"Is it like this everywhere else too?"
"The civilians in the Land of Fire already have better lives than most. At the very least, the majority of them are still alive."
"Alive?"
"Yes. Alive."
Nawaki's voice trembled as he looked around him.
"You call this living?"
"Sometimes, simply staying alive is already an incredibly difficult thing."
Nawaki stood rigidly in place. His chest rose and fell heavily, his hands clenched into fists, and the rims of his eyes gradually turned red. He tried to speak, but no words came.
A long silence followed.
At last, Nawaki looked toward Kizaru again.
"Let's go back. I want to learn how to farm."
Kizaru glanced at him. "You don't want to keep looking around?"
"I can't watch any more of this."
With that, Nawaki reached out and carefully took the baby he had rescued from Kizaru's arms. Holding the child close to his chest, he turned and began walking away without hesitation.
After taking several steps, however, Nawaki stopped.
"Kizaru," he murmured, "I suddenly feel like becoming Hokage and surpassing Grandpa and Second Grandpa doesn't mean anything anymore."
He paused before looking back over his shoulder. Despite the redness in his eyes, a firm, radiant smile appeared on his face.
"I want to research ways to grow more food. I want everyone to have enough to eat, so no one will ever have to kill their own child because there isn't any food."
Kizaru smiled as well and slowly rose to his feet.
"Mm... you'll do it."
"Yeah!" Nawaki's smile widened, and the light in his eyes grew brighter. "Let's both work hard! You become the greatest Hokage, and I'll become the greatest farmer!"
On that day, Nawaki grew up.
With Nawaki carrying the baby he had rescued, the two began their journey back to Konoha.
Since the road to the village was long and would take at least two days, Kizaru suggested that they find a trustworthy family in a nearby town to adopt the child. He would leave them a considerable sum of money to cover the cost of raising her.
Nawaki understood that Kizaru's suggestion was reasonable. Even so, he could not bear to part with the baby he had only just saved and insisted on taking her back to Konoha to be adopted there.
Seeing how determined he was, Kizaru could only agree.
The two first travelled to a nearby town, where they found a doctor to examine the baby. After confirming that she was healthy, they purchased everything necessary to care for her, hired a carriage, and officially set out for Konoha.
Three days later, Kizaru and Nawaki finally returned to the village with the baby.
Their first destination was Konoha Hospital, where the little girl Nawaki intended to adopt could receive a more thorough examination and proper care.
As the director of Konoha Hospital, Tsunade heard the news almost immediately and came to find Kizaru.
"So, this is the little one you brought back."
Standing in the corridor outside the nursery, Tsunade listened as Kizaru recounted everything that had happened during their journey.
"Nawaki insisted on bringing her back," Kizaru explained.
Tsunade sighed. "What does he intend to do now? Send her to an orphanage?"
"He plans to adopt her himself."
Tsunade frowned.
"Can he really handle that responsibility?"
Nawaki was only a little over ten years old. No matter how serious he was, Tsunade naturally doubted whether her younger brother was capable of caring for an infant.
"He grew quite a bit during this trip," Kizaru replied. "I think he can manage."
"All right." Tsunade's expression softened. "You've worked hard too. Go home and rest. Leave everything here to me."
"I'll come pick you up for dinner tonight."
Before Tsunade could respond, Kizaru stepped forward, wrapped an arm around her, and lightly kissed her forehead. Then, before her embarrassment could turn into anger, he slipped away at remarkable speed.
Tsunade leaned back against the wall and watched his retreating figure. Before long, the corners of her lips curved into a quiet smile.
Nawaki's decision to adopt a baby girl from outside the village did not cause much commotion or discussion within Konoha. His decision to leave the path of a combat shinobi and pursue agricultural research, however, attracted considerably more attention.
Several members of Konoha's leadership strongly objected to the idea. Nevertheless, with the support of Kizaru, Tsunade, Danzō, and Orochimaru, Nawaki's application was ultimately approved.
Orochimaru, who had been secluded while researching natural energy and senjutsu, was the last to learn about Nawaki's decision.
When he discovered that his disciple's Grass Release could potentially be used to improve crops such as wheat and rice, Orochimaru immediately became interested.
