"You're already an adult, Princess Tsunade. I never thought I'd see a grown woman tattling."
Hyuga Mirai clicked his tongue as he spoke, placing a few side dishes in front of Tsunade—not enough to truly embarrass her, but enough to make her blush without getting angry. Now that he fully understood her temperament, he could tease her freely, pushing her to the brink of anger and then quickly calming her down.
Tsunade's face turned red, though it was unclear whether it was from the alcohol or shame at her own behavior. Slamming the table, she complained, "It's all Orochimaru's fault. He promised me and didn't deliver."
"I asked for you before coming. Kabuto Yakushi is still a Genin in Konoha, fairly young. You can directly promote him to Chunin and take him in as your assistant."
After handing Tsunade Kabuto's profile, Mirai added, "Kabuto has decent talent in medical ninjutsu. At his age, he's already at the level of a medical Jonin. That's rare even in Konoha."
Tsunade smiled faintly, cheeks still flushed. "Is this your way of bragging about yourself?"
"In medical ninjutsu, he's indeed weaker than me," Mirai replied after comparing.
As for the later human-body research, Mirai owed his achievements to the knowledge passed on from Dr. Genos.
Mirai continued, "Also, you forgot to bring the gene optimization injection again. Princess Tsunade, if it weren't for Shizune being with you, your ability to live independently would really worry me."
"Quit nagging. I just forgot, that's all," Tsunade snapped. Strangely, whenever she was around Mirai, she felt like she was the one being looked after—like he was the elder.
"So that's why that guy's been so quiet—he's been investigating the Hyuga Clan." Tsunade grew angry after reviewing Kabuto's file. Turning to Mirai, she asked, "Don't you care? Orochimaru wants to study your ocular powers."
"Let him study. Any powerful jutsu still relies on chakra. Without it, it's all flash and no substance," Mirai said indifferently. Even if a Jonin obtained the Tenseigan, it couldn't unleash the kind of world-shaking power Mirai had.
After awakening the Tenseigan, Mirai trained continuously in Sage Mode, using its chakra to reshape his body. Coupled with absorbing the immense power from the giant Tenseigan, he elevated it to its current state.
When Tsunade finished a bottle of shochu, Mirai took the opportunity to push the rest of the alcohol aside and said, "No more drinking. Let's inject the gene optimization drug first. I also have something else to discuss with you."
He laid out a map of the ninja world in front of her. Unlike the maps of the Five Great Nations, this one was based on data from No.18's satellite scan of the entire planet. The territory Tsunade knew as the ninja world was only about one-eighth of the total landmass.
The rest was being explored by Roran, which had already begun extracting minerals and oil.
"The Federation's next targets are the Land of Wind, the Land of Rain, and the Land of Water. After absorbing these three, they might pause to develop. But the war in the Land of Rain will need your attention. If Konoha loses, we'll need you to step in."
Tsunade clicked her tongue, face still flushed. "You sure like assigning me missions. First it's becoming the Fifth Hokage, now it's the Tenseigan."
"Don't worry, I'll support you too," Mirai said with a reassuring smile. "Once we optimize your genes, I'll embed plenty of Sage Chakra into your Curse Seal. With your strength and Sage Mode through the seal, you won't lose to Nagato."
"And if you don't go, Konoha might suffer heavy losses."
Even without Wood Release, Tsunade's regeneration and taijutsu would overwhelm Nagato. If she used Wood Release, she could probably match half the strength Senju Hashirama had in life.
"Is this because someone you care about is at the frontlines? Forget it—I won't say anything more. Just leave the booze," Tsunade grumbled, seeing Mirai trying to take it back.
Ever since becoming Hokage, she'd been stuck behind her desk. Shochu was her only comfort now.
"This is your best chance to establish authority," Mirai replied, clearly annoyed.
Tsunade hesitated, ultimately agreeing in her heart, though she muttered, "You say all this, but really you're just good at dumping responsibilities on others."
"In that regard, we're the same," Mirai shot back immediately.
"By the way, it seems the Daimyo has some ideas too. This war might've been secretly supported by him."
