A new day began.
After finishing breakfast, Yamanaka Ino headed out.
Under the bright morning sun, she made her way to the Hyuga compound with a smile on her face and a light spring in her step.
Ever since she and Hyuga Hinata had become close friends, going to work together had become routine.
But to Ino's surprise, Hinata wasn't waiting for her at the gate like usual.
"Ino-sama."
One of the Hyuga shinobi at the entrance gave a slight bow and said, "Hinata-sama has already gone ahead to the palace."
"Did something happen?" Ino asked in confusion.
From what she knew of Hinata, unless something urgent had come up, she would always wait for her.
"She didn't tell me," the Hyuga shinobi replied, shaking his head.
"Thanks."
Ino turned and headed toward the palace.
A short while later, she arrived at the Hokage Secretariat.
After thinking for a moment, she went to Hinata's office.
But when she knocked, there was no response.
"She's not here?"
Tilting her head, Ino grew even more curious.
Very quickly, she thought of Kitazawa.
If Hinata wasn't in her own office, then the only other place she could be was the Hokage's office.
After hesitating for a moment, Ino ran over there.
When she reached the door, she suddenly became much more cautious.
Instead of knocking, she simply raised a hand and placed it against the door.
In the next instant, the scene beyond it came into view.
She froze.
The usually gentle and shy Hinata was inside, clearly in the middle of an intimate moment, completely flustered and uninhibited.
Ino instinctively pulled her hand back.
Then she quickly ran all the way back to her own office.
After shutting the door, she leaned against it and panted heavily.
The scene she had just witnessed kept replaying in her mind.
But soon, regret appeared on her face.
So Hinata had actually gotten ahead of her and finished her special training first?
Ino bit her lip, her expression shifting again and again.
In the end, she made up her mind and decided to take the initiative.
She was already one step behind. She couldn't afford to fall behind any further.
In the Hokage's office, Kitazawa sat on the sofa, Hinata resting quietly against him after their private time together.
Before long, she finally calmed down.
He reached out and gently stroked her head.
Hinata had her eyes closed, her flushed cheek pressed against him, her lips slightly parted as warm breaths escaped in soft little puffs.
As they brushed across his skin, Kitazawa felt a faint sense of comfort.
"You should get to work, Hinata," he reminded her after they rested for a while, glancing at the clock on the wall.
"Mm."
After responding softly, Hinata used the Yang Seal to regulate her body.
Her fatigue quickly faded, and though reluctant, she slowly got to her feet.
Once she had changed back into her clothes, she left the Hokage's office.
The door closed behind her.
Kitazawa withdrew his gaze.
As for Ino, he had noticed her the moment she arrived.
But at the time, he had been too occupied to pay her any attention.
Besides, letting her see it wasn't really a big deal.
After all, now that Hinata's special training was over, Ino's turn would naturally come next.
Just as Kitazawa was about to get up and start working, Konan appeared in front of him.
Before he could say anything, she silenced him with a kiss.
Kitazawa let out a quiet sigh inwardly.
He really did have a busy life.
Only after Konan had fallen asleep did he finally have time to deal with the documents on his desk.
By afternoon, after breakfast, Kitazawa went to the moon.
Now that he had obtained Ōtsutsuki Mode, he finally had enough power to begin putting his plan to intercept the Ōtsutsuki clan into action.
The problem was that he didn't know where Ōtsutsuki Urashiki and the others currently were.
If his real body went searching for them, he wouldn't be able to manage affairs in the ninja world at the same time.
After all, the search would likely take a very long time.
Judging from the Boruto timeline, it would still be at least ten years before Urashiki and the others descended upon the ninja world.
Even if he actively went looking for them and cut that time in half, it would still be a very long journey.
There was no way he could leave the ninja world for that long and take Tsunade and the others with him.
In the end, Kitazawa came up with a solution: he would create a puppet.
He would control the puppet and send it to search for Urashiki and the others in his place.
Of course, this could not be an ordinary puppet.
It carried a large amount of Kitazawa's chakra and even had the ability to activate the Jōgan, making it essentially no different from a shadow clone.
To be more precise, it was closer in nature to one of the Six Paths puppets of the Rinnegan.
Even so, while it was technically a puppet, it was by no means weak.
Anyone below Six Paths level would have no real way of dealing with it.
Urashiki and the others were above Six Paths level, so they could defeat Kitazawa's puppet, but discovering it in the first place would not be easy.
Kitazawa held out his hand.
