"He's fine. Sarutobi Hiruzen has been very cooperative and is still living a comfortable life. He has only been stripped of the authority to gather jonin and participate in high-level meetings.", Obito lowered his head and reported calmly.
Uchiha Izuna finally relaxed and slowly nodded.
"That's good. That's good."
What he feared most was his students killing each other for power.
For Sarutobi Hiruzen to step down peacefully like this was already the best outcome.
At least he hadn't ended up dying in office.
"Heh..."
Senju Tobirama calmly guessed, "It seems Madara and I have successors after all."
"If I'm not mistaken, that junior called Danzo is eager to clear Madara's and my names not because of admiration. It feels more like he's laying the groundwork for a future war."
Obito nodded slightly.
"We currently have limited intelligence, so we can't reach a definite conclusion yet... But according to reports from the front lines, the Sixth Hokage Danzo is indeed secretly mobilizing troops. The signs of preparing for war are very obvious."
After those words, everyone fell silent.
The corner of Uchiha Madara's mouth curved upward.
'War?'
'Perfect timing.'
The grand plan he had been preparing for so long just happened to be missing a supervisor capable of keeping everything under control.
The problem was that there was still no suitable candidate.
———
"No, I have to go take a look!"
Kushina seemed to hear a few suppressed, strange-sounding noises coming from the house. The movements of the two inside seemed to be getting bigger and bigger...
Growing anxious, she immediately ran toward the kitchen.
"Kushina, I'd advise you not to go.", Kurama suddenly spoke.
Kushina froze, "Little Nine, why?"
Kurama crossed his arms.
"Just don't go."
But Kushina didn't listen.
By the time she pushed open the kitchen door while panting for breath, everything inside had already calmed down.
A sweet smell of baked butter filled the air.
Mixed within it was a faint lingering sense of intimacy that was hard to describe.
Arisu stood with his back to her, calmly tending to the cakes in the oven.
As for Lady Tsunade, she was nowhere to be seen. Only the sound of running water came from behind the frosted glass door of the bathroom.
"Huh? Kushina, why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen?"
Hearing the noise, Arisu turned around and asked with a gentle smile.
"Teacher, I... I thought I heard..."
Kushina blinked and scratched her head in confusion.
'How strange.'
She was sure she had heard Lady Tsunade's voice just now. Why was Teacher the only one here when she came in?
Had Lady Tsunade been taking a bath the whole time?
Why would she be bathing so early in the morning?
"Alright. If nothing's wrong, go call Minato and the others inside."
Arisu reached out and rubbed her hair. His tone was so natural that it was as if nothing had happened.
Although Kushina was still full of doubts, seeing how open and calm her teacher looked, she could only swallow her questions and obediently nod before running off.
———
After taking office, Danzo began reforming the village, eliminating opposition, and preparing for the Third Great Ninja War.
At the same time, he secretly sent Orochimaru out.
His goal was to target Kumogakure's Jinchuriki.
And he succeeded.
Orochimaru successfully caused the Eight-Tails to go berserk, creating enormous destruction in Kumogakure.
The Kumogakure ninja who had been preparing for action along the border immediately withdrew back to the village after the death of their Jinchuriki.
The border crisis was resolved as a result.
However, nobody knew Konoha was responsible.
Everyone believed it was an accident, and with Blue B dead, there was no evidence left behind.
Orochimaru activates the Eight-Tails.
———
[Inside Konoha]
Arisu was reading the newspaper. When he saw the report about the death of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, he could tell that Konoha was probably behind it.
A Strength of a Hundred Seal had also appeared on his forehead.
There was actually no need for it because Arisu himself would never age or die.
But seeing that Hatake Sakumo, who was the same age as him, already had wrinkles, Arisu still added it to avoid making people suspicious.
———
[Outside Konoha Ninja Academy]
Arisu and Tsunade happened to be passing by.
Today was the academy entrance day, and the place was packed with people.
"How nostalgic..."
Arisu sighed as he looked at the academy.
"You're nostalgic about your academy days?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
Arisu smiled but did not answer.
It wasn't the academy itself that he missed.
What he missed was giving a speech there years ago.
Back then, he had still been the First Hokage.
He remembered Danzo asking him about the secret to success.
———
Time really passed fast...
Before he knew it, they had already reached this era.
"Yo! Arisu, you're here too."
Hatake Sakumo walked over while holding Kakashi's hand.
Arisu glanced at Kakashi and smiled.
"He's grown so much. He's reached the age to enter the academy."
Sakumo patted Kakashi's head.
"Hurry up and greet Uncle Arisu. Your name was chosen by Uncle Arisu, you know."
Kakashi obediently said, "Hello, Uncle Arisu."
"And this is Princess Tsunade, Uncle Arisu's wife."
Sakumo introduced her as well.
"Hello, Aunt Tsunade!"
Kakashi greeted obediently.
Looking at the two of them, Kakashi couldn't understand.
Were they really the same age as his father?
His father was already showing signs of age, while these two looked like a young couple walking down the street.
Arisu nodded.
"Mhm."
Tsunade also nodded lightly.
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived with a pipe in his mouth.
"Fifth Hokage, long time no see."
Arisu greeted him with a smile.
Hiruzen smiled and nodded as he looked at Arisu and Tsunade.
"I'm here to bring my son."
Tsunade's eyes widened.
"Old man, what son? Isn't your son Sarutobi Shinnosuke already a jonin?"
A flicker appeared in Arisu's eyes as he looked at the child standing behind Hiruzen.
Sarutobi Asuma.
Hiruzen's face turned red.
"Well, I haven't had much to do these past few years, so Biwako and I... I didn't expect to have a child at this age!"
Shock appeared on Tsunade's face.
"Are you sure the kid is yours? You can still have children?"
Straightforward as always, Tsunade said exactly what she was thinking.
Awkward expressions appeared on Sakumo's and Arisu's faces.
Hiruzen's face darkened.
"Tsunade, what kind of question is that? Of course he's my biological son!"
Tsunade also felt that what she said might have hurt her teacher's feelings, so she simply laughed awkwardly and let the matter pass.
Hiruzen wasn't particularly angry.
After all, it was Tsunade. She had always been straightforward and irritated him like this since she was young.
"Alright, the academy entrance ceremony is about to start. Let's go in."
Sakumo patted Kakashi's shoulder.
Very soon, Arisu saw many familiar faces.
Such as Kurenai Yuhi, Nohara Rin, Might Guy, Moonlight Hayate, and Shiranui...
"Huh? Why don't I see Obito?"
Arisu looked slightly puzzled.
'Oh, right.'
Uchiha Obito had apparently been late even for the entrance ceremony. Naturally, he wasn't here yet.