This part of the story remained unchanged.
Thanks to the efforts of Jiraiya and Naruto, Tsunade returned to the Hidden Leaf Village to assume the mantle of the Fifth Hokage, just as she did in the original timeline. This was only natural. Without Menma interfering or any other external factors at play, Tsunade's return was inevitable.
In fact, Menma himself hoped she would return.
With Tsunade in charge, the Hidden Leaf would fall into its familiar pattern of internal friction and political gridlock. Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had the authority and resolve to suppress Danzo when it truly mattered, Tsunade was new to the role. Moreover, in terms of generational hierarchy, she was Danzo's junior. The Fifth Hokage simply couldn't keep him in check the same way.
A Leaf Village bogged down in a tug-of-war between factions—that was the best kind of Leaf Village for Menma.
If Danzo were to take power right now, it might be better in the long run (as he would likely ruin the village), but in the short term, it would be detrimental to Menma.
Anyone with half a brain knew that the crazed "King of Scapegoats" would immediately mobilize the full might of the Leaf to hunt him down.
In the original story, if not for the delay caused by the Five Kage Summit and Sasuke decisively killing Danzo, the old schemer would have absolutely abused the village's power to do whatever he pleased.
This was why Menma declined Orochimaru's invitation to join him. If possible, he didn't want to disrupt this particular plotline.
He knew the personalities of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Danzo all too well.
Sometimes, doing nothing yields better results than over-preparing.
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Meanwhile, in the Hidden Leaf Village.
When the news broke that Tsunade—the granddaughter of the First Hokage—was returning to become the Fifth Hokage, the entire village erupted in celebration.
The panic, worry, confusion, and doubt that had plagued the village were swept away in an instant. The people firmly believed that this hero would lead their village back onto the right path.
She was the First Hokage's granddaughter!
She was one of the Legendary Sannin, a hero who had defeated countless powerful enemies in multiple wars and saved the lives of innumerable Leaf ninjas.
The citizens of Konoha had every reason to trust "Princess Tsunade."
They were ready to follow the "Princess of the Leaf."
After returning to the village and going through a simplified inauguration ceremony, Tsunade officially inherited the position of Hokage. Without wasting a breath, she issued several consecutive orders: readjusting the border defenses, opening negotiations with the Hidden Sand, and altering the arrest warrant for Menma.
Before Tsunade's return, the internal order within the Leaf was to bring back Menma Uzumaki at all costs—as long as he was alive.
But Tsunade, having made a promise to Naruto and feeling that the village had wronged Minato and Kushina, didn't want Menma to become a permanent enemy of the state. She directly changed the nature of the warrant. While the goal was still to "capture" Menma, it was framed more as an attempt to "persuade" him to return.
It was just like with Sasuke in the original story.
The Leaf never seriously dispatched elite hunter-nin squads to track down and execute Sasuke. It was as if the village conveniently forgot they had a rogue ninja of that caliber running loose.
Those who understood politics knew exactly what was happening.
This was a privilege Tsunade granted to Naruto. It proved the old saying: rules are dead, but people are alive. Rules are made by people, after all.
In a unique organization like a ninja village, the Kage's power is immense.
But obviously, Tsunade couldn't just do whatever she wanted. The moment these orders were issued, trouble came knocking.
Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura—the leader of Root—arrived together immediately.
"Tsunade! What is the meaning of these orders?! Rescind them at once!!!"
Danzo slammed open the doors to the Hokage's office.
His face was dark as he glared at Tsunade, who was seated at the desk, his tone incredibly hostile.
He could ignore her other orders.
But when it came to Menma Uzumaki and Gaara, Danzo could not sit idly by and watch Tsunade "act recklessly"!
Yes. Recklessly.
In Danzo's eyes, Tsunade was completely disregarding the village's interests and issuing chaotic commands.
Relaxing the pursuit of Menma Uzumaki and barring Root from participating?
Negotiating with the Sand is one thing, but allowing them to take back the One-Tail Jinchūriki?!
Was this a joke?!
Danzo could absolutely not accept such orders. This was sheer madness!
Tsunade, who was sitting at the main desk processing paperwork, frowned the moment the trio appeared.
Shizune, standing to the side, felt her heart tighten seeing Danzo's aggressive posture.
Shikaku, on the other side of the room, furrowed his brow slightly.
When Tsunade issued those orders, Shikaku had a feeling this would happen.
"Is there a problem with my orders? Do I need your approval to lead, Elder Danzo?"
Tsunade snorted, crossing her hands on the desk, her expression equally displeased.
She was the Hokage!
No one in this village had the right to question her.
Or at least, that was how it should have been.
But in the few days since her return, Tsunade felt increasingly constrained. Never mind that she couldn't command Root at all—she couldn't even intervene in their affairs. Root was originally just a division of the Anbu. Like any other Anbu squad, they were supposed to be 100% obedient to the Hokage.
Danzo's position was essentially the same rank as an Anbu Captain. Even with the added title of "Elder," he shouldn't have such absolute control over Root!
Furthermore, the number of Root operatives was nearly rivaling the total number of regular Anbu.
You call that a division?!
Aside from Danzo, Tsunade found that her orders weren't always effective in other departments either. Some people subconsciously looked to Homura and Koharu for approval before acting.
This infuriated Tsunade.
Fortunately, Tsunade possessed both prestige and strength, and her lineage as the First's granddaughter carried weight. The ordinary ninjas and a significant number of clans—like the Ino-Shika-Cho trio—chose to follow her orders firmly.
This meant the majority of power was still in her hands. But the feeling of being restricted? She hated it.
Take this situation, for example.
An Elder storming in to interrogate the Hokage so aggressively?
Who gave him the courage? Who gave him the right?
Tsunade wanted to explode, but the three people in front of her were her elders. She had to force down her anger.
"Is there a problem?! The problem is massive!"
Danzo glared at Tsunade with a sinister look, his voice ice-cold.
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