Chapter 45

"Sorry old man, I'm late." I said as I was rubbing my now full belly from my previous lunch

As he was still doing paperwork, he gazed up toward me and simply sighed at my nonchalant attitude.

You would think that he would sermon me for this but I was always like that and he can't refute my prowess as a shinobi thus, allowing me to do as I want, up to a limit of course.

"I assume that you came back this morning Yuichi?" he asked as he started getting up from his chair

"Yes." I replied as I followed him with my gaze

As usual, he looked toward the window with his arms behind his back and asked "How did your mission go?"

"It is a complete success." I first declared before adding "I killed the Fourth Raikage along with around 40% of their shinobi, indirectly, and destroyed a couple of buildings which will prevent them from joining the war."

I saw him look at me from the reflection of the window as I continued "As for Kiri... The current Mizukage is against them joining the war but most of his village's noble clans disagreed." I stopped a bit before adding "So I killed every noble clan families that were ready to join the war as well as some others... And if they still try something, I left a parting gift."

He closed his eyes and said "Your talent is as amazing as ever Yuichi." before turning to face me and added "With this, two threats are eliminated before they could even become one."

'I did get a lot of things when I was out too' I thought as I was smirking inwardly

He then moved back toward his desk and as he looked at some paper, he said "Iwa sent fifty of their Jōnin at our border and killed our reconnaissance squad." as he frowned, before adding "They chose to assault the Land of Fire and, not long ago, I got the information that the Second Tsuchikage will take part in this war along with at least one Jinchūriki since he is serious about facing us."

'Perfect' I thought as I kept listening to him

He then shifted his gaze back to me and declared "I will go to the frontline and take care of Mū... And I will ask you and your teammates to join this frontline too."

'Oh? It's been a while since I did a mission along with Shikuro and Dai' I thought with a smile

"Will you be alright against Mū? I heard that he was extremely strong and a tough opponent to win against." I asked as I revealed a worried expression

His look became grave before saying "I am confident enough to hold him back so our side wouldn't be destroyed by just one use of his Kekkei Tōta... But against someone as sly as him, I may need to end our fight with a draw."

He smirked at me and announced "A decision was made with the council and we all agreed on something if I end up dying."

'Don't tell me' I thought as I wanted to say something but he was quicker "You will be nominated as the Fourth Hokage, Yuichi Senju."

I had a shocked expression before replying "But I don't want to?"

He simply laughed and said "You know well enough that nobody in this village has more right than you in becoming Hokage."

"Uh? But there is Sakumo!" I said as he was the only one who had the capabilities of a Hokage, I think

Jiraiya was not ready to be a Hokage, Tsunade doesn't want to and Orochimaru would never accept it since I gave him a place to experiment... And if he was Hokage, I don't know how many Dōjutsu from Konoha would strangely disappear.

Dai and Shikuro are not made to be leaders too, leaving only Sakumo as the best candidate.

"But Sakumo cannot keep the Uchiha Clan in check." he first replied before adding "You know, everyone from the council agreed to make you the Fourth, Uchiha included."

In my mind was running a lot of thoughts, I was pondering the pros and cons of such an offer.

'I didn't want to become a Hokage because of my laziness and the responsibilities it gives' I first worried

'But I am strong enough to take care of such responsibilities without making any sacrifice now' I then believed

I would have more freedom by being Hokage for a while than giving such a position to Sakumo...

Because Sakumo is indeed a friend, but not one that truly knows me.

I didn't aim to become Hokage but since the opportunity is here, I will take it.

"...Alright, old man, I accept to become the Fourth Hokage." I replied as I scratched my head as if I was still slightly annoyed

He laughed and said "You're saying it like I was dead already!"

I used my control over my emotions, which I didn't use in a while, to prevent me from laughing at him and replied "I didn't mean it like that, you said I would become the Fourth if you died... If you stay alive, I will refuse to be the next Hokage."

He closed his eyes and said "I know, I know, you are not like that." with a smile before he added "You got three days to laze around before we leave to the frontline against Iwa."

"Yes." I answered as I did a military salute before suggesting "Oh that's right! There are some leftovers from my lunch and enough to do another portion, so I brought it for you if you are hungry." as I took out a doggy bag

"Who would refuse your cooking?" he said as he approached me, gazed straight into my eyes, and took the bag with a smile

"No one." I replied with a smirk before leaving the office

====================

I enjoyed my next three days by staying in the Senju Clan compound and, with the help of the Uzumaki Clan, made a special barrier around my house to finally let Yugito Nii out of Shiromari.

Grandma was informed by me and when I said that I picked up a kid she just exclaimed 'And another one' which... Was right.

Her life was also coming to an end, I give her one more year at most, as she was almost achieving eighty years of life.

