Haruki remained on Mount Myoboku for a week.
Using the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he finished reading countless books.
To ordinary ninja, the most valuable treasures might have been the techniques to train Sage Mode and various kinds of Sage Arts.
Although these held little use for him.
Haruki's Sage Mode came from the system—it was already powerful beyond limits, needing no further enhancement.
But he had not come away empty-handed.
He uncovered a wealth of information about the Sage of Six Paths.
Take Pure Land, as an example.
Based on the original account, it hadn't existed before the Otsutsuki Clan arrived. It was likely the Sage of Six Paths' final failsafe.
Had Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha failed to seal Kaguya Otsutsuki, he likely would have intervened personally.
However, Haruki found natural energy even more intriguing.
The Otsutsuki possessed the supreme bloodline—the Kekkei Tota—
capable of resisting nearly any form of Ninjutsu, yet ineffective against Sage Chakra.
The chakra used by ninja and ninja beasts originates from the God Tree.
And the God Tree obtained chakra by transforming natural energy.
In a way, natural energy held greater authority.
Haruki wondered if cultivating pure natural energy alone equated to becoming an immortal cultivator.
Haruki returned alone to Konoha.
Jiraiya had left Mount Myoboku several days earlier, off to some unknown place in search of inspiration and writing material.
Unlike when he'd departed, Konoha now radiated festive cheer.
Everywhere, people conversed and smiled.
Haruki glanced at the advertising billboards lining the streets.
They displayed scenes of Minato Namikaze and Sakumo Hatake returning in triumph.
Crowds of spectators cheered their names enthusiastically.
After nearly two weeks of effort, the Land of Lightning and Cloud Hidden Village—at least on the surface—had been assimilated.
Long-term integration still lay ahead.
Although Minato and the others held command temporarily, they lacked official appointments.
This return was precisely for awarding them due recognition.
Haruki arrived at the Hokage Building.
When Tsunade saw him standing outside her door, she immediately stood up, but restrained herself from showing too much affection in front of Shizune and Fuling Uzumaki.
"Lord Haruki."
Shizune and Fuling slightly bowed before speaking respectfully.
"You two may leave for now."
Haruki smiled gently, waving his hand.
The two exchanged glances, then tactfully stepped out.
"As soon as the door closed, Haruki turned to Tsunade and asked, 'Did you miss me?'"
"No."
She pouted slightly and replied unhappily, "You were gone for days and didn't even sneak back to see me."
Haruki reached out, cupped her face gently, and smoothed the corners of her lips.
Tsunade's gaze softened, filled with tenderness as she leaned into his touch.
A while later, they parted.
Gently pinching her cheek, Haruki explained, "I learned quite a few interesting things on Mount Myoboku. I'll tell you about them later."
Tsunade nodded, took his hand, and sat beside the low tea table.
"Any recent happenings?"
Haruki couldn't take his eyes off Tsunade, admiring her delicate, beautiful features.
She looked so cute and lovely.
Tsunade caught his gaze, and her expression became slightly awkward.
She picked up the teapot, poured some tea, and handed it to him.
After Haruki shifted his gaze elsewhere, she slowly began speaking about recent events.
"Minato and Sakumo arrived in Konoha the day before yesterday. Since you're back too, I'm planning to hold a commendation ceremony tomorrow and reassign their roles."
Haruki set down his teacup.
This was indeed something he had proposed himself.
For a long time, ninja villages and various countries had been separate entities.
Although the ninja villages received support from the countries and protected them during crucial moments,
overall, the relationship wasn't particularly close.
In essence, it was nothing more than an employer-employee relationship.
Haruki's idea was to unify the ninja villages with the countries.
The ninja villages would become part of the nation, functioning as its military and receiving salaries and orders accordingly.
"If that's the case, we might need a new metropolis. At that time, the Hokage won't be merely the leader of Konoha but rather the Daimyo or even Emperor of the entire Summer Country."
Haruki said thoughtfully.
Previously, neither the capital city of Fire Country nor that of Lightning Country were truly central locations for the Summer Country.
He preferred building an entirely new city.
A familiar city from his past life.
A modern city lit up by dazzling lights.
"Emperor?"
Tsunade repeated the word.
She had no objections regarding selecting a new metropolis, but this new term from Haruki intrigued her somewhat.
"Exactly—Emperor."
Haruki raised his hand, gently patting her head as he spoke, "You'd be the first Female Emperor in ninja history—unprecedented and unmatched."
Tsunade tilted her head, asking, "What good is that?"
Haruki couldn't help but laugh.
