Chapter 85: I'm the Hokage Now, You'll Regret It
The very next day, while the village was still in the midst of repairs and reconstruction, Sarutobi Hiruzen directly announced Tsunade's succession as the Fifth Hokage.
The whole thing was handled with remarkable decisiveness.
Seeing the granddaughter of the First and Second Hokage, one of the Legendary Sannin, and the idol of female ninja across the entire shinobi world, Tsunade, take up the position of Fifth Hokage, the Konoha ninja and villagers, who had been somewhat dispirited after experiencing the Konoha Crush, felt their fighting spirit and hope reignite.
After the cheers died down, everyone threw themselves into the reconstruction work with renewed effort.
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Afternoon.
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade sat at her desk, holding a pen and writing something with a serious expression.
Shizune had set up a small desk beside her and was also reviewing documents.
The scene looked surprisingly harmonious, making it seem as though Tsunade's earlier words had just been jokes, and that once she truly became Hokage, she would in fact work diligently.
In reality…
"Hmm, aside from Shizune, Shikaku can share some of the burden too."
"Actually, let's bring in Ino–Shika–Chō together. One for decision-making, one for intelligence gathering and information relay, and one to handle execution, perfect."
"Hmm, and that old man Third… he thinks he can just retire and enjoy his old age after stepping down? No such luck…"
"No, that won't do. I can't write it like that."
"Let me think… I'm young and lack experience, so I need the Third to guide me in handling village affairs. Handling official business can also help prevent senile dementia, this is for his own good. A win-win situation."
"And Kakashi, too…"
Bang.
The door was pushed open.
Summoned back by Hiruzen's people, Jiraiya and Naruto had just returned to the village when they learned that Tsunade had already become the Fifth Hokage.
"Damn it, why did the Hokage end up being such a young woman…"
Naruto, whose goal was to become Hokage himself, looked at Tsunade sitting in the Hokage's seat and immediately felt a surge of envy.
"Naruto, what are you saying? Tsunade is one of the Legendary Sannin, just like me. She's old enough to be your grandmother."
Jiraiya "kindly" corrected him.
"What?! She's actually an old lady?!"
Naruto was shocked.
Okay. Perfect.
Jiraiya silently gave himself a thumbs-up.
Naruto had successfully drawn aggro. This way, Tsunade wouldn't focus on the matter of him taking Naruto to peek at the women's bathhouse earlier.
"Old lady again."
Tsunade ground her teeth at the title.
But in the end, she still restrained her anger.
After all, she was the Hokage now. If she smashed up the Hokage Building, she'd be the one at a loss, there would be less public money she could divert later.
"Um, Tsunade, now that you're back, I'm relieved. Then Naruto and I will head out for training…"
Afraid Tsunade might notice his little side activities, Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and prepared to leave.
"Stop right there!"
Tsunade stood up from her seat, her gaze sweeping over the two of them. "Training is fine, but aside from Mount Myōboku, you're not allowed to leave within ten kilometers of the village."
"Why not? Taking Naruto out to train was already approved by the old man before!"
Jiraiya was getting anxious.
Training Naruto was one thing. Going out to gather material was another.
If he got caught gathering material outside, at worst he could just run.
But if he got caught near the village, he might lose half his life.
"There's no reason. Don't forget, I am Hokage now. This is an order."
Even bringing up Hiruzen's prior approval had no effect on Tsunade.
Until she fully confirmed the truth, she had no intention of telling others about the Ōtsutsuki clan.
But just in case, she couldn't let Naruto leave the village too far, to avoid any accidents.
"…You'll regret this, Tsunade."
Jiraiya's face flushed red as he found himself with nothing to say. He tossed out a very familiar line and left the Hokage's office in a dejected state.
"Regret my ass. Speaking of which, that guy Danzō, he never showed up when the village was in trouble. Does his 'Root' even need to exist anymore?"
Tsunade lowered her head, looking at what she had written on the paper in front of her, and began to think.
Not long after Jiraiya and Naruto left, two more people arrived at the Hokage's office.
One pink-haired, one blonde.
It was Sakura and Ino, the same two who would follow Tsunade in training in the original story.
"You're Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, right? Someone recommended you to me. Starting tomorrow, you'll both train under me."
Seeing the two girls standing nervously in front of her, Tsunade grinned and stated her purpose.
"R-Really?"
"We actually get to train under Tsunade-sama, no, Hokage-sama?"
Sakura and Ino were overjoyed.
"Mhm."
Tsunade nodded.
The one who recommended them was Shiromo, but the decision itself had been Tsunade's.
She planned to overcome her hemophobia while training them.
Otherwise, as Hokage, facing enemies who could appear at any time, her current state was far from acceptable.
"But before that, I still need to ask you some questions."
"Please ask, Tsunade-sama. We'll answer honestly."
"Yes!"
"Alright then. Ino."
"Yes!"
When Tsunade called her name, Ino stepped forward.
"The Yamanaka clan's secret techniques require extremely precise chakra control. Training in medical ninjutsu under me won't only fail to hinder your clan techniques, it'll actually complement them, giving you twice the results with half the effort."
"But the person who recommended you hopes I'll give you a choice."
"…Please go on, Tsunade-sama."
Ino hesitated slightly. Shiromo's image surfaced in her mind.
After all, if it had been someone from the village who recommended them, Tsunade wouldn't need to refer to them as 'that person.'
And among outsiders with whom she'd had any real interaction, there was only Shiromo.
"Do you want to focus primarily on your clan's secret techniques, or primarily on learning medical ninjutsu under me?"
"He said a lot of things that weren't particularly useful, but there's one point I do agree with, you're actually quite suitable, appearance-wise, to be my disciple."
Tsunade's gaze casually swept over Ino's already-developing chest.
Then she looked, somewhat regretfully, at Sakura, who showed absolutely no movement at all.
Sakura noticed Tsunade's gaze and looked down at herself.
Sure enough, she could see her shoes directly.
"Well, Sakura, don't worry about that. You might just be developing a bit late."
Noticing Sakura's reaction, Tsunade offered a word of comfort.
Developing late means a late bloomer.
After comforting Sakura, Tsunade's gaze returned to Ino.
"His exact words were: do you want to stay in your comfort zone, focusing on clan techniques and continuing to fight mainly in coordination with Ino–Shika–Chō, or do you want to be like me, someone who can stand alone?"
Ino hadn't expected Tsunade to ask such a question. For a moment, she was at a loss, not knowing how to answer.
"No need to rush your answer. Think it over slowly. Basic training will be the same either way."
Tsunade patted Ino on the shoulder and walked over to Sakura.
Just as Sakura thought she was about to face some bitter choice of her own, Tsunade simply asked: "Is Uzumaki Naruto your teammate?"
"Yes. Tsunade-sama. Naruto, Sasuke-kun, and I are all under Kakashi-sensei."
Sakura nodded.
"Have you ever punched him?"
"Uh… um…"
Sakura hesitated, thinking Tsunade was testing whether she had the compassion of a medic.
But in the end, she decided she couldn't lie about this. Gritting her teeth, she nodded.
"Yes."
"Oh, then that's fine. Your fists aren't fast enough yet, and they're not vicious enough. Train properly with me."
Tsunade patted Sakura on the shoulder, then turned around and walked back to the Hokage's seat.
"?"
Sakura stood there, completely dumbfounded.
What did that mean?
Did that idiot Naruto offend Tsunade-sama somehow?
(End of this chapter)