The Hokage's office.
Natsuki sat with Konan, both of them watching the screen in front of them.
A moment later, a mail icon appeared.
The message had been received.
Natsuki felt genuinely energized.
It was July. After nearly half a year of concentrated effort, the internet had been born.
It was still primitive — barely capable of sending mail and nothing else — but that was a rare and real victory.
Everything is difficult at the start. Once the breakthrough happens, the rest comes faster.
Concentrating the entire shinobi world's resources on one project produced staggering efficiency. Though the groundwork helped too. Natsuki had told them to start preparing for this a long time ago.
[Congratulations! Host has unlocked Mikoto Misaka's Template Ability 5: Hacking Ability.]
Natsuki nodded.
Two templates left.
"That's remarkable," Konan said quietly.
She knew nothing about computers and had never touched one. Sending a message across that kind of distance was close to incomprehensible from where she stood.
"It gets more remarkable from here." Natsuki kissed her cheek.
"Mm." Konan nodded, and something like anticipation showed in her eyes.
The shinobi world hadn't just found peace. It was developing in directions she couldn't follow.
Whatever it was, it was good.
A knock at the door.
Konan started to get up, and Natsuki caught her and pulled her back down.
"It's Mikoto," he said.
Konan stayed where she was. She and Mikoto were well past the point of needing to hide anything from each other.
The door opened and Mikoto came in.
The sight of Natsuki holding Konan in the Hokage's chair didn't surprise her in the slightest.
"Come here," Natsuki said.
Mikoto shut the door and crossed to him, and leaned down without needing to be asked.
Konan watched them and bit her lip.
When they parted, Natsuki turned and kissed Konan as well, and she was immediately in a considerably better mood.
"Natsuki, the clan head asked me to raise something with you," Mikoto said, once she'd caught her breath.
"Go ahead." Natsuki rested a hand on her leg.
Konan shifted slightly and wrapped both arms around his other one.
"The clan head's second child is due this week," Mikoto said. "He'd like to honor you in the naming."
Natsuki paused, worked out what she meant, and his mouth twitched.
Fugaku's second child was Sasuke.
And the name Sasuke came from Sarutobi Sasuke.
There was a custom in this world of naming a child after someone specific as a gesture of tribute or respect. Uchiha Sasuke's name had been Fugaku extending an olive branch to Hiruzen, since Sarutobi Sasuke had been Hiruzen's father.
In the original timeline, Hiruzen had still been Hokage when Sasuke was born.
He'd been out of that chair for a long time now. If Fugaku wanted to pay tribute, he'd need a new target.
And there was no mystery about who.
"I'm far too young for anyone to be honoring." Natsuki shook his head. "But I'll name the child. Sasuke."
Mikoto thought about it and landed on Sarutobi Sasuke, who was famous enough in Konoha, and whose son had been Hokage.
So Natsuki was being considerate of old ties. She found that rather touching.
"Understood. I'll pass it along to the clan head now," she said gently.
"Mm."
Mikoto shot Konan an envious look on her way out.
Natsuki rested his chin against Konan's hair and thought about the Konoha Twelve.
Neji, Lee, Tenten, Shino, Sakura, Choji, and Kiba had all been born by now.
Which left Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Ino. All a matter of time — as far as Natsuki knew, every one of their mothers was pregnant.
Of the twelve, the two with the highest ceilings were obviously Naruto and Sasuke. With the Sage of Six Paths' help, both could reach Six Paths level.
They might be what unlocked The Almighty.
Might, because it could well unlock before then.
Nagato had already crossed into Six Paths territory after being granted Schrift A: The Antithesis.
And Natsuki was currently working on Mikoto, Konan, and Pakura. The approach hadn't changed — seal his own chakra into them the way a Tailed Beast is sealed.
He'd been steadily raising their physical durability throughout, since that determined how much they could hold.
He was also researching Tailed Beast Transformation on the side. Jinchuriki-style transformation was a mature technique, but his chakra had no consciousness of its own, which made it substantially harder.
Not impossible, though. At his level, he'd work it out eventually.
"Konan." Natsuki came back to the present. "It's about that time. Go train."
Beyond Nagato's Antithesis, he'd granted Schrifts to Mikoto, Konan, and Pakura as well — along with the broader Quincy abilities from the Yhwach template.
Which was what the training was for.
"Yes, Natsuki-sensei." Konan steadied her breathing, let go of him, and left.
October. The Hokage's office.
"You're the worst," Tsunade said.
"Tsunade-sensei is entirely correct," Natsuki agreed pleasantly.
Her chest heaved with indignation, which did nothing to improve his behavior.
"Don't forget we're due at Minato's tonight!" She checked the clock and regretted mentioning it almost immediately — because Natsuki, now working against a deadline, stopped holding anything back.
The sun was low by the time Tsunade woke.
She glared at him and started getting dressed.
"No need to rush, Tsunade-sensei. Two hours until the banquet." Natsuki smiled. "We can go home and bathe first."
"I came here to talk business." Tsunade huffed. "Keep this up and there won't be a next time."
"My fault," Natsuki said, stepping in and putting his arms around her. "Next time I won't drag it out so long."
"..."
Tsunade had no reply available.
