Naruto Uchiha Rong Lin

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"Never. Find someone else—I’m too busy."

Tsunade flatly refused. What a joke! The medical department alone had her overwhelmed, and adding the responsibilities of the Anbu Black Ops would practically be signing her own death warrant.

As for Sakumo’s application, Tsunade was utterly speechless. Why didn’t he do this earlier? Now that everything was finally settling into place, was he just here to snatch the fruits of others’ labor?

"Alright, I’ll handle it."

Among his three disciples, this position was undoubtedly most suited to Tsunade. Jiraiya, with his free-spirited nature, would never survive as the head of the Anbu Black Ops—being cooped up in the Anbu headquarters day and night, patrolling the village, ensuring the safety of the Hokage’s office, and carrying out special missions would practically be a death sentence for him.

Orochimaru… The Third Hokage sighed silently when he thought of this brilliant but enigmatic disciple.

But the biggest headache was still Tsunade. Since she outright refused to take on the position, the Third Hokage had no choice but to let it go.

"Also, what do you think about Sakumo’s application?"

The conversation quickly returned to Sakumo. After voluntarily stepping down from his position as head of the Anbu Black Ops, Sakumo had submitted another request.

However, this new application was baffling. To put it bluntly, it felt like Sakumo was deliberately lowering himself in a way that was hard to accept.

Originally, the Third Hokage had expected Sakumo to step down from his role as head of the Anbu Black Ops—it was inevitable, given the backlash from recent events. While the incident would remain a stain on his reputation, there were still plenty of opportunities for Sakumo to shine elsewhere. Who would’ve thought he’d submit such a perplexing request?

"Do whatever you want."

With an unceremonious roll of her eyes, Tsunade turned on her heels and left, her high heels clicking against the floor. The Third Hokage didn’t seem to mind, quietly putting away the documents.

Could it be that my words truly changed Sakumo? Preventing him from meeting the same fate as in the original story?

It seemed the impact of those words had been greater than anticipated. Still, Sakumo’s death would have been a significant loss for Konoha. With his strength, he undoubtedly would have shone brightly during the Third Shinobi World War.

Unfortunately, the position of Hokage was now completely out of reach for him.

Even if time passed and the villagers gradually forgot about the incident, aspiring for the Hokage’s seat was now nothing more than a pipe dream. Fortunately, while everyone was criticizing him, it wasn’t as though he had committed any unforgivable crimes. Over time, everything would fade away.

"I heard we’re getting a new team leader—is that true?"

Early in the morning, the three members of Tsunade’s team received a message from the Hokage’s office. Their current team leader, Tsunade, was being replaced due to her overwhelming workload at the medical department. That was the official reason, at least.