The Hokage Residence.
Four in the morning.
Hiruzen Sarutobi swung his legs out of the wide bed, and Biwako was already busy in the kitchen.
As Konoha steadily grew stronger, something else seemed to be growing with it.
His body.
His energy was ridiculous lately, like it had a second wind that never ran out. His appetite had jumped too, almost to an absurd level.
When he sat down at the table and saw the steaming spread, he was genuinely pleased.
Meat, eggs, milk, everything he needed. Cooked the way he liked it.
He ate one bite of rice, one bite of meat. His manners stayed decent, but the speed was a storm tearing through a field.
"Sit and eat with me, Biwako…"
Biwako tucked back a strand of slightly damp hair, poured herself a small bowl of porridge, and sat beside him. She watched him eat with quiet amusement, eyes warm.
People who cooked loved guests like Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He didn't just eat. He appreciated.
She wasn't hungry. She got up to cook because she wouldn't allow herself, as his wife, to let him leave the house without a hot meal.
Hiruzen was grinding himself down for the village.
If she couldn't even do something this small…
Biwako felt like neither the Will of Fire nor the duty of a good wife would forgive her.
"Hiruzen, slow down," she said, laughing softly. "There's more."
"Your appetite is even better than when Shinzo was growing up. And you're getting sturdier too…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi lifted an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
Biwako rolled her eyes. Even privately, the Hokage could be hopeless.
Then her expression shifted, and worry slipped in. "That forbidden technique you've been using to restore your body… it's really okay?"
"It's fine," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a broad grin, waving it off. "More like a combined formula. Reserve Seal mixed with Tobirama-sensei's notes. No harm to the body."
When something was hard to explain cleanly, tossing it onto the Second Hokage's name was always convenient.
And besides, he had the nickname "Professor." Knowing a few techniques wasn't exactly strange.
It was funny, though.
The moment Biwako heard "Reserve Seal," her face visibly relaxed.
Then the name Tobirama Senju came up and her brow pinched again without her even noticing.
"Don't be so stuck in your impressions," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, shaking his head with a smile as he reached for the last few eggs. "Some of Tobirama-sensei's jutsu do leave a… strong memory, sure."
"But not all of them are like that."
Biwako automatically took the eggs, peeling them carefully, nodding like she understood even if she didn't fully.
As long as he was fine, that was what mattered.
"By the way," she said, joking, "will your technique keep making you younger?"
"At some point people might start saying we're a young husband and an old wife."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.
"Probably not. And even if it does, I'll use the Reserve Seal to fix myself at my prime."
That thought had nothing to do with her teasing.
It was about authority.
A leader's appearance mattered. It was the first impression people carried, the easiest one to believe.
You didn't want to look too young. Too much was too much.
A steady, strong, prime-of-life image naturally told people: reliable, experienced, powerful.
That was the best fit for him.
And the Reserve Seal was something Hiruzen Sarutobi truly intended to master.
With his body's ceiling steadily rising, a technique that could adjust chakra pathways and store daily Chakra over time was almost perfect.
A man-made backup power source.
"Mito-sama adopted that child with Wood Style," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, clearing his throat. "She named him Yamato."
"When you have time, you can go visit Mito-sama for me. She's getting old, and… women have more to talk about."
He coughed again, then added with a straight face, "If you two get along, it helps me as Hokage. And maybe she can guide you a little too."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was confident he could learn the Reserve Seal himself.
Helping Biwako master it was another story. He didn't even want to think about how much time and effort that would take.
So he took the easier path.
Let Biwako try with Mito Uzumaki.
It was two wins in one.
Biwako visiting Mito was, in truth, a kind of "wife diplomacy," keeping a good relationship with Konoha's living pillar in Hiruzen Sarutobi's place.
And if Biwako happened to become a bit younger from it…
Hiruzen Sarutobi certainly wouldn't complain.
Who didn't want their wife to look even more beautiful?
Biwako's eyes brightened. She nodded eagerly. "I understand, Hiruzen!"
"I'm done," Hiruzen Sarutobi said as he changed into a black set of training clothes.
The Hokage hat and robe carried weight, but the wide sleeves were terrible for practice. He didn't like wearing them outside of official moments.
"Work hard today too," Biwako said, smiling.
After he left, she hummed as she cleaned up the dishes, already preparing breakfast for Asuma and Shinzo as well.
About half an hour later, Asuma shuffled out of his room, bleary-eyed.
He sucked in a breath and scrubbed his face hard.
After seeing how much his father fought for the village, there was no way he, as a son, could fall behind.
Especially lately at the Academy.
The newly enrolled prodigy, Kakashi Hatake, had already announced he planned to graduate early and become a full ninja as soon as possible.
If Asuma didn't work harder, wouldn't that just embarrass his father?
"Mom," Asuma said, perking up as he saw the table, "you got up this early? This breakfast is huge!"
He muttered to himself as he looked around. "Should I go wake Dad up? Or let him rest more? He's so tired…"
Biwako smiled with a little too much sweetness. "Your father has already been out training for about half an hour."
"You're the last one up in the whole family, Asuma."
"And your brother already went to work too. He's Anbu. He has to patrol the whole village."
Asuma's eyes snapped wide.
No way.
That title, last one up, hit him like Lightning Style straight to the soul.
He felt like he'd been blasted into crackling white ash, like even his hair smelled of hopelessness.
"You're still a kid," Biwako said, laughing. "You're growing."
"Eat more, sleep more, train seriously. Don't compare yourself to your father and brother."
Asuma nodded, grudgingly.
He hadn't expected the Sarutobi household to be packed with legends of early rising like fish flooding a river.
But then another thought popped up.
Hmph. Even if he couldn't beat Dad, he could still beat his classmates at the Academy.
He'd spread the story of how hard his father worked. He'd make it pressure everyone.
Just imagining their faces made him feel a little better. A smile crept onto his mouth.
And in Hidden Leaf Village…
On the roof of a tall building, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with the village spread out beneath him.
Fine arcs of lightning moved across his skin.
This was his daily routine. Using the special mechanism behind Lightning Style Armour to dig out the potential buried inside his body.
A slow grind, step by step, day after day.
As he trained, he also swept his gaze across Konoha and checked the posts as a matter of habit.
Oh?
Something caught his eye.
Not far away, Minato Namikaze was out on an early run.
And behind him, moving like a little shadow, was Kakashi Hatake, sneaking along with all the subtlety of a cat stalking prey.