Five days later, in Konohagakure.
A drizzling autumn rain enveloped the entire land, and the village under the curtain of rain appeared exceptionally peaceful and serene.
Lying on his bed at home, Tatsuya quietly gazed at the village shrouded in the misty rain.
A month had passed since the battle at the unnamed valley in the Land of Hot Springs. After a period of treatment, the four members of Anbu Squad 11 had been swiftly returned to Konohagakure.
Anbu Squad 11's return was unannounced; Konoha made no public fanfare about it. Few in the village were aware of the squad's accomplishments. Tatsuya and the others understood this, of course. This was standard practice for the major hidden villages; as Anbu members, Tatsuya and his teammates' identities needed to be kept confidential – although it was practically a commonly known "secret".
The Third Hokage simply ordered them to take a month-long leave. Kakashi and Guy were admitted to the ninja hospital, while Shisui was taken home by his clan members. Judging from the unconcealed excitement and guarded expressions on the faces of those Uchiha clan members, it was clear they already knew that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Gazing at the quiet, peaceful village outside the window, Tatsuya's mind drifted slightly.
After more than two years in the world of Naruto, he could finally take a short break. In these short two years, Tatsuya had shed his former dead-last status and become a powerful ninja with his own renown.
After the Nine-Tails' attack, the nearly year-long standoff between Konoha and Kumogakure had essentially ended. With the conclusion of the battle at the unnamed valley in the Land of Hot Springs, Kumogakure finally abandoned its ambition to dethrone Konoha as the top ninja village.
In that battle, Anbu Squad 11's reputation had truly resounded throughout the ninja world.
Copy Ninja Kakashi!
Shisui of the Body Flicker!
Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey, Might Guy!
The genius of the Akimichi clan, master of the Butterfly Mode secret technique, Akimichi Tatsuya!
Information about the four members of Anbu Squad 11 was basically an open secret to the outside world.
Although the four's talent and strength weren't as exaggerated as the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze's, had been in his time, they were still powerful enough to alter the course of localized battles. Their emergence had also relieved Konoha of the awkward situation of a gap between generations of talent, dispelling the covetous intentions of many hostile forces.
However, the battle in the Land of Hot Springs had come at a great cost to the four.
Shisui and Kakashi had both overexerted their ocular powers. The immense combat power provided by the Sharingan had also taken a significant toll on their bodies. Shisui, in particular, had forced the activation of Susanoo at a young age, leaving him with significant hidden injuries; his vision had already drastically declined.
Might Guy's forced opening of the Seventh Gate had nearly killed him on the battlefield. His head-on clash with the Fourth Raikage had left him with not a single intact part of his body. It would likely take at least a year and a half for Guy to even be able to walk again. And even if his body recovered, it would be difficult for him to return to his peak condition in the short term.
Relatively speaking, Tatsuya was the least injured of the four. Although the use of Butterfly Mode put a huge strain on the body, the miraculous effects of his Body Regeneration Technique and the Fujinhoin allowed Tatsuya to maintain a relatively good condition. Tatsuya's current bed rest was more of an opportunity to rest.
With this rare respite, Tatsuya could properly review his previous gains and plan his future path in detail.
Kumogakure and Konoha were about to sign a ceasefire agreement. Because the war between Kumogakure and Konoha ended quickly, the war between Konoha and Iwagakure that should have occurred in the original Naruto storyline did not happen.
The wounds of the Third Shinobi World War had yet to be erased. Based on the current situation in the ninja world, it seemed that the Five Great Ninja Villages would maintain a certain degree of peace for the foreseeable future. This rare period of peace was crucial for Tatsuya's growth.
"Tatsuya-san!"
The door opened, and the petite and charming Kyoko entered, a sweet smile on her face as she looked at Tatsuya. Her long, straight black hair was slightly loose, and her graceful, upright posture made it hard to connect her with her former appearance.
"Kyoko, you're here!" Tatsuya sat up. Seeing Kyoko's beautiful and adorable post-transformation appearance, a smile also spread across his face.
For Tatsuya, Kyoko was the woman he was closest to in this world, and he was naturally happy to see her current transformation. As for romantic feelings, Tatsuya hadn't thought too much about it yet.
When he was with Teru Yuuhi, Tatsuya enjoyed playfully teasing her about their clan's princess, Kurenai Yuhi. But for Tatsuya, who had once been a greasy middle-aged man, to actually pursue a relationship with her, he found it difficult. After all, Kurenai was still only a middle-school-aged girl.
Comparatively, Tatsuya was more interested in Tsunade, a woman of grandmotherly age, but unfortunately, she wasn't in the village at the moment.
Maybe I should just raise them all for now!
Thinking this, Tatsuya became slightly lost in thought as he looked at Kyoko.
"Tatsuya-san, I've brought your meal. You should eat quickly!" Being stared at so directly by Tatsuya, Kyoko became slightly shy. She twisted her small body sideways, whispered a quick reminder, and then hurried away.
Looking at Kyoko fleeing, Tatsuya finally snapped out of his daze. Outside, Tatsuya seemed to hear Cha-Maru's disgruntled barking.
He went out of the bedroom, there was no longer any sign of Kyoko in the living room, only several boxes of exquisite food remained. Seeing this, Tatsuya smiled slightly and didn't pursue the departed Kyoko. He sat down and began to slowly enjoy his meal.
Ever since this girl had completed her perfect transformation, she had become less natural and unrestrained in front of Tatsuya. She became shy from time to time.
As he ate, Tatsuya couldn't help but think about things related to Kyoko. Ever since he had escorted Shinno to the Land of Sand, that guy had completely disappeared. Without Shinno around, Kyoko had returned to Konoha's ninja hospital.
But she was currently in an awkward situation without a guiding Jonin, only able to drift along with random medical teams.
Kyoko seemed quite happy about this, cheerfully going about her days. But Tatsuya had to consider her future.
In the ninja world, medical teams were also high-risk professions, often becoming primary targets for the enemy during wartime. Tatsuya didn't expect to train Kyoko into a powerful, independent ninja, but he needed to consider her safety.
Therefore, Tatsuya had to find a way to enhance Kyoko's own strength.
With the effects of the Fujinhoin, Kyoko's current training speed wasn't slow; her overall strength had reached the Chunin level. But this girl was too laid-back; her desire to improve her strength was very low. In her daily life, apart from her family's secret techniques and medical ninjutsu, Kyoko rarely dabbled in other ninjutsu. She possessed a considerable amount of chakra and a reasonably good physique, but she was completely unable to utilize them to their full potential in combat.
Tatsuya also didn't want to pressure Kyoko to change. Given Kyoko's lack of initiative, Tatsuya could only think of ways to quickly improve the strength of her summon, Cha-Maru. Replicating an exceptional case like Seiryu might be impossible, but Tatsuya was confident he could steadily improve Cha-Maru's strength.
____
Join me on Patreon! A free subscription grants you immediate access to 20 chapters!: patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls