Chapter 852

If it was merely because she had no gift and thus delayed a bit, that wouldn't be a problem—but even she only half-believed that excuse.

"Grandpa, hasn't that one arrived yet?"

Tsunade arrived here and frowned at the empty seat.

A chair had been added suddenly, yet no one came.

The time has already come; if it remains empty any longer, it will be embarrassing.

"He's probably preparing a gift for you."

At this moment, everyone's attention turned toward them; Hashirama gave an awkward smile.

Lin Cheng's absence made her even more anxious.

But at least the surface formalities couldn't be skipped; even if just for show, she needed to find some excuse.

"Then let's wait a little longer."

Though she could tell the excuse was flimsy, since it was that one, Tsunade still felt it better to wait—no one here dared to object.

He only appeared when everyone had already decided to stop waiting, and sat down in that seat immediately.

"Where did you go?"

"Are you crazy? Things were already problematic, and you still went!"

Hashirama was so furious she nearly slammed the table—had Lin Cheng not swiftly grabbed her hand, she would have disrupted Tsunade's inauguration ceremony.

No wonder he was the one who shared the same power as Naruto—when panicked, he just doesn't care anymore.

"We'll talk about this later. I still need to give Tsunade her gift, but that guy's new body won't be very healthy—he'll need Tsunade to slowly nurture it back."

Lin Cheng didn't need to look to know that Orochimaru hadn't used too many good materials to revive Katsuyu—hopefully he'd retain his Jonin status.

"I'll explain everything when we get home after this is done!"

Hashirama was furious, but she knew she couldn't lose her temper now.

Still, once back home, she would settle accounts with Lin Cheng properly—at the very least, she'd make sure this bastard remembered that reckless actions aren't to be taken so lightly.

"Alright, don't be angry."

Leaning back in her chair, Lin Cheng softly soothed Hashirama's emotions.

He hadn't come away empty-handed this time; Orochimaru had also noticed a small issue during Katsuyu's revival, so they wouldn't encounter this problem again when reviving Hashirama.

"Fifth Hokage!"

Amidst cheers, the succession ceremony had ended; Tsunade had delivered her inauguration speech to the Konoha ninja, and the matter was settled.

Now came the gift-giving time; without needing further words, Tobirama had already swiftly unrolled the scroll upon Tsunade's return and taken out a pile of gifts.

This one is Lin Cheng's, this one is Kakashi's, this one is Naruto's, this one is Sasuke's.

Tobirama organized each gift, and when he held the last one, he hesitated, then finally placed it aside.

"This belongs to Uchiha Izuna—Uchiha's great warrior from the same era as my brother and me."

Tobirama placed the exquisitely wrapped box before Tsunade; he was unsure how to explain Izuna's identity and felt deeply conflicted.

There were still Uchiha alive today—he couldn't say that the man had been killed by him.

"Uchiha Izuna? The one who died at Tobirama-sama's hands back then?"

Uchiha suddenly spoke, then fell silent the moment he noticed everyone's strange glances; now, no further explanation from Tobirama was needed—everyone instantly understood why the Second Hokage had been so conflicted.

After speaking, Uchiha simply lowered his head, saying not another word.

Uchiha Fugaku beside him couldn't help but begin to doubt his suddenly mischievous eldest son.

Had something unknown happened back then?

"At that time, the village hadn't been founded yet—he truly died by my blade."

No further explanation could change anything; Tobirama simply admitted it. After all, he had killed the man—it wasn't something hidden from the world.

"Grandpa Tobirama, you really are… but thank you, please convey my gratitude for his gift."

Tsunade stared at the gift before her, sensing a bad omen—she hoped it wouldn't be a trap for her.

"It's fine. Our old grudges won't involve you. This last one is the gift Grandpa prepared for you."

Tobirama saw the worry in Tsunade's eyes and knew what she feared—but some things didn't need overthinking; that man, Izuna, wouldn't dare target the younger generation.

He finally presented his own gift, then returned to his seat and decided not to say anything further.

He had too many grudges with the Uchiha clan; under these circumstances, silence was best.

"Now it's my turn. The gift I originally prepared didn't seem appropriate, so Grandpa switched it out for you—you'll probably understand its use soon."

Hashirama recalled the man Lin Cheng had mentioned needed care, so she replaced the gift with a talisman designed to gently nourish the body.

Indeed, Tsunade looked puzzled upon receiving it, but at this moment, she couldn't ask further questions.