Half an hour later, Shizune escorted Boruto out of the Hokage's office. Now only Victor and Tsunade remained in the spacious room.
"How much of what Boruto just said do you think was true?" Tsunade asked, leaning back in her chair.
Victor nodded with certainty. "Everything he said should be accurate. As a fellow Konoha villager, he wouldn't have any reason to lie."
The Konoha in this world might be fundamentally different from the one in Boruto's timeline, but Victor hadn't noticed any signs that the boy realized this. Boruto likely believed this was simply the past of his own world, where divergences from recorded history were perfectly normal.
It made sense when you thought about it. Boruto was from a later generation, his parents had probably never discussed the finer details of this specific period with him.
"Do you have a plan for dealing with the Otsutsuki threat?" Tsunade's voice carried a note of concern.
If Boruto's words were true, then the enemy clan they'd be facing possessed godlike power. Currently, only a handful of people in the entire ninja world were practicing cultivation. Victor had reached Foundation Establishment, while the others were still in the Qi Refining stage.
If the Otsutsuki launched a large-scale invasion, the ninja world's current strength wouldn't be enough to repel them.
Victor saw the worry in her eyes and offered a reassuring smile. "Don't stress about it. We still have the chat group, remember?"
"That's true." Tsunade's shoulders relaxed slightly.
Once again, she found herself grateful for the chat group. Without it, she would have remained just another Hokage, following the predetermined path of the original timeline, either dying of old age or falling in the Otsutsuki invasion.
"I'll stay in Konoha for the next few days," Victor continued. "I'll help you handle any Otsutsuki who show up. Just arrange a place for me to stay."
Tsunade nodded. "No problem. You can stay at my house, I've kept your old room ready, the one you and Kujo shared before."
After leaving the Hokage's office, Victor wandered the streets of Konoha without any particular destination in mind.
Several months had passed since his last visit, and the village had changed considerably. The development was progressing well, new buildings dotted the landscape, and the atmosphere felt more prosperous than before.
His aimless stroll eventually brought him to Ichiraku Ramen.
The moment he approached, he sensed a faint fluctuation of spiritual power emanating from inside the shop.
'Is Nawaki here eating ramen?' he wondered.
Only those who practiced cultivation possessed spiritual power. In all of Konoha, the only practitioners were Tsunade, Shizune, and Nawaki. Since Tsunade was in the Hokage's office and Shizune had just gone to arrange Boruto's accommodations, the person inside should logically be Nawaki.
Victor lifted the door curtain and stepped inside. But when he scanned the interior, he didn't see Nawaki anywhere. Instead, he found the three members of Team 7 sitting at the counter.
'Wait... how is that possible?'
If Nawaki wasn't here, then who was emitting those spiritual energy fluctuations?
Victor extended his spiritual sense and immediately locked onto the source, Haruno Sakura.
The fluctuations were definitely coming from her!
But how could she be cultivating? Who taught her?
Could it have been Tsunade?
Victor quickly opened the chat group interface.
[Victor: Tsunade, did you teach Sakura how to cultivate?]
[Tsunade: Yes, didn't you ask me to teach her?]
Victor stared at the message in bewilderment.
[Victor: What? When did I ever ask you to teach her cultivation?]
[Tsunade: Sakura came to me earlier and said you told her to become my disciple. I even confirmed it with you at the time, and you gave me a positive answer. Don't you remember?]
[Victor: ...]
Wait, was that what she meant?
When he'd told Sakura to become Tsunade's disciple, he'd only meant for Tsunade to teach her the Yin Seal and medical ninjutsu, to help her follow the path from the original timeline!
He hadn't intended for Tsunade to teach her cultivation!
[Victor: Okay, maybe I wasn't clear enough at the time.]
[Tsunade: So you don't want me teaching Sakura cultivation?]
[Victor: No, it's not that. I'm just surprised, that's all. Since you're already teaching her, keep going. I think she has real talent for it.]
In just a few months, Sakura had already reached the fourth level of Qi Refining. That was genuinely impressive.
[Tsunade: She does have excellent talent. I'm quite fond of this apprentice.]
[Victor: As long as you're happy with her.]
Meanwhile, the three young genin had noticed Victor standing at the entrance.
"Oh! Lord Victor, are you here for ramen too?" Sakura's face lit up with an expression of pure admiration.
In the past, Sakura's attraction to Victor had been purely superficial, he was incredibly handsome, after all. But now, her feelings ran deeper. Not only was he devastatingly attractive, but he was also overwhelmingly powerful.
Admiring strength was a natural instinct for most people, especially in the ninja world.
Victor was everything Sasuke wasn't, a thousand times more handsome, and infinitely stronger. When such a perfect man appeared before her, even the most devoted fangirl couldn't help but have her loyalty tested.
Victor gave Sakura a brief nod of acknowledgment before turning his attention to Naruto and Sasuke. "How's your progress with the jutsu I taught you last time?"
Both boys immediately straightened up, pride evident on their faces.
"Learned it!"
"Hmph, it was just an S-rank jutsu. Learning it in a month was nothing," Sasuke added with a confident smirk.
The sky had cleared, the rain had stopped, and Sasuke felt like he could conquer the world again.
To be fair, he did have something to be proud of, mastering an S-rank jutsu in just one month was genuinely impressive for someone his age.
Standing beside them, Sakura felt a wave of contempt wash over her. They were so full of themselves over learning just two jutsu. She wondered how they'd react if they knew her current strength had already surpassed that of a jonin.
Then again, maybe it was better to keep a low profile. No need to crush their spirits.
Victor nodded approvingly. "Not bad. There are advanced versions of both the Rasengan and the Thunder Qilin. You should continue developing them according to your own strengths and affinities."
Their eyes immediately lit up.
Advanced versions? There were advanced versions?!
"Hey, Brother Victor, can you teach us some other powerful jutsu?" Naruto asked hopefully, his eyes shining with anticipation.
Clearly, different variations of the Rasengan weren't enough to satisfy his growing appetite for power.
"Why? Are you getting cocky just because you learned the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken?" Victor's gaze sharpened as he looked at Naruto. "When you've developed all the other forms of the Rasengan, then you can come ask me for more techniques."
"But forget jutsu, if you actually manage that, I might teach you something even more powerful than ninjutsu."
"Really?!" Naruto's eyes went wide with excitement.
"Yeah! I'll definitely develop all those forms for you to see!"
Sasuke snorted dismissively. In his mind, he wasn't optimistic about his dead-last teammate's chances.
After all, the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken had nearly destroyed Naruto's arm. If Sakura hadn't been there to help, Naruto might have lost his career as a ninja permanently.
Given his abilities, trying to develop other forms of the Rasengan without anyone teaching him? Pure fantasy.