Kakashi needed to unify the power of the entire Ninja World to prepare for the future arrival of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
To be fair, was the Ninja World weak?
It was weak.
At the very least, the Ninja World's visible combat power was indeed very weak compared to the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
But was the Ninja World strong?
It was strong.
Even the Ōtsutsuki Clan, who had harvested the lives of countless planets, had met their Waterloo on this humble acre of land known as the Ninja World.
A thousand years ago, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, and in thirty years' time, Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki, Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki, and Urashiki Ōtsutsuki—all of them would stumble and fall in this Ninja World.
Aside from them, the Ninja World also held the demon Mōryō, the demon Satori, the Evil God of Jashinism, the Reaper, the Stone of Gelel, and the Cloud Village's orbit-striking Chakra Cannon. There were all these various powers; even a guy like Orochimaru could tinker together a Mecha-Naruto.
Furthermore, there was the massive natural energy that permeated the entire planet.
All of these belonged to the power of the Ninja World.
Most importantly, there was Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki in the Pure Land, along with the souls accumulated there over a millennium.
Kakashi didn't believe that Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, the being known as the Sage of Six Paths, created the Pure Land just for fun.
The existence of the Pure Land definitely had its own significance.
Therefore, in Kakashi's view, the future Ninja World ended up riddled with holes simply because there was no existence capable of truly unifying it.
There were even laughable incidents like Naruto being sealed by his own ingrate of a son, and Sasuke having his Rinnegan stabbed out by a kunai.
Since no one else had the capability or the vessel to become this existence...
Then Kakashi naturally didn't mind becoming this King in the truest sense of the word.
As the movement of the Ancor Vantian gradually slowed, Kakashi had already piloted it to arrive at Konoha.
At the same time, Hashirama Senju, who was playing cards with Tsunade in the Senju Clan grounds, stepped outside as if sensing something. He looked up at the empty night sky.
He seemed to faintly sense that something was coming.
Tsunade walked out as well, also looking toward the sky.
It wasn't just Hashirama; she also realized something was wrong.
And in her home, Hikari, who was urging Naruto to hurry up and go to sleep, also seemed to discover some presence, looking through the window at the sky.
In addition to them, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya also noticed the anomaly.
It could be said that every expert in Konoha whose strength had reached a certain level sensed the existence of the Ancor Vantian.
Kakashi piloted the Ancor Vantian to descend gradually, ultimately choosing the forest behind the training grounds at the rear of the Hokage Rock as the landing site.
Accompanied by the descent of this aerial fortress, the silhouette of the Ancor Vantian instantly appeared in their field of vision, causing countless small animals to flee at the sight of it.
The pale yellow barrier crushed giant trees as Kakashi somewhat brutally carved out a landing space.
This commotion naturally couldn't be hidden from the Konoha shinobi.
The ninja squads responsible for patrols immediately rushed in this direction. Meanwhile, the Barrier Team inside Konoha also immediately noticed it, preparing to notify the garrisoned ninja troops to head toward the Ancor Vantian's landing zone.
But as Kakashi's chakra actively appeared and he used it to input into the Konoha Sensing Barrier, the Barrier Team immediately ceased their notifications.
"What is happening?"
"What is this thing?"
Kakashi pushed open the cabin door of the Ancor Vantian and walked out with Inoichi Yamanaka, bumping right into the rushing Hashirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the others.
"This is a spoil of war."
Kakashi patted the Ancor Vantian behind him.
"A spoil of war?"
"Is this... something from the Hidden Sky Village?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt the massive object before him looked somewhat familiar. After thinking for a moment, he recalled it from distant memories.
Back then, he was the one who had sent Sakumo Hatake to lead the team that annihilated the Hidden Sky Village. Afterwards, Sakumo had mentioned this thing in his mission report, but at the time, Konoha was deeply mired in the quagmire of war, so he hadn't paid it much attention.
He hadn't expected that decades later, Kakashi would bring this thing back to Konoha.
"Correct. Aside from this, there are also three battleships that, based on the estimated time, have docked at the Land of Fire's harbor. I plan to send people to receive them."
Kakashi walked toward the Hokage Building, his tone calm. This forced Hashirama Senju, who was somewhat curious about the Ancor Vantian, to follow behind Kakashi, wanting to ask this young man what strange ideas he had.
