On the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.
The conversation between the two humans and one slug on the tall earth wall was finally winding down.
"Taiichi the Sage, as a newly born sage, I look forward to the day you fully come into your power. The shinobi world is small, but the world beyond is vast. As your summoner, I truly hope we can explore it together one day."
If it had been anyone else, they might have taken it as a simple blessing. But Taiichi, who had some understanding of the shinobi world's deeper history, caught the different meaning behind the words.
It seemed Katsuyu had been cooped up in Shikkotsu Forest for too long—either out of boredom or a desire to go further. She wanted to explore the world outside.
That was why she had even used the title "Taiichi the Sage."
"Katsuyu the Sage, I look forward to that day too. Exploring a much wider world."
Taiichi gave a clear, affirmative answer. Whether Katsuyu truly had those intentions or not, it was his own genuine hope.
Katsuyu had already left. Only Tsunade and Taiichi remained on the earth wall.
"Why do I feel like the last thing you two said was hinting at something? Taiichi the Sage?"
Tsunade was still pretty sharp. Even if she hadn't caught it in the moment, thinking back on it now made her realize there had been more to their words than met the eye.
"Haha, you just figured that out, Sensei?"
Taiichi looked at Tsunade's slightly confused expression and couldn't help laughing. But under her iron fist, he quickly backed down and behaved.
Rubbing the spot on his head that had taken another hit, he explained, "The shinobi world really is small. At my full speed, I could fly from the northernmost part of the Land of Lightning to the southernmost part of the Land of Wind in less than a day. That's not even counting Flying Thunder God."
Taiichi stood on the earth wall, facing the sea breeze, and looked up at the sky.
"But is this world really just the shinobi world? I'm guessing Katsuyu feels the same way. She's lived for over a thousand years. Even the most interesting things get boring after a while. If there's a chance, I want to explore what's out there. For example… what's it like on the moon?"
Tsunade had no words. She was genuinely moved by Taiichi's grand vision. He wasn't limiting himself to the village or even the shinobi world—he was looking beyond.
After a long moment, Tsunade patted him on the shoulder. "Go ahead and do what you want. Sensei supports you."
Taiichi turned and gave her a bright smile. "Sensei, when the time comes, I'll take you with me!"
Tsunade looked at his radiant smile and smiled back. "Then I'll have to thank you in advance, Taiichi the Sage!"
By the time Tsunade and Taiichi returned to camp, it was almost noon.
They had barely appeared when Nara Fumio came rushing over like a cat that had smelled fish. If another shinobi hadn't already told him that Tsunade had left with Taiichi using Flying Thunder God, he probably would have sent people out to search for their commander.
"Tsunade-sama, you're finally back! There's still a huge stack of documents waiting for your approval before they can be issued and executed. You can't keep disappearing on us like this!"
Taiichi's ears perked up. That sounded interesting. So Tsunade had done this more than once. It seemed she had ditched her staff officers and run off multiple times.
She was already lazy enough, dumping everything on her staff. Now she was also repeatedly going missing when things needed doing. No wonder Nara Fumio was complaining in front of everyone.
"Ah, ah, Fumio, let's talk nicely!"
Tsunade quickly stopped Nara Fumio before he could keep complaining and dragged him toward the main command tent.
"Come on, come on. Let's go to the main command tent right now. Aren't there still a lot of things to handle there?"
Nara Fumio hadn't even figured out what was going on before he was being pulled along, stumbling forward. For the moment, he forgot to keep complaining.
The two of them had only walked a short distance when they ran into someone coming the other way—Uchiha Fugaku, who had heard the commotion and come to see what was happening.
Tsunade had just learned from Katsuyu that the Senju and Uchiha actually shared the same ancestor. Seeing Fugaku so suddenly made her feel a little awkward.
Was this her grandson's generation or her grandfather's generation? Everything was messed up now.
"Oh, Fugaku. Good morning. Have you eaten yet?"
She blurted out some completely random words and then dragged Nara Fumio away at top speed back to the main command tent.
Uchiha Fugaku looked up at the sky with a completely confused expression. He confirmed that it was already noon and couldn't figure out what Tsunade was playing at.
Still, she had seemed noticeably more friendly toward him just now.
Fugaku was still wondering if it was just his imagination when Taiichi strolled over.
"What's wrong? Spacing out?" Taiichi greeted him.
Fugaku turned to look in the direction Tsunade had left and spoke with obvious hesitation. "Tsunade-sama… she seemed a little different?"
Taiichi paused for a second, then quickly understood. He held back a laugh and nodded seriously. "She really is different. The more you know, the more absurd this world feels."
Fugaku looked at Taiichi in surprise. He didn't fully understand the deeper meaning behind Taiichi's words, but it sounded very profound.
The two of them walked off together with their arms around each other's shoulders, heading out of camp. No one knew exactly what they were going to do, but every now and then, the distant sounds of ninjutsu explosions could be heard—like they were sparring with each other.
The next day, the village's commendation order finally arrived at the front-line camp, escorted by an ANBU shinobi.
The news spread quickly—one person told ten, ten told a hundred. Before the ANBU shinobi even reached the main command tent, the entire camp already knew.
Everyone looked happy and excited. After all, they had fought a major battle. Even though Mist hadn't officially surrendered yet, anyone with eyes could tell that Mist wouldn't be attacking Konoha again.
In their minds, the fight with Mist was already over.
Before the war, they had been ready to die for the village. Now not only were they still alive and well, but they also had a huge amount of merit to claim. Of course they were happy.
All the jonin currently in camp rushed to the main command tent, arriving around the same time as the ANBU shinobi.
Tsunade looked at the crowd gathered outside and smiled knowingly. She understood exactly why they were here—they wanted to know what kind of rewards the village was giving out as soon as possible.
"Come on in. What are you all doing crowding outside like that?"
With a whoosh, the main command tent—which had seemed fairly spacious before—suddenly felt cramped once more than twenty jonin squeezed inside.
Tsunade swept her gaze over everyone. She saw that nearly everyone had come and didn't mind.
She looked at the cat-masked ANBU shinobi who had brought the message. "Go ahead and read it. Let everyone hear. They've all been waiting for this."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
The cat-masked shinobi answered decisively without any delay. He took out the scroll from his tool pouch, broke the seal in front of everyone, and began reading it aloud.
"In the forty-seventh year of Konoha, as winter approaches, the forces of Hidden Mist crossed the border with thunderous momentum. In this time of crisis, we, the shinobi of Konoha, upholding the Will of Fire, used our flesh as shields and our ninjutsu as blades. After a hundred days of fierce battle against the enemy, we finally achieved victory—"
The opening was a long string of praise. No one felt it was long-winded or annoying. If anything, they wished there was even more.
But even the longest praise eventually ended. Soon, the actual rewards came.
"To recognize these achievements and boost morale, after discussion by Root and confirmation by the Third Hokage, the following commendations are hereby issued."
At this point, quite a few sharp-eared jonin already sensed something was off. Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced at the cat-masked shinobi. This guy is from Root?
"First, posthumously honor all shinobi who sacrificed their lives in this battle as 'Heroes of Konoha.' Their names shall be engraved on the Memorial Stone—"
"Second, commend all participating shinobi—"
"Third, commend all levels of commanders and squad leaders—"
"Fourth, commend individuals who performed exceptionally in battle, including Matsushita Taiichi, Might Dai, and others—"
"May the Will of Fire rise like the sun, illuminating the ages. May the name of Konoha spread with the wind to all corners of the world!
This commendation is hereby issued and announced to the entire army."
Up to this point, everything was fine. The commendation order gave comprehensive rewards—from the dead to the living, from regular members to commanders. The scale was generous. The village had clearly put real effort into it. Everyone was satisfied.
But things rarely went exactly the way people wanted. The cat-masked shinobi hadn't finished reading yet.
"Additionally, upon the issuance of this order, Matsushita Taiichi is to immediately return to Konoha accompanied by the messenger shinobi. The village has other arrangements for him."
The once-cheerful atmosphere in the main command tent instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at the cat-masked shinobi who had finished reading, their eyes filled with unreadable light.
If you wanted to say there was something wrong with this order… there really wasn't.
The village recalling a jonin to carry out a mission was completely normal.
But at this timing, in this location, and especially because it was tucked inside the commendation order, it felt very out of place.
It was almost like they were afraid Taiichi wouldn't accept the order.
Especially since this commendation order had been drafted by Root. Shouldn't commendation orders be drafted by the Hokage's office? When did Root start handling things like this?
Tsunade looked at the silent crowd, then at the cat-masked shinobi, and raised her hand to beckon him over.
The cat-masked shinobi tactfully handed her the scroll.
Tsunade took it and carefully examined the material and the various secret markings. At the same time, she asked casually, "Who's the current leader of Root now?"
"It's Lord Homura Mitokado."
The cat-masked shinobi answered cleanly. After all, it wasn't a secret. Any jonin had the right to know.
