一章  chapter one

This unusual phenomenon started half a year ago.

This period was extremely hectic, new regulations going into effect overlapped with a meeting of all five kage. Off and
on for a few days now, my state of health had been declining. I felt absentminded and negligent with a slight fever, I
thought it was due to my being sleep deprived since I hadn’t been sleeping at all.
“Naruto, this is bad. Is it possible for you to put out another shadow clone?” Shikamaru entered the hokage’s office
late that night, past 2 am with horribly dark bags under his eyes.
” At the last moment, the intelligence institute’s chakra researched progressed. That in itself is good news by the
grace of god, but thanks to the change in figures for the conference, almost everything has to be replaced. We don’t
have sufficient hands.”
“oh――......”
Naruto replied apathetically, raising his face from his computer.
The numbers on the spreadsheet software irritate his eyes. He leaned back into the back of his chair, repeatedly
blinking his eyes as he formed a seal (hand sign). The usual.
――In that moment, a severe pain, as if his body was tearing itself in two, penetrated through to the back of his
chest.
「Ah-AH......！？」
「Naruto！？」
Naruto collapsed forward, hitting his head loudly on his desk while his knees fell to the floor.
The pain disappeared within a moment as it came in waves, leaving him with just a lingering numbness.
“What’s wrong, Naruto? Is it some kind of pain?”
Shikamaru looks at him, the skin between his eyebrows wrinkling.
“no...... just for a moment, must have been something in my chest.”
Naruto unsteadily stood up.
What was that just now? It was a pain he had never experienced.
Was it because I formed a sign......？
Once more and slowly this time, he tried crossing his fingers into the seal.
POOF!
A poof was heard, appearing was a clone.
“there......you’re out......”
“just now, how was that?”
“oh, it was like... this...gre-great... intense... pain, it was overwhelming”
The clone imitated Naruto while teasing that “it didn’t seem so painful”, all while slapping Naruto’s shoulder.
“Do you have high blood pressure? ... All you eat is ramen”
“SHUT UP! I’m not that old yet, you know!
“............”
The two of them quarreled, Shikamaru’s facial expression was cold as they motionlessly and fixedly stared at each
other.
With this current administrative system, Shikamaru knew that the burden of currently being hokage was too great.
Amendments were frequently being submitted to the daimyo, but their opposition to anything that greatly changes
tradition was strong.
For more than a long time, Naruto was forced to be unreasonable.
Despite this, it was painful not to say he needed a rest. For starters, being hokage meant being the top position in a
“shinobi village”, which is responsible for the national defense for the Land of Fire. As it should be, but as the era of
war grew older over time, the whole country has grown dependent on shinobi, the power of the hokage growing
proportionally as well, regardless of their intention. Yet so the shinobi village was the head of the military, so to speak.
They were their own administration. As such, the hokage position is extremely delicate, it greatly relies on the
discretion of the individual, and there were no substitutes.
“If you want more peace of mind, drink this.”
Shikamaru handed him over some kanpouyaku (Chinese herbal medicine) the medical team had compounded. He
swallowed it, drinking an energy drink as it went down. He had forgotten the pain that ran through his chest for a
moment as he got back to his work.

A month later, the second wave of severe pain came.