"By the way, I plan to send someone to search for the Stone of Gelel vein. This matter..."
Kakashi's gaze swept over the four people before him, finally landing on Jiraiya.
"I'll leave this matter to you, Jiraiya."
"One year... within half a year, I want to obtain precise intelligence."
Hearing Kakashi's baffling words, Jiraiya pointed at himself innocently.
To mass-produce the Ancor Vantian, there had to be a sufficient power source.
Kakashi naturally couldn't personally act as the power source every time the Ancor Vantian needed to be used, so he needed a substitute.
Tailed Beasts could actually serve as substitutes, but Tailed Beasts were too uncertain. Kakashi naturally couldn't let such unstable factors serve as the power source for Konoha's aerial fortress.
"Wait, wait a minute, I haven't agreed yet?"
Jiraiya was a bit exasperated.
What was going on? Throwing a baffling stone name at him and telling him to go find it.
What was this all about?
"Then who do you suggest should go?"
Kakashi looked back at Jiraiya.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Jiraiya looked around at the circle of people.
The old man?
Forget it, he's too old.
Hashirama Senju?
Let's skip him too; his remaining chakra would only let him stay for two months.
Tsunade?
"But I still have to work on my novel!"
"The Make-Out Paradise you kid reads relies entirely on me writing it word by word. Where would I find the time to look for some stone?"
Jiraiya said grumpily.
"I am the Hokage, I have the final say. Let that novel be discontinued for now."
Kakashi waved his hand, giving Jiraiya no room to argue.
???
Do you know that discontinuing a novel is shameful, you bastard!
I want to offer my most perfect content to my most handsome readers!
Jiraiya looked ahead and couldn't help but sigh involuntarily.
Fine, barring any accidents, Kakashi was his most handsome reader.
He was the Hokage, so he called the shots.
Kakashi didn't pay attention to Jiraiya, who was feeling sorry for himself behind him. Right now, he needed to write a letter and send someone to deliver it to the Daimyō's residence.
He needed to ask the Fire Daimyō to send money to mass-produce steel battleships.
The Land of Fire was the wealthiest country in the entire Ninja World. Merely building a batch of battleships was strictly not a big issue for the Land of Fire.
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked thoughtfully at the massive Ancor Vantian behind him.
Under the night sky, the Ancor Vantian was bathed in darkness, looking like a ferocious beast hibernating in the night.
Hiruzen probably understood Kakashi's goal.
To make preparations in advance for the so-called peace of the future.
And this Ancor Vantian was a necessary step for that future peace.
Returning to the Hokage's office, Kakashi took out a pen and paper. He directly wrote a letter asking the Daimyō for money and handed it to Hayate Gekkō, ordering him to deliver it to the Daimyō's residence at top speed.
In a country, if the Daimyō was the Emperor, then Kakashi, as the Hokage, was the General who controlled the nation's core military force.
It could be said he was under one person but above ten thousand.
But...
With the military force in the Hokage's hands, usually, when faced with the Hokage's proposals, the Daimyō would pass them without any obstruction.
After all, costing just this little bit of money every year to protect the country, Konoha's existence was, for the Land of Fire, a top-tier military force that could fight well and caused very little trouble.
Only now, having returned, did Kakashi finally have time to be alone and quiet.
Aside from sending Jiraiya to find the Stone of Gelel, he also needed to send someone to "invite" Dotō Kazahana over.
The Chakra Armor that the man researched was also a sharp weapon extremely suitable for single-soldier combat units like ninja.
As early as three or four years ago, Kakashi had already experienced the opponent's Chakra Armor; he knew the power of that armor best.
And if it could be scaled up and covered over machinery, replacing ninja with machines...
Gundam?
Kakashi leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to think.
Ninjas were also flesh and blood. Unless they were ninja possessing special Kekkei Genkai, one cut could mean death.
There was no comparison with machinery.
But to deny the existence of ninja just like that would be too extreme.
After all, as a standout among ninja, Kakashi clearly knew just how bizarrely overpowered a ninja's strength could be.
It could only be said that ordinary ninja would be replaced by machines, while high-end combat power would still depend on the ninja themselves.
Rubbing his temples, Kakashi felt that he had quite a few things to do.
The night was already deep.
