I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 293 When no praiseworthy qualities can be found, one can say that his spirit is commendable.

"Good, you did a great job on this. The suggestions you gave to the Uchiha were also very good. It just so happens that Danzo is very familiar with this area. Cough cough, he has studied and researched it."

If it really comes to that, I will make the necessary arrangements.

The next day, inside the Hokage Building, after listening to Tatsuma's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi showed a satisfied smile. He had ascertained Fugaku Uchiha's attitude and bottom line, and had even provided multiple plans and backups. How could Hiruzen Sarutobi not be satisfied?

Tatsuma secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had still done some things beyond his authority, and if Hiruzen Sarutobi was dissatisfied and caused trouble because of it, there was nothing he could do.

Fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't mind Tatsuma's slight overstepping of his bounds; it was simply a test for him.

Among the middle generation, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't find anyone who could truly shoulder the responsibility of Konoha, but among the new generation, he discovered Tatsuma, a gem.

When he determined that there was no one more suitable than Tatsuma in his generation, he began to groom Tatsuma as the future Kage, after all, the boy's vision and ambition were far greater than his own.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not object to Tatsuma's contact with and friendship with the ninja clans. If it weren't for the fact that his two sons were still somewhat distant from Tatsuma's social circle, he would have wanted his two sons to join in as well.

After all, if we take the Kage as a premise, a Kage from a ninja clan should be close to ordinary people. This is what Hiruzen Sarutobi and the previous two Hokage did.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, needs no introduction. He established Konoha Village, providing a stable home for countless honest commoners during the Warring States period. Coupled with his innate personality, there was no one among the commoners who did not support him.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had a different personality from Hashirama Senju, making it difficult for him to get close to others or make them feel kindness.

Therefore, Tobirama Senju chose a roundabout approach, establishing facilities and measures to benefit the people of Konoha, such as the Konoha Ninja Academy, Konoha Hospital, and Konoha Welfare Home.

Hashirama Senju provided safety for the common people, while Tobirama Senju offered them stability and a path to advancement. This is why the two brothers are still remembered by Konoha after so many years.

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, he admitted that he was not as naturally approachable or charismatic as the First Hokage, nor as good at planning for people's livelihood as the Second Hokage. However, he was fortunate to have more time than the two of them to gradually imprint his approachable image in the hearts of the people of Konoha.

This is what a Kage born into a ninja clan should do. Conversely, a Kage born into a commoner clan must win over the ninja clan. Being born into a commoner clan means lacking foundation and confidence, and one person's words are unlikely to convince the masses.

Therefore, a Shadow from a commoner background needs to seek external support to increase the weight of his voice.

Tatsuma was born into a commoner family, and among commoners, he was an extremely "poor" orphan. Therefore, he needed a lot of help to qualify to become a Kage.

In this regard, the Senju clan provided Tatsuma with the greatest assistance. Whether it was Tsunade taking Tatsuma as her disciple or later, under Mito Uzumaki's arrangement, Tatsuma became Tobirama Senju's successor and a symbol of the Senju clan similar to Tsunade, both of these provided Tatsuma with a solid foundation.

However, the decline of the Senju clan was inevitable, and now that the Senju clan no longer exists, Tatsuma's efforts were insufficient, and he needed more support.

Aside from the high regard of his elders, Tatsuma's social skills are also quite interesting. He is able to manage the friendships between the Uchiha and Hyuga clans simultaneously, and even create a certain bond between them.

Meanwhile, his interactions with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were cultivated long before Tatsuma showed this potential. The seemingly never-before-handled learning and creation platform was constantly creating social possibilities for him.

Especially this learning and innovation platform. When Tatsuma first proposed the idea, only those ninja clans or descendants of ninjas joined.

However, with the development over the past few years, the learning and innovation platform has undergone another transformation. One part has become a social venue for ninja clans and elite ninjas, while the other part has become a platform for students from impoverished families to realize their value.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had previously considered establishing scholarships if the economy were more prosperous after the war, but the development of the academic innovation platform directly replaced scholarships.

Those ninja academy students from commoner backgrounds, who originally lacked the inheritance of ninja skills, were able to learn how to make products that have long been in demand in the market, such as soldier pills, explosive tags, and sealing scrolls, through the learning and innovation platform.

Many ordinary students have earned their living expenses as a result, and some have even started to subsidize their families.

This development was initiated by the second person in charge of the learning and innovation platform, and also by Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the eldest son of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

But when these people talk about learning and innovation platforms, what they remember most is Chenma, the one who proposed the idea, or rather, the one who created it. Shin-chan, who actually put money into it, became second.

Hiruzen Sarutobi can already foresee what kind of help the learning and innovation platform will bring to Tatsuma after ten or fifteen years of development.

All of this happened right under Hiruzen Sarutobi's nose, and not only did he not stop it, he even seemed to enjoy it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was certain that with Tatsuma's talent and abilities, he could definitely become the Kage everyone expected under the current circumstances; his only concern was that Tatsuma would become a mere mascot.

