Chapter 525: Restless Old Folks
"Sasuke used Susanoo, and in that form, he layered his Mangekyo Dōjutsu 'Take-mikazuchi' on top of it, significantly enhancing the lightning-attribute power of his Susanoo."
Shino's voice was steady and clear. He adjusted his sunglasses and continued: "Following that, he unleashed the strongest Lightning Release under this enhanced state: 'Lightning Release: Take-mikazuchi's Drum'. No one in the Hidden Mist Village could withstand the power of that move."
Concise and to the point, yet it sketched out a scene capable of shocking the heart.
Uchiha Sasuke's Perfect Susanoo was already a strategic force on the battlefield. Combined with his unique Dōjutsu and top-tier Lightning Release, a single blow decided the outcome, completely crushing the last will of the Hidden Mist Village to resist.
After finishing the summary of the critical battle situation, Shino took a scroll from his bosom and handed it to Naruto.
"Before the battle ended, when Sasuke and I infiltrated the Hokage Building, we found this." Shino's voice lowered slightly. "I don't know exactly what it is, but it seems to possess the ability to possess others, and it successfully possessed Uchiha Itachi, who was present at the time.
This thing gives me a very bad feeling—cold, malicious, and it seems to have extremely high stealth and some kind of immortality.
I thought it would be safest to hand it over to you, Naruto, for you to decide how to thoroughly deal with it."
Naruto took the scroll. He hadn't expected Shino to be able to capture Black Zetsu.
That entity which had lurked for a thousand years, plotted countless conspiracies, and was the manifestation of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's will.
It arrived just in time.
A thought flashed through Naruto's mind, but his expression remained calm.
He didn't show anything unusual, just naturally stuffed the scroll into the ninja tool pouch at his waist and patted it, as if it were just an ordinary mission item.
"I will handle it."
Naruto promised in a calm tone, though his eyes carried a depth that Shino couldn't fully interpret. Naruto already had plans on how to deal with Black Zetsu.
Who knows, maybe he could use this thing to bring Kaguya down from the moon.
Black Zetsu hated his two "brothers" to the bone!
Even if he wanted to do something, as long as he told Black Zetsu that it was to save Kaguya, this guy would likely agree.
After all, Naruto Shippuden is also known as Otsutsuki Lotus Lantern, The Story of Black Zetsu Saving His Mother!
After the serious business was done, Naruto looked at the slightly weary Shino in front of him, as well as the celebration party with a subtle atmosphere in the distance, and spoke: "Seeing that you guys took this place smoothly, I can rest easy.
Since the general situation here is settled, you just need to handle the follow-up according to the plan.
I'm going back to sleep first."
Shino nodded; he was already used to Naruto's style of coming and going like the wind and focusing on solving critical issues.
"Understood. Shikamaru and the command headquarters already have a detailed plan for the follow-up work of receiving, pacifying, and resource integration.
We estimate that within ten days, we will complete the initial deployment and handover, and then return to Hidden Leaf Village in batches."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Naruto patted Shino's shoulder. "When we get back, I'll treat you all to barbecue."
The corners of Shino's mouth seemed to twitch slightly upward: "I'll keep that in mind."
Naruto said no more, nodded to Shino, and waved at Sasuke in the main seat from afar.
Sasuke's eyes brightened slightly, but he didn't go to find Naruto.
Currently, Kakashi had asked him to hold down the fort, and the biggest advantage of Sasuke was that he was obedient.
Though whether he would listen to your words was another matter.
Although this version of Sasuke wasn't like the one in the original work, he still only considered a few people as friends.
Immediately, golden light shone again, wrapping around Naruto's body.
Flying Thunder God!
The golden light flashed like instantaneous lightning, disappearing in the night of the Hidden Mist Village, which was intertwined with noise and bonfires.
Naruto's figure vanished into thin air from the corner of the plaza, which was filled with the lingering charm of victory and subtle suppression.
The next moment, the light converged, and he was already in a completely different environment.
Quiet, empty, and the air was filled with the scent of paper and ink.
This was the Hokage Office in Hidden Leaf Village.
The office lights were off, and the bright moonlight illuminated the large desk piled with documents, the map of the Ninja World on the wall, and the portraits of the past Hokage.
The moment Naruto appeared, in the shadows of the office corner, two figures emerged silently like flowing water merging into the darkness, their movements swift, showing extremely high vigilance and reaction speed.
"It's Yūgao Uzuki and Yamato."
Naruto swept his gaze over the two, his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible praise.
Yūgao Uzuki, with long purple hair, wearing an animal mask, had a nimble posture; Yamato, with short brown hair, also covered by a mask, but Naruto was all too familiar with him.
Being able to react the instant he appeared using the Flying Thunder God, this level of alertness was among the best in the Anbu.
You have to know, although the Anbu are elite, not everyone has such keen perception and decisive action.
"Sixth Hokage?"
Yūgao Uzuki's voice came through the mask, carrying a hint of hesitation.
It was no wonder she reacted this way; since Naruto officially took office as the Sixth Hokage, he spent most of his time running around on missions, and the time he actually sat in the Hokage Office to handle government affairs could be counted on one hand.
