It was only natural that Kakashi still kept in contact with Minato Namikaze.
After all, even if the Fourth Hokage had grown disillusioned and chosen to step away, there was no way he could truly ignore Konoha.
Natsuhiko still remembered clearly how Minato had threatened him before leaving.
Of course, he had never taken that threat to heart. He understood what Minato had really meant.
And after everything that had happened, Minato himself had probably realized that his personality simply wasn't suited for remaining in the Hokage's seat.
There was one thing Hiruzen Sarutobi had once said that Natsuhiko deeply agreed with:
A Hokage could not be consumed entirely by malice, because that would bring disaster to the village.
But at the same time, a Hokage absolutely could not be ruled solely by kindness either. In some ways, that was even more dangerous than cruelty.
A ninja village was, in truth, the real ruler of a nation. Natsuhiko had understood that perfectly the moment he and Hiruzen joined forces to manipulate the Daimyo.
Even without that incident, the truth was obvious enough.
A village held diplomatic authority, military power, and independent economic control.
That was no mere village.
It was a nation in all but name.
To put it bluntly, aside from a few unfortunate exceptions among the Five Great Nations, the Kage were the true rulers of their countries.
The extent of that control simply depended on the personality and methods of the individual Kage.
But no matter the case, diplomacy and military power were firmly held in the hands of the hidden villages—and therefore, in the hands of the Kage.
If someone in such a position became excessively compassionate, treating everyone with kindness regardless of circumstance, then the consequences would extend far beyond the village alone.
A qualified Kage needed to be benevolent when the situation called for it.
But when ruthlessness was necessary, hesitation could not exist.
At the same time, a Hokage also needed political acumen. They couldn't afford to remain ignorant of what their subordinates were thinking or doing, nor could they fail to keep those people under control.
Minato Namikaze was capable of being ruthless when necessary.
But when it came to his own people, he simply couldn't bring himself to go that far.
As for his political instincts... those were harder to judge.
If Natsuhiko had to summarize it, Minato would one day become an excellent Hokage—
Just not now.
Still, there was no point dwelling on the matter anymore.
Using Natsuhiko's actions as an excuse to leave that turbulent stage had actually been a decent choice for Minato. Even so, his sense of responsibility had never disappeared.
Keeping tabs on Konoha through Kakashi was simply another way for him to stay informed about the village... and about Natsuhiko himself.
Natsuhiko understood that completely, and he even supported it. Besides, Minato had never really tried to hide it from him.
From beginning to end, Kakashi had continued carrying Minato's special kunai.
There was no way Natsuhiko could fail to recognize the faint traces of Flying Thunder God chakra lingering on it.
And now, Kakashi had apparently learned how to summon toads as well. On top of that, he was one of the three ANBU division commanders, giving him access to an enormous amount of intelligence.
So none of this surprised Natsuhiko in the slightest.
As for Naruto returning, that wasn't a big deal either.
Naruto was still a child.
And children needed a proper upbringing.
Although Minato and Kushina were more than capable of teaching him themselves, they still wanted their son to grow up in a normal environment.
At Mount Myoboku, Naruto's only companions were toads. There wasn't even another normal human around.
If he was going to make human friends, build proper relationships, and experience a normal childhood, then Konoha was naturally the best place for that.
Of course, there was another reason as well.
This would help nurture Naruto's sense of belonging toward the village.
Because sooner or later, Minato and Kushina would inevitably return to Konoha.
"Coming back is a good thing," Natsuhiko said with a smile. "A kid shouldn't spend all day surrounded by toads."
Then he glanced at Kakashi, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Once he's back, you're going to have your hands full, Kakashi."
"This..." Kakashi's expression stiffened the moment the topic came up, and he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
He had been avoiding this issue the entire time, but it was also something he knew he couldn't escape forever.
Once Naruto returned, someone would definitely need to take care of him.
Even if Naruto could go back to Mount Myoboku anytime with Kakashi's help, Minato and Kushina probably wouldn't want that.
Kakashi understood perfectly why they were sending Naruto back to Konoha. If the goal was to help him build bonds and develop a sense of belonging to the village, then constantly sending him back to Mount Myoboku would defeat the purpose.
And since Minato and Kushina clearly had no intention of returning anytime soon, Naruto's daily life would naturally need someone to look after him.
No matter how he looked at it, that responsibility seemed destined to fall onto Kakashi's shoulders.
As one of the ANBU division commanders, Kakashi actually had a fairly manageable schedule. Maintaining regular working hours wasn't difficult for him.