He had considered some solutions, but upon reviewing them, he realized that Chenma didn't need his help or assistance at all. Chenma was truly capable of solving the problem, and it was already taking shape.

Tatsuma had no idea what Hiruzen Sarutobi was thinking during his reflections; he simply followed the proper procedure and asked, "Hokage-sama, when do you think we should agree to the next gathering?"

"There's no rush. I met Uchiha Taku a while ago, and he's in very good health. That's why I can't understand why he handed over the position of clan leader to Fugaku so early."

However, it's in his style to plan ahead. Perhaps the real handover of the clan leader's position will take some time. A year and a half is not short, and three to five years is not long.

For at least six months, you won't need to respond to the Uchiha. If they invite you, just decline with the excuse of a mission. Then, talk to Tianfeng about it, especially after he becomes your subordinate.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's final words were essentially an agreement to let Tenka join the Anbu. His words would at least save Tenka three months of vetting.

Chenma didn't say much or ask any questions. He didn't have to work and even got a little preferential treatment. He could just accept this benefit secretly and there was no need to pry.

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Seeing that Tatsuma hadn't overly asserted himself despite his leading role in the incident, and hadn't questioned his opinions or suggestions in the slightest, Hiruzen Sarutobi was even more satisfied. He nodded and asked:

"By the way, how long do you plan to rest this holiday? I'm not urging you to work, but if you have enough time, I can make some arrangements to have Tianfeng join your team as soon as possible."

"Adapt to life in the shadows beforehand, and begin investigating him. After all, keeping Tianfeng by your side is in the best interest of the village."

Since Hiruzen Sarutobi had already spoken, Tatsuma naturally wouldn't be so tactless as to say something like "I love going to work." He nodded and said, "Perfect timing. Senior Unno Ikkaku invited me to his son's first meal."

It's expected that it will be about another week before we can continue with the covert operations. Hopefully, this won't delay the village's plans.

"If you calculate it that way, you've only rested for two weeks. The number of people besieging you is longer than the number of days of your vacation. Take another week off."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand and gave Tatsuma another week off. After all, Tatsuma had been working tirelessly for the village for the past week, and he couldn't let the village's future suffer.

Tatsuma nodded. With an extra week, he could give Tenka more time for special training. In addition to the onboarding assessment, he also needed to train Tenka on the functions and tasks that Shimura Kazuhiko had previously performed.

At the same time, you can also use this time to hone your genjutsu. Even if you can't make much progress in terms of talent, it's still necessary to understand the genjutsu of the Uchiha clan.

After all, he was planning to scam the Uchiha clan. If a few Uchiha members found out the truth and started targeting him, he would have more information and be better able to respond.

Compared to the past week, Chenma's life for the next two weeks finally felt a bit like a vacation.

Although his days were packed with training and study, he was at least relatively relaxed. Tatsuma also attended Iruka's first meal and gave him some toys.

His relationship with Unno Ikkaku was not deep, and there was a significant age gap between them, so they did not have any in-depth exchanges; it was just a routine exchange of gifts.

On the second-to-last day of the holiday, Tianfeng's special approval was finally granted. Theoretically, with Hiruzen Sarutobi speaking up, it could have been approved much faster, even the day after he spoke.

However, some formalities are still necessary. Tianfeng's file contains a lot of supplementary information, including a letter of recommendation from Uchiha Takumi and various documents related to the special approval process.

His onboarding assessment was conducted personally by Sakumo Hatake, but it was a lenient one. After Sakumo Hatake repeatedly gave him the runaround, Tenka finally proved his worth by defeating one of Sakumo Hatake's shadow clones.

His profile states that Sakumo Hatake, the examiner, described him as follows: "This ninja is determined, indomitable, and possesses a spirit of perseverance that never gives up until the goal is achieved. He is hereby approved."

This was the first time Tatsuma had learned that there would be such comments in his onboarding assessment file. He asked Sakumo Hatake to let him see the comments he had received back then.

Tatsuma's examiner was Yuhi Shinku, and his comment was, "He defeated me. If I don't hire him, I'll have no face to stay in the Anbu any longer."

"Haha, I reviewed the comments for all three squad leaders. They didn't give those template-based evaluations. However, the files I was the examiner for have to be submitted to the Hokage for review, so I have to be serious."

Seeing the complicated look on Tatsuma's face, Sakumo Hatake still offered an explanation.

After leaving the archives, Tianfeng selected his mask and equipment. He chose almost every piece of equipment he could get: a long ninja sword, a short ninja sword, knuckle dusters, and inlaid gauntlets. He also had two jitte swords tucked into his waistband.

Even the arm guards were made with serrated edges, and he was carrying a set of wireless equipment. His pockets were also bulging. He didn't look like someone who was here to start a new job; he looked like someone who was moving house.

As for the mask, Tianfeng chose a badger mask with ribbons around the eyes, codenamed "Cave Bear".

"How was it? Pretty cool, right?! I'm ready for the mission!"

(End of this chapter)