--------------------------------------------------
"He's fine. Hiruzen Sarutobi has been very cooperative and is still living comfortably. The only thing he's lost is the right to summon the jōnin and attend village leadership meetings." Tobi gave his report calmly, head bowed.
"Good. That's good." Izuna's worry finally eased, and he gave a slow nod.
He had always worried that his students might turn on each other for power. Seeing Hiruzen retire quietly was the best he could have hoped for. At least Hiruzen hadn't died while still in office.
"Heh… Seems Madara and I have a successor after all. If I'm right, Danzō isn't trying to clear our names because he admires us. I think he's getting ready for a war." Tobirama chuckled.
"Our information is still limited, so we can't be certain yet... But reports from the front indicate that Danzō, the Sixth Hokage, is secretly gathering troops. There are clear signs that he's preparing for war." Tobi said with a small nod.
The others fell silent. Madara, however, grinned.
A war?
Perfect timing.
The plan he'd spent so long putting together still needed someone to oversee it—someone who could keep things under control. He just hadn't found the right candidate yet.
…
"No, I have to go check!"
Out in the courtyard, Kushina heard a few muffled, oddly strained sounds in the distance. Whatever those two were doing, it seemed to be getting louder…
Worried now, she took off toward the kitchen.
"Kushina, I wouldn't go in there if I were you," Kurama said.
She stopped short.
"Why not?"
"Just don't," Kurama said, folding his arms.
Kushina ignored him. When she finally pushed open the kitchen door, everything was quiet. The sweet smell of baking and butter filled the air. There was also another faint, oddly personal scent she couldn't quite place.
Manji stood with his back to her, checking on the cupcakes in the oven like nothing had happened. Tsunade was nowhere in sight. Water ran loudly behind the frosted glass door of the bathroom.
"Oh? Kushina, why the rush? Is something wrong?" Manji turned at the sound of her arrival, putting on a warm smile.
"Sensei, I… I thought I heard…" Kushina blinked and scratched her head, confused.
What the heck? She'd definitely heard Lady Tsunade a moment ago, so why was Manji the only one here now?
Had Tsunade been in the shower the whole time? Who took a shower this early in the morning?
"If nothing's wrong, go get Minato and the others. Tell them to come inside." Manji ruffled her hair.
Kushina still had plenty of questions. But her teacher looked like he had nothing to hide, so she kept them to herself, nodded obediently, and ran back outside.
…
After taking office, Danzō threw himself into strengthening the village, purging his political opponents and preparing for the Third Shinobi World War.
He also sent Orochimaru out on a secret mission. The target: the Cloud's jinchūriki.
The operation succeeded. Orochimaru sent the Eight-Tails on a rampage, inflicting enormous damage on the Hidden Cloud.
The Cloud shinobi who had been itching for a fight at the border were urgently recalled when their jinchūriki died back home. With them gone, the crisis at the border ended.
Nobody knew Konoha was responsible. Everyone thought it was a freak accident, and Blue B was already dead. The one person who could have testified was gone.
(Note: This Cloud jinchūriki also goes by Fukai in the original series.)
…
Back in Konoha, Manji was reading the newspaper. When he read that the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki was dead, he figured Konoha was probably behind it.
A Yin Seal had also appeared on his forehead. He didn't need one—he would never age or die anyway. But Sakumo Hatake, supposedly his age, was already getting wrinkles. Manji had added the seal so people wouldn't start wondering why he never aged.
Manji and Tsunade happened to pass the entrance to Konoha's Ninja Academy on enrollment day. The place was packed.
"This takes me back…" Manji gazed at the Academy, feeling nostalgic. Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"You miss your Academy days?"
He smiled without answering. It wasn't attending the Academy that he missed. It was the speech he'd given there back when he was the First Hokage. He remembered Danzō asking him what the secret to his success was…
Damn, time flew. Somehow, he'd already made it to this era.
"Hey, Manji! You're here too?" Sakumo approached, holding Kakashi's hand.
Manji looked at the boy with a smile. "He's gotten so big. About time he started the Academy, huh?"
Sakumo patted Kakashi's head.
"Go on, say hello to Uncle Manji. He's the one who gave you your name."
"Hello, Uncle Manji," Kakashi said politely.
"And this is Princess Tsunade, Uncle Manji's wife," Sakumo added.
"Hello, Aunt Tsunade." Kakashi studied them, puzzled.
Were these two really the same age as his dad? His father was already looking a little old, but they looked like a young couple strolling down the street.
"Hello," Manji replied with a nod.
Tsunade gave a casual nod as well.
Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with his pipe between his teeth.
"Lord Fifth, it's been a while," Manji greeted him with a smile.
"I'm here to drop off my son," Hiruzen said, smiling and nodding at Manji and Tsunade.
Tsunade stared at him.
"Old man, what son? Isn't Shinnosuke already a jōnin?"
Manji's attention shifted to the child behind Hiruzen. Asuma Sarutobi.
"Well, I haven't had much to do these past few years, so Biwako and I…" Hiruzen said, reddening. "I didn't expect to have another son at my age!"
Tsunade looked astonished.
"You're sure he's yours? You can still get someone pregnant?"
As blunt as ever, she'd said exactly what came to mind. Sakumo and Manji looked embarrassed.
"Tsunade, what the hell kind of question is that? Of course he's mine!" Hiruzen's expression soured.
It occurred to her that she might have been a little too harsh on her teacher. She let out a couple of awkward laughs and left it at that.
Hiruzen wasn't particularly angry. This was Tsunade, after all—his own student. Her bluntness had been getting on his nerves for years.
"All right, the enrollment ceremony's about to start. Let's go inside," Sakumo said, patting Kakashi.
Before long, Manji spotted plenty of familiar faces: Kurenai Yūhi, Rin Nohara, Might Guy, Hayate Gekkō, Shiranui…
"Huh? Where's Obito?"
Manji was briefly puzzled. Oh, right. Obito Uchiha had been late to the enrollment ceremony. Of course he wouldn't be here yet.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
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