Anyone else hearing they could become an emperor would probably get excited enough to blush and lose composure.
But Tsunade seemed unfazed.
That wasn't what she sought.
"You might never leave the bed again."
Haruki pondered briefly and replied.
"Huh?"
Tsunade blinked in surprise, but after spending time with him, she quickly understood his meaning.
She rolled her eyes, smacking away his hand still ruffling her hair, clearly annoyed.
"Can't you act serious for once?!"
"Cough cough, go ahead and continue."
Suppressing a smile, Haruki waved his hand.
"Hmph. When I become Female Emperor, my first decree will be about dealing with you."
Noticing his demeanor, Tsunade crossed her arms and threatened fiercely.
"I'll gladly accept whatever punishment the Female Emperor sees fit to give."
Haruki answered seriously.
"..."
Tsunade immediately felt somewhat frustrated.
This guy was completely immune to shame.
She always ended up on the losing side with him.
She huffed indignantly, radiating pure irritation from head to toe.
Raising his eyebrows, Haruki picked up his teacup and took a sip.
Seeing this, Tsunade grew even angrier.
Wasn't he here to calm her down?
Just then, she felt black tea being poured into her mouth.
Haruki wiped his lips and said, "You've been talking nonstop—let me wet your throat."
Tsunade unconsciously licked her lips.
It tasted faintly sweet.
Avoiding Haruki's eyes, she gave a light cough before speaking, "Two days ago, something big happened in Sunagakure—the One-Tail was captured."
Haruki ran his finger along the edge of his teacup.
Of course, it had been Obito who took the One-Tail.
Aside from him, no other group could've pulled that off.
Though both Kazekage were badly hurt, they weren't actually that weak.
Magnet Release was particularly difficult to handle.
Rasa once used Magnet Release to suppress the One-Tail.
Most ninja didn't stand much of a chance against the Kazekage.
Only Obito could counter them.
His Mangekyō Sharingan was naturally effective against tailed beasts.
And Kamui's flawless escape technique.
Of course, his teammates weren't bad either.
Zetsu aside, Darui, Zabuza, Raiga Kurosugi, and Kakuzu were all renowned elite ninja.
They could handle Sunagakure's regular forces without difficulty.
"In this battle, the One-Tail Jinchūriki Bunpuku died, while the Third Kazekage, Rasa, and Chiyo were all injured."
"They three were all wounded?"
Haruki felt somewhat surprised. "Does this mean Obito used his Mangekyō Sharingan? Doesn't he fear exposing his identity?"
Tsunade shot him a glance, saying, "More or less. In addition to the Akatsuki gaining Kisame Hoshigaki, it was mainly because Sasori's puppets forced them into a desperate situation, leaving them no choice but to use full strength."
"I see."
Haruki nodded thoughtfully.
He'd completely forgotten about Sasori.
With two puppets working alongside the One-Tail, things became quite difficult indeed.
And Bunpuku could be considered the perfect Jinchūriki.
"After this battle, 'Sasori of the Red Sand' actually upstaged the Akatsuki Organization."
Tsunade tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, continuing, "Obito probably didn't expect his first battle to go so poorly."
"Good. That guy Obito activated the Mangekyō Sharingan and has probably gotten too confident. Letting Sasori take him down a notch might make him realize he's not truly invincible."
Haruki actually considered this a positive development.
After all, their objective was achieved.
The One-Tail had been captured.
Sunagakure lost a tremendous advantage.
Even with Sasori's puppets, they still couldn't match the power of tailed beasts.
"Because of the destruction from the battle, Sunagakure began reconstruction efforts. At the same time, the Third Kazekage stepped down due to old age and injuries, handing the title over to Rasa."
Pausing briefly, Tsunade looked directly at Haruki, saying, "The first thing Rasa did as Kazekage was invite you to Sunagakure. I suspect he plans to confront you."
"He probably doesn't dare go that far. He just wants some answers."
Haruki shook his head slightly, replying, "Rasa won't risk openly opposing Konoha, even if he has suspicions. He definitely won't speak outright. Most importantly, we weren't the ones acting—it was a mysterious group."
Obito's group kept their identities completely hidden.
After all, Akatsuki is officially part of Amegakure.
If discovered, they would certainly face retaliation from Sunagakure.
Nagato and his allies would definitely want to avoid such a situation.
Obito and Zetsu naturally considered these factors too.
Both sides are still in a honeymoon phase; there's no reason to create divisions over such matters.
Although, admittedly, a few of them do stand out quite a bit.
"Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan is unknown to anyone. Even if he uses it, Sunagakure won't be able to identify him for who he truly is. But Darui, Kisame Hoshigaki, and the others were probably recognized, weren't they?"
