The sunlight outside the window cast slanted rays into the Hokage Office, illuminating the stacks of documents on the desk, yet it could not dispel the heavy atmosphere within the room.
Jiraiya sat opposite him, feeling a bit regretful for bringing up the Uchiha Clan. After a moment of thought, he took the initiative to break the silence.
"Minato, how do you plan to handle the merits of that kid, Takuno? If he hadn't turned the tide in the medical room, the casualty list this time would never have been as short as it is now."
Minato set down the report in his hand. When Takuno was mentioned, his expression lightened considerably.
His knuckles unconsciously tapped lightly against the desk.
Jiraiya-sensei was right; the powerful Medical Ninjutsu demonstrated by Takuno was worth no less than any top-tier Shinobi fighting a bloody battle on the front lines.
His tireless figure and his treatment techniques, which were so precise they could be called divine, had saved countless lives on the brink of death, minimizing the cost of this battle to the greatest extent.
"Rewarding Senpai..." Minato rubbed his brow, a visible wry smile appearing on his handsome face.
How to reward Takuno was truly a thorny problem.
Ninjutsu? He wasn't interested. Sealing Jutsu? There were no more rewards left that could be offered.
As for status and position—
It seemed that only a year or two ago, he had just pushed through all objections to promote Takuno to the prominent position of Anbu Vice-Captain General.
Although the current Captain General's retirement wasn't far off, now was not the right time for a replacement, directly promoting him to Captain General? It was clearly inappropriate and would easily cause a stir.
A trace of helplessness flickered in Minato's deep blue eyes.
Based on his understanding of Takuno, the man was naturally indifferent and disliked being tied down by trivial matters. To him, a promotion was likely not a blessing, but rather a troublesome shackle he couldn't escape.
Thinking of this, Minato felt a faint throbbing in his temples. How on earth should he arrange a suitable reward?
Minato's predicament did not escape the keen observation of Jiraiya.
One of the Three Legendary Sannin suddenly burst out laughing, breaking the tension in the room: "Haha, kid, what's there to worry about! I happen to have a ready-made solution right here!"
"Hmm?" Minato looked up in surprise.
With a characteristically cunning smile on his lips, Jiraiya leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice mysteriously: "I happened to have a chat with him earlier—"
Then, he told Minato in detail about how he had tested Takuno by mentioning Tsunade, and how Takuno had shown interest in higher medical achievements.
"Tsunade-senpai becoming Takuno-senpai's teacher?" Minato's brow furrowed slightly as he seriously considered the proposal.
"Exactly!" Jiraiya slapped his thigh hard, his eyes shining with certainty.
"That kid Takuno's exquisite control over Chakra is a once-in-a-century talent! If Tsunade personally trains him to be her successor, whether he learns her earth-shattering Monstrous Strength or her unparalleled Medical Ninjutsu, it would be a perfect fit!"
"This would not only honor his achievements but also effectively enhance his strength, making up for the shortcoming in his self-defense caused by his dislike of fighting."
The terrifying scene of Tsunade cracking the ground with a single punch couldn't help but surface in his mind, and his heart stirred.
If Takuno mastered this technique, with his pure Chakra control, the power he could unleash, even Tsunade might be amazed, wouldn't she?
Minato thought seriously; putting aside personal preferences, Takuno was indeed an ideal candidate to inherit Tsunade's mantle.
But there was a key link in this plan.
"Teacher, I understand what you mean; it is indeed a brilliant idea. However—Tsunade-senpai's whereabouts are unpredictable. Do you know exactly where she is now?"
"Uh—" The confidence on Jiraiya's face instantly froze, and he scratched his signature white hair somewhat awkwardly.
"Well, I've put some effort into investigating it before. Although I can't say the exact location for the moment, as long as we're willing to look, there are clues. Finding her in person—shouldn't be a problem!"
"In that case," a light of determination flashed in Minato's eyes, and he immediately picked up a pen, "then I will, in the name of the Fourth Hokage, write a formal letter to earnestly request Tsunade-senpai to take Takuno-senpai as her disciple."
Jiraiya pondered for a moment and did not oppose this plan.
He knew in his heart that after Tsunade left the Village, her identity had long been detached from it.
A mandatory order from the Hokage would be meaningless to her; she would never buy it.
