I've been ill for the past 2 days, I'm sorry for missing yesterday's release :(
...........
Although that was the case, seeing Konoha thriving under his leadership still made Natsuro quite happy.
However, Konoha was ultimately just a "village." Even though it wasn't an ordinary village, governing it was relatively not too difficult.
If all the lands of this world were added into the equation, then it wouldn't be so easy.
Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad though. After all, there were very few truly habitable places in this world. The Land of Wind was mostly desert, the Land of Earth was barren and difficult for humans to survive.
The Land of Water was tiny, and the Land of Lightning was full of high mountains and steep ridges, which was not suitable for large-scale human settlement either.
Only the Land of Fire had the most suitable environment for living, whether in terms of terrain or climate.
So, even if the world were really unified, governing it might not be so difficult after all.
"That's it for today. After you arrange Naruto's matters, you can get off work. I'm going to check on Sasuke," Natsuro said at this time.
"Understood," Shikaku nodded and then left.
Natsuro was standing atop the Hokage Rock, looking down at Konoha. Even though it was already dusk, countless people were still peacefully working in the village, and he smiled.
In the next moment, his figure disappeared from the Hokage Rock.
.....
Ryuuchi Cave was one of the three great sacred places, and the one Natsuro visited the least.
When he stepped into it, quite a few snakes sensed his presence.
For example, Manda after sensing Natsuro, it simply shifted its body a little and curled up again.
I can't provoke him, but can still hide from him, right?
Manda hadn't tasted fresh blood for a long time. After all, neither Natsuro nor Sasuke would satisfy Manda's perverse demands.
Sasuke was better, he rarely summoned Manda at all. But Natsuro occasionally summoned it, and because of the White Snake Sage's orders, Manda couldn't refuse, which was a real headache.
Manda sighed. It didn't know what Orochimaru was up to lately, he wasn't dead, but he rarely used summoning techniques anymore, which meant no more fresh blood for Manda.
Without comparison, there's no harm, Manda suddenly found Orochimaru's face surprisingly pleasing to look at.
Manda missed Orochimaru a bit, thinking that he was the true summoner of Ryuuchi Cave.
Natsuro naturally didn't know about Manda's grumbling. He quickly sensed Sasuke's chakra and arrived at a grand palace.
"Since you're here, come in," a lazy voice said in his ear, it was the White Snake Sage.
Natsuro didn't think much of it and entered the palace. Before, he would have been wary of the White Snake Sage, but now, his strength gave him confidence.
Soon, he saw the White Snake Sage coiled around the throne, and Sasuke, who seemed to have already partially transformed into a snake.
"How's Sasuke's training going?" Natsuro asked directly.
"Who knows? Maybe he's dead," the White Snake Sage said casually. It had seen too many humans come here in search of power, but most became skeletons in the end.
Ryuuchi Cave's Sage Mode was the most dangerous of the three sacred places, because it was extreme, and the White Snake Sage had little patience.
Usually, the White Snake Sage would inject natural energy into them with its fangs. If they survived, they got taught Sage Mode. If not, they became food for the snakes.
Even if they survived the injection, they could still lose themselves and die during the training process.
Sasuke had passed the first stage, but the White Snake Sage believed that even for a Uchiha, mastering Ryuuchi Cave's Sage Mode wasn't easy, the risk of death was high.
And if he died, so be it. It didn't care about Sasuke's life or death, dying while pursuing power was normal. What did that have to do with it?
Natsuro wasn't too bothered by the White Snake Sage's words. He didn't believe Sasuke would fall here.
In fact, Ryuuchi Cave's Sage Mode was the one most suited to Sasuke. Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode required true enlightenment and detachment, which Sasuke would fail at from step one.
But he didn't want that kind of detached Sasuke anyway. As for the Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode, it didn't have a proper training method.
Hashirama was able to train it purely because he had a natural-born Sage Body, making him extraordinarily compatible.
Thus, only Ryuuchi Cave's Sage Mode didn't require "merging oneself with nature."
If all Sage Modes were like Mount Myōboku's, Kabuto wouldn't have dared to challenge the Uchiha brothers alone in the original story.
It was the perfection of Ryuuchi Cave's Sage Mode that gave Kabuto his overconfidence, though in the end, Itachi's forbidden visual technique sealed him.
Despite his grotesque state, Kabuto could be considered the peak of ordinary humans.
"How long has he been in this state?" Natsuro asked.
"Several days, I think," the White Snake Sage replied after thinking for a moment.
"I see," Natsuro nodded, looking at Sasuke. What kind of Sage Mode will he ultimately achieve?
