At the Third Hokage's gaze, Tsunade hesitated.
To be honest, she understood exactly why the Third had arranged this. The Hokage faction was built around a system of master and student that broke the bonds of blood and the constraints of clans.
Only by gathering every promising talent who emerged in the village under their wing could they ensure that each generation of the Hokage faction produced outstanding shinobi—and preserve its position of power in the village.
But after everything that had happened, the knot in her heart remained. She wasn't ready to take on a disciple just yet.
Seeing Tsunade's hesitation, the Third said slowly, "I've already heard what happened at the Ninja Academy today. Kurama Yakumo defeated Sasuke in a genjutsu contest. That's proof enough of her talent, and it makes her important to us."
Jiraiya furrowed his brow slightly.
Tsunade's expression darkened.
They both understood what the Third was implying.
If the village wanted to use Sasuke's Sharingan to keep Naruto in check in the long term, in case he lost control and went berserk, then they also needed someone who could keep Sasuke in check.
Kurama Yakumo's emergence had undoubtedly filled that gap.
Exactly!
In the eyes of nearly every member of Konoha High Command, Shinji, Neji, and Kimimaro—the three students at the Ninja Academy whose strength rivaled Sasuke's—were nowhere near his equal in potential.
The higher-ups were convinced that as Sasuke grew more adept at controlling his Sharingan, he would quickly leave his classmates behind, and they would never be able to reach his level.
This wasn't baseless speculation. The real-life examples of Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha proved it.
When Shisui and Itachi were young, there had been other prodigies in the village who were considered their equals.
But as the two of them