Chapter 261: A Real Man Keeps His Word, and Sees It Through!
Konoha
The Hokage Building
Three days back in Konoha, and Sakura found herself stretching in her office chair.
With Mōryō dealt with, the first-ever shinobi coalition army had also disbanded almost immediately after, going their separate ways — a genuinely bittersweet turn of events, in a way.
Worth noting: during the Hokage's time away, the Fifth Hokage's likeness had already been fully carved into the Hokage Monument. Beyond that, the first redevelopment zone had also been fully demolished and was already under reconstruction.
And under the tutelage of the shrewd, capable Second Hokage himself, Naruto had rapidly refined the Rasengan into a full Rasenshuriken — and could now throw it directly using Sage Mode.
The moment Sakura had returned to the village, Naruto had practically dragged her over to show it off.
And then there was one more thing—
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone rapped on the office door, and Sakura, flipping through paperwork at her desk, paused briefly.
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing a tall figure.
"Something you need?"
Sakura glanced at the visitor, then went right back to her paperwork, not bothering to look up.
"Sakura. The Great Toad Sage wants to see you."
Jiraiya spoke, calm, watching the Hokage.
Ever since Mōryō had been dealt with, Fukasaku had summoned Jiraiya back to Mount Myōboku, saying the Great Toad Sage had awoken and delivered a fresh prophecy.
The Great Toad Sage had glimpsed a fragment of the future.
An unknown existence, standing before the entire shinobi world.
Some sang her praises. Others despised her.
That figure walked, step by step, through countless ruins, advancing toward an unknown future.
The Great Toad Sage couldn't make out that figure's face, or full silhouette — only a single detail. Sakura-pink hair.
Listening to Jiraiya's account, Sakura's eyes shimmered with something faintly bemused, and she gave him an odd look.
"So you're saying — you think that's me?"
Jiraiya nodded, dead serious. "Who else would it be?"
Who else in the entire shinobi world with pink hair was even worth the Great Toad Sage bothering to prophesy about?
Aside from Sakura, Jiraiya genuinely couldn't think of a single other candidate.
"Wait a bit. Let me finish up what's in front of me first."
Sakura wasn't particularly eager to head to Mount Myōboku with Jiraiya.
A bunch of toads had already talked Jiraiya into such a state he could barely find his own way home — if not for Naruto's and Jiraiya's own sake, Sakura would honestly consider bringing a squad up there just to sew that so-called Great Toad Sage's mouth shut.
Cranky old thing, prophesying at me nonstop, day and night.
One of these days I'll skin you for your toad-hide and donate it to Konoha's medicine cabinet.
A thousand-year-old toad hide would probably make for some seriously potent medicine.
"...Then hurry up. Don't keep the Great Toad Sage waiting too long."
"If he falls back asleep, we might miss the window entirely."
Jiraiya glanced at the substantial stack of paperwork piled up on Sakura's desk over these past few days, hesitating slightly.
He didn't understand much about this kind of work — he assumed it would eat up plenty of time.
But he had no idea that under Sakura's relentless whip-cracking, Konoha's entire administrative system now ran with dramatically improved efficiency — at this point, Sakura barely needed to do more than stamp her seal on most of it.
Jiraiya, of course, had no idea about any of this. What would a man who spent his days lounging around the women's bathhouse possibly know about administrative efficiency?
And Sakura had no intention of dropping her work just because some toad demanded her presence.
You call, and I'm supposed to come running immediately? Do I have no dignity at all?
If you want to see me so badly, why don't you come find me yourself?
The office fell into a slightly heavier silence, and Sakura twirled the Hokage's seal idly in one hand, propping her cheek on the other, watching Jiraiya — currently scratching at his ear, restless, on the couch — with mild amusement.
He wasn't someone with much patience to begin with. If the Great Toad Sage's prophecy hadn't been this significant, he'd have bolted already.
Isobu, in the nearby fish tank... the "tortoise"... glanced over at Jiraiya, bubbling contentedly.
Afraid the toad might fall asleep?
Just wake him back up, obviously...
What a foolish human, unable to figure out something this simple.
Time ticked by, minute after minute, until the sky itself had gradually taken on a yellowing tinge.
Just as Jiraiya lay sprawled on the couch, snoring away, the door was flung open urgently, jolting him awake instantly.
"Lord Hokage!"
"Something's happened!"
Deiwashi, now head of the intelligence division, rushed in personally, carrying the latest intelligence report.
"Huh? What happened?"
Sakura lifted her head from her desk, rubbing her eyes, still somewhat groggy.
This guy actually managed to fall asleep in my office, just from waiting on Mount Myōboku business — impressive stamina, honestly.
"The Fifth Kazekage and the Fifth Mizukage have gone missing!"
Deiwashi's expression was grim.
???
Sakura's groggy eyes snapped instantly awake at those words.
Kazekage. Mizukage...
She took the report Deiwashi handed her, scanning the text, her green eyes narrowing.
According to the report, the Mizukage's entire fleet had vanished somewhere out on the open sea — by the time Kirigakure sent people to search for him, all that remained on the water's surface was scattered wreckage and the floating bodies of drowned Kiri shinobi.