Naruto would also be attending school with a normal routine, so their schedules wouldn't really conflict.
As long as Kakashi didn't overwork himself too much, handling everything should theoretically be possible.
The problem was—
Kakashi had absolutely no desire to take care of a child.
Taking care of himself was already troublesome enough.
Most mornings and afternoons, he simply ate at the ANBU cafeteria. Dinner was usually just a bowl of ramen, or maybe some random side dishes with friends if he happened to feel social.
As a shinobi—especially one who had survived war and served in the ANBU—he was a lot like Natsuhiko when it came to food.
As long as he was full and got enough protein and calories to maintain combat readiness, that was more than sufficient.
Someone like him might be incredibly hardworking during missions and at work, but in daily life, calling him lazy would not be inaccurate at all.
Making him care for Naruto would basically amount to mutual suffering—for both him and the kid.
But the real issue was that Minato truly didn't have many people he could trust completely.
Looking around, Kakashi was practically the only reliable choice left.
It was somewhat tragic when you thought about it. Back then, Minato had trusted Natsuhiko quite a bit too.
But things had already reached this point, and Minato had chosen to step away from everything. There was no point dwelling on those matters anymore.
Unfortunately, that only made things harder for Kakashi.
He genuinely had zero experience raising children.
"Looks like this is giving you quite a headache," Natsuhiko said with a grin, clearly enjoying Kakashi's troubled expression. "Want me to give you some time off so you can take a few childcare missions and practice?"
The moment Kakashi heard that, his expression became even more miserable.
"I think I'll pass," he said helplessly, shaking his head. "Besides, this isn't something I need to deal with right now. We'll talk about it later."
"Suit yourself." Natsuhiko didn't care about Kakashi's attitude in the slightest. His smile only widened further. "Still, I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of disaster you turn Naruto into."
Kakashi could only let out a long, exhausted sigh.
For him, there was absolutely nothing about this situation worth looking forward to at all.
...
"It seems that while I was away, Konoha went through quite a few things... but overall, everything turned out alright."
Inside a room at Mount Myoboku, Minato Namikaze spoke with a gentle smile as he looked toward Kushina.
They had already spent two or three years living at Mount Myoboku and had gradually grown accustomed to life there.
More importantly, Minato's body had slowly begun recovering.
Of course, "recovery" was only relative to his previous condition.
Natsuhiko had been extremely precise with his methods. Minato's health improved little by little each day, but true recovery would still require a very long time.
By the time he fully healed, Natsuhiko would probably already have become Hokage—
Or at the very least, he would only be a single step away from the position.
After all, someone capable of controlling life force itself was terrifyingly difficult to deal with.
Natsuhiko's methods might not have been honorable, but regardless of his intentions, he had still saved Minato's life.
Minato understood that fact better than anyone.
He held no resentment toward Natsuhiko. Besides, life at Mount Myoboku had actually been fairly pleasant for him.
Well... aside from the food.
The cuisine there was a little too close to nature—so natural that most of it barely qualified as something humans should be eating.
Other than that, though, everything was good.
There was no exhausting administrative work, no endless political struggles to wear him down, and the woman he loved was always by his side. Honestly, what was there to complain about?
More importantly, his time at Mount Myoboku had allowed him to learn something immensely valuable.
Sage Mode.
It was a technique Jiraiya excelled at, and one Natsuhiko himself had demonstrated with astonishing mastery. During his years at Mount Myoboku, Minato had devoted himself wholeheartedly to refining it.
In truth, he had learned Sage Mode long ago.
Unfortunately, his aptitude in that area had always seemed somewhat lacking.
Although he could enter Sage Mode incredibly quickly, neither his chakra reserves nor his physical condition had allowed him to maintain the state for very long.
That was why he used to describe himself as mediocre at Sage Mode, despite displaying terrifying proficiency while under Edo Tensei.
The reason was simple.
An Edo Tensei body possessed infinite chakra and immortality. He never needed to worry about exhausting himself or losing control.
But now, after receiving systematic training and years of dedicated practice, things had changed.
Not only had the duration of his Sage Mode increased dramatically, but after two to three years of continuous training, the power of his Sage Mode had grown stronger and stronger as well.
If Natsuhiko were here and sparred with Minato now, he would probably be shocked to discover that Minato's Sage Mode was approaching what the system would classify as Intermediate Level.
Unlike Natsuhiko, who relied on a completely unfair cheat-like system, Minato had survived and risen through the ninja world solely through talent and hard work.
