Chapter 654: Mugetsu's Good Deeds
After entering Konoha, Hiruzen disbanded the Ninja troops, then personally led the Four Kage to their new residences in Konoha.
A Kage was, after all, a Kage, an existence equal in status to Hiruzen.
And now that they were allies, Hiruzen felt that, as Hokage, it was only proper for him to personally receive them as a sign of respect.
However, before leaving, Hiruzen specifically instructed Mugetsu to go to the Hokage's Office at four in the afternoon, though he did not explain what the matter was.
"It's not a mission. It's a good thing," Hiruzen said with a smile, patting Mugetsu's shoulder before turning to leave.
"So mysterious. I really don't know why he couldn't just say it directly," Obito grumbled as he followed behind Mugetsu.
In the Ninja novels he read, there were occasionally characters who always spoke of fate and talked in vague riddles. Obito hated those characters the most.
If they had mouths, why couldn't they just speak clearly?
"Perhaps he thinks it will be a pleasant surprise?" Kakashi analyzed indifferently.
He was not particularly fond of such behavior either.
Either say nothing at all, or say it clearly. What was the point of only saying half?
"That depends on what kind of good thing it is. For Teacher Mugetsu, neither prize money nor Ninjutsu would be much of a surprise, right?" Obito believed material rewards could not surprise Teacher Mugetsu.
"Could it be that Teacher Mugetsu is going to become Hokage?!" Obito suddenly thought of something and exclaimed excitedly.
The more Obito thought about it, the more likely he felt it was.
Mugetsu had made great contributions, and now Hiruzen was gradually aging. Wasn't it natural for him to pass the position to Mugetsu?
Kakashi did not respond.
Mugetsu absolutely had the ability to become Hokage, but Kakashi felt that Hiruzen probably would not pass down the position at this time.
"Becoming Hokage isn't that easy," Mugetsu said, shaking his head.
Although in the original work, Hiruzen had quickly passed the Hokage position to Minato, who had made the greatest contribution during the Third Shinobi World War, that did not mean Hiruzen would pass the Hokage position to Mugetsu just because Mugetsu had made the greatest contribution here.
In the original work, Hiruzen's abdication had been due to multiple reasons, not just because Minato had made great contributions. It was also because Konoha suffered heavy losses at the time. Although Konoha seemed to be the victor, in reality, its losses were severe. Hiruzen's abdication had a sense of taking responsibility and resigning.
This time was different.
With Mugetsu's interference, Konoha had become the biggest winner of the Third Shinobi World War in the true sense.
Not only had it defended its title as the number one Ninja Village, it had also obtained a large amount of war reparations. The village itself had not suffered particularly heavy losses either.
In the crucial final battle, Hiruzen had personally led troops onto the battlefield and contributed significantly to the final victory.
Under circumstances where he had merit and no fault, Hiruzen had no need to abdicate so quickly.
"It is possible that I will be appointed Hokage Assistant."
After Danzo's death, Hiruzen had not appointed a new Hokage Assistant. Instead, he had left the position vacant.
Combined with Mugetsu's feeling that Hiruzen intended to nurture him, he estimated that this time, he would be promoted to Hokage Assistant.
Hiruzen's specific idea was probably to place him in the Hokage Assistant position for a few years, let him familiarize himself with the Hokage's work, then pass the position to him later.
Kakashi nodded in agreement.
The Hokage position was difficult, but Hokage Assistant was definitely stable.
"Hokage Assistant, huh? That's barely worthy of Teacher Mugetsu," Obito said with a regretful look.
Smack!
Mugetsu brought his index and middle fingers together and tapped Obito on the head.
"The size of a position is about serving the villagers. Don't be too ambitious," Mugetsu said.
To Konoha Ninja, this might sound like showing off, but Mugetsu truly did not care about the Hokage position.
The reason was simple.
His system was a teacher system, not a Konoha prosperity system. Teaching disciples in class was what he should be doing.
Even if he truly became Hokage, Mugetsu would choose to govern the village through Shadow Clones, unless he no longer had any need to strengthen himself.
But that would be a long time from now, because Mugetsu's goal was to become stronger than the final boss, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Actually, Mugetsu quite hoped that Minato could become the Fourth Hokage, just like in the original work.
That way, he would have a good brother who was Hokage. Combined with his own position, he would be able to handle matters almost as well as the Hokage.
"People with great ability can do more good things for the villagers when they're in the highest position," Obito said, rubbing his head with a chuckle.
"Don't spread rumors. Hokage Assistant isn't even certain yet. It's only my guess," Mugetsu reminded him.
Mugetsu only said these things because his disciples were around. Otherwise, he would not have said anything.
"Go home and rest well. For the next month, you can all rest however you want," Mugetsu continued.
Although there was still the thousand-year-old schemer Black Zetsu to deal with, Black Zetsu alone could not cause too much trouble. Mugetsu decided to let his disciples relax for a while.
"One month!" Obito exclaimed, his eyes widening.
Taking a break after completing a mission was Mugetsu's usual practice, but it was usually only for a few days. Even a week was rare.
Kakashi could not help showing a surprised expression as well.
"Yo, Kakashi, with such a long holiday, do you want to do some youthful and passionate holiday special training together?" Guy suggested, looking at Kakashi.
