After the initial shock, Tsunade continued reading the scroll and soon came across the task Hiruzen had assigned her—to guide Aoshi.
She immediately understood what the old man was really after: to draw in this suddenly emerged genius and bring him into the Hokage faction.
Just like how her younger brother Nawaki had been taken as a student by Orochimaru, or how Minato, once hailed as a genius at the Academy, had been accepted by Jiraiya.
Although it was phrased as merely "guiding" Aoshi, in practice, it was not far from taking him as a disciple. Only the formal title of "master and apprentice" was missing.
But in the eyes of outsiders, Aoshi would henceforth be seen as a member of the Hokage faction. If this had happened before she met Aoshi, Tsunade would've rejected the task without hesitation.
These days, all she wanted was to lie flat and detach herself from anything to do with Konoha or the Hokage faction.
But now that she'd met Aoshi, she hesitated for only a moment before accepting the mission.
After all, she had already been considering training Aoshi to one day take over her position as Head of the Medical Department. Now, with Hiruzen's official task, grooming Aoshi for leadership would be entirely justified.
And besides, she knew Aoshi's talent well. Mentoring him wouldn't require much effort at all.
In her mind's eye, Tsunade could already see the beautiful scene of her complete retirement approaching. "Go tell the old man—I'll accept this task."
Tsunade's way of referring to Hiruzen didn't faze the ANBU, who simply vanished with a flicker.
Once he was gone, Tsunade promptly returned to the joy of gambling. Even though she kept losing.
---
At that same moment, back in the Hokage's office, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had arrived together.
"Hiruzen, what's the urgent matter that you summoned us for?"
"We'll wait for Danzo before I explain."
Unlike Homura and Koharu, Danzo was usually holed up in his Root base, so it took him a bit longer to arrive. Neither of the elders questioned Hiruzen and simply sat down to wait.
A few moments later, a cold scoff was heard before Danzo himself stepped into the room. His voice had reached them before he had.
Danzo wore a frigid expression, and the way he looked at Hiruzen was laced with envy and discontent.
In his mind, he should have been the Hokage. Only he could lead Konoha to true greatness. Hiruzen… once I complete the Hashirama cell transplant experiment, the Hokage seat will be mine!
It was well known that the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, possessed the peerless Wood Release kekkei genkai. But ever since his death, no one had inherited that power—not even Tsunade, his own granddaughter.
To revive Wood Release, Hiruzen had once initiated Hashirama's cell transplant experiments.
But due to the heavy casualties, he had shut it down. Now, however, Danzo had secretly restarted the experiment with Orochimaru's help.
Unaware of Danzo's thoughts, Hiruzen took a deep breath from his pipe and spoke solemnly about the reason he had summoned the three.
"I just received intel from Jiraiya—there seems to be a covert plot by Iwagakure targeting Konoha."
At those words, both Homura and Koharu's expressions changed.
The Second Ninja War had only ended about a year ago. Another conflict with Iwagakure now would be terrible news for Konoha.
"What are you planning to do?" Homura asked with concern.
"Iwagakure dares to challenge Konoha? Give me a unit, Hiruzen—I'll crush them completely!" Before Hiruzen could respond, Danzo jumped in eagerly.
To him, defeating Iwagakure was a simple task for the strongest Hidden Village in the ninja world.
"Absolutely not, Danzo." Hiruzen refused him outright, his tone firm.
But inwardly, he was weary. Danzo always wanted to go straight to war. Meanwhile, as Hokage, Hiruzen had to consider countless other factors.
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"
"I am the Hokage, Danzo."
Danzo fumed with frustration.
Damn Hiruzen, always hiding behind the Hokage title. One day, when I become Hokage, I'll make him taste this same humiliation.
"Danzo, Hiruzen's right. This isn't the time for such talk," Koharu interjected.
Danzo let out a snort but dropped the topic.
"We still need to gather intel from inside Iwagakure. I'll leave that to your Root division," Hiruzen said next.
Neither Homura nor Koharu objected.
"If that's all, I'll take my leave," Danzo said, having received his mission.
But Hiruzen stopped him. "Wait, Danzo—there's one more thing. I'm preparing to hold a Joint Chunin Exam."
After graduating from the Ninja Academy, one became a genin. To be promoted to chunin, they had to pass the Chunin Exams.
The "Joint Chunin Exam" involved inviting other Hidden Villages to participate, allowing their genin to compete against Konoha's.
In essence, this was a kind of low-level war between villages.
By showcasing strong young ninjas to nobles and wealthy merchants, each village hoped to attract more mission contracts.
"Why the sudden decision to hold a joint exam?"
It was true that Konoha hadn't held a Chunin Exam in years due to the Second Ninja War. It was about time. But usually, Konoha would host its own exam.
A joint one would be much more complex due to the involvement of other villages.
"Iwagakure is already scheming against us. Other villages may be doing the same—or might join in. That's why Konoha must show strength in the joint exam, so they'll think twice about making any moves."
There was another reason—Aoshi.
He hadn't been promoted to chunin yet.
Hiruzen planned for Aoshi to join the joint exam. He was confident that Konoha would outperform every other village with Aoshi in the lineup.
Of course, he kept that part to himself; he didn't want Danzo to catch wind and get ideas.
"Hiruzen's logic makes sense. Let's proceed with the joint Chunin Exam," Homura agreed.
"Which villages are we inviting?" Koharu asked.
"Send invitations to all of them. Whoever wants to participate is welcome." Hiruzen was confident—none of the other Great Villages had a genin as talented as Aoshi.
Just like that, the decision to hold the joint Chunin Exam was finalized in a few short exchanges.
Danzo, who hadn't voiced an opinion the entire time, had no interest in some genin-level exam. All he cared about was obtaining Wood Release as quickly as possible.
"Are we done here?"
After Hiruzen gave a confirming nod, Danzo immediately stood up and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
---
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain—
Aoshi looked at the three students in front of him and said,
"Your skills are solid, but what you lack is combat experience. Tomorrow, I'll take you out on a mission."