Night lay heavy, and moonlight struggled to pierce the layered canopy of leaves.
Yakushi Kabuto followed closely behind Orochimaru. Seeing Orochimaru leap into a cave, Kabuto didn't hesitate for a moment—he jumped in after him.
The forest above was pitch-black, but the bottom of the cave was brightly lit. The source of the glow was an eerie spring, quietly shimmering.
Almost at the same time, Orochimaru's voice sounded. "We're here. Let's rest for a bit."
Kabuto pushed up his glasses, tore his gaze from the strange spring, and sat against the rock wall. Without a word, he began organizing the tools he might need.
He really did need a short rest—after racing all the way from the Land of Earth without stopping once.
Orochimaru noticed at once that Kabuto's mind wasn't on the cave. He smiled faintly. "New Year's will be here soon. Want to write your mother a letter?"
Kabuto's hands paused for the tiniest instant, then kept moving as he continued his work.
"The letter you write won't reach Nonō anyway…" Orochimaru said, casually pulling out a camera. "Kabuto, look this way."
Kabuto instinctively lifted his head—and a crisp click sounded.
Orochimaru took the developed photo and tossed it to him. "Focus on your work and keep improving. I'm very optimistic about you."
"When the time is right, I can help deliver your letter—along with this photo. Nonō probably wants to see what her child has grown into."
Kabuto stared at the photo for a long time before silently putting it away. "Orochimaru-sama… are we going down now?"
Orochimaru stared at the spring. After a long pause, he answered slowly, "No."
"The other end of this passage leads to a brand-new world. My life's pursuit is to turn the unknown into the known—but charging in blindly is not what a researcher should do."
"This space–time corridor itself is a massive mystery. How was it formed? What energy source maintains it? How stable is it? What is the actual principle of transport?"
As he spoke, he paced around the spring in a slow circle, like an artist admiring a priceless work.
"If I go in without even understanding the corridor, and something goes wrong during transport—or worse, we reach the moon and they cut off our retreat—wouldn't that be an enormous loss?"
…
Konoha, Root base.
A snake crawled onto Shimura Danzo's desk, opened its mouth, spat out a scroll, then vanished in a puff.
Danzo unrolled the scroll and muttered as he read, "Hmph… Orochimaru. Running short on 'materials' again? It's New Year—where am I supposed to find—"
His voice cut off. His already grim expression turned even darker.
The message was short, but every word felt like a thorn stabbing into Danzo's heart.
[Danzo-sama, recently I discovered something interesting—something connected to the moon. You know what I mean. Research at this level requires a capable assistant.]
[Conveniently, the child Yakushi Kabuto is excellent in medical ninjutsu and intelligence analysis—exactly what I need. Root won't miss a single spy-nin, so I took him from the Land of Earth. I assume you won't mind?]
[After all, fine jade belongs in the most suitable place—doesn't it?]
[Ah—right. Happy New Year. I suppose you'll be spending it alone again. In that case, I wish you an early promotion to Hokage.]
—Orochimaru
The scroll crumpled under Danzo's withered fingers. He slammed his fist onto the desk.
"Orochimaru!"
…
On the surface—
Tsunade lifted a sake bottle and shook it lightly. "Shizune, drink a little with me tonight."
Shizune looked at the cups already filled and grimaced. "Tsunade-sama… if we both get drunk—"
"It's fine. Just a little. Just for the mood."
"…Alright."
Shizune had only just lifted her cup when rapid knocking suddenly hammered at the door.
"Tsunade-sama! Shizune-sama! The hospital just received a critically wounded patient—his condition is extremely urgent!"
Shizune immediately set her cup down and stood. "What happened?"
"It's an Anbu who was injured on an outing mission—multiple fatal wounds, on the brink of death!"
"I'm coming right now!" Shizune grabbed her coat and turned, apologizing in a rush. "Tsunade-sama, I'm so sorry, I—"
Tsunade waved it off. "Go. Saving lives comes first."
Shizune disappeared through the doorway, footsteps rapidly fading. The room fell quiet all at once.
Tsunade held the bottle and stared at the two full cups for a moment. The dishes on the table were still steaming, yet the room suddenly felt cold and empty.
"Heh… being busy… it's better when everyone's busy."
She raised her cup—then another knock came.
This time the knocking was steady, unhurried.
"Who is it?" Tsunade set the cup down and opened the door.
Outside stood Hyuga Kiyonari, holding a food box. "Teacher. Happy New Year."
"Kiyonari! Perfect timing." Tsunade's eyes lit up as she stepped aside. "Shizune just got called away. I was bored out of my mind."