"Then let them act together. If there's an injury or illness, it should be treated immediately—not left to fester for centuries."
After chatting a while longer, Mirai gave Tsunade the gene optimization injection.
She soon fell asleep—it would take around twelve hours for it to take full effect. When she woke the next day, she would notice the changes in her body.
Mirai carried her to bed, then tidied up her dining table with an annoyed look before leaving Konoha.
Everything had been arranged. Barring accidents, he would now travel between the Federation and Roran. His next focus would be studying the chakra of Indra and Asura—to see if the Rinnegan could be mass-produced. Even just two or three more pairs would significantly boost his power.
At the battlefield near Kikyo Castle, the Federation ninjas led by Pakura held a clear advantage, but they remained stuck outside the city. Nara Shikaku had made excellent strategic decisions for the Sand Federation—defend Kikyo Castle at all costs while using Konoha's elite scouting squads for harassment.
Without deploying the One-Tails, Pakura's forces couldn't breach the fortress.
Every nation's ninjas had their own traits. Sand ninjas specialized in puppets, Wind Release, and sand control—but these weren't effective against fortified structures like Kikyo Castle.
Pakura's forces met little resistance outside the city, but until Kikyo Castle fell, Sunagakure couldn't risk flanking attacks.
Other than some early successes, the Sand Federation had been stuck in a stalemate here for quite some time.
"Lord Kazekage, perhaps we can send squads into the Land of Fire and target its nobility," someone suggested to Pakura.
She frowned slightly. "Attacking civilians?"
Even though she wanted revenge for Kaikō Sanmu, she didn't want to violate shinobi rules. Attacking non-combatants in wartime was strictly forbidden, and any village that did so would be ostracized, just like rogue ninja.
Ninjas didn't produce goods—they relied on civilians for everything. Attacking them would destroy their own foundation. Any village harboring such rogue elements would be forced to eliminate them.
"We wouldn't harm them—just use their influence to force Konoha's forces out of Kikyo Castle. If enough nobles feel threatened, even the Hokage will have to order the troops to fight."
"In that case…"
Pakura thought of Kaikō Sanmu's death. If she didn't avenge him, she couldn't carry on as Kazekage.
"Do it. Send twenty squads. Force Konoha to fight us head-on."
If Gaara weren't still too young and her disciple, she might've used the Tailed Beast already.
Fortunately, the Sand Federation had nearly double the number of ninja Konoha did. Sending twenty squads wouldn't hurt their main forces much.
Konoha couldn't match that. With their numbers already stretched thin, it was hard enough maintaining their scout units—reinforcements would be necessary.
The Sand's movements were swift. With Pakura personally overseeing things, even if Konoha noticed, they didn't dare intercept. Otherwise, Pakura might lead a full assault and take Kikyo Castle.
The Jonin commander at Kikyo Castle could only send the intel back to the village.
The castle could hold back an army—but not small infiltration teams. No terrain could truly block a trained shinobi.
Within two days, Tsunade received a transmission from Kikyo Castle and a report on events in the Land of Fire.
Four nobles had been attacked by Sand ninjas. While casualties were minor, the destruction of their property enraged them. They immediately filed complaints with Konoha—and sent envoys to the capital to accuse the village of negligence, claiming enemy ninjas were running rampant.
Tsunade was deeply troubled. She knew all about Pakura's motives—this entire chain of events started with Hyuga Mirai's scheme to trap Danzo, who foolishly fell for it.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to hate Mirai. Beyond his vision for unity and peace, no one in Konoha had cared for her more.
"This is trouble. Have the ANBU handle it."
Tsunade had been considering where to pull reinforcements from—but when she remembered ANBU, she relaxed.
If nearly four squads had been quietly inserted into ANBU recently, then it was time for the Sarutobi Clan to take responsibility. They had no more excuse to dodge missions now that they were openly vying for power.
With Root's forces still recovering and Konoha preparing to send reinforcements elsewhere, only the ANBU were suited for this job.
"Bring me the ANBU Commander!"
(End of Chapter)