A knock sounded at the door.
Hanekawa looked towards Tsunade.
She was sprawled ungracefully on the sofa, legs propped up, her left foot swaying back and forth, causing the anklet to jingle softly.
"Sensei," Hanekawa reminded her, "if outsiders see you like this, your reputation..."
"Enough!" Tsunade interrupted him impatiently.
But her body betrayed her as she sat up and lowered her legs.
Hanekawa couldn't help but smile and then walked to the door.
"Hanekawa," standing outside was Nara Shikaku, holding a stack of documents. "This is the information on the three thousand ninjas."
"Come in and talk," Hanekawa reached out and took the documents from him.
"Thank you," Nara Shikaku followed him into the living room.
Hanekawa walked over and placed the documents on the coffee table.
"Lady Tsunade," Nara Shikaku gave a slight bow, "please see if there are any personnel changes needed."
"Hanekawa, you help me review some of them," Tsunade casually picked up a document and said.
"Alright," Hanekawa opened one of the files.
The content was an introduction in the form of ninja teams.
From the Uchiha clan to the Inuzuka clan, ninjas from major and minor clans were all included.
Of course, there were even more ordinary ninjas.
Hanekawa suddenly let out a soft exclamation.
Because he saw an unexpected name, Uchiha Itachi.
A little kid who was still two months shy of turning four.
Hanekawa twitched his lips.
Uchiha Fugaku was truly a great father.
So young, and he's already sending his son to the battlefield.
And in the original story, it was the same.
Four-year-old Uchiha Itachi participated in the Third Great Ninja War, which had a profound impact on him.
Hanekawa thought that due to his butterfly effect, this event wouldn't happen again, but he underestimated Uchiha Fugaku.
But times were different now, he had the authority to refuse.
"Sensei," Hanekawa placed the document in front of Tsunade, "Uchiha Itachi is too young, let's remove him."
"Uchiha Itachi? Who put him on the list?" Tsunade frowned and asked.
"It was a request from the Uchiha clan," Nara Shikaku quickly explained.
He was afraid that if he spoke too late, he would be blamed.
After all, he was in charge of the scheduling, and if there was a problem, he should be responsible.
"A child under four years old would only cause trouble on the battlefield," Tsunade shook her head and said seriously, "The Uchiha clan is being reckless, but I can't join them in their recklessness. Tell them to replace him."
"Yes!" Nara Shikaku immediately replied.
He was afraid of offending the Uchiha clan, so he didn't dare to say much.
But Tsunade was different, she wasn't afraid of offending them.
To be more precise, the Uchiha clan didn't dare to offend her.
Whether it was because of her medical ninjutsu or her current status.
Hanekawa took back the document and continued to review it.
Apart from Uchiha Itachi, the other ninjas were all normal.
"That's it then," Tsunade closed the document and said.
"Yes," Nara Shikaku picked up the documents, "I'll go notify them to prepare now."
"Alright," Tsunade nodded.
Nara Shikaku turned and left.
Once outside, after a moment of thought, he headed towards the Uchiha clan.
Uchiha Fugaku was on the battlefield in the Land of Frost, so he was greeted by Uchiha Mikoto.
"Lady Mikoto," Nara Shikaku got straight to the point, "we need you to replace Uchiha Itachi."
"Why?" Uchiha Mikoto asked, somewhat surprised.
"It's Lady Tsunade's decision," Nara Shikaku carefully explained, "She thinks Uchiha Itachi is too young."
"Is that so?" Uchiha Mikoto was slightly taken aback.
Sending Uchiha Itachi to the Land of Frost was Uchiha Fugaku's arrangement.
But she didn't expect Tsunade to refuse.
Should she go talk to her?
Uchiha Mikoto thought for a moment and realized this might actually be a good thing.
She also felt that sending Uchiha Itachi to the battlefield at such a young age was unnecessary.
Uchiha Fugaku was not only her husband but also the clan leader, so she couldn't easily refuse.
But Tsunade could.
Uchiha Mikoto knew that Uchiha Fugaku had always wanted to improve the Uchiha clan's standing in Konoha.
Therefore, he wouldn't offend Tsunade.
"I understand, I'll replace him with another genin," Uchiha Mikoto replied.
Nara Shikaku breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the Ino-Shika-Cho trio was strong, both Tsunade and the Uchiha clan were forces not to be trifled with.
