Chapter 597: Approaching Settlement

: mayiwsk

After entering Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi disbanded the ninja forces and then led the Four Kage to their lodgings in Konoha.

A Kage is ultimately a Kage, an existence on the same level as Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Moreover, now they were all allies; to show respect, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that as the Hokage, he should be the one to receive them.

However, before leaving, Hiruzen Sarutobi specifically told Muyue to come to the Hokage's office at four in the afternoon; as for what it was about, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not say explicitly.

"It's not a mission; it's good news."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, patted Muyue on the shoulder, and then turned and left.

"So secretive, I really don't know why he can't just say it directly." Obito complained as he followed behind Muyue.

Among the ninjas he had seen, there was occasionally a type who talked all about fate and spoke ambiguously; he hated that kind the most. It's not like they didn't have mouths—why not just speak plainly?

"Probably he thinks it will be more surprising this way?" Kakashi analyzed calmly.

He wasn't fond of this kind of behavior either; either don't say anything, or say it clearly. Saying half of it, what was that about?

"Well, it depends on what the good news is. For Master Muyue, neither a bonus nor a jutsu can bring him surprise." Obito thought that mundane things couldn't surprise Muyue the Sage.

"It couldn't be that they want Master Muyue to become Hokage!" Obito suddenly thought of something and said excitedly.

Obito thought about it carefully and felt that it was very likely.

Muyue had performed great feats, and now Hiruzen Sarutobi was gradually aging; wasn't it only natural to pass the title to Muyue?

Kakashi did not respond.

Muyue had the ability to become Hokage, but Kakashi felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi probably wouldn't abdicate at this time.

"Being Hokage isn't that easy." Muyue shook his head and said.

Although in the original story, after the Third War ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly passed the Hokage position to Minato Namikaze, who had contributed the most, that doesn't mean Hiruzen Sarutobi would pass the Hokage title to Muyue, who contributed the most.

In the original story, there were many reasons for Hiruzen's abdication; it wasn't just because Minato's contributions were great, but also because Konoha had suffered heavy losses—on the surface they were the victors, but in reality they had taken severe damage. Hiruzen's abdication was actually somewhat like taking responsibility and resigning.

This time was different. With Muyue's interference, Konoha became the true biggest winner of the Third War, not only defending its reputation as the number one ninja village but also obtaining a large amount of war reparations. The village's own losses were not particularly severe.

In the crucial final battle, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally led troops onto the battlefield and made significant contributions to the final victory.

In a situation with merits and no faults, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no need to abdicate so quickly.

"It's more likely that I'll be appointed as Hokage Advisor."

After Danzo Shimura's death, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not appoint a new Hokage Advisor but kept the position vacant.

Additionally, Muyue could sense Hiruzen's intention to train him; he estimated that this time he would be promoted to Hokage Advisor.

The specific idea might be to place him in the position of Hokage Advisor to train for a few years, familiarize him with Hokage duties, and then pass the title.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. The Hokage position was difficult, but Hokage Advisor was absolutely certain.

"Hokage Advisor, huh? That barely matches Master Muyue's worth." Obito said with a look of pity.

Some Konoha ninjas might find this boastful, but Muyue truly didn't care about the position of Hokage.

The reason was simple: his system was a teacher system, not a Konoha prosperity system. Teaching disciples was what he should be doing.

Even if he really became Hokage, Muyue would choose to govern the village with shadow clones, unless he no longer had the need to increase his strength.

But that would be a long time from now, because Muyue's goal was to become stronger than the final boss, Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Actually, Muyue rather hoped that Minato Namikaze would become the Fourth Hokage, just like in the original story.

That way, he would have a good brother who was Hokage, and with his own position, when handling matters he would be almost as good as the Hokage.

"A capable person in the highest position can do more good for the villagers." Obito rubbed his head and chuckled.

"Don't spread rumors. Not even Hokage Advisor is certain; it's just my guess." Muyue instructed.

It was only because those around him were his disciples that Muyue said these things; otherwise, he wouldn't have mentioned them.

"Go home and rest well. For the next month, you can rest according to your own wishes." Muyue continued.

Although there was still Black Zetsu, a millennium-old schemer, unresolved, Black Zetsu alone couldn't cause too much trouble. Muyue decided to let his disciples relax for a while.

"One month!" Obito exclaimed with wide eyes.

Taking time off after returning from a mission was Muyue's usual routine, but before it had always been just a few days, rarely even a week.

Kakashi couldn't help but show surprise as well.

"Yo, Kakashi! With such a long vacation, how about we do some intense, youth-fueled holiday training?" Might Guy looked at Kakashi and suggested.

