318. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Actions

Once Hinata Hyuga’s birthday passed, the New Year arrived in the ninja world.

During the New Year, most of the ninjas would return to the Hidden Leaf Village to reunite with their families.

Only a very small number of ninjas with particularly important missions couldn’t return.

Hanekawa was granted a rare one-week vacation.

After all, with the entire Leaf Village celebrating the New Year, there wasn’t anything major that required his attention.

But after staying home for three days, Tsunade and Kurenai literally kicked him out.

Because there was nothing to do at home.

Besides eating, the only activity left was 'fighting'.

From dawn till dusk, Tsunade and Kurenai just couldn’t take it anymore.

The fourth day of the New Year.

Hanekawa arrived at the Raikage’s office.

Like the Leaf Village, the Hidden Cloud Village was also celebrating the New Year.

But as the core of the village, the Raikage Building didn’t shut down completely.

“Hanekawa?”

Samui looked up instinctively when she heard footsteps, a hint of surprise on her face.

“Happy New Year.”

Hanekawa walked up to her with a smile, giving her a once-over.

Since becoming the Raikage’s secretary, she had started wearing a lady’s suit and pencil skirt, giving off a sharp, professional beauty.

“You… you…”

Samui grunted softly, her words cut off.

Because as she spoke, Hanekawa directly slipped his hand into her suit.

She felt his large palm rest over her chest.

The buttons of the white shirt under her suit were undone.

The collar widened, and her soft, fair skin met the warmth of Hanekawa’s palm.

“Very bouncy,” Hanekawa said casually.

“If you like it… that’s good,” Samui said, blushing slightly as emotion churned in her eyes.

She had already accepted his unpredictable ways.

But Hanekawa wasn’t in a rush.

He was a man full and unhungry.

For the past three days, he had been well-fed.

Even today, he had just come from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s room.

Besides, toying with a beauty had its own pleasures.

“Is Mabui not here? Are you alone?” Hanekawa leapt lightly and sat right on the Raikage’s desk.

But he didn’t remove his right hand.

It was winter, snow falling outside and rather cold—keeping his hand in Samui’s embrace was a good way to stay warm.

And the angle was perfect—he could see everything from above.

“She’s at home today,” Samui answered calmly, seeing that Hanekawa wanted to talk business.

“You’re not taking a break?”

Through the soft padding, Hanekawa could feel her heartbeat gradually returning to normal.

That meant she had suppressed her emotions.

Of course, the main reason was that Hanekawa hadn’t gone further—he was merely toying silently.

“Me and Mabui take turns on duty. Today’s my shift, tomorrow’s hers,” Samui said, her breathing heavier, but her tone steady.

“Anything going on in the Cloud Village lately?”

Hanekawa turned to face her directly as he asked.

He was sitting on the Raikage’s desk, while Samui sat in the Raikage’s chair.

“All is going smoothly,” Samui said, lifting her chin and revealing her fair neck.

“What about the Land of Lightning?”

Hanekawa bent down, looking closely at her refined face.

A faint fragrance wafted over.

“Per your instructions, we’re already screening officials,” Samui replied.

After taking control of the Land of Lightning, Hanekawa discovered many problems.

For example, those incompetent nobles.

They held high positions but only cared about hoarding wealth, not actual governance.

Since Hanekawa had plenty of time, he decided to replace them all.

The selected officials would undergo genjutsu tests to ensure their integrity and honesty.

Not just in the Land of Lightning—but also in the Land of Fire.

Previously, Hanekawa had spared the Fire Daimyō out of respect for Tsunade.

But ever since the Mining Department started making big money, the daimyō and nobles got restless and started competing with the Leaf Village.

When they realized they couldn’t win the business, they tried to revoke the village’s mining rights.

Naturally, Hanekawa wouldn’t let them succeed.

The only solution was to act.

If Tsunade questioned him, he had enough evidence about the Fire Daimyō and the nobles’ ties to the underground black market to show her.

They had made the first move against the Leaf—so retaliation was justified.

However, Hanekawa didn’t plan to directly control the Fire Daimyō.

He intended to try unlocking a new trait.

If he directly controlled the daimyō, he would likely just gain a similar S-tier trait like “Ruler of the Land of Lightning.”

Hanekawa’s idea was to support the daimyō’s son, Enshi Hisa, in launching a rebellion.

Of course, it would be a rebellion with no apparent involvement from ninjas.

At least on the surface.

In the original story, Enshi Hisa does indeed become the Fire Daimyō.



During Naruto Uzumaki’s term as Hokage, Enshi Hisa eventually succeeded his father to become the daimyō. At present, however, he was still a very young boy.

Hanekawa complimented Samui on her performance and playfully asked what reward she wanted.

Their conversation took a flirtatious turn, with Samui showing a quiet willingness to go along with Hanekawa’s teasing behavior.

She rested her head on his leg, seemingly exhausted or indulging in a rare moment of closeness. Hanekawa noted the softness and warmth of the moment while lightly brushing her leg with his foot, careful not to disturb her too much.

Just then, Hanekawa sensed chakra manifesting nearby—a black portal appeared in the room.

Recognizing the energy, he murmured, “It’s Kaguya.”

He gently patted Samui’s head to reassure her, and she rolled her eyes in response, clearly used to Hanekawa’s unpredictable encounters.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki stepped through the portal, gave Samui a quick glance, and then approached Hanekawa directly.

Without a word, she silenced him with a kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck with bold confidence—true to her usual approach.

Both women seemed unfazed by each other’s presence, accustomed to Hanekawa’s lifestyle and habits.

After some time, the kiss ended.



"Kaguya."

Hanekawa looked at her moist red lips and asked, "How's the situation on Tsukihime's side?"

