radicalducati Chapter 197 Squad Leader
Chapter 197 Squad Leader
Tsunade's gaze fell on Danzo, whose head was wrapped in bandages. Due to the long time she hadn't seen him and the changes in his appearance, she didn't immediately recognize the person in front of her.
After all, Danzo's face was currently covered by bandages, leaving only one eye and mouth visible. However, after a moment, Tsunade recognized that the person in front of her was Danzo.
Danzo broke the silence, saying in a slightly hoarse voice, "It's been a long time, Tsunade-hime."
Upon hearing Danzo's words, Tsunade raised an eyebrow slightly, already understanding Danzo's intentions.
After a moment of contemplation, Tsunade slowly said, "Since you're here, then, in that case, the new member joining Kakashi's team must be... a 'Root' ninja from the Anbu?"
At that moment, Boruto followed Danzo in through the corridor outside the Hokage's office.
Tsunade was somewhat surprised to see this, and asked in confusion, "Boruto? What are you doing here? And why are you following Danzo?"
In response to Tsunade's question, Boruto replied, "Just now, an ANBU member said he wanted to join our team and came to ask about this. He just happened to run into Lord Danzo."
Upon hearing Boruto's words, Tsunade's face showed a look of understanding. By now, she was perfectly clear about the ins and outs of the matter.
After all, she had just agreed that the new members would be arranged by Danzo and his group, and then Boruto said that he had already met the new members who were going to join them.
Tsunade said sarcastically, "So the two advisors deliberately brought up Naruto's matter to plant your spies. Danzo, I really can't praise your ability to act first and ask questions later."
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado exchanged a glance after hearing Tsunade's reprimand. They did not immediately respond to Tsunade's accusation, but chose to remain silent, their eyes simultaneously turning to Danzo.
Meanwhile, Danzo appeared unusually calm. He walked to the window of the Hokage's office without flinching, looked out the window, and paid no attention to Tsunade's words or the reactions of the two advisors.
Tsunade stared sharply at Danzo's retreating figure, her voice cold and hard as she questioned, "So, have you already decided on the two additional members for Kakashi's team?"
Faced with Tsunade's anger, Danzo calmly replied, "No, there was only one person."
Tsunade snorted and continued, "That's to say, you didn't expect that Captain Kakashi would be away from the front lines because of the mission to rescue Gaara, the Kazekage."
Shizune immediately expressed her opinion, saying, "Since Lord Danzo has assigned a member to our team, then Lady Tsunade should be the one to make the assignment here."
Tsunade sighed, looking somewhat helpless. She continued, "Even we didn't expect Kakashi to get injured. We're still considering what to do, but I do have someone in mind right now."
Tsunade already had a plan in mind for who would fill Kakashi's vacancy.
Tsunade turned her gaze to Boruto and continued, "You, a former member of Kakashi's team, will temporarily serve as the captain. No objections, right, Boruto?"
Tsunade had a full understanding of Boruto's strength and insight, a fact confirmed after she read Guy's written report on the previous mission.
The report detailed Boruto's performance during the mission. Based on this information, Tsunade believed that Boruto was fully qualified to serve as the captain. However, in Tsunade's view, the most important thing was that Boruto had gained Jiraiya's recognition in various aspects.
Boruto readily agreed, saying, "Of course, I'm willing to take on this important task in place of Kakashi-sensei."
When Koharu Utatane saw Tsunade recommending the young Boruto to lead Kakashi's team, she looked displeased and questioned him with obvious dissatisfaction, "Tsunade-hime! How can you entrust the safety of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to this kid?"
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is an extremely important figure in Konoha Village, and his safety is related to the stability of the entire village. Koharu Utatane believes that Boruto is still young and lacks sufficient experience and a sense of responsibility to shoulder such a heavy responsibility.
Mitokado Homura also said, "That's right. The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is an indispensable military force for the Land of Fire. What if he goes berserk, or is used by the Akatsuki..."
At this moment, Boruto angrily said to the two of them, "You always just mention 'Nine-Tails Jinchuriki,' 'Nine-Tails Jinchuriki'! Don't you even bother to mention his name? If so, then you'd better remember this well: his name is Uzumaki Naruto, a flesh-and-blood genin from Konoha Village, not the kind of cold-blooded war machine you're talking about!"
Mitokado Homura replied in a serious tone, "Even so, we cannot hand over... Naruto Uzumaki to you. You are not qualified."
At this moment, Danzo, who had been silently tapping on the window frame, finally spoke up: "If my memory serves me right, to be a squad leader, one must be a Jonin or a junior commander of a Special Jonin from Konoha, right? But you seem to be just a Chunin."
Tsunade responded with a smile, "Isn't this easy to handle? I can appoint Boruto as a special Jonin of Konoha."
Tsunade then listed Boruto's past achievements, including defeating Sasori of the Red Sand in the last important mission, saving the Fifth Kazekage, and successfully obtaining information on the ninjutsu of Akatsuki members Kakuzu and Hidan during previous intelligence gathering work.
These contributions are enough to prove Boruto's abilities, enough for her and the Third Hokage to recommend Boruto for promotion to Special Jonin.
Danzo frowned, clearly surprised by Tsunade's rebuttal. He hadn't expected her to support Boruto so firmly, and even bring up Hiruzen to support her decision.
Danzo lowered his eyes and began to speak, "But..." But before he could finish, Tsunade interrupted him.