And the Kazekage, Gaara, had been ambushed right at the very gates of his own village.
His attacker had been extraordinarily powerful — powerful enough that Gaara, even with a thousand shinobi protecting him, hadn't been able to put up the slightest resistance.
And due to the sandstorm raging at the time, no one had gotten a clear look at the attacker's face — but there was no mistaking his attire.
A black cloak, patterned with red clouds.
Akatsuki.
"So that's it, is it..."
Studying the report in her hands, understanding dawned in Sakura's mind.
Moving this fast, already?
"When exactly did this happen?"
Sakura looked at Deiwashi.
"Three days ago."
Sakura's brow furrowed slightly.
Three days.
Which meant Akatsuki had made their move on the very same day the shinobi coalition disbanded.
That eager, were they?
"What about the Raikage?"
Sakura suddenly asked.
"Ah, the Raikage made it back to Kumogakure safely."
Deiwashi looked slightly puzzled at the question.
"I see."
Sakura gave a small nod.
No move made against Killer Bee?
Couldn't manage it, or...
Suddenly, a certain figure surfaced unbidden in Sakura's mind.
Tsuchidai, the so-called Raikage's court minister.
Sakura had no idea why that particular figure had come to mind so abruptly.
But some near-instinctive certainty told her — something was wrong with that man.
With her Yang-Release cultivation reaching the level it had, her instincts had become remarkably reliable by now.
If she felt something was off about Tsuchidai, then something genuinely was off about him.
This had gone beyond mere intuition. It had become instinctive certainty.
"What? What is it?"
"What's going on with the Kazekage and Mizukage?"
Jiraiya, hearing Deiwashi's report, came stumbling over.
Sakura eyed the drool still clinging to the corner of Jiraiya's mouth with distaste, then simply shoved the report directly into his arms.
Jiraiya scanned through it at a glance, finishing quickly.
He froze in place, entirely still.
He didn't know how to process what he was feeling right now, didn't know what he should even do.
But he knew one thing, with absolute certainty.
The Child of Prophecy he'd staked so much faith in, the wielder of the Rinnegan — Nagato...
It's over.
Sunagakure and Kirigakure might not yet know who exactly led Akatsuki.
But that hardly mattered anymore.
Because there was no way either village would let whoever had done this to their Kazekage and Mizukage walk away unpunished.
Whether or not Kirigakure ever pieced together that Akatsuki was behind their Mizukage's disappearance didn't matter either.
The simultaneous timing — Kazekage captured, Mizukage vanished — already told the whole story on its own.
Nagato...
Konan...
Jiraiya's thoughts spun in chaos. He couldn't understand how Nagato had ended up like this.
"Sakura. What are you going to do?"
Jiraiya finally forced himself to look at the current Hokage.
Deiwashi, at that, tactfully excused himself and left.
He knew — whatever came next wasn't something he needed to be privy to.
The more he knew, the more trouble it would bring.
"What am I going to do?"
"Obviously, I'll..."
Sakura glanced at Jiraiya.
Right now, thanks to the Mōryō incident, quite a few of the 4,500 shinobi she'd taken with her were still recovering as patients, and Konoha's hospital was working at full capacity.
Tsunade had barely rested at all in three days.
And Sakura herself still needed to carve out time for a trip to Shikkotsu Forest, to replenish the Sage Chakra reserves in her Yin Seal.
Just then, the office door was knocked again.
The visitor was Anzu from within the Hokage Building — Sakura had seen her a few times, had some impression of her.
"Lord Hokage, a noble by the name of Himura has arrived to pay a visit."
Anzu spoke, visibly nervous.
Himura?
That man survived Kakuzu and Hidan's attack?
Sakura's brow furrowed slightly.
Describing her current relationship with the Land of Fire's nobility as "tense" would be an understatement.
For him to suddenly show up now, of all times...
"Understood. Have him wait in the receiving room."
Sakura felt things were piling up all at once, one after another.
Watching Anzu leave and close the door, Jiraiya turned back to Sakura.
"You saw that. I don't have time right now."
With that, Sakura stood, intending to go meet with Himura in the receiving room.
"Sakura. About Akatsuki..."
Jiraiya trailed off, clearly wanting to say more.
Not just about Akatsuki — there was still the matter of the Great Toad Sage at Mount Myōboku, too.
"I'll head to Mount Myōboku once I'm done with Himura."
"As for Akatsuki..."
At that, she glanced back once at the tall man standing before her.
"They can't stir up much trouble."
Whatever could be solved through raw force was, more often than not, the simplest kind of problem.
Can't win? Then just get stronger until you can.
And besides, Konoha, as it currently stood, had nothing to fear from Akatsuki whatsoever.
Even if they got desperate enough to drag Madara Uchiha himself out of the grave, Sakura could still hand him a couple of solid beatings.
As for Kaguya Ōtsutsuki? That was a problem for whenever she actually showed up.
Himura, meanwhile, represented something else entirely — the nobility as a class.
That particular class had held its place in the shinobi world for a thousand years, and its entrenched worldview had sunk deep roots into everyone's minds.
Prejudice embedded in the human heart was an entire mountain.
