<h4>Chapter 199 - Ch199. A letter for Hiruzen</h4>
Anko watched the Hokage with bated breath as his eyebrows furrowed in worry at the first sign of the Senju n insignia on the letter. Outwardly, she was as cool as cuc.u.mber,pletely impassive with a mild but restrained curiosity showing in her eyes. Exactly as an obedient ninja should look in front of his Hokage whom he handed a secret missive. Inwardly though? Inwardly, Anko was almost jumping from the sheer anticipation of Hiruzen''s reaction. She was also very worried too. Tsunade warned Anko that she would have quite a few problems in the immediate future. Thankfully, she also gave her the necessary tools to mitigate most of it.
While Anko was inwardly gloating, Hiruzen was looking at the insignia with hidden indignation, not liking where this was going. Tsunade he knew would never send him a letter marked like. This was not a letter from Tsunade Senju but the n head of the Senju n. That really didn''t put Hiruzen at ease.
Nevertheless, inside of him a small hope that it would be just a deration of her marriage and notice of her impending visit to Konoha sparked in his c.h.e.s.t as he opened the letter and started reading.
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Hiruzen Sarutobi,
In my capacity as the Head of the Senju n, I, Tsunade Senju, notify you that one, Anko Mitarashi, is from hence on a ward of the Senju n. As such, I demand in my capacity as the Head of the Senju n, Anko''s immediate discharge from the Red List.
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Reading that, Hiruzen''s stomach sank. He gave a tentative nce at Anko, noticing her dispassionate visage, and inwardly sighed, realizing she most likely already knew. As if acting clueless could fool him. He started reading again.
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Sarutobi... you WILL cease all attempts at maniption, understood? You also will NOT assign any ANBU to watch her. I won''t stand for such treatment of one of mine!
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At this part, Hiruzen winced. He already nned to have ANBU on Anko 24/7. She was Orochimaru''s student and now had the zealous backing of the Senju n. She just became one very dangerous girl. There was no way he could leave her unsupervised. Who knows what kind of mayhem she would have caused!
Unfortunately for him, Hiruzen was aware that the second his ANBU were spotted by Anko, and he was sure they would have been spotted, she would inform Tsunade and Tsunade would cause problems. Problems he did not need in the current political situation with Uchihas rearing their ugly heads.
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If you are worried about the Snake Summoning Contract, know that I made damn sure to find out which of Anko''s snakes are loyal to her and which are not. Right now, none of her summons are disloyal to her. I PERSONALLY made sure of that.
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''Uh-oh, Tsunade is basically telling me there were some disloyal snakes in Anko''s employ before she went through them.'' Hiruzen understood the hidden message.
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My husband, on the other hand, made sure to erase the Cursed Seal on Anko''s left shoulder. No longer do you and your old flunkies on the council have to fear Anko suddenly turning traitor because of that. Meaning... I don''t want to hear even one word about her not being trustworthy! Just try to manipte the council in this direction, Hiruzen, I dare you! I will raise hell!
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And just like that, all ns of discrediting the new ward of the Senju n crashed in front of Hiruzen''s eyes. So far, Hiruzen wasn''t worried. Sure Anko gained some political clout. She also gained a reason to distrust him. And she would most likely ever-so-slightly slip his maniptions. But he always had the option of citing her Cursed Seal to get her in line. Now though?
Hiruzen''s eyes snapped at Anko''s left shoulder, making her instantly aware of which part of the letter he was currently at. She really couldn''t help but give him a genuine smile and enjoy as he winced. Tsunade told her that even Danzo would most likelyy off her case now that there was no possibly mind-controlling seal on her.
That day, Rei truly became one of Anko''s heroes and her loyalty became irond, if not very well hidden fanatical one. After all, he pulled a piece of Orochimaru''s soul out of her! Anko was still shuddering at that thought.
Hiruzen, with his ns regarding Anko nowpletely ruined, continued to read, somewhat miffed but still mostly okay. After all, Anko was still not all that important in the grand scheme of things. Sure, she could make some waves in the vige now but he decided to let Tsunade have her way. It would be infinitely worse if the waves came from the Head of the Senju n rather than an unimportant ward of the said n.
On another, more important, note, I am fine with you overseeing thends of Konoha in my stead.
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Reading that sentence, Hiruzen stilled, his face bing white as snow.
''She knows.'' He thought in untold horror. ''Shiiiiiit!''
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That said, I will make use of my right to demand changes if I deem them right and I WILL expect you to respect my wishes. Thends on which Konoha is standing are MINE! There won''t be ANY argument if I decide to change something. It is my RIGHT.
Such are my demands in ordance with my rights as the Head of the Senju n, and thews of Konoha. If you, for any reason, decide to impede my birthright any further, I will make sure toin to the Daimyo. Don''t misunderstand, Hiruzen Sarutobi. I am perfectly aware of what that would mean for Konoha, and the Sarutobi n, and I already made sure the Daimyo is fully willing to go along with that.
P. S.: Make sure you remember that, old man. I had a nice long chat with Toyotomi about these things and I must say I am not amused. In fact, I am furious. Don''t give me a reason tosh out because I am not trusting myself from keeping calm enough to not cause a disaster for you.
Tsunade Senju, the Head of the Senju n, the founding n of Konoha.
Hiruzen gazed at the letter with unblinking, empty eyes, not knowing if he should be d or worried. On one hand, Tsunade gave him permission to oversee thends of Konoha, meaning she was not really interested in them. On another, he was regaled to a glorified manager for her. Arguably, he was always that but now he had somebody looking over his shoulder.
The real problem was the threat Tsunade used and that she didn''t mention only him but also the Sarutobi n. Hiruzen could already see it. A dispute between him, the Hokage who got the vige through two shinobi wars, and the Senju n backed by the Daimyo. It would simply cause a civil war as people would start taking sides. For one, Hiruzen had no illusions about whose side would Danzo join. And there were many ns who didn''t exactly trust him. Heck, even Uchihas would most likely join the Senju n if it came to that. Hiruzen had to ept that his pupil decided to have her way or start a civil war.
''Why would she be so sure it would lead to a civil war, though?'' Hiruzen asked himself. Suddenly, his eyes widened as a realization hit him. He hastily read through thest two paragraphs. His heart almost stopped when he finally understood, ''She knows about her right to be a Daimyo of Konoha if the council is corrupted!''
Panic gripped him. He knew well just how corrupt the current council was. As unsettling thoughts swirled through his head, Hiruzen suddenly heard Anko clear her throat.
"You are dismissed, Chunin Mitarashi." He distractedly said, not paying her much attention.
Anko nodded and turned on her heel, leaving the room. ''Hah, All ording to Lady Tsunade''s n. The old man is far too preupied with the realization that Tsunade, someone who is not even in the vige, can cause mayhem, andpletely disregarded me, someone who IS inside the vige and on the payroll of Tsunade. Heh, time to do my job, I guess.'' She inwardly shook her head in bemus.e.m.e.nt and went on her merry way to finish the first stage of Tsunade''s n.