Naruto wanted to argue back, but he didn't know what to say. He could only pout and say, "Sasuke, don't think you've won. I'll catch up to you soon!"
Sasuke didn't reply. His target was Yoruha—Naruto's pursuit didn't matter to him.
With the orders given, Yoruha was now officially assigned as Tsunade's bodyguard. At the same time, he was partnered with Genma Shiranui, Raidō Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami.
However, Yoruha clearly didn't fit in with the Hokage's bodyguard squad. Genma, Raidō, and Iwashi had previously been the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's personal guards. The three of them could coordinate to use a version of the Flying Thunder God Technique, earning them the title of the "Flying Thunder God Squad." They had been partners for a long time.
Yoruha, on the other hand, was a newcomer—previously just a nameless ninja. Worse still, they didn't know anything about his abilities. More importantly, Yoruha held the rank of jōnin, while Genma and Raidō were only special jōnin, and Iwashi was merely a chūnin. Despite being the youngest, Yoruha had the highest rank among them.
The three of them were naturally unconvinced. After all, they had never seen Yoruha's abilities and had no reason to believe in his strength. To them, he was just another shinobi who got in through connections.
They were unaware that the Third Hokage had personally entrusted Yoruha to Tsunade. When Hiruzen gave his final orders, the three of them had been out pursuing Gaara's group, so they never received the message. Given their relatively lower ranks, the higher-ups wouldn't have shared such classified information with them either.
At Konoha's training ground, when Tsunade introduced Yoruha to the three, they stared at him with cold, unreadable expressions. They neither spoke nor showed any emotions.
They just silently gazed at him—a silent protest.
Yoruha could feel the hostility, but he didn't care. Whether he took this position or not made little difference to him.
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Tsunade said, "Why don't you introduce yourselves to each other?"
Behind Yoruha, Jiraiya chuckled. "Looks kid is being underestimated. How interesting."
Yoruha looked at the three and was the first to speak. "I don't think simple introductions will clear up your doubts about me."
"Why don't we do this properly?" Yoruha said, stepping forward. "We're in a training ground anyway—perfect for a real combat demonstration."
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from where he stood.
Almost simultaneously, he reappeared several hundred meters away, holding the kunai Kakashi had given him.
This simple move left Genma, Raidō, and Iwashi completely stunned.
Their hearts trembled in unison. Regardless of his overall strength, they had to admit—Yoruha's speed was undeniable.
The three turned toward Tsunade in shock.
Tsunade casually explained, "Oh, I forgot to mention—Yoruha also knows the Flying Thunder God Technique."
The three were even more dumbfounded.
"What?! That's impossible!"
They couldn't believe it. The Flying Thunder God Technique was a forbidden jutsu of Konoha. Many had tried to learn it, but in all these years, only one man had ever truly mastered it—Minato Namikaze.
Yet now, Tsunade was telling them that Yoruha—a mere 12-year-old—had also mastered it?!
"Lady Hokage, does he really know the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
"We've all studied the Flying Thunder God before, but what he just did didn't quite match it."
They knew that using the Flying Thunder God required marking a specific seal as a teleportation coordinate.
But earlier, they hadn't seen Yoruha place any mark—he hadn't even used a Flying Thunder God kunai.
Tsunade chuckled. "His version of the Flying Thunder God is a little different. Why don't you try him out yourselves? After all, you're going to be teammates now. It's important to understand each other's strengths."
Of course, Tsunade knew this was just to make them accept Yoruha.
The three exchanged glances and nodded. In a flash, they used the Body Flicker Technique to surround Yoruha.
Their speed was impressive, but it was still just at the level of standard shunshin.
Standing beside Tsunade, Jiraiya sighed. "Didn't think I'd ever see this kid getting doubted."
"It'll be interesting when they realize his true strength."
Tsunade, however, shook her head. "Those three aren't anywhere near strong enough to make Yoruha go all out."
Jiraiya was momentarily stunned, then laughed. "Fair point. If that kid actually used his full strength, even I might not be able to handle him."
On Genma and the Others' Side
For once, Genma Shiranui looked serious. "Yoruha, I don't know if what Lady Hokage said is true or not. But as the Hokage's guards, our duty is to ensure her safety. We need to confirm that you have the strength for this role."
Even if he didn't fully acknowledge Yoruha, the fact remained that Yoruha was a jōnin and a fellow shinobi of the village. Genma wouldn't go so far as to create outright hostility.
Yoruha smiled. "I understand. Please, feel free to test me, seniors."
The three shared a glance before nodding. Without hesitation, they launched their attack.
"Watch yourself, Yoruha." Genma warned just before they struck.
Yoruha's lips curled into a smirk.
He could have ended this in an instant. But doing so would only embarrass them.
That wasn't what he wanted.
So instead, he chose to fight them using only taijutsu.
At the start, all three attacked with taijutsu as well. Genma mixed in senbon throws between his strikes. Raidō swung his poison-coated blade. As for Iwashi, he didn't have any real specialties—he was the weakest of the three, with only standard chūnin-level abilities.
Among them, Iwashi functioned more like an assistant to the Hokage, almost like a clerk rather than a frontline fighter.
But regardless of their combined efforts, Yoruha handled their attacks with absolute ease.
He wasn't struggling in the slightest.
He didn't even use the Flying Thunder God or his Lightning Body Flicker.
Just pure, simple taijutsu—yet it was enough to push all three to their limits.
Watching the fight, Jiraiya sighed with a wry smile.
"This guy really doesn't like making enemies. He's holding back so much."
"But even with just taijutsu, he's completely overwhelming them. The gap in strength is just too large."
"With him around, Tsunade, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about your safety."
Tsunade folded her arms, watching the battle with a soft smile.
She looked at Yoruha almost like an older sister watching over her little brother.
Unlike in the original timeline, in this one, Tsunade saw Yoruha as her successor.
His strength only made her more certain of that.
If not for his young age, she would have considered being Hokage for a few years before passing the title to him.
The fight had lasted barely three minutes, and yet, Yoruha had already landed dozens of attacks on their vital points.
Of course, since this was just a spar, he merely tapped them instead of actually injuring them.
By now, the three had realized the sheer difference in their levels.
Even when they used ninjutsu, they couldn't land a single hit.
Yoruha's movements were simply too fast, even without using teleportation techniques.
The gap was too wide—it wasn't even a fight.
Although they hadn't forced him to use the Flying Thunder God, they no longer needed to.
They understood the difference in strength now.
At last, Genma lowered his stance and let out a breath.
"Yoruha, we acknowledge your strength. Please don't take our earlier doubts to heart. Protecting the Hokage is a serious duty—we had to be cautious."
Yoruha waved a hand casually. "No need to apologize. My age makes it hard to trust me—I get it. Proving myself is only natural."
Since they had already shown sincerity, Yoruha saw no need to be harsh about it.