With his son Boruto, they were in the training grounds at dusk. The five kage conference was over, he was watching
over his training. Filling in for his master who couldn’t come for a while.
“Ha! Hoh! Da! De-Ya!!”
Boruto threw shuriken four times in a row, flying cleanly while spinning as each one pierced the east, west, north, and
south.
It was shuriken and kunai training, which Boruto was not good at.
“Wo――――aah！ I hit the target――！”
“Yeah, it feels good! Then next, practice applying a tighter curve.”
“Ehー? there more to this than when I learned the rasengan.”
Boruto pouted then turned bitterly back at Naruto.
“Isn’t this more of Sarada’s thing in our team? It’d probably be better to leave shuriken to her, you know”
“You too. When you become a shinobi, you won’t always get to team up with your same team.”
“I mean- I just don’t know how to get it to curve. Are there any tips or tricks to it? A trick?!”
Tricks......
Naruto put his hand on his hip while he thought.
“Got it! You can curve a rasengan, right?”
“A little”
“Try and get it to feel like that”
“......wh-what?”
Boruto’s blue eyes look up to Naruto, beaming with expectations.
“So, when you want to bend a rasengan you......”
Naruto lost his train of thought.
It was like moving your hands and feet, an unconscious action. He couldn’t find the words to verbalize the movement
that made sense.
“...... I’ll just show you; I’ll do one. Look”
I can’t say it to you.
“Ah- I got it” Boruto said surprisingly, giving a big nod.
“I get it... same feeling. So... that feel- “
This guy... really is my kid.
As Naruto grew happier, with all his heart he ruffled Boruto’s blonde hair which was standing on end.
“What are you doing- stop it!”
Boruto moved his body out from Naruto’s hand, shrugging his shoulders. Despite acting like he hated it, his face
was happy.
“Alright, back to training. Dad’s going to make obstacles with earth style, so this time try to hit the target while
avoiding them.”
“heh, heh”
Boruto turns his back to Naruto, shuriken in hand.
Naruto clasped his hands together, his usual go to hand seal when building up chakra.
*heart thump*
Suddenly his heart has rapidly beating. The deep pain he remembered spread deep into the back of his chest.
“――――～～～Hh！！”
As not to scream out in pain, Naruto clenched his teeth.
He held his chest, trying deep breaths. Boruto who was turned away from Naruto was unaware of anything
happening.
“Boruto......this is bad”
Naruto desperately concentrated his strength to his shaking throat, disguising himself as calm.
“Dad, I’ve got kind of...... urgent business”
“Oh- ok, see you later”
Boruto looks back at the dissatisfied voice.
Before he could, Naruto kicked up at the ground. He leaves the place at such a high speed it looked like he just
disappeared.
The training grounds were surrounded by forests meant for practice. Running through the trees, Naruto rushed to
Konoha’s old town.
His heart beat faster and faster.
It wasn’t normal.
If he got to the hospital quick enough, Sakura-chan would examine him.
*heart thump*
A tremendous pain spread throughout his whole body, forcing Naruto to dramatically slam on the ground.
He tried to pull himself together, digging his nails into the dirt, but he couldn’t find the strength to wake his body up.
「Gu......h！」
It’s useless. There’s no way I’m going to get to the hospital.
Crawling, he managed to escape through an aviary in the forest. It was built a long time ago to raise messenger
hawks and was active up until the shinobi world wars, but it hasn’t been used for many years now. The walls that had
been exposed to rain and winds were close to collapsing. Naruto had leaned against the wire mesh for support when
a screw fell loose. The chain-link buckling under him as it sent Naruto tumbling inside the shed.
“Ha、aah......Guh、shit......”
The inside of the shed was terrible. Old feathers stained by rainwater scattered throughout left a strange odor. Naruto
crawled his way through on the floor scatter with rotten sawdust and into the corner of the shed as he crouched.
It’d be unlikely that any one from the village would see him in such a figure. The miserable figure of the 7th hokage
who should be able to protect the village. He was almost certainly anxious.
“Guuh、ah、ah、Aah......h！”
A wave of severe pain rushes and spreads throughout his whole body.
Squeezing in through the pain little by little were never-ending spasms that welled up within his body.
Naruto rounded out his back, clenching his teeth.
“Ku......u、......hu、huーu......”
When did he get covered in mud, he thought.
He slumped has back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling where boards were missing as he let out a deep
breath. In the meantime, the pain went away. His face was a mess of sweat, tears, and saliva.
“......training, I couldn’t even make it to the end”
He intended to just monologue, but there was a reply back in his head.

――you care about that kind of thing, don’t you...

“What is it, Kurama...... did you wake up?”

――If your vessel was yelling like that, you’d wake up too.

He could hear Kurama’s voice clearly now, even though he had a habit of waking up moody.

――Surely, I was thinking someone had attacked us... Naruto what the hell happened

“ok, I get it!”

Naruto stood up with his hand on the wall after wiping his face with his sleeve.

“just, every time I try to form a hand seal, my chest suddenly hurts......”

――......signing a seal？

“Yeah. It happened as soon as I tried to form a seal, both this time and the last time.”
――Naruto.
Kurama’s voice lowered.

―― If you don’t start gathering some reliable friend and start investigation this as soon as possible, you’ll regret it.

“investigate?”

Yes...
 Kurama continued, nodding slowly.

―― When the Sage of Six Paths stayed in the country of Redaku, he had the same symptoms. At the time, it
seemed to be cured somehow... Naruto, I don’t know if that’d be the case with you.

