Acc to the traditioablished since Hiruzen took office, the highest-level decisions in Konoha were made by the Hokage, the Hokage's assistants, and the advisory elders.

  Each member of the leadership team solidated the work of the departments they oversee, then collectively discussed them in a team meeting. Under normal circumstahese meetings were held once every three days.

  On this particur day, the sun shone brightly over Konoha, and the weather lendid.

  In the Hokage's office, the first meeting of the ninth month of the year was underway.

  There were no new faces among the partits, just the same familiar ones:

  The Hokage, Minato, 24 years old, representing the jonin unit, the main regur army of the Konoha ninja forces.

  The former Hokage and now Hokage's assistant, Hiruzen, 57 years old, overseeiments other than Root, including the ANBU, Eduedical, and Interrogation divisions.

  The former Hokage's assistant and now advisory elder, Danzō, 57 years old, representing Root.

  And stly, the current advisory elders, Homura and Koharu, 57 years old, representing the Administrative Department.

  The meeting cked the leisurely vibe of tea-sipping and neer-reading; on the trary, the old-timers were brimming with energy, fiercely fighting for the is of their respective departments.

  After all, the 2 billion ryō in war reparations from the Land of Water lit 50-50 as per tradition—1 billion ryō had already been deposited into the Administrative Department's ats.

  "Let's address the allocation effitly," Minato began. "Time is valuable, and there are pressing matters requiring our attention."

  How to allocate this 1 billion ryō to the people in the room to decide.

  If not for this matter, the meeting would've ended long ago.

  Although Homura and Koharu mahe Administrative Department, they didn't have the final say on how the funds would be spent.

  That authority y with Minato, Hiruzen, and Danzō.

  "The pensation for fallen shinobi families must be our priority," Minato stated. "I propose thirty pert of the funds be allocated immediately for this purpose."

  "A noble gesture. However, we must sider that dead shinobi ot protect our vilge's future."

  "Careful, Danzo," Hiruzen interjected. "Some might interpret such statements as questioning the value of sacrifice."

  "You always were skilled at twisting words," Danzō said, but didn't press further.

  "The families of our fallen deserve more than deyed promises," Minato said firmly. "Thirty pert. Noiable."

  No one objected.

  Satisfied, he entered speode.

  That left Hiruzen and Danzō to tiheir struggle. Their main disagreement revolved around the allocation of the ANBU's budget.

  "Hiruzen, this 100 million ryō must be given to me," Danzō demanded. "The ANBU just loiter around the vilge all day—why do they need so much funding?"

  "The ANBU also uake missions within the Land of Fire," Hiruzeed. "The war has just ended, and taking drastic as abrht now could easily lead to trouble. Don't fet, Root is also part of the ANBU."

  "Nonserouble arises only when there isn't enough funding; if the budget is suffit, there'll be no issues," Danzō argued.

  Homura and Koharu instinctively shuffled their chairs further away, well-versed in these old battles.

  "You're being too aggressive. Right now, internal stability is the priority. There are tless areas within the vilge that require funds."

  "I'm not aggressive at all. The Hannya Bay seem insignifit, but their emergence is ing. It shows that the vilge's deterrence power abroad is waning," Danzō said coldly.

  "So many people risk their lives for the vilge abroad, yet the vilge 't spare any funds for them? That's not something a Hokage should do!"

  Minato was dumbfounded. "Danzō, are you critig me?" His blue eyes narrowed slightly.

  "I apologize. It was just a slip of the tongue. I wasn't referring to you."

  "…"

  "You're being unreasonable." Hiruzen smmed the table angrily.

  "And you're losing your mind!" Danzō stomped his foot, waving his e in fury.

  Homura and Koharu silently moved even further away, their chairs scraping against the floor.

  Minato gnced out the window. The vilge seems so peaceful from up here. If only these meetings could be the same.

  He figured there was no hope for lunch today.

  "An additional 10 million ryō for Root, no more," Hiruzen decred, his tone leaving no room fotiation.

  "You must be joking!" Danzō's grip tightened on his e. "Just dealing with the Hannya Bck Ops e 2 million ryō. Ten million wouldn't even cover a month's expenses for Root. Let me tell you, Hiruzen, the Iwa and Kumo ninjas are still eyeing the vilge closely!"

  "The Administrative Department has prepared several allocation sarios—"

  "Which I'm sure favor maintaining the status quo," Danzo interrupted, his single visible eye fixed on Hiruzen. "Just as your policies always have."

  "Strange, how your definition of 'status quo' always excludes the shadows you operate in. Tell me, how does a mere two million ryō disappear into aion against a minroup? Don't tell me you embezzled again?" Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.

  "What do you mean by 'again'? Where's your proof of embezzlement?"

  "Do I need proof? Two million? The Hannya Bck Ops? Seriously?"

  "Perhaps," Danzo tered, leaning forward slightly, "you should ask your successor about the value of that intelligence. After all, he approved the expenditure."

  How do I always end up in the middle of their arguments? Minato thought.

  "Minato, is this true?" Hiruzen asked, puzzled.

  The Hannya Bck Ops' significe didn't seem to warrant 2 million ryō.

  "It's true. We sidered multiple factors," Minato expined with a wry smile. "On one hand, they killed our vilge's shinobi, which left a terrible impression. Oher, the intelligehey had regarding a secret realm has been verified."

  "Even so, 2 million ryō is excessive," Hiruzen muttered, though he accepted Minato's judgment.

  A secret realm's intelligence aside, the murder of Konoha's ninjas deserved a strong response.

  Hiruzen was cautious about military operations, but only when the enemy was one of the other four major ninja vilges.

  For the Hannya Bck Ops? Not worth his .

  "Who was the shinobi exeg this mission?" Hiruzen asked.

  "Masashi," Minato said. "You know about him. In fact, this mission was also an opportunity to closely observe him."

  "Oh…" Hiruzen's expression shifted. "The young man who has the Kiri ninjas so wary?"

  "Indeed. Ret iigations by Root show that his reputation in Kiri surpasses even that of Shisui," Danzō interjected coldly, still irritated. "The bloodline s in Kiri have instructed their ninjas to avoid him."

  "So his Ice Release is indeed a bloodline limit," Hiruzen mused, pig up his pipe. "The Uchiha produces so many geniuses…" Perhaps too many.

  "This goes beyond genius," Danzō said sharply. "He's rewritten the iron rule that Sharingan ot copy bloodline limits. Two million ryō to uncover his secrets—does it sound like enough now?"

  Hiruzen ignored him. He khis old rival too well. Engaging would only ence Danzō further.

  "Minato, what exactly are y to observe about him?" Hiruzen redirected the topic.

  "I might be overthinking it, but the descriptions of his Body Flicker in the reports seem… off."

  "Hmm? You mean to say…" Hiruzen initially didn't uand, but then his eyes widened as realization struck.

  Danzō and the others reacted simirly. They were all veterans of the ninja world, well-versed in its intricacies. To them, no possibility was too outndish.

  Their teacher had once loved bining a certain teique with the Body Flicker. Enemies who didn't know about it often thought they'd died from the tter alone.

  Even now, with Minato as the Fourth Hokage, many in the ninja world still believed his Body Flicker was absurdly powerful.

  "Could it really be possible..." Hiruzen furrowed his brows and g his old friend.

  "The Flying Thunder God Teique was created by our Tobirama-sensei during the Warring States period. The Uchiha must have known about it. That man might have copied it with his Sharingan. While he may not have grasped the true essence of the teique, we ot rule out the possibility."

  "Ihat's definitely within the realm of possibility…" Hiruze a headache ing on. The Uchiha's prows ever more ing.

  The Hokage's office fell into a heavy silence, each oct lost in their own thoughts.

  ---

  Meanwhile, in the distant nd, Masashi was staring at the se before him in silehis better be worth the trouble.

  "This is the entranentioned?" he asked, gring at the jonin. "I told you, this intel isn't my primary objective."

  Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and the Shikkotsu Forest were the three most famous pces to learn Sage Mode in the Naruto world.

  Make no mistake—they didn't gain fame because of the Legendary Sannin. These secret realms were renowned long before.

  What y before his eyes was a deep ravih yellow soil, its walls dotted with tless cave openings.

  This has got to be a joke, he thought, sing the cliff face. Am I supposed to check each of these caves one by one?

  If not for his habit of first verifying things with his Sharingan, he might have actually thought someone was messing with him.

  Unfortunately, while the Sharingan could detect lies, it couldn't perform detailed soul-searg. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to ask.

  "It's definitely here. We followed the natural energy emanating from the earth to find this spot," the jonin expined.

  He looked relut, as if spilling this long-sought secret had been a st resort for his own survival.

  "You have people in yroup who seural energy? That's impressive, even if it's just residual energy," Masashi said, skeptical. "Why haven't they gone in themselves if they're that skilled?"

  "It's not just us. There's a particur that aturally sense and absorb the natural energy cirg in the earth. We located this pce through them." The man shifted his weight, unfortable under Masashi's pierg gaze.

