At the mention of Sakura, Tsunade grew serious. After a moment's thought, she made her decision.
"Replace the regular guards immediately. Give her the same protection as Naruto and Sasuke, with elite Konoha Anbu squads rotating around the clock."
"Also, I'm formally taking Sakura Haruno as my personal disciple."
Taking her on early meant more than giving Sakura resources and guiding her training.
It meant giving her status and protection.
Becoming the Fifth Hokage's personal disciple was effectively a guarantee of protection from Konoha's highest authority.
From that day on, anyone who dared harm Sakura in the slightest would be openly challenging the Hokage's authority and crossing a line for all of Konoha.
News that Danzo had killed himself out of fear of punishment swept through Konoha like the wind, reaching the entire village in a single morning.
From top to bottom, almost everyone in Konoha applauded.
Danzo's reputation in Konoha had long since hit rock bottom.
When his schemes had been exposed and he had been imprisoned, the whole village had already celebrated.
Now that they knew he had finally killed himself and vanished from the world for good, jubilation erupted throughout Konoha.
Many villagers brought out firecrackers they had stored at home, setting them off along the streets in deafening bursts.
During breaks at the Ninja Academy, students chattered about it in the classrooms and on the playground.
Only Sasuke felt no happiness at all, his emotions tangled beyond measure.
Jiraiya had already spoken to him alone and told him the whole truth.
Danzo hadn't killed himself out of fear of punishment. Uchiha Itachi had ended his life himself.
And it hadn't stopped with Danzo. Over the course of the previous night, Itachi had purged everyone lurking in Konoha's shadows who was aligned with Danzo, rooting them all