While Sasuke and Naruto were following Otsutsuki Hagoromo and getting used to the power they had just obtained, Aoba returned to his beloved Hokage Building.
"You're back this early today?"
Shizune was surprised that Aoba had actually returned during normal working hours.
He had said he was handling serious business, something related to the future of the ninja world.
But her intuition told her that this "future" he talked about was probably not entirely serious.
"Well, once the matter was settled, I came back."
After sitting down in his seat, Aoba leaned against the backrest and closed his eyes to rest.
"..."
Looking at how relaxed he was, Shizune couldn't help rolling her eyes and teasing him.
"If you came here to sleep, wouldn't it be more comfortable to just go home? Yugito and Kin could keep you company too."
"Shizune-nee, I just fought a big battle for the future of the ninja world. Can't you at least show a little concern for me?"
Aoba replied innocently after hearing her complaint.
"A big battle?"
Shizune paused, then said with a strange look on her face,
"When you say a big battle, you mean an actual battle, right?"
She wasn't some innocent little girl. Who knew whether the battle this bad guy was talking about was serious or not?
Besides, was there anyone left in the ninja world capable of fighting Aoba?
"Uh..."
Hearing her doubt, Aoba opened his mouth, then found himself at a loss for words.
But it wasn't really Shizune's fault. He usually wasn't very serious.
This time, however, he had genuinely gone to do something important.
Aoba immediately changed his lazy posture and sat up straight.
"Of course it was serious. I fought the Sage of Six Paths."
"The Sage of Six Paths... doesn't sound right..."
When Shizune first heard the title, she didn't react immediately.
After all, that was someone from a thousand years ago.
Although ninja academy teachers would usually mention him during history lessons, it was simply too far in the past.
It wasn't something she could instantly connect to.
She was still thinking that the title didn't sound like something given to a woman.
Only after thinking about it carefully for a moment did her eyes suddenly widen.
"Wait! The Sage of Six Paths you mentioned... is it the Sage of Six Paths I'm thinking of?"
"..."
Seeing how long it took her to react, along with her earlier expression, Aoba was speechless.
"So when you first heard 'Sage of Six Paths,' what exactly did you think of?"
Shizune: "..."
Could she really be blamed for that misunderstanding?
Wasn't it because a certain scumbag had built up that kind of reputation?
Still, since she had misunderstood him, she got up and walked behind his chair, then began massaging his shoulders.
Aoba immediately showed an expression of enjoyment.
"..."
Shizune pinched his cheek unhappily.
"Alright, can you tell me exactly what happened now?"
"To put it simply, that Sage of Six Paths never actually died a thousand years ago. Some of the things I've been doing recently don't match his ideas, so we had a simple spar."
Aoba stopped joking around and briefly explained the situation.
"Did you get hurt?"
Shizune asked instinctively.
After all, that was the Sage of Six Paths.
But she quickly realized the question was unnecessary.
If this guy had suffered even a minor injury, he wouldn't be acting like this.
"No. A mere Sage of Six Paths can't hurt me," Aoba spoke casually.
"..."
Hearing him brag like that, Shizune couldn't resist pinching his cheek again. It really did feel nice.
Then she asked curiously, "So how has the Sage of Six Paths stayed alive all this time?"
She had never heard of anyone living for over a thousand years.
Could someone who lived that long still be considered human?
Even if she mastered the Yin Seal, she'd be satisfied living past a hundred.
"That's a long story. It starts with the origins of the Sage of Six Paths..."
Aoba didn't keep her guessing, nor did he hide anything.
After all, before long he planned to release Otsutsuki Kaguya. When that happened, if Kaguya had nowhere else to go, wouldn't she end up living at their house?
.
.
.
"Otsutsuki Kaguya? The Otsutsuki Clan? Aliens?"
After hearing everything, Shizune was completely stunned.
After working as the Hokage's secretary for so long, she had thought she already knew most of the ninja world's secrets and history.
And now another bombshell had dropped on her, leaving her dizzy.
"That's really hard to believe..."
Shizune murmured softly.
Meanwhile, Aoba narrowed his eyes, "Shizune-nee, if you squeeze any harder, you're going to crush my head."
While spacing out, both her hands were still holding his head.
She had been unconsciously increasing her strength.
"You're exaggerating."
Shizune complained while pinching his cheek, then suddenly thought of something and asked curiously, "So exactly which ideas of yours conflicted with that Sage of Six Paths?"
"Well..."
Aoba's gaze shifted away.
Although Shizune was behind him and couldn't see his eyes, his hesitation told her enough.
This time, the strength in her hands really did reach a level capable of crushing certain things.
"Was it because of that sealed Otsutsuki Kaguya?"
"Cough! When Hinata and I went to the moon before, we accidentally entered the space where she was sealed. I felt like she wasn't a bad person, so I wanted to release her and make her an important force for dealing with the Otsutsuki Clan in the future...", Aoba explained righteously.
"..."
Shizune rolled her eyes speechlessly, then asked a strange question.
"If she comes to live with us, will she be the older sister or the younger sister?"
Based on who came first, she should be the younger sister.
But considering her identity and age, she was over a thousand years old, it felt very strange.
"I think it would be more appropriate if you all treated her like a child," Aoba suggested.
"A child?", Shizune was slightly stunned.
Did that make sense?
Although there was already the example of Uchiha Hikari, who had been sealed for hundreds of years and acted like a child afterward, Otsutsuki Kaguya was obviously different.
'She already has two sons...'
Shizune was confused.
"How should I put it... Her personality was already fairly... simple. Plus, she was sealed for a thousand years, so she's kind of like a child," Aoba explained.
"Then Aoba, do you really not think your behavior is extremely creepy?"
"..."