Haruki and Tsunade felt like nothing had really changed—even though it was their wedding day.
After all, they'd practically already been living as a married couple.
"I'm so tired."
Tsunade was sprawled across Haruki's back, half-asleep.
"Then why don't you sleep a little longer?"
Haruki slipped on his shoes without straightening up, letting her keep lying on him comfortably.
"No way. If I fall asleep again, I won't be able to eat breakfast."
Thinking about the drool-worthy lean meat porridge, Tsunade finally overcame her exhaustion.
She sat up, the blanket slipping off her shoulders, sending a chill through her as the cool air hit her skin.
She grabbed her clothes, got dressed, freshened up, then hurried off to do her makeup.
Haruki made his way to the kitchen.
Not long after, Tsunade arrived behind him.
"You finished pretty fast today," he said without turning his head, smiling.
Normally, it would've taken fifteen or twenty minutes at least.
"What? You saying I'm not cute without makeup?" Tsunade poked him in the ribs with her fist.
"Of course you are! You're definitely beautiful. Anyone who disagrees gets thrown straight into Konoha's maximum-security prison," Haruki replied without hesitation.
Her makeup was naturally light anyway—in his eyes, almost nonexistent.
But men and women obviously had different definitions of "light makeup."
"You call that fair?" Tsunade jabbed him twice but couldn't help revealing a smile on her face.
Haruki turned his head for a glance—this scene felt oddly familiar.
Except this time the roles were reversed.
It should've been Tsunade doing the cooking while he watched from behind.
Still, considering Tsunade's cooking skills, Haruki decided it was better if he handled the cooking himself.
It wasn't even about taste—it was whether anyone could stomach it.
"Why don't you go out and wait? It'll be ready soon," Haruki eventually said.
Having a girl poking around his waist nonstop was getting hard to handle.
"Mm-hmm."
Tsunade rose onto her tiptoes, leaned forward, and gave his cheek a kiss.
Haruki smiled.
A few minutes later, two bowls of porridge were ready.
"Let's dig in!"
Tsunade eagerly grabbed a rice spoon.
Haruki, however, remained calm and took his time.
After finishing the meal, Tsunade went to wash the dishes.
As he waited, Haruki suddenly looked up.
There was a barrier outside the Metropolis.
Previously, Konoha's barriers only functioned as sensing barriers without protective capabilities.
However, the barrier surrounding the Metropolis resembled the Four-Corner Sealing Barrier; once activated, no ninja or ninja beast entering through unnatural means would be able to pass through.
Right now, Haruki sensed a ninja beast circling above them.
Blocked by the invisible barrier, it hovered uncertainly.
He flicked his middle finger slightly, releasing a thin strand of chakra that momentarily disrupted the barrier.
Instantly, the Puppet: Corpse Crow dove down successfully.
Haruki allowed the creature entry because he recognized the familiar chakra signature upon it.
The Puppet: Corpse Crow flew through the window, landed on the tea table, and spoke in a human voice: "Teacher Haruki, this is my summoned beast. Please come out and see me."
Obito Uchiha's voice.
Haruki marked the crow with a Flying Thunder God marking, then waved it away.
"Just now… wasn't there a ninja beast?" Tsunade asked as she removed her apron.
With her strength, there was no way she hadn't noticed.
"That's Obito's summoned beast. He must have something important to discuss—I'll go meet him."
Haruki didn't hide it and said so plainly.
"Then go ahead," Tsunade replied, without the slightest worry about his safety.
After Madara Uchiha's death, only Zetsu remained.
As for the others, they were virtually all serving as Konoha's spies.
"What about you then?"
"Me? Naturally, I'm going to do what the Hokage should do."
Tsunade couldn't help teasing, "I don't have nearly as much free time as you."
Haruki's face stiffened slightly at that.
The Hokage now wasn't just the leader of Konoha, but of the entire Summer Country.
How much work can a single country possibly have?
Endless, practically.
Even as the Hokage's assistant, he was constantly running errands.
"Two more years and we can finally leave this behind."