Tsunade was still checking the scroll. "How come this commendation order was drafted by Root? Since when does Root handle things like this?"
"I don't know."
The cat-masked shinobi's answer was just as clean as before.
By now, Tsunade had finished examining the scroll. Everything looked normal. But then again, even if it was fake, Root had the ability to make it look real.
The most important part of the scroll was the Third Hokage's signature. That was the part that was truly difficult to forge.
She put the scroll down and looked up at the cat-masked ANBU again. "Did the Hokage have any special instructions?"
"No."
Same Root-style answer as always.
Tsunade knew she wouldn't get any useful information out of this Root shinobi. She waved her hand to dismiss him.
To her surprise, the Root shinobi didn't move. This only made Tsunade, who was already annoyed, even more irritated.
"What? Is there something else?"
"Tsunade-sama, according to orders, I am to accompany Matsushita Taiichi back to Konoha without delay."
This time, Tsunade didn't even need to speak. Every jonin in the room looked displeased.
What the hell was this? An escort?
Taiichi wasn't a criminal. The previous order could still be passed off as a normal personnel transfer. But now? They actually wanted a Root member to "accompany" him back to Konoha?
Everyone knew what Root was like. There had already been rumors about them attacking fellow Konoha shinobi—and the target had been Taiichi's teammate.
"Cat Face, what exactly do you mean by this? Is this how Root treats a hero from the front lines?"
Once one person spoke up, others followed.
"Homura Mitokado, huh? He thinks he can act like this just because he's the head of Root?"
"Tsunade-sama, let's go talk to the Hokage. Did the Hokage actually approve this?"
Seeing everyone getting more and more worked up, Tsunade knew it was time to step in. She raised her hand to signal everyone to calm down, then spoke loudly.
"Where's Taiichi? Has he arrived yet? If not, go get him!"
Everyone looked around and only then realized that the main person they were talking about wasn't even in the tent.
"I'll go find him!"
Hyuga Hiashi stood up at that moment. Out of everyone here, he was the one who could bring Taiichi back the fastest.
As Hiashi left, the tent fell into silence. No one spoke, and no one left. Everyone was waiting for the outcome.
This was clearly the village's old guard trying to use this chance to suppress Taiichi, the village's rising star. The only question was how Taiichi would react when he got here.
The cat-masked shinobi was starting to feel uneasy. He had thought this was just a normal messenger mission—at most he would accompany Matsushita Taiichi back to Konoha. He hadn't expected this much drama.
Judging by how angry everyone looked, he might not even be able to leave today.
While everyone was waiting anxiously, Hiashi, who had gone out, found Taiichi outside the camp.
At that moment, Taiichi was training his taijutsu on the training ground. Even though entering Sage Mode would gradually strengthen his body, taijutsu training wasn't just about physical reinforcement.
It also included body coordination, muscle memory, the flow between techniques, and—most importantly—fully developing the physical body in every way.
So whenever Taiichi had time, he trained his taijutsu. Rain or shine, he never stopped.
Taiichi had already sensed Hiashi's arrival. But since Hiashi didn't interrupt him, he continued his forms until he finished the entire set before turning around.
"Hyuga clan head, did you need something?"
Hiashi came back to himself after watching Taiichi's movements and blurted out the question on his mind.
"Taiichi, that set of movements… it seems to have some similarities to our Hyuga Gentle Fist."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how rude he had been. Watching someone train without permission was already impolite. Asking about it directly was even worse.
This was prying into someone else's training secrets. It was the kind of thing that made enemies.
"This is something I saw in an old book a long time ago. I made some adjustments to it myself. There are indeed some similarities to the Gentle Fist style."
Taiichi lied without hesitation. Of course he couldn't tell Hiashi that this was a taijutsu style deduced by his panel. He could only push it onto an old book. Besides, it wasn't copied from the Hyuga Gentle Fist, so he wasn't worried.
Hiashi had only spoken out of turn earlier. He naturally wouldn't press the issue. He explained why he had come and waited for Taiichi's reaction.
"Homura Mitokado again, and Root too. They really are like ghosts that won't go away. Even after Danzo died, this organization still has successors."
Taiichi muttered under his breath without any concern that Hiashi might hear. He had the confidence now. Even if the entire village knew he had bad blood with Root, he wasn't afraid anymore.
"Let's go. We'll go meet this Root shinobi and see what kind of expert they sent to 'accompany' me back to Konoha."
Watching Taiichi's fearless, head-on attitude, Hiashi opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.
He had originally wanted to advise Taiichi to keep the peace and give the elder some face. But now he decided against it.