"Alright."
Tsunade nodded casually in response to Nawaki.
"Then let me take Hatake Kakashi under my wing too!"
Nawaki immediately added without hesitation.
Uchiha Ryuri and Hatake Kakashi were the top students of their class.
As for Nawaki, besides being naturally closer to Ryuri due to their family ties, he also wanted to train a ninja squad that could one day make a name for itself across the ninja world.
This had become a personal goal for Senju Nawaki. He wanted to be the kind of ninja with a cool reputation.
For example, when he advanced from Chunin to Jonin, Nawaki insisted on completing ten S-rank missions all by himself.
Within the Chunin ranks, he had built quite a strong reputation.
But unfortunately, whenever people mentioned his name, they would still call him "the Hokage's younger brother"…
And that really annoyed Nawaki.
So now, he had decided to focus on his students.
Back when Otsutsuki Isshiki and Uchiha Madara launched their attacks on Konoha,
Nawaki had wanted to charge in and prove himself.
But that battle showed him just how big the gap was between him and the Hokage's personal guards.
It was… pretty huge.
"Don't make me punch you."
Tsunade's face turned cold as she shot Nawaki a side glance.
"Actually, it's not impossible."
Just as Nawaki's expression froze and a wave of disappointment washed over him,
Raijin suddenly spoke up.
Tsunade frowned and turned to look at Raijin.
"Nawaki is actually really strong. The only reason he doesn't stand out much is because Tsunade's reputation is just too overwhelming."
Raijin stepped forward, sat down on the steps, and looked at Nawaki.
With his precise Lightning Release techniques, exceptional sword skills, and the Senju clan's powerful stamina,
Nawaki was undeniably strong.
And maybe because he was always chasing after Tsunade, he trained with incredible determination.
Everyone knew that when a ninja with a Kekkei Genkai got serious about training, they usually didn't end up weak.
Especially when that Kekkei Genkai came from the Senju clan.
If you ranked Konoha's ninjas by strength,
the Hokage's personal guards would be considered the elite.
And Nawaki? He was the strongest among the second-tier ninjas of Konoha.
"I will surpass my sister."
Nawaki said with unwavering determination.
"So, forming a team of elites centered around Nawaki isn't a bad idea."
Raijin chuckled and turned to Tsunade.
"A full squad has three members. Who do you want as the third?"
Tsunade nodded and continued asking Raijin.
Forming a team like the old Team 7, one that could take down two Kage...
That actually sounded like a pretty good idea.
"Uchiha Obito, then."
Raijin said to Tsunade.
"Uchiha Obito?"
Nawaki was stunned and looked at Raijin in confusion.
That name wasn't even in the top three on the academy's report...
"Yeah, Uchiha Obito. He's a pretty talented kid. Whether he can reach his potential depends on you."
Raijin nodded at Nawaki.
There was no way Raijin was letting Namikaze Minato take on a team leader role.
Every position needed to be filled, and if Minato left, Raijin would have to step up.
Since Minato's team was already impossible to form,
why not just put together an elite squad instead?
As for whether long-distance relationships would weaken the bond between Obito and Rin...
What did that have to do with Uchiha Raijin? As long as he didn't go around trying to create a world with Rin in it, that was enough.
"I actually wanted Might Duy..."
Nawaki pursed his lips reluctantly.
Raijin tilted his head slightly and looked at Senju Nawaki. A warm smile slowly formed on his lips.
"Are you trying to negotiate with me?"
"But... come on, brother-in-law~"
Nawaki looked at Raijin expectantly, trying to push his luck.
After all, with the reputation of Might Duy from the Hokage Guard Squad, his only successor, Might Guy, couldn't be weak either.
"Follow orders."
Raijin pointed a finger at Nawaki.
"Now that I think about it, Minato would actually make a great teacher for this team."
Raijin suddenly turned to Tsunade.
"Yeah, Minato is a very responsible ninja. More importantly, he doesn't talk much."
Tsunade nodded in agreement as she sat down next to Raijin.
"Actually, I think Kurama Yun would be a good choice too. His genjutsu is top-tier, which could make up for Ryuri's weaknesses. Sharingan is already excellent at genjutsu, after all."
She paused before continuing.
"Please, no..."
Nawaki swallowed back what he was about to say and quickly spoke up.
"Minato... he's great, but he's already insanely busy every day. How could he possibly have time to teach students?"
Kurama Yun… his Genjutsu is pretty good… he… uh…"
Senju Nawaki smacked his lips, thought for a moment, and finally spoke in a dry tone.
"I can do Genjutsu too!"
"What I mean is, back in the day, brother-in-law, you and my sister, plus Orochimaru-senpai and Jiraiya-senpai, the four of you made up the legendary Team 7. And now… well, you see? If you add Might Duy to the mix, wouldn't that be another legendary story written by your own hands?"
As Nawaki spoke, he moved closer to Raijin.
By the time he finished talking, he was already right next to Raijin.
"I think Otsutsuki Toneri would be a better fit. He's stronger, and I'd feel more at ease with these kids under his guidance."
Raijin smiled slightly but didn't respond to Nawaki. Instead, he turned to Tsunade.
"That's true. We don't even know where Jigen is watching you from. And Ryuri is your daughter, after all. If Jigen wants to do something, she'd be an easy target."
Tsunade nodded and replied to Raijin.
"Come on, sis, I'm way stronger than that Otsutsuki Toneri guy!"
Nawaki immediately turned to Tsunade.