But if it were a personal letter written by Minato himself in his capacity as Hokage, with humble language and full of sincerity, a "request" rather than an "order," plus his own old face acting as a bridge—
There was a good chance of successfully persuading Tsunade to take on a student as exceptionally gifted as Takuno.
When the topic turned to the rewards for the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, Minato suddenly felt much more relaxed.
These three families were prestigious clans with deep roots, while Takuno was all alone.
For them, the rewards could follow the conventional route of clan rewards, regardless of whether Inoichi Yamanaka, Nara Shikaku, or Akimichi Choza had any special requests themselves.
Granting abundant resources, Ninjutsu scrolls, or honorary titles to their clans would also accurately and effectively achieve the purpose of the reward, leaving everyone happy.
Thus, the post-war rewards were also finalized during the conversation between the master and disciple.
In Konoha, the warm sun lazily spilled onto the porch of Takuno's residence.
Takuno leaned against a large wooden chair, his eyes slightly closed, letting the sunlight plate a layer of thin gold onto his face.
A long-standing sense of detachment shrouded this old house.
Even in the brief interval after returning from the trials of the front lines and intending to rest, he had gone straight to the Land of Hot Springs after requesting permission from the Fourth Hokage, rather than setting foot here.
To him, did this place still count as a "home," or was it just a temporary transit station?
Takuno simply cast this pointless thought to the back of his mind.
Today was merely a rare moment of respite stolen from the nerve-wracking and heavy experiments in the Land of Snow.
The fatigue brought by continuous mental concentration had quietly accumulated, but to him, this fatigue was insignificant compared to the temptation of becoming stronger.
The reason that prompted him to return to Konoha this time did not lie there.
Konoha was about to hold a grand celebration for the victory of the war.
More importantly, the Shinobi head of the defeated Kumogakure would come to Konoha, not only to add a subtle touch to this ceremony symbolizing the return of peace but, more importantly, to negotiate a war reparations plan that both sides could accept for the tragic war that had swept through the Land of Fire.
If the negotiations went smoothly, the two long-confronting Shinobi Villages might even sign an alliance treaty based on this.
At such a major historical juncture, Takuno's true self was naturally indispensable.
Even though he was skilled in clone techniques and his lifelike Wood Clone could handle many mundane tasks, he still needed to be there in person to control such a far-reaching and complex situation.
He silently calculated the time, finally pulled himself out of that laziness, slowly stood up, and gave a somewhat stiff stretch.
The bones throughout his body made faint sounds, seemingly dispelling the fatigue of consecutive days of hard work.
He stepped out and merged into the crowd on the street, which had already turned into a sea of jubilation.
The entire Konoha was like being caught in an endless vortex of celebration.
Every household was decorated with lanterns and streamers, and the streets were filled with surging crowds and boisterous cheers.
Takuno was not a bystander; he was also an indispensable member of this celebration who had to appear on stage.
Thinking of the upcoming noisy scenes and countless gazes, he couldn't help but feel a hint of impatience, yet he was helpless.
He clearly realized in his heart that with the complete conclusion of this war that had swept the Shinobi World, his prestige within Konoha would inevitably be pushed to a new peak.
Since the Nine-Tails' attack that was enough to topple the Village, he had already been dubbed a "hero";
And on this battlefield, countless endangered Shinobi were able to return home thanks to his treatment. Behind every Shinobi was a family that had been deeply worried—
The prestige accumulated in this way had already reached a critical point.
Takuno even had a premonition that if the current Fourth Hokage, Minato, whose strength was top-tier in the Shinobi World, were to step down one day in the future, he would probably only need to give a call, and the responders would not be few.
Unfortunately, for that Hokage position that symbolized the pinnacle of power but also meant trivialities and constraints, Takuno was uninterested.
At this point in time, even Minato, whose strength had reached the peak of the Shinobi World, was buried day after day in endless documents and non-stop political affairs, and the fatigue after successive major battles had yet to be fully relieved.
Takuno knew how heavy it was, so why would he bring trouble upon himself?
Compared to this, what he was more interested in was the real purpose of the Kumogakure Shinobi coming to Konoha on the occasion of signing the alliance treaty.
A possibility that occurred in a certain future trajectory lingered in his mind at this moment.
For example, taking the opportunity to kidnap the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan's Main House, Hyuga Hinata?
