HGBW: Ch. 124

"Since Tanaka does not object, I will leave him to you."

Hiruzen did not think there was anything wrong with sending Tanaka to the battlefield. The only ninja with wartime exemption was himself; the only clan with wartime exemption was the Sarutobi clan.

Everyone else had to go to war.

However, when he saw Tanaka stand firmly with Tsunade without hesitation, a shadow flickered deep in his eyes.

If those two joined forces, how could he instill the Will of Fire into Tanaka? But there was no choice—since the ninja war had reignited, he had to put these concerns aside for now.

"I need to take my 150 medical ninjas with me," Tsunade continued to demand personnel.

Besides the 100 Hyūga clansmen that Tanaka had provided her, she had also used her personal prestige to recruit 50 civilian ninjas with medical aptitude and trained them. This time, she intended to teach Hiruzen, Konoha, Suna, and even the Five Great Ninja Villages a lesson.

She wanted the shinobi world to understand the true value of medical ninjas.

"Fine." Hiruzen nodded.

Excluding the Hyūga members, that was just 50 civilian ninjas. As long as the losses didn't come from the Sarutobi clan, he could compromise.

"100 from the Uchiha clan."

"20 each from the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans."

"15 each from the Inuzuka and Aburame clans."

"10 each from the Gekkō, and Kurama clans."

"As for the rest, I don't care how you arrange it, but I need 1,000 ninjas in total. Their strength cannot be lower than elite chunin, and there must be at least 50 jonin."

Tsunade systematically made her demands.

Having fought Suna many times, she understood their strategy well. They relied on an elite force—though their numbers were small, they deployed highly trained ninja as their vanguard. Their starting level was elite chunin, with no genin serving as mere cannon fodder.

"Tsunade, the other two fronts need ninjas as well."

Homura was deeply shocked. He understood Tsunade's approach perfectly. Among all of Konoha, the safest place to fight a war was by Tsunade's side.

Because her healing abilities were unparalleled. This meant that after a battle, nearly every surviving ninja had been saved or treated by her. Even in the cruel shinobi world, a life-saving debt carried immense weight.

This was why Hiruzen had long been reluctant to support her proposal to establish a medical ninja training system. If it benefited Konoha, everyone would remember it as Tsunade's doing.

This was also why Danzō dared to openly defy Hiruzen and even attempt to assassinate the Third Hokage, yet once Tsunade became the Fifth Hokage, he chose to lie low and act with caution.

"Reduce the number by 200. Plus, Mitokado and Koharu will each provide 50 ninjas."

Tsunade waved her hand, immediately cutting the demand.

"As advisors, we need to stay in Konoha to assist the Hokage and coordinate the war effort."

"Konoha also needs forces to maintain order. If the situation truly becomes dire, forget 50—we will mobilize everyone and head to the battlefield."

Homura and Koharu turned pale upon hearing this. But sensing the gazes of many in the meeting room subtly shifting toward them, they quickly spoke up to explain themselves and make a promise.

"In that case..."

Tsunade looked at Hiruzen.

"Then it's settled."

Hiruzen felt a chill as she stared at him. He knew that if he said another word, Tsunade would demand ninjas from the Sarutobi clan, so he immediately agreed. He had spent years strengthening the Sarutobi clan, and its military force had finally exceeded a thousand ninjas. There was no way he would let Tsunade deplete them.

Seeing that Tsunade was done demanding personnel, Tanaka had a thought. He stepped forward, leaned close to her ear, and whispered a name.

"Wait, I need one more person."

Hearing this, Tsunade's pupils slightly contracted. She turned to look at Tanaka and, realizing he was serious, continued making her request.

"Tsunade, even though the Suna front is under heavy pressure, you're pushing this too far. Orochimaru and Jiraiya also need people." Hiruzen tapped his pipe heavily against the table.

"One genin." As soon as Tsunade said this, everyone looked surprised and curious.

In a ninja war, unless they were prodigies, what use would a genin be?

"Kosuke is not an option."

As soon as a genin was mentioned, Hiruzen immediately thought of Maruboshi Kosuke.

The ninja who had inherited his teacher, the Second Hokage's, Water Release techniques. Though he was a "forever genin," his actual strength was that of an elite jonin.

"You can keep him for yourself!" Tsunade curled her lips.

"Then who do you want?" Hiruzen felt relieved and immediately became interested.

Could it be that another hidden powerhouse like Kosuke existed among Konoha's genin?

"Might Duy."

Tsunade casually said a name.

"Who's that?"

"Never heard of him!"

"That surname isn't from a ninja clan."

"Even among the civilian ninjas, there's no such person."

The assembled ninjas were all confused upon hearing the name Might Duy.

"Alright then, if that's the case, Duy will be assigned to your warfront."

Hiruzen first looked at his two subordinates, but seeing them shake their heads, indicating they had never heard of the name, he agreed to let him go. Whether Duy had hidden strength or not, it would become clear once he entered the Suna warfront.

At that point, they could decide whether to instill him with the Will of Fire accordingly.

"Meeting adjourned!"

To prevent Tsunade from demanding more personnel, he delegated the deployment tasks to Shikaku and ended the meeting immediately.

"Come with me for a moment."

Just as Tanaka left the meeting room, Tsunade pulled him into a secluded corner.

"Are you blaming me for sending you to the battlefield?" Tsunade asked bluntly.

"Going to war was my own decision. Besides, even if I was unwilling, the Third Hokage wouldn't let someone with my combat ability stay behind. Unless I chose to defect."

Tanaka shook his head.

He had sided with Tsunade not only to strengthen their bond and raise her favorability toward him but also to repay her for teaching him medical ninjutsu and her monstrous strength techniques. Furthermore, he couldn't trust anyone else to lead the Hyūga clan's forces into battle.

He had invested too much—Seaking meat, Rokushiki, and in the future, even Haki.

With so much effort poured in, there was no way he would let Konoha's top brass throw the Hyūga clan into the battlefield as mere expendable troops. The Hyūga clan was his true core force in both worlds, the foundation for his rise.

Besides, Tanaka knew very well, Tsunade had taken him under her command not to use him but to protect him.

"As long as you understand. A ninja with space-time abilities—there's no way the Third Hokage would let you stay in Konoha. He'd only assign you to the most dangerous missions. And by bringing you to my side, at the very least, I can keep an eye on you."

Tsunade stared into Tanaka's eyes for a moment. When she confirmed he had no resentment or ill feelings toward her, the tension in her heart eased.

"I will remember your kindness, Lady Tsunade." Feeling Tsunade's genuine concern, Tanaka felt a warmth in his heart.

"Do you still remember what you told me on the Hokage Rock?"

A glimmer of amusement flashed in Tsunade's eyes before she shifted the topic.

"If you want to stand at the pinnacle of the shinobi world, strength is crucial, but prestige, achievements, and reputation are just as important. So, you'd better remember this, the title 'God of Shinobi' was never earned through training alone—it was earned through battle."

Seeing Tanaka nod in understanding, Tsunade spoke each word with emphasis.