What was that supposed to mean, won't drag it out so long? Would she survive the alternative?
"Let's just go home." She rolled her eyes.
Natsuki opened a doorway.
They got back before the workday ended, so Nawaki and Nonou weren't home yet.
"Tsunade-sensei," Natsuki said, while helping her wash her hair, "isn't it time Nawaki moved out?"
Tsunade paused, then caught his meaning.
Things between her and Natsuki had gotten well past the point where Nawaki walking in was a hypothetical risk. It would be excruciating.
"I'll find a moment to talk to him." She nodded. "He's old enough. He should have his own place and start thinking about a family."
Once they'd cleaned up, the two met Nawaki and the others and headed to Minato's.
"Minato!" Nawaki spotted him from down the street and shouted.
Minato hurried over.
"Can't believe you've got a kid already," Nawaki said, marveling.
In this world, a banquet was held on the seventh night after a birth — roughly equivalent to the hundred-day celebration Natsuki remembered from his previous life. That was what Minato had invited them for.
"Have you settled on a name?" Nonou asked.
"Namikaze Naruto," Minato said. "It comes from the protagonist of Sensei's first novel."
"Ah." Nonou nodded. "It's a good name."
"Sounds like someone who's going to eat a lot of ramen," Natsuki remarked.
Narutomaki being a standard ramen topping.
"Maybe so." Minato laughed.
"Where's your teacher?" Natsuki asked, the thought occurring to him. "Didn't he come?"
"He's here. Inside, keeping Naruto company."
"So he can be bothered to come back." Tsunade sounded distinctly unimpressed. "Half of Konoha needs handling and he lives at Mount Myoboku."
Minato, wisely, declined to engage with that at all. "Let me show you all inside."
The courtyard was full of dining tables with a good number of people already seated — though noticeably fewer than at Minato's wedding.
After the rounds of greetings, Minato went off to receive other guests.
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya's voice carried across the yard, and he arrived in front of her a second later.
What greeted him was Tsunade's fist. He scrambled back several steps.
"Lord Hokage." Uzumaki Kanae came over carrying the baby.
"Is that Naruto? Let me hold him!" Nawaki was immediately interested.
Kanae smiled and handed him over.
Natsuki got a look. Blond, exactly as in the original story.
Minato's genes were formidable.
Kushina and Nonou crowded in as well, and both of them started privately imagining what their own children with Natsuki would look like.
"Natsuki." Jiraiya made a second approach. "Find me a position in the Alliance."
"What happened?" Tsunade's eyebrows went up. "Given up on your Child of Prophecy?"
"The Great Sage's latest prophecy says the Child of Prophecy has appeared within the Alliance," Jiraiya said. "So that's where I'm going."
Tsunade shook her head.
After everything, he was still chasing it.
As far as she was concerned, this world had no further use for a Child of Prophecy — because she didn't believe anyone could be stronger than Natsuki.
"Nawaki, arrange it," Natsuki said after a moment's thought.
Konoha's representative to the Alliance was Nawaki, so it fell to him.
"Sure!" Nawaki said immediately. "I could use the help right now anyway."
After dinner, everyone went home.
Tsunade dropped onto the sofa and tossed a key across the room.
"What's this?" Nawaki caught it, baffled.
"The key to the place next door."
There were two houses next door. Natsuki, Nonou, and Kushina lived in one. The other stood empty.
"Why are you giving it to me?"
"You're not a kid. You should have your own house." Tsunade laughed lightly. "That way when you bring a girlfriend home, you can do whatever you like."
"Sis, what are you talking about?" Nawaki went scarlet. "I'm not in any hurry to find a girlfriend."
"You're not. I am." Tsunade sounded put out. "You're the only man left in this family. That comes with obligations."
"You don't even have a boyfriend!" Nawaki shot back.
"Who says I don't?" Tsunade answered before she'd thought about it.
"...Huh?" Nawaki's eyes went wide. "What did you just say?"
Tsunade froze, aware she'd let it out.
Well. It was said now, and there was no point hiding it. At this rate he'd have found out anyway.
"Am I not allowed to have one?" she asked, keeping her face perfectly still.
"That's not what I meant." Nawaki scratched his head. "I meant how did I not hear a single thing about it?"
He was her brother. There hadn't been so much as a rumor.
He ran through every man he knew and couldn't make any of them fit.
Jiraiya or Orochimaru, at a stretch. Except Tsunade barely spoke to either of them. Orochimaru lived in his lab year-round and Jiraiya lived outside the village year-round chasing prophecies. There was no version of that which worked.
"It's... Natsuki," Tsunade said.
"???"
Nawaki went rigid, as though something had struck him.
He'd considered a dozen people. Natsuki was the one name that had never crossed his mind — because Natsuki was younger than him, which made the whole thing structurally impossible in his head. And Natsuki already had Kushina and Nonou.
But Tsunade would never joke about this. Not in a hundred years.
"In short, he's your brother-in-law from now on."
And with that, Tsunade retreated to her room.
Saying it out loud had been far past her limit. She couldn't quite look him in the eye afterward.
Nawaki stayed exactly where he was for a very long time, entirely unable to process it.
I treated you like a brother, and you turned into my brother-in-law?