Red Haired Supremacy

Chapter 221: Ch-221 Tsunade's Return To Konoha.

Shanks nodded once, then spoke again, his tone measured.

"One more thing, White Tiger. Remember this." He paused briefly before continuing. "There is a very low chance that you might awaken Wood Release and become capable of using it. The chance is extremely small—but it still exists."

He looked directly at White Tiger, making sure every word was understood.

"And if, in the future, someone is able to use Wood Release, you must be mentally prepared for what that means. If another member of the Shadow Guard awakens Wood Release and proves worthy, I may choose them as a captain, and you could be replaced."

Shanks's expression remained calm, almost indifferent, but his words carried weight.

"I do not intend to publicize this matter. However, since you are the one being injected with the super-shinobi serum, this needs to be clear in your mind. That way, if someone later awakens Wood Release through sheer luck, none of you will feel resentment or harbor negative emotions."

He continued, his voice steady.

"There is undeniably a factor of luck involved. Such is the world." He then added, "Of course, this is not written in stone. Even if someone awakens Wood Release, if they are useless in actual combat, the captain will retain their position. In the Shadow Guard, ranks are not fixed—they are decided by strength."

White Tiger listened silently, then nodded and said, "I will keep this in mind, Lord Uzukage."

After that, Shanks signaled to a few research doctors nearby and said to White Tiger, "Follow them. They will monitor you for the next two to three days. If everything remains normal, I will also check on you from time to time during this period. If there are no issues, you will be allowed to leave."

White Tiger nodded once more. Under the guidance of the doctors, he turned and left the room, the sound of his footsteps gradually fading away.

After White Tiger's departure, Guy finally spoke, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Onii-san, if we promote only those who can use Wood Release, it might cause dissatisfaction among those who have been injected with the super-shinobi serum. They could grow jealous… and that dissatisfaction might even lead to betrayal."

The room fell quiet as his concern lingered in the air.

Shanks nodded after hearing Guy's words and replied calmly, his voice steady and confident.

"You are absolutely right about this, Guy. But do you truly think I would do something as foolish as giving someone power without having control over them?"

His gaze swept across the room, briefly meeting the eyes of the Uzumaki siblings.

"In the end, I can only rest easy when I have control over someone who is not from our Uzumaki clan and to whom I am granting such power. Unless I have something binding them to us, I will never—ever—give that person this kind of strength."

He continued without hesitation.

"Every Shadow Guard who is injected with the super-shinobi serum will be marked by me. A seal will be placed directly inside their body. If they attempt to escape, we can immediately locate them and hunt them down. Or, more conveniently, I can forcibly teleport them back to our side if I choose to act myself."

A faint chill crept into the air as Shanks added, his tone unchanging,

"And if someone is teleported to my side after betraying us… do you truly believe they would be allowed to live?"

The moment the Uzumaki siblings heard these words, understanding dawned on their faces. They nodded almost instinctively, fully agreeing with Shanks. Yes, they were building a powerful force—an army of elite individuals—but that did not mean they would allow that power to exist without restraint or oversight.

They could place absolute trust only in their own clan. They were from Uzushiogakure, but that did not mean the clan would blindly trust every Shadow Guard or even every Uzushiogakure ninja. Control was necessary. A system that bound loyalty and prevented betrayal was required.

What Shanks had done was not cruelty—it was caution. And in the end, it was the correct choice, made in the best interest of the Uzumaki clan.

Shanks then turned toward Erza and said, "Erza, you handle the finances of our Uzushiogakure. According to your assessment, how many super-shinobi serums can we realistically inject? Or, in other words, how many super-shinobi can we create?"

As soon as Erza heard this, she began calculating almost instinctively. After a brief pause, she answered,

"Based on White Tiger's transformation and the preparation of all the necessary equipment and materials, Onii-san—and considering our current funds and financial flow—we can make around twenty at most, if we really stretch things. Possibly even fewer."

Hearing this, Shanks nodded thoughtfully.

"It can't be helped," he said. "I was planning to turn only the Shadow Guard—our most elite force in Uzushiogakure—into super-shinobi anyway. So even if we produce only twenty, that will suffice for now. And later, as Uzushiogakure grows and our financial reserves increase, this number can be expanded. I think this is good enough."

At that moment, Benimaru spoke up.

"Onii-san, but if only the Shadow Guard becomes super-shinobi, it could hinder the morale of our regular forces. It might even create dissatisfaction among the normal ninjas of Uzushiogakure. I think you should also consider selecting a few candidates from among the normal shinobi, outside of the Shadow Guard."

After hearing Benimaru's words, Shanks nodded in agreement.

"You're right," he said. "There needs to be a sense of achievement—and that only comes through competition." He paused briefly, then continued, "So how about this? If we can create twenty super-shinobi, five will be allocated to the normal shinobi, and fifteen will be allocated to the Shadow Guard."

He went on, his reasoning clear and deliberate.

"Ultimately, the Shadow Guard serves as the private force of our Uzumaki clan. They will handle the most dangerous missions and will remain fully under our control. They are the elite core of our ninja forces, so their strength is a necessity. As for the normal shinobi who serve in the Uzushiogakure police force and army, they mainly require elite leaders to guide them. Five should be more than sufficient."

Benimaru nodded after hearing this. The decision satisfied him as well. He was already strong, but he wanted his subordinates to grow stronger too—or at the very least, to become worthy of standing beside him.

And, if all the glory were to go only to the Shadow Guards, the outside world might develop the illusion that they alone were the true elite of Uzushiogakure, while the rest of its military forces were nothing more than nameless nobodies. That kind of perception would be detrimental to the morale of the normal shinobi of Uzushiogakure and could also lead to the Shadow Guards becoming arrogant and inflated.

There were many such intricacies to consider. From the perspective of an Uzukage—and with a long-term vision in mind—Shanks allocating five positions to the normal Uzushiogakure shinobi was the correct and balanced decision.

After settling that matter, Shanks turned his gaze toward Makima and asked,

"Makima, is there any major news? Anything important happening around the world?"

Makima replied calmly, "Nothing that should concern you, Onii-san, or Uzushiogakure as a whole. However, there is one matter that could be considered noteworthy." She paused briefly before continuing. "One of the Sannin, Tsunade, has returned to Konoha at the request of the Fourth Hokage. It seems to be related to research involving Hashirama cells."

Shanks listened quietly, his expression unchanged as he absorbed the information.

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