"Lady Tsunade, what do you mean by that?" Tameo continued to play dumb, saying, "The Hokage sent us a message, saying..."
"Saying what?" Tsunade's previously scattered killing intent instantly focused solely on Tameo, making him shiver involuntarily, not even daring to lift his head.
He was the camp commander, true, but he got the position entirely through connections, just trying to score some credit during peacetime.
And this woman standing before him was someone who stood up even to the Hokage and their clan leader, Danzō. In front of people like her, he was nothing but a small fry. So how could he not be scared?
"Take a good look. This is the mission scroll the Hokage gave me." Tsunade pulled out the scroll she received in the Hokage's office and opened it for everyone to see.
It was daytime, and the lighting was good. Most of the ninjas had sharp eyesight, so they immediately saw clearly. Although the mission document was filled with words of encouragement and trust, it was not in the format of an official appointment.
In other words, they had made a huge mistake.
Unwilling to back down, Tameo continued, "Even though the Hokage didn't officially appoint you, he clearly intended it. And no one is more suited to be the commander than you, so..."
Tsunade's killing intent grew even stronger as she shouted coldly, "Do you think the position of commander is yours to hand over as you please? And you even prepared a handover document without receiving any official order. What exactly were you trying to do? Do you think transferring command authority is a game? I have no experience in this area, if something were to go wrong, would you be able to take responsibility?"
Her barrage of questions made Tameo's face change dramatically.
The others who had come to welcome her also started realizing something was wrong. Several pairs of eyes turned coldly toward Tameo, as if waiting for his response. The situation in the camp was complex, not everyone shared the same interests as Tameo. But with new leadership arriving, and he insisting on a welcome ceremony to make Tsunade feel at home, how could they refuse?
If they went, the new leader might not notice them. But if they didn't go, the leader would definitely notice.
Unless you were some airheaded girl trying to draw attention from a domineering CEO, no one in their right mind would purposely stand out like that in front of a new superior. Even those with hidden agendas would be more subtle, sabotage was usually done in the shadows, not openly.
That kind of brazen posturing and face-slapping is rarely seen in the adult world. But now, several people realized, they had been used by Tameo.
Realizing the situation was turning against him, he hurriedly explained, "I misunderstood the Hokage's intentions, which led to this oversight. Please forgive me! Please forgive me!"
Tsunade was extremely irritated, but since Tameo was still technically the camp commander, and no real harm had been done thanks to her timely intervention, she couldn't blow up right after arriving.
The following meeting was extremely tense.
Aside from Tsunade conveying the message that Hiruzen had entrusted her to deliver, and stating clearly that her role would be limited to treating the wounded, distributing antidotes, and stabilizing the situation at critical moments, nothing much else was said.
Everything else, she told them, should continue as it had before. The others barely spoke a word.
After the meeting, Tsunade took Minato and went to the tent that had been arranged for them.
"Don't be angry." Minato, seeing that Tsunade was upset, quickly tried to comfort her.
"You go ahead and get some rest. I'll go take a walk around the camp and gather some intel, I'll definitely help you figure out what that guy is really up to."
Tsunade was amused by Minato's mature-for-his-age demeanor and said with a smile, "Then I'll leave this difficult mission to you?"
"Don't worry!" Minato patted his chest confidently. "I promise I'll get it done."
Although Tsunade didn't hold any official position in the camp, her identity alone made people tread carefully around her. So when she requested someone to accompany Minato and show him around to broaden his horizons, Tameo immediately agreed.
Even though he secretly resented her to the core, he had to keep her placated until his plan was ready. Otherwise, she might be fine, but he'd be the one to suffer first.
What happened today could be a big deal, or nothing at all.
While he had risen to power through connections, he wasn't stupid.
He knew that if he didn't handle things cleanly, given Danzō's cold and ruthless nature, it was entirely possible that Danzō would throw him under the bus to appease public outrage.
So at the moment, the wisest choice was to stay still and not make any more moves.
The ninja who was assigned to accompany Minato was named Katsuhiko, the deputy commander of the camp.
When Tsunade had gone to find Tameo with Minato in tow, Katsuhiko happened to be nearby and naturally volunteered for the task.
With his escort, Minato had access to anywhere in the camp.
Along the way, he acted just like a curious child, looking left and right, asking all kinds of questions.
Though Katsuhiko maintained a businesslike demeanor, he answered every question Minato asked without holding anything back, doing his best to satisfy the boy's curiosity.
You really had to give credit to the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, especially Torifu.
The camp wasn't very large, and with Minato seemingly just browsing casually, they managed to finish the tour in about half an hour.
Once back at the tent, his expression changed immediately. He quickly pulled out pen and paper from a storage scroll, spread the sheet on the table, and started drawing and writing.
In just over ten minutes, a detailed layout of the entire camp appeared on the page. He even marked locations of hidden sentries and identified areas with relatively weak security.
Tsunade, watching from the side, was astonished.
She had always known he was exceptional and that Shin had trained him to the highest standard.
But seeing it with her own eyes still left her stunned.
After all, Minato wasn't even nine years old, yet he already carried echoes of Shin's presence and style. And that was just the beginning of Tsunade's surprise. Because Minato pulled out another blank sheet and started drawing again.
This time, what he drew was an entirely new layout for the camp.
The new blueprint not only featured a more logical arrangement but also incorporated the surrounding terrain and the current standoff with Kiri, resulting in a completely revamped defense strategy.
Even Tsunade, who wasn't a military strategist, could clearly see that Minato's design was far superior.
Monster?
That word popped into Tsunade's head almost involuntarily. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly these brothers had been raised on. Although Shin had told her before that he raised Minato using the strictest standards, he hadn't shared the details.