Looking at the pitch-black night outside where one couldn't even see their own fingers, the door to the office was knocked upon.
"Enter."
As Kakashi spoke, a figure appeared in front of him.
"It's so late, why haven't you gone back yet?"
Kakashi was somewhat surprised to see the visitor.
"I planned to leave, but after packing up my files, I saw your light was still on, so I thought I'd come over and take a look."
Kurenai Yūhi looked at Kakashi with some resentment.
This made Kakashi feel a bit uncomfortable.
After all, he had just taken her "first time" previously, and then hadn't gone to see her for nearly a month. It was inevitable that Kurenai would feel she had been eaten clean and wiped dry, then abandoned.
She had been waiting foolishly for him at home, while he patted his butt and left.
"How have you been lately?"
Kakashi felt a bit awkward in his heart, but on the surface, he spoke without showing any abnormality.
Although Kurenai Yūhi was very sensible, with Kakashi not visiting her for such a long time, she inevitably harbored some grievances in her heart.
"I'm very good. I'll be going now."
Kurenai shook her head, a trace of disappointment flashing through her gentle, ruby-red eyes.
"Then let's go together."
Kakashi stood up, intending to hand over the matters he was considering earlier to professional people. He wasn't Zhuge Liang; he couldn't possibly attend to every detail personally.
He only needed to be responsible for coordinating everything.
Kurenai didn't speak; she just silently walked away. Kakashi walked by her side, casually switching off the lights in the Hokage's office, and left together with her.
It was already late at night. There were no pedestrians on the road, only a few streetlights still working along the street.
Kakashi and Kurenai walked on the road home.
"The intersection is just ahead. Aren't you going home to accompany your wife?"
Kurenai glanced at the man beside her and spoke softly.
"What are you saying? Your home is also my home."
Kakashi's expression didn't change as he reached out and directly wrapped his arm around Kurenai's waist.
"You really are thick-skinned."
Kurenai looked down at the hand resting on her waist. Although her words were full of resentment and dissatisfaction, a different kind of strange sensation, like a small insect scratching at her heart, welled up inside her.
"I don't think my skin is as thick as yours."
Kakashi replied with calm composure.
Hearing Kakashi's words, a flush of crimson appeared on Kurenai's face.
Wasn't that the truth?
Back then, she had forcibly climbed into the bed of this Hokage who already had a fiancée. Just as Kakashi said, her skin was indeed thicker than Kakashi's.
But...
"Do you want to drink some wine in a bit?"
"There are still some leftover ingredients in the fridge from yesterday."
Kurenai leaned her head gently against Kakashi's shoulder, feeling the caress of the night breeze and enjoying this moment of tranquility.
She was thick-skinned; Kurenai admitted it.
If she wasn't thick-skinned, how could she have obtained the most outstanding man in the village?
Just as her late father had said, everything had to be fought for and snatched by oneself.
One's future was like this, and men were like this too.
"Sure, whatever you like."
Kakashi didn't mind much.
The two chatted idly about this and that, and soon arrived at Kurenai's residence.
Kurenai lived in a single apartment within Konoha. Although the area wasn't large, it had everything it needed.
The sparrow may be small, but it has all the vital organs.
"You go shower first, I'll go prepare dinner."
Kurenai gave Kakashi a push, neither light nor heavy.
Kakashi didn't object and simply walked into the bathroom. Just as he was about to undress, he saw Kurenai walk in holding a set of brand-new change of clothes and a bathrobe.
"Th-this is bought for you."
Looking at the woman before him, Kakashi was a bit surprised.
Under Kakashi's thoughtful gaze, Kurenai put down the clothes and fled the bathroom.
Looking at the clothes neatly placed to the side, Kakashi smiled.
She was quite attentive.
Evidently, that previous day had made Kurenai realize that Kakashi might come over often in the future, so she had specially bought men's clothing for him.
Who knew it would only come into use today.
Kakashi didn't dwell on it; he just turned on the shower and began to wash.
After all, the battles during the day had indeed left Kakashi with quite a scent of blood on him.
After cleaning up, Kakashi saw that Kurenai was still busy in the kitchen, so he went to Kurenai's bedroom and lay directly on her bed. Seeing some books by the bedside, and having nothing else to do, Kakashi picked one up and started flipping through it.