Haruki thought to himself. Tsunade still had two years left in her term. Once Zetsu was dealt with, the rest wouldn't need their direct involvement anymore.
Let those two reincarnated adults handle things from there.
We shouldn't rush into uniting the entire ninja world under one banner while Naruto and Sasuke are off idling around.
As for governing a nation—don't even count on those two.
Even after Naruto became Hokage, he probably wouldn't surpass the previous Hokages except in sheer strength.
His only truly notable accomplishment would be speeding up technological progress.
"What kind of talk is that?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him, saying, "You make it sound like the Summer Country's just a shady factory where the owner skips town overnight."
Haruki immediately thought of Jiangnan Leather Factory (a reference to a notorious Chinese factory known for scams). He waved her off, "Not quite, not quite."
"Alright, time to get to work."
Tsunade checked the time, knowing she couldn't chat any longer.
She tilted her chin and shot Haruki a meaningful look with her eyes.
Haruki watched her delicate profile from the side, ran over, and planted a kiss on her cheek, saying, "Pass more work to Sakumo and Mikoto."
"You're such a slacker."
Tsunade chuckled and vanished before his very eyes.
"Using your subordinates properly isn't exactly slacking off, is it?"
Haruki rubbed his nose lightly when he suddenly noticed the crow had stopped moving. Instantly, he activated the [Flying Thunder God Technique].
The scenery before him shifted.
Obito stood silently atop a rock.
Haruki immediately knew it was a Shadow Clone.
"Teacher."
Obito noticed his arrival, bowed slightly, and explained, "Zetsu is tailing my original body, so I couldn't come in person."
"It's fine."
Haruki smiled and asked, "What's so urgent you needed to say in person?"
"Congratulations on your new marriage, Teacher! Wishing you and Lady Tsunade eternal happiness and many blessings."
Obito coughed lightly and said sincerely.
So that's what it was.
Haruki felt a bit moved inside.
He hadn't expected this brat to be so considerate.
"Your time will come too."
Haruki encouraged him, saying, "Once your undercover mission ends, go home and win over your goddess."
Obito's eyes lit up instantly, "So you're saying you support me instead of Kakashi?"
"I always stay neutral in matters like these. Besides…"
Haruki smiled mysteriously, "By the time you return, Kakashi might already be married."
"Huh?"
Obito's expression changed dramatically. Clenching his teeth, he snarled, "Who with?"
Did this guy try to win Rin over behind my back?
"It's not Rin," Haruki shook his head. "Kakashi has no romantic feelings for her."
"Good," Obito sighed in relief, but quickly looked surprised. "Actually seeing Kakashi develop a crush on a girl? Unbelievable."
"If he doesn't like girls, does that mean he likes guys then?"
Haruki couldn't help but make the sarcastic remark.
"He's into kendo, not fencing."
"Fencing?"
Obito clearly didn't understand what Haruki meant.
But he quickly let it go.
"Hmph, I'll definitely get married before Kakashi does. Teacher, when are you planning to deal with Zetsu?"
"..."
Haruki twitched the corner of his mouth.
Isn't Kakashi your real crush though?
You want to compete with him in everything?
Why don't you two just measure up who's got the longer sword?
"Did Nagato summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?"
Haruki recalled that Nagato had left Konoha with Yahiko a week ago, returning to the Land of Rain for construction projects.
Before leaving, they even hired several teams of builders from Hiashi Hyuga.
"The summoning is already done, and we've started looking for candidates to become the Six Paths."
Haruki nodded slightly upon hearing this.
In the original story, there were several reasons for creating the Six Paths, mainly due to Nagato losing both legs, which limited his mobility and helped ease chakra strain.
Now there was sufficient reason too.
Not as strong as his original body, but with enough assistants, he could still work six times as effectively.
Plus, since the Rinnegan didn't naturally belong to him, it was difficult to master all its abilities.
And by controlling puppets, he could hide his real body.
"Once Nagato finishes creating the Six Paths, we can begin making plans against Zetsu."
Haruki muttered thoughtfully.