At the eaves of a Japanese confectionery shop in old town, there was a sign that read “strawberry daifuku
now over”. The shop’s manager, Tami, sat at a cool table, the cherry blossom colored haori worn by employees on the
shoulder.
Large dango made on top stand out well.
“hokage-sama”
When he noticed Naruto, he dutifully stood up and smiled.
“Yo, Tami-chan! Leaving early?”
“God willing, if it sells well today. Our second shop is about to open.”
“Then I’ve come to your rescue. My son complains that I don’t buy it very much.”
Letting out a laugh, Tami pointed to the back of the store.
“Everyone’s already inside, hokage-sama, you’re the last”
“Oh- “
Naruto opened the shop door with ease.
The showcase place at the storefront was made of modern-style glass, but one step in and it’s a traditional wooden
house.
On a small shelf sat books and a soroban.
In the corner of the room sat a small flame meant to smoke out the mosquitos, the slender streams of
smoke escaping through the opening in the transom and into the outside air.
Naruto took off his shoes and sat up onto the agarikamachi. An ornate hairpin that replaced a bookmark in a
notebook held up by other books had been pulled out, one of the decorations that hung below a weeping cherry tree
slid into a tiny hold in the wall.
Duun......
There was a low vibrating sound then suddenly the clicking of a lock.
The wall which should be made of red tawny wood instantly became permeable like some kind of acrylic
board.
An invention of the intelligence institute, the wall is usually opaque, but when a voltage becomes applied the shape
behind is revealed using crystal-like liquid particles. These walls are able to blend in with any kind of material, making
it useful for hiding larger objects or room entrances. Naruto pushed on the wall, turning like a revolving door and
stepped inside.
This was a secret room.
The shop manager was Tami when Pain attacked konohagakure, when he had failed to escape on time, Sakura was
able to help rescue him, and he’s been good to Sakura ever since. Its why Tami’s Japanese Confectionery Shop was
provided as a meeting place for Naruto and others. Tami in no way even suspects the 7th hokage to be in such a dire
situation like he is now. Naruto is like a celebrity; he assumes they were just looking for a place to meet with friends
away from the public eye.
Going through the door, he walks up a narrow staircase.
At the end of the hallway, he pulled back the thick wooden beam of the paper sliding door, revealing the narrow
room that was the attic, causing the glow of the andon lantern to sway. Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Shikamaru sat
seated around the small flame. Naruto shut the sliding door behind him then sat down on the tatami.
There was a lacquered round tray with tea and Japanese sweets prepared, curtesy of Tami.
“How’s your psychical condition?” Sakura spoke first, her anxiety-filled gaze pointed at him.
“hmmー well, no different than usual”
“You’re not getting any better. Since you’ve returned from the Land of Stairs how many of these episodes have you
had?”
“............”
“Tell me honestly” Naruto replied reluctantly after noticing how stern Sakura’s voice was.
“...... it’s happened twice. One was a huge one and the other was small.”
“I see” Sakura’s voice as she listened to him was calming. There was an air of seriousness to her caring atmosphere.
There was sever chest pain along with difficulty in breathing, it’d been happening the first two times when he
attempted to gather his chakra, but the third time came suddenly when he had been doing nothing.
Moreover, the frequency at which they occurred was increasing little by little.
Their cause is unknown.
Sakura examined him, there were no abnormalities in his body. No bacteria or viruses could be detected,
there was nothing she could do besides warning him against using his chakra.
There was only one clue in the situation, the Sage of Six Paths.
Kurama spoke of the Sage of Six Paths once suffering from the exact symptoms as Naruto.
―― Still, it was just a story about the time old man Six Paths had the ten tailed beasts within him.
His symptoms developed while he was staying in the countryside of a country named Redaku to the west.
What he did was still unknown.
“Despite all of this, you’ve told Hinata about all these symptoms, right?”
Sakura asked him, Naruto shook his head silently.
I don’t want to make my family worry.
“I’ll write a report about this progress immediately,” Shikamaru spoke out in a calm tone.
“I went through all the archives in the country looking for anything on the country of Redaku... its existence of Redaku
itself is treated like a legend in most books, I couldn’t even find a specific description... These are the only files we can
rely on.”
Shikamaru tossed a bunch of papers onto the tatami. They were copies of the corresponding pages in the
book.
“Unfortunately, the contents are written in some ancient language, but it seems almost immediately easy to read........ I
was able to pick up some proper nouns, and there seems to be a confirmed description of the approximate time the
Sage of Six Paths was in the country of Redaku. Nevertheless, from here on out, it’s no longer amateur friendly. I’ve
just now requested for the intelligence institute to decipher it......but there’s no way it’d be done anytime soon.”
Ken-gakuin, the intelligence institute, is the name of the international organization created in agreement
with the five great nations after the shinobi wars. Unlike the village’s scientific team, it doesn’t belong to any specific
nation, instead working to promote science, culture and education. The current headquarters was located within the
Land of Stairs.
“We’re screwed” Kakashi spoke in a soft tone, then continued to pour tea into his cup without a care.
“At the same time, we can’t just yield either. I sent a hawk to the king of Redaku and asked for any information
regarding the time the Sage of Six Paths stayed there but I didn’t get an answer.”
The country of Redaku had been separated by the outside world by four thousand meters of mountain
ranges, a nationally isolated country with a completely different sphere of influence and culture from that of the five
great nations, especially the Land of Fire.
In recent years, Kakashi as the sixth hokage exchanged a few letters with the king of Redaku, the first official exchange