Moving that mountain was never going to happen overnight.
Watching the pink-haired figure disappear around the corner, something complicated flickered through Jiraiya's eyes.
Nagato...
—
The receiving room
"Lord Hokage."
The moment the door opened, the man seated inside, sipping tea, rose immediately to his feet, bowing his straight, dignified back toward the young Hokage.
"Mm."
The Hokage gave the refined-looking man a small nod.
As the Hokage took her seat at the head of the room, a staff member promptly brought over a steaming cup of tea.
"Lord Hokage, it's been over a month since our last meeting."
"Might I ask whether Lord Hokage has managed to determine the culprit behind the Fire Temple incident?"
By now, Himura had gotten a solid read on this Hokage's temperament.
Too much flowery courtesy would only irritate her further.
"Mm. Kakuzu, the Undying Shinobi. Hidan, the cultist."
"Both dealt with."
The Hokage answered evenly.
"That Kakuzu?"
Himura blinked, mildly surprised.
No wonder this Hokage handled the Fire Temple matter with such efficiency.
So it was that Kakuzu, after all.
As for Hidan — Himura hadn't heard of him. Probably some nobody.
"The reason for my visit today is that, with Konoha currently undergoing expansion, and considering His Excellency the Daimyo's noble station requires proper attendants for his care."
"I have personally brought eight hundred attendants along with me to Konoha."
"Given that Konoha falls under Lord Hokage's own domain, I felt it proper to consult you directly."
"Should Lord Hokage require it, I can also arrange for attendants to see to your own daily needs."
"After all, while shinobi exist to protect the nation, when it comes to matters of proper care and comfort..."
Himura smiled, apparently having entirely forgotten how poorly their last meeting had ended.
"No need to trouble yourself over that. I—"
The Hokage shook her head slightly, raising no objection at all to the eight hundred attendants brought along for the Daimyo.
As far as she was concerned, eight hundred, eight thousand, eighty thousand — it made no difference. None of them would be stirring up any trouble once inside Konoha's walls.
"Lord Hokage, perhaps you should see the visitor first."
Himura gave a light laugh, shaking his head.
He'd already gathered a fairly thorough picture of this Hokage's personal habits.
The women she typically kept company with were, without exception, daughters of prominent houses.
The Yamanaka clan's own young lady.
An illegitimate Uchiha daughter.
A surviving heir of the Uzumaki clan.
...
Which told him plenty — this particular Hokage had no taste for men. Women, on the other hand, were clearly to her liking.
Himura wasn't worried about her demanding something excessive. If anything, the real risk was her wanting nothing at all — that would be the actually troublesome outcome.
At Himura's clap of the hands, the receiving room's door opened once more.
A figure stepped slowly into the Hokage's line of sight.
A single person.
A young woman.
More precisely — an extraordinarily beautiful young woman.
Dressed in an elaborate pink gown, her long dark hair pinned with an exquisite crimson jade hairpin, her features carrying an unmistakable air of delicate, pitiable charm — her ruby-red eyes shimmered like polished gems, without a single flaw to be found.
"Lord Hokage."
The girl approached the Hokage, folded her hands together, pressed her forehead to the back of them, and prostrated herself fully on the floor.
Not just her appearance — even her voice was flawless.
"This girl is the legitimate daughter of the Itsutsura family. Her name is Nao. Accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting — gentle and considerate in temperament."
"Given how heavily burdened Lord Hokage's duties are, having someone close and devoted to lighten your spirits during difficult moments would surely be a fine thing indeed."
Himura watched the Hokage, eyes crinkled with a satisfied smile.
The Hokage regarded the prostrated girl before her with faint surprise.
Has Himura completely lost his mind?
Sending me a person as a gift?
He might as well have just written "planted spy" across his own forehead in bold letters.
"Lift your head."
The Hokage spoke.
Nao Itsutsura raised her head, revealing a delicate, pitiable face.
"Not bad-looking."
The Hokage said, and Himura's smile broadened slightly at that.
But the next sentence froze that smile stiff on his face.
"Ten years ago, the Uchiha clan suffered a devastating tragedy, leaving only Sasuke Uchiha behind."
"To prevent the Uchiha line from dying out entirely — you'll go be with him instead."
Sasuke, Sasuke. That promise about the twenty wives — I haven't forgotten it, you know.
See? I'm already delivering on it — here's number one!
A real man keeps his word, and sees it through!
Current progress: 1/20.
At that thought, the corner of Sakura's mouth curled into a small, satisfied smile.
"Lord Hokage?"
Himura's expression froze, staring at the Hokage before him.
"What, a problem?"
The Hokage glanced over at Himura's rigid expression.
"Not at all, of course."
Himura let out an inward sigh at that.
"Right, one more thing. Since construction on the Daimyo's residence is about to begin — given His Excellency's noble station, we absolutely cannot afford to handle it carelessly."
The Hokage continued, and at the mention of the Daimyo's residence, Himura's expression shifted with understanding — but even so, his brow furrowed slightly, and he opened his mouth to speak, only to meet that calm, unwavering gaze once more.
"...Understood."
(End of chapter)
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