With the New Year approaching, the Third Hokage was still busy. Even on New Year's Eve, he worked in his office until very late before going home.
"Tsunade, did you need something from me?"
"Nothing much. I just wanted to ask you, old man, for someone."
"Ask for someone?"
The Third Hokage did not understand who Tsunade wanted.
Sitting on the sofa, Tsunade leaned back against it with one leg crossed over the other.
"Isn't Nawaki about to graduate? I planned to have Jiraiya be his teacher and take him on missions. Kushina's little friend happened to be visiting the house, and Jingyi thought that kid named Minato Namikaze was pretty good, so he wanted to indulge his urge to be a teacher."
"I came to ask for him on Jingyi's behalf."
The Third Hokage: "..."
Did they have to be so casual about this? Just because they wanted to be teachers, they were opening their mouths and taking away a promising youngster he had his eye on.
Although anyone they trained would count as part of the Hokage Faction, factions had now emerged within it.
The F4 Faction, led by Tsunade and supported by Torifu Akimichi, along with several clans behind them.
A child with fairly good talent... The Third Hokage hesitated.
After thinking it over, he said helplessly,
"Fine. Jingyi can be his teacher. But weren't you planning to hand Nawaki over to Orochimaru? Why did it become Jiraiya instead?"
"Cough, cough!!"
Tsunade coughed. "Orochimaru is busy. That guy can disappear into his lab for a month or two without showing his face. With Nawaki's temperament, there's no way he could stand that. Besides, he likes hanging around Jiraiya, so I had no choice but to ask Jiraiya."
Tsunade could not tell the Third Hokage that Jingyi thought