Orochimaru froze for a moment at Taiichi's sudden question, then let out a low chuckle, his expression turning intrigued.
"What's this? Are you playing the role of diplomat now, Taiichi? Or did someone send you here to fish for information?"
Taiichi kept walking ahead, completely unfazed by the sarcasm in Orochimaru's tone.
"I'm not that bored. You came straight back and locked yourself in the lab, even dragged me in with you. I was just curious, so I asked."
Orochimaru didn't bother checking whether Taiichi was telling the truth. He simply started walking again.
"I lost interest in that a long time ago. All I want now is to focus on my research. As for the Hokage position… whoever wants it can have it."
Orochimaru sounded casual about it, but only he knew what kind of inner journey had brought him to this point. After all, not long ago he had been one of the strongest contenders for the title.
"Namikaze Minato will probably be the Fourth Hokage. Jiraiya's going to be strutting around like a peacock again."
"Jiraiya-sensei, huh?"
Taiichi's lips curved into a small smile as he pictured Jiraiya standing with his hands on his hips, laughing in front of Orochimaru. That really did sound like something the man would do.
"When the time comes, I'll have to ask you to look after him, Lord Orochimaru."
Taiichi said it with a perfectly straight face, even though the words tasted a little false on his tongue.
Orochimaru wasn't offended. When it came to Taiichi—the one person who could actually help move his research forward—he was always willing to be accommodating.
"Minato taking the seat isn't a bad thing. I've worked with him before. I imagine he'll be quite supportive of my research."
"As long as it stays within reason, research should have support."
Taiichi nodded in agreement, while also quietly slipping in a small safeguard.
He knew exactly how far Orochimaru could go when he lost control. The man didn't always treat his test subjects as people.
Fortunately, after working together on so many experiments, Orochimaru had started to accept some of Taiichi's principles. Otherwise, Taiichi wouldn't have felt safe leaving him unsupervised. He didn't want the man to repeat the mistakes from the original timeline—experimenting on fellow villagers and eventually being branded a rogue ninja.
The two of them discussed tomorrow's research plans for a while longer before finally parting ways and heading home.
Konoha, Year 48, June.
Talk about who would become the Fourth Hokage had finally moved into the open. People were discussing it openly now.
By this point, everyone understood that the Third Hokage had truly made up his mind to step down. Otherwise, letting the rumors continue would have dealt a serious blow to his reputation.
The interesting part was that while the lower ranks argued fiercely, Konoha's true upper echelons remained completely silent.
Even during the regular jonin meetings, the topic of the Fourth Hokage never came up as an official agenda item.
It was under these circumstances that, one afternoon, Taiichi made his way alone to the village gates.
"Lord Taiichi."
The gate guards greeted him respectfully as he approached. Because of their duties, they saw Taiichi fairly often and knew his reputation well.
Taiichi smiled and nodded politely in return. Then he walked a short distance away from the gate and stood in an open area, gazing out toward the horizon.
The guards exchanged glances. In the end, they silently returned to their posts, choosing to turn a blind eye to Taiichi's slightly improper behavior.
The war was over, and traffic through Konoha's gates had become constant. People coming and going would occasionally notice a handsome teenager standing not far from the entrance, staring into the distance like a statue, waiting for someone.
Several hours passed. The sun had already begun to tilt westward when three figures finally appeared at the end of the road.
Taiichi's face lit up with a bright smile. He raised his right hand and waved enthusiastically at the approaching group.
When he saw the smallest of the three waving back, he didn't hesitate. He used Body Flicker and shot straight toward them.
At the gates, one of the guards shaded his eyes against the sun and looked in the direction Taiichi had run.
"Who is Lord Taiichi going to greet? He looks really excited."
His partner didn't even look up, his eyes still scanning the people entering and leaving the village for anything suspicious.
"That's none of our business. Just do your job. You don't want Lord Taiichi to come back and catch you slacking off."
"Ah~ fine, fine. You really have no sense of romance. This job is so boring. If I don't find something interesting to think about, I'll die of boredom—"
The three people approaching were, of course, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune, returning from the eastern front.
With the war winding down and the fighting on the eastern front now the least intense, both Tsunade and Jiraiya had agreed to cooperate with the village's arrangements. They had handed the entire eastern front over to Namikaze Minato and were now returning to Konoha together.
