Chapter 239: Come Here, Let's Sleep Together
"I'll get the door," Minato Namikaze stood up and went to the entrance.
He opened the door and saw an Anbu ninja standing outside, immediately sensing that something was wrong.
It seemed the situation on the Land of Frost battlefield had reached a critical point.
"Lord Minato."
The Anbu ninja presented a scroll and said, "This is the urgent battle report from the Land of Frost."
"Thank you," Minato Namikaze took the scroll.
"There is one more thing," the Anbu ninja continued. "Lord Hokage has ordered the termination of your current mission."
"What mission?" Minato Namikaze was stunned, not immediately understanding.
"The mission to protect Lady Kushina," the Anbu ninja replied.
Minato Namikaze's face instantly showed confusion upon hearing this.
What does this mean?
Why was his mission to protect Kushina Uzumaki canceled?
"What's wrong, Minato?" Kushina Uzumaki walked up to him and asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing," Minato Namikaze opened the scroll and said, "This is the battle report from the Land of Frost. Let's read it together."
"Is it my turn to enter the stage?" Kushina Uzumaki mistakenly thought Minato's unusual behavior was because she was being sent to the battlefield.
But after reading it, she realized she was wildly mistaken.
"It's over before I even got to play a part?" Kushina Uzumaki exclaimed.
"This is truly incredible!" Minato Namikaze couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
He suddenly realized a problem.
Tsunade would, without a doubt, become the Fourth Hokage.
He had originally been confident in securing the Fifth Hokage position, but now, Hoshikawa would certainly become his competitor.
Logically, given Hoshikawa's young age, it would be most appropriate for him to aim for the Sixth Hokage.
But the issue was his current overwhelming strength.
In the ninja world, strength reigns supreme, and once power reaches a certain level, age becomes irrelevant.
Minato Namikaze felt a pang of bitterness at the thought.
Judging by the current situation, his prediction was likely to come true.
Unless he could achieve a battle record more terrifying than Hoshikawa's.
But that was impossible.
Who else in the entire ninja world had higher value than the Two-Tails, Eight-Tails, and the Fourth Raikage combined?
"Why do you look unhappy?" Kushina Uzumaki noticed the change in his expression.
"I was just thinking about the Hokage position," Minato Namikaze didn't hide it and said directly. "I estimate I can't compete with Lady Tsunade and Hoshikawa."
Kushina Uzumaki understood the reason after a brief moment of thought.
It was indeed an awkward situation.
"I have nothing to complain about if my strength is insufficient," Minato Namikaze said with a frank smile, sounding unconcerned.
A win is a win, and a loss is a loss.
Moreover, he was genuinely convinced by Hoshikawa's victory.
He knew that even he absolutely could not have achieved such a battle record.
Iwagakure, Tsuchikage Building.
"It's a good thing we chose to negotiate peace with Konoha," Ōnoki said with lingering fear after reading the intelligence report.
If they had launched an attack on Konoha, their fate would likely have been as disastrous as Kumogakure's.
If Hoshikawa could defeat the Eight-Tails, their Four-Tails and Five-Tails stood no chance.
In fact, this was true.
After all, the Four-Tails had already been captured alive by Hoshikawa.
And at that time, he had only used Water Release, not Wood Release.
"After many years, Konoha has Wood Release again. This is bad news for us," Kūtsuchi said with a grave expression.
"Hashirama Senju... Wood Release..."
Ōnoki recalled the story of following the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, to Konoha when he was young.
Both he and Mū were defeated by Madara Uchiha, but they dared not complain.
Because at that time, Konoha had the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
"How should we respond?" Kūtsuchi asked after a period of silence.
"How can we respond? Doing nothing is the best course of action," Ōnoki shook his head and said.
Kūtsuchi wanted to speak but finally sighed internally.
"Now that the Great Ninja War is over, the Five Great Nations will enter a period of relative peace. We might still be able to catch up to Konoha," Ōnoki glanced at him and said. "It's not time to give up yet."
"Yes, Father!" Kūtsuchi's spirits lifted as he responded.
"Iwagakure will adopt two major strategies: first, vigorously develop the village's economy, and second, focus on cultivating the village's young ninja," Ōnoki held up two fingers and stated.
Given Iwagakure's current situation, it would be difficult for the middle and older generations of ninja to make further breakthroughs.
To surpass Hoshikawa, they had to rely on the young generation's geniuses.
"How is my granddaughter doing?" Ōnoki suddenly thought of Kurotsuchi, who had been born not long ago, and asked.