The most "orthodox" Ryuuchi Cave Sage Mode was like Kabuto's, extreme power, appearance change was irrelevant.
Natsuro thought for a while and said to the White Snake Sage, "If Sasuke wakes up, have him return to the village quickly. I have something for him."
Sasuke clearly wouldn't finish soon, and he didn't intend to wait here.
The White Snake Sage just snorted, neither agreeing nor refusing, then scrutinized him with its snake eyes and chuckled.
It was sensing his power, and Ryuuchi Cave's sensory abilities were unique.
Afterward, it was surprised, it couldn't sense Natsuro's exact strength.
Not being able to sense him was also an answer, it meant Natsuro's strength had likely surpassed its sensory limits.
The White Snake Sage stared at him, wondering if they could take another step forward someday.
It wasn't just the ninja path, even the beasts like them had been stuck. Ninjas could patch themselves with bloodline fusion, but what about them?
The Three Great Sacred Grounds only managed to maintain their dignity through Sage Arts. Without Sage Arts, their potential was pitiful.
The White Snake Sage looked at Natsuro with hope.
Don't let us down.
The so-called "Child of Prophecy" meant nothing to them anymore. What did the survival of the ninja world matter? Just another cycle of change.
Soon after, Natsuro's figure vanished from Ryuuchi Cave. The White Snake Sage glanced at Sasuke again.
Natural energy around Sasuke was stabilizing into a perfect state, and his features were gradually becoming more dragon-like.
His progress was surprisingly fast. He was at the final stage, there was just one more step to complete success.
However, it was a pity Sasuke didn't want his appearance to change too drastically. If he didn't care, he might have already succeeded, and even achieved a permanent Sage Mode.
That was the nature of Ryuuchi Cave's Sage Mode, self-transformation to best align with nature. Since Sasuke resisted, it couldn't be perfect or permanent.
The White Snake Sage shook its head, looking at Sasuke. Perhaps his fate has already changed.
"This era... maybe Ashura and Indra are no longer the protagonists," it muttered, then coiled back to rest on the throne — an old creature unwilling to move easily, saving its strength to await Natsuro's success.
A few days later, Natsuro still showed no signs of leaving for the Land of Iron.
"Lord Hokage, shouldn't we set out for the Land of Iron? Even if Sasuke hasn't finished training, we can bring Kakashi instead," Shikaku reminded.
"Let's wait two more days. Ther's no rush," Natsuro said after calculating the time.
Shikaku felt helpless. He had suggested leaving a few days ago, and Natsuro gave the same answer then.
It made Shikaku suspect that he might be leaning toward Sasuke as the next Hokage candidate. Otherwise, why wait so persistently?
Not only that, his work efficiency had been unprecedented these days, he finished most tasks quickly, as if waiting for some news.
Today was no different. Natsuro wrapped up all his work early, and any new matters were left for tomorrow.
At that moment, an Anbu suddenly entered through the window.
Shikaku thought it was another urgent issue, but Natsuro's eyes lit up, and he relaxed. Finally, he thought, and then disappeared from the office.
This made Shikaku even more curious. It looked like Natsuro had ordered the Anbu to monitor something, and now that thing had finally happened.
It probably wasn't about Sasuke, though, Anbu wouldn't have been able to monitor Sasuke inside Ryuuchi Cave.
So, what could it be that he was so concerned about?
Shikaku looked at the Anbu, asking his question.
The Anbu didn't hide it and explained what Natsuro had tasked him to watch.
After hearing it, Shikaku could only smile bitterly.
So that's what it was.
....
In Konoha's Ninja Hospital, Natsuro quickly arrived at a corridor.
There were already two people waiting anxiously, Inoichi and Ino.
"Lord Hokage?" Inoichi was the first to see him and instinctively greeted him.
"Don't, it's not working hours now. Just call me Natsuro, Father-in-law," Natsuro said with a wry smile.
"But… it should still be working hours, right?" Inoichi calculated the time, looking a bit confused.
"Yeah, I got off work early. I left the rest to Shikaku," Natsuro said as he walked over to Ino and gently held her hand, comforting her.
"Mm." Inoichi nodded. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but smile, his son-in-law really was a great find. He said, "It's alright. Lady Tsunade is in charge."
"Father-in-law, you're the one who's the most anxious right now. I saw you pacing back and forth before I even arrived," Natsuro said with a laugh.
Inoichi looked a little embarrassed. How could he not be anxious? After all, his wife was an older mother giving birth, and no matter how well she had maintained her health, there were still risks.
"Everything will be fine," Natsuro said, gently hugging Ino.
"Mm, I know. I just can't help but worry," Ino forced a smile and leaned against him. "Natsuro, if you have work to do, go ahead. We'll be fine here."
