The Fifth Hokage,
Hatake Kaede.
Unlike legends of the past like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, Kaede wasn't some long-gone mythical figure. He was a living, breathing god of the ninja world.
And this year, Kaede was only seventeen.
Compared to when he was fifteen, Kaede at seventeen had begun to deal with a new type of hardship, namely, the increasingly bold and forward behavior of a certain group of young girls.
This, naturally, did not sit well with others such as Yuhi Kurenai and Nohara Rin. Their dissatisfaction only led to even more intense and outrageous competition between the two of them. And since both girls were living in the Hokage Building, the chaos inevitably spilled over and affected Kakashi, who, in the end, suffered wounds no boy his age should have to bear. After enduring it for long enough, he resolutely decided to move out and live alone.
That said,
It's worth noting that Kakashi himself now had quite a few admirers.
As Kaede's younger brother, and a ninja whose name also echoed throughout the Shinobi World, the now sixteen-year-old Kakashi was growing increasingly mature with age.
In his younger days, Kakashi rarely paid attention to his peers. His aloof, prideful nature earned him the reputation of being an "arrogant little brat." But ever since inheriting Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, he had mellowed. He was no longer as blunt and cold as he once was.
If it weren't for Kaede standing at the top like a sun that outshone everything beneath him, Kakashi might have been even more popular.
"Sigh."
Kaede let out a helpless sigh as he looked down at the commotion below. He had merely waved casually in a good mood, and that was all it took to stir up such a fuss.
Fortunately, most of the girls below were ninjas and had some sense of self-control. The non-ninjas couldn't exactly leap all the way up to the Hokage Rock, so there wasn't any real chaos… yet.
Kaede turned away.
With a light motion of his finger, the wooden box on the ground, sealed with the mysterious "Star", floated into his hand. With a slight pinch, the seal on the box unraveled.
Inside was a meteorite riddled with holes. Viewed through his Tenseigan, Kaede could clearly see it emanating steady pulses of purple energy.
"This isn't the power of the Ten Tails…"
His eyes flickered as he studied the energy radiating from the stone, then extended his left hand.
He vaguely remembered reading something about it before, that this so-called "Star" was a fragment of the Ten Tails. But to Kaede's senses, it felt completely different from any of the Tailed Beasts. In fact, it wasn't even chakra.
"Hm…"
He weighed it in his hand, carefully sensing how the emitted energy interacted with his body. Soon, he roughly understood what it was. If he wasn't mistaken, this thing was simply a chunk of radioactive meteorite.
Its radiation was lethal to ordinary people over long exposure and also harmful to ninjas. However, it seemed to possess the unique property of altering chakra, allowing it to manifest in unusual forms and powers.
This was likely the origin of the so-called Mysterious Peacock Method .
"Utterly useless."
Kaede shook his head. He considered crushing it on the spot, but since it was a meteorite, it might prove useful for research someday. With that in mind, he resealed it inside the wooden box and added an additional Eight Trigrams Seal for good measure.
Then, with a flicker, he vanished from the Hokage Rock.
After placing the "Star" within the layers of sealing barriers on the fourth floor of the Hokage Building, Kaede returned to his office and began reviewing several documents on his desk.
In the past two years, five of the smaller neighboring nations had been peacefully annexed into the Land of Fire. The Land of Bears was the sixth.
Kaede preferred a stable and bloodless transition wherever possible. To that end, for each annexation, he dispatched a military force over ten times larger than the opponent's to immediately establish overwhelming dominance.
It worked well.
Because Kaede's methods focused on annexation rather than conquest, and the overwhelming military pressure left the smaller nations no choice but to surrender, the process was so smooth and peaceful that it could hardly even be called a war. Actual casualties were almost negligible.
Not that Kaede spent the entire two years idly enjoying his life as Hokage. He had also continued his training. Just one month ago, he had finally opened the Seventh Gate of the Eight Gates technique.
Now, only one remained:
The final and most difficult gate, located in the heart, Gate Eight.
Compared to the previous seven, unlocking the Eighth Gate was exponentially harder. Not only did it require an incredibly high level of physical mastery, but one also had to synchronize it with the other seven gates to fully form the legendary Eight Gates Formation.
Kaede estimated that, training at a normal pace, it would take him seven to eight years to open the final gate. But with his current nine-times accelerated time state, he figured it would take less than a year if he focused fully.
"The situation in Rain Town has stabilized. Grass Town is almost there, too. Bear Town probably won't take much longer either…"
Kaede flipped through a stack of intel reports, updates from the various newly annexed territories.
At the current pace, all the small nations surrounding the Land of Fire could be annexed within the next two years. After that, he could finally turn his attention to the four great ninja villages.
"Hokage-sama~"
"Try the new tea I just made."
Just then, Rin walked in carrying a tray with a cup of tea.
Compared to two years ago, the sixteen-year-old Rin had blossomed into a young woman, graceful curves, fair arms like polished jade, and a bright, lively expression. She wore a short-sleeved top and skirt, looking cute and playful.
"Oh, thanks."
Kaede took the tea, took a sip, and gave it a moment to taste.
Rin watched him expectantly.
"It's really good," Kaede said, taking a few more sips. He smiled and looked up at her. "If you opened a tea shop, I bet you'd be wildly successful."
Rin beamed, tilting her head slightly. "I'd only ever make tea for you, Kaede."
Kaede choked slightly.
No doubt about it, when girls decide to be bold, it's terrifying.
Especially now that Kakashi had moved out, Rin and Kurenai had become even more brazen. Every day was a new surprise when Kaede came home, and he never knew what to expect.
Just as he took another sip of tea, preparing to say something, a black-cloaked figure suddenly appeared in the office, bowing deeply while speaking in a rapid, serious tone.
"Hokage-sama, the envoys from the Hidden Cloud Village have arrived."
Kaede glanced at the Anbu and nodded. "Understood… Rin, go receive them, would you?"
"Got it."
Rin's playful demeanor vanished. She nodded seriously, then turned and left the office.
After repeated defeats at the hands of Kakashi and Uchiha Shisui, the Hidden Cloud Village had opted to seek peace with Konoha. About two months prior, a formal treaty had been signed, marking the official end of the long-running Third Great Ninja War.
Though they were technically the defeated party, the envoys were still coming in the name of peace and needed to be treated with a certain level of respect.
=============
Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria