At dinnertime, the Senju family held a carefully prepared welcoming ceremony for their new member, Nono, hoping it would help her adjust to her new home.
Natsuka, deeply moved by Nono's experiences, even helped bathe her before bed and stayed with her through the first night in the Senju household.
The next morning, Arima arrived early at the council chamber.
After hours of discussion, the assembly finally finalized a new adoption law in Kyoto.
One clause granted any family that adopted orphans from the welfare institute a free family residence.
However, the screening process would now be much stricter, to prevent anyone from exploiting the system.
With this matter settled, Arima turned his attention back to the trials of the defected shinobi.
Over the past three months, the Alliance had achieved remarkable progress in sorting cases. Yet, this also brought with it a thorny dilemma.
Many of the defectors had acted under the direct mind control of Otsutsuki Isso. If their will had been forced, then how could one judge the true weight of their crimes?
Arima studied the roster of defectors. After a long silence, he decided.
'Those who deliberately opposed the Alliance will be sealed in Hozuki Castle forever! As for the others, they'll be stationed at the Moon Base.
Their terms will be ranked into ten levels according to the severity of the consequences they caused, the greater the damage, the longer they'll serve.'
Before long, the Alliance, adopting Arima's proposal, began a thorough review. The investigation lasted nearly half a year.
In the end, based on their actions and consequences, the defectors were sentenced to varying terms of servitude, some as short as three to five years, others as long as twenty or thirty.
At last, the series of violent incidents triggered by Otsutsuki Isso was brought to a close.
By this time, it was April of Year 8 in the Shinobi Calendar, or April of Year 33 in the Konoha Calendar. Less than six months remained before the start of the new academy term.
The Alliance had long prepared the tightest defenses. If the slightest disturbance arose, their response would be swift and merciless.
Yet, that year's entrance ceremony passed with an uncanny calm. Nothing unexpected occurred.
Afterward, many let out a long sigh of relief, but what lingered most was confusion.
Arima guessed that Isso must have run into some obstacle. Otherwise, there was no reason he would miss such a perfect chance to damage the Alliance's prestige.
Indeed, events unfolded exactly as Arima suspected.
Isso had violated a clan taboo and was now imprisoned deep beneath the temple.
The previous year, he had revealed the pathway between the Moon and Earth to the shinobi world, forcing the Otsutsuki clan to sever ties with their ancestral domain.
Worse still, he had recklessly overdrawn the power of the Tenseigan within the temple, pushing it to the brink of collapse.
The Otsutsuki clan had obeyed their forefather Hamura's command for generations, guarding the spatial seals around the shinobi world, hiding it from the gaze of the higher celestial clan.
But Isso, obstinate as ever, again defied them this year. He sought to summon a meteorite half the size of the Moon by using the Tenseigan. In doing so, he completely drained its power.
Because of this, they could no longer mend the distortions in space-time around the shinobi world.
The seal shattered, and the shinobi world was fully exposed. Inevitably, the celestial clan would soon send emissaries.
As clan head, Isso was held responsible. The elders imprisoned him without mercy.
While Konoha celebrated its grand entrance ceremony, the Otsutsuki elders convened a crisis meeting within the temple.
The Great Elder, Otsutsuki Shizu, spoke gravely: "The shinobi world faces destruction. Should we warn them ahead of time?"
Others shook their heads. "It's pointless. Back then, even our ancestor, together with the Sage of Six Paths, barely managed to seal the celestial clan.
Now, after thousands of years, chakra has diffused. There is no hope of stopping them."
Shizu sighed sorrowfully.
"Perhaps we were wrong from the start. We should never have waged war against the main family. In the end, this was nothing more than brothers turned against brothers."
The Second Elder, suggested: "We should split into two groups. One stays to guard the temple. The other takes the Tenseigan to search for a new land to settle."
Reluctantly, Shizu agreed. He would not see the Otsutsuki perish alongside a decaying shinobi world.
But Isso fiercely opposed the elders' decision. He had no intention of wandering endlessly through space in pursuit of an uncertain new homeland.
Thus the clan split once again, their dwindling numbers divided into two camps. Many of the more radical members threw their support behind Isso.
Yet, there was only one Tenseigan. Dispute over its ownership soon flared into open conflict. A brutal battle erupted in the temple.
At the dawn of Year 9 in the Shinobi Calendar, Isso's faction slew the elders and reclaimed control of the Tenseigan. With new Byakugan sacrificed to it, the Tenseigan regained its vitality.
Isso and his followers had always been extreme. To them, if they were to fall, they would drag others into ruin. The elders' plan to flee was nothing but cowardice in their eyes.
Gazing at the few clansmen who remained, Isso declared coldly.
"Our ancestor commanded us to guard the seal upon the celestial clan.
Now, we've failed completely, bringing shame upon him! To cleanse this disgrace, we shall reclaim our lost glory from those wretches of the shinobi world!"
The clan members straightened with fervor, spirits reignited, ready for war.
Isso continued: "I will seal the Tenseigan's chakra within each of you.
Once we destroy the old world, we shall enter slumber in the temple. After the celestial clan departs, we will awaken to build a new world!"
His vision of a grand rebirth enthralled them. Who wouldn't want to become the founders of a new shinobi world? In such a future, they would be the ancestors of a new humanity.
Isso then revealed the details of his plan.
First, they would infiltrate the shinobi world slowly, planting proxy organizations.
Through them, they would capture the Tailed Beasts and seal them within their own bodies. With the Tenseigan's aid, they would become perfect Jinchuriki.
Nine perfect Jinchuriki, unleashed together, empowered by the Tenseigan, the shinobi world would be obliterated in a single strike.
Afterward, they could safely enter hibernation, awaiting the dawn of a new world.
Thus, as Isso's faction vanished into hiding, the shinobi world entered another fleeting era of peace.
On October 24 of Year 11 in the Shinobi Calendar, Arima and Tsunade were officially wed.
The entire Alliance declared a three-day holiday; everywhere, people sang and danced, celebrating their union.
The following year, on July 15, their first child, Senju Arata, was born safely.
Not long before that, Kushina and her peers had just graduated from the academy.
Thanks to her strong constitution, Tsunade recovered quickly from childbirth.
She soon took over as Jonin instructor for Kushina's team in Kyoto, assigning them minor D-rank missions. Her students included Kushina, Minato Namikaze, and Mikoto Uchiha.
The situation of the shinobi world had grown precarious.
On the surface, things looked bright, both the Science Division and Agriculture Division had made breakthroughs, and electromagnetic cannons had been successfully installed into the defense systems of major cities.
Yet, in remote regions, massive stone monsters occasionally appeared, attacking towns.
Worse still, Jinchuriki across the villages began to lose control with alarming frequency. Each time, only Arima's timely intervention prevented disaster.
Arima sensed sharply that Otsutsuki Isso had shifted tactics.
No longer did he strike openly, but instead moved in shadows with subtle schemes. For Arima, this made the threat all the more dangerous.
What troubled him most was the disappearance of his young disciple, Uchiha Kaito.
Half a year ago, Kaito had gone missing on a mission, severing all contact with the Alliance. Arima himself had searched, but found not the slightest trace.
Seated in the Hokage's office, Arima looked out at the bustling streets below, sighing softly. He whispered to himself, "Grandfather… what should I do now?"
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