Tsunade shot Jiraiya an annoyed glare, then turned toward Akira, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Akira, let me test you. You know the Flying Raijin Jutsu, right? Could you instantly transport all of us back to Konoha at once?"
Jiraiya went completely blank.
"How is that even possible? Tsunade, are you out of your mind? Even a genius like the Fourth Hokage couldn't pull something like that off!"
Shizune nodded from the side, clearly thinking Tsunade was asking the impossible.
Akira, however, didn't reject the idea right away. Looking at the teasing smile on Tsunade's face, he gave a helpless laugh.
"All right. Since you're asking, I can try."
Jiraiya hurriedly cut in. "Akira, don't humor her. She's obviously messing with you. Probably still holding a grudge over that genjutsu stunt you pulled on her."
As far as Jiraiya was concerned, this analysis was flawless. He had clearly uncovered the truth.
What he couldn't understand was how Tsunade, of all people, could put an outstanding younger ninja on the spot like this.
Tsunade ignored him completely, her beautiful eyes still resting on Akira with an amused smile.
Akira spread his hands. "Well, if Tsunade-hime really wants the experience, it's not impossible. It just burns through a lot of chakra."
Jiraiya stared at him. "You can't be serious. You're really going to try this? That's absurdly difficult!"
Naruto nodded frantically along with him. "Yeah, Akira, if it's too much, forget it. We can just walk back to Konoha faster. Why do we have to listen to Granny Tsunade?"
The instant she heard Granny, a red vein practically popped on Tsunade's forehead.
Akira reacted immediately. He pressed a hand to her shoulder to calm her down and said quietly, "Easy, easy. Focus on what matters."
Using that brief touch, he quietly left a Flying Raijin marker on her.
Then he repeated the process with Shizune, Naruto, and Jiraiya, patting each of them once in turn.
Standing in the middle of the four of them, Akira gave instructions. "Everyone move in a little closer. Otherwise this won't work properly."
Even though Jiraiya didn't believe for a second that Akira could actually pull this off, his body still moved honestly enough. He stepped in closer anyway. He was too curious not to.
Once all four of them were gathered around him, Akira slowly closed his eyes.
Tsunade turned her head to look at him, that soft smile still lingering on her face. She liked him best when he wore that same calm, self-assured expression.
The moment Akira shut his eyes, the space around the group twisted sharply.
In little more than a blink, the noisy streets of Tanzaku Town vanished, replaced by the familiar sight of Akira's own courtyard in Konoha.
At the same time, a violent surge of chakra exploded from Akira's body.
This kind of long-range group transfer really did consume an absurd amount of energy.
That single teleport had burned through a full one percent of Akira's total chakra.
That level of consumption was almost on par with transferring a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Of course, for Akira, whose chakra reserves were like a vast sea, one percent was hardly catastrophic.
Still, aside from the special training he'd done with Kakashi as a child, it had been a long time since he'd spent that much chakra all at once.
The four people who had appeared in the courtyard just stood there in stunned silence, staring at the completely familiar surroundings.
Tsunade was the first to recover. She smiled smugly.
"See? I knew you could do it. That kind of consumption is nothing to you."
Beside her, Jiraiya had gone completely rigid.
More than anyone, he understood what this meant. Minato had been brilliant, but even Minato couldn't have transported this many people across such a distance in a single jump.
When Jiraiya looked up and saw the four giant stone faces carved into the Hokage Rock in the distance, he finally had to accept it.
They had really returned to Konoha in an instant.
After the initial shock faded, Jiraiya looked at Akira with a deeply complicated expression.
"You really have surpassed the Fourth Hokage now, haven't you, Akira? I have to admit it. Your strength has definitely gone beyond Minato's."
"If you weren't still so young, I'd be tempted to recommend you for Fifth Hokage myself."
Akira gave a tired laugh. "Here we go again. Jiraiya-sama, I already told you, I'm not interested in becoming Hokage. Leave that grand dream to Naruto. I honestly think he has what it takes. Once he masters the Nine-Tails' power, do you know what happens? His strength will skyrocket straight into Kage-level territory."
