After dealing with Kakuzu, Hoshiyomi didn't encounter any further trouble and returned safely all the way back to Konoha Village.
At the village gate, the guards warmly greeted him. Looking at the somewhat familiar faces of the two gatekeepers, Hoshiyomi casually asked as he was leaving them:
"Hey, how old are you two now? Got kids yet?"
The two guards were a little overwhelmed that Lord Hoshiyomi, who was normally so unreachable, would suddenly ask them such a personal question. They answered excitedly:
"We do, we do! Our kids are already in the ninja academy this year. His son's name is Kotetsu Hagane, and mine is Izumo Kamizuki. They're always saying that in the future, they want to protect Konoha just like us."
Hearing this, Hoshiyomi's mouth twitched, and he gave a strange smile:
"Mm, I think they'll definitely achieve that dream one day."
And in his heart, he couldn't help but add—After all, those two are the ones who scared Pain away from walking through the front gate.
After returning to Konoha, Hoshiyomi didn't head anywhere else—he went straight to the Hokage's office.
Without even knocking, he pushed the door open.
Inside, he immediately spotted quite a few familiar faces, which made him awkwardly halt his attempt to rush forward.
No one else seemed to find it odd, except for Tsunade, who fixed him with a half-smiling, half-amused look.
There were about four or five people in the office—faces he knew well: Nawaki, Shikaku, and Hoshiyomi's three disciples.
"Brother Hoshiyomi."
"Sensei."
"Big Brother Hoshiyomi."
"Lord Hoshiyomi."
As soon as Hoshiyomi entered, everyone greeted him warmly. The three disciples and Nawaki were relaxed, while Shikaku acted a bit reserved—even giving an exaggerated bow.
It had been four years since they last met. Minato's team had changed a lot—in fact, they were now all seventeen years old, looking exactly as they would later appear in the original story.
Nawaki, on the other hand, was already nineteen. Rumor had it he already had a girlfriend from the Uzumaki clan, a girl with decent talent. Hoshiyomi couldn't help but look forward to what kind of little prodigy their union might produce.
Looking at the "tool man" he had specifically chosen for Tsunade, Hoshiyomi nodded in satisfaction. Though he didn't yet have the aura of the future Allied Shinobi Forces' brain, he already seemed rather mature. Not a bad pick after all.
After exchanging greetings, Hoshiyomi asked curiously:
"So, why are the four of you all showing up here together? As far as I know, you're all already jōnin. Normally you wouldn't be on missions as a team anymore."
At this, Kushina—who was clinging to Minato's arm—instinctively muttered in complaint:
"You've got some nerve asking that. As our supposed guiding sensei, you haven't taken me on even a single mission!"
Fortunately, Kuugetsu (after her personality fusion, usually cool and aloof) stood up for her teacher for once, saying:
"That's because your identity is too special, Kushina. Besides, sensei has done plenty of missions with us on the battlefield."
Minato also gave his girlfriend a subtle nudge, signaling her not to embarrass their teacher who they hadn't seen in nearly four years, and explained:
"Actually, we came today to apply to become guidance jōnin. Kushina was saying she hasn't had many missions recently, so she thought it'd be good to mentor some academy graduates. Kuugetsu, Nawaki, and I all thought it sounded fun, so we came along together."
Hearing this, Hoshiyomi couldn't help being a little surprised. Only now did it hit him—time had flown by so quickly that his own disciples were already about to take on students themselves.
At the same time, he suddenly remembered the "teacher generation" from the original story—Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, Asuma. It was now Year 41 of Konoha. By this point, Kakashi should already be eight years old, while Asuma and Kurenai should both be nine. In the original timeline, Asuma and the others had already graduated by now, so no wonder Minato's group was preparing to take disciples.
Thinking of this, Hoshiyomi grew excited and asked:
"What about Sakumo's and Skinku's kids? If I'm not mistaken, they should both be around eight or nine, right? With their talent, graduating early to become your disciples sounds about right."
Tsunade chuckled from behind:
"Seems you and I are thinking along the same lines. I was planning exactly that. Having the old man take over as headmaster of the academy really wasn't a mistake—he's managed to discover plenty of promising seedlings.
Just like you said—Shinku's daughter, and even the old man's own son, are ready to graduate now. But speaking of talent, the brightest among them is still Sakumo's son.
I actually forgot to tell you before—little Kakashi enrolled at age five and successfully applied for early graduation that same year. In other words, he already graduated from the academy long ago.
And the following year, he passed the Chūnin Exams, becoming a chūnin at just six years old. Everyone says that in the future, he'll be a genius no weaker than us."
Hearing this, Hoshiyomi grew even more curious about the younger generation.
"Since Minato and the others are planning to take students, and Kakashi and Kurenai are about to graduate, why don't we all have dinner together tonight? We'll celebrate my return and also let everyone see if they hit it off with one another."
Everyone agreed to Hoshiyomi's proposal, and Kushina added:
"Speaking of which, Jiraiya-senpai came back from Mount Myōboku three months ago. When he heard that you'd also gone to learn Sage Mode, he wouldn't stop saying he wanted to see if your Sage Mode was stronger than his."
At that, Hoshiyomi's expression turned a bit odd. With Jiraiya's… particular Sage Mode, if he sees mine, will he collapse on the spot from despair?
That evening, as planned, everyone gathered together. Since they were all high-ranking figures in the village now, they didn't just pick some casual restaurant for the get-together like in the old days. Instead, they met in the Senju compound.
The compound's central residence—once home only to Mito and Tsunade—was unusually lively tonight, filled with the three generations of Konoha's youth, middle, and senior figures.
Just as Kushina had said, even before the banquet began, Jiraiya had rushed over to Hoshiyomi, demanding to see his Sage Mode. Clearly, mastering Sage Mode was something he was quite proud of. Especially after learning that neither Orochimaru nor Tsunade could pull it off, he had become rather smug about it.
Now, dragging Hoshiyomi aside, he insisted that he absolutely had to see Hoshiyomi's Sage Mode.
Under the watchful eyes of both adults and children, Jiraiya eagerly summoned Fukasaku and Shima. After squatting in place for quite some time, he finally managed to transform into his "dumpling-nose" Toad Sage form from the original story.
Standing proudly between Fukasaku and Shima, Jiraiya ignored the strange looks from the others and turned to Hoshiyomi with impatience and excitement:
"Hurry up, let me take a look—show me if your Sage Mode is stronger than mine!"