Reaching such a level in only a few short years was simply another testament to how monstrous his natural talent truly was.
And beyond all of that, there was another secret he had never told anyone.
Not the Great Toad Sages.
Not even Kushina.
He had discovered that he could communicate with the Nine-Tails.
Before this, both Minato and practically the entire shinobi world had viewed the tailed beasts as nothing more than wild monsters.
And honestly, that way of thinking wasn't surprising.
For generations, everyone had believed the same thing. Once an idea became so deeply ingrained, changing that perspective became nearly impossible.
But Minato's understanding had completely changed.
Because he had realized, to his astonishment, that Kurama possessed thoughts and will of his own.
And if something had will, then it had a soul.
A creature with a soul was, without question, an intelligent lifeform.
The fact that the Nine-Tails—universally feared as a mindless beast—was actually an intelligent being had far exceeded Minato's expectations.
After discovering this, he had begun consciously trying to communicate with Kurama.
The only problem was that, at first, the fox couldn't be bothered to pay him any attention at all.
That left Minato feeling somewhat helpless, but fortunately, he had both time and patience. Slowly but surely, he continued trying to connect with him.
Perhaps it was due to the unique talents of the Uzumaki bloodline.
Or perhaps Minato's sincerity had genuinely moved Kurama.
Either way, after two years, they were finally capable of having normal conversations.
In Minato's eyes, Kurama was simply a being deeply misunderstood by the world—
An arrogant, prideful, and lonely fox.
Of course, Kurama was extremely dissatisfied with being viewed that way, but despite his protests, genuine friendship had gradually formed between them.
"This world really is unbelievable..." Minato sighed inwardly. "Who could have imagined the Nine-Tails would actually be like this?"
The more he learned, the more grateful he became that he had come to Mount Myoboku to recover.
Otherwise, he might never have discovered any of this.
"Is Natsuhiko in conflict with the Third Hokage?" Kushina suddenly asked curiously as she turned toward him. "Will it affect Konoha badly?"
"Not too badly," Minato replied with a soft smile. "Both Natsuhiko and the Third are keeping things under control and limiting the scope of the conflict."
After a brief pause, he added calmly,
"Overall, this operation was actually pretty successful."
"Konoha's internal fighting counts as successful?" Kushina blinked in surprise. Then a knowing look appeared in her eyes. "Sounds like someone ended up paying the price."
She understood Minato extremely well.
The moment he spoke, she immediately realized there was more hidden beneath his words.
Minato simply maintained his smile and said nothing more. Instead, he handed the report in his hand over to Kushina.
Although the conflict between Natsuhiko and Hiruzen had escalated fiercely this time, their battle had still remained within the realm of strategy and political maneuvering.
Of course, someone had still paid the price for that clash.
Danzo Shimura.
Minato had never held any favorable opinion of Danzo. In his eyes, a man like that dying might actually be a good thing for Konoha.
Still, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
He had only been gone for two years, yet Konoha had already changed so dramatically.
Kakashi's reports had always been incredibly detailed, allowing him to stay informed about everything happening within the village.
And through those reports, Minato had watched Natsuhiko steadily expand his influence under the banner of the Fourth Hokage's legacy while continuously weakening the Third Hokage's authority.
First, he expanded the ANBU.
Then he joined forces with Hiruzen to pressure the Daimyo.
After that, he brought back the surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan.
From there, he continued accumulating strength little by little.
And during all of this, he had even managed to resolve the Uchiha issue that had plagued Konoha for years.
Once the timing became right, he struck decisively.
First, he exposed Orochimaru's weaknesses and forced him to flee the village.
Then, immediately afterward, he turned his attention toward the Third Hokage himself.
Every step had been carefully planned and flawlessly executed.
And by now, the influence and authority Natsuhiko possessed had nearly reached the same level as Hiruzen Sarutobi's.
"Is this kid really only fifteen or sixteen years old?"
Minato genuinely felt lost at times.
Compared to Natsuhiko, the only thing he could confidently say he surpassed him in was battlefield achievements.
And even that...
If Natsuhiko were ever given the chance to fully unleash himself during another great war, Minato suspected even those accomplishments would eventually pale in comparison.
"Maybe... I really wasn't suited to become Hokage after all."
...
As for Naruto returning to Konoha, Natsuhiko himself didn't think too much about it.
He also didn't know Minato's exact condition at the moment, but one thing he was certain of was that the Fourth Hokage definitely hadn't fully recovered yet.
