Night fell over Konoha like a deep, heavy curtain.
Under the warm glow of the lamps, Kyūsei rested his chin on one hand, watching the girl in front of him happily eat dumpling after dumpling.
Because her mouth was a little small, a single dumpling made her cheeks puff out slightly.
He quietly watched as Kaoru finished the entire plate in front of her.
He had to admit—when it came to Kaoru , he seemed to have some kind of filter on.
No matter what she did, he could never find it annoying.
In his eyes, she was almost perfect.
"W-Why are you staring at me like that?"
Kaoru 's face flushed as she looked at him, half shy and half annoyed.
Even though they had long since crossed the final line, she still acted like a little girl around him.
"I…"
Kyūsei was about to speak, but his gaze suddenly drifted to a faint green glow on his chest.
It was the necklace that contained Senju Hashirama's chakra.
Hashirama's teaching ability was completely opposite to his strength.
The stronger he was, the worse he was at teaching.
If he wanted to master Sage Mode…
Wasn't there a perfect candidate right in front of him?
Seeing him still staring, Kaoru began to feel overwhelmed by his burning gaze.
C-Could it be that he was going to…
That?
Just as her imagination started running wild, Kyūsei suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"W-What are you doing?"
Kaoru stammered.
"Kaoru , come with me."
Kyūsei spoke seriously.
"Huh?"
She looked at him in confusion as he pulled her along.
—
The Forest of Death was especially quiet at night.
It seemed as if all living creatures were enjoying the stillness, with only insect chirps echoing in the darkness.
"Kyūsei, what are you doing here?"
Being brought to the Forest of Death, Kaoru now realized she had misunderstood earlier.
He led her to a higher slope inside the forest and pulled the necklace out from under his clothes.
Kaoru was confused.
She knew that necklace well.
Back then, Minato's counterpart had helped Kyūsei obtain it from Tsunade.
It contained the First Hokage's chakra and could suppress him if the Nine-Tails went berserk.
But now that Kyūsei had become a perfect Jinchūriki, it was no longer needed.
Still, Tsunade had never asked for it back, so he kept wearing it.
"Come out, Teacher Hashirama."
As Kyūsei spoke, the necklace began to glow with a soft green light.
Before Kaoru 's stunned eyes, a tall, imposing figure appeared.
She stared blankly at the man whose face was identical to the one carved on Hokage Rock.
The First Hokage…
Senju Hashirama?!
"J-J-J-Kyūsei…"
Kaoru stuttered in disbelief.
"As you can see, Kaoru , this is the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama."
Kyūsei quickly explained everything to her.
After hearing the full story, Kaoru finally came back to her senses.
"It's still hard to believe… but I never imagined I'd see Lord Hashirama in person."
She spoke with genuine emotion.
"There's no need to be so surprised,"
Hashirama said with a smile as he looked at the girl who had inherited Tobirama's techniques.
"Chakra itself is a very mysterious thing."
"Preserving one's chakra through sealing techniques isn't that unbelievable."
"Even if someday chakra could be eaten like food, I wouldn't be surprised."
He looked at Kyūsei and Kaoru with clear, bright eyes filled with satisfaction.
These two children were pillars of Konoha's future.
And Hiruzen intended to nurture Kaoru as the first female Hokage.
Hashirama fully supported that idea.
In his view, Kaoru was kind, hardworking, and strong.
A true inheritor of the Will of Fire.
And Kyūsei would always stand firmly by her side.
Together, they could lead Konoha to an even greater future.
"Kyūsei, you didn't bring Kaoru here just to let her know about my existence, did you?"
Hashirama glanced around the Forest of Death.
During the day, he had sensed his own power lingering here.
This forest had been created by his Wood Release.
He hadn't expected it to still exist after so many decades.
Back then, when he was building Konoha, there wasn't enough timber.
So he simply created a massive forest with Wood Release and let the villagers cut it down.
Unfortunately, he used too much chakra and made it far larger than intended.
Because of that, Tobirama had scolded him for messing up the village layout.
Kyūsei looked at the two people before him.
One was a former Hokage.
The other, a future Hokage.
"Kaoru , I'd like you to guide me in Sage Mode."
"Teacher Hashirama's teaching is… too abstract."
"Normal people just can't understand it."
Hashirama's face immediately fell.
Tobirama said this.
Kyūsei said this.
Was he really that bad as a teacher?
Kaoru 's delicate brows curved into crescent moons as she smiled.
"So that's why."
"If it's for you, of course I'll help."
Being able to assist Kyūsei made her genuinely happy.
"But the Sage Mode from Mount Myōboku might be different from Lord Hashirama's…"
"I'm worried that—"
Before she could finish, Hashirama waved his hand.
"Don't worry. I'm here."
No—because you're here, that's exactly why I brought Kaoru .
Kyūsei complained silently.
"Alright, let's begin."
"Lord Hashirama, could you explain to me how you guided Kyūsei?"
Kaoru asked seriously.
Sage training was extremely dangerous.
One mistake could mean death.
She couldn't afford to be careless.
"Of course."
Hashirama readily agreed and explained his teaching process.
But as she listened, Kaoru 's expression gradually shifted from serious to speechless.
Now she finally understood why Kyūsei called it "abstract."
It was beyond abstract.
It was ridiculous.
Author's Note: Feeling lazy today. The remaining two chapters are still being written. Please vote, subscribe, and support.
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