Hidden Rain Village, Land of Rain.
Konan, who had just finished breakfast, heard a knock at the door. She stood up, walked over, and opened it.
"What is it?" Konan asked expressionlessly, her gaze landing on the White Zetsu standing before her.
"Two major events occurred in Konoha Village yesterday." White Zetsu took out a scroll and continued, "All the details are recorded inside."
Konan nodded.
After she accepted the scroll, White Zetsu sank into the ground and vanished.
Konan casually unfurled the scroll. After glancing through it, a trace of surprise surfaced on her face.
The first event concerned the graduation exam and team assignments of the Genius Class.
In particular, the battle between Sasuke and Naruto was recorded in remarkable detail.
"Awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan and using Tailed Beast Transformation at only eleven or twelve years old?" Konan murmured softly. "As expected of his student."
She was unaware of the so-called Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and thus mistook it for a Tailed Beast Transformation.
Konan continued reading. When she reached the second event, her expression stilled completely.
The second event stated that Kitazawa would assume the position of Sixth Hokage next Monday.
Konan subconsciously tightened her grip on the scroll.
Kitazawa becoming the Sixth Hokage meant that his fate would be inseparably bound to Konoha Village.
Even with the Flying Thunder God Technique, he would never abandon the village and flee alone.
Now, the only remaining hope lay in the meeting between Kitazawa and Nagato.
Although she did not know what Kitazawa intended to do, she had no choice but to trust him.
Konan rolled up the scroll and headed toward the high tower where Deva Path Pain resided.
Ascending the stairs, she soon arrived before Deva Path Pain.
"This is the latest intelligence from Konoha Village." She handed him the scroll.
Deva Path Pain opened it and began reading.
"According to this information, Naruto and Sasuke already possess strength comparable to Kage-level," Konan spoke after he finished.
"It doesn't matter." Deva Path Pain understood her implication, yet replied in a flat tone, "Before a god, they cannot stir any waves."
In his eyes, the Mangekyo Sharingan and Partial Tailed Beast Transformation posed no threat.
After all, he possessed the Rinnegan.
The Rinnegan was the legendary dōjutsu of the Sage of Six Paths—an eye that transcended the Mangekyo Sharingan.
As for Partial and Full Tailed Beast Transformations, he had encountered both.
They were completely inferior to the Rinnegan.
Even though Naruto housed the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails, its historical record was far from impressive.
For instance, Uchiha Madara had controlled the Nine-Tails on multiple occasions.
Moreover, Nagato possessed the Gedo Mazo.
Having absorbed seven Tailed Beasts, the Gedo Mazo had recovered most of its combat strength and could be regarded as the strongest summoning in the Ninja World.
Ultimately, Nagato's judgment was limited by a lack of intelligence.
But that was normal. Nine-Tails Chakra Mode had only ever appeared in Naruto.
Neither Uzumaki Mito nor Uzumaki Kushina had displayed anything fundamentally different from other Jinchuriki.
Thus, Nagato did not believe that Naruto's special Tailed Beast Transformation could surpass him.
Konan was not surprised by his response. She knew very well that Nagato currently regarded himself as invincible.
He would not abandon his plans for Konoha Village and the Nine-Tails because of a single intelligence report.
"Kitazawa possesses Wood Release. He will be far more troublesome than Tsunade." Konan hesitated briefly before asking, "Are you certain you can defeat him?"
"A god does not lose." Deva Path Pain casually returned the scroll and said, "Spread the word—we move on Konoha Village in one month."
"Yes." Konan's heart trembled slightly as she replied.
She took the scroll and turned to leave the tower.
Returning to her room, Konan appeared somewhat absent-minded.
She pushed the door open—and froze.
"Why do you look so distracted?" Kitazawa was sitting on the sofa, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.
"In one month, the Akatsuki Organization will move against Konoha Village." Konan snapped back to reality and answered honestly, without concealing anything.
Kitazawa smiled, not surprised in the slightest.
He had been somewhat cautious before, but after obtaining Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, he felt utterly calm.
