Chapter 291: Tenko Joins Anbu

"Well, you did a good job with this matter, and your suggestions to Uchiha were also quite good. Danzo happens to be very familiar with it. Ahem, he has studied and researched this area before. If it really becomes necessary, I will arrange it properly."

The next day, inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen showed a satisfied smile after hearing Tatsuma's report. With the attitude and bottom line of Uchiha Fugaku explored, and multiple plans and backups provided, how could Hiruzen not be satisfied?

Tatsuma secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had done some things beyond his authority, and if Hiruzen were to be dissatisfied and take action against him, he would have no way to respond.

Fortunately, Hiruzen did not mind Tatsuma's minor overstep; it was actually a test he had set for Tatsuma.

Among the middle generation, Hiruzen could not find anyone truly capable of supporting Konoha's future. However, in the new generation, he discovered a gem in Tatsuma. When he confirmed that there was no one more suitable than Tatsuma from that generation, he viewed Tatsuma as a future Hokage to be nurtured. After all, the boy's vision and ambition were even higher than his own.

Therefore, Hiruzen did not oppose Tatsuma's interactions with the ninja clan. If his two sons were not somewhat distant from Tatsuma's social circle, he would have wanted them to get closer. After all, if the position of Hokage is taken into account, Hokages emerging from the ninja clan need to be close to the common people, and this is how Hiruzen and the previous two Hokages have operated.

The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, is a case in point. He founded Konoha and provided countless war-weary civilians with a stable home. His natural disposition meant there was no one among the common people who did not support him.

As for the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, his personality was quite different from Senju Hashirama's. He found it difficult to be approachable or to convey goodwill to others.

Thus, Senju Tobirama chose an indirect approach to benefit the country, creating facilities and measures like Konoha Academy, Konoha Hospital, and Konoha Orphanage. While Senju Hashirama provided safety for the common people, Senju Tobirama provided stability and advancement opportunities. This is why the two brothers are still fondly remembered by Konoha even after many years.

As for Hiruzen himself, he acknowledges that he lacks the natural charm and influence of the First Hokage and the civil development achievements of the Second Hokage. However, he is fortunate to have more time than both of them to slowly embed a people-friendly image into the hearts of Konoha's common people.

This is what a Hokage from a ninja clan should do. Conversely, a Hokage from a commoner background must seek to win over the ninja clans. Being from a commoner background means lacking deep-rooted foundations and confidence, making it hard for one's words to be convincing.

Therefore, a Hokage from a commoner background needs to seek external support to endorse themselves and increase the weight of their words. Tatsuma's background is that of a commoner, and he is an orphan among commoners. Thus, he needs to gain substantial support to qualify for the position of Hokage.

In this regard, Senju provided Tatsuma with the greatest assistance. Whether it was Tsunade accepting Tatsuma as a disciple or Uzumaki Mito later arranging for Tatsuma to become the successor of Senju Tobirama, and to become a symbol of the Senju akin to Tsunade, these factors provided Tatsuma with foundational support.

However, the decline of the Senju Clan is unstoppable, and since the Senju Clan no longer exists, Tatsuma's achievements are still insufficient; he needs more support.

Apart from the attention from his elders, Tatsuma's social interactions are also interesting. He has managed to handle the relationships between the Uchiha and the Hyuga well, even creating certain bonds between them.

Additionally, his interactions with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio began early on, even before Tatsuma demonstrated his potential. Although it seemed like he had never truly engaged with the academic and creative platform, it has continuously created social opportunities for him.

Especially with this academic and creative platform. When Tatsuma first proposed the idea, it was initially joined only by ninja clans or descendants of ninjas. But over the years, the platform has undergone another transformation. One part has become a social venue for ninja clans and elite ninjas, while another part has evolved into a platform for the value realization of students from struggling families.

Hiruzen had previously considered whether, if the economy were prosperous after the war, he should establish scholarships. However, the development of the academic and creative platform has directly replaced the need for scholarships.

Students from the Ninja Academy who came from commoner backgrounds and originally lacked ninja skills inheritance have been able to learn the production of long-term market demand items such as Military Rations Pills, explosive tags, and sealing scrolls through the platform.

Many commoner students have thus earned their living expenses and even started to contribute to their family's income. This development was the work of the platform's second head, Hiruzen's eldest son, Shinnosuke.

However, when people talk about the academic and creative platform, they most remember Tatsuma, the proposer or founder of the idea, while Shinnosuke, who actually invested money, is often considered secondary.

Hiruzen can already foresee that, perhaps after ten or fifteen years of the platform's growth, it will provide significant support for Tatsuma.

All of this has happened right under Hiruzen's nose; not only did he not stop it, but he also welcomed it.

