"That's right, the ANBU. You can keep certain departments under the medical system, but the rest need to be handed over to Koharu. This is my final compromise."
Koharu Utatane was never one to quietly settle down. If her authority was stripped and she couldn't reclaim it for too long, she might end up causing a lot of trouble.
And the Third Hokage wanted to avoid such chaos.
I knew it.
Tsunade frowned without saying anything. She picked up her chopsticks and continued eating.
The Third Hokage did not push her. The two master and disciple sat in silence, having their meal.
Once she had eaten her fill, Tsunade put down her chopsticks and stood up. When she reached the Hokage's side on her way out, she said:
"Give me a few days to think about it."
The Third Hokage nodded in agreement.
The fact that Tsunade didn't outright reject it meant that there was room to negotiate.
As long as they managed to appease Koharu, the leadership of the village could stay united. Even if the Hokage faction was now split into two, at least their overall objectives would align on major matters.
Upon returning home, Tsunade checked on Kushina, who was working on her studies. Then, she went back to her room and recorded what the Third Hokage had told her in a scroll.
"Take this scroll to the front line and deliver it to Takashi. Tell him to respond to me as soon as possible."
Ever since Takashi had firmly established himself as the go-to strategist at home, Tsunade no longer wanted to deal with these sorts of issues herself. She simply handed them over to Takashi for him to handle.
She knew very well that when it came to these matters, Takashi's thinking was much sharper than hers, and he was better at identifying key points.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
The summoned Katsuyu wrapped its body around the scroll and vanished from the room.
At night, as Takashi was preparing to return to the ninja world after his sage training at the Shikkotsu Forest, he received the scroll.
"Hah! The Third Hokage sure knows how to make a deal."
Half of the ANBU in exchange for more departments under the medical system—this would indeed placate Koharu, who had been rather restless lately.
Openly and covertly, she kept pushing the Third Hokage to release Danzo Shimura, the biggest troublemaker in the village.
It was clear that she was getting anxious.
After wielding significant authority for over a decade, suddenly losing it was not something easy for anyone to accept.
It was understandable that Koharu would be desperate.
But half of the ANBU's authority… Heh, not worth it.
Takashi took out a new scroll, wrote down his thoughts, and sent it back to the village with a puppet crow.
Half?
No. If you're going to give, give it all!
Apart from the squads specifically tasked with protecting the Hokage, I want the entire ANBU under my control—only then does it have true value for negotiation. Plus, we need to retain control of the Pharmaceutical Division under the medical system.
That division is crucial, and we can't afford to give it away.
As for the other departments, Koharu can have them.
As long as we hold onto the Pharmaceutical Division, all other medical departments are subordinate to it—they'll always have to defer to us.
Moreover, Tsunade could hand over the responsibility of training medical ninja, which was quite a burden.
Koharu likes to cause trouble?
Fine, then let her take on all these departments and see how she handles it.
Meanwhile, the most crucial Pharmaceutical Division remains in my control. Koharu would always have to consider our stance.
The Third Hokage's suggestion to divide up the ANBU had its reasoning. As Hokage, as long as he remained in the village, his safety was almost guaranteed. Even if he relinquished part of the ANBU, he could still call upon them to serve him.
It was just that some off-the-books operations couldn't be handled by ANBU anymore.
Thus, Takashi's response was to go big or go home. If you're giving up control of the ANBU, then give it all—don't split hairs with half-hearted measures.
If it worked out, great; if not, things would remain as they were. After all, it wasn't their side that was feeling the pressure.
Tsunade holding onto all of the medical departments might make Danzo miserable, but if she held both the Pharmaceutical Division and the ANBU, Danzo would essentially lose any hope of reclaiming influence.
For a department like the ANBU, you either had full control or none at all. Having half was almost the same as having nothing.
Only by taking full control of the ANBU could you select who was brought in, allowing you to develop loyal ANBU operatives who would pledge allegiance to you.
Otherwise, no matter how well you managed it, you were only grooming people to serve the Third Hokage.
After sending the puppet crow off, Takashi lay down and quickly drifted off to sleep. He had already grasped the balance of natural energy, and if he kept progressing like this, it wouldn't be long before he could fully enter Sage Mode.
At that point, he would have graduated.
Otherwise, with all this constant exertion day and night, Takashi was starting to worry that he might collapse from exhaustion.
By dawn, the puppet crow had delivered the scroll to Tsunade.
There were two scrolls.
One contained information, while the other was a sealing scroll. Inside the sealing scroll were several specialized puppets for message delivery—crows and hawks.
Sometimes, using puppets for message delivery was more convenient than summoning beasts.
As soon as she received the scrolls, Tsunade understood Takashi's point. She realized that this time, the Third Hokage would really have to pay dearly.
Handing over all control of the ANBU? That was something not just anyone had the nerve to do.
And yet, since it was being handed to her, Tsunade, the Third Hokage might actually agree. If it were someone else, there would be no chance.
The master-disciple relationship, plus Tsunade's unique status, made it possible for the Third Hokage to consider giving her the ANBU. For anyone else, there was no way he'd agree.
Even the other members of the elders council could only be granted the right to deploy the ANBU, never complete control over it.
Only when Danzo Shimura established Root did he manage to infiltrate the ANBU, borrowing the right to deploy them and slowly planting his people within.
Combined with the Third Hokage's deliberate blindness, this allowed Danzo to wield massive power.
One could say that Danzo's rise was built entirely on the ANBU's foundation.
Without the ANBU's help, Danzo would be nothing—even if he were released from custody and allowed to reestablish Root, he'd be a minor player.
If Tsunade controlled the ANBU, there was no way she'd let Root members operate under the ANBU banner or use the same uniforms and equipment. That would just tarnish the ANBU's name.
Now that she understood Takashi's plan, Tsunade wasn't in any rush.
She dragged her feet for a few days until the Third Hokage, running out of patience, sought her out again. It was then that she laid out her conditions.
"Within the medical system, you can have all the departments except for the Pharmaceutical Division. As for the ANBU, I want all of it—not just half, but everything!!!"
"..."
The Third Hokage was initially pleased to hear that most of the medical departments could be handed over. But by the end of her statement, his smile had stiffened.
Tsunade was asking for a lot: to keep the Pharmaceutical Division while also wanting the entire ANBU.
An organization like the ANBU—there was a world of difference between giving half and giving all.
With half, the Third Hokage could take it back anytime. Even if Tsunade planted her own people in it, he could reclaim full control if he set his mind to it.
But giving the whole thing? That was a completely different matter.