Tsubasa pushed the last stack of documents on the table to Biwako and the others in the Cabinet Secretariat, tapping his fingers on the sandalwood tabletop. "From now on, I'll have to trouble you all with these miscellaneous tasks." His sleeve, embroidered with gold-powdered cloud patterns, swept across the inkstone, the scent of ink mingling with the pine fragrance from his hair. The five secretaries hurriedly bowed their heads in agreement, but out of the corner of their eyes, they caught a flash of blue light at his fingertips—clearly the Chakra fluctuation of the Shadow Clone Technique.
After everyone left, Tsubasa rubbed his temples and a smile appeared on his lips. He had said at the Hokage meeting last month that he would step down from the front line, and this charade was finally over. He formed a hand seal, and his Shadow Clone disappeared into specks of light, while his real body walked through the Hokage Street sun, heading straight for the Ten Family Divine Weapon Pavilion villa.
Pushing open the red-lacquered door leading from the third to the fourth floor of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, I could hear my mother, Senju Ga, scolding me from afar. " Tenmei! Put away your Kunai, and stop practicing with swords and spears in the study!" My younger brother, who was a little over a year younger than me, stuck out his neck. "I'm practicing diligently! Back in the day, my older brother..." Before he could finish speaking, he turned his head and saw Tsubasa leaning against the door frame, laughing.
"Big Brother!" Tenmei's eyes lit up, and he almost dropped the short sword in his hand. This kid had grown half a head taller than last year, and his features already showed the heroic air of his father, Senju Tenpuku. Tsubasa ruffled his hair and glanced around the living room: Mom was still wearing a moon-white dress, with the jade bracelet she had brought back from the Land of Whirlpools on her wrist, glaring at her two Mirai sisters-in-law while holding a book. Tian Zhiyun and Tian Yukihime sat obediently at the table, their textbooks propped up high, secretly passing notes underneath—notes with drawings of the family's little Katsuyu.
"Slacking off again?" Tsubasa suddenly spoke up, startling the two sisters who simultaneously shrank back. Tian Yukihime reacted quickly, throwing herself into his arms and nuzzling him. "Big brother is finally back! Mom was saying today that she was going to save up dowries for you to marry a few more, saying that the two of us are always causing her trouble!" Mom picked up a ruler and pretended to hit her, causing everyone in the room to burst into laughter.
After dinner, the five aunts returned together. The fourth aunt, Nanshin Senju was leading the way, took off the gold hairpin from Phoenix Tower, put on her homely silk pajamas, and clutched an abacus and account books in her hand. " Tsubasa, you've come at the right time. Phoenix Tower's dividends for this month have arrived, totaling 25.6 billion taels of silver, but your father said that the Azure Dragon Army wants to order another 500 sets of rune armor, which will cost more than 30 billion taels, and the charity has also applied for 10 billion taels. Add to that the 50,000 ninjas and samurai that Princess Flying Swallow has newly recruited, and this money is simply not enough to cover our expenses!" As she spoke, the second aunt, Gi Senju, brought over freshly brewed Biluochun tea, and the third aunt, Kaidō Senju, slipped a piece of candy into his pocket—the milk-flavored candy that he loved to eat as a child.
Tsubasa smiled and replied to his fourth aunt, "Just ask Flying Swallow for this kind of thing; she can handle it. The Ten Family can't pay for the Azure Dragon Army's expenses; it's not a private army. We need to make this clear to Dad."
"I'm relieved to have you, the Lord Hokage, speak up. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to handle your dad, that military enthusiast. By the way, a new dancer has arrived at the Phoenix Tower. She's incredibly flexible and seductive. I'll take you to see her sometime, maybe she'll enlighten you. All you ever do is train." Fourth Aunt said, cracking melon seeds. "Speaking of business, your Fifth Aunt's winery is the best. It used to be the worst business, but now it's the most profitable..." Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the window.