With that technique, Nagato would certainly be willing to sit down and talk things through.
"The day before you depart, arrange a meeting with Nagato for me," Kitazawa spoke after a moment's consideration.
Konan wanted to say something, but ultimately only nodded.
"Come here." Kitazawa gestured to her.
Konan walked over.
"Don't worry. I already have a plan." Kitazawa reached out, resting his hand on her thigh beneath the Akatsuki uniform.
She was wearing light purple leggings, thicker than ordinary stockings.
Konan subconsciously looked at him.
"As for what the plan is, you'll understand when the time comes." Kitazawa suddenly recalled something, withdrew his hand, and said, "I bought you some new clothes."
He opened a storage summoning scroll and took out a tight-fitting dress.
"Thank you." Konan removed her clothes without hesitation.
In moments, her snow-white body was revealed before him.
Sensing his heated gaze, Konan calmly picked up the dress. The garment was slit up to the hips, exposing her long, slender legs.
She stood before him and slowly turned in place.
From the side, Kitazawa could fully appreciate the elegance. It was tailored fit and perfectly outlined Konan's curves.
Combined with its semi-revealing design, it looked exceptionally alluring.
"It's very beautiful." Kitazawa patted his thigh.
Konan stepped forward and sat down on his lap.
With the movement, the qipao tightened around her waist and hips, making her waist appear even slimmer and her hips fuller.
The visual impact made Kitazawa nod in satisfaction.
Having Konan wear it was indeed the right decision. Her figure suited it perfectly—not too slender, not overly voluptuous.
By comparison, Tsunade was less suited due to her fuller figure. Though even then, it would not look bad.
"Do you like it?" Kitazawa slid his hand inside the slit, resting it against her inner thigh.
Without the leggings, her skin felt smooth and warm.
"I like it." As his hand traced her thigh, Konan's legs tensed unconsciously, her toes curling slightly.
"I also bought a few other outfits." Kitazawa smiled. "You can wear them for me next time."
"Mhm," Konan responded softly, as if his touch had reached straight into her heart.
"Did you receive the intelligence?" Kitazawa looked at her and asked.
"What intelligence?" Konan parted her lips slightly, her voice soft.
"That I will become the Sixth Hokage next Monday," Kitazawa said, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath his palm.
"The Akatsuki Organization has already received that intelligence."
Konan's slightly hazy eyes cleared a little as she looked at Kitazawa, not fully understanding why he deliberately brought this up.
"After I officially become Hokage, the Anbu will be missing an Anbu Commander." Kitazawa met her gaze directly and asked, "Would you like to take that position?"
"I would," Konan answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Then I'll give you your due reward today." Kitazawa withdrew his hand and placed both palms on her slender waist.
"Thank you." Konan lowered her head and kissed him.
Already warmed up, her emotions quickly surged. She wrapped her arms around him and responded with unrestrained enthusiasm.
Two hours later, Kitazawa returned to the Hokage Office.
He stretched lazily, feeling thoroughly refreshed.
After all, he had successfully "interrogated" a member of the Akatsuki Organization and obtained quite a bit of valuable intelligence.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in." Kitazawa raised his head toward the entrance.
"Kitazawa." Shizune walked in and asked curiously, "Where were you earlier? I didn't see you."
"I had some matters to take care of outside. I just got back." Kitazawa replied calmly, his expression unchanged.
"This is the detailed procedure for the Hokage succession ceremony."
Shizune didn't dwell on it and handed him a document, asking, "Is there anything you think needs to be modified?"
"No," Kitazawa said after reading through it.
He had attended Tsunade's succession ceremony before, and the process recorded here was exactly the same. There was nothing to change.
"Alright then." Shizune nodded. "I'll give the orders."
"Sorry to trouble you, Shizune-senpai." Kitazawa smiled as he spoke.
"It's no trouble." Shizune paused, then reminded him, "Try to give Lady Tsunade as little money as possible, so she doesn't lose it all at the casino."
