"Shattering Space and Dimensional Slash, huh?"
In Konoha's Hokage office, Natsuro was casually practicing some moves.
Once the true body mastered a technique, the Spirit Clone naturally inherited it as well.
However, the Spirit Clone couldn't perform Dimensional Slash alone, not just because of the weapon, but also because the clone's physical strength wasn't up to par.
After all, no matter how special it was, it was still a clone, and couldn't do everything the real body could.
As for Dimensional Blade, being purely ninjutsu, the Spirit Clone could use it. In fact, its chakra consumption was even lower than large-scale techniques like the Explosive Truth-Seeking Orb or Lightning Release: Kirin.
"Hokage-sama! There's urgent intelligence from Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning!"
At that moment, a member of the Intelligence Division rushed into the office.
Shikaku was slightly surprised. What could be so urgent from the Land of Lightning? He quickly took the scroll and handed it to Natsuro.
"Looks like the Raikage wants to summon a Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron to discuss dealing with the Akatsuki," Natsuro said, skimming through the brief content before passing it back to Shikaku.
"The Five Kage Summit?!" Shikaku was stunned. How long had it been since such a thing last happened? He hadn't expected a summit to be called now.
"Yes. It seems the Eight-Tails has indeed fallen into Akatsuki's hands," Natsuro said, unfazed.In his memory, that rapping, dancing, almost-basketball-playing uncle... whether he lived or died didn't matter much to him.
"Indeed... Hokage-sama, do we need to attend this summit?" Shikaku asked.
"Of course. It's rare for something like this to happen. Besides, who knows, we might discover something new. And for once, we have a common enemy," Natsuro said, smiling.
Shikaku nodded. That common enemy was, naturally, the Akatsuki.
Still, Shikaku's face looked a bit complicated. After all, two of Akatsuki's founding members, Nagato and Konan, were now living in Konoha.
Recently, Konan had even begun taking on missions as a Konoha ninja.
Konan's mission completion rate was remarkably high. She always tried to finish her tasks quickly so she could return and care for Nagato.
Her unique Paper Release jutsu made her extremely effective on missions. Of course, as her fame grew, her efficiency had started to drop slightly, her weaknesses were becoming known.
Still, Konan's strength meant that even when her weaknesses were exposed, her performance only dropped slightly.
Shikaku couldn't help thinking, if the other Kage found out about Nagato and Konan's presence in Konoha, they would definitely turn their anger toward Konoha. Their identities had to remain secret.
Fortunately, very few people knew their real identities. As long as Akatsuki didn't expose them, their cover was secure.
Meanwhile, Natsuro handed a written reply to the Intelligence Division member to send back to the Raikage.
"Hokage-sama, who will you bring to the summit?" Shikaku asked. If some of the ninja were out on missions, he would need to prepare.
"Naruto and Sasuke. It'll be good for them to see the other Kage," Natsuro said, deciding immediately.
Shikaku nodded and sighed inwardly. This man truly didn't care about Naruto's identity as a Jinchūriki or Sasuke's Uchiha heritage.
In Shikaku's mind, it was already obvious, Natsuro, the next Hokage would very likely be either Naruto or Sasuke.
Given their unprecedented strength, they were excellent candidates. Personally, Shikaku leaned slightly toward Sasuke, Naruto's behavior sometimes made him doubt the boy's intelligence...
However, if it were the Third Hokage choosing, Naruto would have a better chance. Sasuke, though...
Shikaku paused, feeling guilty. Even though the Third Hokage had stepped down, it still felt wrong to badmouth him, even internally.
Natsuro, of course, didn't know Shikaku's inner grumbling, and even if he did, he wouldn't mind.
Natsuro had read the original story, he knew both Naruto and Sasuke, as the main characters, were qualified to be Hokage.
As for being a Jinchūriki or an Uchiha?
Those identities weren't obstacles, and had never been.
Even the Second Hokage, known for his harsh stance against the Uchiha, might not have absolutely rejected an Uchiha Hokage.
The Second Hokage had simply studied and speculated that the Uchiha were naturally inclined toward evil, but he had also had an Uchiha bodyguard, Kagami Uchiha.
If an Uchiha had proven their loyalty and the Will of Fire to him, he would have cultivated them.Whether they could become Hokage would have depended on other factors.
Moreover, he thought the Second Hokage's research into the Uchiha wasn't wrong. Even if the theory was extreme, the reasoning process was logical.
The Second Hokage had concluded that the Uchiha were a clan deeply tied to love.
When an Uchiha understood love, their suppressed emotions would erupt in a powerful awakening. But if they lost that love, the intense love would be replaced by intense hatred, leading to a drastic personality change.
In short, the deeper the love, the deeper the hate, which could affect their mental state.
Natsuro agreed, the Second Hokage wasn't wrong.
Except for Sasuke, most Uchiha who awakened their Sharingan through hatred or pain tended to become... unstable.
Especially Obito and Itachi.
In fact, Obito was a perfect example supporting the Second Hokage's theory.
When Obito first awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan without hate or pain, his personality remained unaffected.But after losing Rin, after losing his love, his heart filled with hatred, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he became... abstract, to put it mildly.
Of course, this didn't mean the Uchiha were naturally evil, that was too extreme.
Probably, most Uchiha simply followed the path laid down by Madara Uchiha.
Madara had gained his greatest power by killing his "beloved," which influenced later generations into believing that killing love was the key to power.