Ino thought he had dropped everything to come here, and she was touched.
"I've already finished all my work. I even worked overtime the past few days, calculating the timing of Mother-in-law's due date, I was just waiting for today," Natsuro explained.
"Mm." Hearing that, Ino didn't say more and simply leaned into Natsuro, feeling much more at ease.
The three of them waited outside the delivery room. There wasn't much Natsuro could do... He couldn't exactly go inside.
And really, he shouldn't go in. If he did, it would mean something had gone seriously wrong and he'd need to use Ryuuchi Cave's Sage Mode to control life energy, which would not be a good sign.
After exchanging a few words with Natsuro, Inoichi soon couldn't help himself and started pacing back and forth again, completely losing his usual calm and dependable image.
Finally, the tightly closed door of the delivery room opened, and Tsunade walked out, wiping sweat from her brow.
When Tsunade saw Natsuro there, she was a little surprised, but quickly focused on Inoichi, who rushed over.
"Lady Tsunade, is my wife and child okay?" Inoichi asked, his voice tense. Ino also left Natsuro's arms and hurried over, looking at her teacher anxiously.
"The surgery went very smoothly. Both mother and child are healthy. You took good care of her," Tsunade replied.
Tsunade had actually wanted to complain, Ino had been dragging her to check on Mrs. Yamanaka every few days.
Ino was a medical ninja herself, and Tsunade had even suggested letting her handle it, but Ino was so worried about her skills not being enough that she insisted on having Tsunade personally examine her mother regularly.
As a result, Tsunade knew Mrs. Yamanaka's condition extremely well. While she couldn't guarantee a 100% success rate, she had been over 90% confident. Yet, even with that, the two of them still worried so much.
However, Tsunade knew this wasn't the time to complain, so she simply gave a clear and reassuring answer.
Inoichi's eyes widened, and he finally relaxed. Realizing he now had a son, he broke into a joyful smile.
He finally had a son! Originally, he had planned for Ino to marry someone who would join their family and carry on the Yamanaka name. But since Natsuro had become Hokage, it was impossible to ask him to be a "live-in son-in-law." Thus, the plan for Ino to inherit the Yamanaka clan fell apart.
Now, with a son, the clan finally had a successor. Honestly, he didn't care too much about the gender, if it was a daughter, they could just find a live-in son-in-law for her. Surely not every son-in-law would end up as unattainable as Natsuro.
Still, having a son made succession a lot simpler.
"Lady Tsunade, can I go in now?" Inoichi asked.
"You can, just be careful," Tsunade replied.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade," Inoichi said as he walked into the delivery room, with Ino following closely behind.
"You're not going in?" Tsunade looked at Natsuro and asked.
"I don't think it's appropriate," Natsuro said honestly. He wasn't exactly sure what was appropriate either, but probably not barging into the delivery room. He had mainly come to support Ino.
"Yeah, I guess so," Tsunade said with a laugh. "Not every day you run into a situation where your mother-in-law is the one giving birth."
Natsuro nodded. It was a first for him, even across two lifetimes.
Tsunade glanced at the delivery room and listened to the joyful voices of the Yamanaka family inside. She found herself wondering what it would be like to have a child of her own. Maybe she should think about it while she was still in good shape?
"I heard the second Five Kage Summit is about to start?" Tsunade suddenly asked.
"Yes," Natsuro nodded. As one of the village's advisors, Tsunade wasn't deeply involved in politics anymore, but of course, she still knew about major events.
"The Five Kage Summit... Grandpa attended one in his time. Never thought there'd be a second one now," Tsunade said wistfully.
"Would you like to come along, Tsunade-sensei?" Natsuro asked. He honestly didn't mind who he brought along, and it was never about waiting specifically for Sasuke. He had waited so long mainly to be here for Ino.
"My old bones? No thanks, it's a long trip," Tsunade said, stretching lazily.
"Tsunade-sensei doesn't look old at all. If you don't believe me, just ask Jiraiya-sensei," Natsuro said, raising an eyebrow.
"Him? Forget it," Tsunade laughed, clearly in a good mood. She didn't urge him to hurry to the Land of Iron either, she trusted he knew what he was doing and wouldn't miss the summit.
At that moment, Ino poked her head out of the delivery room and waved at Natsuro, signaling him to come in. It seemed Mrs. Yamanaka had already been cleaned up and was ready for visitors.
"Go on, don't keep them waiting," Tsunade said.
Natsuro nodded and walked into the hospital room — to meet his new little brother-in-law.
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Currently on Chapter 381 - Natsuro vs Madara: The Last Stand