"Do you need any help?" Akane looked at Tsunade, who had just sent the clones away. Hearing her, she shook her head and said, "Not now, you don't have a written order. Let me get one, and then you will do as I say so."
A thoughtful look appeared on Akane's face when he heard the words, and he understood what she was trying to say.
"So, I need to say that I am acting on your orders if anyone asks anything," Akane murmured to himself, and Tsunade, who heard his words, nodded at him.
While Akane and Tsunade were walking towards the Commander's tent, the information about Tsunade bringing someone unknown had spread in the base.
Inside the commander's tent, Shikakuro looked at the ninja who reported the encounter that happened at the gate, and a sigh escaped his lips.
'An unknown individual, in conflict with ROOT, and with less support. What happened between Tsunade-Hime and Hokage-Sama?'
Shikakuro tried to think of a reason for everything, but he couldn't think of any. He looked at the entrance with a thoughtful face and waved his hand. The ninja disappeared from his room, and a few moments later, Tsunade entered the tent with a scroll in his hand. Outside, the ninja stood in between Akane and the entrance.
Looking at his ready-to-move posture, Akane rolled his eyes. He had already talked with Tsunade, and she had asked him to wait outside for some time.
'Still, the number of people here is more than I thought. Should I use the Sensing Technique again? Nah, let's not mess around. I don't know if the barrier would notice the use of chakra, and if it did, it could become a minor problem for Tsunade.'
'After all, I can already feel several eyes on me, and some of them don't welcome me much.'
Akane reflected on the expressions he had observed in the eyes of people when he walked alongside Tsunade. There is a significant difference between following someone from behind and walking closely side by side with them. Aside from Orochimaru and Jiraiya, no one had seen anyone walk in such a manner with Tsunade.
This took them by surprise, especially since Akane was unfamiliar to them, and it was rare for anyone to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with her. Everyone was curious about Akane's identity. If it weren't for their desire to avoid offending Tsunade and the ninja guarding the entrance, they would have attempted to make contact with her.
Inside the tent, Shikakuro looked at the contents of the scroll. His eye twitched as he read the content in the scroll.
'Why? Just why did Hokage-Sama send this kind of order? It would have been better if she weren't here.'
Shikakuro inwardly sighed as he thought of the content he had read just now. In the scroll, only a few sentences were written, but those were enough to give him a headache.
[Let her work on her own unless it's an important task. Also, no need to ask about the guy she brought, treat him as someone under her, and she will take care of the rest.]
[But, make sure everyone is fully healed and keep the base ready for attack.]
'Another attack to lead, huh! That will do, but I am sure others will have many questions. Even if they won't ask in the open, it will be in their mind, and from Hokage-Sama's words, that guy would be just below Tsunade, meaning just two levels below me. Ugh! This troublesome thing will be a pain to deal with.'
Tsunade looked at Nara Head, who had a thoughtful look on his face. Even though she knew that it was a troublesome matter, she didn't say anything to help him out as she was there, even though she didn't want to.
After thinking and making a plan, Shikakuro looked at Tsunade and asked, "How is he? Chunin?"
"Hmm, you can say so, above Chunin and below Jonin," Tsunade replied to him a moment later. At the start, she planned on keeping him at the Genin level, but then she would have minor problems if she were to take him on high-level missions. So, she decided to make him a Chunin level even though she knew how strong Akane was.
"Chunin, huh! Which field then? General or Specialist?" Shikakuro continued and decided to ask a few more questions. Even though he felt like he wanted to make sure that Akane was Chunin level, and if he was genin level, he would have to make different plans.
"Just like me, Medical Nin, but can also fight. While I am here, he will work with me in taking care of others, and he can also fight ht, so I will be taking him on a few missions outside."
"Medical-Nin? That's good," Shikakuro said with a relieved sigh. He didn't want Akane to have a mission with others, and with him being a Medical-Nin, he would stay in base. This way, information on him can be obtained easily, and it will be easy for others to accept him as well.
'And the good thing is that she will take him away on a mission with her. If the mission is a troublesome one, I will reject it and only allow normal ones. Also, even if she said so, I should see how strong he really is.'
"Okay, he can fight someone."
Before Shikakuro could say it, Tsunade spoke, making him surprised.
"It was written on your face," she said before he could ask more, and this time, Shikakuro narrowed his eyes.
"I am sure it wasn't," he said with curiosity evident in his voice, since he was sure that his facial expressions wouldn't give away what he was thinking. Hearing him, Tsunade thought of the manga and novels she had read with Akane, and a chuckle escaped her lips.
"Never mind, I just thought what you would think and spoke. But he will fight a Chunin, okay?" Tsunade said with a light chuckle, but the look in her eyes showed how serious she was about her words.
Matching her gaze, Shikakuro didn't say anything and kept on looking at her. He understood what Tsunade was trying to say from her actions, and it wasn't just about letting Akane fight a chunin.
It was more about establishing her authority and showing why Hiruzen had allowed her to act 'freely' and the reason why he had sent instructions like that.
Even though it was more of Mito's fear than Tsunade's, Hiruzen had noticed the change in Tsunade and the increase in her strength. It was his instincts as a veteran telling him how strong she had become, and even though he was curious about the method, he didn't ask her as he knew that Tsunade would never do anything that would harm their home, i.e. Konohagakure.
The atmosphere in the room changed as their gazes matched, and Shikakuro noticed the increase in Tsunade's strength from their past encounter.
'She has gotten stronger, a lot stronger than I expected. As expected of someone from that clan and Hokage-sama's student. I think I understand why Hokage-Sama gave this type of instruction, and she has enough strength to move on her own.'
Noticing Nara Head's resistance, Tsunade narrowed her eyes. She understood that he understood her intention and what she was trying to say. That's why, she had only released some of her chakra, but his silence showed that she had to show more before he would completely accept everything.
Just as she was about to release more chakra, Shikakuro spoke while waving his hand, "That's enough, I understand what you are trying to say. You don't need to show any more strength."
"And yeah, it's written on your face."
Tsunade, who was about to speak the question gulped her words and, with a snort, she walked outside the tent. Looking at the entrance, Shikakuro sighed and looked at his than, which were full of sweat.
'Hokage Sama's students, hah! I don't know what to say now. At least, the future will be in safe hands...'
Thinking of the future, Shikakuro thought of the hidden message he received from Hiruzen, and he opened the scroll again. He used some chakra to rub the scroll, and as he read the hidden content, another sigh escaped his lips.
"A war, huh! So that's how it is..."
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Chapter 47 is out on ptreon