"She was causing a fuss when I left earlier," Kūtsuchi said, a smile appearing on his face.
"Let's go. We'll go see the future of Iwagakure," Ōnoki stood up and said.
Land of Frost, Sunagakure Temporary Base.
After Tsunade and Hoshikawa led their team to Kumogakure's new encampment, they were assigned by Orochimaru to the west of the Land of Frost.
Orochimaru's given reason was to prevent a sneak attack by Kumogakure, but Pakura and Rasa vaguely felt something was amiss.
However, since they were dependent on Konoha, they couldn't object.
They executed Orochimaru's order without further question.
Inside the main tent, Pakura, Rasa, and a group of Jonin were gathered.
Tsunade had not forgotten them and had specially sent a team of ninja to deliver a message.
"The situation is exactly as stated," the Konohagakure Jonin said. "The war is over. All of you may return to the main encampment."
After he finished speaking, the main tent fell into complete silence.
Both Pakura and Rasa, and the others, were trying to process the explosive intelligence he had brought.
The Konohagakure Jonin's lips curled into a slight smile; he was barely restraining himself from laughing out loud.
To see so many Sunagakure Jonin look completely dumbfounded at once made the journey worthwhile.
At that moment, his sense of belonging to Konohagakure reached its peak.
"We will take our leave first," the Konohagakure Jonin finished and turned to exit the main tent.
"Is what he said true?" Maki couldn't help but ask.
"He has no reason to lie," Rasa said in a low voice. "We can expose his lie as soon as we return to the main encampment."
"I never expected the war to conclude in such a manner," Pakura rubbed her brow and said.
"I wish it had ended in a different way," Maki sighed.
Everyone fell silent.
They understood Maki's unspoken meaning.
The strength displayed by Konohagakure in this battle was simply too terrifying.
If the war had ended normally, it wouldn't have caused them such alarm.
Although Sunagakure and Konohagakure were allies for now, there were no eternal allies in the ninja world.
One day, they would become enemy villages again.
When that time came, what could Sunagakure use to resist Konohagakure?
"Now, we can only hope that another Hashirama Senju doesn't emerge," Rasa said slowly.
"That's a matter for the future," Pakura comforted him. "At least for now, we are the victors."
Kirigakure.
It was already late at night.
Mei Terumi stood by the window, looking at the foggy weather outside.
Amegakure had perpetual rain, while Kirigakure often experienced fog.
This was why they had created the Hiding in Mist Technique and the Silent Killing technique.
"Did that pervert die on the Land of Frost battlefield?" Mei Terumi suddenly thought of Hoshikawa.
Although she frequently inquired about the situation on the Land of Frost battlefield, Kirigakure was too far away, and intelligence was often delayed.
Unless it was major intelligence.
Mei Terumi frowned, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
Would Hoshikawa's death count as major intelligence?
It should.
After all, Kirigakure utterly loathed Tsunade and Hoshikawa, that teacher-student pair.
The Third Mizukage and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had all died at their hands.
Mei Terumi couldn't help but frown.
After retrieving six of the seven swords from Hoshikawa, she had temporarily become the person in charge of the new Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Of course, she didn't use a sword herself; she merely helped with the selection process.
This selection revealed that Kirigakure's younger generation was remarkably mediocre.
Only Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki had decent strength.
But compared to Hoshikawa, they were just average.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
Mei Terumi paused.
Who would be looking for her so late?
Mei Terumi opened the door and found an Anbu ninja.
"Lady Mei Terumi," the Anbu ninja bowed slightly and said, "Lord Mizukage requests your attendance at a meeting in the Mizukage's Office."
"I understand. I'll be there now."
Mei Terumi suppressed her confusion and headed towards the Mizukage Building.
Upon arriving at the Mizukage's Office, she realized she wasn't the only one.
All of Kirigakure's well-known Jonin were present.
What kind of matter warrants a late-night Jonin council meeting?
Could it be a new outbreak of war?
As Mei Terumi pondered, she saw someone hand her a scroll.
She recovered and instinctively opened it.
A few seconds later, she involuntarily bit her lower lip.
Faint teeth marks appeared on her soft lips due to the pressure.
But Mei Terumi didn't notice, as her attention was fixed on the name "Hoshikawa."
What is wrong with that pervert?
How can he get stronger again in such a short period of time?
How did he even learn Wood Release?
Mei Terumi's mind was a mess, filled with questions.
