"Oh? That old man actually did well—teamed up with a few others and really managed to drive away the Six Paths of Pain."
After reading the report, Tsunade casually handed it over to Kabuto, who was busy processing paperwork beside her. Kabuto had originally planned to gather intel on the Hyuga clan for another month. But unexpectedly, Tsunade gave him a direct promotion to Chunin and brought him into the Hokage's office as her assistant.
Kabuto was stunned when he received the appointment. He hadn't even completed Lord Orochimaru's orders, yet now had to help Tsunade handle documents. Even though he had received prior instruction, Kabuto was never interested in this kind of work—even if the files contained Konoha's top secrets.
Once Kabuto took over as Tsunade's assistant, the paperwork on the Hokage's desk was reduced to just a few pieces—merely for show. The rest were all with Kabuto.
"Lady Tsunade, let's deploy Intel Team Three to the battlefield in the Land of Rain. While we're at it, we can send Flying Thunder God kunai to Genma Shiranui's squad. As for logistics, we can hold off a bit—it's been less than half a month since the last shipment. Sending more now would strain village funds."
After reviewing the intel, Kabuto quickly offered a plan.
"And then there's Kikyo Castle. We received six more S-rank missions today from the Fire Daimyo's nobility—plus the daimyo himself is demanding accountability. Tch, such a pain. It's Danzo's fault, and I'm the one getting blamed?"
Tsunade clicked her tongue. It didn't make sense for her to take the heat for Danzo's mess.
Sensing Tsunade's gaze on him, Kabuto sighed inwardly. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Clearing out the Sand shinobi within the Land of Fire should be left to Sarutobi Shin'no. But Lady Tsunade, you could push him daily to get it done. Also, downgrade the mission level by one. Once reassigned to ANBU, the mission risk will be re-evaluated. With ANBU's capabilities, an A- or B-rank mission should suffice."
Kabuto laid out his suggestions in one go, then paused before continuing:
"Let's also request another batch of 'enemy suppression' funds from the daimyo. The front lines are under pressure. Without funding, you might have to personally stop the Sand shinobi, Lady Tsunade."
Kabuto's suggestions would generate tens of millions of ryō in additional budget—alleviating Konoha's severe financial strain.
Tsunade was quite pleased with Kabuto's plan. She wouldn't have thought of anything better herself.
"Alright, we'll go with that. That's everything for today. I'll go get some training in."
With that, Tsunade stood up and stretched. She placed the four completed files atop Kabuto's stack and left the Hokage's office quickly, leaving Kabuto stunned.
'Lord Orochimaru, it's not that I'm not doing my best—the Fifth Hokage is just too lazy. The task you gave me might take much longer than expected.'
Kabuto let out a deep breath. Glancing at the half-person-high pile of unprocessed documents, he continued with his work. If he didn't finish today, there'd only be more tomorrow.
Tsunade's "training" wasn't gambling or drinking. She had recently changed. Every day, she actually went to the Senju clan's forest to train.
Though she appeared to be in her forties, her body had been rejuvenated. She no longer needed Yin Seal to maintain her appearance.
Taijutsu, Wood Release, electromagnetic-field-style Ninjutsu development, and Cursed Seal Sage Mode—Tsunade could feel the difference. After awakening Wood Release, her Cursed Seal Sage Mode also began to evolve. Following her genetic enhancement injection, the physical transformations from Cursed Seal Sage Mode became increasingly subtle.
Tsunade's strength was climbing rapidly. Wasting the genetic serum Hyuga Mirai developed for her would be a shame.
As for Kabuto—after observing him for a few days, Tsunade found his administrative skills impeccable. So she handed over all internal affairs of Konoha to him. Not only that, he'd even provide her with summaries afterward. In some ways, Kabuto was an even better assistant than Shizune.
---
"Fugaku committed suicide?!"
Uchiha Tekka widened his eyes slightly after hearing Uchiha Mikoto's words. And it had already been a while? Only now were they being told? Were they trying to hide it?
The more Tekka thought about it, the angrier he became. Slamming the table, he asked sharply, "What is this, Lady Mikoto? If you feel guilty toward the clan, shouldn't you work even harder for it? I thought he had finally come to his senses. And now, after all this time, we're just being informed? Does he think the clan would covet his Mangekyō Sharingan?"
That distrust toward the clan was what truly infuriated Tekka. He himself already had the Mangekyō Sharingan—why would he covet Fugaku's? As for Itachi's eyes not being returned to Mikoto, that was because the clan lacked high-level shinobi. In an emergency, they'd need someone to use Itachi's Mangekyō to fight for the clan.