Even if the Great Toad Sage truly had a method to completely inject the life force Natsuhiko had left inside Minato's body back into him all at once, they still had to consider whether Minato's body could withstand it.
Because of that, Natsuhiko wasn't particularly focused on Minato right now.
What truly occupied his thoughts were future developments.
The Fourth Raikage's unusual movements had already caught his attention.
In fact, Natsuhiko was looking forward to it.
More specifically, he was looking forward to a certain unfortunate idiot coming to Konoha to plant a "mine" of his own.
And when that happened, Hiruzen Sarutobi would inevitably be forced into activating the so-called "special mission," handing the Hyuga Clan a cruel choice:
One person...
Or the entire clan.
In Natsuhiko's eyes, however, this crisis was also an opportunity.
A genuine opportunity to finally step onto the path toward becoming Hokage.
Judging purely by military strength on paper, Konoha currently had very few ways to resist pressure from Kumogakure. Under those circumstances, Hiruzen choosing to avoid war was perfectly understandable.
But Natsuhiko had no intention of letting this matter pass so easily.
Perhaps Konoha truly would struggle against Kumogakure—
But that didn't mean they were incapable of resisting.
"Kumogakure's biggest advantage," Natsuhiko mused silently, "is that they didn't suffer devastating losses during the Third Great Ninja War. Their military strength remains largely intact."
"And beyond that, both the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki are enormous threats. In terms of top-tier combat power, Konoha clearly can't match them right now."
Konoha's current high-level combat strength was honestly worrying.
If Minato were still around, things would be much simpler.
After all, Minato had once fought both the Fourth Raikage and Killer B simultaneously and forced them into a stalemate.
But now Minato had withdrawn to Mount Myoboku, and that absence was a serious blow to Konoha's military power.
Naturally, many people would place their hopes on Natsuhiko, the current ANBU Commander.
And Natsuhiko himself was certainly confident in facing those two.
The problem was that, whether it was Hiruzen Sarutobi or the average shinobi of Konoha, their understanding of Natsuhiko's strength was still largely stuck at the level he had displayed during the Nine-Tails incident.
In truth, Natsuhiko had never properly proven himself on an actual battlefield.
Or perhaps he had—
But nobody knew about it, because he had always operated as an ANBU shinobi.
As for Hiruzen, he was already old. No one truly expected much from him in terms of combat power anymore.
Then there was Orochimaru's defection, along with Tsunade and Jiraiya leaving the village. All of that had cast an enormous shadow over both Konoha and Hiruzen himself.
No matter how one looked at it, Konoha seemed to be at an overwhelming disadvantage.
But Natsuhiko knew very well that Konoha's true potential extended far beyond what outsiders could see.
Once cornered, this village had an astonishing tendency to explode with hidden strength.
And more importantly—
Natsuhiko himself was nowhere near as simple as he had appeared during the Nine-Tails disaster.
Although he had fought many times, he had never truly revealed the full extent of his power.
Even the abilities belonging purely to "Senju Natsuhiko" had only been used sparingly.
Hiruzen and the others had no idea that he possessed the Jogan.
Or perhaps they knew of it, but completely failed to understand what it truly represented.
They also knew nothing about his Sage Mode.
And they certainly didn't know that his Wood Release had evolved yet again.
To put it bluntly, if he combined Wood Release with Sage Mode while using his Jogan Chakra Mode, the destructive power he could unleash would likely rival Hashirama Senju at his peak.
And that was absolutely not a low standard.
Peak Hashirama was unquestionably on the same level as Naruto and Sasuke.
Sure, he had ultimately been defeated by Madara Uchiha at his strongest during the Fourth Great Ninja War—
But Naruto and Sasuke had suffered the exact same fate.
Especially Sasuke—with both eyes, he couldn't do much against a blind Madara, who eventually impaled him with a single casual stab.
But that didn't diminish their strength.
It only proved that Madara had already stepped into an entirely different realm of existence.
Natsuhiko had always maintained a very clear understanding of his own capabilities.
After all, he had too many reference points available for comparison.
At present, the strength of his Jogan Chakra Mode was roughly equivalent to Naruto's initial Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
In other words, in terms of raw chakra enhancement alone, he was more or less on par with freshly empowered Naruto.
However, he also possessed Advanced Sage Mode and Intermediate Wood Release.
Those two abilities would most likely bridge the gap all the way to Naruto's second-stage Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Which essentially meant—
He had already reached the level of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan Sasuke.
The level of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju during the Warring States Era.