"Konoha's victory and Kumogakure's disastrous defeat mean that the Great Ninja War is now over," Yagura Karatachi said slowly.
Mei Terumi recovered and closed the scroll.
But her heart remained turbulent.
She had originally hoped to surpass Hoshikawa someday, but now, it seemed like there was no hope at all.
After all, humans have limits.
But Hoshikawa didn't seem human; he was more like a Tailed Beast in human skin.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain how he could defeat the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails in one go.
"Now that Konoha's influence is great, Kirigakure must also change its development strategy," Yagura Karatachi said gravely. "Starting today, the Village of the Bloody Mist will come to an end."
Mei Terumi was silent.
The end of the Village of the Bloody Mist was something she wanted to see.
However, she hadn't expected the ones to bring this about to be Tsunade, Hoshikawa, and the other Konoha ninja.
Hoshikawa faintly smelled a familiar scent in his half-asleep state.
He opened his eyes and saw a pair of bare feet, and following them upward, he saw Tsunade's exquisite face.
But her expression was slightly tired at the moment.
After the battle ended, Orochimaru was forced to relinquish command, and she automatically became the commander.
She had been busy from morning until night and had only just finished cleaning up the battlefield.
"Sensei," Hoshikawa patted the rug and said, "Come here, let's sleep together."
Tsunade instinctively looked at him.
After half a day of rest, Hoshikawa had recovered a considerable amount of chakra.
The side effects of his Yin Seal were completely gone, leaving no trace.
Tsunade stared for a few seconds, then plopped down next to him and lay down.
"Sensei, what's the situation with Kumogakure?" Hoshikawa turned his head to face her and asked.
"Apart from the Kumogakure ninja we captured, the rest have retreated from the Land of Frost overnight," Tsunade said, feeling a little uncomfortable.
For some reason, lying next to Hoshikawa made her feel a sense of unfamiliarity.
It hadn't been this way before.
"As expected," Hoshikawa's gaze fell on her taut, full clothing as he spoke.
"They are insignificant. It saves us trouble if they leave," Tsunade glanced at him.
Hoshikawa instinctively averted his gaze, looking utterly obedient.
"If so many ninja stayed behind, it would be difficult for Konoha to handle them," Tsunade continued. "Capturing the Fourth Raikage, the Two-Tails, and the Eight-Tails is enough to hold them hostage."
"Can I make a request?" Hoshikawa looked at Tsunade again.
Her moist lips were slightly glistening and looked extremely soft.
"Of course, you can," Tsunade chuckled and said, "If you're not qualified, then no one is."
"I want all the Nin-Taijutsu of the Third and Fourth Raikage," Hoshikawa seized the opportunity to state his request.
The Lightning Release Chakra Mode and the Strongest Lightning Release Armor were also Nin-Taijutsu.
He didn't single them out, as it would be too obvious.
"No problem," Tsunade said with a smile, not thinking much of it. "You can ask for all of Kumogakure's jutsu; they wouldn't dare refuse."
"True," Hoshikawa's mind stirred, and he reached for her hand.
Tsunade froze, looking like she wanted to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
"What about those four Root ninja?" Hoshikawa's face broke into a smile when he saw Tsunade didn't resist.
"They have been secretly locked up. Even Orochimaru won't be able to find where they are."
Tsunade's body suddenly trembled.
It was because he gently scratched her palm a few times.
"Behave yourself!" Tsunade glared at him.
"Yes, Sensei," Hoshikawa said earnestly.
"..."
Tsunade felt a bit helpless.
She noticed Hoshikawa was becoming increasingly bolder.
Though, she knew it was a result of her own indulgence.
"Sensei, are you going to become Hokage when we return?" Hoshikawa held her hand, gently twirling her finger with his index finger.
"Hokage is not something you can become just because you want to."
Tsunade surprisingly didn't directly refuse. "We'll see the situation when we get back."
"With such a great achievement, will the Fire Daimyō come to Konoha?" Hoshikawa blinked and asked.
"You're an annoying brat!" Tsunade rolled her eyes and said, "I don't know!"
"Getting angry makes you look older," Hoshikawa said with a smile. "Sensei, you're tired. Let's sleep."
"I'll go back..."
Tsunade started to get up but was pulled back by Hoshikawa.
Her sentence, "I'll go back to sleep," was interrupted.
Tsunade frowned and looked at him.
But after a long staredown, her heart finally softened, and she relented first.
"Sleep," Tsunade closed her eyes, but she didn't withdraw her hand.
The two held hands and drifted off to sleep.