Inside Iwagakure, Land of Earth, there was an inner lake.
Two men sat on chairs, leisurely fishing.
Mu and Hōzuki Gengetsu wore bathrobes and sunglasses.
They gazed at the lake, holding their fishing rods, waiting for a bite.
In the distance were Anbu members responsible for security and service.
"By the way, are you really that confident leaving Ōnoki in charge of the Village while you're out?" Hōzuki Gengetsu asked, munching on a biscuit.
"It's time for him to get some practice. This is already my eighth year in office; it's time to step down. After I abdicate, I'll be much more relaxed and can free up my hands to do other things," Mu said with a sigh, looking at the lake.
Unconsciously, he had been Tsuchikage for eight years.
Since his last action, killing the Gold and Silver Brothers and bringing Kakuzu back, Mu had not left the Village again, steadily governing it.
The Ninja World had been very peaceful these past few years.
Konoha, Kumogakure, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure, the four Ninja Villages, coexisted peacefully.
Everyone seemed to have realized something and was developing rapidly.
Rather than rapid development, it was more like "war preparation."
Hidden Mist was isolated and closed off, and with the ocean separating them, no one was clear about the situation there.
Other smaller nations had also risen but had all become puppets of the larger nations.
"You're not greedy for power, then?" Hōzuki Gengetsu asked curiously.
"Not that greedy…" Mu said with a smile, shaking his head.
In this world with extraordinary powers, the use of power is limited.
If this world didn't have extraordinary powers, he might have held onto power tightly.
"Teacher~ Uncle Hozuki~" Just then, Hōzuki Gengetsu turned around and saw Ōnoki rushing over.
"Speak of Ōnoki, and Ōnoki appears…" Hōzuki Gengetsu grumbled.
"Teacher… Uncle Hozuki…" Ōnoki ran up behind them, panting.
"You're already the Tsuchikage's assistant and in charge of the Village, why are you still so flustered?" Hōzuki Gengetsu said, rubbing Ōnoki's head.
"Teacher, Uncle Hozuki, it's good news!" Ōnoki said, his face beaming with joy and a hint of shyness, looking excitedly at Mu and Hōzuki Gengetsu.
"Oh?" Hearing this, Mu and Hōzuki Gengetsu both looked at Ōnoki.
Then, Ōnoki shyly pulled out two invitations from his chest.
"Teacher Mu, Master Hozuki, please accept my engagement party invitation."
"And I have a request: since my parents and grandfather have passed away, please attend my wedding as elders!" After speaking, Ōnoki bowed deeply to the two of them.
Mu and Hōzuki Gengetsu were stunned, then they surprisingly took the invitations.
Mu took the invitation and looked closely; it was an invitation to Ōnoki's engagement party.
"Yo, Ōnoki, you rascal, you're actually getting engaged? To whom? It couldn't be that commoner girl from before, could it?" Hōzuki Gengetsu said, bending over and putting his arm around Ōnoki's shoulder, a wide smile on his face, asking with great interest.
Over the past few years, Hōzuki Gengetsu and Ōnoki had gotten along well.
When Mu was busy, Hōzuki Gengetsu usually took responsibility for teaching Ōnoki how to cultivate, and Ōnoki had even learned several Water Release Ninjutsu.
Ōnoki was truly fortunate to be taught by the two strongest Kage-level figures of the current era.
"Hehe…" Ōnoki said, blushing, "Yes, she's an ordinary commoner girl from the Village. She's not a Ninja. We met by chance before and found each other very congenial."
Hōzuki Gengetsu raised an eyebrow and teased, "This is a good thing; it can promote the relationship between Ninja and ordinary people."
Mu looked at the invitation Ōnoki handed him, gazing at it for a long time, then looked at the nearly young adult Ōnoki.
He couldn't help but sigh again, how fast time flew.
He remembered when he took Ōnoki to visit Konoha, Ōnoki was still a child.
"Since it's your choice, I, your master, will not interfere…" Mu nodded.
"Hmm, you've grown up, you rascal. We will definitely go to your engagement party. When will the wedding be held?" Mu asked with a smile.
Ōnoki scratched the back of his head: "The engagement is next month. The exact wedding date depends on when you, Teacher, and Uncle Hozuki, are free…"
Mu smiled and patted his shoulder: "Of course, I must attend your wedding. At that time, I'll have to get a good look at which girl can capture your heart, you rascal."
Hōzuki Gengetsu also laughed: "Haha, at that time, I will arrange for Kakuzu and our production studio to photograph your wedding for memories."
Ōnoki listened to their words, his face beaming with a happy smile.
.....
A few months later, Ōnoki's wedding was held as scheduled.
Many people came that day.
Not only from Iwagakure, but even several other Villages sent delegations to Iwagakure.
Mu was slightly surprised when he found out.
Actually, it was not difficult to see the intentions of the Villages.
It was very simple.
The other Villages had all realized that the next Tsuchikage would be Ōnoki.
On one hand, everyone wanted to come and congratulate him out of respect for Mu, to show friendliness.
On the other hand, they wanted to see what the next Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was like, to build a good relationship with the next generation Tsuchikage.
However, what surprised Mu the most was that Hiruzen Sarutobi of Konoha was actually coming in person.
It should be known that Iwagakure was undoubtedly the one who had hurt Konoha the most.
Even now, Iwagakure still occupied the western lands of the Land of Fire and had stationed a large number of troops there.
The deaths of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were also caused by him.
Konoha still didn't know that he was responsible for Senju Tobirama's death.
However, Konoha itself was worried about internal criticism, so they came under the guise of a visiting delegation.
At the wedding venue, "Lord Tsuchikage, hello!" Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing his Kage robe, jogged over to Mu and shook his hand.
"Hmm, the Sandaime is truly young…" Mu smiled, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still a bit immature, and wearing the Kage robe made him look very young.
"You haven't aged either; you've looked like this since I was a child." Hiruzen Sarutobi was also slightly surprised the moment he saw Mu.
He hadn't expected that after so many years, Mu's appearance still looked so young.
Perhaps it was because he was wrapped in bandages, making it hard to see the overall appearance, but generally, Mu still looked very young.
Unlike himself, who looked old at a young age; he looked a bit aged...
"These are my three disciples." Hiruzen Sarutobi flashed, introducing the three little brats behind him: Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.
Among them, Tsunade was clearly glaring fiercely at Mu; at Tsunade's age, she probably already knew the murderer of her grandfather.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, was looking around, fidgety, somewhat resembling Naruto.
Orochimaru was quiet and refined; facing his gaze, Orochimaru seemed to be desensitized.
"Hmm, hmm, they all look like they'll achieve great things…" Mu said humorously.
"Thank you for your auspicious words." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, then waved to the three, indicating for them to go play.
Jiraiya and the others were already impatient and quickly planned to explore Iwagakure.
At this moment, the Second Kazekage, Shamon, also arrived.
"Long time no see, Tsuchikage!"