Kakashi was silent.
He had not planned to rest for the entire month, but he also had not planned to begin special training the moment the holiday started.
Shisui was very calm. He still had to go to work at the training squad.
"The war is over. You can relax in moderation."
After reaching the intersection, Mugetsu gave his disciples a gentle smile and walked toward his house in the Main District.
On the way, Mugetsu opened his system panel and glanced at his disciples' life missions.
"In a few more days, Guy and Obito's missions should be settled once," Mugetsu thought as he looked at the progress on the panel.
Guy and Obito's life missions both required fame.
In the final battle, Obito and the others had performed brilliantly. As the process and results of the war continued to spread, the progress of their life missions steadily increased. Now, they were close to the fifty percent settlement point.
After returning home, Mugetsu first sent out a Shadow Clone to clean the room, then went to Tsunade's house.
Before going to the battlefield, Tsunade had lent him the First Hokage's necklace and said the rent was one meal per day.
Now, almost two months had passed, which meant he owed Tsunade sixty meals. It was time to repay his debt.
"Teacher Mugetsu, you're back!" Shizune, who was sweeping the yard, saw Mugetsu approaching and greeted him happily.
"Yes, I just arrived," Mugetsu replied with a smile.
"Sensei, please come in. I'll get you some tea."
Shizune put down the broom, invited Mugetsu into the house, and prepared tea for him.
"Lady Tsunade drank too much yesterday and hasn't woken up yet. Please wait a moment. I'll go wake her up."
After pouring the tea, Shizune walked toward Tsunade's bedroom.
Looking at Tsunade sprawled across the bed, sleeping soundly, Shizune helplessly rubbed her forehead.
This sleeping posture was not even as good as hers, a twelve-year-old girl.
"Lady Tsunade, wake up! It's almost noon!" Shizune tugged at the crooked blanket on Tsunade, trying to pull her awake.
"Don't bother me. I'm sleeping a bit more," Tsunade scolded with her eyes closed.
"Teacher Mugetsu is back with groceries!"
"What groceries did he buy? Are there freshly slaughtered free-range chickens?"
Tsunade suddenly opened her eyes and asked. Then, with a speed Shizune could not react to, she got up, changed clothes, and rushed into the living room.
Shizune walked out of the bedroom and returned to the living room, speechless.
"Oh, Shizune, you dare lie to me!" Tsunade looked at Mugetsu, who was drinking tea with empty hands, and stretched her evil hands toward Shizune's small face.
"Ugh... I won't call you next time," Shizune said, pouting.
Mugetsu usually cooked when he came to Tsunade's house. She had been worried Tsunade would miss eating Mugetsu's cooking, which was why she had done this.
"You want to eat alone, do you?" Tsunade heard her words and changed from rubbing to pinching.
"Cough, cough."
Mugetsu coughed twice, indicating that was enough.
Only then did Tsunade let go of Shizune and sit down on the sofa.
Shizune looked at Mugetsu with grateful eyes. Sometimes, she wondered how happy her life would be if Tsunade's personality were even half as good as Mugetsu's.
"Congratulations. I'm almost tired of hearing your good news lately. A bunch of people are saying you're the second God of Shinobi, the undisputed choice for the next Hokage," Tsunade said with a smile.
"Just say what you want to say directly," Mugetsu said straightforwardly.
An unprovoked show of kindness always hinted at ulterior motives.
Not to mention, he had not even become Hokage yet, and Tsunade had never shown much respect to the current Hokage, Hiruzen.
"Since you've achieved such great success with Wood Release, shouldn't the necklace's rent be changed? Lending it for three meals a day would be more reasonable," Tsunade said, stopping her act once Mugetsu was so direct.
To be honest, Tsunade had been very surprised when she heard news of Mugetsu from the battlefield.
Because Mugetsu had only developed Wood Release a few months ago, yet he had already gained such an enormous reputation.
For a moment, she did not know whether Mugetsu's Wood Release talent was too heaven-defying, or whether Konoha had intentionally promoted it.
"What if the necklace broke?" Mugetsu asked curiously.
At that time, a single slash from Susanoo had shattered the First Hokage's necklace.
Izanagi had revived Mugetsu, but it had not restored the necklace he was wearing.
"Broke? Then you'll have to pay for ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine days!" Tsunade froze for a moment, then casually named an extremely high number.
This necklace was important, yes. It was a memento left by Tsunade's grandfather.
But it was, after all, an inanimate object. Compared to the necklace itself, Tsunade certainly did not want anything to happen to the person she had given it to.
"What if I could return an identical necklace to you?" Mugetsu extended his hand, and a light green crystal appeared in his palm.
He had already deciphered the technology behind the First Hokage's necklace and could create necklaces with the same effect.
However, this was not easy for the current Mugetsu. To ensure decent quality, it required a large amount of Chakra.
So Mugetsu had only made two in total.
One was to return to Tsunade.
The other was to give to Kushina, to suppress the Nine-Tails' Chakra.
Tsunade's eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly as she looked at Mugetsu in great surprise.
To be able to replicate even her grandfather's necklace.
Was he really the second God of Shinobi?
.....
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