Night gradually fell, and the moon cast a bright, silvery glow in the sky. However, its light paled in comparison to the radiant brilliance emanating from the mountains behind Konoha, where the power of the Sage of Six Paths was still being released in dazzling, unrestrained waves.
No one noticed the light from the mountains, of course, Natsuro had already cloaked the entire area to keep it hidden.
Finally, the intense fluctuations of the Sage's power began to settle.What entered his vision were two shining golden figures, each with five Truth-Seeking Orbs floating behind them.
Naruto and Sasuke were both examining themselves in awe of the immense power coursing through them.
"So this is… the power of the Sage of Six Paths?" Sasuke murmured, staring at his palm where the sun-and-moon symbol shone brightly. Even with only half of the Sage's power, Sasuke was shaken.
Was this kind of power truly something a human could possess?
That thought briefly flashed through Sasuke's mind, until he glanced at Natsuro. Then, silently, he dismissed the notion. Even after inheriting the Sage's power, he still couldn't see through Natsuro's true strength.
Not even with his dual three-tomoe Rinnegan.
"How powerful is Natsuro really…?" Sasuke couldn't help but wonder.
"This power is incredible!" Naruto exclaimed, dazed. With this, maybe they really could end the war even faster…
"Alright, stop wasting the Sage's energy," Natsuro said, drawing their attention. "The first thing you need to do is learn how to suppress this power."
"Oh, right!" Naruto nodded, closing his eyes to try controlling the energy. However...
A long while later, Naruto was still in golden mode. Sasuke's situation wasn't much better. Though he managed to suppress part of his energy, his golden form and Truth-Seeking Orbs were still visible.
Both of them frowned, it wasn't as easy as they had expected. It was… quite difficult.
Natsuro wasn't surprised. After all, the power they'd received was far beyond what they should currently be able to wield.Controlling it immediately was virtually impossible.
Though it was just control, it wouldn't keep them down for long… probably? Natsuro glanced at Naruto, who was progressing significantly slower than Sasuke, and sighed.
But to his surprise, while Naruto lagged at first, he later miraculously caught up.In the end, he was only slightly behind Sasuke.
Looking at Naruto, Natsuro suddenly recalled Naruto's dream-world self in the Infinite Tsukuyomi from the original story. With both his parents alive, that Naruto was the most gifted one.
So perhaps Naruto's potential was even greater than expected. He simply hadn't shown it due to his personality, he lacked the patience to sit still and learn theory.
"You've done well," Natsuro said. "Now I'll give you your first goal."
Sasuke and Naruto looked over at him.
"That is, without relying on the Sage's power, use your own strength to create a Truth-Seeking Orb, like the black spheres behind you," Natsuro explained as he opened his palm. A Truth-Seeking Orb appeared from nothing in his hand.
"So that's what it's called?" Naruto squinted at it.
"Correct. A Truth-Seeking Orb is formed by mixing all seven chakra natures..." Natsuro began to explain, but Naruto interrupted.
"But I only have wind nature! I don't think I can create one…"
"Idiot." Sasuke covered his face, convinced his childhood friend's brain had issues.
"You're the idiot!" Naruto shouted back, pointing at him.
"If you weren't one, you'd realize that ever since we inherited the Sage's power, our chakra nature affinity were completed," Sasuke replied with a sigh.
In reality, Sasuke had already possessed all chakra natures after awakening the Rinnegan. What the Sage's power gave him was a boost in his weaker yang affinity. Using that logic, and Natsuro's words, Naruto's chakra nature set should be complete now too.
"Eh? Really?" Naruto scratched his head with a sheepish grin.
Seeing that, Sasuke felt even more exhausted. Has this guy really not changed since school…?
Natsuro simply smiled at the familiar scene. If Kakashi were here, he'd probably feel nostalgic watching this, too.
But this also proved how much he had changed things. Now, Sasuke no longer had to carry a tragic fate alone, and Naruto didn't need to force himself to change just to catch up.
"There's one more thing," Natsuro added suddenly.
"When you practice creating a Truth-Seeking Orb, do it somewhere completely deserted. Even if the formation fails, the explosion is extremely powerful."
There were two types of Truth-Seeking Orb explosions: The first was the one Natsuro had mastered before fully controlling them. This was a true explosion, caused by the balance of all seven chakra natures breaking down under extreme compression.The resulting blast was massive—an artistic, destructive display. After such a blast, the orb would vanish.
The second type was like the one used by Six Paths Obito. Technically, it wasn't a true explosion. Rather, it was an enlargement of the orb, using its inherent Shinra Banshō ability to kill enemies. After expanding, the orb could shrink back to its original form.
In terms of raw power, the second was stronger. But in terms of area of effect, even a tenfold expansion of the second type couldn't match the first. So the first method was better for clearing crowds.
Just like how Natsuro once wiped out a whole army of White Zetsu with a single orb detonation.
Naruto and Sasuke both nodded in understanding.
With that, he finally returned home, he still had something important to do…
...
Back home, both Shinai and Ino were present, as Natsuro had previously arranged. What he planned to do was help them undergo body modifications. It wasn't an easy task, so he only intended to help his closest people.
As the saying goes, "When one man ascends to power, even his pets rise with him." This was one of those cases.
