Early morning at Konoha's gate, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki stood on duty as usual.
The road outside the village was still quiet, with only a few villagers passing through with baskets, tools, or early-morning deliveries.
Kotetsu leaned near the gate in his green vest, rubbed his eyes, and let out a long yawn.
"I'm exhausted."
Izumo glanced at him and smiled. "What, tired of gate duty already? You can always ask Hokage-sama for a transfer."
"What are you talking about?" Kotetsu immediately straightened, his sleepiness fading at once. "I just didn't sleep well. Who said I don't like this job?"
He could complain about gate duty all he wanted, but actually leaving it was another matter. Compared to missions outside the village, this post was safe, stable, and close to home.
Most days, they only had to register visitors, greet familiar faces, and leave anything serious to Anbu.
If anyone really tried to transfer him away, Kotetsu might defend this post more seriously than he defended himself on missions.
Izumo looked at him and laughed. "Alright, I know you don't want to leave. But why didn't you sleep well?"
Kotetsu spoke in a lower voice. "Because Kumo's delegation is coming too."
Izumo's smile faded a little. "Already?"
Kotetsu nodded. "The Iwa agreement already felt unreal. Now even Kumo is coming here."
They both went quiet for a moment. They did not know the details, but even gate guards like them could feel that Konoha's position had changed.
Before Izumo could speak again, someone appeared on the road ahead.
There was no loud sound and no warning. A black-haired boy walked toward the gate at a steady pace, his face calm, like he had just returned from a normal mission.
Kotetsu stared at him for a few seconds, then his eyes went wide. "Sh-Shinichi-sama!"
Izumo reacted at almost the same time and stood straight. "Shinichi-sama, you've returned to the village."
Shinichi looked at them and gave a small nod. "Yes. I'm back. The work outside the village is done."
Kotetsu and Izumo looked at each other, and neither of them asked what work he meant. After everything that had happened recently, there were only a few possibilities.
Only after Shinichi had gone some distance did Kotetsu let out the breath he had been holding.
"...He really came back," he murmured.
Izumo looked toward the street where Shinichi had disappeared and nodded without saying anything.
Shinichi did not slow down after entering the village. A few early-rising villagers noticed him along the way, but no one called out. By the time quiet whispers began spreading behind him, he had already reached the Hokage Building.
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade was slumped over her desk, one arm half-buried under a stack of documents.
"The Iwagakure agreement was barely settled, and Kumogakure's delegation is already on the road. Sunagakure and the Hidden Mist are also asking about our position."
She lifted her head with a tired expression. "I created the Government Administration to take work off my desk, not make the pile grow higher. How is there still this much left for me?"
Shizune stood beside her with Tonton in her arms and looked at the growing pile of documents with helpless eyes. "Lady Tsunade, the Administration can handle ordinary village work, but these are agreements between villages. They still need your approval."
Tsunade looked at the papers for a moment, then dropped her head onto the desk.
"I knew being Hokage would be a pain, but this is too much."
"If you keep saying that, the work will not finish itself," Shizune said.
Tsunade raised one hand weakly. "Then let it pile up. Maybe if the stack gets tall enough, I can hide behind it."
Shizune opened her mouth to answer, but before she could speak, a familiar voice came from outside.
"Then let it pile up."
The office became quiet. Tsunade lifted her head, and Shizune turned toward the door with Tonton still in her arms.
The door opened, and Shinichi stood there with a small smile.
"Because I'm back."
For a moment, Tsunade just stared at him.
Then the tired look on her face disappeared, replaced first by relief, then by anger.
Shinichi had just walked into the office when Tsunade crossed the room and hit him on the head.
Bang!
Shinichi lowered his head from the hit, but he did not try to dodge. He only raised a hand and rubbed the spot with a helpless look.
"Sister, I just got back."
"So you still know how to come back?" Tsunade snapped. "You went to Iwagakure alone, then went straight to Kumogakure. The Raikage was there, the Eight-Tails was there, and even the Two-Tails was there. Did it ever occur to you to tell the village before doing something that dangerous?"
Shizune stood to the side and held Tonton a little tighter. She had wanted to tell Tsunade not to hit people so easily, but after hearing this, she felt Shinichi deserved at least one hit.
Shinichi did not argue. "I sent reports back."
"Reports after you had already reached the battlefield do not count," Tsunade said coldly. "Do you have any idea how many times I thought something had gone wrong? Even if you are strong, that does not mean you can treat the Five Great Villages like training grounds."
Her voice was harsh, but Shinichi could hear the worry in it. He looked at her for a moment, then gave a small smile.
"But isn't it because you're here that I dare to be so reckless, Sister?"
Tsunade stopped speaking.
Shizune lowered her head and pretended she had not heard anything, while Tsunade looked at Shinichi for a few seconds. She was still angry, but the edge had already gone out of it.
"You think saying something nice will make me forget this?"
"No," Shinichi said calmly. "But I thought it might make you hit me one less time."
Shizune almost laughed, but held it back.
Tsunade looked at him again, then sighed and went back to her chair.
"Sit down."
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