"That's right."
Thinking about this, Tsunade couldn't help but smile slightly. "After the news of this battle spreads, the Third Mizukage will immediately declare them all rogue ninja from Kirigakure, with no relation whatsoever to the Hidden Mist Village."
Haruki narrowed his eyes slightly as he spoke, "Even though they've allied with Iwagakure, they're still afraid of us Leaf ninjas. Obito's next target could focus on Kirigakure. Let's start by breaking apart this so-called alliance from within."
He recalled that in the original story, Obito had controlled Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, causing Kirigakure to fall into bloodshed and terror, greatly weakening its strength.
Now, even though Rin Nohara hadn't died, Obito could still target Kirigakure, thereby damaging this alliance at the same time.
"Are you going to see Rasa?"
Tsunade thought for a moment before asking, "If you don't want to meet him in person, I can send someone else to extend our congratulations for becoming the Fourth Kazekage."
"I'll make time to go myself."
For now, Haruki didn't want to damage relations with Sunagakure.
Tsunade nodded, then stood up and picked up a scroll from her desk, handing it to Haruki.
"This is the treaty signed by Sakumo and Iwagakure. I've read through it—it's exactly what you wanted."
Haruki unrolled the scroll and glanced through it, secretly confirming his suspicions.
The most outrageous demand Iwagakure made was to exchange one tailed beast for four thousand captured Iwa ninja.
Although they had two tailed beasts, they firmly rejected this demand.
With Haruki's Wood Release rendering everything obsolete, only the tailed beasts provided even a slight sense of security.
Haruki had expected them to refuse.
Their second revised demand was simple—open trade, and permit Konoha to mine minerals in the Land of Earth.
Since the Land of Earth contained vast rocky mountains, a variety of mineral veins lay beneath the surface.
What Haruki intended to do was use Summer Country's advanced technology to lower production costs, thereby flooding and overwhelming Earth Country's commercial market.
In a practice similar to dumping.
Thanks to Haruki's prior preparations, Konoha's economy far outpaced that of both the Land of Earth and Iwagakure.
This meant they could trade items such as clothing, delicacies, and small gadgets for gold, silver, ores, and other resources.
"Well then, let's release those four thousand Iwa ninja."
Haruki set down the scroll and said, "Keeping them here only wastes our food and manpower."
"Just wait a moment while I have Shizune notify the Anbu," Tsunade said with a slight smile.
It almost sounded like they had suffered a loss.
Only Haruki could remain indifferent toward these Iwa prisoners.
"By the way, there's another piece of good news—Hiashi Hyuga and Hyuga Kaoru plan to get married in a week."
Tsunade stood once more, walking over to her desk and picking up a small red booklet, she continued, "They sent us the invitation first."
Haruki recalled his conversation with Hiashi Hyuga at the Owarayama mountain fortress and chuckled to himself. "Where are Kushina and Minato? Haven't the two of them started planning their wedding yet?"
"Minato only just got back, and he's buried in work. He probably hasn't given it a second thought."
Tsunade explained.
She knew full well that Minato had been busy setting up the military zone and ninja academy in the Land of Summer.
But for her, as the Hokage, this had significantly lightened her workload.
She wished there were a few more ninjas like Minato.
Her job would be so much easier.
Unfortunately, there was only one Minato.
"It's high time they tied the knot. You, as their teacher, should probably give them a little push."
Tsunade shifted gears and looked at Haruki. "They've got no family of their own. To them, you are family."
Haruki nodded slowly.
After all, a teacher is a father for life.
The two carried on chatting for a couple of days.
Then they got down to business.
Tomorrow was the award ceremony.
There was quite a bit to handle.
Shizune and Fuling returned to the office.
By afternoon, all preparations were already underway.
The publicity team sprang into action first, spreading word across Konoha.
Although most of the Allied Ninja Forces had yet to return, the distribution of rewards proceeded as planned.
Except for critical roles such as Minato's, practically every ninja received some kind of reward.
It covered nearly half of Konoha.
Right up until the start of the meeting the next day, the celebrations hadn't let up.
If one were to name those most deserving of credit, it had to be Haruki and Minato.
Though Haruki was already renowned, his Wood Release technique had been unveiled for the first time.
Wood Release carried immense significance for Konoha.
Because of this, Haruki had now reached the legendary status of Hashirama Senju.
If he wanted the Hokage seat, it would practically be handed to him.
As for Minato's achievements, they were no less impressive—he had conquered the Land of Lightning, an unprecedented feat in the ninja world.