Walking at the Front of the Crowd, Surrounded by Others

"You're really greedy." Tsunade smiled slightly. "But that's something you'd say."

"You haven't truly understood this Shinobi World yet, have you?"

"Huh? Really?" Naruto scratched his head. "I've only looked at maps, so I roughly know the names of the leaders of the Five Great Nations and some of the smaller neighboring countries."

"Looking at a map won't help." Tsunade's red lips curved into a sexy smile as she tossed a thick booklet to Naruto with a flick of her alabaster arm.

"Let's take a look at this first."

"What's this?"

Naruto took the booklet, casually flipped through a few pages, and saw Jiraiya's signature. His expression immediately turned serious.

"The intelligence your teacher Jiraiya has gathered over the years while traveling the world has been partly handed over to the higher-ups and partly in my hands."

Tsunade said lazily, staring at Naruto.

"If you've looked at a map, you should know that the Land of Land of Fire is a landlocked country. The sea breeze blows from east to west. Compared to the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, the Land of Fire has a lower altitude and therefore more rain and forests."

"So the Land of Fire has a temperate maritime climate?" Naruto frowned. "That's why neither the Land of Fire nor the surrounding small countries experience droughts and have rain all year round."

"Hmm." Tsunade affirmed Naruto, "If you can understand it, then it's easy. The Land of Earth and the Land of Wind are located inland with many mountains and steep ridges. The sea breeze is blocked by the high mountains and forms a condensed airflow."

"Therefore, the Land of the Falls of the Land of Waterfall and the Land of Grass receive rain, while the leeward Land of Earth and the Land of Wind experience little rain year after year. In addition, the desert terrain of the Land of Wind easily forms a high-pressure zone. As the air descends, the humidity decreases, which can easily cause sandstorms."

When Naruto first saw the map of the Shinobi World, the more he looked at it, the more it seemed like an inverted version of a map of Western Europe Shinobi World. It wasn't exactly the same, but it was roughly the same.

The prototype of the Bloody Mist Village in the Land of Water is basically confirmed to be the Blood Mist City with cherry blossoms.

They are remarkably similar in both geographical location and history.

The Atlantic Ocean winds blew from France to the Shinobi World, and the dead geographical knowledge began to attack Naruto again at this moment.

The beauty of shattering the brainstem deeply shocked him.

"The history of the Land of Land of Water, the Bloody Mist Village, one of the Five Great Nations, has long ended. Under the leadership of the new Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi, Kirigakure has rapidly risen to prominence," Tsunade added.

"The Land of Water has built a large fleet of ships and now controls most of the major sea routes. Through its naval power, it has established cooperation with the Land of Lightning's numerous coastal areas and formed Civilian Technology Alliance development focused on Chakra."

"What kind of script is this, where the sun never sets and people are all crying?" Naruto complained.

"What brings what?"

"It's nothing," Naruto chuckled awkwardly.

"The Land of Wind has discovered a new rare mineral that, according to intelligence, can conduct Chakra. Once mass-produced, it could change the landscape of the Shinobi World," Tsunade continued.

"The current strategy of the Land of Fire is to avoid direct conflict with the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning on the one hand, and to sow discord between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth on the other, so that the two superpowers on the inland landmass will gradually split apart."

"Under such circumstances, the strength of the Land of Fire was gradually declining under the threat of the rapid development of the Four Great Nations, which is why the Konoha High Command came up with the idea of Perfect Jinchuriki."

"I was wrong, Lord Tsunade. I'd like to hear something simpler," Naruto said, raising his hand.

"Simple?" Tsunade hummed and smiled with narrowed eyes. "Simply put, the future of the Shinobi World lies in peace and technological development, not in war."

Upon hearing this, Naruto agreed, noting that the ninja wars had lasted for a thousand years. Given the current state of the world, peace and prosperity were the inevitable trend.

Traditional Ninjutsu will eventually be replaced; new Ninjutsu techniques and technological exploration will be the main themes of the future.

There was a moment of silence.

A summer breeze is blowing.

"I don't really have any ideas," Naruto said. "I understand what you're saying, Lord Tsunade, and I don't want to be developed as a weapon."

"Therefore, my idea is to continue to stand on Lord Tsunade's side."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade no longer concealed her feelings and let out a breath before asking.

"So, are you interested in becoming Hokage?"

"I have absolutely no such idea."

"Don't you want to consider it?" Tsunade asked. "You and Kakashi are practically born as Kage."

"The Will of Fire is sufficient?"

"No, what I mean is that you are extremely shameless, just like me." Tsunade stretched and yawned as she curled up in the soft chair.

He recalled what Tsunade had said in the office. No wonder she said so much; she was trying to convince him to take over.

"Has Lord Tsunade been using any new shampoo lately?" Naruto quickly changed the subject.

"This..." Tsunade frowned slightly, "I can give it to you if you want."

After saying that, she seemed to remember something and beckoned to Naruto, signaling him to come over.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto didn't know what Tsunade was going to do, but he still went over.

"Bend over," Tsunade said lazily.

He did as she said, standing beside Tsunade and leaning closer. His vision was immediately filled with a large expanse of undulating white skin, the exposed skin as smooth and delicate as mutton fat.

Almost instantly, Naruto was caught in a vortex of inner conflict.

Where are you looking?

"I'm sorry, Lord Tsunade, it's hard to look away."

Tsunade wasn't angry. She pinched Naruto's face with both hands, rubbed it for a while, and then said...

"I can roughly guess why you don't want to become the Shadow. If you refuse, I won't force you to become the village's Shadow. You can live the life you want."

"I've already refused." Naruto's words were a little incoherent as his cheek was pinched.

"I know." Tsunade's hands didn't stop moving, as if kneading clay. "It hasn't been easy for you to get to where you are today. I hope you can be happier."

"At such a young age, he is more cunning than anyone else, and he has a lifeless and dull appearance."

"Completely!" Naruto, annoyed by Tsunade's rubbing, reached out and pinched Tsunade cheek. "I'm not happy at all! Who wants to be used as a weapon? Let whoever wants to be a Jinchuriki be one."

"Damn it, do you think I can do anything about this?" Tsunade increased her grip, her face full of displeasure. "Let go!"

"Let go first!" Naruto cried out, "Ah! Are you going to kill me?!"

"You go first!" Tsunade and Naruto argued. "If you don't let go, I'll beat you up later!"

Under the pressure, Naruto gave in first and reluctantly let go of her hand.

"You're dead!" Tsunade grabbed him and lifted him up. Naruto closed his eyes, waiting to be beaten, but he felt himself being pulled into an overly warm embrace.

"With me here, the road ahead of you will not be so difficult, and you will not have to hide. You will be surrounded and walk at the forefront of the crowd."