Uchiha Soren closed the space-tool scroll with a snap and stored away Uchiha Madara's corpse.
Indra's and Ashura's reincarnation genes mattered equally; one without the other was a dead end. For any ordinary Uchiha to awaken the Rinnegan, both lines were required. Which meant — Madara's Eternal Mangekyō was a treasure beyond price, a relic capable of birthing another super-Kage for the clan.
He had gained a fortune… and paid for it dearly.
"That old fox's trick cost me dearly."
"I won't recover for years."
His left Eternal eye had dimmed; vision blurred and stabbed with pain. Even Tenchō Ritsuzon felt shortened, as though the world had pulled a thin veil over itself. Soren forced his breath into steady rhythm.
Even half-blind, he could still manifest Susanoo. At worst he wouldn't sustain the complete form, but the gigantic fourth-stage crow-tengu armor alone was enough to trample any shinobi village.
When Soren emerged from the ruined basin, Uzumaki Mito was already rushing toward him with a squad of shinobi. They saw him stride out — exhausted, battered, but upright — and disbelief washed into relief.
"My lord Hokage!"
"Madara's aura is gone — did you kill him?!" Mito demanded.
Soren nodded—
—then his knees buckled and he slumped forward.
"Sorry… Minister Mito… I'm beat. Let me sleep."
He sounded like a man carrying entire continents on his shoulders.
The ANBU bowed deeply. Mito caught him, folding him into her arms with a gentleness at odds with her legendary discipline. A faint, instinctive squeeze at his waist made her lips tighten — three days and nights of shared chakra and will had tangled them more deeply than propriety allowed.
"Go back and tell them the news. I'll wait until he wakes."
Night fell. Stars blinked over the broken valley. Mito exhaled and looked down at Soren's sleeping face in her lap, a helpless tenderness filling her chest.
"…My Hokage… can you wake now? Konoha's still under attack by the three great nations."
"No."
Soren opened his eyes a sliver and glared at the night sky.
"One of my Sharingan is blind. I'm hurt everywhere. I might go fully blind later — and you don't even ask how I am?"
Mito blinked. She had asked about the mission, not his feelings. Soren pouted like a sullen child.
"Besides, I crushed the strongest force in the Land of Lightning all by myself. The other three are trash. If Konoha can't hold them off, I refuse to be the Hokage of such a pathetic village."
Mito suppressed a sigh. He could be infuriatingly spoiled when he wanted to be — but she knew his past: orphaned, wandering, unloved, gripping everything precious with both hands. She stroked his hair, smoothing the damp strands.
"I know you're tired, Hokage. But if you push through and defeat the other nations, Konoha will know true peace. History will remember you — you'll be the greatest Hokage ever recorded."
The flattery worked. Soren softened… slightly.
Then his eyes gleamed with mischief.
"Peace can wait. After fighting Madara for four days, I'm drained. Chakra empty. Sharingan broken. Body hollow. I can't even lift a finger."
Mito's hopeful smile faltered.
Soren continued, voice sly:
"But — if Minister Mito were willing to pay a little price for Konoha… I might recover."
A ripple of unease crawled down her spine.
"…Say it. If it's reasonable, I will not refuse."
Soren's tone turned deliberately innocent.
"I heard the Uzumaki have special physiology. If someone bites an Uzumaki's skin, they can restore chakra and heal. So… can you make that happen?"
Mito froze.
Then her face twisted in disbelief.
"…You always give me no choice."
"Isn't that too much?"
"Mito, I bled for Konoha. Did the work. Can't I get a small privilege?" Soren grumbled. "I'm the Hokage, after all."
Mito's mouth tightened. Then, with a stern sigh, she rolled up her sleeve.
"Recover — and then go straight to the front line."
Soren's grin turned wicked.
He leaned forward and bit Mito's arm, slow and deliberate.
Gasps rippled through the surrounding shinobi. Soren didn't even look at her face — he was too terrified she might punch him mid-bite.
He released her and frowned.
"Hm? Doesn't feel like much energy."
"Life energy flows evenly. It's the same wherever you bite." Mito said primly.
Soren's eyes drifted downward… toward a very forbidden slope.
"I don't believe it. Let me verify."
Mito followed his gaze.
Her entire expression darkened.
Her hair rose like nine furious red tails behind her.
"You greedy little brat!" she snapped. "Get off my leg RIGHT NOW!"
Soren leapt back—
Just in time.
Her punch cratered the earth where his skull had been, dust exploding outward.
A cold bead of sweat crawled down his temple.
"Mito! It was a joke! Stop being angry!"
He raised both hands. "If you help me recover, I'll go to the front immediately. You become Kurama's host, I unleash Susanoo — together we crush the three nations."
Mito's voice was a blade:
"If the three nations are trash, why can't you do it yourself?"
Soren opened his mouth—
Closed it.
Gave up.
They returned to Konoha. Within an hour, Osame and Minako had Soren pinned between them, fussing over him nonstop.
For once, the feared Third Hokage —
the victor who slew Madara —
the man who commanded bijū and wielded space-time jutsu—
…was utterly helpless against two determined wives.
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