Chapter 3.

"Where are Izuna-sensei and Madara-sama?" - Danzo asked Kagami during dinner. After that strange girl disappeared, the Hokage, Madara-sama, and Tobirama-sama just dismissed them and left. Noone was told what to do next and were frozen on the spot. Except for some of the senior ANBU. They were smirking in the group while looking at the younger generation of shinobi.

'What could be the reason for their fun at that time?'

"Dad said he will come late. He went to meet someone." - Kagami shrugged his shoulders. This wasn't his deal, and father isn't a small child.

"He had an old friend to meet." - a woman walked in and joined the dinner. Izuna's wife and Kagami's mother- Uchiha Sumiko, previously named Nara Sumiko, was a beautiful and elegant lady. She had black hair and golden eyes. A rare occurrence in Nara clan.

Danzo nodded. Since Sumiko-san didn't mind, it was alright. She might not show it, but she is really attached to her husband, and would often get jealous about stupid things.

******************

"Hm... Hokage-sama?"

I was sitting in the main office, reading documents and getting the idea of what was happening in the world. Should I say that even the most top-secret papers were on my desk (that was kindly brought in by a few of ANBU, who still remember me)? Well, from what I've read, the war was started a few years after the distribution of Biijus... I'll have to free them when I have time.

The collaboration of Kumogakure and Kirigakure, as well as the attack on Uzushiogakure, were a huge failure due to our precautions, which further worsened the war. Now it was all against all. Sunagakure is trying to get the most from the broken alliance, while Iwagakure is concentrating on our borders... Endless reports of them being seen/captured/killed are piling on my table alongside our loses in the war. Due to the existence of the Hogosha unit, we can capture spies shortly after they infiltrated or came to our village. Which greatly reduced our casualties. Tobirama-nii-san was working on the enhanced barrier, using runes and Fuinjutsu of this world, that will catch them by the gates.

I've sent my clones to all of the villages and countries and already getting the information from some of the closest ones. The Land o the Rice Fields is in disarray, The Land of Hot Springs is doing ok since no one wants to lose such a convenient relaxing place. Amegakure... This is a very interesting place and the place that is in danger.

It is literally the land of rain. It is cloudy or raining 80% of the year, which helps it to grow some of the special types of rice, fruits, and herbs. If I were to judge, it is economically balanced and might actually become another Great hidden village. Salamander Hanzo is a young, charismatic and smart leader. People willingly follow him, which led the country to prosper.

Nevertheless, it is sandwiched in between three great major forces, and if the fate will have it, will become a battlefield. This will definitely lead to crises, deaths among innocent and other possible results.

"Huh... Izuna-nii... why did so many things happen while I was away?!" - I laid on my desk and let out my frustration. An ANBU appeared, brought another glass of tea, and disappeared.

This is another topic. Tobirama and others created a new unit that specializes in the gathering of intelligence and counterintelligence against other villages and possible threats to Konoha. Thanks to it we still have a comparably small amount of loses in ranks. They're very efficient and well trained... and yet, guess who is in the training space that I created? Yup. It's them and some part of ANBU. Express training. I plan on building a Training facility that will have different levels of difficulty and time-flow. It isn't in our interest to have weakened shinobi just because there are no constant clan-wars. Even if it is peaceful, they must be prepared for extreme circumstances.

"How should I know" - Izuna shrugged his shoulders. - "The world is just moving on and things happen."

"I know..."

"Hokage-sama?" - I lifted my head and saw a boy, that I've met a few days ago, with a bunch of papers in his hands and a conflicted expression.

Danzo. The recently appointed leader of Root. The talented individual that is almost like a son to our Hokage. He seems to be ok. Too young, in my opinion, but who cares. Nii-sans agreed on his candidature, so it should be fine. I'm here to watch out for mishaps anyways.

"Oh, Danzo, come in. You've brought the reports?"

"Yes." - despite being shocked and a desire to ask, he bowed down a little and carried out his duties. I returned to my pile of documents when the information from my clone arrived.

"Izuna-nii, Suna made a diversion. It did send some of the shinobi to attack other nations, but most of them are now heading in our direction. Half of them are puppeteers with a rising talent - Akasuna Chio among them. Around 25% are users of tessenjutsu and others are shinobi of chunin-jounin ranks."

"Great..." - he grumbled. "It is a good thing we didn't withdraw any of the forces yet. How many there are?"

"About a thousand in total."

"Fine. Owl!"

"Hai!"

"Send out the order to Aburame and Sarutobi clans. The clan's head or their representative is to come here in an hour."

"Hai!" - He left.

"Thanks." - Izuna-nii turned my way, distracting from another paper.

"Fulfilling my duty, Hokage-sama." - Because I left my post, they had to do things on their own... Now I have to do my duties. And who was it that thought about the role of "Hidden Leader" as a duty-free job? Me...