Truthfully, most ordinary Kage-level ninja probably wouldn't be able to handle Naruto once he fully controlled the Nine-Tails.
Of course, that wasn't counting the kind of power-ups the Sage of Six Paths handed out later.
Still, Akira genuinely had high hopes for Naruto's future.
The moment Naruto heard Akira praising him that highly, he turned red with excitement and thumped his chest.
"Akira, don't worry! I won't let you down! I'll definitely become Hokage someday!"
Akira patted him on the shoulder encouragingly. "Good. I believe it. And when you do become Hokage, I'll serve as your personal guard."
Hearing that Akira had already planned out his future career for him, Naruto was so touched he looked ready to burst into tears and swear brotherhood on the spot.
In reality, Akira was mostly just dodging responsibility. He had zero interest in being Hokage himself.
Tsunade, meanwhile, shot him a sharp look. "I'm about to become the Fifth Hokage right now. So what, you don't want to be my guard?"
The moment Akira saw her face turn serious, he changed his tune instantly with a grin. "Of course not. What I mean is, after Tsunade-hime retires with full honors, then I can go serve as Naruto's guard afterward."
Jiraiya blinked and looked at Tsunade. "Wait. You're planning to make Akira your Hokage guard?"
Tsunade nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "What, do you have a problem with that?"
Jiraiya waved both hands quickly. He wouldn't dare object. And honestly, he thought Akira was more than qualified.
Strong enough, close enough to Tsunade to be trusted, and personally taught by her. As clean a choice as anyone could ask for.
Now that Tsunade was the Fifth Hokage, choosing her own guard was absolutely within her authority.
And after returning to the village, she'd likely promote Akira to chunin immediately. Maybe even move him up to jonin ahead of schedule.
So not only did Jiraiya have no objection to Akira serving as Tsunade's guard, he actually supported it wholeheartedly.
Because that only made it more likely that Akira might someday succeed her as Hokage.
By the unspoken rules of the ninja world, many Kage's successors had once served as their guards.
That tradition had been more common in the era of the First, Second, and Third Hokage, but it still carried weight.
Jiraiya laughed. "Of course I don't object. If the right person's the right person, then favoritism doesn't matter."
"But I've got to ask, how exactly did you convince this kid to agree to work under you? What did you offer him?"
Akira smiled lazily, sounding very much like someone who had gotten a great deal and knew it. "How could I refuse something this good?"
"Tsunade-hime handed over the most valuable parts of her medical ninjutsu knowledge."
"And besides, being the Hokage's guard means I can finally stop exhausting myself on endless missions outside the village. It sounds like a perfect life."
Jiraiya shook his head and laughed. "You little brat. Is that really all the ambition you've got?"
"That said, think carefully. Being the Hokage's guard comes with real weight on your shoulders."
Even as he said it, Jiraiya was thrilled. The fact that Tsunade had actually managed to talk the boy into it was a wonderful surprise.
Akira let the grin fade and nodded seriously.
Jiraiya dusted himself off and said, "Since we've brought her back, we should go inform the old fossils in the administration."
This time they had used Flying Raijin to drop straight into the village.
If they didn't show their faces to the leadership soon, the twitchy ANBU were liable to misunderstand the whole thing and create a mess.
No one wasted any more time after that. The group started walking toward the Hokage Tower.
The streets were busy, and the older veteran ninja who happened to catch sight of Jiraiya and Tsunade nearly lost their minds.
They rubbed their eyes hard to make sure they weren't hallucinating, then practically shouted with joy.
"My God, it's really them! Those two are back!"
"Konoha's saved! We finally have a Fifth Hokage!"
The older generation, the ones who had actually lived through the great wars, understood better than anyone what the title of Legendary Sannin really meant.
It wasn't just a fancy name.
It was a reputation built on mountains of corpses and oceans of blood.
Konoha had only recently survived Orochimaru's attack. Its strength had been slashed nearly in half.
The village was at its weakest point and desperately needed a pillar strong enough to frighten all the neighboring enemies who might be tempted to strike.