"And that's only comparing raw power," Natsuhiko thought calmly. "Once overall combat ability is taken into account, things become much harder to judge."
Pure strength alone rarely determined a shinobi's true upper limit.
The application of overall combat ability, strategy, timing, and adaptability was what truly mattered.
After all, shinobi were like Ferraris—
Even a mere genin, if given enough preparation and the right opportunity, could potentially assassinate a jonin through surprise tactics.
Wasn't Pakura, now working under him, the perfect example?
Without Natsuhiko's intervention, she would have died long ago in the Land of Water.
"So in reality, Konoha doesn't lack top-tier combat power at all."
Natsuhiko lightly tapped the desk with his fingers, a faint smile slowly curving across his lips.
"It looks like this incident is going to become my next stage."
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to avoid war.
But Natsuhiko would never make that choice.
What he needed was contrast.
Only when his choices completely differed from Hiruzen's would people begin comparing them.
And once comparisons began, things would become very interesting.
Hiruzen's decision would be seen as betraying Konoha.
Natsuhiko's decision, meanwhile, would become protecting Konoha and restoring the village's prestige.
At that point, Hiruzen's authority would suffer an unimaginable blow—
And Natsuhiko could finally launch his final attack.
He wanted Hiruzen Sarutobi to step down.
And more than that—
He wanted the position of Fifth Hokage.
War had never been a game, and there were many things Natsuhiko needed to consider carefully.
Although he had already decided to make his move, there were still countless details that required planning.
For example, how much impact should he create this time?
How could he maximize both his own prestige and Konoha's reputation throughout the shinobi world?
How could he best coordinate everything with the mission objectives he already had in mind?
"In truth, even without considering my personal combat strength, I already had plans prepared for this situation," Natsuhiko thought quietly. "Though now... I'll need to adjust them a little."
When it came to the possibility of Konoha going to war with Kumogakure, Natsuhiko had actually spent a great deal of time viewing the situation from Hiruzen's perspective.
And honestly, he could understand most of Hiruzen's decisions and concerns.
But there was one thing he simply couldn't understand.
Why wasn't Hiruzen learning from Konoha's experience during the Third Great Ninja War?
Back then, Konoha had been attacked by four villages simultaneously.
This time, however, Kumogakure was the aggressor.
So why couldn't Konoha unite with the other villages against them instead?
Just as he had once told Kakashi, all they really needed was sufficient military pressure to force Kumogakure into hesitation.
Sunagakure was already Konoha's ally.
As long as Suna mobilized troops near the Land of Rivers and openly signaled support for Konoha, the pressure alone would be enough to shake Kumogakure.
At the same time, they could contact Iwagakure and inform them that simply gathering troops near the Land of Waterfalls or the Land of Iron might earn them tremendous benefits without even needing to fight.
Would Onoki refuse such an opportunity?
Of course not.
Both Suna and Iwa had signed ceasefire agreements with Konoha. For the sake of maintaining their own credibility, neither village would dare openly attack Konoha within such a short timeframe.
But they had never signed any such agreement with Kumogakure.
From a practical standpoint, there was absolutely nothing preventing them from fighting the Cloud Village.
And the hatred between Iwagakure and Kumogakure ran incredibly deep.
If Kumogakure committed too much of its military strength against Konoha, then Iwagakure could very well launch a direct invasion into the Land of Lightning itself.
More importantly, Konoha didn't even need to worry much about Kirigakure this time.
Natsuhiko had personally visited the Hidden Mist Village before. He understood their current situation better than almost anyone.
Under Obito's manipulation, Kirigakure was already in chaos internally. There was little chance they would recklessly send troops out now.
Which meant that, under the pull of competing interests—and with Konoha applying both pressure and incentives toward Sunagakure—
This conflict could ultimately evolve into a war where Kumogakure faced not only Konoha, but also Iwagakure and Sunagakure together.
"But why hasn't Hiruzen thought of this?" Natsuhiko wondered, feeling increasingly puzzled. "Has he really grown that old?"
The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt.
Was it because he was a transmigrator that these strategies seemed obvious to him?
But that didn't make sense either.
Any halfway competent transmigrator should be capable of thinking of this much.
After all, the difficulty wasn't particularly high.
Balancing alliances and manipulating rival powers against one another was hardly some revolutionary tactic.
And if one wanted to be even more ruthless, provoking one wolf to attack another wasn't difficult either—especially given the deep hatred between Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
"Especially since I control the newspapers," Natsuhiko thought with a faint smile. "If I really wanted to stir things up, it wouldn't be hard at all."
