'tap, tap, tap'

The Hokage's eyes fluttered groggily open after he pulled yet another all-nighter, trying to deduce the plans of the other Kages and form his own. ​​

'tap, tap, tap'

It was a grueling task but such was war. And this one was inevitable.

'tap, tap, tap'

His mood plummeted down as his ears were assaulted by the unceasing tapping noise that woke him up. He was tired, irritated, and not feeling in a mood for jokes. He abruptly straightened and shouted at whoever dared to disrupt his rest. "Shut the fuck up!" His face was morphed into an angry scowl that would send a lesser man running for his life but...

Hiruzen froze when he saw Tsunade in front of him. Her eyebrow was twitching as her feet stopped tapping the floor, scowl forming on her face. He could see a faint outline of chakra form on her fist, making him gulp.

'Gotta change the topic fast!' Hiruzen mentally shrieked and outwardly, his lips bloomed into a pleasant grandfatherly smile. "Ah, Tsunade-cha..." He stopped mid-word when Tsunade narrowed her eyes and cleverly corrected himself. "...san. What brings you here?" Hiruzen swept the room with his eyes as he wondered where his ANBU guards were. He doubted they wouldn't jump at Tsunade the second they saw the chakra outline forming on her fist but surprisingly, no one tried. It was then his gaze turned to a deadpan one as he saw four bruised bodies in the corner of the room. Hiruzen quickly recognized them as his ANBU guards.

'Are they too, too old for this shit? Maybe I should pick younger guards?' Hiruzen mused.

"Cut the crap, Sensei. I came to help Konoha in the upcoming war." Tsunade said and Hiruzen's expression lit up, already thinking where to deploy her when she completely dashed his hope. "I will only help out in the hospital though. Don't count on me fighting." Tsunade said as she uncaringly flopped into the chair for guests and started inspecting her nails.

Hiruzen's eyebrows furrowed. "Tsunade... as a ninja of Konoha you have to listen to the Hokage. If I order you to lead a unit, you will lead the unit!" He sternly spoke but Tsunade just rolled her eyes at him in dismissal.

"And if I don't?" She asked lazily, making Hiruzen almost have a heart attack. His hunch was telling him he would regret taking a forceful approach but despite it, he decided to utter his next sentence. He was still too used to obedient Tsunade he remembered from years ago.

"Then you will be labeled a nuke-nin." He said with a severe expression but contrary to his expectations, Tsunade was as laid-back as before, still minding her nails more than him.

"Then I will be labeled a nuke-nin. If Konoha doesn't need me, I will be going." She shrugged with a hint of amusement on her face and started standing up, only for Hiruzen to stare at her in utter bewilderment with his mouth wide open, not comprehending what just happened. It was when Tsunade was already walking towards the door his mind turned blank and only with his long, long experience of being Kage did he resist the urge to groan.

'I am too old for this shit.'

...

Tsunade stepped through the front door of the hospital and was instantly greeted by a black missile impacting her chest. She raised her eyebrow when she realized it was Shizune.

"Master!" Shizune was hugging Tsunade and the people started whispering... Tsunade was sure there would be some pretty steamy rumors flowing tomorrow. This was Konoha, after all. "I missed you!" Shizune beamed as she arched her head to get a proper look at Tsunade and her eyes teared up. "I thought I would never see you since you were sick."

The corner of Tsunade's mouth twitched as she remembered how 'mothering' her apprentice was and she could only sigh as she started patting her head. "Well... apparently not." She shrugged. "Not like it wasn't a close call."

Her voice was loud enough that the entire hall of the hospital heard it, stopping in their tracks, wondering what kind of sickness could almost kill the best medic in the world. Shuddering thoughts.

"Anyway..." Tsunade's expression turned awkward. "I am here to-" She started but Shizune interrupted her by pinning the badge of the Head of Hospital on her haori.

"Yes, we know, Master." Shizune said with a gentle smile and Tsunade couldn't help but feel extremely proud of herself while thinking.

'I raised her so well!'

...

The news about Tsunade Senju returning to Konoha spread through the village in a heartbeat. While most villagers happily celebrated, in the council room the mood was somber.

"Hiruzen, what do you mean she refused to be a commander?" Danzo asked stoically and his cheek slightly twitched but most people inside knew that simple gesture showed just how irritated he was.

"Exactly as I said." The Third Hokage's shoulders slumped. "She wasn't even deterred by becoming a nuke-nin."

The entire room quieted down when they heard this. There was a reason why she was allowed to roam free or why she could just say 'fuck, Konoha' and have no repercussions as long as she didn't work against Konoha itself. It wasn't her status as the last of the founding clan. Tsunade was one of their heroes of the second war. Her popularity was enormous even now, a decade after the event.

Hiruzen nor the council would ever let her roam free if they could help it. She was the best medic in the world! Her value was enormous. In some ways, Hiruzen would admit her to be more important than even himself. It was her knowledge about poisons that single-handedly won them the Suna/Konoha front in the second war. The situation with Tsunade was too problematic. If they labeled her as nuke-nin, every single village would fight and promise whatever she wanted only for her to join them. That had to be avoided, hence, she was given permission to go on her 'vacation' after the second war.

Not to say, if one of the Sannin suddenly became a nuke-nin, it would create a much bigger problem than just having a strong ninja on the run. The councilors could only grit their teeth when they imagined the political shitstorm and public unrest that would start if one of their legends did something like this. Even Daimyo could become involved… and their shady deals would be much, much harder to conceal.

"Fortunately, she decided to take her spot as the head of the hospital back and is currently 'cleaning up' the place." Hiruzen tried to make the mood better.

It was then the door swung open as a body of ANBU flew straight through them, skidding on the floor all the way in front of the table. Tsunade walked in as if nothing happened, making the political leaders of Konoha inside flabbergasted. Only the Uchiha patriarch was enraged enough to react. "Senju! What is the meaning of this?" He shouted but Tsunade just ignored him and sat in a chair.

Hiruzen's eyes widened. Tsunade just sat into the chair belonging to the Head of the Senju Clan which meant...

"I am the last Senju, Uchiwawa. That obviously makes me the head of my clan." Tsunade rolled her eyes at the arrogant prick and started reading a book, completely ignoring the people around her. When the silence didn't cease even after three minutes, Tsunade let out an annoyed sigh and raised her head to look at the Third Hokage. "Feel free to continue." She told him in deadpan, finally snapping him out of it. The meeting, awkwardly continued.

'Well... infiltration success, I guess.'

----

Okay, the war from Rei's perspective will start the next chapter. I just want to say this is AU so don't expect me to spend hours studying what happened during it. I have a few events I will add... As you could see, I mentioned Sasori killing the 3rd Kazekage which started the war which is totally AU... Basically, I want to avoid people nitpicking on details so I am saying this beforehand.