Takuno thought to himself that the actual trajectory of development had already deviated significantly from the so-called "original work."
The Fourth Raikage himself should still be in the recovery period after being seriously injured; his physical condition probably couldn't support launching such a sinister conspiracy that could easily trigger a new round of war.
Furthermore, the outcome of the war had completely changed, and the balance of power between the two sides was also entirely different; the possibility of this happening was already minuscule.
However, the world is unpredictable, and the word "if" is precisely the variable that is hardest to completely rule out.
Even if this matter seemingly had nothing to do with him personally, after some thought, Takuno still decided to dispatch a few inconspicuous crows to quietly lurk around the outskirts of the Hyuga Clan compound when night fell, keeping watch for the night.
Thinking thus, Takuno had already crossed the noisy streets and reached the open plaza in front of the Hokage Building.
The flow of people converged and diverged here. His gaze swept around casually and instantly captured a special figure.
Hyuga Hiashi.
The current head of the Hyuga Clan was dressed in a traditional kimono that was slightly distanced from the festive atmosphere. He stood tall and alone by the side of the crowd, his gaze fixed on the distant sky, his face wearing a customary calm and detachment.
Takuno was not at all surprised to see him appear.
The historical timeline of this world had long since deviated from its original track due to his intervention.
Moreover, more importantly, at this point in time, there were still some days before Hyuga Hinata's birthday, so there was no need for him to perform that ceremony symbolizing shackles for those branch family children of the appropriate age today—carving the "Caged Bird Seal" curse.
Naturally, he would not be absent from such a landmark Celebration Ceremony.
In fact, Takuno felt that even if today were truly Hinata's birthday, it would be impossible for Hyuga Hiashi to be absent from such a grand event as depicted in the "historical trajectory."
The reason was obvious: the Third Hokage and the Fourth Hokage were completely different.
Today's Minato was in his prime, enterprising, and his prestige was at its zenith.
More importantly, Konoha's political ecology was already different.
The Hyuga Clan was no longer the number one clan in Konoha as in the "original work." The Uchiha Clan, which was deliberately targeted and suppressed in the original work, had seen its situation greatly improved after Minato took office and was regaining its vitality. Its influence and strength in the Village formed a powerful check and balance against the Hyuga Clan.
At this sensitive moment, applying the curse to the branch family children was certainly important, but would it really not work to postpone it for a day or perform it a day early? Takuno sneered inwardly.
It couldn't be that all the branch family children of the appropriate age in the Hyuga Clan just happened to be born on Hinata's birthday and had to have the seal carved on that specific date, right?
Recalling the posture of the Hyuga Clan at this time in the "historical trajectory," Takuno had only one evaluation in his heart:
The Hyuga Clan at this time in the original work was indeed "getting a bit full of themselves."
The celebration had not yet begun, but the noise of the crowd had already laid the foundation for it.
Shisui took a deep breath, suppressing the timidity that had sprouted in his heart from speaking before such a grand scale for the first time. His eyes caught the slightly lazy figure of Takuno.
"Takuno-senpai."
The crisp voice carried obvious respect. Shisui wove through the small groups of people and came to stand beside Takuno.
"Hmm? It's Shisui." Takuno turned his head at the sound, looking with a hint of surprise at this young Uchiha genius.
Their several encounters on the battlefield had made him quite familiar with Shisui—from his blood-stained clothes when intercepting Yugito, to his exhaustion and paleness after clashing head-on with the Fourth Raikage, almost every perilous moment was followed by Takuno performing his healing techniques at the fastest speed.
Precisely because he knew how critical the other's combat power was to the balance of the battlefield, their contact naturally became frequent.
At this moment, looking at Takuno's expression, which was as relaxed as if he were an outsider, the slight anxiety in Shisui's heart regarding his nervousness became even more pronounced.
He hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke tentatively: "Takuno-senpai, you... have also been invited to speak later, haven't you?"
Although it was a question, his tone was almost certain. Given Takuno's performance on the battlefield, it was impossible for him to be absent from the list of speakers on such an important occasion.
"Yes." Takuno nodded understandingly, his gaze falling on Shisui's young face, which showed a hint of awkwardness.
This child's thoughts were truly too easy to understand.
"What, are you nervous?"