since the dawn of history. Within the letters were only a simple exchange of information about their own countries,
more modest correspondences between leaders rather than a diplomatic relationship. There were already next to
nothing clues as it was.
“Just as I thought, we have no choice but to go to the actual place.”Sasuke said, his tone mundane.
Just out of his line of sight, the luminance of the andon lantern shines onto the whole room, swaying as the flame
flickers.
I’ll go on my own ―― Naruto somehow swallowed those words that almost left his mouth.
I don’t even know how many days it’ll take to get to Redaku.
If it weren’t for the public service position of hokage, he’d be gone for a while, but it was Kakashi who raised his bid
saying, “I’ll go”.
“Out of all of you, I’m the only one who has any kind of relationship with Redaku’s king. I always thought I’d go see
the king face-to-face one day when I retired... and I’m free now.”
“To the west of the five great nations from here to the capital, if you went by Kaminari train... could we hurry up and
make it in about two weeks?
Sakura asked, Sasuke shook his head no.
“You’d need to acclimate your body to the high altitudes oxygen level. It’d take twenty days.”
“I see, so regardless, it’d be better to leave as soon as possible.”
“......Kakashi-sensei, you really don’t have to do that.”
Uninterested in the conversation, Naruto threw a wet blanket over their plan.
Shikamaru turned to him, his gaze looked almost as if he were amazed.
“Nah, I don’t know. This could be trouble.”
“Nevertheless... this is my personal affair. Kakashi-sensei... and Sasuke, Sakura-chan, and Shikamaru are all Konoha’s
most valuable people. I can’t just ask this of you like this.”
“Is this a hokage’s order? Naruto?” Sasuke’s tone was evidently angry as he pressed his question to Naruto.
“If a shinobi doesn’t abide by the rules, are they unfit for their position?”
Naruto went silent.
Kakashi immediately broke the tension.
“In that logic, you’re all unfit as shinobi. Naruto, you’re going to inevitably get involved. Yes, it’s bad to fail to meet
expectations, but you can’t afford to lose composure over it when you are a public face.”
Naruto slowly lifted his head up, looking at each of his friends faces. They may not show it on their faces but being
their friends for such a long time he could tell how worried they were.
Kurama told me to gather a few friends to help investigate the disease, these four are the first ones I called out to.
Even so, I really didn’t want anyone to know.
I don’t want to needlessly worry about myself.
“Yeah, I understand your feelings.” Sitting cross-legged placing his body weight on his right knee, Kakashi continued.
“No matter what you say, I’m going to Redaku. Though, if I can go- if possible, I’d like it by form of commission from
the hokage rather than privately to save any trouble. I’ll adjust expenses accordingly.”
Expenses probably wasn’t his reason.
Naruto stared at the tatami.
If the media found out about Kakashi’s Redaku visit later, they’d bash him with “hokage silently operating
shinobi of the village”. However, if they kept a record of it being a public mission, at least you can no longer be
blamed for a private dispatch.
“Naruto” Shikamaru called out, Naruto raised his head silently. “If I may have a word as the hokage’s close aid, right
now we should be looking for the cause, even if we have don’t have personnel to spare. If something should happen
to you, it’d be a huge lose on the village. To be frank, it’d affect the entirety of the five great nation’s power balance.”
“This current situation is our responsibility to bear as well,” Kakashi continued after Shikamaru. “For a long time, I
relied on you too much. Whether it was the Fourth Shinobi World War or the subsequent reconstruction afterwards.
One of the main reasons we have peace today is the fact that the daimyo of other countries take one glance at the
Land of Fire’s strength and can’t even stand up to it... but as a result, I just ended up putting these heavy things on
your shoulders.”
“such a thing.......”
We were all together. Naruto looked around at his comrades.
Shikamaru, who supports the hokage from the front and back as chief of staff.
Sasuke, who protects Konoha from the shadows with missions in undeveloped land.
Sakura, who was dedicated to the development of medical care.
Kakashi, who build the foundation for the current Konoha as the sixth hokage.
We each have different roles but bear the same amount of responsibility.
“I’ll go, too” Sasuke suddenly declared.
“Redaku is a city state. Information isn’t always concentrated in the capital. It’s better to have more of us on the
ground.”
“No, Sasuke” Naruto replied instantly.
“I can’t use you as back up just because I’m sick. Absolutely no.”
Besides we already had Kakashi’s talent. On top of that, Sasuke can’t get involved with Naruto’s personal affairs.
“Sasuke. You have another mission for the village. This is.... this is my command as the hokage.”
“I don’t have to follow it. Officially, I’m not a shinobi. I usually cooperate with you because
I want to.”
“you’re full of shit, teme-!” A vein sat out above Naruto’s eyebrow.
“The future of the village or my life, which is more important?!”
“Your life. Otherwise the future of the village cannot be protected. Whatever you say, I am going to do what I think is
best.”
“Who wants tea?” Sakura asked while lifting the teapot, cutting off their argument.
“Me”, Shikamaru holds out his cup.
“Give me some, too”, Kakashi followed.
Pale green tea gently pours from the spout and into the cup, whirling inside as it filled.
“............”
Naruto glared at Sasuke, his eyes narrowed like a fox.
Sasuke stared strongly right back at Naruto too, he was not about to lose.
“...... Well, I’ll go to Redaku first, just to explore and get a feel for the country.”
Kakashi said slowly, wrapping both his hands around his steaming teacup.
“If you need help, I’ll send a hawk, so Sasuke can get there quickly.”
“okay” Sakura nodded while picking up a strawberry daifuku.
“Sasuke-kun, it’s been a while since you’ve watched over Boruto and the others’ training.”
Naruto and Sasuke say nothing.
The light from the lantern between them all shakes as they glare at each other.
“What a drag” Shikamaru sighs under his breath.

