324. The Dreams of Kurenai and Tsunade

Hokage's Office

Hanekawa's eyebrows rose slightly as he noticed Kurenai, eyes closed, curled up asleep on the office sofa.

He slowed his steps, approaching quietly until he stood right before her.

His gaze trailed downward—first to her delicate, porcelain-like feet, then up along her smooth thighs, finally settling on her peaceful sleeping face.

"She's deep asleep."

A thought struck him.

His newly acquired S-Rank Trait: Dream Manipulation—perhaps it was time to test it.

With a faint smile, he extended a hand. A wisp of chakra seeped from his fingertips into Kurenai's mind as he began weaving a particularly vivid dream.

Then, he waited.

Before long, Kurenai's body tensed. Her long, crossed legs shifted subtly, toes curling.

A few seconds later, a deep flush spread across her face, her lips parting slightly with quickened breaths.

Then—

Her eyes snapped open.

Kurenai bolted upright, gasping, her mind still drowning in the remnants of the dream.

Unaware of Hanekawa's presence, she clutched her burning cheeks, heart pounding.

That dream…

She had been with Tsunade, and together they had—

No. No no no. Too shameless!

Wiping sweat from her brow, she turned—

And froze.

Hanekawa was right there, watching her with an amused glint in his eyes.

Her entire body locked up. The urge to flee nearly overwhelmed her.

"W-When did you get here?!" she stammered, hastily straightening her posture.

"A few minutes ago."

Hanekawa tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You were very absorbed just now."

Kurenai's face burned hotter. "I—I wasn't—!"

"Really?" Hanekawa chuckled, leaning closer. "Then why were you squirming like that?"

"I wasn't squirming!" Kurenai bit her lip, stubbornly avoiding his eyes.

Hanekawa sat beside her, pulling her into his lap. The moment their bodies touched, Kurenai stiffened—memories of the dream flooding back.

But then she thought of Tsunade, and guilt cooled her nerves.

He's her student too. This is... wrong.

Yet, a traitorous thrill shot through her at the idea.

"I have a mission for you," Hanekawa said, pinching her cheek, deciding to spare her further teasing—for now.

Kurenai exhaled in relief. "What mission?"

Anything to change the subject.

"Sunagakure and Iwagakure's envoys will arrive soon," Hanekawa said, idly stroking her thigh. "You'll handle negotiations."

Kurenai's eyes lit up. "What terms should we demand?"

As the Hokage's assistant, she relished the chance to secure victory for Konoha.

"Anything you want." His fingers traced higher.

"Leave it to me!" Kurenai puffed her chest proudly. "I'll make sure Konoha profits!"

Hanekawa smirked.

She doesn't realize both villages have already surrendered unconditionally.

He'd let her discover that surprise later.

"Anything else?" Kurenai asked, eager to escape. "If not, I should prepare—"

"Just one thing." Hanekawa set her down. "Let me help you with your shoes."

Kurenai grinned, lifting her bare feet. "Okay!"

But the moment Hanekawa gripped her ankle, his thumb brushed her sole—

"Ah! S-Stop!" She jerked back, laughing. "That tickles!"

"Hold still."

"You started it!" Kurenai pouted, then impulsively raised her other foot toward his face—only to hesitate mid-kick.

Hanekawa seized the chance, grabbing her thigh. His fingers dug into soft flesh, kneading—

"Nnh—!" Kurenai's back arched, a moan slipping out before she collapsed against the couch, trembling.

Hanekawa's gaze darkened as it dipped lower.

Interesting view.

"Behave," he chided, finally sliding her sandals on. "Or we'll never finish."

"You—!" Kurenai scrambled up, face scarlet. "You're the worst!"

She bolted for the door before he could "punish" her further.

Once alone, Hanekawa leaned back in the Hokage's chair, smirking.

Progress.

Her reactions proved the dream manipulation worked. A few more sessions, and she might just surrender to the fantasy.

Later That Afternoon

News of Sunagakure and Iwagakure's defeat had spread across the shinobi world.

Minor villages trembled. With two of the Five Great Nations bowing to Konoha, only Kiri and Kumo remained—and both knew they stood no chance.

In Kirigakure's Mizukage office, Mei Terumī shot to her feet.

"What did you say?!" she demanded, staring at Kisame Hoshigaki in shock.

(Due to Hanekawa's interference, Kisame had never defected.)


With his extraordinary strength, he is now the leader of Kirigakure's Anbu.

He had just brought news of Iwagakure and Sunagakure's crushing defeat.

"This is absolutely true," Kisame Hoshigaki said solemnly. "Moreover, Iwagakure and Sunagakure have publicly declared their submission to Konohagakure."

"What exactly happened?" Mei Terumī's heart trembled as she murmured the question.

She had expected Iwagakure and Sunagakure to lose, but not so quickly and so disastrously that they would surrender outright.

During the previous Third Shinobi World War, even after the Raikage was captured, Kumogakure never willingly declared submission.

"According to the intelligence we gathered, Hanekawa defeated them single-handedly," Kisame added.

Though Kirigakure was not directly involved in the war, as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, they could still uncover the truth if they investigated.

Especially since the combined forces of Iwagakure and Sunagakure were still present.

With ten thousand shinobi, extracting information by interrogating a few was effortless.

Though they were under the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had only altered their memories, not directly controlled them.

Additionally, Hanekawa's Thousand-Armed Kannon had caused such a massive disturbance that many in the Land of Waterfalls had witnessed it.

"Alone?" Mei couldn't help but frown deeply.

"It was Wood Release," Kisame briefly explained the situation.

After hearing it, Mei fell into silence.

Clearly, Hanekawa's strength had vastly improved since the Third Shinobi World War.

