The meeting room erupted into even greater waves of commotion.
"Shinichi!?" Utatane Koharu asked in disbelief. "We know of your strength... but Tsunade is the top medical ninja in the ninja world; her abilities and prestige are crucial in a major war! Why is there no need to recall her?"
"I know."
Under all the confused and questioning gazes, Tejima Shinichi stood up from his seat, his amber eyes looking down on everything!
"Let me reiterate: anything she can do, I can do as well... Therefore..."
"—I will replace her!"
As he finished speaking, Tejima Shinichi's fingers, which were crossed over his chest, moved. In an instant:
Boom!
A terrifying chakra erupted violently with Tejima Shinichi as the center!
The air emitted a strained hum, the heavy solid wood meeting table shook violently, and the documents on the table scattered everywhere. A wild airwave swept through the entire space, pulling everyone's hair and robes back fiercely.
In an instant, the various clan heads in the meeting room all lost their composure—
"Are you kidding me!" Akimichi Choza stood up abruptly, his broad shoulders actually trembling slightly. "To produce this level of pressure just by releasing chakra?!"
Hyuga Hiashi's expression was solemn as his Byakugan activated uncontrollably. His pure white eyes reflected that vast, abyss-like azure, and his voice was filled with disbelief:
"What an immense amount of chakra... it's simply like a Tailed Beast..."
Clack.
Nara Shikaku frowned, his face full of horror. "It's not just the amount... this density and pressure... my body... can't move..."
Aburame Shibi's sunglasses slipped down, revealing shocked eyes, as the swarm of bugs in his sleeves emitted a mournful cry of fear: "The bugs are afraid... I've never seen them like this..."
Inoichi Yamanaka pressed hard against his throbbing temples, his spiritual perception nearly collapsing under this pressure: "Even my thoughts are being scattered... Lord Third, just what kind of monster is this disciple of yours..."
In the suffocating chakra storm, the two advisor elders, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, reacted even more intensely. The color drained from their faces, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
At this moment, the vast sea of chakra made them see a certain figure from decades ago—!!!
"This... this feeling..." Utatane Koharu stammered, her eyes filled with shock.
Homura Mitokado gripped the armrests of his chair tightly, staring at the black-haired youth with fluttering hair and a calm expression at the center of the chakra storm, murmuring:
"Impossible... this chakra... how could it be... so close... to what Teacher Tobirama brought us..."
As direct disciples of the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, the two advisors had felt the pressure caused by such massive chakra countless times.
And now, the same sense of pressure had actually appeared on Tejima Shinichi!
Utatane Koharu unconsciously covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, as if to block out the suffocating pressure.
"Although it's far from the magnitude of Teacher's peak..."
The two advisors exchanged a trembling look.
Homura Mitokado's voice nearly broke:
"But he's... only twelve years old."
These words were as light as a whisper, yet they were more startling than any exclamation.
Twelve years old.
While other children were still practicing with shuriken, this youth already possessed chakra that made the disciples of past Hokage tremble.
The meeting room fell into a dead silence. Everyone was speechless, with only the chakra still hissing in the air!
"Enough, Shinichi."
From the head seat, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice rang out, breaking that suffocating chakra pressure.
Hearing this, Tejima Shinichi lowered his eyelids slightly, and the terrifying chakra filling the entire room vanished instantly, retracting without a trace as if it had never appeared.
The people in the meeting room collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Many couldn't help but gasp slightly, as if they had just surfaced from deep water.
The soul-shuddering pressure was gone, but the lingering palpitations did not dissipate for a long time.
When they looked again at Tejima Shinichi, who had already sat back in his seat, everyone's gaze had completely changed.
If before they had looked at him with admiration for a genius, respect for the Hokage's disciple, or amazement at his power, now, only one thing remained—awe!!
This was the emotion that naturally arose when facing an absolute power gap!
Hiruzen Sarutobi took in everyone's reactions, tapped his pipe lightly, and concluded in a deep voice:
"Regarding Tsunade... due to some special reasons, she indeed cannot return in time for the battle."
He skipped over the specific reasons, but the certainty in his words made everyone understand that this was an established fact.
"In that case," his gaze finally landed on Tejima Shinichi, "the vacancies in medical support and top-tier combat power will be filled by Shinichi!!!"
After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi still asked for everyone's opinion, saying:
"Do any of you... have any objections?!"
Tejima Shinichi looked around. What met his gaze were breaths that hadn't fully steadied, documents scattered on the floor, and the lingering shock on everyone's faces.
The answer was already self-evident!
After a brief silence, Nara Shikaku was the first to speak. "The Nara Clan concurs."
Hyuga Hiashi sat upright and followed. "The Hyuga Clan concurs."
"The Akimichi Clan concurs!"
"Concur."
"..."
Letting a twelve-year-old boy take over the duties of a Sannin did sound somewhat absurd... Battlefield coordination, the medical system, high-end combat power deployment—all of these required experience and prestige. Could a child handle them?!
But no one raised an objection. The reason was simple—the Third Hokage had already shown through his actions that Tejima Shinichi was the designated next Hokage!!
And everyone sitting here was a clan head who held real power in Konoha; they couldn't be so foolish as to oppose the future Hokage at this moment, could they!?
Danzo Shimura living out his days at home was a living example!
Not to mention Shinichi's despair-inducing potential in strength, just the thought of a possible future settling of accounts was enough to make everyone shut their mouths.
Moreover, this child's strength was indeed impeccable, and any lack of experience would be compensated for by Hiruzen Sarutobi personally overseeing things.
Since that was the case, who would want to be the villain?
"Very well." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, his face showing no emotion. "Then, the resolution is passed!"
"From this moment on, Tejima Shinichi will temporarily replace Tsunade and take full responsibility for all matters related to medical support and top-tier combat power deployment in response to the 'Konoha Crush Plan'!"
"All departments and clans must cooperate fully. There must be no mistakes!"
"As you command... Lord Hokage!!!"
The unified response was louder than ever before, but it contained more awe for that young figure!
In just one short meeting...
Tejima Shinichi's status had been elevated from a Genin examinee with startling strength to a temporary wartime supreme commander for this village-destroying crisis, endorsed by the Hokage and all of Konoha's core high-level officials, with authority over medical and top-tier combat power deployment!
Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi shifted the subject, his voice cold and hard, as the sharpness belonging to the 'Shinobi Hero' was revealed once more:
"Now, since we already have the enemy's complete plan, the focus moving forward is not passive defense, but how to use this intelligence to lead them into a trap and deliver a fatal blow!"
He looked toward Nara Shikaku. "Shikaku, you will take the lead. Formulate a detailed response plan immediately. We will make Orochimaru and Sunagakure... reap the whirlwind of their own actions!"
"Yes!"
Nara Shikaku took a deep breath, the light of strategy flashing in his eyes once more as he began to conceive a plan at high speed!
The tone of the meeting was now set.
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