She had originally planned to retire along with Tsunade, but both Tsunade and Kitazawa had stopped her.
After all, it would be far too wasteful for her to spend all her time just supervising Tsunade.
"Actually, I'm the one who opened the Konoha Casino," Kitazawa said after a moment of thought.
"You're the one who opened it?" Shizune's face filled with surprise.
"It's better to provide guidance than to block it outright."
Kitazawa explained. "We can't stop Teacher Tsunade from gambling, so we might as well use another method to minimize the losses."
"That approach is indeed very good. At least we won't have to worry about her wasting money anymore."
Shizune laughed softly. "You really do have your own ways. I'm relieved now. See you next time."
She took the document and turned to leave the Hokage Office.
The door closed, and Kitazawa withdrew his gaze.
After finishing the administrative work at hand, he began researching a standardized form of Yin Release Chakra Mode.
Although most of the Genius Class students had already graduated and joined their own teams, that didn't stop him from continuing to teach them.
After all, he was the Hokage now—he could do as he pleased.
---
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Monday, 8:00 a.m.
There was still an hour before the Hokage succession ceremony, yet the square in front of the Hokage Building was already packed with people.
There were villagers as well as ninja.
The Konoha Police Force had been mobilized to maintain order for the ceremony.
Sasuke stood in the square and glanced to his left.
Two familiar figures entered his field of vision. They were Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi.
To ensure the succession ceremony proceeded without incident, the two of them were personally leading the security detail.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's voice called out from a distance.
Sasuke withdrew his gaze and looked over. Besides Sakura, her two teammates—Shino Aburame and Chino—were also there.
"Sakura! Shino! Chino!" Naruto greeted them enthusiastically.
Hinata snapped out of her thoughts and greeted them as well.
Her eyes, however, were still drawn toward the Hokage Building—more precisely, she was looking for Kitazawa.
But since it wasn't nine o'clock yet, she didn't see him.
"Good morning." Shino Aburame said calmly.
"Have the other teams not arrived yet?" Chino looked around and asked.
Ever since graduation, they had been acting strictly as ninja squads. This applied even to their daily lives; they trained almost exclusively with their own teammates.
"The great me has arrived!" Kiba came running over with Akamaru.
Behind him, Kurama Yakumo and Karin followed at a leisurely pace.
"Kiba, long time no see!" Naruto squatted down and patted Akamaru's head.
"Naruto, guess what kind of mission we did this week?" Kiba asked mysteriously.
"What mission?" Naruto stood up and said with some regret, "We didn't do any missions this week. We were just training."
"We went to film a movie with Kurenai-sensei!" Kiba said proudly.
"Film a movie?" Naruto's eyes widened. "There's a mission like that?"
"What movie?" Ino walked over curiously.
"It's a biographical film about the First Hokage-sama." Kiba gave a brief explanation.
"Is it for publicity?" Shikamaru asked thoughtfully.
"Correct." Kiba nodded. "It's to promote the deeds of the First Hokage-sama."
"I'm going to film a biographical movie too in the future!"
Naruto immediately got excited, gave a thumbs-up, and declared, "By then, the entire Ninja World will know my Way of Youth!"
"Then you'll have to become Hokage first." Shikamaru reminded him.
"Maybe Sasuke-kun will be first…" Sakura had only spoken halfway when Sasuke interrupted her.
"It's still too early to talk about that," Sasuke said calmly. "Given Kitazawa-sensei's age, the next generation of Hokage is still very far off."
"That's true." Ino nodded in agreement.
"Kurenai-sensei is in charge of the Film and Television Department. So far, they've only filmed the First Hokage-sama's biography."
Kiba said with a grin. "Maybe in the future, they'll even film a biographical movie about our Genius Class."
"That's assuming we all become famous," Tenten said as she shook her head.
Hyuga Neji and Shion walked over alongside her.
"It's not a problem." Shion waved her small hand dismissively. "If you want to make a movie, it's very simple. I'll just pay to hire a film crew."
