"Wood Release is full of life force and follows my will. It's the best prosthetic you could ever have, Guy-sensei. (๑`･ᴗ･´๑)" Shinju explained with a smile.
Might Guy took a few steps to get used to his new body.
Very quickly, he was shocked to find that the Wood Release limbs were even easier to use than his original legs!
Inside the legs, there was an enormous amount of chakra!
Shinju said, "Oh, right. Inside the legs of this Wood Release clone, I fused in a trace of Six Paths Yang Power. With this, you can open the Eight Gates one more time—and even after opening them, you won't die…"
Guy nearly burst into tears with excitement!ヾ(༎ຶД༎ຶ)ﾉ
"Shinju… you… I… such a huge favor—I can't thank you enough! From now on, whatever you need, just order me!" Guy grabbed Shinju's shoulders, too overwhelmed to say anything elegant, and ended up making a loud, heartfelt promise.
Shinju didn't bother being modest. He nodded and left.
"My succession ceremony is in two days. I'll head back and prepare…"
...
On the way home.
Shinju noticed Konohamaru hiding in the shadows!
He suddenly slipped behind Konohamaru and patted the kid on the shoulder.
"Yo, Konohamaru. Waiting for me? (´,,•∀•,,`)"
Konohamaru nodded honestly and bowed.
"Thanks to you, Shinju-san, I got to see Grandpa."
Shinju's expression turned playful.
"Oh~ Looks like Konohamaru knows how to say thank you now~ Ծ ̮ Ծ"
Konohamaru: "…"
"Shinju-san, you're so childish."
Shinju: "…"
Konohamaru continued, "I heard the Sixth Hokage's succession ceremony is in two days. Congratulations, Shinju-san!"
"And! I'm not giving up on surpassing you! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Shinju nodded and smiled.
"I look forward to the day you beat me. ∩_∩"
After sending Konohamaru off, Shinju walked alone down the bustling street.
People along the way kept greeting him respectfully, and Shinju returned each salute with a smile.
Before long, as he approached home, he noticed Hinata and Naruto standing together under a streetlamp…
The sight made him freeze for a long while. ◝₍ᴑ̑ДO͝₎◞
He wasn't seeing things, right?!
Naruto and Hinata meeting so late… they were definitely on a date!!
Naruto finally got a clue!! (´◊ω◊｀)
Knowing better than to interrupt the "little couple," Shinju chose to cut through the park and take the long way home…
However, when he reached the park entrance, he suddenly spotted Sasuke and Sakura sitting together on a bench…
Shinju: !!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
Naruto figuring things out was one thing—
But Sasuke, the eternal block of wood, was actually learning how to flirt with girls?! (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!
His mood for walking home evaporated, and he prepared to teleport home using Flying Thunder God.
Just then, Iruka-sensei's voice sounded from not far away.
"Shinju!"
Sasuke and Sakura immediately jumped like startled birds, twisting away from each other in a panic!
Shinju could only pretend he saw nothing and calmly walked over to Iruka-sensei…
After that came a teacher–student conversation.
By the time they finished, it was already nine at night.
Shinju, who hadn't eaten all day, had a stomach growling loudly…
He pushed open the door and went home.
Inside, he discovered the table filled with dishes!
Tenten, Neji, Kiba, and other old teammates were bustling around.
When they saw Shinju return, Tenten happily announced,
"You're finally back! We prepared this meal for you, to celebrate you becoming the Sixth Hokage of Konoha!"
Neji nodded. "Those who once walked beside us… have now become someone we look up to."
Kiba said, "Hey, did you see Naruto and Sasuke on your way back? They promised to help cook! But the moment they went out to buy groceries, they disappeared! (ㅎ‸ㅎ)"
Shino added, "Yeah. The food's nearly done, and those two still aren't here. Maybe we shouldn't wait."
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
"Then wash up and let's start!"
...
Two days later, during the Sixth Hokage succession ceremony.
Shinju kept a blank face, following the ceremony steps like an emotionless puppet.
Below the stage, several random shinobi were excitedly discussing.
"This is definitely the grandest Hokage succession ever! Not only did the Kage from every major village come—even the daimyō from various nations showed up! (๑ʘ̅ д ʘ̅๑)!!!"
"Of course! Do you know who our Sixth is? He punched Kaguya, kicked Madara! The new Ninja God recognized by the entire world! ୧⍢⃝୨"
"Hearing you two talk, it sounds like you were the ones who did all that. (||๐_๐)"
"Even if we didn't, at least we get to bask in the glory!"
"By the way, did you notice? The Bird Country daimyō keeps looking at our Sixth Hokage in a weird way! (°ー°〃)"
"Not just him! The priestess from the Land of Demons, and Yugito from Kumogakure… these are big names in the ninja world, yet they all fell for the Sixth! (≖╻≖;) "
"What do you mean 'fell for him'? Watch your mouth! (´◐∀◐`)"
On stage, Tsunade took the microphone. "As everyone knows, Konoha's Sixth Hokage, Shinju, is…"
Tsunade's speech recounted Shinju's grand achievements, his unfortunate childhood, and his determination to rise above it all.
Many in the audience were moved to tears.
Meanwhile, Shinju stood on stage completely dazed. He never felt like his life had been that tragic…
But whatever others thought didn't matter. As long as he was having fun.
And if he got to look cool and tragic at the same time, why not! (๑`･ᴗ･´๑)
After Tsunade finished, she handed the mic to Shinju.
Young as he was, Shinju wasn't great at official speeches, so he had to rely on whatever nonsense he could improvise…
"Well, as everyone knows @%"*@/..."
His speech ended quickly.
"Woooooo!!"
Thunderous applause erupted!!
Shinju was stunned. He didn't even know what he said, yet people were cheering—led by the daimyō of all people!
After all the steps were completed, the final part was placing the Hokage hat on Shinju…
Tsunade's expression turned serious as she carefully set the hat on his head…
During this moment, Shinju grumbled internally: I really need to replace this Hokage token someday. A straw hat just feels wrong!
After the ceremony ended, Shinju headed backstage to change clothes…
He still had tons to deal with afterward!
In the stands, people were slowly leaving. Naruto, however, couldn't calm down!
Hinata leaned closer, puzzled.
"Naruto-kun, why is your body shaking? Are you sick?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm excited!"
"To see a childhood friend rise step by step and finally become Hokage—I'm really happy for Shinju! ୧⍢⃝୨"
Just as Naruto was rambling excitedly, Kakashi appeared.
"Naruto, stop spacing out. Time for supplementary training."
"Even if you're the appointed Seventh Hokage, you're still far from ready!"
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