My father Senju Tenpuku, and my aunt returned from the army. Their armor was still covered in grass clippings, indicating that they had just come back from the Azure Dragon Army camp.
"My Lord Hokage is home today? You brat, I heard you cut military funding to build roads? What's going on? Protecting the country is Konoha's top priority." Dad patted his shoulder, his face serious, wrinkles crinkling at the corners of his eyes. "I also heard you dumped all the administrative duties on those young guys? They can't handle it. You're invincible now, why would you give up everything to train? A man has to be responsible. Now that you're Hokage, you have to do what Hokage is supposed to do..."
Before Senju Tenpuku could finish speaking, his mother, Senju Ga, brought over some food and glared at his father. "You're just spouting nonsense. Do you think you have more foresight than your son? You're just a roughneck, all you need to do is follow orders. Can't you see the child just got back and wanted to rest?"
Tsubasa suppressed a laugh and said, "Dad, our own strength is fundamental. Only by handing over political affairs can I have time to research higher-level forces. Besides, Konoha probably won't fight for twenty years, so there's no need to rush the development of the army. The focus of training should be on improving the individual strength of the soldiers; equipment alone won't suffice. You need to increase the training volume, train them to the point of exhaustion as long as they don't die, and study troop coordination more. We need to have countermeasures against strong enemies. What we need are elite troops. Don't always think about buying equipment. Konoha's technology updates quickly; what we buy now will be obsolete in two years. If we have good equipment, and with me here, how could we lack the Azure Dragon Army?"
Tsubasa continued, "Also, you need to spend more time improving yourself. Konoha will hold assessments every ten years from now on. It would be so embarrassing to be eliminated because you're not strong enough. What I'm saying is very important. When you go back to the army, talk to the generals about this. Don't compare equipment; compare personal strength."
Senju Tenpuku nodded in agreement, secretly planning to discuss it thoroughly with his subordinates when he got back, and to implement some more grueling training to improve the combat effectiveness and teamwork of each ninja. He also needed to train like crazy; if he were eliminated, he would be incredibly depressed, and the thought sent chills down his spine.
Several aunties were doubled over with laughter; the scene of a son disciplining his father was truly hilarious.
In the stillness of the night, Tsubasa sat in the corridor drinking tea. Yueqing came over carrying a stack of documents, her hair adorned with a silver hairpin from the Rune Sealing Department: "This is this month's barrier report. Ashina said to send it to the Hokage's office after you've read it..." As she spoke, her sleeve slipped down, revealing a hideous red wound on her wrist—an injury she sustained a couple of days ago while experimenting with rune weapons.
" Yueqing, you've worked hard. The R&D department is too dangerous, please be careful." Tsubasa took the documents and looked at the dark circles under her eyes. "Take a month off next month. You're so young, don't let work wear you down." Just as Yueqing was about to speak, the sound of a bowstring came from afar—it was Muyan practicing archery at the training ground. She is now the chief instructor of the Kirin Corps, and it is said that her newly created rapid-fire archery technique can shoot through three flying mosquitoes at the same time from a kilometer away.
Just then, Tian Uguisu's Crow fluttered over, a note tied to its claws. In the note, Tian Uguisu said that she had learned a new Ninjutsu from that "master" and that she would take Tsubasa to see the legendary Ten-Tails statue next time. Tsubasa touched the note and smiled. It was indeed Madara Uchiha who had rescued Tian Uguisu at the border of the Land of Earth back then.
The next morning, Tsubasa bid farewell to his ancestors at the ancestral hall. His mother, Senju Ga, stuffed his luggage with lots of food, while his younger brother stood at the door, looking at him with admiration. Even his usually aloof Tian Mai, rarely spoke, saying, "We'll miss you. Come home to visit us often."
He stood at the entrance to the ancestral hall and looked back. In the morning light, his mother's figure was still beautiful, waving incessantly. He heard his younger brother Tenmei's loud voice. "Brother, come back soon! I want to race you in Water Walking and tree climbing!"