I did ask her if she wanted to stay alive longer and, why not, become younger, but she refused by replying 'Hashirama has been waiting for me for so long now'.

So instead, I gave her another suggestion.

I told her that I may find a way to revive others in the future without breaking too much taboo, and when the day comes, I would revive both her and Hashirama in an era of peace where they could truly enjoy their lives.

She said that if Hashirama agreed, she would too.

'Maybe I should revive the one who gave birth to me in this world too' I thought as guilt was plaguing my mind

Back to Yugito Nii, she got kindly welcomed by everyone in the clan compound, namely Kushina, Konan, Chizu, Mito, and even the Uzumaki Clan members that are secluded in one of the forests.

She was delighted to see how much warmth they were giving her even right after meeting each other.

I told her that Kushina was soon going to be like her and they quickly started to question the other.

Kushina was not afraid to be the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki since I told her that he wouldn't do anything to her as long as I am alive... And she saw a cute chibi Matatabi, which helped when I said that she would have a little fox.

She was just saddened by the fact that Mito would die in the process.

I have yet to talk with Kurama too, but I will be waiting for the ceremony where Kushina won't be conscious to properly converse with him.

I know he holds a great hatred against humans, but I also know that he can be kinder than anyone.

Konan training under Chizu was also getting somewhere, she was now less prone to show her feelings to everyone around her, only if I am not in the area.

She also showed me her ability to make origami that was imbued with chakra and as I planned, I will be teaching her everything I could to hone such Jutsu.

I congratulated her by spoiling her a lot before she would start her serious training under my clone.

I do not show mercy when training for Origins.

I also gave Minato some hints and would oversee his training without interfering to see how he would improve.

But overall, I chilled with them since I was only there for three days, my clone would only be acting as an instructor once I am away.

It was time for me to join the frontline against Iwa.

====================

*Some months later, at the frontline*

"You're still shaking?" I said to the green suited hairy man on my right

"Of course Yuichi! I can't help it! I am so excited about this mission!" Dai replied joyfully as he had fires in his eyes and shifted his gaze toward me

"..."

"And as quiet as ever Shikuro... Still, are you ready for this?" I asked as I looked to my left

"Yes." he shortly replied as we neared our mission's targeted area

In the canon, Iwa should have fought both Suna and Konoha, but it wasn't the case now as they both focused their assault on the Land of Fire.

Most of our shinobi were at the Land of Rain and, even after Suna retreated, they had to stay there because Hanzō started leading Ame against us.

This left less than half of Konoha's shinobi to take care of Iwa, which had a great population and military power in this era.

As such, they dispatched many forces around our borders forcing many skirmishes, but none had the presence of a Jinchūriki, or the Tsuchikage.

But the most important information that Shikuro found recently was how they wanted to get around us with a large force to completely cut our chance of retreating.

When Hiruzen learned about that, he asked for the three of us to 'only scout and fall back if there are too many enemies'.

But really, asking me and Dai to fall back? Ah! Even Shikuro was internally willing to face them.

I sensed their number beforehand, which was around a massive five thousand, and spoke up "Both of you listen to me, I've got an idea."

The two of them stared at me and waited for the next part "Let's have a bet. We will face them without using any ranged Ninjutsu, therefore in Taijutsu most of the time, and the one who kills the most will have the right to ask anything from the losers."

I didn't limit us only to Taijutsu because the Rinkaichū, which Shikuro uses with close combat, can be used as Ninjutsu with certain techniques without being ranged.

It was more so I could feel some adrenaline by not simply erasing them from existence with my Ninjutsu... I will have this opportunity again.

Nonetheless, both of my friends agreed as we saw the army in front of us slowly moving in one of the few fields that the Land of Fire border contained.

Dai was literally on fire because of his eagerness to fight while Shikuro took off his cloak, revealing a special set of clothes that I made for him.

Because the Rinkaichū needs contact, I manufactured a special fiber that is thin enough to let the insects pass through, while covering his body so he wouldn't be naked.

It is extremely tight and was covering his body, only his short pant was normal.

Even his sandals were different.

I made holes in the underside which, along with the uncommon shape, allowed him to affect his victims with Rinkaichū while using kicks.

This gave him more possibilities in Taijutsu than just taking off his shirt.

Knowing that I would also be fighting in close combat, I took off my precious trenchcoat and was going to fight without covering my upper body.

All of us were now ready and if someone looked at us, they would call us crazy, not just because we are going to face thousands of men, but because we are three grown men either half-naked or tightly clothed, gazing at each other as we waited for my starting signal.

But no one will know, right?

Right?

Regardless, I lastly declared "Still, if you are in a pinch, you can forget about the rules but you will be considered as one of the two losers." before starting a countdown "Ready? 3... 2... 1... Go!"