...
Konoha's base in the Land of Frost.
Danzo Shimura walked into the main tent with a heavy expression.
"What's the matter?" Orochimaru glanced at him and asked indifferently.
"Just received news from Konoha, Tsunade will be leading three thousand ninjas to support us tomorrow," Danzo said with a grave tone.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Orochimaru smiled faintly and countered.
"How is that a good thing?" Danzo said with a displeased expression, "She's here to steal the credit!"
Although Tsunade was at the peak of her influence now, Orochimaru still had a chance.
As long as he defeated Kumogakure and captured the Fourth Raikage or a jinchūriki, he could level the playing field.
But now that Tsunade was coming, it would be hard to say who would get the credit.
"I am the commander," Orochimaru said indifferently.
"That's true," Danzo had a sudden idea, "You can assign Tsunade to a support role, keeping her off the battlefield!"
"That's not a long-term solution," Orochimaru shook his head, "And with her personality, she won't let you have your way."
"Since you're the commander, why don't we set a trap for her and lure her into an ambush by Kumogakure!" Danzo paced a few steps, then suddenly revealed a murderous intent.
In the original story, in order to become Hokage, he even sent Yamato to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi, so Tsunade was naturally not off-limits.
"Do you know the consequences if we're discovered?" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and asked.
"Of course I know," Danzo said with a grim expression, "But if you become Hokage, it will all be worth it!"
Orochimaru couldn't help but frown.
Emotionally and logically, he didn't want to harm Tsunade.
After all, they were teammates, and there was also the bond of Nawaki between them.
"Orochimaru, now is not the time to hesitate!" Danzo urged, "Don't forget our previous agreement!"
"Setting a trap for her won't be easy," Orochimaru said slowly, "There's also Hanekawa, who defeated the Four-Tails jinchūriki, Rōshi, and killed the Third Mizukage."
Danzo immediately fell silent at the mention of Hanekawa.
The thought of Hanekawa pained him.
This genius should have belonged to his Root, but he missed the opportunity, allowing Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade to take him.
Now, he had become Danzo's biggest headache.
If they wanted to kill Tsunade, they couldn't avoid Hanekawa.
With their teacher-student strength, Kumogakure would need the Fourth Raikage or the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer Bee, to have a chance at taking them down.
"Leave this matter to me," Danzo said solemnly.
No matter how difficult it was, they had to try.
And it wasn't necessarily impossible.
Although Root had been disbanded, its members still obeyed him.
With Orochimaru's cooperation, the chances of success were high.
Orochimaru looked at the contemplative Danzo and couldn't help but shake his head.
He seemed to have forgotten that Tsunade and Hanekawa had the Yin Seal.
Killing them would be as difficult as reaching the heavens; at most, they could be severely injured.
But this had little to do with him.
If Danzo wanted to go crazy, let him.
...
Kumogakure's base in the Land of Frost.
The Fourth Raikage, A, Killer Bee, Dodai, Mabui, and Yugito Nii, along with other ninjas, gathered in the main tent.
The movement of three thousand ninjas from Konoha was too big to hide.
"We've confirmed that Tsunade is leading them," Dodai said with a serious expression.
"It seems Konoha wants to settle this with us," Mabui immediately saw through Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions.
It was quite obvious.
"Mabui, after the meeting, use the Heavenly Transfer Technique to send me back to Kumogakure," A said.
The Heavenly Transfer Technique could instantly transport a target to a specified location through high-speed movement.
But unlike the Flying Thunder God Technique, it wasn't a space-time ninjutsu; it was more like a super-enhanced version of the Body Flicker Technique.
Due to the extreme speed, the target would experience intense friction with the air.
Most ninjas couldn't withstand this friction and would be torn apart.
In the entire ninja world, only the Fourth Raikage, A, could endure this friction.
Apart from that, it was mainly used to transport inanimate objects.
"Understood," Mabui nodded.
She knew the reason A was going back was to gather reinforcements.
With Tsunade and three thousand ninjas, Konoha would have an overwhelming advantage, so Kumogakure also needed to send three thousand ninjas for support.
Fortunately, the Third Raikore had held off Iwagakure with his life, so there were still troops available.
"Can we target Hanekawa in this war?" Dodai thought for a moment and said, "His current status is high; if he helps us, we can surely win."