Kiyonari entered and opened the box. A rich chicken soup aroma immediately filled the room.
"Teacher, you should drink less."
He slid a steaming bowl of chicken soup toward her.
"Your cooking keeps getting better!" Tsunade inhaled deeply, then pointed at the untouched cup of sake Shizune had left. "Sit. Drink a couple with me."
"I'm not old enough to drink."
"Use the soup as your drink." Tsunade shrugged. "I'm not drinking 'alcohol' anyway—I'm drinking the feeling. Drinking alone is pointless. It's only fun when someone's here to talk."
Kiyonari didn't refuse. He served himself a small bowl of soup and sat across from her.
Tsunade raised her cup and clinked it lightly against his soup bowl, making a crisp sound.
"Cheers."
They each took a sip. Tsunade set her cup down, picked up some food with her chopsticks, and chewed slowly.
"Even if the main house carved the Caged Bird seals to protect themselves under the 'moon threat,' that threat will be resolved someday."
"But the Hyuga clan will never go back to what it was," Kiyonari said calmly, with absolute certainty. "Branch members who've tasted freedom won't allow it. Hinata won't allow it. Neji won't allow it. And I—won't allow it either."
"And by then, we won't be children borrowing momentum anymore. We'll be the momentum."
"Heh… big talk," Tsunade chuckled, teasing him. But her eyes gleamed with unconcealed approval and anticipation. It was as if she could already see the day when the old generation would have to lean on these young wings as they grew strong.
"By the way," Kiyonari shifted topics. "When do you plan to take the Hokage seat?"
"When you grow up a bit more," Tsunade said, clearly unenthused. "Then I'll pull you in to work for me. Work a few years, build seniority and reputation, and then you take over as the Sixth. Perfect, right?"
Kiyonari's face immediately twisted into a helpless smile. "No, teacher."
"Oh?" Tsunade raised a brow.
Kiyonari's eyes darted, then he started pleading dramatically. "If I graduate and immediately become your workhorse, without even experiencing real ninja life… isn't that too tragic—"
"Hm?" Tsunade's tone sharpened, eyes slanting at him.
Kiyonari felt a chill and finally surrendered, raising both hands. "Okay, okay—teacher, I confess!"
"I just think being Hokage is way too exhausting. Everything in the village, big or small, needs Hokage approval. From morning to night—there's not even time to sleep."
Tsunade burst out laughing. "Oh? Back at the border you sounded so confident—'dump the work on Shisui to train him.' But when it's me 'training' you, you suddenly change your tune?"
Kiyonari gave an awkward grin. "That's different. Border affairs are basically one department—clear responsibilities and boundaries. Hokage is different. Money, people, work—everything. It's not one department."
"I think the village should learn from the Land of Fire's administration. Set up ministers for different departments, each handling their own area. Hokage should focus on the big picture."
Tsunade frowned in thought. "The Land of Fire needs that structure because the country's huge—one daimyo can't manage it alone. But Konoha's just a village—"
"But we're ninja, teacher!" Kiyonari shot back immediately.
"If the Hokage's energy is drained by endless paperwork, then what happens when a powerful enemy appears and the Hokage needs to step onto the battlefield?"
Tsunade couldn't help remembering her childhood—when the village was smaller and administrative work was simpler. The Second Hokage could handle it all alone, and still had time to develop new jutsu.
As Konoha grew, the Hokage's workload grew with it—more complex, more endless. Yet the biggest change in the power structure had only been… "Root." And it was a pile of rot.
"You're right," Tsunade admitted.
She'd never felt it this clearly until someone pointed it out: the Hokage's job really was too much.
Kiyonari continued, "So if you really want to be Hokage, you can gradually push this kind of reform. Start from the edges—peel off the least important responsibilities and powers first."
Tsunade studied him. "You've thought this through. The Hyuga clan's changes haven't distracted you too much, huh."
"That's what Hinata wants to do," Kiyonari said with a grin. "As for me, idle hands lead to idle thoughts. And—if I'm someone who might carry responsibility in the future, thinking ahead is necessary."
"Someone who might carry responsibility?" Tsunade arched a brow. "Didn't you just say you don't want to be Hokage?"
"And didn't you say you didn't want to be Hokage?" Kiyonari countered.
If one day someone hands you the "inheritance," it means everyone stronger, everyone more capable of bearing responsibility, has already died.
At that point… do you take it, or not?
The answer is obvious. I'll take it faster than anyone.
~~~
Patreon.com/Weze_
— You can read more Chapters in my Patreon Page! please vote, comment, share this, or visit my Patreon Page and join the Free Membership!