As the Priestess of the Land of Demons, she possessed the wealth of an entire nation. Filming a movie was nothing to her.
"You still need fame," Tenten replied seriously. "Without fame, no one will buy tickets for the movie, no matter how good it is."
"Sasuke-kun is already very famous!" Sakura said proudly.
"Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata are all extremely famous now. They've already been recognized as Konoha's New Three Sannin."
Kiba said enviously.
"With your strength, you'll all become famous sooner or later," Kosuke said with a chuckle as he approached.
"Kosuke-sensei!" Naruto and the others greeted him at the same time.
---
Meanwhile, in the Hokage Office.
Tsunade was sprawled across the Hokage's desk.
Her sleeveless top was pressed tightly against the surface, the fabric pulled taut as it traced out distorted, provocative curves.
Her tea-green haori, emblazoned with the bold character for "Gamble," and her dark blue trousers had been tossed carelessly onto the floor.
She stood on the tips of her toes, her long, fair legs held straight and tense. Yet at her hips, her body bent sharply at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
To sum it up in four words: tiptoes raised, hips arched.
Kitazawa held her waist firmly with both hands, his chin resting lightly against her rounded shoulder.
Tsunade's face was flushed crimson, her breath uneven, and her hazy eyes flicked toward the door again and again.
She was terrified that someone might knock—or worse, push the door open—at this very moment.
If that happened, her reputation for this lifetime would be completely and utterly ruined.
The more she thought about it, the more flustered she became.
Tsunade turned her head and shot Kitazawa a fierce glare.
She had come early in the morning for the Hokage handover ceremony, but who could have imagined that the "handover" would turn into this kind of handover?
Kitazawa, however, felt no threat whatsoever from her glare. Instead, he only found her expression irresistibly charming.
He raised his hand and gave her fair, shapely backside a sharp slap.
The soft flesh trembled instantly. Tsunade let out a muffled groan, her eyes rolling as she bit back a sound.
Kitazawa tightened his hold around her waist.
The two of them seemed completely glued together, their bodies pressed close, sweat mingling between them.
"H-How… how much time is left?" Tsunade bit her lip and asked through labored breaths.
"Fifteen minutes." Kitazawa glanced at the clock on the wall and replied calmly.
"T-Today is your Hokage inauguration ceremony." Tsunade panted as she reminded him, her voice tight. "Don't be late."
"That depends on how hard Tsunade-sensei works." Kitazawa winked as he spoke.
Tsunade's expression darkened instantly. She stopped holding back and activated her Monstrous Strength without mercy.
Kitazawa's pupils shrank sharply.
In the next moment, he was forced to turn her over, burying his face deep into her warm, yielding embrace.
Seeing this, the corners of Tsunade's mouth curled upward slightly. For a brief instant, she felt as though she had gained the upper hand.
However, moments later, she was met with Kitazawa's fierce counterattack.
In the end, both sides were utterly exhausted.
A knock suddenly echoed from the door.
"It's about time, Kitazawa." Shizune's voice came from outside as she reminded him.
Tsunade took a deep breath and activated the Yin Seal, rapidly adjusting her fatigued body.
Fortunately, she had the Yin Seal. Otherwise, walking out with such a flushed face would definitely raise suspicions.
Kitazawa looked at her, smiled faintly, and unhurriedly put on the Hokage robe.
His stamina was astonishing—after nearly an hour, he showed no signs of fatigue at all.
Kitazawa walked over and opened the door.
"Lady Tsunade, you're here too?" Shizune was startled when she saw Tsunade.
"I was handing over work to Kitazawa," Tsunade replied calmly, her expression completely composed. "Let's go. Don't keep everyone waiting."
Kitazawa closed the door behind them, and the three headed toward the roof of the Hokage Building.
"Nervous?" Tsunade glanced at Kitazawa and asked.
"What's there to be nervous about?" Kitazawa asked in return.
"Fair enough." Tsunade twitched the corner of her mouth.
Someone who could drag her into the Hokage Office to waste time before an inauguration ceremony clearly had no concept of nervousness.