The next morning, Kakashi set off to Redaku with a stamp of approval of the seventh hokage, his mission
recorded in the appointment book dedicated to foreign missions.
Naruto was too busy to drag out his guilt he felt for dispatching Kakashi and the impatience he felt towards his
unknown disease with no prognosis.
Between attending various meetings at all different locations, his presence couldn’t take a break. He received
audit reports and financial statements, the stack of papers looking like a mountain. Then in the afternoon, attended a
meeting on how to deal with the correspondence of an international organization whose behavior and conduct had
been highly suspicious.
An urgent response was needed, and they should move without leaving a trace, but other than that, their
meeting had been all right. When they finally concluded with, “continue vigilance as before”, evening had already
fallen.
After checking to see how many more documents he needed before his work could be finished, he finally
settled into his seat. Eating a nutritional jelly that came in a tube instead of dinner, then making a proposal for the
new curriculum at the academy.
Shikamaru walked in.
“Still not back yet?”
With his laptop open in one arm, Shikamaru continued to ask, “Did you have any episodes today?”
“Only one”
Actually, only one in broad daylight.
Fortunately, when he was alone in the hokage’s office, the symptoms weren’t so bad, so they subsided after
hunching over and locking the door.
“I see”, Shikamaru nodded, closing the door behind them.
“Be happy, Naruto. I got a call from the intelligence institute. They’re progressing with the deciphering.”
“Really?!”
Naruto jumped up, kicking his chair.
“Shizune-san joining the decoding team was a huge help. They’re advancing at an astonishing four lines in a day”
“Oh!......”
Four lines?
Just four lines?
“I’m not really disappointed. There was a lot of information in just these four lines. The Sage of Six Paths who had
visited Redaku, stayed at the Janmaru-Tataru Astronomical Institute, his illness seems to have been cured during his
stay here.”
“OOH! And then?”
“and, and then...... that’s it.”
“come on......”
Naruto slumped his shoulders, returning to his chair.
A moment passed, Naruto’s face lit up with a smirk as he noticed, “but we made a little progress!”
“Yeah. It’s a step forward. It may feel insignificant, but I’m pleased.”
Saying that, Shikamaru pulled a trash bin next to him and sat atop it with his feet relaxed apart.
“Send a hawk to Kakashi-sensei and let him know he should get to the capital as planned... and then that the criminal
from last years’ assassination attempt in the Land of Stairs committed suicide.”
Naruto’s face distorted at the word “suicide”.
“In the end, I didn’t want him to hear about it through gossip.”
Shikamaru continued with his hard expression unchanged, opening his laptop to display an email.
“The Land of Stairs research team has sent a question to the seventh hokage. –What are your thoughts about it?”
“Ehh... I guess, If I have to.”
“right.”
As the hokage, Naruto’s position has a lot of influence in many ways.
Inevitably, that buys you a lot of resentment.
As the era of peace continues, the memories of the Shinobi war disappeared among the people, even
Konoha’s own villagers who behind the scenes slammed him with, “A hero of war is still a murderer”.
“That meeting’s timing probably won’t be expressly aimed at the Stairs’”
Shikamaru said with an angry look.
“Right now, it’s in regard to the cost of gas over there and electricity.”
“What’s wrong with the Floor’s gas?”
“The Land of Fire invested in the research institute to develop new forms of energy, but the Stairs don’t really like
those guys. If the demand for the Stairs’ gas drops, we won’t be able to sustain ourselves.”
Naruto’s face frowned.
Certainly, the Land of Stairs has been repeatedly petitioning with heavy pressure calling for the abrupt
cancellation of development towards new energy sources. Their reason was that it’d “break the current economic
balance”, but in a “change in the market” to start with is is only natural.
Naruto didn’t want to hurt the Land of Stairs’ economy.
However, the Land of Fire couldn’t keep relying on other countries for their supply of energy.
“The Secretary General of the intelligence institute is very suspicious. There’s reasonable doubt that he was the main
culprit of the assassination.”
Shikamaru launched a web browser to open up the institute’s official site. The secretary’s portrait is posted on the
organization’s page. A nervous man with glasses.
“Samuhen Furie. Secretary General of the intelligence institute, a scientist specializing in energy physics. Born in the
Land of Stairs, studied in the Land of Fire as an honor student during the time of the sixth hokage.”
“It’s because Kakashi-sensei gave him a grant so he came to the Land of Fire for studies, why should we scold him?”
“There is a possibility that his love for his homeland is stronger than his favor for here.”
Shikamaru spoke while hitting a key on his laptop. The display on screen switches to a list of shinobi belonging to
Konoha’s village.
“I don’t know whether or not if Furie was jealous, but at any rate there was still a planned assassination. It’d be better
to send a team of surveyors to the Land of Stairs. We can’t get genin to it with this level of difficulty, so we can form a
team with Konohamaru, Mirai, and- “
“No, let Sasuke go”, Naruto said flat out. “Would that be fine?”
“Yeah. As long as he’s within our boundaries, I can move him as we see fit....... but we won’t have a substitute for him,
as long as he assumes the mission for the village, when-”
“I hope that you’ll make the best decision. That mission, will you inform him?”
“No, Shikamaru... you tell him for me. As usual.”
Knock! Knock!
Someone knocked on the door as they deliberately broke their conversation.
Without further waiting on a reply, Moegi appeared, calling out to Shikamaru.
Kengakuin, the intelligence institute had apparently contacted him again.
