"Squad leader?!"
Uzumaki Kushina pointed at herself.
"That's right." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.
Having Uzumaki Kushina serve as a squad leader wasn't something he'd come up with on the spur of the moment.
He'd decided on it long ago.
Although Yuki Yuichi had the Sharingan, he wasn't an Uchiha. On top of that, his background was spotless, and Hiruzen had records of everything that had happened to him from childhood onward.
Being adopted by Yuhi Shinku and childhood friends with Shinku's daughter—those were important bonds.
And most importantly, Yuki Yuichi was the perfect backup Jinchuriki.
Simply perfect!
It killed three birds with one stone: it would placate Uzumaki Kushina, earn him some goodwill, and get Kushina to teach Yuki Yuichi Sealing Technique of her own accord.
But things didn't go as he'd expected. Uzumaki Kushina merely sneered at him.
"I came to ask you to have me teach Yuki Yuichi now, and you're telling me to wait until they graduate?!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
Uzumaki Kushina flew into a rage. If Minato Namikaze hadn't been holding her back with all his strength, she would have leaped at Sarutobi Hiruzen and given him a makeover.
"Calm down." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he looked at her.
They could discuss anything else, but he couldn't possibly give ground on this.
Yuki Yuichi had to bask in the sunlight of the Will of Fire!
That was his bottom line.
This child wasn't just a backup Jinchuriki. Hiruzen also intended to use him to ease tensions between the Uchiha and the village.
The Uchiha...
Thinking of them, Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed again. Then a fierce, imposing aura rose around him. "We can discuss anything else, but not this!"
He was nearing the end of his prime.
His strength had begun to decline with age, but he hadn't