Such speculation would undoubtedly damage Lord Anshi's reputation.
Even if clarified later, a tarnished reputation could never be fully restored.
Furthermore, many people formed strong "first impressions."
If Lord Anshi was initially labeled as "ostentatious," subsequent biases against him would be significant.
If Lord Anshi had no intention of vying for the Hokage position, these biases wouldn't affect him much.
But if Lord Anshi wished to advance further, there was much room for manipulation in this situation.
"Forget it. The Hokage position has nothing to do with us Ino-Shika-Cho. Whoever becomes Hokage, we'll support them."
"The current Hokage is Lord Third, and besides, these are matters for the three clan heads to worry about."
"Small fry like us should just do our own jobs properly!"
After the meeting concluded, Li Anshi and Tsunade left the tent together.
It wasn't that they had anything specific to discuss; their destinations simply lay in the same direction.
Tsunade needed to deliver the fish Li Anshi had given her earlier to the medical ninja apprentices so they could continue their practice.
As for Li Anshi, he was heading to the supply depot to replenish his own stock of flying daggers.
Lately, Li Anshi's reserve of daggers had fallen below one hundred, triggering his "insufficient firepower phobia."
Previously, when he was stationed at the front of the camp, Akimichi Takuji had to carry kunai beside him as a backup.
In reality, with Li Anshi's current mastery of the Little Li Flying Dagger, the difference between kunai and flying daggers wasn't substantial.
However, the daggers Li Anshi used were meticulously designed to fit the human body perfectly.
Thus, when practicing the "Concealed Dagger Technique," the higher one's proficiency, the more daggers could be carried on one's person without causing injury.
A year ago, Li Anshi could carry two hundred and twenty daggers on his person.
If he added some dagger pouches outside his clothes, as well as in his hair and shoes, the number could reach three hundred.
But if he switched to kunai, Li Anshi felt that twenty was manageable; more than twenty, and his clothes would be torn by the kunai during movement, or he might injure himself.
Arriving at the supply depot, Li Anshi exchanged a code phrase with the ninja guarding it and entered the tent where the supplies were stored.
Tsunade's eyes darted around, and she followed Li Anshi inside.
Upon entering the tent, apart from the supplies sealed with sealing scrolls, the most conspicuous sight was a pile of flying daggers over a meter high.
These daggers were not unfamiliar to Tsunade.
Back in Konoha, every time she went to Li Anshi to ask for an advance on her rent, she would see him carving wood with such small knives.
At that time, Tsunade could never have imagined that these carving knives, which in her eyes were only good for wood carving, would become the great weapon that changed the tide of battle between Konoha and the Cloud ninjas.
Three and seven-tenths inches long, and even with the ring on the hilt, it was only about four inches in total.
If arranged neatly, the ninja tool pouch strapped to one's thigh could easily hold forty or fifty of them.
Approaching the pile of daggers, Li Anshi casually swept his hand over them, and Tsunade suddenly felt the height of the pile seem to decrease slightly.
"Eh?"
She blinked and circled around Li Anshi a few times.
"What are you looking at?"
Seeing Tsunade's actions, Li Anshi couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"Anshi, how did you do that?"
Tsunade looked up at Li Anshi and asked strangely, "Just like that, so many daggers disappeared."
"Is it some kind of space-time ninjutsu?"
In the ninja world, prying into another's ninjutsu or secret techniques was a major taboo.
After all, ninja battles were also battles of intelligence.
If one's own intelligence was leaked and other ninjas formulated battle plans based on it, even a powerhouse surpassing Kage-level could face a life-or-death crisis.
Consider Kakuzu and his fight against Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji.
Or Nagato Uzumaki, whose intelligence was obtained by Konoha ninjas during the destruction of Konoha, leading to his eventual defeat by the returning Naruto Uzumaki.
If not for the intelligence Jiriya and numerous Konoha ninjas had obtained with their lives, the Naruto Uzumaki of that time would have been no match for Nagato.
Unless it was a close relationship like father and son, or master and disciple, no ninja would inquire about the secrets of another's ninjutsu.
However, Tsunade was merely curious if Li Anshi possessed space-time ninjutsu like her great-uncle, hence her question.
"No, this isn't any space-time ninjutsu, just a little trick."
Li Anshi shook his head and slightly lifted the hem of his ninja flak jacket.
The neat rows of daggers made Tsunade gasp and cover her mouth in surprise.
"Anshi, you..."
"Don't tell me your clothes are all like this?"
"How many daggers is that?"
"Currently, I can carry three hundred and twenty-seven daggers on me."
Li Anshi released his hand, letting his clothes fall back into place.
"Amazing!"
"This is called the Concealed Dagger Technique, a trick to hide weapons on your body without being noticed."
"Do you want to learn?"
"I can teach you!"
"Forget it."
Tsunade shook her head. "I don't really like using weapons. This Concealed Dagger Technique is useless to me."
At this, Tsunade's lips curved slightly upwards, and she shook her fist at Li Anshi. "For me, my fists are the strongest weapon!"
"One day, I'll even be able to shatter your daggers with a single punch!"
"Ambitious!"
Li Anshi ruffled Tsunade's hair. "Then you'll have to work hard, Lady Tsunade."
"I won't stop and wait for you, you know."
"Hmph, I wouldn't make you wait for me!"
"Just watch, I'll definitely surpass you!"
"Hehe..."
"Anshi, were you just laughing at me?"
"No, absolutely not! I absolutely believe Lady Tsunade can surpass me!"
"Want to make a bet? Let's bet on whether I can surpass you by the time I'm fifteen!"
"Lady Tsunade, you seem to be completely unaware of your own luck in gambling!"
Having replenished his "ammunition," the "insufficient firepower phobia" in Li Anshi's heart finally eased considerably. In a relaxed mood, he chatted idly with Tsunade.
Li Anshi could discern Tsunade's firm will from her tone.
However, if Tsunade couldn't awaken Wood Release and remained at the level Li Anshi remembered from his memories, even if she completed her training of the "Strength of a Hundred Seal" and used the "Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique," she posed no threat to Li Anshi.
Of course, even so, Li Anshi wouldn't underestimate Tsunade.
If Tsunade could successfully cultivate the sage techniques of Shikkotsu Forest, her strength would undoubtedly undergo an even greater enhancement.