“Naruto, I understand your intention. I’ll notify Sasuke for you.”
Speaking that, Shikamaru left the hokage’s office.
Eventually that day, Naruto left the hokage’s office after dates had changed.
“aah...... it’s been.......”
The night breeze felt surprising good as it touched his skin, he was absolutely exhausted. His field of vision
sank into darkness as he stared at his PC monitor, he needed a break to heal his tired eyes.
He dragged his feet along as he walked through old town, suddenly looking up at the seven faces that lines
the night sky across from the electric lines.
The stone hokage.
It had been a long time since he had taken a look at them, he went to go get a change of scenery. Since he
couldn’t use his own chakra, he went up onto the rocks, climbing and sitting down on the stone image of his father’s
head and overlooked the own town. It was a modest view at night, there were sparse lights scattered throughout
from the inside of people’s houses.
This little view was Naruto’s pride and joy.
Thinking about how there were people under each of the softly glowing lights, eating their meals, taking
baths, and so on, made him happy.
The village was at peace.
No one was afraid that tomorrow another country could attack and kill them, that they’d be threatened by
foot shortages, or that their father who went out on duty wouldn’t come home. Kakashi-sensei now laughs and tells
old stories of Obito and Minato’s team, Sasuke takes Sakura and Sarada to visit his clan’s gravesite. Even with these
sad memories, little by little, everyone is moving forward.
I wish I could show this world to my father and mother.
To pervy-sage,
 to Pain,
to Neji.
Even Zabuza and Haku.
Konoha’s village has become so peaceful.
I really wish they were all still here in this world. I wonder, how much better would life be if we were all able to live
and laugh together.
I wish everyone could still be alive.
There are so many people who easily suffer and die in this world.
All Naruto could do was bring peace to the village.
So, he aimed at becoming the hokage.
Those who become hokage are acknowledged by everyone.
Naruto has always worked for the good of everyone else. No matter what.
Getting someone to do things for you, he thought that was a weakness.
He’d be anyone’s shield, as long as they had his back.
“............” Naruto stood up and looked down at the fourth hokage’s nose bridge, slightly higher than his own.
Before he realized it, he had become older than Minato by the time of his passing.
Naruto’s ninja way had never changed, even after reaching his dream of becoming hokage.
He’d never go back on his word.
He’d continue to fulfill his dream of protecting the village as the hokage.
For that purpose, ......he needed to stay strong.
“something bad happened”
He was muttering, there was no emotion in his voice.
He clenched his fist to push down his anxieties ―― but at the same time, he fell to his knees.
Pain coursed through the back of his chest like the zapping of an electric current.
His heart begins to beat fast and pain sparks behind his temples.
“――......uuh......uah、aa......haa......h”
Severe pain runs throughout his whole body. He can’t breathe as his consciousness becomes cloudy.
His usual symptoms.
Except this time, they’re deeper.
“w-what’s......hh、different......this time......?”
His limbs tremble as his back squeezes and convulses nonstop.
It felt like all the moisture from his throat had been sucked dry.
Every time he is about to lose consciousness, his pain pulls him right back.
Calm down.
This is no different than usual.
Just endure this until there’s a cure.
As he warned himself, a pain struck his body from behind like an arrowhead.
“aa......h!?”
Naruto tried to scream, but as his mouth opened there was no sound.
His heart rampaged on, his heart was hot enough to burn a hole through his body.
“ hh, guh, ah, aah!” His vision was painted red from the intense heat and pain.
His chest twisted; his body so hot it felt like he was going to burst from the inside out!!
“uaah、hh、Aa―――......hh！”
His consciousness jumped from his brain as he lost his breath.
He fell from the stone face of the fourth hokage.
Someone caught his arm as Naruto’s body fell from convulsing.
BAM!
From the feeling of landing on the ground that blew to his back, Naruto’s consciousness returned.
Through his white cloudy vision, he could see an ankle that was covered in a familiar tabi.
“......Sasuke......”
As Naruto was held to the ground, Sasuke proceeded to work chakra up into his palm.
Using water style, his chakra produced water that he spilt over Naruto’s face.
The sudden surge of water chilled the inside of Naruto’s head which was on the brink of overheating.
Sasuke tried to leave in silence.
As Naruto wakes up, he notices his footsteps as they walked back towards his home.
“Hold on, Sasuke”
He desperately tried to focus despite his hazy vision.
Sasuke wore a long black cloak with a collar that he always wore on duty as he walked away.
There was bump that stuck out from where his sword sat by his back under his cloak.
“Teme-...... Is that what I think it is? Where are you going?”
Sasuke stopped as he looked back.
“What does it look like, I’m leaving Konoha.”
“To the Astronomical Research Institute?”
“Ah”, Sasuke nodded.
The blood in his head went cold again.
“You fucker, teme-...... Shikamaru should’ve informed you. Your next mission was to investigate the assassin behind
the Land of Stairs incident. Stop acting out on your own!”
“Don’t you get it?” Sasuke asks Naruto, even his strong gaze feels angry.
“If you’re not hokage, there’s no point... I won’t do anything else until we cure your illness.”
“Even so...... I can’t permit that, Sasuke.”
Naruto desperately tried to stand up, putting all his strength into his knees did not stop them from trembling.
Once Sasuke has decided something, he rarely bends from that goal.
You couldn’t stop him with all your might.
He gathered some chakra within his left palm.
Instantaneously, piercing pain struck his back through his spine, his body seemed to jump up in response.