They were supposed to be the same age, yet the gap between them had become indescribable.

Mei let out a long sigh.

Frankly speaking, the ten-thousand-strong alliance of Iwagakure and Sunagakure could have easily conquered Kirigakure.

Though Kirigakure had recovered somewhat after the end of the Bloody Mist era, it was still the weakest of the Five Great Villages, only slightly stronger than Sunagakure.

If Hanekawa could effortlessly crush Iwagakure and Sunagakure, then Kirigakure stood no chance.

Now, the only option was economic development.

But could they win?

A look of uncertainty flashed across Mei's face.

After her bet with Hanekawa, she had been closely monitoring Konoha's progress.

Whether it was the Mining Department or the Transportation Department, both were advancing at an astonishing pace.

Though Kirigakure had developed many marine resources, the progress was far too slow in comparison.

Especially with the Land of Water's daimyō and nobles constantly causing trouble.

"Lady Mizukage, what should we do?" Kisame hesitantly asked.

"What else can we do?" Mei smiled bitterly in response.

Kisame opened his mouth but couldn't find the words.

Like Mei, he was proud and ambitious, but against Hanekawa, he could only lower his head in resignation.

"I'm going to the Land of Water," Mei declared, her gaze firm as she made up her mind.

At this point, making money was the only way forward.

And to do that, she needed the Land of Water's support.

Under the pressure from Hanekawa and Konoha, Mei decided to take drastic measures.

Night fell.

Hanekawa set down his pen.

Not only had he finished drafting development plans for Iwagakure and Sunagakure, but he had also fabricated a mission from Hoshigakure.

In the original timeline, the Third Hoshikage of Hoshigakure had recognized the dangers of the meteorite and halted its use for training to protect the village's shinobi.

But a shinobi named Akahoshi, seeking to unify the shinobi world with the meteorite's power, allied with two other jonin to assassinate the Third Hoshikage.

After becoming the acting Hoshikage, he not only resumed meteorite training but intensified it.

Seeing this, the former meteorite guardian, Natsuhi, stole the meteorite.

Unable to retrieve it, Akahoshi issued a mission request.

The mission was accepted by Konoha's Naruto Uzumaki and his team, but upon learning the truth, they turned against Akahoshi and eliminated him.

This was an event that would occur over a decade later.

Currently, Hoshigakure was still using the meteorite for training.

Hanekawa's fabricated mission stated that the Third Hoshikage was willing to share the meteorite—on the condition that Konoha spared Hoshigakure.

Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Hanekawa returned home.

Sitting on the sofa, Tsunade instinctively looked up.

When she saw him, surprise flickered across her face.

"Why are you back?" she asked. "How are things in Iwagakure and Sunagakure?"

Normally, news would take two or three days to spread throughout Konoha.

Since she had retired, she had no direct sources of information and thus didn’t yet know about Iwagakure and Sunagakure's defeat.

Of course, if she asked the Anbu, she could find out.

But in her mind, no matter how strong Hanekawa was, he couldn’t possibly defeat ten thousand shinobi in a single day.

It should have taken at least several days.

So she hadn’t bothered to inquire.

"It's over, so of course I came back," Hanekawa said, walking up to her with a smile.

"Over?" Tsunade looked stunned.

"Yes."

Hanekawa sat on her lap, leaned down, and kissed her soft lips.

Tsunade blinked.

She hadn’t expected him to kiss her the moment he returned.

With a muffled groan, she felt the pressure on her clothes lessen—only to be replaced by a tingling sensation.

"You still haven’t told me about Iwagakure and Sunagakure," Tsunade said, licking her lips as she resisted the strange feeling in her chest.

"The situation is that they’ve surrendered to Konoha," Hanekawa replied, smiling as he enjoyed the softness in his hands.

"This is really…" Tsunade trailed off.

At this point, Hanekawa was on the verge of becoming the next Hashirama Senju.

Yet the two were completely different.

After unifying the shinobi world, Hashirama distributed the tailed beasts and established the one-village-one-nation system.

Hanekawa, however, sought to dismantle that system and fully unify the shinobi world.

"Never mind. You’re the Hokage now—do as you see fit," Tsunade said with a light laugh.

"Thank you, sensei."

Hanekawa’s hand slid downward, reaching for her waistband.

"I’m hungry. Let’s eat," Tsunade said, grabbing his wrist.

"Then let’s cook together," Hanekawa replied, raising an eyebrow.

"You just got home and already want to take advantage of me."

Tsunade rolled her eyes but released his wrist all the same.

Clothes fell to the floor as she clung to him like an octopus.

The two stumbled their way into the kitchen.

Late at night.

After eating her fill, Tsunade fell into a deep sleep.

Before leaving, Hanekawa wove a pleasant dream for her.

A new day.

Tsunade awoke.

She shook her head, trying to dispel the images in her mind.

For some reason, she had dreamed of Kurenai and Hanekawa—the three of them tangled together.

"Am I really going to let that brat have his way?" she muttered to herself.

Two days passed in a flash.

Delegations from Iwagakure and Sunagakure arrived in Konoha.

To show sincerity, the Tsuchikage Ōnoki and the Kazekage Pakura led them personally.

Konoha’s representative was Kurenai, who handled the negotiations.

As for Hanekawa, after informing Kurenai, Tsunade, and the others about the Hoshigakure mission, he left with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

But instead of heading straight to Hoshigakure, he first went to the Raikage’s office in Kumogakure.

"Samui."

Hanekawa approached her, his hand gliding over her black-stockinged thigh.

Samui tensed slightly but quickly relaxed.

"I’m going on a mission. You’re coming with me," Hanekawa said with a smile.