Either one would be a massive headache for him.
Naruto had assumed that once the Fourth Great Ninja War ended, the world would finally enter an age of peace.
Who could have guessed that another Otsutsuki would suddenly appear?
Clearly, the crises awaiting him in the future had only just begun.
Even more frightening was the Otsutsuki Clan Kaede Kitahara had mentioned so casually in his diary.
If they were called a clan, then there had to be more than a few of them.
How was Naruto supposed to deal with that in the future?
"Orochimaru… Hmph. You won't get the chance this time."
Tsunade's voice was cold.
She had already decided to secretly return to the Hidden Leaf Village and hunt Orochimaru down.
As long as she could kill Orochimaru, Sunagakure would be forced to reconsider. They might even abandon the Konoha Crush Plan entirely.
Tsunade had decided to return to Konoha and become the Fifth Hokage.
That didn't mean she wanted to inherit a complete disaster.
"Exactly. Not even a dog would become Hokage."
At one of Jiraiya's temporary residences in Konoha, he read Kaede Kitahara's diary and nodded in heartfelt agreement.
What normal person would willingly become Hokage?
The workload alone could kill someone.
His teacher had been Hokage. One of his teammates would become Hokage. Two of his students had become Hokage, and even one of his student's students had become Hokage.
He was completely surrounded by Hokage.
Jiraiya understood better than most just how exhausting the job truly was.
It didn't involve much heavy physical labor, but the endless stream of tedious responsibilities consumed an enormous amount of mental energy.
"Ah… ha ha. That Kaede Kitahara kid."
Namikaze Minato looked a little awkward.
What was that supposed to mean?
Not even a dog would take the job, but Minato had?
Even someone as warm-tempered as the Yellow Flash couldn't resist grumbling about Kaede.
Still, the thought of his grandson believing that his son had bought the position of Hokage made him want to laugh.
Boruto really did take after Kushina.
It clearly ran in the family.
"Hokage… What a shame."
Uchiha Itachi sighed.
Hadn't he once dreamed of becoming Hokage too?
He had even felt proud when the Third Hokage praised him for being able to view matters from a Hokage's perspective.
But that dream was obviously impossible now.
Even Sasuke would find it difficult to get such an opportunity.
Uzumaki Naruto simply shone too brightly among their generation.
Perhaps they would have to wait for the next generation.
His future niece might still have a chance.
"Hokage? Not even a dog would want that job. Only that idiot would be interested."
Inside the Uchiha Clan's ancestral home, Uchiha Sasuke set down the Kusanagi Sword.
He had just finished wiping the blade clean before opening the diary.
Hokage?
Not even a dog would want to become Hokage!
A sour feeling filled Sasuke's chest as he stubbornly refused to admit what he really thought.
Still, when he read that Naruto's own son believed Naruto had bought the position of Hokage, Sasuke couldn't stop himself from laughing.
No matter what, Uchiha Sasuke would never believe the position could be purchased.
Every Hokage throughout history had been tremendously powerful.
There was no chance anyone could become Hokage simply by throwing money around.
Sasuke's understanding of that had once been vague.
But the more videos he watched through Kaede Kitahara's diary, the more clearly he understood the strength of the previous Hokage.
Even Hatake Kakashi, whom Kaede constantly mocked, was far stronger than Sasuke was now.
"The Chunin Exams are almost here. Once I become a Chunin, I'll be one step closer to revenge."
Uchiha Sasuke made up his mind.
If he still intended to abandon the village, then the Chunin Exams wouldn't matter to him at all.
This time, however, he had no intention of defecting.
Originally, he hadn't understood how many powerful figures existed in the world. Orochimaru had only needed to whisper a few tempting promises before Sasuke followed him.
But after learning through Kaede's diary just how many powerful people filled the Shinobi World, Sasuke understood how foolish that decision had been.
Even Konoha alone had several Kage Level experts who were no weaker than Orochimaru.
Choosing to abandon the village now would mean there was something seriously wrong with his head.
Besides, if he wanted to deal with Uchiha Itachi, he would need the help of Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's precious prince.
That was another nickname Kaede had used mockingly in the diary, but Sasuke had to admit it fit.
In terms of status, Naruto's background was even more distinguished than his own.
Naruto might look like an idiot now, but in the future, he would become the great hero who saved Konoha.
[I suspect Naruto's constitution is definitely more than that of an ordinary member of the Uzumaki Clan. Otherwise, how could a normal Uzumaki possess such enormous Chakra reserves?
[He must have awakened the Uzumaki Clan's Sage Body, and probably at a very high level. It might even be comparable to Senju Hashirama's Sage Body from the Senju Clan.
[The Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan are distant relatives, after all. The First Hokage was the previous reincarnation of Asura, while Naruto is Asura's reincarnation in this generation. Both possess Yang Release at its absolute peak.
[I wonder who would be stronger, Seventh Hokage Naruto or Senju Hashirama at his peak.
[They should both be at the very ceiling beneath Six Paths Level.
[And yet even with bodies like theirs, the Hokage's workload still ruined them. One died young, while the other ended up completely drained.
[Give that job to a dog, and even the dog would refuse.]
"A Sage Body? The Uzumaki Clan's Sage Body and the Senju Clan's Sage Body?"
Tsunade frowned.
She knew that the Uzumaki Clan and Senju Clan were distant relatives, but she had never heard anything about either clan possessing a Sage Body.
If the Senju Clan had any kind of Kekkei Genkai, then the only known example was the Wood Release awakened by her Great Grandfather.
However, Tsunade had recently gone out of her way to examine the Senju Clan's historical records.
Wood Release hadn't actually been exclusive to her Great Grandfather, Senju Hashirama.
Over the past thousand years, a handful of Senju Clan members had awakened Wood Release from time to time.
Without exception, however, none of them had ever come close to Great Grandfather's level.
Awakening the Sharingan was already considered difficult for the Uchiha Clan, especially compared to the Byakugan.
But even that was nothing compared to Wood Release.
The chances of awakening Wood Release were so low that only one or two people might appear over several decades, or even an entire century.
Still, there was no doubt that both the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan possessed extraordinary vitality and powerful bodies.
Tsunade had never thought much of it before.
The Senju and Uzumaki weren't the only clans blessed with exceptional physiques. The Kaguya Clan over in the Land of Water was also known for its powerful bodies.
But after Kaede mentioned it, a sudden thought struck her.
What if the Senju Clan did possess a Kekkei Genkai?
Perhaps no one had noticed because every member awakened it.
And after awakening, its only obvious effects were vastly greater Chakra reserves and a far stronger body than the average person.
There were no other dramatic signs.
That might be why even the Senju themselves had never realized it.
"If that's true, then Wood Release isn't actually the Senju Clan's Kekkei Genkai?"
Tsunade murmured to herself.
"Have we been researching the wrong thing all these years? Could the Senju Clan's true Kekkei Genkai be this so-called Sage Body, while Wood Release is merely something produced by the most powerful form of that Sage Body?"
Tsunade felt as though she had suddenly discovered an entirely new blind spot.