Dan Katō's name in the earlier battle report had stirred a memory she'd buried deep, forcing her to face those painful memories once more.
Now, watching Menma float in the air as a Spirit Body and speak to her, just as Dan Katō had when he used the Spirit Transformation Technique, Tsunade was far from as composed as she seemed.
Seeing this, Naruto hurriedly said, "Menma, you can't talk to Grandma Tsunade like that!"
"Hmph!"
Menma folded his arms and snorted.
He'd already made up his mind: if Tsunade tried to lay a hand on him, he'd expose the fact that Yakumo had an Inner Demon too and see how Tsunade handled that!
Shizune gently tugged on Tsunade's sleeve. "Lord Tsunade, Menma can leave Naruto's body on his own, which means his Spirit Body is exceptionally strong. It's nearly equivalent to Naruto using the Spirit Transformation Technique."
Because of her uncle, Dan Katō, Shizune knew a great deal about the Spirit Transformation Technique.
However, the technique was extremely difficult to master, and Dan Katō was the only person in the entire village who had succeeded so far. So the existence of Menma, this unusual Inner Demon, was almost equivalent to Naruto being able to maintain the Spirit Transformation Technique at all times.
The boost this gave Naruto's strength was impossible to quantify.
After all, the Spirit Transformation Technique was not only excellent for killing enemies, but also for reconnaissance and communication. Although the Akatsuki Organization had already obtained half of the Nine-Tails, Naruto was still very likely one of their targets. Menma's presence could greatly improve Naruto's chances of survival.
Tsunade naturally understood what Shizune meant.
For now, defeating the Akatsuki Organization was the priority. Everything else could wait.
She studied Menma, then asked Naruto, "What else can he do?"