I immediately activated my Sharingan and teleported right in the middle of their army with sheer speed and a smile that I couldn't hide, before sending a punch to the closest Iwa shinobi's head, whose skull was broken on impact.

Before they could react to my sudden arrival, I swiftly moved between them and either pierced their heart with my bare hand, smashed them with my elbow or knee to break their spine, or used my feet with enough strength to kill them on the spot with a single kick while sending a powerful obliterating force destroying everything in a line.

One second barely passed and they only realized that something was off after I killed a hundred, and one, shinobi.

'Not bad at all since I only used my base speed, minus the first teleportation to get into close combat' I thought with a blooming smile before I heard an idiot yell in the distance

"WAIT FOR US YUICHI!" shouted Dai as I could sense him stampede toward Iwa's shinobi without opening any of the eight gates

Except for those around me, all eyes were now on Dai and readied themselves to stop him.

They all thought it was someone courting death by rushing against thousands of shinobi alone... But they aren't ready for what comes next.

As long as his legs and arms are still working, he's like an unstoppable force no matter what's in front of him, even without using the gates.

Nonetheless, I stopped looking his way as the Jōnin around me started to move toward me.

They couldn't use Earth Release because of their number, so they all rushed at me with different kinds of weapons.

Thanks to my activated Sharingan, my eyes quickly shifted to every enemy around me, allowing me to prepare for my next course of action.

The quickest of them tried to punch me with his arm covered with rocks but I simply crouched back to send a rising kick right in his jaw before backflipping from the motion, allowing me to land on the shoulder of a big guy and twisted his head in an unusual angle.

I quickly jumped off from the man and the moment I landed, two Jōnin tried to stab me with a kunai from two sides but I simply intercepted their weapon between my fingers before forcing them to stab each other in the neck.

Quickly getting out of this area, I dashed towards someone who tried to punch me, so I blocked his fist with my palm before strongly clenching my other fist and smashed him right on the chest sending another powerful blowing force behind him, knocking down anyone on its path.

Someone then tried to stab me from behind only to get evaded by a motion of my head to the side, I then grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground before breaking his skull with my foot.

Everything was almost instantaneous for anyone but me as time felt slowed down thanks to my Sharingan.

As I sensed the surrounding, I knew that I wasn't the only one having fun as I saw a tornado gushing upward which was the result of one of Dai's techniques which took out multiple enemies.

Shikuro was also doing fine according to the number of now purple-colored Iwa shinobi.

He didn't need to put strength in his blows, unless they used rock armor, as a single contact guaranteed death in the next few minutes.

He was nimble, quick on his feet, and unrivaled in the Aburame Clan in terms of Taijutsu.

And their high number was an advantage for us since they couldn't use Ninjutsu without friendly fire.

But I only needed to think about that before sensing an extreme heat coming from the sky.

Looking up, I saw a man around his thirties with red hair, mustache, and beard with a three-pointed headpiece wearing a long-sleeved magenta kimono shirt and pants.

'Finally showing himself' I thought as he was one of my targets from Iwa

While avoiding the lava projectiles he launched at me, he suddenly covered his entire body with Lava Release chakra, making himself an armor before darting where I would escape.

"I know I am hot, but I didn't expect someone else to be hotter." I teasingly said as the man missed his punch only to burn me from the intense heat

Surprisingly, he was not affected by what I said and stayed calm and composed to face me as he dashed toward me again.

'I don't want to battle him for too long, I've got points to score' I thought as I was easily evading every single one of his attacks because of how slow he was which started to get on his nerves as one tail was present behind him

Every Jōnin in the area left to face Dai and Shikuro, which meant fewer points for me.

Bored of his repetitive assault, I vanished from his sight and reappeared behind as an extreme coldness emanated from my body.

"Let me cool you down a little." I announced as my upper body showed signs of freezing and a small cold mist left my mouth

'Frostbite Release: Glacial Burst' I thought as the coldness around my body shifted on my palm before releasing a short-range burst of extremely low temperature on his back

A lot of steam was produced from the contact between the lava armor and my Jutsu but I knew that it was over when I peered into it thanks to my eyes.

Lava was indeed far from enough to resist the Frostbite Release, which made me glad I didn't try with it.

The man, who was Rōshi, was completely frozen resulting in an instant kill without any chance to defrost himself.

He was now so fragile that a simple touch could break his body... But that would free the Four-Tails which wasn't ideal for now.

Luckily, he didn't seem to have learned how to perfectly borrow the tailed beast's power.

So instead, I asked Shiromari to swallow him carefully and make sure he doesn't break until I need him to.

Hearing another deafening commotion, I smirked and rushed to where the rest of Iwa's shinobi were to not lose my own bet.

Those near me all had an expression full of fear as they tried to escape in vain.

There were still thousands of victims in front of me after all...