I was wearing a skirt and a long slived top, while my prussian hair was made into a tight braid. In my world, a single braid signified the owner's resolution and maturity. Any kind of other hairstyles could be worn, but a single braid was special. When a person would be making it, a simple ceremony would be held. It will ask for the blessings from the Goddess of the Will and Wisdom. After the ceremony finished, a person would need to wear a braid for five days.

Yes, I've grown and will take full responsibilities in the future. My journey to the past was very useful and taught me a lot. I didn't want to be a crown princess? Wanted to relax and play? There was nothing wrong with that, but everything must be moderated. I've people who trust their lives to me. I must live up to their expectations and support them with all of my might, and one day... I will return to my world and face my responsibilities there.

'How long did it take for me to realise this?' - a mocking smile crept on mu face - 'A few decades... Yeah, Queen-mother, I'm a genius. Definitely.

"Izuna-nii, I think it would be better to send some of the Uchiha as well. The wind is weak against Fire, while the Uchiha are the best fire users. Sarutobi is great too, but some extra power is never too bad."

"I will consider that."

"Hokage-sama, if I may, what is she doing here?" - I raised an eyebrow. That is funny.

"She is a very huge benefactor of our village and holds great power here. If I were to compare, she has the same amount of rights as the Hokage, if not a little bit more."

"..." - The boy was speechless from his teacher's words but remained composed on the surface. Everyone remembers that I can read auras, right? It took me a great amount of willpower to hold my laughter down. Danzo nodded, stiffly turned back and walked out with frozen face.

"Pfff!"

"Hn. It was fun." - Izuna relaxed in his chair and smiled. Unlike Madara-nii, who smiles rarely, Izuna is way more open about his emotions.

"Hokage-sama."

"Un?" - He lifted his eyebrow. I don't usually call him that, but I probably should change that when we are in the office.

"I believe that it would be wise to propose an alliance to Amegakure. From their geographical location, they are in an unfavourable position. If we were to become allies, we could get some of the resources from them at a lower cost, or even free of charge in exchange for our protection. I also would like to conduct an investigation to check for more ways to develop the country."

"What led you to this decision?"

"They have the potential to become a great nation, albeit a small one. And if they become too strong, they might attack. Or get attacked and destroyed."

[Besides, I think that the Hogosha unit needs a little more work. They work as general police, but their main role is to protect our allies. Uzushio is totally fine right now and almost didn't suffer any loses since we managed to capture traitors and disable the army before the tragedy occurred. An ally as potentially precious as Ame would be a huge gain and an opportunity for our people to prove themselves. I've heard that some of them wanted to participate in more battles, so let us give them a chance.]

"Hm... But what is preventing us from capturing the land by ourselves?"

"Unnecessary loses, hatred of the nation, a title of tyrants and bad reputation are some of the consequences that we would have to face."

"True. You are to depart in three days. Nara Shinuma will come with you, as well as a squad of genins and their sensei. They need some training, and with you there, it will not be that dangerous." - He wrote down the mission and handed it over. - "The negotiations are fully in yours and Shinuma's hands."

"Hai!"

[Take two people from the Unit. It'll be safer.]

[You know that I'm stronger than any of them, right?]

[I do. But you should still take them. Just so that I could have a peace of mind. I will get yelled at by Nii-san just for sending you away, so please!]

[Sure.] - It feels so warm - being cared for and protected.

A knock resounded in the residence and two people entered. Sarutobi Sasuke and Aburame Mushi - two clan leaders that have met me just before I disappeared.

'Heh, you can look composed all you want, but your cocktail of emotions will never escape my senses.' - The second their eyes landed on me, they experienced a huge shock.

I love this! I purposely didn't appear on the streets, so that I could witness their cute reactions!

*********************

Three days later, I've got to meet my teammates for the time being. Nara Shinuma was your typical Nara. Black hair and eyes, relaxed and lazy posture, and of course sharp glint in the pupils when they calculate. He is one of the best in his clan. Good. With him, we will most likely succeed. Two 'bodyguards' from the Hogosha - Uchiha Kuro and Denki - two brothers who participated in the same mission as me in the Uzushio. They have grown a lot. They are no longer those teens, but wise and thoughtful adults. Unfortunately, their father died two years ago, so I wasn't able to meet Sukino-san again.

And finally, our genins appeared. A young sensei around 20-23 years-old with brown hair and tanned skin- Akai Hono, and three boys with a medic-girl. Hatake Sakumo, Kato Dan, Senju Oku and Hyuga Hana. All of them finished their academy a few months ago and have proven themselves quite capable. Sakumo is the son of the clan head. Dan is not from any clan, but I can feel that something interesting is within him. Has an older sister. Oku showed the ability to use Mokuton since our hospital was able to find out the reason. Hana is a great med-shinobi of C rank and is best among her peers. Quite a bunch, I must say.

"For this mission, I am the leader." - Kids stared at me in shock. Well, I do look their age, so they probably assumed that I was also a genin. - "Let's move out!