On a deserted island somewhere in the Land of Water.
Matatabi crouched wearily at the shoreline, her chakra barely keeping up with Rinjin's relentless body training under the Multi-Size Technique.
Who could've guessed the Sage of Six Paths had distributed the tailed beasts' chakra with his eyes closed—one share for Shukaku, one for Kurama; one for Matatabi, one for Kurama... and so on.
Thinking of this, Rinjin shook his head stubbornly.
"That's enough training for now! I'm not going to hunt down any other tailed beasts!"
Inside his mindscape, Matatabi's furry face was full of emotion.
"Rinjin, really, go ahead and look for another—I won't blame you."
"No!"
"Meow~ I really won't blame you!"
"No!"
Outwardly, Rinjin kept up his stubborn act, but his eyes darted restlessly.
You said it yourself—so don't come scratching me with those claws later...
Still, he couldn't help but imagine: if he could get his hands on the Nine-Tails for a bit of fun, wouldn't he be unstoppable?
But this immortal body of his was just too damn broken!
Right now, it was almost overpowered for Rinjin's liking. If he could downgrade it to something like Hidan's level, that'd actually be perfect.
His wounds healed way too fast, and his body was ridiculously tough—so much so that he couldn't even open the Eighth Gate of the Eight Gates Released Formation, nor perform summoning techniques. He was already hard as steel.
Or maybe, just too hard.
Even without immortality, with this kind of physical durability, there weren't many who could even scratch him.
Thinking about it, Rinjin couldn't help but sigh,
"Man, Hidan had it easy! If I were as weak as that guy, I could pop the Gate of Death whenever I wanted."
...
Northern battlefield, Land of Fire.
As the temporary commander of the emergency medical squad, Tsunade's team hadn't disbanded—still rolling with a four-jōnin lineup.
With Iwagakure pulling back its defensive lines, Konoha had suffered some intelligence leaks and losses, but overall, the war's intensity was dropping.
Nestled among dense trees, the four-member squad gathered around a makeshift campfire, taking a rare moment to rest.
Kimeki Kōtō sat by the flames, hands outstretched, a relaxed smile on his face.
"Dan, looks like Kumogakure won't be raising much more hell. This war's almost over~"
At that, Dan nodded calmly.
"Yeah. If they keep pushing like this, Cloud won't get anything out of it. If I were the Third Raikage, I'd probably call it quits."
He had a decent political eye—able to read the basics.
With Rain's interference, Konoha hadn't suffered much. Now, with Iwagakure retreating, they looked spent.
The only ones still fighting Konoha were Sunagakure in the southwest and Kumogakure in the north.
And the Third Raikage—always the bandit type—wasn't just brawling with Konoha in the south, but also bullying Iwagakure to the west.
If the war ended, the Raikage might just walk away the biggest winner.
And Katō Dan's guess wasn't wrong.
If both Iwa and Suna were exhausted, leaving just him and Konoha to duke it out, he'd milk every advantage before pulling back his troops.
No point in dragging things out—senseless casualties would only give Suna and Iwa time to recover.
The Third Raikage might be reckless, but he wasn't stupid.
Seeing Dan agree, Kimeki Kōtō grinned, eyes full of anticipation.
"Just a little longer, and we'll be back home. My kid started at the Ninja Academy this year—hope he doesn't cause too much trouble."
Dan smiled gently, reassuring him,
"Don't worry. Your kid probably inherited your calm and serious side. I bet his grades are great."
"From your lips to the gods' ears," Kimeki Kōtō chuckled.
"What about you, Dan? Any plans to get married?"
At that, Dan's gaze flickered briefly toward Tsunade, and he sighed inwardly.
"I... don't plan on marrying just yet. Right now, I want to keep training, get stronger, and aim for Hokage. You can't protect the village without real power~"
Kimeki Kōtō gave him a big thumbs-up.
"That's awesome, Dan! I'll be rooting for you. What about you, Captain Tsunade? Got any plans for after the war?"
Snapped out of her daze, Tsunade forced a smile.
"I think I'll travel for a bit—see what the world's like outside the village."
"Alright then," Kimeki Kōtō muttered, glancing between Tsunade and Dan.
"Captain Tsunade, you really don't want to be Hokage? With your achievements, you're a prime candidate for the next one!"
At this, Tsunade shook her head.
She remembered her little brother Nawaki shouting about wanting to be Hokage—just like Grandpa, to protect the village.
Reaching up, she clutched the emerald pendant at her chest, heart aching.
What's so great about being Hokage, anyway?
If she could, she'd rather her brother live an ordinary, peaceful life than die young.
During the silence, Hyūga Honma, the team's recon specialist, dropped down from a tree and spoke coolly,
"Dan, I wouldn't recommend aiming for Hokage."
"Why not?" Dan frowned, voice low.
Honma just shook his head, offering no explanation.
The Hyūga clan always knew a bit more than most—especially a top-tier jōnin like him.
When you know too much and aren't an idiot, you start seeing things others miss.
Still, even as teammates, there were some things best left unsaid.
As Dan frowned in thought, Tsunade's voice suddenly cut in.
"I agree with Honma. But if you're really set on becoming Hokage, then go to the southwestern front. Sunagakure's easier to handle than Kumogakure! That's where you'll build the reputation you need."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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