Although it was only an hour of interaction, Shin was very sincere. He didn't hide anything when answering Mito's questions. However, unconsciously, he kept trying to draw closer to her.
An average person would just find him pleasant to be around and wouldn't think much of it.
But she had vast experience. Her ability to judge people and situations far surpassed that of ordinary people, how could she not see through his intentions?
Even though she trusted the Nine-Tails' judgment of good and evil emotions toward him, and coupled with her own extensive experience, she was confident she had a basic understanding of his thoughts and character.
Still, her foolish granddaughter being around someone with such deep scheming, was that a blessing or a curse?
"Obaachan, what are you thinking about?" Tsunade saw the troubled look on her grandmother's face and grumbled with displeasure.
"It's nothing!" Mito smiled gently and continued, "I just wanted to tell you, the people Shin holds the most goodwill toward are the Namikaze family. Especially his younger brother, Minato, he practically loves him to the bone. Maybe you can try working from that angle."
Tsunade's eyes lit up. Maybe it really could work!
A roundabout way to help, if she could get Minato to accept her, wouldn't everything fall into place?
"But what I didn't expect," Mito added, "was how intense his hatred toward Hiruzen, Danzō, and Koharu is. It's greater than his malice toward anyone else combined. Especially toward Koharu, t's no longer just malice; it's absolute hatred. I suspect that if he ever gets the chance, he'll kill her without hesitation. I really don't know where such deep hatred comes from."
"I do know a bit!" Tsunade said softly, and then told her everything she knew about how Koharu had spent years relentlessly cursing Shin with harsh, bitter words.
Upon hearing this, even Mito was at a loss for words. She was simply stunned. Was this "Koharu" Tsunade spoke of really the same obedient, sensible girl who used to follow behind Tobirama all those years ago?
As expected, only by truly getting close to someone can you judge their true nature. If it hadn't been for the help of the Nine-Tails, she wouldn't have trusted Shin so quickly either.
"It seems the harm Koharu did to him is indelible," Mito said quietly. "Helping Shin isn't out of the question," she added. "He doesn't resent the village as a whole, and he has no issue with most people in it. But his attitude toward the village leadership... we can't rule out the possibility that he may become our enemy in the future."
"But can you really blame him for that?" Tsunade was starting to lose her objectivity in her desire to help Shin. "Isn't this all ultimately Tobirama-ojisan's fault? By the way, does Shin harbor strong resentment toward him?"
"What surprised me is that he actually doesn't, not nearly as much as he does toward Koharu, not even as much as toward Danzō or Hiruzen."
Mito was truly surprised. She had thought Shin's greatest hatred would naturally be directed at Tobirama, the root cause of everything, but unexpectedly, the boy didn't seem to hate Tobirama that much.
Even Shin himself didn't realize that after gaining Tobirama's talents, the benefits gradually diluted his hatred.
Cursing Tobirama had just become a habit, it wasn't truly hatred to the core.
"Why is that?" Tsunade asked, puzzled.
"Maybe it's because of you!" Mito said teasingly.
"He… He hates me so much right now, how could it possibly be because of me…"
"Maybe after spending more time with you, the hatred gradually lessened," Mito explained. "So, I want to ask you one final question."
Tsunade swallowed nervously and nodded.
"Are you confident you can keep him steady?"
"I... before today, I was confident. My relationship with him has been improving lately, but now... I'm not so sure. But..." Tsunade added, "If I work together with his younger brother, I think I can manage it."
"But what if sensei and Koharu are determined to get rid of him and keep intensifying the conflict? What then?" she voiced her concern.
"Obaachan, can you persuade them?"
Mito shook her head self-deprecatingly. "I'm just a retired old woman now."
"While they still show me some surface-level respect, they increasingly only pay lip service. Everything they do in front of me is just for show. Power… it's truly a bleeding blade. In just seven years, I hardly recognize them anymore. Enough, since we've come this far, go call Shin in. From our earlier conversation, I could tell that boy has a plan. As long as I can temporarily hold Hiruzen back, he might just be able to break the deadlock on his own."
---
After Shin returned to the backyard, Mito, Tsunade, and he had a long, private conversation. As expected, it was him who proposed the solution to the current impasse.
Tsunade was very surprised by how strategic and forward-thinking he was, but Mito remained calm. She knew well just how much potential a person could unleash in order to survive. From the results of her probing, she believed that his nature wasn't fundamentally bad.
But for a child to survive so many years in such an environment, and to have started planning years ago to use Tsunade to break free of his situation, how could he not have backup plans?
That was right, she had seen through it: Shin was using Tsunade to create a way out. But she wasn't particularly angry. From her years of experience, she could also see that Shin had genuinely developed feelings for Tsunade.
But what could this be called? A twisted love?
Forget it. Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. Let them be. With that, the always composed she chose not to say more.
---
The next morning, Mito personally went to the Hokage's office.
She informed Hiruzen that recently, Shin had been simultaneously developing three advanced medical ninjutsu techniques with unprecedented healing effects.
She mentioned that he had told Tsunade he would teach her those techniques in the spirit of medical ninjutsu exchange between them.
She was delighted when she heard Tsunade mention this and had come to inform Hiruzen about it. So far, one of the jutsu was nearly complete, it was the one used during his earlier match with Tsunade.
However, the other two techniques required reference to some of the village's older medical ninjutsu. She had come to request access on Shin's behalf to a few that weren't considered top secret.
She also stated that once Tsunade mastered those jutsu, she would begin training a new team of medical ninja for the village immediately.
Hiruzen, of course, was thrilled.
Tsunade was a purebred member of the Hokage line, his own prized student, no less. If she mastered those three techniques, wouldn't that mean Konoha did as well?
Such a good thing, of course he wouldn't refuse. He was even a bit eager to see what the techniques could achieve. As a result, his earlier thoughts of eliminating Shin were put on hold.
After all, he was just a medical ninja with no combat strength, what kind of waves could he possibly stir?
Besides, rumors about Shin and Tsunade were already spreading through Konoha. If the two really ended up together, sparing Shin wasn't out of the question. Wouldn't it be better to let him continue contributing his talent to the village?
Without Sakumo there to report anything, a key piece of information was missing, so he had no reason to be suspicious.
Around noon, Tsunade received an invitation from Koharu to visit the Pharmaceuticals Department once again.