Stretching lazily in his chair, he finally settled on a decision.
He now knew exactly how he wanted to handle this matter.
In fact, provoking the other villages and forcing them to pressure Kumogakure was beneficial in itself.
Because it would likely produce one of two outcomes.
The first possibility was that Kumogakure would choose to break through Konoha's defenses as quickly as possible, forcing its way deep into the Land of Fire to achieve strategic objectives before the other villages could react.
The second possibility was that Kumogakure would rapidly pull troops back into defensive positions, remaining wary of a surprise assault from Iwagakure, ultimately causing the war with Konoha to devolve into a stalemate.
And honestly—
Natsuhiko was perfectly fine with either result.
Because once the other villages made their decisions and began mobilizing forces, they would inevitably start observing Konoha's battlefield performance.
Only after judging the progress of the war would they decide whether to officially intervene—
And if they did intervene, how much profit they intended to claim from the conflict afterward.
And that was exactly the kind of stage Natsuhiko needed.
His audience would be Konoha's shinobi forces... as well as all the outsiders who came to observe the war.
If he displayed overwhelming strength on a stage like this, it would become a massive opportunity to elevate not only his own prestige and influence, but Konoha's reputation as well.
"Looks like it's time for the ANBU to get moving," Natsuhiko murmured to himself. "And it's probably time to start writing a few things for the newspapers too."
Using the ANBU to secretly establish contact with Sunagakure and Iwagakure was merely the necessary groundwork.
As for how to manipulate their emotions and steer public opinion—
That was where the newspapers came in.
At present, Natsuhiko's newspaper network still hadn't spread beyond the Land of Fire.
But this war was the perfect opportunity.
He could easily have ANBU operatives disguise themselves as merchants, carrying newspapers into other countries and villages until those publications gradually began circulating naturally.
Once people grew accustomed to seeing them, anticipation would slowly build.
And when that happened, officially introducing his newspapers into those regions would become far easier.
More importantly, the content within those papers would allow him to conduct his first true experiment in guiding public opinion.
Honestly, even Natsuhiko himself was curious to see what kind of situation his newspapers could create.
"You know," a lazy voice suddenly echoed through his mind, "every single time I wake up, you're always plotting against somebody."
The little Nine-Tails had awakened.
Even without seeing him, Natsuhiko could already picture the fox sprawled lazily somewhere with a thoroughly unmotivated expression.
"Then why don't you say that every time you wake up, your timing just happens to be suspiciously perfect?" Natsuhiko replied casually before shaking his head slightly. "Done sleeping? You were out for quite a while this time."
"Yeah, I definitely slept long enough," the little fox answered lazily. "But I finally finished absorbing all that power."
A strand of chakra suddenly surged out, and moments later, a small orange fox head appeared on Natsuhiko's shoulder.
Natsuhiko glanced sideways at the miniature Kurama before his gaze casually swept toward the corners of the room.
Without needing any direct orders, the surrounding ANBU members immediately vanished one after another.
Natsuhiko didn't particularly care if certain secrets became known—especially to members of the Senju Clan.
Sometimes, revealing a few secrets made people feel more secure.
Or perhaps...
More afraid of him.
Only after everyone had withdrawn did Natsuhiko speak again.
"You do realize there were other people in this room, right?" he said helplessly. "Doing something like that puts me in an awkward position."
"Fine, fine. My bad," the little Nine-Tails replied, though his tone contained almost no sincerity whatsoever.
But soon, curiosity crept into his voice.
"I woke up because I sensed Isobu's chakra... wait, don't tell me—"
"You really do have a dog's nose," Natsuhiko said with a chuckle.
Then he nodded lightly.
"That's right. I used my power to cultivate something using Isobu's chakra."
At this point, however, his expression became slightly thoughtful.
"But I'm still hesitating."
"Hesitating?" The little fox tilted his head in confusion. "About what?"
"I'm wondering what I should ultimately do with that power."
Natsuhiko slowly stood up and walked toward the window.
"For example... I could turn it into something like you."
As he spoke, he paused briefly and glanced toward the fox head now deep in thought as well. Then he quietly shook his head.
"Or..."
"I could try merging that power directly into your body."
His voice slowed slightly.
"The problem is, I can't guarantee what kind of result that would create."
Natsuhiko narrowed his eyes faintly as he looked outside the window.
"Who knows? Maybe I'd accidentally create an entirely new lifeform."
"And honestly... that's something I absolutely wouldn't be able to accept."
...
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