――Quit it、Naruto！

Kurama’s voice.

Shut up, Naruto replied in his head as he continued to knead chakra.

The chakra takes on the form of wind and starts its turbulent rotation.
Sasuke focused his chakra into the palm of his right hand in response.
Visible bolts of lightning branch out, noisily chirping and squeaking over and over.
Naruto ran with his rasengan, the pain running throughout shattered his body.
Sasuke greeted it with his chidori in his right hand.
ZU-—KIIN!
Excruciating pain swallowed Naruto’s body whole.
Ignoring Naruto’s command, his own reflexes stop releasing its chakra.
As his rasengan disappeared in an instant, Naruto collapsed forward. Sasuke’s chidori jumping into Naruto’s chest
The pale blue blitz of lightning pierced right through Naruto’s chest.
“......aGUh!......”
Naruto tried to fall to his knees and hold a hand to the wound on his abdomen, but there was nothing there.
Sasuke stood back and overlooked what happened with calmness.
...... was this genjutsu? He fell aimlessly to his side.
It was a forced recoil of chakra, his body had absolutely no more strength left.
Still, he struggled to raise his body from the soil below, pushing his arm out to raise up his upper body, but he was so
exhausted all he could do was fall down on the spot.
“Take it easy......”
Naruto’s voice squeezed out while writhing on the soil.
“You’re my rival”
“It’s because we are rivals”
With his short answer, Sasuke turned his back to Naruto, the hem of his long cloak flying out.
“Naruto. Until I come back, don’t die.”
“You’re not going anywhere”
Sasuke’s footsteps move farther away.
He was off to the Astronomy Research Institute.
Don’t go.
Don’t go.
Don’t go.
Naruto murmured again and again, looking up at the cloudy night sky.
His voice gradually stops, only a scratchy whistle sound could be heard from his throat.
He couldn’t stop Sasuke from leaving, being this weak was absolutely unbearable.
Although it should’ve been the hokage protecting the village, but it continues to be protected by those who reside in
the village.
―― “Naruto” a familiar voice rang out, Naruto’s loose eyelids opened.
Crystal green eyes look down at him.
“Honestly, you’re as stupid as ever”
“......me? Sasuke?”
“I’ve decided it’s the both of you”
Sakura crouched down as she gently raised Naruto’s upper body, contrary to her serious tone.
Touching his cheek as she poured chakra into the scratches he got when he fell from the rock.
Since the symptoms started, Naruto’s body’s natural healing abilities have decreased dramatically.
Before, the wounds would have healed on their own.
“...... Sasuke’s already gone”
Naruto muttered, “I know”, Sakura nodded.
“If you knew, then why didn’t you stop hi-“
“I’ve stopped, but you know that Sasuke won’t stop once he’s decided something. If he’s decided to help you, he’s
going to do everything he can.”
Sakura removed the hairband that held onto the borders of her hairline and hid her one hundred healings seal, then
put it back on to push back her bangs.
“I’ll follow up with Sasuke-kun soon. He probably used Susanoo, so I won’t be able to catch up right away.
“But Sarada-“
“I’ll get someone I trust to look after her. I know Shizune-san is currently out on the intelligence institute’s decryption
team, I’ll get someone Sasuke-kun trusts.”
Can you stand up?
Sakura asked as she put Naruto’s arm over her shoulder.
Lending her shoulder and taking one step at a time towards the old town.
“you know what”
Walking to match Naruto’s pace, Sakura’s voice cut out in a casual tone.