The closer they got to the village, the slower Tsunade's steps became. That was why Taiichi had been waiting since noon.
Now, seeing the gates of Konoha in the distance, Tsunade felt an almost overwhelming urge to turn around and leave. She had been gone for four years. She never thought she would return to this place that held so many painful memories.
But when she spotted the figure at the gates waving at them with everything he had, all her hesitation vanished in an instant.
At least in Konoha, there was still someone who cared about her.
Of course, Tsunade was still Tsunade—the Slug Princess, one of the Three Sannin. She wasn't about to show any weakness.
She suddenly turned her head and glared at Jiraiya, who was walking beside her with a grin on his face. Her voice was sharp.
"Did you tell Taiichi when we were coming back?"
Jiraiya's smile froze. He immediately put on a serious expression.
"Of course not. We've been traveling together the whole time. When would I have had the chance?"
Tsunade stared at him suspiciously, mentally reviewing their journey. They really hadn't stopped for long anywhere. It was true they hadn't had time to send any messages.
Shizune, however, didn't care what the two adults were arguing about. The moment she saw Taiichi waving in the distance, she waved back excitedly.
"Ah! Taiichi's coming over!"
Her shout snapped Tsunade out of her thoughts. She turned her head and saw Taiichi running toward them at full speed, the black afterimage trailing behind him showing he was using his full power.
Jiraiya quietly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He had dodged a bullet. While he hadn't been the one to leak the information, he had helped pass it along. His goal had been to keep Tsunade in the village.
If Tsunade had pushed any harder, he would have been exposed.
By now, Taiichi had reached them. Seeing the three people he hadn't seen in some time, he broke into a genuine smile.
"Tsunade-sensei, Jiraiya-sensei, Shizune—welcome home."
Those three simple words carried different meanings for each of them.
For Tsunade, it had been four years since she last returned. She had thought she would never come back to this painful place. Yet here was someone who still cared about her.
For Shizune, she had been very young when she left Konoha. The village had become little more than a distant memory after four years of wandering. She didn't have much attachment to it anymore.
As for Jiraiya, it was simply the feeling of coming home after completing a mission—relief, and a strong desire to visit his favorite hot spring town again.
"Brat, what are you saying? Let's go already."
Tsunade's eyes were slightly red. She slapped Taiichi hard on the back and strode ahead, unwilling to let anyone see her moment of weakness.
Taiichi put on an exaggerated expression of pain and quickly agreed, though he didn't forget to shoot Jiraiya a knowing look and a small smirk as he passed.
When he walked by Shizune, he took her luggage without asking and added with a grin,
"Shizune, you've gotten even prettier."
Shizune's cheeks flushed pink, but she could only follow along obediently.
The four of them walked toward the gates in two rows—Tsunade and Taiichi in front, Jiraiya and Shizune behind.
Taiichi walked beside Tsunade and noticed that her hands were empty. She didn't look like someone planning to stay for long. He spoke casually, as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"Sensei, your old house has been empty for four years. The dust must be several inches thick by now. Cleaning it up properly will take more than a few hours. Why don't you stay at my place for now?"
He pointed toward the center of the village.
"After all, you were the one who let me live there in the first place. The courtyard is big enough. There are plenty of rooms. Even with Shizune staying, it won't feel crowded. Once your house is cleaned up, you can move back whenever you want."
Taiichi's tone was natural, carrying the simple concern of a student for his teacher. There was no trace of forced politeness.
Tsunade's steps slowed slightly. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. This kid really thought things through.
Returning to that house that held so many memories—both happy and painful—would require a lot of courage. Staying at Taiichi's place for a while would give her some time to prepare.
"Hmph. At least you still have some conscience." Tsunade snorted, accepting the offer. "Then I'll be troubling you for now. Shizune, we'll stay at Taiichi's place."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune quickly nodded, secretly relieved. She had also been dreading the idea of immediately returning to that large, empty house.
"Wow! Taiichi, you're playing favorites!"
Jiraiya immediately shouted in an exaggerated tone, his face full of envy.
"I want to stay too! Your place is big enough—can't you spare one room for me? I promise I won't disturb your touching master-disciple reunion!"