Kakashi:...

He hadn't planned to rest the entire month, but he also wasn't about to start training right away on his first day off.

Shisui was very calm; he still had to go to work at the training squad.

On the way, Muyue opened the system panel and glanced at his disciples' life missions.

"In a few more days, I should be able to settle one for Might Guy and Obito." Muyue thought as he saw the progress on the panel.

Both Might Guy's and Obito's life missions required fame.

In the final battle, Obito and the others had performed brilliantly. As the war's events and results spread, the progress of the two's life missions kept rising, now close to the fifty percent settlement node.

After returning home, Muyue first split off a Shadow Clone to clean the room, then went to Tsunade's house.

Before going to the battlefield, Tsunade had lent him the First Hokage's necklace, agreeing on one meal a day. Now nearly two months had passed, meaning he owed Tsunade sixty meals. He had to repay that debt.

"Muyue-sensei, you're back!"

Shizune, who was sweeping the yard, saw Muyue approaching and greeted him with delight.

"Mm, I just arrived." Muyue replied with a smile.

"Sensei, please come inside. I'll make you some tea."

Shizune put down the broom and invited Muyue into the house, preparing tea for him.

"Tsunade-sama drank too much again yesterday and still hasn't woken up. Please wait a moment—I'll go call her."

After pouring the tea, Shizune headed to Tsunade's bedroom.

"Tsunade-sama, get up! It's almost noon!" Shizune tugged at Tsunade's already twisted blanket, trying to use the pulling sensation to make her get out of bed.

"Don't bother me. Let me sleep a bit longer." Tsunade scolded with her eyes closed.

"Muyue-sensei bought groceries and came back!"

"What did he buy? Is there any freshly killed free-range chicken?"

Tsunade's eyes flew open as she asked, then she got out of bed and changed clothes faster than Shizune could react, and quickly walked to the living room.

Shizune, speechless, walked out of the bedroom and back into the living room.

"Oh, Shizune, you dare trick me?" Tsunade looked at Muyue, who was drinking tea empty-handed, and reached out her evil hands toward Shizune's small face.

"Ugh... I won't call you next time." Shizune said sulkily.

Whenever Muyue came to Tsunade's house, he usually cooked. She was just worried that Tsunade might miss out on Muyue's cooking.

"Trying to hog the food, are you?" When Tsunade heard that, she changed her hand from pinching to pulling.

"Ahem." Muyue coughed twice lightly to indicate that was enough.

Tsunade finally let Shizune go and sat down on the sofa.

Shizune looked at Muyue with grateful eyes. Sometimes she thought, if Tsunade had even half of Muyue's temperament, how happy life would be.

"Congratulations! I've been sick of hearing your good news lately—a bunch of people calling you the second God of Shinobi, the undisputed choice for the next Hokage." Tsunade said with a smile.

"If you have something to say, just say it." Muyue said bluntly.

An unexpected favor is either treachery or theft. Not to mention that he wasn't even Hokage yet—Tsunade hadn't even shown that much respect to the current Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Well, since you've achieved such great success with Wood Release, Muyue, shouldn't the rent for the necklace be adjusted? Lending it for a day being worth three meals would be more reasonable." Seeing Muyue so straightforward, Tsunade dropped the act.

To be honest, when Tsunade heard the news from the battlefield, she was very surprised.

Because Muyue had only developed Wood Release a few months ago, yet it had already created such a stir.

For a moment, she didn't know if Muyue's Wood Release talent was too outrageous, or if Konoha was deliberately promoting it.

"What if the necklace breaks?" Mu Yue asked curiously.

At that time, when Susanoo's blade came down, the First Hokage's necklace shattered instantly.

Izanagi revived Mu Yue but failed to restore the necklace he was wearing.

"Breaks? Then you'll have to pay back ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine days!" Tsunade was taken aback for a moment, then casually threw out a very high number.

This necklace, if you consider its importance, is quite important — it's a memento left by Tsunade's grandfather.

But after all, it's just an object. Compared to the necklace itself, Tsunade certainly wouldn't want something to happen to the person she gave the necklace to.

"What if I could return an identical necklace to you?" Mu Yue extended his hand, and a light green crystal appeared in his palm.

He had already deciphered the technology of the First Hokage's necklace and could produce a necklace with the same effect.

However, this was not easy for Mu Yue at present; to ensure quality, he had to consume a large amount of chakra.

So Mu Yue made only two — one to return to Tsunade, and one to give to Kushina to suppress the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Tsunade's eyes widened, her lips slightly parted, staring at Mu Yue in great surprise.

: mayiwsk