---Third POV---
Orochimaru glanced at the headless body beside him, then at the severed head on the ground that was still crying uncontrollably.
He excitedly walked over and picked up the head, carefully examining its structure. At this point, Kura also realized something strange, though it was hard to believe, it seemed like he wasn't actually dead?
Could it be that my ancestors were powerful, and I have some undiscovered bloodline limit?
Before he could let his imagination run wild, Orochimaru hurriedly unchained the headless body and laid it out together with the head on an experimental table.
"Are you satisfied with this jutsu as payment for your services?"
"Of course. You know me well," Orochimaru replied without even looking back, a wicked grin on his face as he pulled out various instruments from the lab and began tinkering with Kura's body, causing the latter to exclaim in shock.
Worried that the Snake Sannin might forget the main task, Ryouma reminded him, "I believe you can further perfect this technique, but don't forget, the transplant experiment with White Zetsu cells is our top priority right now. If we work well together, I have other projects that may need your help..."
Hearing the slight warning in Ryouma's voice, Orochimaru slowly extinguished the flame of desire that had been ignited in his heart.
"Hehe, I lost myself a bit there. Regarding that friend of yours, I'll need some of his cells for the preliminary experiments."
"No problem. I've already prepared them." Ryouma placed a storage scroll onto White Zetsu's corpse. "How long will it take to begin the transplant?"
Orochimaru thought for a moment, then said, "With experience in transplanting the First Hokage's cells, I should be able to develop a preliminary transplant plan in about a month."
"A month, huh?"
Ryouma didn't know much about biological research, but he wondered if that timeframe was a bit long for a genius like Orochimaru. Could it be that this guy was planning to work on both Yomi no Tsurugi and the White Zetsu cell research at the same time?
But since there was no urgent rush, he didn't press the matter. He cared more about safety than speed.
"Alright then, I'll go back and wait for the good news."
"Take care. I won't see you out."
Just as Ryouma reached the lab's exit, he suddenly remembered something.
"Please don't get involved in Danzō's research anymore."
"Oh? Did Hiruzen-sensei ask you to tell me this?"
Orochimaru wasn't surprised, after all, it wasn't exactly a secret that he'd been working for Danzō.
Ryouma shook his head. "No, this is my personal request. Didn't you say it yourself? One person's time and energy are limited. I don't want unnecessary distractions delaying our experiments. If you're short on any materials, contact me directly. I'll request them from the Hokage myself. This is a formal experiment, we don't want any shady dealings."
Knowing Orochimaru too well, Ryouma emphasized the word "formal."
"If that's your wish, I certainly won't refuse."
Orochimaru's voice sounded sincere enough, but whether it truly was, only he knew.
---
A few uneventful days passed.
During that time, Ryouma took the opportunity to visit Hiruzen and informed him of his collaboration with Orochimaru. After all, the man was the village leader, it was only right to report it. He prided himself on being a good, law-abiding citizen. But that was just for now. Once Minato took over, he figured that as long as he didn't blow up the village, he could pretty much do whatever he wanted.
With that thought, he stepped out of his house, stretching under the bright sunlight of the Land of Fire. By now, the Iwa peace delegation should be arriving soon.
This time, he didn't need to act as a tour guide and escort at the village gates.
Currently, all of Konoha's forces were gathered within the village, it could be considered Konoha's strongest period. If anyone dared to stir up trouble now, they really must've had their brain kicked.
Outside Konoha, Kitsuchi led a group of Iwa ninjas through the main gate in an orderly fashion.
Minato greeted them warmly and, along with several ANBU members, led them to their accommodations at the Konoha guest inn.
Remembering his father's instructions before setting out from Iwa, Kitsuchi intentionally struck up a conversation with Minato.
"May I ask if the Leaf's Gale is currently in the village? I'd very much like to meet him."
"Oh? May I ask why you're looking for Ryouma?"
Minato was a bit surprised, this was the first time a ninja from another village had actively requested to meet Ryouma.
Kitsuchi grinned and said, "It's nothing major. My father mentioned he's considering having my daughter become his student, so…"
Hearing this jogged Minato's memory. On the battlefield in the Land of Grass, Ōnoki had indeed brought that up, but hadn't he said they'd wait until his granddaughter graduated from the Ninja Academy?
Why was Kitsuchi bringing it up now?
Trying to figure out the hidden intention behind this, he replied, "I'll pass your message on to Ryouma."
"Thank you."
---
In the Senju clan compound, true to his word, Minato relayed Kitsuchi's message to Ryouma.
"Well? Want to go meet him? The Iwa delegation should still be resting at the inn."
"Nope." Ryouma declined without hesitation. "I was just being polite to that old Ōnoki back then. He did fight alongside us, after all."
"Alright, I'll turn him down for you tomorrow."
Minato could already guess what Kitsuchi was trying to do, he was hoping to use a connection with Ryouma to reduce Iwa's cost in the negotiations. But it was entirely unnecessary. Compared to Suna, Kiri, and Kumo, Iwa had technically surrendered voluntarily. Konoha hadn't even planned to ask much from them.
---
The next day, during the official peace talks, Minato and Shikaku took seats at the negotiation table.
Ryouma hadn't wanted to attend, but after repeated invitations from Hiruzen, he finally agreed to act as a sort of diplomatic mascot. The first half of the negotiations went just as he expected, discussions on war reparations and prisoner exchange treaties, all fairly routine.
But the second half got a bit... odd.
Suddenly, Kitsuchi started pushing hard for a closer alliance with Konoha.
"Please rest assured, Iwa would never betray an ally like Suna did. In fact, we're willing to hand over two mines for Konoha to manage."
