After chatting for a while, the three of them parted ways and went home separately.
"By the way, will Uncle and Aunt be coming back for New Year this year?"
"They'll send some things back."
"Really? Don't you feel lonely?"
Hakushi asked.
"It doesn't really matter to me."
"Looks like it'll be just the two of us staying up together again this year."
Hakushi put his hands behind his head, speaking absentmindedly.
"Yeah, another year with nothing to look forward to."
Ruri said, then gazed at the grey, gloomy sky, lost in thought.
◎
December passed quickly. Ever since Konoha and the Hidden Sand signed a truce, nothing big had happened in the Ninja Realm.
During this time, Sakumo's squad only took on two missions, both relatively simple C-Class Missions—clearing out a bandit base within the Land of Fire and escorting a caravan to the neighboring Land of Waves.
Compared to the calm and quiet Ninja Realm, a few small things did happen within Konoha Village.
For instance, Tsunade resigned from her position at Konoha Hospital and devoted herself to nurturing Medical Ninja at the Ninja School.
This made many people rather puzzled.
Among those confused was Hakushi.
With Tsunade's unparalleled medical ninjutsu, there was simply no one in today's Ninja Realm who could match her.
Among ninja, the strongest are naturally the Five Kage.
But in the world of Medical Ninja, the strongest now is unquestionably Tsunade.
In the eyes of Medical Ninja everywhere, Tsunade is the peak they all aspire to surpass.
With Tsunade's abilities, she could easily hold her position at Konoha Hospital while also cultivating new Medical Ninja at the Ninja School—the two roles don't conflict at all.
After all, her position at Konoha Hospital only really required her to handle the toughest surgeries; most injuries could be managed by other Medical Ninja.
As for the higher-ups, they made no explanations, only saying they respected Tsunade's own wishes.
Even after stepping down from her position at Konoha Hospital, the Medical Ninja in Konoha could still consult Tsunade for complex medical issues.
Tsunade herself didn't say much about it either.
You could say that, in the field of Medical Ninja, she is the utmost authority.
She herself seems deeply passionate about training more outstanding Medical Ninja for the village.
Compared to the other two Sannin, Tsunade's prestige is even more solid, with a massive public following.
The various medicines she developed for Konoha, her ability to counter all of Chiyo, the Hidden Sand Elder's poisons singlehandedly during the war, greatly reduced the puppet corps' poisonous threat.
Not to mention, the countless Konoha Ninja she saved through surgery during the war left many Konoha Ninja deeply grateful to her—invisibly building her vast network and support base.
If you had to say which of the Sannin was most likely to become the next Hokage, Hakushi thought Tsunade's chances were higher than the other two.
She inherited the excellent bloodline of her grandfather, the First Hokage, has a solid public foundation, has saved countless patients with her surgery, and is outstanding in Jonin-level strength… If she herself wanted to be Hokage, probably few in Konoha would oppose her.
But that's just Hakushi's personal opinion, because Konoha's political environment is really… well, how should I put this, quite unique.
Hakushi really couldn't find the right words, so could only call Konoha's political system "unique."
The Hokage's most trusted direct force, the Anbu, is divided into Anbu and Root.
Yet control over Root isn't in the Hokage's hands, but Root has operational freedom equal to that of the Anbu.
The Uchiha run Konoha's Security Team, whose authority in some aspects even surpasses the Hokage's direct Anbu.
For example, the Anbu require written Hokage orders to arrest people, while the Security Team can detain suspects before the Hokage's orders arrive.
As a Ninja Clan, the Uchiha wield enormous power.
Yet despite their power, the Uchiha Security Team headquarters isn't in the Konoha Center, but in a more remote part of the village, hampering their ability to perform their duties.
There are still many such issues in principle, all things Hakushi felt need to be changed.
The First Hokage may have founded Konoha, and the Second Hokage created the Ninja Village system, but the things they left behind included many rules no longer suited to the times.
If there's no reform in the future, it's inevitable that tragic events will occur.
Thinking about it, Hakushi started to feel he was perhaps worrying too much.
The organization's affairs had already been officially set in motion.
The five people he sent out are now following Ruri's parents' newly founded business group, and had already bought a large territory in the Land of Demons to establish a base.
Hakushi just had to wait for the next, more intense war to break out, and then he could leave Konoha to pursue his own path.
His beliefs, his way of thinking, simply didn't fit with this village.
◎
January, the start of the new year.
To avoid suspicion, he and Ruri always joined the festival together every New Year.
Now that Ayane had joined Sakumo's squad, they could openly be together without causing unnecessary doubts.
A team established like this is, in some sense, a connection of bonds—each member of the squad is like family.
"Happy New Year."
Wearing a brand-new white kimono with pink sakura patterns, Ayane, who'd already been waiting along the street for a long time, bent slightly towards Hakushi and Ruri as they walked up to her.