The Silence in the Tavern
The main hall of the tavern fell into complete silence. Everyone was staring in the direction of Haruto Saito.
"Is this an order from the Hokage?" Haruto frowned and asked.
"No comment," Shinjo replied coldly.
"Alright then." Haruto shrugged, stood up, and even extended his hands towards Shinjo. "Do you need to tie me up?"
"Move!" Shinjo directly grabbed Haruto's shoulder and led him outside.
Haruto was helpless. From what Shinjo had just said, he was being arrested because of Uzumaki Kushina. But who was the one who gave the damn order?
Only two people had the authority to mobilize the Anbu and even have the Anbu Captain personally take action to make an arrest—either the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, or the Anbu Captain, White Fang. Even Danzo didn't have such power.
Haruto couldn't figure it out. Even if the order came from White Fang, arresting the personal disciple of the Hokage was a serious matter, one that Hiruzen Sarutobi must have approved.
What was Hiruzen Sarutobi thinking?
Haruto didn't understand Sarutobi's motives, but he wasn't worried. Although Shinjo had come to arrest him, he didn't show any malice. That meant the situation wasn't too serious.
Dusk, Hokage's Office
Hiruzen Sarutobi had just finished a meeting and returned to his office when White Fang rushed in, respectfully reporting, "Lord Hokage, Haruto Saito has been arrested by Shinjo."
"Hm?" Hiruzen was stunned. He looked at White Fang but couldn't find the words to respond. It was too bizarre.
The two people who had the authority to command Shinjo were both right here in this room. One was reporting the arrest to the other, yet neither had given the order. Furthermore, Shinjo was Sarutobi's son. So why had he arrested Haruto without Sarutobi knowing?
"Shinjo arrested Haruto?" Hiruzen asked, thinking he had misheard.
"Yes! It happened just a short while ago. I only just received the news," White Fang quickly responded. "It happened in the middle of a crowded street, in front of everyone. The entire village is already talking about it, and the impact is significant."
Hiruzen's brows furrowed deeply. No matter the reason, Shinjo's reckless decision to arrest someone in public would have serious consequences.
Haruto had only recently become his personal disciple, and now the Anbu had taken him away. This would surely stir up unnecessary speculation in the village.
"Did he offend Shinjo?" Hiruzen asked.
"No," White Fang shook his head and hesitated before saying, "I heard… it was an order from Lady Mito."
"What?" Hiruzen was visibly taken aback.
It was an order from Uzumaki Mito?!
Technically speaking, Mito had no authority to mobilize the Anbu. The Anbu was directly under the Hokage's command. But Mito's status was extraordinarily high—higher even than Hiruzen's, though she didn't hold as much actual power.
For years, Hiruzen had assigned the Anbu to protect Mito, and some of them did take orders from her.
If she commanded the Anbu to arrest someone, they wouldn't refuse unless it was a grave matter. And especially Shinjo—he would never refuse her. After all, Mito had practically raised Shinjo like her own grandson.
"What was the reason?" Hiruzen asked with a deep frown.
"It's because of Uzumaki Kushina," White Fang explained quickly. "This afternoon, Haruto went to the Ninja Academy and had some kind of conflict with Kushina. He… scared her, and she ended up crying.
"Shinjo took Kushina to Lady Mito, and then…"
"That's it?" Hiruzen blinked, finding the situation both ridiculous and exasperating.
Mito had Haruto arrested just to stand up for Kushina? That didn't seem right.
Mito wasn't the type to overreact like that. She wouldn't make a big deal out of such a trivial incident.
"Yes, that's all!" White Fang nodded and then added, "Oh, and Tsunade is also with Lady Mito."
Hiruzen immediately understood.
It must have been Tsunade stirring things up!
Mito might comfort and console Kushina, but she wouldn't normally escalate the situation to this extent. However, if Tsunade was there, fanning the flames and egging her on…
That explained why Haruto had been arrested!
"Let's go check it out," Hiruzen decided and disappeared in a flash.
White Fang stepped forward and vanished as well.
The Forest Behind Konoha
"Aren't you going to blindfold me?" Haruto asked as he casually followed Shinjo, hands resting behind his head.
"No need. We're not going to the Anbu base," Shinjo replied.
"Then where are we going?" Haruto asked again.
"You'll find out soon enough," Shinjo said mysteriously.
Haruto smirked. Playing mysterious, huh?
Though he wasn't worried about any danger—Shinjo and the other Anbu weren't hostile toward him—he was still curious.
They walked through the forest for a long time, winding through various paths.
Ahead, at the end of the forest trail, a small courtyard came into view, nestled at the foot of a low mountain.
Whoosh!
A figure appeared in front of them like a ghost—it was Tsunade!
"Got you, you little brat!" Tsunade sneered and grabbed Haruto. In a flash, they both vanished.
Haruto barely had time to react.
The moment he saw Tsunade, he knew things were about to go badly for him. But it was too late to run—he wasn't even close to being her match.
All he could do was accept his fate.
Tsunade carried Haruto straight into the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, then disappeared once more.
The next moment, they reappeared inside a wooden house within the courtyard.
It was a simple, modestly decorated wooden home.
At the back of the main hall, there was a long wooden bed covered with thick blankets.
Sitting on one side of the bed was an elderly woman, her face covered in wrinkles, yet her presence was regal. She wore a kind smile.
Nestled in her arms was Uzumaki Kushina, her eyes still red and swollen, looking pitiful as she sought comfort.
Tsunade dragged Haruto into the room.
The moment Kushina saw him, she started wailing. "It's him! It's him! He's the big bully! Waaaah… He had this huge sword… It was so scary… Waaaah…"
What an act!
Haruto didn't even bother paying attention to Kushina's dramatic performance.
Instead, his eyes were fixed on the elderly woman.
Name: Uzumaki Mito.
Identity: Wife of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. The First Perfect Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Princess of the Fallen Uzumaki Clan. Honorary Advisor of Konoha's High Council. Honorary Advisor of Konoha's Anbu. Honorary Advisor of the Konoha Elite Jonin Corps. Retired S-Rank Free Ninja. The Strongest Female Ninja in the Shinobi World!
Reputation: 137,869 points.
Affiliation: Neutral.
Haruto subconsciously rubbed his eyes.
Was he seeing this right?
Uzumaki Mito!
Her reputation points were over 137,000?! She completely outclassed Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Haruto began to understand—most of her reputation came from her status and legacy. But still, that was an insane number!
And then there was her title…
The Strongest Female Ninja in the Shinobi World!
She had to be at least… eighty years old, right?
"You are Haruto Saito?" Uzumaki Mito asked, her warm smile slowly fading.