Chapter 142 : To Be A Hokage Guard
Not long after Jiraiya left, Riku stood quietly in the sunlight, turning the necklace over in his hand. As he was lost in thought, Tsunade suddenly appeared.
She stood before him, face calm. Riku glanced up, smiled faintly, and said, "You’re up early. I thought you wouldn’t get up until noon."
He set the necklace down and looked at her.
Tsunade remained where she was, expression unreadable. It wasn’t her usual kind of calm—there was something off about it. Yet Riku was just as composed, showing no sign of discomfort.
Time passed in silence.
Eventually, Tsunade stepped forward and picked up the necklace, as if to place it around his neck.
But Riku turned his head away and smiled. "I don’t want it anymore. I don’t think I’m qualified to wear it."
Tsunade paused, then sat down across from him and returned the necklace to his hand.
She hadn’t said a single word since appearing. The silence was unusual—but Riku didn’t seem to mind.
Outwardly, he looked completely calm. Inwardly, though, he was anything but.
What had happened the night before still lingered vividly in his mind. Even if it was over now, it wasn’t something he could easily forget.
Tsunade had lived for many years, and it was likely that no one had ever treated her the way Riku did last night—not even Kato Dan had crossed that boundary.
She sat across from him now, watching him quietly. After a while, Riku couldn’t take the silence anymore.
He smiled. "What’s the matter, Lady Tsunade? Something bothering you today?"
Tsunade’s gaze didn’t waver. She looked him dead in the eyes and said seriously, "You’re an asshole."
Had she said this on any other day, Riku might have argued back. But today, he only smiled and said nothing. He was already feeling guilty.
Tsunade continued coldly, "I never imagined someone your age would dare do something like that. When Jiraiya even hinted at trying, I nearly beat him to death."
Still, Riku stayed quiet.
"Even Dan never dared go that far with me. Don’t you feel any shame at all?"
Riku leaned back in his chair, letting her say whatever she wanted. In his mind, he still believed he had shown restraint.
Yes, things had gotten out of hand the night before—but Tsunade hadn’t stopped him, either.
They were both at fault.
And in the final moment, he had pulled back. He hadn’t crossed that last line with her.
Considering how stunning Tsunade was, he thought that showed remarkable self-control.
He doubted even Kato Dan could have held himself back under the same circumstances.
He was confident in that, at least.
Tsunade, however, was frustrated. Riku didn’t look the least bit guilty—if anything, he seemed calm. Too calm.
Her eyes narrowed. "What, you think just because I’m fifty, I don’t deserve any respect?"
Riku paused, then met her gaze and replied, "I just think... we can forget about it. No one else knows, and I didn’t actually go through with it. I didn’t force anything last night."
"Besides, you share a lot of the blame, don’t you, Lady Tsunade?"
She stared at him silently.
True, they’d crossed lines—but technically, it had only gone as far as touching and embracing.
But Riku? He had done nearly everything short of the final act.
Luckily, in the end, reason had triumphed over desire. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be sitting here so calmly.
Back when he left her room, Tsunade had already begun sobering up. In truth, she had been fairly clear-headed by then. But the lingering effects of the alcohol, coupled with her already growing fondness for Riku, had pushed things in that direction.
As he turned to leave, she had handed him her most treasured possession: the necklace.
Tsunade blamed herself. She had let herself get too close to a boy who was only thirteen years old.
But much of her confusion stemmed from the genjutsu Riku had used earlier.
That illusion... it had felt too real.
Seeing Riku die at the hands of Orochimaru to protect her—it had shaken her. She didn’t want that future to become reality.
Their relationship had been close even before, but after that illusion, Tsunade couldn’t help but start seeing Riku as someone irreplaceable.
After a long silence, she finally spoke again. "I don’t care what happened last night. But when we get to Konoha... I want you to be my personal guard."
Riku blinked. "Hokage’s guard? Isn’t that kind of inappropriate? I’m just a Genin."
Tsunade’s voice was calm. "You don’t want to?"
Truthfully, Riku didn’t. He was already embarrassed enough. Seeing Tsunade every day would just make it worse.
Even now, though he looked composed on the outside, he felt awkward around her.
Every time he looked at her, the memory of last night flashed in his mind. And with it came thoughts he didn’t want to entertain.
If he stayed by her side every day... he might one day do something truly irreversible.
He didn’t care about the age gap—Tsunade could be his grandmother, and yet they’d had... that kind of moment. The whole situation was deeply uncomfortable.
He forced a smile. "It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just... by the village rules, a Genin can’t serve as the Hokage’s personal guard. At the very least, you’d need to be a Jonin."
But Tsunade chuckled. "That’s not a problem. Once I’m Hokage, I’ll have the authority to appoint my own guards. I can promote you to Jonin myself. Your strength is more than enough. You participated in the Chūnin Exams, didn’t you?"
"Based on your performance, promotion to Chūnin is inevitable. And with just a bit more on paper, I could promote you to Jonin."
"All I’d have to do is assign you three S-rank jutsu, and no one would object."
The truth was, Jonin qualifications weren’t standardized.
Some shinobi had completed numerous S-rank missions yet remained Special Jonin or even Chūnin.
Others were promoted to Jonin after completing just one or two high-risk assignments.
Take Neji, for instance—he had only completed two missions before receiving his promotion.
It was Tsunade’s judgment that ultimately decided it.
Even Temari had mentioned she’d become a Jonin soon, once she had a few more missions under her belt.
Given Riku’s strength, he didn’t even need to take on extra assignments. Just completing a single S-rank mission could earn him the title.
And he had just finished one recently.
Promoting Riku to Jonin, in the end, was as simple as Tsunade saying the word.
But for Riku, that wasn’t the issue. He could become Jonin whenever he wanted—he just had to complete more missions after graduation.
He sighed and gave her a wry smile. "Why do you want me to be your guard so badly? I really don’t think I’m the right person for it."
Tsunade didn’t reply. She just continued to look at him, steady and unreadable.
After a moment, Riku gave in.
"Fine. Do whatever you want. Being a Hokage’s guard doesn’t sound like that much work anyway."
Tsunade finally smiled.
"Don’t worry," she said. "You won’t have to do anything unless it’s truly important."
She knew how strong Riku was. As long as he stepped in during a true crisis, that would be enough.
But the real reason she wanted him close... that was something only she understood.
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