Konoha's Young Guard, Namikaze Minato's Image in Tsunade's Eyes Was That of a Pure Ambitious Man, Unfathomable

In the most central area of Konoha lay the Senju Clan Compound.

Once vast and sprawling, it had shrunk considerably over time, yet it still remained sizable.

Now, the compound had gained many new faces. As night slowly fell, the stream of ninja coming to register gradually thinned.

Senju Gō had approved many ninja for membership and granted them the Senju surname. These people were now swiftly cleaning up the Senju Clan Compound.

Tsunade had just finished a gathering with Orochimaru and Jiraiya, drinking quite a bit. Supported by Shizune, she returned to the Senju Compound. Seeing it bustling with life, her gaze grew distant.

"You're back?" Senju Gō walked out calmly and spoke.

"Mm..." Tsunade turned her head away.

"Come. There are a few people you need to meet."

Tsunade entered the main hall and saw several individuals.

"Lady Tsunade." The handsome blond Namikaze Minato offered a warm, sunny smile and nodded in greeting.

"Lady Tsunade."

"Lady Tsunade."

Hizashi Hyuga and Uchiha Fugaku both rested their hands on their knees and bowed their heads solemnly to Tsunade.

"Greetings, Lady Tsunade." Uchiha Miya said in a flat tone.

"What is this...?" Tsunade looked bewildered.

Before her stood a group of young people, all around twenty years old.

Yet their caliber was astonishingly high.

During her conversation with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Tsunade had heard many things—especially about the recent annihilation of the Hyuga clan.

After the Hyuga clan was wiped out, the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Family had begun a deep alliance, and both families now supported Namikaze Minato...

Tsunade thought back to the Third Hokage's bow and concession today, and recalled Senju Gō raising her arm and rallying the crowd.

"Tsunade," Senju Gō said. "I've already settled the arrangements. Regarding territory, shops, grain and oil, medicine, ninja tools, and so on—Uchiha Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Clan Head Hizashi Hyuga have both agreed to fully assist in the revival of the Senju Clan. At the same time, Namikaze Minato has called for even more ninja to join the Senju. I believe that with everyone working together, the Senju Clan can recover quickly!"

The New Uchiha saw a major improvement in their political standing.

The New Hyuga had abandoned the Doctrine of the Mean, combining the Byakugan with various ninjutsu.

The New Senju gathered the scattered Senju bloodline and other Civilian Ninja.

The strongest young faction in the entire village had all gathered here.

Tsunade was inwardly stunned.

They were different from her generation—her, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, all in their forties.

They were also distinct from Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and those even older.

This group was full of vitality and... formidable strength.

Especially this Namikaze Minato. It was said he bore the title "Golden Reaper" on the battlefield—a man who killed without blinking, even smiling as he did so. The complete opposite of a Medical Ninja.

"Namikaze Minato... you're outstanding. No wonder you're Jiraiya's disciple."

Tsunade spoke to him with a complicated tone.

Minato's features were upright and honest, yet in Tsunade's eyes, he was now inexplicably shrouded in the shadow of a schemer, an ambitious man... making him seem unfathomable.

This guy... he felt like the type with deep cunning and immense power—terrifyingly strong.

After all, a Civilian Ninja rising to the point where the crowd hailed him as the Fourth Hokage, surrounded by so many powerful Ninja Clans—it was hard not to overthink, easy to spin all kinds of conjectures.

"No, not at all... it's everyone's effort." Minato laughed heartily.

Then his expression turned serious. "Tomorrow, we'll set out to try and cut off the Kannabi Bridge. We can't let Iwagakure keep reinforcing their troops. We need to focus on dealing with the threat from Iwa and Kumogakure first."

Hizashi Hyuga: "I agree. Cut off their supply lines. We can't let Iwa keep sending reinforcements."

Uchiha Fugaku: "Agreed."

Senju Gō: "Rebuilding the Senju Clan is also urgent. We can carry out reconstruction gradually while the war continues. Moreover, the Senju Clan's strength can aid Konoha in the war effort."

Minato: "Do you have any suggestions?"

Senju Gō: "My suggestion is that Tsunade establish a medical school and a new hospital, widely teach Medical Ninjutsu, and mass-produce Medical Ninja. Our New Senju uphold an open attitude toward ninjutsu."

Tsunade froze. "I never heard about this."

Senju Gō: "Tsunade, you're an excellent Medical Ninja. You pioneered the system of assigning Medical Ninja to squads. Don't you want to expand on that? Don't worry—the Uchiha and Hyuga can handle building the school and hospital. They have deep pockets."

"This..." Tsunade was at a loss.

Thinking it over, it did make some sense. It had been her wish long ago, and she had been the one to propose the Medical Ninja deployment system. Now that she had hemophobia and couldn't go to the front lines, working behind the scenes like this was perfectly normal.

With Senju Gō arranging things this way... there didn't seem to be a problem?

Yet Tsunade felt deeply uneasy, as if she had been neatly slotted into place.

She couldn't help glancing again at the earnest-looking Minato. Was this part of his calculations too? Minato, you're terrifying...

Namikaze Minato: "?"

He noticed the gaze.

Then he gave Tsunade a friendly smile before rejoining the discussion.

"The battle at Kannabi Bridge is critical. Everyone, please give it your all."

That was right—the Kannabi Bridge battlefield could turn the tide of the war.

If they succeeded, Konoha would shift from its current state of "steady retreat" to one of "stalemate."

Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, was no fool. He would surely send heavy forces to guard Kannabi Bridge.

Namikaze Minato wouldn't underestimate the enemy. He would commit all his elite forces at once.

Uchiha Fugaku would lead the bulk of the Uchiha elite, Hizashi Hyuga would lead the Hyuga elite, and he, Namikaze Minato, would bring the Civilian Ninja elite as well—a full-scale deployment!

They had to strike hard and smash that damn Kannabi Bridge!

Reverse Konoha's current losing position!!

That night, many couldn't sleep.

Tsunade, unable to rest in the middle of the night, went out to drown her sorrows again and ran into Jiraiya.

Jiraiya invited her to have a few drinks together, and Tsunade didn't refuse, gulping down sake in big mouthfuls.

"Your student is really something. A whole crowd follows him, and now the new Three Great Ninja Clans are tightly gathered around him. His lover is Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and he himself has mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique and developed the seal-less Rasengan."

"Haha, any ninja pales in comparison to Namikaze Minato." Jiraiya laughed heartily. "That's my prized student, haha."

Tsunade drank cup after cup.

After a moment, she spoke. "That group of young hardliners represents the village's strongest force for reform. Maybe... they really can change a lot of things—change the things we couldn't change..."

"Yeah, that's true, who's to say it isn't..." Jiraiya gazed at the night sky. "Reform, huh... reform..."

"Do you still believe in that prophecy? About the Child of Prophecy?"

"I think Namikaze Minato fits, doesn't he? Actually, he and someone else both seem like the Child of Prophecy."

"Oh?"

"That's a kid in the Land of Rain... but I haven't seen him in a long time."

The moon was bright and the stars sparse; the night wind carried a hint of chill.

Under that same stretch of sky, Hiruzen Sarutobi was also looking up.

Beside him, his wife Biwako Sarutobi came over and draped a coat over his shoulders.

"It's getting cold... go to sleep." Biwako Sarutobi urged him.

"I'm old." Hiruzen Sarutobi said, deeply dejected. "Maybe... it's time to hand over the reins to someone else."