Before coming to Konoha, he had been granted wide authority by his father. As long as he could secure an alliance with Konoha, he had the power to make key decisions on the spot, even giving up valuable resources.
Hearing him casually offer two mines, Shikaku couldn't help but let out a low gasp of surprise.
The two mine were near a high-altitude active volcanic mountain range located within the Land of Earth, not far from the border with the Land of Waterfalls.
The mountain held the richest deposits of rare metal ores in the entire shinobi world. For example, the chakra-conducting metal used for Lostvayne likely originated from mining operations there.
For a country like the Land of Fire, which was mostly plains, this was an incredibly generous offer. It was no wonder Shikaku was surprised. Ultimately, through mutual interest and intent from both sides, the Lands of Fire and Earth successfully formed an unprecedented alliance.
With no interference, the meeting concluded smoothly, and both parties shook hands in peace.
Before leaving, Kitsuchi tried several times to strike up a conversation with Ryouma, but recalling what Minato had told him the day before, and not wanting to leave a bad impression on Ryouma, he held himself back.
Upon returning to the inn, he immediately took out a scroll and began recording the day's negotiation details. After briefly noting down the key points, he formed hand seals and summoned a messenger beast to carry the scroll back to Iwa.
"Phew..."
The successful formation of the alliance greatly relieved him. According to his father, Ryouma possessed power even greater than that of the First Hokage.
It was no exaggeration to say that for at least the next few decades, as long as he was alive, the shinobi world would essentially be Konoha's domain.
Though Kitsuchi couldn't quite see anything extraordinary about Ryouma today, aside white hair and clear blue eyes, his father swore by what he had witnessed: meteors crashing into the earth and other near-mythical feats.
That was why the Land of Earth was willing to offer significant resources and even send Kurotsuchi to Konoha in order to secure this alliance with the Land of Fire.
"Sigh… I hope Father's judgment is correct."
At the very least, as long as war doesn't break out, Kurotsuchi's safety should be guaranteed. And Konoha's reputation was indeed trustworthy.
---
Spring of the 48th Year of Konoha, not long after the Iwa delegation led by Kitsuchi left, the Land of Earth officially sent over negotiation documents and the alliance treaty.
Although the war between Konoha and Iwa had ended somewhat abruptly, Konoha still retained its status as the number one hidden village in the shinobi world.
That title wasn't to be underestimated.
A ninja village's revenue essentially came from two major sources: steady funding from their associated country, and commissions from clients seeking to hire their ninjas.
With Konoha's current reputation, even nobles from the far-off and remote Land of Snow would likely be willing to pay a premium to hire Konoha ninjas.
Of course, this wasn't without its downsides.
A flood of mission requests was definitely a good thing, but the problem was that Konoha didn't have enough ninjas to meet the demand.
Right now, the mission scrolls hanging in the mission hall of the Hokage building were almost spilling over.
For the past few days, Hiruzen and Minato had been racking their brains in the Hokage's office trying to figure out how to deal with this "fortunate dilemma."
Minato no longer took on missions, he was basically spending his days in the Hokage's office with Hiruzen, buried in paperwork.
"How many documents do you still have left to handle?"
Hiruzen's voice came from behind a pile of documents that nearly reached above his head. He sounded utterly exhausted, as if he had just finished a long journey.
Minato paused his brush, which had been moving so quickly it was almost leaving afterimages, and smiled brightly at Hiruzen.
"Just two more and I'll be done. Is there anything else you'd like me to take care of?"
"Ah?"
For some reason, Hiruzen suddenly felt like crying. If he remembered correctly, he had handed more than half the stack of documents to Minato just this morning.
He himself had only managed to get through about a third. Meanwhile, Minato was nearly done. And just in the few seconds he spent thinking, Minato had already finished the remaining two documents.
Minato tilted his head curiously when Hiruzen didn't respond right away.
"Ahem," Hiruzen gave a tactical cough. "You're not busy with anything today, right? If you're free, could you help me finish the rest of these documents too?"
By the end, his face turned a little red, clearly feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Of course! Contributing to the village like a true Hokage has always been my dream. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."
Minato's face was full of gratitude as he stepped quickly to Hiruzen's desk, ready to move the mountain of files to his own small desk.
"Wait." Hiruzen reached out to stop him, then stood up and gently placed both hands on Minato's shoulders, pushing him into the Hokage's chair.
"What are you—?"
"Starting today, you'll sit here and handle the paperwork. I plan to leave for the daimyō's residence tomorrow to formally recommend you as the Fourth Hokage."
Originally, Hiruzen had planned to train Minato for about another year after the war ended. He wanted to make sure Minato was fully prepared to handle all aspects of the village before formally recommending him to the daimyō. But recently, Minato had shown extraordinary talent in handling village affairs, so much so that it had completely caught him off guard.
The same documents he hadn't even finished reading, Minato had already fully understood and provided solutions for. Even his writing speed was almost unbelievable.
He was really fast...
To think he had been teaching Minato how to be a competent Hokage… Now he just felt like a rookie next to him.
Minato, of course, didn't realize all this. He thought Hiruzen was deliberately slowing down to give him more practice. So when he heard that Hiruzen was already planning to hand over the title, he stood up at once, bowed deeply, and responded excitedly:
"Please rest assured, I will not let you down!"
"Haha, I believe you'll become an even better Hokage than I was."
---
For Minato, this year would undoubtedly be one of the most memorable in his life, after all, becoming Hokage had always been his dream since childhood. And for Ryouma, this year was also shaping up to be a pivotal one.
At that moment, he was in his room, pen in hand, scribbling in a notebook while murmuring to himself, "In terms of perception, I have the Rikugan; in terms of defense, I have Full Counter. So now, what I really need… are an offensive ability and a stronger physique."
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