Soon, the three arrived at the rooftop of the Hokage Building.
The ninjas and villagers below erupted into thunderous cheers the moment they saw them.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto, Kiba, and the others jumped up and waved wildly.
Kitazawa noticed them and couldn't help but smile.
"Sorry to trouble you, Daimyō." Tsunade stepped forward and addressed the Fire Daimyō.
"I didn't expect you to retire so soon." The Fire Daimyō said with a gentle smile.
"Kitazawa is my student. He's even more outstanding than I am." Tsunade replied calmly. "There's no reason for me to cling to this position any longer."
"Then let us begin."
The Fire Daimyō looked out over the crowd and shouted loudly, "I hereby announce Kitazawa as the Sixth Hokage of Konohagakure!"
"Kitazawa." Tsunade picked up the Hokage hat and smiled. "You're not allowed to assign me any more work after I retire."
"Tsunade-sensei." Kitazawa replied dryly, "Is this really the time to be saying that?"
"What else is there to say?" Tsunade paused, then continued, "From now on, Konoha is in your hands. Don't let everyone down."
"I'll do my best." Kitazawa took the Hokage hat and placed it on his head.
He stepped forward to the railing and began his first speech as Hokage.
Tsunade stood not far away, watching his back with a dazed expression. Seeing her student ascend to the position of Hokage filled her with pride.
Yet when she thought about the special relationship between them, her emotions became complicated and hard to describe.
Even so, she was genuinely satisfied with her life now.
Kitazawa did not speak for long. There was, after all, not much that needed to be said.
After roughly half an hour, he announced the conclusion of the Hokage inauguration ceremony.
"From today on, we're students of the Hokage!" Kiba exclaimed happily.
"If you put it that way, weren't we already students of the Third Hokage?" Shikamaru shook his head and asked.
Strictly speaking, only Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were truly the Hokage's students.
But the Genius Class was special, so they could be counted as well.
"Then we're students of both the Third Hokage and the Sixth Hokage!" Kiba said shamelessly.
"Kiba's right!" Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "To celebrate becoming the Hokage's students, let's go do three hundred extra laps of training!"
"Why train on such a good day?" Ino quickly stopped him. "We should treat Kitazawa-sensei to a meal!"
"True!" Naruto's eyes lit up. "Then let's go eat Ichiraku Ramen!"
"Ichiraku Ramen isn't appropriate," Sasuke suggested calmly. "Let's go eat barbecue."
"I agree!" Sakura said immediately.
"I want barbecue too!" Akimichi Choji chimed in excitedly.
"Then who's going to invite Kitazawa-sensei?" Tenten scanned the group and asked.
"I'll go!" Ino raised her hand without hesitation.
"I—" Hinata was a step too late. She opened her mouth, then unconsciously tightened her grip on the hem of her clothes.
"Then you and Hinata go together." Shikamaru glanced around and decided.
"Okay." Ino nodded.
Hinata let out a quiet sigh of relief, her face lighting up with happiness.
Hokage Office.
"Shizune-senpai, notify everyone that there will be a Jōnin meeting tomorrow morning at nine." Kitazawa sat in the Hokage's chair and issued the order.
"Understood." Shizune nodded and turned to leave.
As for Tsunade, she had already vanished after the ceremony. She was likely avoiding further questioning.
The door closed.
Kitazawa stretched lazily.
He had effectively been Hokage for a week already, so aside from today's ceremony, nothing felt particularly different.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino's cheerful voice rang out.
"Come in." Kitazawa chuckled.
Ino and Hinata stepped inside.
"What brings you here?" Kitazawa asked first.
"Kitazawa-sensei, we want to treat you to barbecue!" Ino rushed up, grabbed his arm, and insisted, "You have to come!"
Seeing this, Hinata couldn't help feeling a little envious.
"Alright, let's go." Kitazawa raised his hand and flicked Ino lightly on the forehead.
"Yay!" Ino released his arm, her face glowing with excitement.