News of Jiraiya and Tsunade's return spread through the village like wildfire.
Within hours, the heads of Konoha's major clans were already leaving their homes and hurrying toward the Hokage Tower.
The Konoha Crush had bloodied every clan.
Even a top-tier family like the Hyuga had taken serious damage.
But every clan head understood the same thing. As long as Tsunade and Jiraiya sat in the village, Konoha would not truly fall.
That was the kind of presence absolute top-tier ninja commanded.
Who in the ninja world wouldn't show them respect?
As they walked toward the tower, Naruto kept looking around, clearly overwhelmed and a little excited by all the reverent stares from the shinobi lining the streets.
That look in their eyes was pure admiration.
Sensing Naruto's confusion, Akira explained casually, "You understand what the title of the Sannin means now, don't you?"
"In the hearts of Konoha's shinobi, if two out of those three come back, they can sleep with their doors unlocked. That's what real security feels like."
"You think it's just a cool-sounding nickname? It was earned by walking over countless enemies."
"So if you want to become Hokage someday, talk alone won't do it. You need real achievements. You need the kind of presence that makes people feel safe the moment they see you. Got it?"
Naruto was visibly shaken by those words. The uncertainty in his eyes slowly gave way to resolve.
"Yeah! I'll get stronger! Strong enough to protect everyone!"
For the first time, Naruto felt the full pressure of what that title meant.
But that pressure also made his blood burn hotter than ever.
The seat of Hokage really wasn't something just anyone could carry.
By the time the conversation ended, they had already passed through the doors of the Hokage Tower.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the two village elders, had already received word and were waiting in the Hokage's office.
These two old hard-liners were stubborn, self-interested, and difficult in all the ways everyone knew, but when it came to major matters they had always stood on the same side as the Third Hokage.
They would rather have shoved an underprepared Kakashi into the seat than allowed Danzo, that scheming old hawk, anywhere near the Hokage position.
When the heavy office doors swung open, the two advisors were standing by the window with their usual stern expressions.
"Tsunade. Jiraiya. So you finally decided to come back."
Tsunade took one look at those two calculating old faces and instantly felt irritated.
She couldn't even be bothered with polite small talk. She simply nodded expressionlessly.
Jiraiya wasn't exactly fond of them either. He spoke with his usual bluntness. "I brought her back. Whatever formalities come next, that's your problem."
Neither elder seemed particularly bothered by the cold reception. They'd all known each other for decades. There weren't many surprises left between them.
They knew perfectly well that while Tsunade and Jiraiya might not like them, neither of them would do anything reckless.
As long as Danzo didn't end up in the Hokage's chair, most of their own influence would remain intact, and the village wouldn't tip into darkness.
Then their attention shifted past the two Sannin and landed on Naruto and Akira.
Both of them visibly paused.
Naruto, as the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, was naturally familiar to them. But the boy called Akira, they were seeing in person for the first time.
Before now, they had only heard his name from the Third Hokage.
According to Hiruzen, he had regarded this young ninja with unusually high expectations, enough that he had even considered training him with the Sixth Hokage position in mind.
If the Third hadn't died, that idea might actually have become reality.
The two elders looked at Akira for a moment longer but said nothing. They immediately turned their attention to making arrangements, ordering word sent through the village and dispatching urgent letters to the Land of Fire's capital.
The daimyo might not involve himself in daily affairs, but when it came to the appointment of a Hokage, appearances still had to be maintained.
Before long, the news that Tsunade would become the Fifth Hokage detonated across the whole of Konoha.
The ninja population practically erupted.
Only the very youngest generation kept running around asking the same question:
Who exactly was this Tsunade?
Tsunade, for her part, barely lasted a few minutes in that suffocating office before she got annoyed and walked straight back out, taking Shizune, Akira, and Naruto with her.
The four of them headed directly for Konoha Hospital.
Two patients were still lying there half-dead thanks to Itachi's handiwork.
Kakashi and Sasuke.
The mental damage inflicted by Tsukuyomi was brutal. Both of them had been bedridden for over a month, little better than living corpses.
