Konoha.
Ten days had passed since Uchiha Gen's inauguration as the Fourth Hokage.
Uchiha Gen lay on his back on the broad, flat stone surface of Hokage Rock. The rock beneath him was rough and slightly cool, and the head he rested on was none other than his own newly carved, enormous likeness. As for Hiruzen Sarutobi's likeness, he had already destroyed it.
Now, only the faces of the Senju brothers and his own remained on Hokage Rock.
A mountain breeze drifted up from the distant forest, brushing gently past.
The breeze stirred his long hair, sending strands floating along his cheeks. It lifted the hem of his Hokage robe, making it pat softly against the rock.
The wind carried the fresh scent of vegetation from Konoha's forest, mingled with faint traces of cooking smoke drifting up from the village below.
Why was Uchiha Gen still so carefree after becoming Hokage, you asked?
Naturally, someone else was shouldering the burden for him.
"I can't finish these approvals! I just can't! Why does the Hokage have so much work?! Finding someone's cat?!! Does even a mission like this need to pass through the Hokage's hands?!!"
Inside the temporary Hokage's Office, Shikaku Nara lay slumped in a pile of documents, roaring in despair.
Uchiha Gen sat up and looked into the distance. The weather was lovely today, with practically no clouds, and even in daylight, the moon's outline was faintly visible.
"Too bad it's fake."
Looking at the faintly visible full moon, Uchiha Gen spoke softly.
The moon before him, which had always orbited the Shinobi World, was merely the external manifestation of the prison used to confine Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
The moon, stars, and such that could currently be seen from the Shinobi World were merely things the Sage of