A tiny puppet, only the size of a fist, appeared.
It shot rapidly into the starry sky until it vanished from sight.
Kitazawa closed his eyes.
Very soon, he linked up with the puppet and shared its vision.
But it had only just begun its journey, so there was nothing unusual to see yet.
He was merely testing its functions.
Then he opened his eyes again.
The puppet would follow the route map Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had provided and travel toward the planet where the Ōtsutsuki clan resided.
As it flew, it would use the Jōgan to search for traces left behind by space-time ninjutsu and similar abilities.
If all went as expected, it would eventually run into Urashiki and the others.
Kitazawa had placed a Flying Thunder God marker on it.
The moment it encountered them, he would be able to teleport over and launch a surprise attack before they even noticed him.
But that was a matter for far in the future.
Kitazawa stepped through a portal and returned to the Hokage's office.
Looking at his desk, he noticed an extra invitation lying there.
He casually picked it up.
It was from Yamanaka Ino.
She was inviting him to her house for dinner that evening.
Kitazawa narrowed his eyes in thought.
That morning, Ino had seen what he and Hinata were doing.
And given her bold personality, tonight's dinner was clearly no ordinary meal.
Still, as the saying goes, if you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch its cub?
Kitazawa was not afraid of any challenge.
As the sun set, he rose to leave work.
But just as he moved, he suddenly paused and walked toward the door.
When he opened it, Hinata was standing right there.
"Ki-Kitazawa-sensei."
Startled, she quickly greeted him.
"Did you need something from me?" he asked with a smile.
"No."
Hinata shook her head, then hesitated before saying, "I… I just wanted to go home with you."
Warmth rose in Kitazawa's chest.
But he quickly suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind.
Ino's special training hadn't ended yet. This wasn't the right time for her and Hinata to be together.
"Then I'll take you home," Kitazawa said, taking her hand and using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The two of them appeared inside Hinata's room.
"I still have something to do tonight."
Lowering his head, he kissed her on the lips and said, "Come see me again tomorrow."
"Okay."
Hinata felt a little disappointed, but she had always been obedient and gentle, and would never cause Kitazawa any trouble.
Kitazawa stroked her head and vanished on the spot.
At the Yamanaka clan compound, Ino, who should have been eating dinner with Yamanaka Inoichi, was instead sitting alone on the edge of her bed.
Her hands covered her face, and she felt both nervous and excited.
Nervous because she was afraid Kitazawa might not come.
Excited because of what might happen if he did.
At that moment, Ino instinctively looked up.
Kitazawa had appeared before her.
"Good evening, Kitazawa-sensei."
Steadying herself, Ino stood up and greeted him with a bright smile.
"So it's just the two of us for dinner?" Kitazawa asked, glancing around the room.
"Mm."
Ino nodded and explained, "This invitation is from me personally, not from the Yamanaka clan."
"Then I'm looking forward to seeing what's on the menu tonight," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Kitazawa-sensei…"
Ino took a deep breath. "You'll find out very soon."
After saying that, she took him by the hand, led him to the bed, and had him sit down.
Standing in front of him, she stared at him for a few seconds before leaning down and kissing him.
Kitazawa blinked, then returned the kiss just as fiercely.
A look of intoxicated delight appeared on Ino's face.
But she hadn't forgotten her goal that day.
She raised a hand and took out a bottle of perfume.
The scent of roses quickly spread through the air.
Breathing in the fragrance, Kitazawa ran a hand along her smooth back and felt completely at ease.
At some point, their clothes had already fallen to the floor.
Ino let out a breath.
She stepped half a pace forward, pressing herself tightly against him.
Kitazawa immediately felt her warmth and softness.
Tilting her head, Ino lightly bit his ear.
Her movements were gentle, and her expression was serious.
Kitazawa reached out and placed a hand over her chest.
Her heart was pounding quickly, revealing how she truly felt.
Even though she had a bold personality, this was still far beyond her usual limits.
Naturally, Kitazawa had no intention of calling her out on it.
Instead, he gently soothed her, helping to ease her tension.
Ino's lips curved upward, and a sweet smile appeared on her face.
Straightening up, she wrapped her arms around his head.
Kitazawa, not about to be polite, buried himself in her fragrant embrace.
He felt as if he were soaking in a warm bath.
Ino bit her lip, and her long fair legs tensed.
Kitazawa's hands slid lower, coming to rest on her slender waist.
That way, Ino wouldn't lose her balance.
