Mount Myōboku.
Shinju teleported via Flying Thunder God into the home of Fukasaku and Shima.
The two toad sages were eating. When they saw Shinju arrive, surprise flashed in their eyes.
"Shinju? Are you the worms in my belly or what? I was just about to send a messenger toad to call you over, and you show up on your own? (꒪⌓꒪)" Fukasaku said in amazement.
"So? Now that you've become Hokage of Konoha, how does it feel? Good or not? (๑ت๑)"
Shinju waved dismissively, face full of bitterness.
"Good my ass. I've got endless work every day. I only managed to escape to Mount Myōboku because Jiraiya-sensei helped me coordinate it. (||๐_๐)"
"Right, Sage, you said you were about to send a toad to look for me—did something happen?"
Though he asked, Shinju had already guessed most of it.
It must be that the prophecy had come true, and the Great Toad Sage wanted to see him!
As expected, that was exactly the case.
Fukasaku explained in detail what the Great Toad Sage had instructed. The Great Toad Sage already knew what had happened in the shinobi world and told Shinju to be cautious—the prophecy had been fulfilled, and someone from beyond would descend within days. He must be prepared.
Finally, Fukasaku added, "This prophecy drained the Great Toad Sage's spirit immensely; he's currently asleep… (✘Д✘๑)"
"Ahh… I don't even know whether the Great Toad Sage will dream during this sleep."
Fukasaku spoke with deep worry.
Shinju frowned slightly. "When the Great Toad Sage said 'within days,' does that mean literally these next few days? (´°Δ°`)"
Fukasaku shrugged. "I don't know. Just prepare yourself and handle whatever comes carefully."
"Oh, right—the Great Toad Sage also muttered something about 'the outsider being both near and far.' No idea what that means… ┐(´-｀)┌"
Shinju nodded, indicating he understood.
After that came some everyday small talk.
At the end, Shima urged Shinju to stay for dinner.
"Little Shinju hasn't had Grandma's cooking in so long—stay and eat before you go! (๑╹ヮ╹๑)ﾉ"
Shinju's stomach flipped immediately, and he quickly found an excuse.
"No, Grandma… to handle the outsider, I have to start preparing right away… I'll eat next time~ ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )"
As soon as he finished, he saw Shima preparing to pack leftovers for him—he quickly formed a hand seal and escaped!
...
Once back in the village, Shinju immediately summoned all high-ranking officials and proposed building large-scale defensive fortifications.
Hearing that Shinju was initiating such a huge project right after taking office, several elders stepped up to oppose him.
But Shinju was the man who had solo-killed Kaguya and naturally had the strongest fighters in the village gathered around him.
He didn't even need to say anything—someone else crushed the elders' objections for him.
Tsunade said, "Constructing large defensive fortifications brings far more benefits than drawbacks. Even if the so-called outsider never comes, they can still defend against other villages."
One elder looked troubled. "But the war only just ended. The village has taken heavy losses…"
Naruto curled his lip. "Our village… took losses?"
"I clearly remember Shinju using Samsara of Heavenly Life via the Rinnegan to revive everyone who died in the Fourth War, didn't he? (´°Δ°`)"
That single line silenced every elder.
Right—he did do that.
Nearby, Sasuke looked toward Shinju.
He remembered that Shinju had used the Rinnegan technique Aoki-no-Mikoto through a clone to perform the resurrection.
Aoki-no-Mikoto had a cooldown of three minutes. Did that mean Shinju could cast Heavenly Life every three minutes?
Shinju felt Sasuke's stare, turned to meet his eyes, and seemed to read Sasuke's thoughts.
"Don't overthink it. Samsara of Heavenly Life consumes an extreme amount of chakra. Every time I use it, I'm sacrificing chakra to the Shinigami and the King of Hell…"
Sasuke persisted. "Then how long is the interval between uses?"
Shinju answered naturally, "Interval? There is no interval! վ--0027ᴗ--0027 ի"
"My wood clones also have Rinnegan power, so they can perform Heavenly Life just fine! (๑ت๑)"
"But since every use sacrifices my chakra to the ones who rule the underworld, there's always the risk of backlash. So… I shouldn't use it too many times. Maybe under ten thousand times…﹋o﹋"
Sasuke: …
Serves him right for asking.
By now, the elders had approved Shinju's defensive-construction proposal. They added,
"We can build the fortifications, but only after the Sixth Hokage's inauguration ceremony."
Shinju sighed. "Can't we just skip that ceremony? →_→"
The elders countered, "You're the one who saved the shinobi world in the war. Everyone is paying attention to your succession as the Sixth Hokage. The ceremony is absolutely required!"
Hearing this, Shinju looked toward Naruto, then finally nodded in compromise.
"But there's still one more issue…"
In the end, because Shinju was in a hurry to begin building defenses, the inauguration ceremony was set for two days later.
...
That night, Shinju arrived at Konoha Hospital.
He pushed open the door and saw Maito Guy lying in bed, mushroom haircut and all.
During the war, Guy had opened the Gate of Death against Madara—burning away his entire vitality. Though Naruto saved his life with the Six Paths' yang power, Guy's legs and arms could never recover…
When they saw Shinju enter, Lee—Guy's loyal attendant—stood up and bowed.
"Sixth…"
Shinju immediately raised a hand to stop him. He didn't like being Hokage, and he didn't like this distance among comrades.
Besides, Lee had graduated from the academy a year earlier than him…
As Shinju stopped Lee, Guy struggled to sit up.
"Yo~ Shinju—no, I should call you Sixth now… I heard about your performance in the war. Truly incredible! ❛‿˂̵✧"
"Kakashi is blessed for several lifetimes to have a subordinate like you!"
...
Kakashi's house.
"Achoo!!"
With the door closed and curtains drawn, Kakashi—reading the newest volume of Icha Icha—suddenly sneezed.
"Who's talking about me behind my back?! Killing my mood! (ꐦ ಠ 皿 ಠ)"
...
Back in the hospital room.
Shinju smiled. "Guy-sensei, just call me by my name."
"I came today to give Sensei new arms and legs…"
Guy sighed, trying to persuade him not to waste effort.
"Tsunade-sama already examined my injuries. She said it's a miracle I'm alive at all…"
Shinju waved it off.
"True, your wounds are hard to heal. But I said I'm attaching new limbs for you."
He formed hand seals and summoned a wood clone.
Then—crack crack crack—he snapped off the clone's right arm and both legs and attached them to Guy's severed stumps.
Perfect compatibility.
Guy was stunned. (≖╻≖;)
"Th-this… this actually works?!"