The Last Leisure Time

A stream of water arced down from the air, pouring deep into Hyuga Ao's body, and a flash of golden light followed close behind, shining through her skin, bones, blood vessels, and meridians.

Under the dual enhancement, Hyuga Ao felt her body, which had been worn out lately from adapting to the Yin Seal, surge with renewed energy.

Hyuga Ao checked her current condition.

"Mhm, my skin is fairer, softer, and more hydrated, and my overall flexibility and resilience have been strengthened."

She formed a water mirror with hand signs.

"My looks have been slightly adjusted—I feel prettier—and I've instinctively learned a lot of Water Release jutsu. This must be Aqua's apology."

"So what about the promised full-body enhancement?"

Hyuga Ao quickly threw a few punches in the tent, then closed her eyes to sense.

"This enhancement is thorough—physical fitness, Spiritual Power, Dojutsu Power, reaction speed, mental capacity, calculation ability, perception, chakra quality, and chakra volume have all been boosted."

"And the full enhancement doesn't just add or subtract—it multiplies. Now that my overall quality has skyrocketed, I feel like if my body matures a few more years, I should be able to touch the threshold of Hyuga Kage-level."

Hyuga Ao paced excitedly around the tent a few times. She felt this enhancement was really generous.

"Now for the last thing."

Hyuga Ao began to extend her perception.

Within her senses, a star slowly appeared. That star felt familiar to her, like home.

This coordinate let Hyuga Ao know exactly where Blue Star was, but she still couldn't comprehend the coordinate information yet.

She could only sense that Blue Star was there.

"It looks like I can only return when I reach the form I have in mind."

The form Hyuga Ao had in mind was Kaguya's form.

Hyuga Ao had a plan for her future.

First, break through the Caged Bird, become a Hyuga Kage-level, master ninjutsu, and use Minato's connections to grow stronger with Konoha's resources.

Then, survive the Nine-Tails incident. After that, go out and collect various tailed beast chakras to see if she could turn herself into a rough version of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and gain the Six Paths Chakra Mode.

If the Ten-Tails path didn't work, she'd seek out the Tenseigan and aim for the Tenseigan Chakra Mode.

Follow the paths that lead to the peak of the ninja world—all of them grant space-related abilities.

Once she obtained those, Hyuga Ao would have the final say in the ninja world. Then she could try to leave, either with help from the world's powers or on her own.

Right now, Hyuga Ao was on the path of seeking the Tenseigan, because the Ten-Tails was too uncertain. But by chance, she had gained a bit of Four-Tails Chakra.

So Hyuga Ao was walking both paths at once, and how far she got would depend on later circumstances.

Having sorted out her situation, Hyuga Ao walked out of the tent and found that the Konoha ninjas passing by all looked excited.

She vaguely heard them talking about something: "Kumogakure has sent troops. Iwagakure is urgently retreating, pulling out of the Land of Rain overnight."

"Oh." Hyuga Ao suddenly understood. So Kumogakure had mobilized.

These past few days, Hyuga Ao had been groggy—partly from the aftereffects of the Yin Seal, partly from adapting to it.

In the early stages of implanting the Yin Seal, after sending chakra into it for the first time, it was like having startup capital. Then the Yin Seal would continuously absorb chakra to complete its initial accumulation.

After that initial accumulation, the Yin Seal became the one everyone knew.

Normally, the Yin Seal stored chakra through automatic absorption and active input. These past few days, the Yin Seal's active absorption had left Hyuga Ao exhausted.

Hyuga Ao walked into Tsunade's office without saying a word, found a recliner, and lay down like a boss.

"Oh ho, if it isn't Boss Ao? How's Boss Ao feeling today?" Tsunade teased.

After receiving the Yin Seal, Hyuga Ao's relationship with Tsunade had warmed up quickly, like real sisters.

Hyuga Ao lay there, rolled her eyes at Tsunade, ignored her, and just lounged.

Tsunade wasn't annoyed. She got up, walked over to Hyuga Ao, and checked her condition.

"Alright, after today, you'll be fine." Tsunade ruffled Hyuga Ao's hair. "Don't come in and lie down like a boss from now on."

"Hey, wait—how did your skin get even better in just a few days?" Tsunade asked in surprise.

"Really?" Hyuga Ao looked puzzled. "I don't know. Maybe it's the Yin Seal's effect."

"Hmph?" Tsunade studied Hyuga Ao's expression, feeling like she was being brushed off, but she couldn't think of anything else that could cause this, so she chalked it up to the Yin Seal.

"Strange. Why didn't I get this effect back then? Or did I just not notice?" Tsunade muttered.

"You definitely missed it. It was there. Don't overthink it, Tsunade-sis—you're already beautiful now, really!"

Hyuga Ao's compliment successfully made Tsunade drop the issue. She breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave.

Hyuga Ao stood up to go, paused at the door, and turned to ask, "What's the plan for us next?"

Tsunade lifted her chin, signaling Hyuga Ao to look around.

Only then did Hyuga Ao notice that Tsunade's office was much emptier.

"Why is it so empty in here?" Hyuga Ao asked.

Tsunade sat back down and continued sorting documents. "I'll be moving forward next."

"Elder Danzo and Sakumo held off Hanzō for that long. Now it's our turn. Elder Danzo is too injured and needs to rest, while Sakumo will be reassigned to the Land of Wind battlefield."

"And with the Iwagakure forces retreating, the Sand Ninja, who were silent before, will inevitably join up with the Rain Ninja and keep attacking. I need to move forward to deal with Chiyo's poison. I'll make sure to detect it the moment it appears and neutralize it immediately, minimizing casualties from her toxins."

"Understood." Hyuga Ao nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait." Tsunade called her back.

"Do you want to join the Anbu?" Tsunade asked.

"The Anbu, huh." Hyuga Ao thought for a moment, then replied, "After the war. I haven't considered joining the Anbu right now."

"Since you don't want to join the Anbu, then stick with me," Tsunade said.

"Alright."

Hyuga Ao truly didn't want to join the Anbu at this point. She still needed to undo the Caged Bird Chains and free herself from the threat of death. The Anbu's pace was too fast, unsuitable for her.

But once the war ended, joining the Anbu could be a way for her to distance herself from Hiashi.

Hyuga Ao followed Tsunade as her medical assistant, soaking up experience.

Under Tsunade's full-fledged training, Hyuga Ao's Medical Ninjutsu improved rapidly. She could now skillfully use the Mystical Palm Technique, and she could also wield the Chakra Scalpel, though she still couldn't control it precisely and needed further refinement.

This made Hyuga Ao wonder whether she was really Orochimaru's disciple or Tsunade's.

Or did the Yin Seal carry some symbolic meaning?

Hyuga Ao wasn't sure, but she thoroughly enjoyed this period of rapidly enriching herself. She had even been visiting Orochimaru less often lately.

During this time, Hyuga Ao gained a deeper understanding of the human body, supplementing her knowledge of human anatomy.

But happy times never last long. While Konoha was busy recuperating, the Sand Ninja had already begun baring their fangs.