When they pushed open the door to Kakashi's room, the thick smell of disinfectant hit them immediately.
Tsunade glanced at the man on the bed, then jerked her chin toward him and said to Akira, "You. Go on. Test your hand."
Akira blinked, hesitant for once. "This... are you sure? I'm not certain my control's good enough."
Tsunade folded her arms and said firmly, "Cut the act. I think you can do it."
Akira scratched his head. Since the expert had spoken, he didn't argue any further and stepped to the bedside to begin examining him.
Soft green chakra lit up in his palm like warm, flowing water and wrapped itself around Kakashi's head.
The truth was that Akira's medical skill had already reached a frightening level. In the entire ninja world, aside from Tsunade, there really wasn't anyone who could confidently claim to be clearly above him.
Healing Kakashi wasn't especially hard for him. His hesitation a moment ago had just been modesty out of habit.
It took maybe ten minutes.
Then Akira withdrew his hand and let out a slow breath.
Kakashi's eyelids twitched. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
Once his vision focused, the first person he saw was Tsunade.
He struggled to sit up, his voice still rough. "Tsunade-hime..."
Tsunade looked at his weak, miserable state and sighed. "I always thought you were a prodigy. How did you end up in this condition at the hands of some Uchiha kid?"
Kakashi gave a bitter smile. There really wasn't anything he could say in defense of himself, so he simply lowered his head and took it.
"I'm sorry. I underestimated him."
Then his gaze shifted to the boy beside her. "Akira?"
Kakashi looked confused. Since when had this kid ended up mixed up with Tsunade?
Seeing the question marks practically spilling out of him, Akira grinned and explained, "Naruto and I went with Pervy Sage to bring Tsunade-hime back to become Hokage. While we were at it, we figured we'd save you too."
The moment he finished, Tsunade added, "Akira was the one who healed you. At this point, his medical ninjutsu is second only to mine."
"As his teacher, you must have noticed his potential already."
Kakashi stared at Akira in obvious surprise, then smiled with quiet relief. "So you really did inherit Tsunade-hime's teachings. Congratulations."
He knew Akira had always wanted to build something serious for himself in the field of medical ninjutsu.
What he hadn't expected was that the boy's progress would be this fast.
Akira smiled, then turned back toward Tsunade. "There's still one more."
Naruto finally remembered and started bouncing in place. "Right, right! Granny Tsunade, Sasuke too! Hurry up and save Sasuke!"
Kakashi's face changed immediately. "What happened to Sasuke?"
Akira shrugged. "Same as you. He got hit with Tsukuyomi too and has been lying there ever since."
Kakashi's brows knit sharply together.
He hadn't imagined Itachi would be ruthless enough to use something like that even on his own little brother. Tsukuyomi was a mental torture even adults could barely survive, never mind a child.
Kakashi had assumed his own Sharingan might be enough to help him resist.
Instead, he'd been completely outclassed.
"Focus on recovering," Tsunade said curtly, then turned and led the others toward Sasuke's room.
Just as they reached the door, it opened from the inside.
Sakura stepped out carrying a basin of water and ran straight into Akira.
The moment she recognized him, the tension she'd been holding together snapped, and tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
Sasuke was still unconscious. Naruto and Akira had both disappeared. Even Kakashi-sensei had collapsed. These past weeks, she had truly felt as though she had no one to turn to.
"Akira... Naruto... you're finally back!"
Looking at Sakura's exhausted face, Akira softened and said gently, "Don't cry. Sasuke's going to be fine now. We brought Tsunade-hime back. She's the best doctor in the world."
Sakura quickly wiped her tears and looked toward the blonde woman standing nearby.
Despite everything weighing on her, one thought still flashed through her mind immediately:
She's beautiful.
Tsunade's eternally youthful appearance was incredibly deceptive, and Shikaku definitely hadn't exaggerated when he called her the most beautiful woman in the shinobi world.
Tsunade glanced into the room and immediately got the general picture. "This girl's been coming here to sit with him every day, hasn't she? Looks like whoever's lying in there matters a lot to her."