If someone like Sasuke had existed back then and walked a completely different path, maybe the clan's destiny could have changed.
Still, most would likely have followed Madara's easier path. In the end, the Uchiha were just unlucky to have an ancestor like Madara.
"Hokage-sama, Naruto is still out on a mission but should finish soon. However, there's been no word from Sasuke lately, he seems to be deep in training," Shikaku reported.
"I know. You handle Naruto's side. I'll go find Sasuke myself," Natsuro replied.
"Understood. I'll make arrangements right away," Shikaku said.
"No need to rush. The Land of Iron is closest to Konoha anyway," Natsuro said, stretching and glancing at his now-empty desk. "Let's go stroll around Konoha first."
Standing up, he added, "I've been Hokage for quite a while now, haven't I?"
"Yes, it's been almost two years," Shikaku nodded.
That was longer than the Fourth Hokage's term and nearly as long as the Fifth Hokage's.
"Two years, huh? I don't think I've properly strolled around Konoha even once during this time," Natsuro said as he stepped out of the Hokage office alongside Shikaku.
Shikaku said nothing, simply following behind him, while a few Anbu members naturally shadowed them as well.
Even though Natsuro's strength meant those Anbu could hardly protect him, this was still part of their duty, and Natsuro didn't object.
Soon enough, as the villagers spotted him, they erupted with a level of enthusiasm that even Natsuro found hard to believe.
They practically surrounded him completely, especially the young women, who couldn't even walk straight after seeing him. Young, handsome, and holding a position of great power, he was practically the perfect partner.
Natsuro looked at the situation with a bit of helplessness.
This was exactly why he didn't like casually walking around Konoha, the celebrity effect was way too intense.
He hadn't expected that even after two years as Hokage, his popularity would still be this strong.
In theory, his fame in Konoha should have peaked before he officially became Hokage, not only because of his achievements but also thanks to Danzo's "promotion" (even though Danzo's intentions were far from good).
Looking at all the faces around him, Natsuro shook his head. He knew he could never do what the Third Hokage could, remember the faces of nearly every villager.
Meanwhile, many ninja had also noticed the commotion.
They weren't surprised, though, many of them actually wanted to crowd around too.
"He's really popular," Konan commented as she watched the scene.
"It's only natural. Konoha's lifestyle is the kind of environment every other nation dreams of.Here, not everyone may feel pure happiness, but it's still the happiest place compared to anywhere else.Of course they'd love their Hokage," Nagato said, having also noticed the situation.
"But this kind of crowd probably only happens because he doesn't appear in public often," Konan added.
Nagato nodded. "How are your missions going lately?"
"Don't worry, I haven't encountered anything too difficult," Konan replied.
Nagato nodded again, but inside he sighed.
Though he still had large reserves of chakra, without his eyes and with his legs half-crippled, he was little more than a broken man.
Nagato knew that even if he told Konan not to waste her time on him, she wouldn't listen, so he no longer said anything.
Still, did he really want Konan to spend the rest of her life looking after him?
His body was already terminally ill; even without the Rinnegan's toll, he didn't have many years left...
For a moment, Nagato hesitated. Maybe... he should consider getting new eyes. At least that way, Konan's burden would be lighter.
Previously, he had resisted accepting help from Konoha. But now... he was wavering.
Konan, of course, had no idea what Nagato was thinking. She simply felt a sense of wonder.
She had never imagined that she would be living a life like this, it felt almost like a dream.
Back in Akatsuki, even though Nagato wielded the Rinnegan's immense power, Konan had always worried. Their plans, and the schemes of that self-proclaimed "Madara Uchiha," had left her uneasy.
But now, even though life was tiring, she had no such fears anymore. Life was full of hope.
Konan looked at Nagato and smiled.
She knew his physical condition was bad, but compared to before, she was already content.
—
Back with Natsuro, after a great effort, he finally escaped the crowd and he looked visibly exhausted.
"Hokage-sama doesn't seem very good at handling crowds," Shikaku said with a laugh.
It was the first time he had seen him like this.
"Yeah, there's nothing you can do. The villagers mean well; they even want to give you gifts.You can't just refuse them.
And once you're surrounded, you can't exactly use jutsu to get away, no matter how strong you are," Natsuro said helplessly.
"That's true," Shikaku nodded.
"It's also because Hokage-sama rarely shows yourself. If you came out more often, they'd probably get used to it and not make such a fuss."
"I'd rather not," Natsuro replied.
He didn't enjoy overly noisy environments, so he rejected the idea.
Shikaku didn't press the issue.
He was a little surprised by Natsuro's sheer popularity, it was probably only comparable to the Fourth Hokage's back in the day.
But there was one key difference: the Fourth had already been married by then, whereas Natsuro, though engaged, was still single.
Which might of made him possibly the most popular Hokage in Konoha's history.
In Shikaku's opinion, it was better for a Hokage to be more approachable, but since Natsuro wasn't comfortable with it, there was no need to force him.
Natsuro, despite feeling a bit tired, wasn't unhappy at all. After all, who would be angry about being so well-loved?
Still, his plans for a casual stroll around Konoha were thoroughly ruined.
Thinking it over, Natsuro realized that if he ever wanted to wander around freely, he might need to use a Transformation Jutsu.
Natsuro paused and gave a wry smile.
I must be the first Hokage who needs a Transformation Jutsu just to walk around his own village, he thought.
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