His sudden return in the middle of the night was indeed surprising.
"Yes, it's me."
Naruto nodded and walked straight to the large chair belonging to the Hokage, sitting down without ceremony.
The back of the chair was high, making his figure appear even more steady.
He leaned back against the chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the smooth tabletop, looking at the two Anbu with a calm gaze.
"Tell me about what has happened in the Village recently."
Naruto got straight to the point, his tone casual but carrying an unquestionable majesty.
"Has anyone been jumping around while I was away?"
Hearing this, Yūgao Uzuki and Yamato exchanged glances quickly under their masks.
They knew that although this young Hokage didn't sit in the office often, his control over the Village had never slackened.
Since he asked, he probably heard some rumors, or simply wanted to clear out some restless "weeds".
Yūgao Uzuki spoke first: "Reporting to the Sixth Hokage, the Village is running smoothly as a whole, and all major families and departments are executing according to the established plans. However..."
She paused slightly, as if choosing her words, "Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, the two former Advisors, came to the Hokage Building together and proposed a suggestion."
"Oh? What suggestion?"
Naruto raised his eyebrows slightly, and his fingers stopped tapping.
Yūgao Uzuki continued, her tone somewhat hesitant: "They suggested to Hiashi that, given your frequent absences as the Sixth Hokage, there are sometimes delays in decision-making for daily government affairs in the Village. They suggested officially appointing Tsunade as 'Acting Hokage' to handle all of Hidden Leaf Village's affairs while you are away from the Village."
Acting Hokage?
A flash of realization crossed Naruto's eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
These two old guys really didn't give up!
Hiashi and Inoichi were only acting as Hokage because of the words "Two uncles, I leave the protection of Hidden Leaf Village to you" that Naruto left behind when he departed.
Their seniority wasn't as high as Tsunade's, but if one were to talk about an Acting Hokage, these two were more suitable than the current Tsunade.
Although Tsunade had high seniority and prestige, her style of being a gambler and acting on impulse was clearly not something that Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu could control as puppets.
Their suggestion to let Tsunade be the acting Hokage was nothing more than wanting to borrow Tsunade's name and strength to regain a portion of their influence, or at least, to make Tsunade a buffer or bridge between them and the current Hokage power core.
"What?"
Naruto leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the desk, fingers interlaced, and asked with interest: "Does Tsunade owe them money?"
His question sounded a bit jumpy, but Yūgao Uzuki and Yamato immediately understood what he meant.
Unless there was a huge conflict of interest, given Tsunade's personality and status, how could she be easily persuaded by those two former Advisors who had already lost power to be some "Acting Hokage"?
The corners of Yūgao Uzuki's mouth under the mask seemed to twitch, but she still answered truthfully: "This... as far as the subordinate knows, there is no direct monetary debt relationship between Tsunade and the two former Advisors."
Tsunade owed money to all sorts of people, but it was indeed not heard that she owed it to Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado.
"That means," Naruto leaned back into the chair, his tone becoming playful, yet carrying a hint of chill, "these two old guys are using Tsunade's tiger skin as a banner, trying to act like a fox exploiting a tiger's might to deceive people?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it made the air in the office drop suddenly.
The Advisor duo was attempting to use Tsunade's reputation to endorse their own political intentions, and perhaps even create an illusion to the outside world that "Tsunade supports us, and we still have influence".
Yūgao Uzuki and Yamato looked at each other again, silently mourning for those two former Advisors for a moment.
The Sixth Hokage was clearly very unhappy.
"I still need to verify the specific situation further."
Yūgao Uzuki added cautiously, not drawing a conclusion directly, but the meaning was already clear.
Naruto waved his hand: "No need. If they want to play, let them play for a while."
A deep light flashed in his eyes, as if he was planning something, "What about Tsunade... what is her reaction?"
"We sent people to inquire about Tsunade's attitude, she doesn't know."
Yamato took over the conversation this time, his voice more steady, "Afterwards, she dismissed our people with the excuse of needing to drink, and didn't seem to take this matter to heart."
"Heh, that fits her style."
Naruto chuckled, it was hard to tell if it was praise or criticism.
"I see."
Naruto nodded, signaling that the topic could be dropped for now, "Is there anything else?"
Yūgao Uzuki and Yamato reported a few more relatively routine Village affairs and border dynamics. Naruto listened to each one and gave brief instructions.
His thinking was clear and his decisions were decisive, showing that even though he had been away for a long time, he still had a precise grasp of the situation in the Village.
After the two Anbu finished reporting and disappeared back into the shadows, Naruto sat alone in the Hokage's chair, his fingers unconsciously stroking the armrests.
Outside the window, Hidden Leaf Village's night was quiet and deep.
His gaze swept over the documents piled on the desk, and finally landed on the bright moon outside the window.
"Utatane Koharu... Homura Mitokado..."
He whispered to himself, the smile that wasn't quite a smile still on his lips, "It seems that some people are still not very restless. Very well, when I finish dealing with the things at hand, I will come back and settle accounts with you slowly."
The office returned to silence, with only the moonlight shining through the window, quietly spilling onto the young Hokage, reflecting in his blue eyes.
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