He understood better than most how difficult it would be to fulfil Nawaki's dream of ensuring that everyone had enough food. Even so, he supported his disciple's ambition and instructed Nawaki to study biology under his guidance.
From that day onward, Nawaki—who had never enjoyed reading or studying—spent nearly every day inside the laboratory. Before he could begin conducting experiments of his own, he first had to master the fundamentals of biological research.
Once Nawaki's situation had been settled, Kizaru remained at home and officially began transitioning to Mount Myōboku's senjutsu system.
He emptied his body of chakra, absorbed natural energy, and attempted to establish a balance between natural energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy. During the early stages, Kizaru spent most of each day sitting or lying completely still.
Before beginning his training, Kizaru had told Tsunade about senjutsu and explained his decision. Because of that, she did not become upset when he stopped visiting her regularly. Instead, she often came to see him herself.
Half a month after beginning his transition to senjutsu, Kizaru had already developed a degree of physical familiarity with the process. He could now maintain the balance of energy inside his body while performing ordinary daily activities.
Of course, that balance could only be maintained during normal life. If he entered battle, it could easily be disrupted.
Likewise, if Kizaru refined chakra, combined it with natural energy to create senjutsu chakra, and entered Sage Mode, the balance he had established would inevitably collapse afterward.
According to the experience and guidance shared with him by the Great Toad Sage, it would take approximately one to three years for his body to fully adapt to the senjutsu system, develop genuine physical memory, and permanently stabilize the balance within him.
Fortunately, losing that balance would not damage Kizaru's body. He would simply have to absorb natural energy again and continue his training from the beginning of the process.
After more than half a month of practice, Kizaru could clearly feel the natural energy nourishing and strengthening both his body and spirit. The improvement was slow, but it was undeniably present.
Natural energy strengthened the body and spirit. A stronger body and spirit could absorb more natural energy, and a greater quantity of natural energy could then nourish and strengthen them even further.
It was an exceptionally beneficial cycle.
For the time being, Kizaru had only told two people about his transition to senjutsu: Tsunade and Orochimaru.
His reason for telling Tsunade was obvious. As for Orochimaru, Kizaru had previously promised that he would study senjutsu alongside his senior.
Because of his agreement with Mount Myōboku, Kizaru could not reveal the specific training methods of its senjutsu. However, he did explain the differences between the senjutsu system and the traditional chakra system, just as the Great Toad Sage had explained them to him.
The knowledge Kizaru shared could not directly solve the problems Orochimaru currently faced in his research into natural energy. Even so, it gave Orochimaru a far more organized and systematic understanding of both natural energy and senjutsu, which was already an enormous help.
Time passed quickly while Kizaru practised senjutsu and assisted Orochimaru with his research into natural energy.
Before long, nearly a month had passed, and the Academy welcomed the first day of a new school term.
During the past several weeks, Kizaru's body had absorbed an increasing amount of natural energy, and the balance within him had become far more stable than before.
Based on his current progress, Kizaru estimated that within three to six months, he would be able to attack with his full physical strength without disturbing the balance of natural energy inside his body, provided that he did not refine chakra.
Moreover, after being nourished by natural energy for such a long period, both his body and spirit would become considerably stronger. Even without refining chakra, his combat ability would no longer be weakened by much.
Once Kizaru refined chakra and entered Sage Mode, the power he could display would surpass his previous limits and reach an entirely higher level.
Kizaru was more than satisfied with that result.
At this rate, he believed the day when he could rival the Ōtsutsuki Clan was no longer impossibly distant.
There was only one aspect that left him slightly disappointed.
After opening the Eight Inner Gates, his chakra became too violent and difficult to control. That state was fundamentally incompatible with Sage Mode, which depended upon absolute stability and balance. As a result, the two could not be used together.
Otherwise, if he could combine the Eight Inner Gates, Sage Mode, Chakra Enhanced Strength, and the combat system of the One Piece world, his power might have reached an even more terrifying level.
Still, every gain came with a loss.
Kizaru had always been rather easygoing about such things. He did not feel particularly troubled by the limitation.
It was merely... a little regrettable.
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