Hiruzen was confident that with Tatsuma's talent and ability, under the current conditions, he would undoubtedly become the Hokage everyone expects. His only concern was that Tatsuma might become a mere figurehead.

He had considered some plans, but upon review, he realized that Tatsuma did not actually need his worries or assistance. Tatsuma truly had the capability to address the issues and had already made significant progress.

Tatsuma was unaware of how much Hiruzen had pondered; he simply followed the appropriate procedure and asked, "Hokage-sama, when do you think we should agree to the next meeting?"

"There's no rush on that. I recently saw Uchiha Taku, and he is in good health. This is also why I find it puzzling that he decided to hand over the Clan Head position to Fugaku so early.

However, being prepared for any eventuality is his style. Perhaps the actual transfer of the Clan Head position will take some time; a year or a year and a half isn't short, but three or five years isn't long either.

At least for the next six months, you don't need to respond to the Uchiha. If they extend an invitation, you can decline it by citing missions. By then, you can coordinate with that kid Tenko, especially once he is under your command."

Hiruzen's final words effectively agreed to Tenko joining ANBU. This statement would at least reduce Tenko's probation period by three months. Tatsuma didn't say much or ask many questions; he took the small concession quietly and didn't feel the need to press further.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Seeing that Tatsuma did not overly assert himself because of his leading role in the current situation and did not question his opinions or suggestions, Hiruzen was even more satisfied. He nodded and asked, "By the way, how long do you plan to take for this vacation? I'm not rushing you to return to work, but if you have enough time, I could arrange for Tenko to join your team earlier. He could adapt to ANBU life sooner and begin his evaluation process. After all, having Tenko by your side is most beneficial for the village."

Since Hiruzen had brought it up, Tatsuma naturally wouldn't awkwardly say something like "I love working." He nodded and replied, "Actually, Umino Ikkaku-san has invited me to his son's first meal celebration."

It's expected that it will be about another week before Tatsuma can resume ANBU missions. This should not delay the village's arrangements.

"Given this, you've only had two weeks off, and those who have surrounded you have had a longer break than that. Take another week off."

Hiruzen waved his hand and granted Tatsuma an additional week of vacation. After all, Tatsuma had been tirelessly working for the village over the past week, and he couldn't let the village's future go unrewarded.

Tatsuma nodded. With an extra week, he could give Tenko more specialized training. Besides the onboarding assessment, there were also the functions previously handled by Shimura Akomo that needed to be taught to Tenko.

During this time, he could also focus on improving his Genjutsu. Even if he couldn't make much progress in talent, understanding Uchiha's Genjutsu was necessary.

After all, he was preparing to deceive the Uchiha, and if a few of them discovered the truth and targeted him, having more intelligence would help him respond better.

Compared to the past week, Tatsuma's next two weeks finally felt like a proper vacation.

Although the daily training and study schedules were packed, the pace was relatively relaxed. Tatsuma attended Iruka's first meal celebration and brought some toys as gifts.

His interaction with Umino Ikkaku was limited, and there was a significant age gap, so they didn't engage in deep conversations, just the usual exchange of courtesies.

On the penultimate day of his vacation, Tenko's special approval was finally granted. In theory, with Hiruzen's endorsement, it could have been processed even faster, possibly even approved the day after the request was made.

However, some formalities were still necessary. Tenko's file contained many supplementary documents, including a recommendation letter from Uchiha Taku and various materials related to the special approval process.

His onboarding assessment was conducted personally by Sakumo Hatake. Despite Sakumo Hatake's repeated leniency, Tenko managed to successfully defeat one of Sakumo Hatake's Shadow Clones.

In the assessment report, Sakumo Hatake's evaluation of Tenko was: "This Ninja has strong willpower, unwavering determination, and a spirit of relentless struggle to achieve goals. Approved."

This was Tatsuma's first time learning that after the onboarding assessment, there could be such comments. He requested Sakumo Hatake to let him see his own evaluation comments.

Tatsuma's assessor was Shinku Yuhi, and the comment he left was: "He defeated me. If I don't hire him, I would be embarrassed to stay in ANBU any longer."

"Haha, I reviewed the comments from all three Squad Captains. They don't give those template-like evaluations. However, the files with my comments are submitted to Hokage-sama for review, so they have to be proper."

Seeing Tatsuma's mixed expression, Sakumo Hatake explained further.

After leaving the archive room, Tenko had also selected his mask and equipment. He chose almost everything available: a long Ninjato, a short Ninjato, brass knuckles, spiked knuckle gloves, and even two shuriken strapped to his waist.

Even his forearm guards were chosen with serrated edges. His various small pockets were bulging with items. It looked less like he was joining a new job and more like he was moving house.

As for the mask, Tenko chose a badger mask with flowing ribbons around the eyes. The code name for this mask is "Badger."

"How do I look? Cool, right?! I'm ready for missions!"

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