Jiraiya stood beside Tsunade, grinning from ear to ear as he watched his student, Minato Namikaze, bask in the glory of his reward.
Though he never became Hokage himself, having his student rise to the position was more than satisfying.
Turning to Tsunade, Jiraiya teased, "What about you? I've heard people say you become the Fifth Hokage in the future."
Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya with a faint smile and replied nonchalantly, "My grandfather was the First Hokage, my granduncle was the Second Hokage, and I am the Fifth Hokage."
"Items like Hokage hats are something I'll never lack."
Hearing her words, Jiraiya's smile froze for a moment. He thought to himself, 'Why did I even bother showing off to Tsunade? That was pointless.'
He sighed wistfully and thought, 'If only Orochimaru were here... I could at least brag to him about my student becoming the Fourth Hokage.'
As Minato stepped down from the stage, Charles Doyle announced, "Besides the Fourth Hokage's hat, I also brought back future versions of several ninjas this time."
"Inoichi Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, Tenten, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake."
"This time, I've only brought back seven future versions, but I believe that in the days to come, more ninjas—whether it's your future selves or your families—will join us."
"Now, for those whose names I just called, please step forward. I will assist you in merging with your future selves."
Amidst the envious and congratulatory gazes of the others, the seven chosen ninjas stepped forward.
Sakura Haruno thought to herself, 'As a member of Team 7, will this be my chance to catch up to Sasuke and Naruto?'
'With teammates like them, I can't afford to fall behind!'
Determined, Sakura clenched her fists and silently vowed, 'The future me must be a strong kunoichi, just like Lady Tsunade!'
Meanwhile, Obito Uchiha, standing below, watched as Kakashi walked up. Seeing his old teammate about to grow even stronger, he thought, 'Hmph, I've already unlocked my Three Tomoe Sharingan. My future self will surely be even more powerful.'
'Still, this Kakashi is a lot more easygoing than the one I remember.'
His gaze softened as he murmured to himself, 'I wonder when Lord Charles will bring Rin to this world...'
…
Once the seven ninjas reached the stage, Charles led them into the summoning realm. He planned to conduct the merging process there.
In the summoning realm, Charles accessed the system interface, removing the seven ninja cards from his active roster and initiating the merging process.
The fusion proceeded smoothly, and the seven cards underwent significant upgrades. Each ninja experienced substantial growth, with Sakura Haruno receiving an especially remarkable boost after merging two additional cards.
Her physical abilities and chakra reserves saw dramatic improvement.
Although Sakura had already trained under Tsunade and mastered her monstrous strength, her current abilities were on par with—or even exceeded—her Hundred Healings state from the ninja world.
With the fusion of C-Rank Sakura, Rookie Ninja Sakura, and B-Rank Summer Swimsuit Sakura, her chakra reserves even surpassed her peak in the original world, and her physical constitution was greatly enhanced.
The other ninjas also saw significant benefits, except for Tenten, whose gains were relatively modest this time.
After finishing the fusion process, Charles released Tenten, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura first.
When the four appeared, Charles was greeted by a scene that could only be described as a "garden in full bloom." Whether in qipaos or swimsuits, the sight was undeniably pleasing to the eye.
As the four absorbed their memories and awakened, Charles smiled and said, "Quickly change your clothes. I need to release Choji, Shikamaru, and Kakashi next."
Hearing this, the four women let out a startled cry in unison, "Ahhh!"
Hinata Hyuga's face turned bright red, but fortunately, they all had sealing scrolls containing basic supplies and clothing.
Charles quickly used Body Flicker to leave and returned shortly with three others: Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, and Kakashi Hatake in his Summer Swimsuit outfit from the Shippuden era.
Along with the outfit, Charles handed Kakashi a bright yellow summer surfing costume.
After three fusions, Kakashi's chakra reserves increased significantly. The Sharingan was no longer a burden for him.
While he still couldn't deactivate it freely, the energy it consumed was now well within his capacity. No longer was he the Kakashi who'd exhaust himself after just four uses of Chidori.
Now, even if he used Chidori ten times in a single day, he wouldn't be fazed. His chakra reserves were abundant, and the fusion had also greatly enhanced the ocular power of his Sharingan.
Once the four women had changed their clothes, Charles turned to them and said, "Let's head back."
"Yes, Lord Charles," they replied in unison.
Charles led the group back to the conference hall, and the entire process took less than a minute.
From below, Ginny looked up at the stage, stunned by the transformations. For the first time, she witnessed the dramatic changes ninjas could undergo up close.
In just a single moment, several ninjas who looked like children had turned into adults.
Charles addressed the crowd, "I believe that in the near future, more people will arrive here."
"For now, today's meeting is adjourned. The next two days will be dedicated to a celebration. Enjoy the festivities!"