He rubbed his hands together, looking at Taiichi and Tsunade with hopeful eyes.
"Dream on!" Tsunade rejected him without hesitation.
"You know exactly what kind of person you are. Taiichi's place is currently housing the former Mist prisoners we brought back. Do you really think it's appropriate for you to stay there?
Go back to your own house!"
She waved her hand in disgust, as if shooing away a fly.
Taiichi held back a laugh and gave Jiraiya a helpless look.
"Jiraiya-sensei, your… research habits… aren't exactly convenient. You'd probably be more comfortable at your own place."
While they were talking and laughing, the group passed through Konoha's large gates. The guards on duty recognized Tsunade and Jiraiya and immediately straightened up, saluting with genuine excitement.
"Tsunade-sama! Jiraiya-sama! Welcome back!"
Their voices were loud and filled with sincere respect.
The greeting was like a stone dropped into a calm lake. People nearby who were entering or leaving the village stopped and turned to look. Whispers and excited voices quickly rose around them.
"Is that really Tsunade-sama? The Slug Princess?"
"Jiraiya-sama is back too! One of the Three Sannin!"
"Both of them returned at the same time?"
The crowd began to stir. Some people even started moving closer, wanting a better look at the legendary figures.
Seeing the growing commotion, Jiraiya's expression changed.
"This is bad. We need to move."
Tsunade clicked her tongue in annoyance. She hated being treated like some rare animal on display.
Taiichi reacted the fastest.
"Sensei, let's go!"
He grabbed Tsunade's wrist without hesitation. Golden chakra wings spread behind his back as he shot forward at high speed.
Tsunade and Jiraiya reacted almost instantly. The three of them became blurs, racing toward the Hokage Tower and leaving the growing crowd behind.
They moved at top speed across the rooftops and through the streets of Konoha. Within minutes, the familiar shape of the Hokage Tower came into view.
They landed lightly in front of the building and walked straight inside without drawing too much attention.
Taiichi knocked on the door of the Hokage's office.
"Come in," came Hiruzen Sarutobi's steady voice from inside.
Taiichi pushed the door open and stepped aside to let Tsunade and Jiraiya enter first.
Tsunade took a deep breath and walked in. Her eyes immediately went to the desk.
Sunlight streamed in through the large windows, illuminating dust particles floating in the air. Behind the desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly put down his pipe and looked up.
For a moment, Tsunade's steps faltered.
The man sitting there was still the familiar Third Hokage.
But the hair that had once been neatly combed with plenty of black was now completely silver, almost glowing under the sunlight.
Deep wrinkles covered his once-strong face, especially around his eyes—lines filled with an exhaustion that words couldn't fully describe.
Four years. Only four years.
The war and the burden of leading the village had worn down the once-mighty "Professor of Ninjutsu" to this extent.
The man who had once seemed powerful enough to hold up the entire sky in her childhood memories had truly grown old.
The "Ninja Hero" who had once struck fear into the hearts of enemies now looked more like a weary old man who desperately needed to lay down his burdens.
Hiruzen's eyes lit up with genuine joy the moment he saw Tsunade. That joy was quickly replaced by a deep mix of relief and guilt.
He slowly stood up, a truly relaxed smile spreading across his face—one that seemed to ease some of the exhaustion etched into his features.
"Tsunade… you're finally back."
His voice was gentle, carrying a faint hoarseness and a clear sense of relief.
"I'm glad you're home. I'm really glad."
He walked around the desk toward his long-absent student.
Tsunade looked at her teacher's full head of white hair and kind smile. Hearing him say "I'm glad you're home," a complicated mix of emotions surged in her chest.
But the memories of her younger brother and lover's deaths still felt like thorns in her heart, constantly reminding her of how powerless this teacher had once been.
That conflicting mix of gratitude and resentment was exactly why she had left Konoha in the first place.
Now, looking at the old but clearly relieved Third Hokage in front of her, she realized that everything was finally coming to an end.
The heavy price of the war needed someone to bear it.
And he had chosen to carry that responsibility himself, preparing to pass the future on to a new generation that carried the Will of Fire.
"Old man…" Tsunade's voice was low, carrying a slight nasal tone. She took two steps forward.
"We're back. The eastern front has been fully handed over to Namikaze Minato. The situation is stable. We came back to report in."