He had previously planned for Tsukihime and the ANBU to go to the Hidden Sound Village to assist Orochimaru. But since it was the New Year, the mission had been delayed for a few days.

Today was the day Tsukihime was scheduled to depart.

"She’s already arrived at the Hidden Sound Village," Kaguya Ōtsutsuki replied with lingering emotion.

A kiss alone hadn’t satisfied her, but since Samui had taken her place, she had no choice but to wait. Fortunately, she had gotten plenty of attention the night before, so she could endure the "hunger" for a little while longer.

"This is the Crystal Release you asked for," Kaguya suddenly remembered, taking out a scroll.

"Guren handed over Crystal Release that easily?" Hanekawa asked with a smile as he accepted the scroll.

"I used genjutsu," Kaguya replied coldly.

She only cared about Hanekawa—perhaps Tsukihime as well. As for others, they weren’t important to her, so she used the simplest method to get what was needed.

"Thanks."

Hanekawa raised a hand and pinched her expressionless cheek lightly, then unrolled the scroll.

Since Guren had been controlled by Kaguya, the information she wrote down was complete and unreserved.

While enjoying Samui’s triple-layered hospitality, Hanekawa began reading the scroll’s contents.

With his current level of power, something like Crystal Release was relatively simple for him. After all, he had already mastered the much more complex Yin-Yang Release.

After finishing the scroll, Hanekawa extended his hand. Chakra surged out, crystallizing the air into a pale red crystal in his palm.

Looking at the crystal, Hanekawa thought of the jewelry store run by the mining department.

They had excavated many types of ores and opened businesses based on their uses—such as jewelry stores. Most of the jewelry used gold and silver.

But Hanekawa knew crystals could be used too.

Now that he had learned Crystal Release, his first thought was to use it to make jewelry and sell it—after all, it cost him nothing to produce.

Of course, the crystals created by Crystal Release weren’t permanent. How long they lasted depended on the user’s chakra.

For example, the Forest of Death outside Konoha was one of the marvels created by Hashirama Senju.


But Wood Release was somewhat unique.

Trees had life on their own and didn’t require chakra to be sustained.

Crystal Release, however, was different. It depended entirely on chakra.

Still, Hanekawa wasn’t too concerned.

He could now maintain crystal structures for an almost indefinite period.

After all, he had infinite chakra.

“Too weak,”
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya commented plainly.

“Weakness has its uses,”
Hanekawa casually dispersed the crystal and replied.

“I don’t understand,”
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya stared at him, her pure white eyes showing a faint ripple of emotion.

Hanekawa naturally understood the reason for her mood.

He gently patted Samui’s head and said, “Let’s change places.”

Samui quickly stood up.

Hanekawa jumped down from the Raikage’s desk and sat in the Raikage’s chair.

Samui didn’t return to the desk—instead, she sat on his lap.

Her skirt fell smoothly as she sat, leaving only the dark tights covering her legs.

Hanekawa reached out and gently ran his hand over her thigh.

As his fingers moved, a slight tear appeared in the tights, revealing a glimpse of pale skin beneath.

Hanekawa was quietly impressed by the texture and feel.

Just as he was about to speak, his vision suddenly darkened.

Samui had pressed his head gently into her chest.

He opened his mouth but didn’t say anything.

Ōtsutsuki Kaguya let out a soft, dissatisfied hum.

After thinking for a moment, she directly removed her outer garments.

Her snow-white figure was revealed before Hanekawa—but his eyes were still covered, preventing him from seeing this unexpected display.

A short while later, Samui rested on the Raikage’s desk, catching her breath.

Ōtsutsuki Kaguya raised one long leg and sat down where Samui had just been.

Hanekawa took a breath and placed his hands lightly around her waist.

“Samui,”
Hanekawa noticed she was waking up and got up to walk toward the sofa.

Samui regained her senses and quickly understood what he intended.

Outside, the heavy snowfall had come to a stop.

The sun rose and fell.

Soon, it was time to finish work.

“That’s enough for today,”
Hanekawa said to both Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and Samui.

Samui didn’t respond.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

A full day of work still drained her energy.

“Let’s go home,”
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya said, grabbing his wrist, her eyes focused and intense.

“You go on ahead,”
Hanekawa replied, admiring the subtle blush on her face.

The two locked eyes for several seconds, but in the end, Kaguya gave in.

She had wanted to continue, but Hanekawa clearly had a different idea.

“Fine,”
she stood, dressed herself, and said.

After escorting Samui home, Hanekawa returned to Konoha.

Since he had spent the day with Kaguya, he reserved the evening for Tsunade and Kurenai.

The New Year holiday ended quickly.

The Hokage Tower returned to its usual busy atmosphere.

And on the first day after the new year, a major event shook the ninja world.

The Hidden Sound Village had seized control of the so-called neutral Iron Country.

Iron Country had no ninja, but it was protected by a group of chakra-wielding samurai.

The strongest among them was Mifune.

In the original story, he had several notable moments:

He defeated the reanimated Hanzo.

He was controlled by Shimura Danzo using Uchiha Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami.

But now, those storylines were gone.

He was easily suppressed by Tsukihime.

War returned to the ninja world.

The ones under the most pressure were Sunagakure and Iwagakure.

They had already traced the true mastermind behind the Sound Village: Orochimaru—formerly of Konoha.

Even though the Sound Village attacked Iron Country, both villages understood that if one falls, the others could follow.

Kirigakure fared slightly better.

Mei Terumi had once received a promise from Hanekawa.

But she was still in a tough spot.

The operations of Konoha’s mining division hadn’t gone unnoticed.

The speed at which they were making money left her stunned.

She knew she had already lost the upper hand.

Still, she had one hope left.

She had recently discovered rich mineral deposits beneath the sea.

She planned to follow in Hanekawa’s footsteps.