Most were books regarding Genjutsu.
As a Genjutsu-type ninja, it was normal for Kurenai to have materials in this field at home.
Moreover, her father, Shinku Yūhi, had been a famous Genjutsu ninja in the village.
Regarding Genjutsu, Kakashi didn't have much experience to guide Kurenai with.
However, the function of Genjutsu was to affect the opponent's chakra, causing them to hallucinate so that one could kill them in a single strike.
And when mentioning chakra, one couldn't avoid Yin Release. Kakashi did have quite a bit of insight regarding Yin Release.
In the kitchen, Kurenai, busy making dinner, noticed Kakashi's movements and couldn't help but blush entirely.
This guy, he just lay down on her bed as soon as he got her consent...
Kurenai had a mind to scold Kakashi a bit, but the thought was just a thought; in the blink of an eye, she tossed it to the back of her mind.
This kind of Kakashi was the one she liked.
As dinner was prepared, Kurenai called out to Kakashi in the room:
"What do you want to drink?"
"I only have Vodka here."
If you only have Vodka, why ask me what I want to drink?
Kakashi smiled, then walked out of the room. Looking at the table, the dinner Kurenai had prepared was actually quite appetizing.
Picking up a piece of tamagoyaki and putting it in his mouth, Kakashi nodded slightly.
Although her cooking skills couldn't compare to Hikari, it was still delicious.
At this moment, Kurenai poured a glass of alcohol for Kakashi, looking at him chewing with some anticipation as she asked:
"How does it taste?"
"Very delicious."
Kakashi responded to Kurenai.
"How does it compare to Hikari?"
Kurenai asked further, her shimmering vermilion eyes reflecting Kakashi's face.
"Hikari is not as good as you."
Looking at Kurenai like this, Kakashi spoke without blushing or his heart skipping a beat.
"Then eat quickly, have some more."
Having obtained the answer she wanted, the smile on Kurenai's face became visibly more abundant.
With the gentle clinking of glasses making a crisp sound, Kakashi downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.
Perhaps because of Kakashi's praise, Kurenai's cheeks looked exceptionally stirring under the lamplight. Those rosy cheeks, illuminated by the light, made one want to gently caress them in their palm. Even Kakashi couldn't help but take a second look.
"What are you looking at?"
Perhaps sensing Kakashi's gaze, Kurenai gave Kakashi a somewhat coquettish glance.
"Prepare more wine in the future."
Kakashi proposed seriously.
"You like drinking it?"
Kurenai looked at Kakashi with some surprise.
In her view, Kakashi wasn't someone who liked to drink. Him being willing to drink with her now was entirely compensation for not seeking her out for nearly a month prior.
"No, it's that you are very beautiful when you drink."
Kakashi spoke sincerely.
Hearing Kakashi's words, Kurenai, whose appearance was already mouth-watering, turned even redder.
"Wha-what nonsense are you talking about..."
Filled with shyness and secret delight, Kurenai's eyes, carrying a hint of intoxication, grew somewhat hazy.
As cup after cup of wine went down, the Kurenai before him became increasingly blurry-eyed.
At some point, she was pulled into Kakashi's embrace, and that familiar yet strange kiss landed on her lips.
"Back... back to the room..."
Retaining her last bit of reason, Kurenai wanted to return to the bedroom.
"Isn't it more exciting here?"
Kakashi's words rang in Kurenai's ear. The hot breath curling around her ear made it impossible for Kurenai to refuse.
The two sank into pleasure right there in the living room...
Not just the living room; the kitchen and the bathroom all became their battlefield.
"Use Shadow Clones..."
Late at night, while Kurenai was showering with Kakashi's help, Kakashi's voice rang in her ear again.
Shadow... Shadow Clone?
Kurenai was a bit dazed, then she reacted, looking at Kakashi with some shyness. But even so, she still used the Shadow Clone Technique.
Thus, another Kurenai appeared in front of Kakashi.
When the night quietly departed, Kurenai finally woke up slowly from the bed.
Feeling the soreness all over her body, Kurenai sat up with some difficulty. Looking at her unclothed body, she couldn't help but blush.
Because of the special nature of Shadow Clones, everything the Shadow Clone experienced would be synchronized to the original body the moment it was dispelled.
So...
Double the happiness.
————
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