"Oh? And how do you plan to counter Tenseigan? With your Lightning Release armor? Your sword skills? Or maybe that water jutsu you're not even good at?"
Tsunade glanced at Nawaki and scoffed.
"Yeah, Otsutsuki Toneri's Tenseigan is really powerful, I admit I'm no match for him, but…"
Nawaki reached into his pocket.
"I have this."
He pulled out a Flying Thunder God kunai.
Tenseigan is strong? Well, what will Otsutsuki Toneri do when I call for backup from the village?
"Heh…"
Tsunade snorted dismissively, not bothering to argue with him anymore.
"Go back and write an application, then submit it to Minato for approval."
~~
Raijin turned to Nawaki.
"Four people?"
Nawaki immediately asked Raijin.
"Four people."
Raijin nodded.
"Alright! I'm on it!"
With that, Nawaki vanished from Raijin's courtyard.
"You really spoil him."
Watching Nawaki leave, Tsunade sighed helplessly.
Even though Nawaki was her younger brother, she didn't want Raijin to go too easy on him just because of her.
"Well… Nawaki really is the best choice."
Raijin shook his head and turned to Tsunade.
"Just because he's Ryuri's uncle?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow and asked Raijin.
"Of course not. I trust Nawaki because he's your brother. But as for others, whether it's Toneri or Kurama, people's hearts are too complicated. I don't have the patience to figure them out," Raijin said to Tsunade.
"But Nawaki is different. Right now, there's nothing he wants. His only goal is to surpass you, surpass me, and become the strongest ninja in Konohagakure—no, in the entire shinobi world.
He wants people to mention his name not as… 'Oh, he's the grandson of the Second Hokage' or 'He's the younger brother of the Third Hokage.'
Instead, he wants people to think of you—the Third Hokage—as Nawaki's sister."
Raijin paused for a moment before continuing.
"And that's something neither you nor I can give him. He has to earn it himself."
"Besides, whether it's Nawaki or Toneri, if they run into Jigen, would the result really be any different?"
Raijin patted his back, slowly stood up, and walked into the room.
"You're right. No one knows what kind of jutsu Jigen will use next," Tsunade nodded in agreement.
"You don't get it, do you? If Nawaki encounters Jigen, the first thing he'll do is use the Flying Thunder God Technique to call me. He knows full well that he's no match for Jigen. Even though he's confident in himself, he wouldn't gamble with his family's lives.
But Toneri is different. The Tenseigan is powerful, but it also makes him overly confident.
If he doesn't call me for help, I wouldn't even know what's happening."
Raijin shrugged and said to Tsunade.
"Now that you put it that way, Nawaki does seem like the right choice," Tsunade nodded, agreeing with him.
"One more thing."
Raijin raised a finger at Tsunade.
"What?"
Tsunade was momentarily stunned and looked at Raijin with confusion.
How could such a simple decision have so many reasons behind it? What are you really up to?
"Because I'm closer to Nawaki," Raijin chuckled, then casually sat down in the room and continued his training.
…
"It's really hard to believe how Zetsu managed to map out all of Konohagakure's external trade networks and production bases," Yuki closed the scroll in her hands, rubbed her temples, and spoke in disbelief.
"He even figured out the patterns of each trade network."
"Isn't that a good thing for us?" Dou said to Yuki.
"Dou, Ai, and Bee, have you really thought this through? Are you sure you want to get involved in this game?"
Hearing Dou's words, Yuki pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment before asking them again.
"Even now, we still don't know what Zetsu's true goal is. Are we really going to work with someone like that?"
"What else can we do?"
The usually silent Hozuki Takuya suddenly spoke.
"I know. Zetsu definitely wants to use us, to squeeze out the last bit of value we have left. And I also know that our enemy is Uchiha Raijin.
Right now, the relationship between Uchiha Madara and Raijin is unclear, but one thing is certain—they've joined forces.
At this point, do we really have any other choice besides working with Zetsu?"
"Of course, Uchiha Madara is strong, and Uchiha Raijin is strong too. But they're not the only powerful ones in this world.
Why would Uchiha Madara agree to team up with Uchiha Raijin? I think we all know the answer to that."
Yuki looked at everyone as he spoke.
"Standing in different positions makes people see the world differently. It's not just that Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Raijin are stronger than us—they also have more information.
I believe the real reason they joined forces is because of external pressure."
"External pressure? What kind of external pressure could they possibly have? Even if the entire ninja world joined together, I doubt they'd be much of a threat to them."
Kakuzu was stunned and looked at Yuki in surprise.
"That mysterious ninja—the one who appeared when Madara was revived and fought Raijin to the death."
Yuki closed his eyes for a moment before speaking with certainty.
"A mysterious ninja?"
Kakuzu mumbled to himself. This ninja world was getting more and more complicated.
"That's right, that mysterious ninja. I don't know how strong they are, but I trust Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Raijin's judgment."
Yuki looked at everyone as he spoke.
"Couldn't it just be that Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Raijin decided to negotiate because of their shared clan bond?"
Takuya frowned slightly and asked Yuki.
"If they still cared about their so-called clan bond, they wouldn't have been fighting to the death the moment Madara was revived."
Yuki let out a mocking laugh.
"That's why I think the best move right now is to lay low, wait for the right moment, and then strike Konohagakure with a fatal blow. There's still time for that."
After saying that, Yuki looked at his longtime comrades and asked seriously.
"But if we decide to attack Konohagakure now, we'll draw all of their attention to us."
-----
Read +20 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---