“The other day, when you came by the hospital to do a detailed examination. Just now I came up with a result. Your
body’s completely healthy except for one abnormality...... your chakra system seems to be shutting down.”
“Chakra system?”
Yes, Sakura nodded before continuing.
“If I pour my chakra into you, your wounds heal properly, and it doesn’t hurt you. Which means your body isn’t
rejecting the chakra itself. Maybe the problem in the chakra system. If the Sage of Six Paths had the same symptoms, I
wonder is the chakra system malfunctions due to the tailed beasts sealed in your body.”
“I see, but this is still just a hypothesis,” Naruto looked down.
“If my chakra system shuts down...... what will happen to me?”
“If the anomaly is your chakra tubes closing off, then you won’t die. You just won’t be able to use chakra for the rest
of your life.”
“Just......”
Naruto’s complexion grew white as the blood drained from his face.
Naruto’s fighting style relied heavily on the amount of chakra he inherited from the nine tails.
Any situation where his chakra could no longer work, was frankly lethal
“this is a serious matter”
Naruto murmured as Sakura nodded, letting out a deep breath.
“Though, at least I’m relieved. There’s no war going on right now, it’s ok if the hokage can’t use his chakra.”
Surely, this may be so.
However, for Naruto, who has been aiming to be hokage since his childhood, he was always naturally remaining
strong in times like this.
Even after becoming the seventh hokage, that didn’t change.
“............”
Naruto couldn’t say anything anymore, he silently dragged his left leg along as it convulsed.
•

He couldn’t go home in dirty clothes so that night, Naruto spent the night asleep in an empty room next to
the Hokage’s office. He put his dirty clothes into the laundry, wrapping them in with thin bedding thinking that’d keep
them together in the wash all night.

If you can’t use your chakra for the rest of my life, should I quit being hokage?

Or is it peaceful enough that the country won’t become defiant and stay powerful.

“... both of those options seem awful...”

There are still so many more things I want to do as the hokage.

I’m absolutely not going to half-heartedly throw this all onto someone else at such a bad time.

Eventually, after a long sleep, the night turned into dawn, and he went to the hokage’s office early in the morning to
get rid of his laundry then finally headed home after noon.
As he opened the front door, unfamiliar sandals were lined up neatly on the concrete.

Hinata’s?

Well, they’re a little too big, I guess......

Himawari, who had heard the noise, jumped from out the living room while he sat down on the doormat to
take off his shoes.
“Papaー! Welcome home!”
“Oh, Himawari. I’m home”
“oh- uh, we have guests over. I drew you this!”
Himawari held out a drawing on a paper in her hands with a big smile. It was a crude drawing of Himawari
and Hinata’s portraits drawn in shades of soft pastel. It is so insanely good that Naruto, who has zero artistic taste
could understand.
This was the art style of a visitor... but who?
Naruto turned to the living room door to the back of the hallway.
Sai and Inojin’s faces come to mind but the sandals on the concrete belonged to a woman.
“Hurry up and go to the living room! The guest is waiting for you, daddy!”
“ah...”
As his arm was pulled into the living room, his eyes were pulled to a point.
“Oh my, you’re much slower than I thought”
Sitting at the dining room table sipping tea, his hair was glossy black and fell right at the waist. The ever-elusive snake
demon.

――Orochimaru.