright, alright, what's with all the gushiness? Come inside already!"

"Jealousy makes people unrecognizable"—this phrase perfectly described Hashirama's current state.

Tobirama naturally ignored him, glancing at his elder brother's visibly contorted face from a distance, and continued playing with little Tsunade. All the annoying things from the morning were completely forgotten the moment he saw Tsunade.

"Second Grandpa, why have you been so busy lately? You haven't had time to play with Tsunade anymore."

Hearing this, Tobirama glanced at his elder brother, only to find him whistling innocently and admiring the scenery around them. He was clearly feeling very guilty.

"It's all your grandpa's fault! He didn't want to work anymore, so he pushed all the work onto Second Grandpa. That's why I couldn't play with little Tsunade." Tobirama's tone carried a hint of grievance, and children, of course, believe whatever they are told. Seeing Tobirama like this, Tsunade hugged Tobirama's arm even tighter. "Why is Grandpa so lazy? Lazy Grandpa! Tsunade will give Second Grandpa a back rub later, and then you won't be tired anymore."

Hashirama stopped whistling then. He felt as if his granddaughter was about to become his younger brother's. While it was true that his resignation as Hokage had increased Tobirama's workload by a tiny bit, it was only a tiny bit! Was it really necessary to badmouth him in front of Tsunade? This was seriously affecting their grandfather-granddaughter relationship!

Tobirama now looked at Hashirama with a hint of triumph, as if to say, Elder Brother, if you want to contend with me, you'll need another hundred years of practice. This double blow suddenly caused Hashirama to become dejected.

Torifū, seeing this, quickly stepped forward to comfort him. "Sensei, don't take it to heart too much. Children will forget about this in a moment. You don't need to worry about it affecting your relationship."

After going around in circles with soothing words for a long time, Hashirama finally started to cheer up. Torifū had always been curious about his teacher's sudden bouts of dejection. He wondered if they would be triggered by an enemy's taunts on the battlefield. But then again, who would dare to run their mouth in front of the God of Shinobi?

Tobirama had long since stopped paying much attention to his elder brother's peculiarity. After all, he had been prone to dejection since childhood. At first, he and Itama and Kawarama would take turns comforting him. But eventually, he realized that even without guidance, he would recover in about ten minutes, so he simply left him alone to wallow. It was a pity that Itama and Kawarama had passed away so early; otherwise, they surely would have loved Tsunade very much too.

Tsunade, seeing that Hashirama was a bit off, toddled back to his feet and hugged his leg. "What's wrong, Grandpa?"

It proved that a hundred words of persuasion couldn't compare to a single word from Tsunade. Hearing Tsunade's voice, Hashirama immediately perked up, becoming vibrant and energetic again!

"Grandpa's perfectly fine!" He then picked Tsunade up and spun her around several times, making the little girl laugh heartily once more.

Seeing the grandfather and granddaughter enjoying themselves so much, Tobirama didn't interrupt but instead walked over to Torifū.

"Why isn't a busy person like you going on missions today?"

Torifū scratched his head sheepishly. "Hehe, I was planning to go, but all the good missions were already taken, and I wasn't interested in the remaining ones." Just then, Torifū suddenly remembered something and asked, "Tobirama-sama, your inauguration is in two days, right? Why are you already working?"

Tobirama snorted coldly. "It's all because your sensei insisted I help him work today. He called it 'getting used to it in advance,' but it was clearly just an exceptionally large amount of paperwork today!" His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for Hashirama to hear without attracting the attention of other clan members.

Hashirama, meanwhile, was whistling, trying to cover up Tobirama's words, pretending not to hear.

"So, tomorrow sensei still has to go to work, then?"

Tobirama nodded. "Yes, as long as he is Hokage, he must fulfill the Hokage's duties." Hashirama had been Hokage for almost fourteen years, and he had been a very diligent leader, solving all sorts of village problems every day. Throughout his entire Hokage tenure, this was the only day he had asked Tobirama to cover for him, so it wasn't a major issue that would tarnish his reputation.

Mito pushed open the door and came out of the house, telling everyone, "Come inside and wash your hands for dinner." Tsunade was the quickest to react. Though a bit chubby, she was quite nimble. The moment Hashirama crouched down, she leaped from his arms and darted into the house. She then stood at the doorway, yelling, "Dinner time!"

Torifū couldn't help but chuckle. Indeed, children have the least resistance to food.

At the dinner table, Mito had prepared a feast, and the entire house was filled with delicious aromas. Tsunade just took a sniff, and her mouth started to water. She quickly went to her small table and sat down, waiting for dinner.

Hashirama and the others washed their hands, then gathered around the table, eating and chatting. Tsunade ate with her small spoon, listening to the adults chat as if they were telling stories. Every now and then, she would even offer her own "insights," making everyone laugh heartily.

"By the way, Tobirama-sama, Naori and I picked up your cloak from Madam Beni's this morning. I took a quick look; it's very impressive."

"I don't pay much attention to those things, but I trust Madam Beni's craftsmanship."

Hashirama also nodded. "That's right, my cloak was made by Madam Beni too."

"You just focus on preparing these next few days. In two days, you'll be the Nidaime Hokage of Konoha, and your face will be carved into the Hokage Rock."

Tsunade finished her meal quickly. Hearing her grandpa say words she didn't understand, she asked, "Grandpa, Grandpa, what is a Hokage?"