Namikaze kaoru.
Ninja Registration Number: 006510.
Height: 165 cm. Weight: 50 kg.
Seventeen years old. Jōnin of Konoha.
Specializes in space–time techniques.
Has an inexplicable obsession with giving flashy names to her techniques.
After finishing his official duties, Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, momentarily idle, and casually flipped through the Konoha ninja registry.
A blonde girl's profile entered his field of vision.
kaoru, huh…
Come to think of it, she should be back from Mount Myōboku about now.
He turned the page.
A red-haired boy appeared before his eyes.
Hiruzen paused.
Kyusei's long-distance assault on Kirigakure and the resulting battle achievements were still echoing in his mind. Even now, he couldn't help but marvel.
By this time of day, Cloud and Stone would surely have already received the news. Sand was farther away, so they'd be a bit slower—but not by much.
This incident was both a blessing and a curse.
The advantage was obvious: Konoha now possessed a combatant of extraordinary caliber—one who might allow the village to once again stand at the peak of the shinobi world, just as it had when Senju Hashirama still lived.
But the disadvantages were equally clear.
Setting Kirigakure aside, the other three great villages would never sit idly by. Once war broke out, Konoha would be the first target—very likely facing two villages at once, perhaps three… or even all four.
If they failed to withstand that pressure, the outcome would be nothing less than annihilation—village destroyed, people wiped out.
Hiruzen sat at his desk, rubbing his temples as he pondered how to break this deadlock.
One thing was certain: Kirigakure, having suffered this disaster, had fallen to the bottom of the Five Great Nations.
The Three-Tails was dead—at least five or six years before it could revive.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were reduced to three.
The Mizukage's authority was shattered.
If that Mizukage had any sense of judgment, he would immediately submit an alliance proposal to Konoha, then step down and pass authority to the next generation—using Konoha's prestige to maintain Kirigakure's status among the Five Great Villages.
Humiliating? Absolutely.
But it would also be the correct decision.
Unfortunately, Hiruzen didn't know that Kyusei had gifted Kirigakure one last Tailed Beast Bomb before leaving. Otherwise, his assessment might have been very different.
Hiruzen gazed out the window at Konoha's streets, bustling and prosperous, his thoughts tangled.
Even with Kirigakure as an ally, resisting Sand, Cloud, and Stone simultaneously would still be incredibly difficult.
One tailed beast couldn't defeat Kyusei?
Then send two. Three. Four. Five. Six.
Eventually, even Kyusei would reach his limit.
And beyond the tailed beasts—
There were the Tsuchikage, the Raikage, the Kazekage.
The A–B combo.
Puppet corps.
Explosion units…
Hiruzen could already foresee how brutal the Third Shinobi World War would be.
A conflict of unprecedented scale.
All triggered by one event—
Kyusei becoming a perfect jinchūriki and striking Kirigakure.
Hiruzen's slightly clouded eyes flickered with hesitation… then hardened into resolve.
Sarutobi Hiruzen… when did you become so indecisive?
When he had chosen to nurture Kyusei, hadn't he already anticipated this day?
If they dare to invade—then we will crush them.
When he accepted the mantle of Hokage, hadn't his goal been to raise Konoha once more to a position where all nations bowed in respect?
I really have grown old… even forgot my own original intention.
Watching the villagers living peacefully below, Hiruzen finally made up his mind.
Although the Second Shinobi World War had claimed the lives of several Kage, none of the great villages had suffered crippling losses. Their strength remained intact, and after several years, all had mostly recovered.
Originally, the Third Shinobi World War would ignite in four or five years at most.
But because of Kyusei's actions—
The flames of war would arrive sooner.
And burn far fiercer.
"Hiruzen…"
The office door suddenly opened.
A black-haired man in his forties stepped inside.
"Danzō. You came at just the right time," Hiruzen said calmly.
"There's something I need to discuss with you."
Shimura Danzō froze in place.
The man before him—this Sarutobi Hiruzen—felt eerily familiar.
That sharp, commanding presence…
He had seen it before.
The thirty-year-old Sarutobi Hiruzen—
The man once known across the shinobi world as the Ninja Hero.
—
"kaoru… kaoru, uh… why, why did you suddenly come back?"
Kyusei looked at the beautiful blonde girl in front of him, inexplicably feeling guilty.
"Because I missed Kyusei~~"
The girl smiled sweetly and snuggled into his arms. Feeling her warmth and softness, Kyusei awkwardly returned the hug.
But then—
Her delicate nose twitched lightly against his chest.
"Kyusei smells… kind of special."
"This scent is…"
Kyusei's mind went blank.
She could tell just from that?!
"It's Sister Naori's scent," kaoru said, tilting her head up to look at him.
"Were you just with Sister Naori?"
"Uh… y-yeah," Kyusei replied vaguely.
"Something happened to Naori recently, so I went to check on her…"
"Oh?"
"What happened to Sister Naori?"
kaoru looked like a curious kitten.
Kyusei led her to the living room and sat her down, briefly explaining what had happened to Hyūga Naori.
"What?!"
kaoru's eyes widened in disbelief, and she sprang to her feet.
"H-Hey, what are you doing?" Kyusei asked instinctively.
"Of course I'm going to visit Sister Naori!"
"She must really need someone with her right now."
She reached for her coat, clearly preparing to head out.
"No, wait!" Kyusei quickly stopped her.
"I just came back from there. Tsunade said Naori needs to rest quietly for now."
For some reason, Kyusei desperately wanted to prevent the two of them from meeting.
"…Alright then."
"I'll go see her tomorrow."
kaoru pouted slightly.
Kyusei's heart, which had just settled, instantly jumped back into his throat.
He didn't understand why Naori had kissed him.
But he did know one thing—
He hadn't pushed her away.
And worse… he had subconsciously responded.
That crushing sense of guilt—
The feeling of having betrayed the girl in front of him, whose heart held only him.
"Kyusei must've gone through an incredibly hard battle to get Sister Naori's eye back…"
kaoru looked at him with pure concern and heartache.
From the moment Kyusei walked through the door, she had sensed something was off.
His speech was hesitant.
He had rushed to Kirigakure overnight, fought a battle, then raced straight back.
He must be exhausted.
And yet… I've been clinging to him this whole time…
I really shouldn't have…
As that thought surfaced, kaoru's clear blue eyes filled with nothing but worry and tenderness.
To Read advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146