But even with his support, she still exhausted herself far too much, and in the end, she simply fell asleep in his arms.
The next morning, faint daylight filtered in through the window.
Kitazawa opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Ino's fair body beside him.
Smiling, he reached out and pinched her nose.
As her breathing became obstructed, Ino woke up.
When her eyes met his, she remembered what had happened the night before and immediately blushed.
"Isn't it a little late to be shy now?" Kitazawa teased.
That only made Ino even more embarrassed.
She didn't know where she had found so much courage the night before.
But she didn't regret it.
"Come on, let's go eat breakfast," Kitazawa said, patting her head.
"Um… let's eat out," Ino said hesitantly, lowering her head.
If they ate at home, she would have no way to explain things to Inoichi.
"Get dressed first. I'll go buy breakfast, and then we can eat in your office," Kitazawa said after a brief moment of thought, getting to his feet.
"Okay."
Ino nodded.
Kitazawa used the Flying Thunder God Technique to go to Ichiraku Ramen and bought two takeout bowls.
After getting the food, he brought Ino to her office.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Suddenly remembering something, Ino said, "I forgot to tell Hinata yesterday that she didn't need to wait for me this morning."
"Then I'll go tell her," Kitazawa said with a smile. "Perfect timing too. I'll have her join us for breakfast."
He used the Flying Thunder God Technique and arrived in Hinata's room.
At that moment, she was getting dressed.
The moment Kitazawa appeared, he was treated to quite a sight.
"K-Kitazawa-sensei?"
Hinata almost reflexively struck out with Gentle Fist.
Kitazawa walked over and buried himself in her soft embrace.
But after enjoying the moment for only a short while, he explained why he had come.
Hinata naturally didn't refuse.
Kitazawa then ran over to Ichiraku again and bought ten more bowls of ramen.
Then he brought Hinata back to Ino's office.
"Morning, Hinata."
Setting down her chopsticks, Ino greeted her with a cheerful smile.
Hinata immediately returned the greeting.
Still, she couldn't help feeling that Ino seemed especially happy that day.
But she didn't think too much about it.
The three of them chatted as they finished breakfast together.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Walking over to him, Ino asked, "Can I come have lunch with you at noon?"
"Of course."
After a brief pause, he added, "Hinata, you should come too."
Hinata nodded happily at once.
"See you at noon."
Standing on tiptoe, Ino kissed Kitazawa.
"See you at noon."
Kitazawa and Hinata then left Ino's office.
"See you at noon, Kitazawa-sensei."
Gathering up her courage, Hinata gave him a quick kiss too before returning to her own office.
Kitazawa withdrew his gaze and smiled.
The Hokage's office wasn't far away.
Soon, he pushed open the door and walked in.
The moment he saw Konan, he casually gave her black silk-clad thigh a light pat.
"Your Majesty."
Konan took out a file and handed it to him. "This is a document from the Hokage Secretariat."
After sitting down, Kitazawa opened it.
The contents of the scroll concerned him—or more accurately, his wedding.
The Hokage Secretariat was in charge of preparing for the ceremony.
At this point, most of the preparations were already complete.
At the end of the document, one issue was specifically mentioned: he needed to publicly announce his future bride as soon as possible.
Only then could the Hokage Secretariat begin drafting the wedding invitations.
After all, the invitations couldn't just have Kitazawa's name on them alone.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He felt it would be better to wait a little longer.
Right now, neither Tsunade nor Kurenai Yūhi was in a suitable position to marry.
Ideally, they should wait until after they had given birth.
By his estimate, that would probably be in December this year or January next year.
The original wedding date he had set was this December.
Of course, he was the Emperor. If he wanted to change the date, he could. That wasn't really a problem.
Picking up a pen, Kitazawa wrote his reply directly onto the document.
In simple terms, he told the Hokage Secretariat to continue preparing the wedding as planned.
As for drafting the invitations, there was no rush. They could wait until December.
"Konan."
Looking up, Kitazawa asked, "What have people been saying lately about my marriage?"
"This is the situation report collected by the Anbu," Konan said, handing him a scroll.
Kitazawa opened it and began reading.
Overall, the public reaction wasn't much different from when the announcement had first been made.
But strictly speaking, things had improved.
The reason was that Kitazawa had displayed overwhelming, invincible strength during the Ninja World Youth Martial Arts Tournament.
That made the residents and shinobi of the ninja world even more accepting of his position as Emperor—and of the tradition of taking multiple wives and concubines.