"He has already betrayed us!" Yugito Nii said coldly.
Samui wanted to say something but could only sigh inwardly.
After the previous incident, Hanekawa had completely lost Kumogakure's trust.
"But he still has a seal on him," Dodai narrowed his eyes, "We might be able to do something with that."
"Konoha has very sophisticated sealing techniques; whether the seal is still there is a question," Mabui said calmly, "If we want to use him, we need to confirm if the seal is still active."
"I'll find a chance to test him," Dodai nodded.
"What if it's gone?" Samui hesitated and asked.
"There's one last option," Mabui said slowly, "Expose his identity. Whether Konoha believes it or not, it will have a negative impact."
"We should have done that long ago!" Yugito Nii agreed wholeheartedly.
"..."
Samui opened her mouth.
What she wanted to say was that doing so would completely sever Hanekawa's ties with Kumogakure.
But clearly, they no longer cared about that.
After all, a spy who wasn't loyal to Kumogakure was meaningless.
"Let's proceed with this for now," A stood up, "Mabui, send me back."
...
The next morning.
After breakfast, under Tsunade's leadership, the three thousand Konoha ninjas set off for the Land of Frost.
Three days later, in the afternoon, they arrived at Konoha's base.
As the barrier opened, Orochimaru, Danzo Shimura, and Hatake Sakumo walked out.
Hanekawa glanced around and saw Uchiha Shisui, Asuma Sarutobi, and Shizune.
With Orochimaru and Tsunade present, they didn't dare to speak, only Asuma Sarutobi waved at him.
Hanekawa nodded slightly in response.
But what interested him most now wasn't Asuma Sarutobi, but Uchiha Shisui.
As expected, he had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He just didn't know if it was still Kotoamatsukami.
"Orochimaru, long time no see," Tsunade walked up to Orochimaru and greeted him.
"It has been a while," Orochimaru smiled faintly.
"It's rare that we can fight side by side again," Tsunade showed a hint of nostalgia, "Too bad Jiraiya isn't here."
"Yeah," Orochimaru nodded.
"Now is not the time for reminiscing," Danzo said with a heavy tone, "Orochimaru, how should we assign these three thousand ninjas?"
"Let them rest first," Tsunade frowned.
"Tsunade, the commander here is Orochimaru, not you!" Danzo snorted coldly.
"Shut up!" Tsunade retorted without hesitation, "Since you know Orochimaru is the commander, what authority do you have to give orders here?"
This old man, she hadn't even settled the score with him over the Wood Release experiments, and he was already lecturing her.
Hanekawa raised an eyebrow.
This was clearly suppression.
He naturally knew why Danzo was doing this.
It was nothing more than fearing Tsunade would steal the credit.
After all, if she kept taking credit, Orochimaru would have a hard time competing.
But with Tsunade's personality, she wouldn't let Danzo have his way.
"You!" Danzo trembled with anger.
He was indeed the Hokage's advisor, but he wasn't the commander, not even the deputy commander.
"Tsunade, take them to the tents first, I'll assign tasks tomorrow," Orochimaru interrupted their argument.
The brief meeting ended.
Tsunade didn't even glance at Danzo and went straight to the tent prepared for her.
"Why is he targeting Lady Tsunade?" Kurenai Yūhi asked, puzzled.
"It's about the next Hokage election," Hanekawa glanced at Tsunade and said casually.
"Huh?" Kurenai showed a surprised expression, "Is he still eligible to compete for Hokage at his age?"
In her opinion, the next Hokage would definitely be one of the Sannin.
Hanekawa couldn't help but laugh at her words.
Tsunade also laughed heartily.
"Did I say something wrong?" Kurenai looked confused.
"Not at all," Hanekawa explained, "But this time, he's helping our teacher's teammate, Orochimaru."
"What should we do then?" Kurenai asked anxiously, "We can't let him take the Hokage position from Sensei."
"...?"
Tsunade's mouth twitched.
Why do you all talk as if I've already become Hokage?
"Don't worry too much," Hanekawa smiled, "With our team's strength, he can't restrict us."
"Let's see what they do first," Tsunade said indifferently.
The next morning, Hanekawa and the others received their assigned tasks.
"So they want us to stay at the base and treat the wounded?" Tsunade looked at the task and smiled, "That's not a bad idea, since our team has three medical ninjas."
_
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