27 ADOPTION

I picked up Kusanagi Sword of Orochimaru and passed it to Anko.

"Anko, i hope you will make better use of this sword. Also i expect you to grow strong, now that the inner demon on your mind Orochimaru is dead"-Ichika

"Thanks a lot Hokage Sama, i will polish my skills when we head back home. But can you give me some pointers with the sword, Your Kenjutsu is the most simple and deadliest style i have come across."- Anko.

"Sure, we have almost 2 months time before we head back to Konoha, we can work on improving your Kenjutsu basics during our travels"- Ichika

"Hey, hey cousin. How can you be so partial to Anko san and not to your own cousin. You are accepting to provide her pointers, but when I asked you to do the same, you will act as we are stealing the world from you. Don't you think you are showing favoritism here."- Shisui

"Shisui is right Hokage sama. Thats why to make up for that you should have more taijutsu battles with me. That will be the true spirit of youth."- Guy

"Shisui, you didn't even finish comprehending the things i taught you before, so no more new things for you. As for you Guy, we can have enough fights once we are back in Konoha. Anko i guess your poison skills have not become rustic right? If these 2 idiots disturb me again, you can freely test your skills on them."- Ichika

"Yes Hokage sama, i will hone my skills further and will make sure not to kill them."- Anko

Guy and Shisui immediately became pale from Anko's words and took 2 more steps back from her.

"Shisui, send news to Konoha, that the village S rank criminals Orochimaru and Danzo were killed during the ambush. Also tell them to inform the Bounty Station Headquarters, that we will be withdrawing the bounty placed on them. Tell Shikaku san, to let Jiraiya Sama find Tsunade Sama and bring her back to the village. "- Ichika

With that Shisui wrote down the details on the scroll and handed it to his crow summon.

"Hmm Hokage Sama, you could have easily killed the 2 Akatsuki members too right? Why did you let them ago and promise them a breathing period of 3 and half years?"- Anko

With that question from Anko, the remaining 2 people also turned towards me expecting answers from me.

"That Zetsu may look real, but he is more than an advanced copy of a perfect clone. So no use in killing him. As for that mask guy, he is manipulated by Zetsu, it won't be long before he will come back to his senses. If we kill him, then Zetsu will find some random stranger to take his place. So i will rather take my chances with the masked guy. Also its not us giving them a breather, but for us to gather around and get stronger. Akatsuki is not the major threat to us, but someone beyond the mighty ocean, who will be here in 4 to 5 years. At that time we will need Zetsu strength"- Ichika

"Zetsu strength? Why him Hime sama? Also who is this enemy beyond the mighty ocean?"- Guy

"Answer me Guy. What will you do when you notice your enemies getting stronger with each passing day, both in strength and numbers?"- Ichika

"I will train harder and find allies to fight them."- Guy

"Yes, that's the same reason i left Zetsu a time period. Our goal is to form a complete coalition of all Hidden villages and countries during the next Gokage meeting.

So when Zetsu comes to know of this,he will also try to gather numbers. As you all already know, he is someone more than hundreds of years old. So using his knowledge, he will also gather soldiers and resources for the next 3 and half years to combat the combined threat and strength of the coalition forces. Otherwise he will lose the purpose of his own life. He is gathering Tailed beasts for a reason and he will not stop it until he reaches his goal. So when it is time for him to strike, we will strike him down before he realizes and make his resources our own. You have already seen his life like clone technique right? I don't think that's the only one he has. He will be our main contributor against the war with the invaders."- Ichika

Everyone started to look at me like i have grown two horns on my head.

"That's so evil of you cousin"- Shisui

"Yes so evil Hokage sama"- Anko

"Yes Hime sama"- Guy

"SHUT UP. It's called strategizing. I am just combining two opposing forces to fight for a single cause, to protect this continent."- Ichika

"What is this about Invaders Hime sama?"- Guy

"There are three continents on this world. Each continent is divided by the Mighty ocean. They are Barbarian Continent, Shinobi Continent and Monster Continent. The one invading us is Barbarian Continent. They easily outnumber us with both in quality and quantity when it comes to soldiers. Right now, they have already conquered more than half of the Islands in the mighty ocean. With their speed, they will reach our continent in 4 to 5 years."- Ichika

All 3 of them are surprised at this new news. For them this shinobi continent is considered as the whole world, now they knew there existed 2 more continents out there.

"But Hokage Sama, how did you know about these? Why are there no records of these 2 continents? "- Anko

"You all know i am a sensor right? If i concentrate my senses fully i can cover this whole world. A decade ago, i tried to test the limits of my senses, that's when i came to know about these continents and since then whenever i am free, i would keep track of their movements. That's how i came to know about their invasion."- Ichika

All 3 of their jaws almost hit the floor and their eyeballs seem to pop out any second.

"Well after seeing your achievements and strength Hokage sama, i will not even doubt, if you say you are some kind of God. Just don't spy on me with your senses."- Anko

Well i am not God, but i am the only student of a person who is stronger than these Gods.

"Alright, i think i will lose my mind, if i keep knowing about you cousin. So let's head to Kumogakure fast, we are already delayed a lot because of Akatsuki"- Shisui

"No need to pick up speed. We will move at a leisurely pace. Let the news about Danzo and Orochimaru deaths reach Raikage ears. So we will not appear weak in front of Raikage. It will give us advantage during the negotiations."- Ichika

All of them nodded and we moved at a leisurely pace towards Kumogakure. I started teaching Anko about Kenjutsu and she is a good student. She would try her skills on Guy and Shisui, much to their horror. We reached Kumogakure borders after 7 days of travelling. Just as we were about to move forward, we noticed smoke rising at a distance from us. When i stretched my soul sense, i noticed that it was a village and all the villagers were killed by the bandits. Now they are burning down the village after looting it. Fury took over me and i rushed ahead leaving the 3 of them behind. Before the bandits could notice, i arrived at the center of their group, used my Chakra strings and killed all of them. There is a baby hidden in the bushes at the end of the village. Must be his parents who hid him. I quickly reached him and picked him up. Must be a 3 month old boy. Guy and the others quickly caught up to me and understood the situation.

"Hime Sama, this boy?"- Guy

"Looks like he is the only survivor in the village. His parents must have perished in the bandit attack. Now he is an orphan"- Ichika

Anko was saddened at the news, because she too was a orphan before picked up by Orochimaru. I was about to pass the boy to Anko, when he held a tight grip over my right thumb, refusing to let it go. Don't know why, but i suddenly remembered about Sister Mira. She also must have felt the same way when she picked me up, during my past life. She didn't abandon me, when my own parents left me at the orphanage.

"I think there is Karma between us. I decided, i will adopt this boy as my son"- Ichika

All 3 of them are shocked at my words.

"Cousin, can't you just leave him at the village orphanage? Uncle will be furious if you make this decision."- Shisui

"I decided already, as for my father, i know him better than anyone do. He will respect my decision. I don't want to discuss about this any longer."- Ichika

I immediately summoned a wood clone and handed the boy to take him back to Naha state, until i am back in Konoha.

We collected the dead bodies of all the villagers and buried them all with proper funeral rites, praying for their souls. As for the bandits i let them burn with the village.

We immediately resumed our journey and Anko kept murmuring about how lucky the boy was and etc.