Chapter 250: Darkness
Hokage's Office.
"What a drag."
Tsunade stared at the documents Shizune had handed her; they were all key issues that needed immediate attention.
"Lady Tsunade, those are just the priorities. Please familiarize yourself with the Hokage's seat quickly; there are so many more files waiting to be processed!" Shikaku looked completely helpless.
That Tonbo Tobitake had run off far too fast. And what was the meaning of dumping all these files on him? Even if he was the strategist, that didn't make him the actual Hokage. It felt like Tsunade was the Hokage in name, but Shikaku was the Hokage in practice.
Tsunade countered, "You handle the paperwork. I need to familiarize myself with the village's current affairs. I'll start working once I'm settled."
As for when she would be settled—who knew?
"Lady Tsunade, no slacking!" Shizune scolded from the side.
Meanwhile, Tonbo Tobitake had already returned to the Analysis Division to resume his duties as Division Head. Perhaps it was because he had stepped down from the Hokage position, but when the members of the division heard their "Captain" was back, the entire atmosphere felt much more relaxed.
"Keep up the hard work."
Leaving behind that single sentence, he headed out. Returning to this post meant he had things to handle as well—specifically, turning the intelligence he had gathered into written reports for Tsunade.
But that was just a clone.
With his current chakra reserves, he could use Shadow Clones to handle multiple tasks at once without worrying about running out of energy should an enemy suddenly appear.
An unnamed mountain behind the village.
"Nerve Distribution."
Tonbo pressed his palm against the ground. Branch-like "nerves" spread across the entire area at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
"Transfer."
His body began to blur, seemingly turning into something indescribable.
Poof!
The clone was destroyed, and he vanished, leaving only the nerves covering the ground. Up on a tree trunk, the real Tonbo watched with a frown.
"Turning the body into a chakra form and emerging from wherever the nerves are distributed... this project is a bit difficult!"
Now that he had stepped down as Acting Hokage, Tonbo had no immediate goals other than daily work. His remaining objective was to strengthen himself to the point where he could overpower an Otsutsuki should one appear. The existence of Urashiki Otsutsuki pushed him to work even harder.
Currently, he was researching a rapid displacement ninjutsu. Based on the concept of "Contact Evolution," he wanted to transform himself into a pure chakra state within his nervous network and emerge at any point. Since Summoning and Flying Raijin weren't part of his personal technical style, this was his new direction. To maintain his consciousness while in a chakra state, he was applying the principles of the Spirit Transformation Jutsu.
Soul control.
It involved many complex variables, but he had a clear direction. Now that he was "retired" and had more free time, he could focus on research. As for the "Force Execution" stage of his development, he was still quite a way off.
The Training Ground.
"The Fifth Hokage?"
Konohamaru's eyes narrowed slightly when he heard the news from Tianyu. He then relaxed. "Whatever. I just need to keep getting stronger to protect the village."
Konohamaru no longer felt anything special about the succession. His only desire was strength.
"That's Lady Tsunade of the Sannin, though. Aren't you even a little curious?" Maki asked from the side. A legendary ninja!
"Hmph. I'll be a legend myself one day."
Konohamaru was confident. As he spoke, the chakra in his hand acted like taffy, being molded into various shapes. He had learned a lot from Tonbo Tobitake. Now, facing Tianyu, he was confident he wouldn't lose again.
The Inauguration Ceremony.
Tsunade stood before the gathered ninjas and residents wearing the Hokage hat. A light breeze blew by. She took off the hat representing her new office.
"I am the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. From this day forward, I will protect this village."
Her eyes were firm. There was none of the "I want to go drink and gamble" attitude she often showed during office hours.
"This is great! The Fifth is finally here!"
"She's so beautiful."
"As expected of the legendary kunoichi. I want to be just like her!"
Below, the residents and ninjas looked on with pure adoration. This was especially true for the female ninjas; Tsunade was their ultimate role model. Tenten, for instance, was practically trembling with excitement. Beside her, Guy, Neji, and Lee were also swept up in the atmosphere, their hearts swelling with emotion.
"So that's the Fifth Hokage!" Tianyu and Maki stood beside Tonbo, looking up at Tsunade with curiosity. Maki looked at Tsunade's impressive figure—so that was what a legendary kunoichi looked like. She wanted to be like that, too.
Tonbo smiled. "Yeah. She's the Fifth now. Don't call me that anymore."
It was a nostalgic scene. He had been there when the Fourth took office, when the Third returned to power, and now, he was here for the Fifth. He figured he'd probably be around for the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth, too.
"In my heart, Dad will always be the Hokage," Tianyu said seriously.
"Don't. I don't want to be Hokage. It's no fun," Tonbo stopped him immediately.
The Fifth had ascended. Konoha regained its usual tranquility. New life and vitality brought new hope to the village. Tonbo spent most of his time with his family and researching ninjutsu, all while keeping an eye out for any signs of Urashiki Otsutsuki. It felt as though everything had returned to a peaceful era.
But someone didn't think so.
The Shimura Clan Compound.
"Hmph. The position of Hokage will only lead Konoha to true prosperity once it is in my hands."
Shimura Danzo sat expressionless, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts. He hadn't expected Jiraiya to actually bring that woman back, causing his own preparations to fail. According to his intelligence, there was no way Tsunade should have followed Jiraiya back.
He had originally planned to wait for Jiraiya's mission to fail, then seize the opportunity to remove Tonbo from his proxy position and convince the Daimyo to appoint him instead. In the end, it was a failure.
"As expected, one cannot place hope in others."
Danzo felt the eye under his bandages. He ultimately abandoned the idea of trying to control Tsunade for now.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures suddenly appeared. "Lord Danzo, here is the intelligence on the code adjustments from the various departments."
They handed over a scroll. To seize the Hokage's seat, Danzo naturally had to understand every mechanism of Konoha. Mastery of the ninjas' codes and internal intelligence was the foundation of his operations. During Tonbo's proxy period and Tsunade's succession, the codes had been significantly adjusted. The ciphers Danzo once knew by heart now felt foreign.
Danzo opened the scroll and began to read.
"Hmph. Did they think this would limit me? Or was the goal to restrict spies from other villages?"
Looking at the report, Danzo saw that the changes were indeed extensive. Fortunately, he was clever enough not to continue with his old patterns and had sought out this intelligence first.
Tonbo Tobitake was indeed a troublesome individual.
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