"So... Fugaku's eyes have already been transplanted?"
Mikoto shook her head and replied gently, "That was the initial idea. Fugaku wanted me to use his eyes as atonement to the clan. But after Mirai-kun studied the Uchiha's Sharingan, he seemed to discover a new method for awakening them—and helped me awaken my own Mangekyō."
As she spoke, Mikoto's eyes shifted into the Mangekyō pattern under Tekka's gaze.
Having another Mangekyō in the clan was objectively a good thing—but Tekka only felt irritated. Fugaku's whole family felt too distant from the rest of the Uchiha.
"Tekka-kun, I just want to contribute to the Uchiha now. As for Fugaku's eyes, I'll leave them to you."
Mikoto handed over the pair of Mangekyō to Tekka. Hyuga Mirai had already extracted the God Tree genes from both Fugaku and Mikoto—so those eyes held no value to him anymore.
"You should join the Security Force. What happened with Itachi has nothing to do with you or Sasuke. If Sasuke doesn't awaken the Mangekyō when he grows up, keep these for him."
Tekka spoke solemnly. The Sand Federation gave the Uchiha decent treatment, but they had too few capable ninja. Their contributions didn't match their rewards. Now that Mikoto had awakened her Mangekyō, the clan's status finally felt justified.
Otherwise, having only about twenty ninja and occupying a top federal position and leading the entire Security Force made Tekka work every day with the utmost seriousness. He couldn't afford to betray that trust.
As Mikoto was about to leave, Tekka hesitated but asked, "Did Mirai-kun really master the secret to awakening the Mangekyō?"
"Yes. He said a lot, though I didn't fully understand. But he was quite confident I'd awaken it. It's just that, later on... things got a little awkward."
She didn't go into detail about the embarrassing part—she was still a widow, and it wasn't important. Saying more would cause misunderstandings.
"I see."
Tekka nodded, then asked Inaho to help Mikoto with the formalities. Privately, he resolved to visit Hyuga Mirai when the time was right.
Tekka had always admired Hyuga Mirai for saving hundreds of Uchiha lives. Now, learning about Roran's merger and the ability to evolve Sharingan into Mangekyō through Mirai's methods, Tekka was even more eager to strengthen their connection.
After Yakura responded affirmatively to Roran's integration, the Federation assigned Hyuga Mirai a residence near the border's training grounds—quiet and convenient. Though he had no official position yet, his accommodations and treatment matched high-ranking officers.
Given his power and influence, no one objected—especially after learning about the Uzumaki Trade Association.
After formally joining the Federation, Mirai promised to have the Uzumaki Trade Association design a full power grid for the cities and build a large-scale power plant outside the urban areas—enough to support 1.5 million people.
That direct benefit quickly won over many previously neutral Federation officials. The leadership began discussing what role to assign Hyuga Mirai.
Mirai was fully aware of their deliberations. But for now, his attention was elsewhere.
"So, Impure World Reincarnation works like this—Regeneration Jutsu combined with Reverse Summoning? No... it's more like Yin Release Summoning. It pulls souls from the Pure Land, even ones long dead. But the chakra cost is huge."
After reading the forbidden scroll that Sasori brought, Mirai couldn't help but admire Tobirama's creativity.
To reconstruct the dead body, the user would summon the soul from the Pure Land by tracing residual chakra from the target's cells using a modified summoning technique.
Mirai didn't fully understand the mechanics behind Rinne Rebirth, but in his opinion, Impure World Reincarnation was already the strongest resurrection jutsu humanity could develop.
The only downside was its enormous cost. Even a Kage-level shinobi might die from chakra depletion using this technique. And it had to be a Kage skilled in both Yang Release and Summoning.
---
"Damn it, that stupid son of mine!"
At that moment, Kushina Uzumaki stormed in, furious. She had been teaching Naruto how to use Nine-Tails chakra when the brat suddenly declared he was going to find Aunt Ayaka instead. Never mind that Kushina had been the Nine-Tails jinchuriki longer.
Mirai glanced at Kushina and then looked away. But based on experience, ignoring her wouldn't stop her from complaining anyway.
After all, this had nothing to do with him.
Kushina and Naruto lived next door to Mirai and Ayaka Uzumaki. Ayaka enjoyed luring Naruto away with new jutsu, which led to constant bickering between the two women.
Kushina usually lost.
(End of Chapter)