With his modifications, even if reaching Six Paths-level would still depend on their own talent, Super-Kage level was pretty much guaranteed.
Of course, even with those stats, Shinai probably wouldn't be able to defeat a regular Kage. Ino had better potential, but whether she could make full use of her upgraded power would be up to her.
That said, this transformation wouldn't happen overnight. It would take time.
Originally, both Shinai and Ino didn't want to trouble him, but when he told them that his modifications would make Shinai regain her youth and allow Ino to maintain hers indefinitely…
Well, neither could resist the temptation.
For Shinai, strength wasn't that important.Ino cared more, but still preferred to advance through her own efforts.
But when it came to appearance, so long as there were no unacceptable conditions attached,what woman could resist such an offer?
And so, Natsuro's grand transformation project officially began, one step at a time.
.....
The Next Day
Natsuro arrived at the Hokage's office. With most of the major tasks already handled, everything was returning to a sense of normalcy.
The only difference now was that he processed affairs far more quickly than before. Just a glance was enough for him to memorize the contents of a scroll, and from there, the solution came to him effortlessly and naturally.
Very soon, the mountain of pending documents had been cleared by Natsuro at a terrifying speed.
Watching from the side, Shikaku wiped sweat from his brow as he watched the paperwork rapidly vanish.
With Natsuro handling matters this fast, the burden on him as secretary had grown immensely. Shikaku felt that working alone was no longer sustainable.
So at this moment, he was considering whether he should recruit more people to form a dedicated secretarial team. Someone like Mabui from the Land of Lightning, for example, once unification was complete, if she could be trusted, bringing her over could help ease the load.
Soon, a member of the ANBU appeared in the office, bringing with him important news.
"Hm? That fast?" Natsuro was a little surprised. According to the ANBU, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had already arrived at the gates of Konoha, personally, and even sent a formal letter requesting an audience.
Natsuro took the letter and raised an eyebrow. Its tone was exceedingly polite, so polite that it didn't seem like it came from someone who used to be in a higher position.
And the main message of the letter was this: the Daimyō of the Land of Fire was requesting to speak with Natsuro about future matters.
Yes—requesting, not demanding.
The shift in attitude and status had clearly been grasped with precision.
"Escort the Daimyō to the conference room," Natsuro said as he handed the invitation to Shikaku.
"Yes!" The ANBU agent vanished instantly.
Shikaku looked at the letter and his eyes lit up. If this was real, then it meant they could avoid a great deal of bloodshed.
He had considered this possibility before.
But while drafting plans, he had to assume the worst-case scenario, that Konoha would be forced to go to war with the entire world. He couldn't rely on hope alone.
Now, though, things were looking far better than he'd anticipated.
"Mhm, seems that's the case. The Daimyō of the Land of Fire really is a remarkable leader… and quite pragmatic," Natsuro said with some admiration.
He recalled how, in the original series, the five Daimyō were shown together, and there was a clear contrast between them.
The Daimyō of the Land of Fire stood out the most—calm under pressure, and orderly in his decisions.
He also seemed to understand the power of shinobi better than any other Daimyō—probably because… well, it was Konoha.
Enough said.
Even so, for him to make such a swift decision still exceeded Natsuro's expectations.
Despite his usual lazy, laid-back demeanor, the Daimyō must have held a firm grip on his nation's authority.Otherwise, even if he personally agreed, there's no way he could've cut through layers of resistance so quickly.
After all, when Natsuro made his public declaration two days ago, he clearly saw how many powerful figures were hesitant.
Yet those people, no matter their status, couldn't act unilaterally. They had to go back and deliberate, and the final outcome was still uncertain.
"Indeed," Shikaku nodded after thinking it through. "This generation's Daimyō of the Land of Fire is highly capable, both in skill and in politics."
"Let's go. To the conference room. Since this is the first high-profile guest to arrive, we should show the appropriate level of respect," Natsuro said.
He didn't look down on the Daimyō just because the man had no combat strength.
Soon, the Daimyō arrived alone at the conference room and came face to face with Natsuro.
"It's been a while, Lord Hokage," the Daimyō said with a smile.
He still had that same laid-back demeanor, though it lacked the air of overconfidence from before.
"Haha, just call me Natsuro," he replied with a chuckle. "Strictly speaking, your position is still more prestigious than mine, for now."
"Tch, titles like that aren't what really matters. After all, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire only stood above Konoha because of the system that the First Hokage set in place," the Daimyō said with a shake of his head.
"True. In my view, strength still reigns supreme in this world," Natsuro agreed with a nod.
"Exactly. Even before, though my mansion had numerous guards, I always felt that a determined shinobi could easily take my life," the Daimyō admitted with a sigh.
"But they didn't, did they?" Natsuro countered.
"That's because Konoha was there. With your village's overwhelming power, no one dared to make a move against me," the Daimyō said, giving some praise to Konoha.
Natsuro didn't comment further.
This time, the Daimyō had changed a lot, gone was the sluggish, hard-of-hearing persona from the past. Now, he was sharp, articulate, and surprisingly talkative.
"Alright, enough small talk," Natsuro said, not one for wasting time. "Daimyō, what exactly is the purpose of your visit to Konoha?"
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