  "What about that 'particur '? Don't take it the wrong way, but yroup's strength isn't enough to handle shinobi capable of using natural energy."

  "We followed them secretly. We avoided flict," the jonin admitted. "There was almost a fight once, but after learning ere here, they ignored us."

  Of course they would. Mastering natural energy isn't something just anyone do—it's a gift.

  The strong know when to ighe weak.

  The the Hannya Bentioned was likely the one Jūgo came from. This had lived feions in pces where natural energy seeped from the earth, passively gaining some sage art abilities.

  It was through this that Orochimaru found Ryūchi Cave.

  In the Warring States period, natural energy wasn't unfamiliar to shinobi. They were obsessed with it, seeing it as a sourmense power.

  The Ten-Tails, revived in the inal timeline, was feared because it could freely manipute the natural energy of the world, rendering its strength immeasurable.

  But no matter how much shinobi coveted it, natural energy was elusive. It was like a refined maiden who wouldn't easily eain just anyone.

  The fame of the three secret realms y in their mastery of natural energy's three primary mediums: earth, water, and air.

  Ryūchi Cave goverh.

  Shikkotsu Forest governed water.

  And Mount Myōboku governed air.

  In theory, someone who obtaihe sage arts of all three realms could access natural energy anywhere in the world.

  Hashirama was one such extraordinary individual, though his knowledge might not have e directly from these realms.

  After all, for someone like Hashirama, who had never found anything difficult to master since childhood, his abilities were unparalleled.

  If asked to teach, he'd likely say, "You just do this, then that, and voilà… Wait, why isn't it w for you?"

  Natural energy wasn't just known to shinobi; even ordinary people with influence were aware of its existence.

  Among the three secret realms, Mount Myōboku was the most famous. Many sought its maze-like paths annually, but even if they found it, they coulder without the toads' permission.

  The toads were social creatures, fav es aionships. Gainiry required knowing the right people, but onside, you were safe.

  No wonder so many desired to uake its trials.

  Shikkotsu Forest remained a mystery to the outside world, though it had close ties to the Uzumaki and Hōzuki s.

  The slugs were reclusive. They rarely ied with outsiders, and even if you found the entrahey might ignore you entirely, making you think you had the wrong pce.

  Its safety rating was sky-high; the trials weren't accessible in the first pce.

  Ryūchi Cave, however, had a peculiar reputation. Its entrance was retively easy to find, but leaving was airely different story.

  The snakes of were exceedingly hospitable—but not in a way that cared for their guests' well-being. If the cave relied on tourism for i would've gone bankrupt long ago.

  Actually, it did rely on tourism—but it was strictly oime transas.

  In the current shinobi world, Orochimaru was the only oo have ventured into Ryūchi Cave and e back alive.

  Even so, it was still regarded as one of the three holy nds of sage arts, alongside Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest.

  No wohe Hannya Bck Ops felt bold after finding traces of Ryūchi Cave.

  After all, if they weren't killed by Konoha, they might still end up dead ihe cave.

  "So many caves... Have you pinpoihe right one?" Masashi asked.

  "There's o pinpoint. This entire area serves as the entrance. Any spot could lead to Ryūchi Cave," the jonin expined, gesturing at the honeyb of openings.

  "One of our members left us this information. He could sehe natural energy seeping from the earth."

  "And where is he?"

  "He didn't e back..."

  Of course not. Cssic Ryūchi Cave.

  "Show me where he left the message."

  The Hannya shinobi nodded and jumped down into the ravine, Masashi following. They desded to the bottom and stopped before one of the caves.

  From above, this cave didn't seem particurly different. Up close, however, it stood out like a temple gate among peasant homes.

  The entrance had a remarkably symmetrical, door-like shape. At its ter was a rge main cave surrounded by six smaller caves arranged in a semi-circur pattern.

  On one of the walls he mairance was a carved symbol.

  While the entrao secret realms were mysterious, they didn't operate like some random trapdoor you'd actally fall into. There was always an intuitive sense—visitors would know if they could enter and could decide whether to proceed.

  The hosts of these realms wouldn't interfere. The meism was fually akin to space-time ninjutsu, with entrahat weren't fixed.

  That said, the snakes of Ryūchi Cave probably made their entrance a fixed one.

  Oime transas, after all.

  "What's o enter?" Masashi examihe carved mark. Judging by its dition, it had been made just a ferior.

  Moreover, it was ly done, suggesting the carver had worked in a stable enviro and wasn't in a rush.

  Such a well-anized wele. Like a perfectly set diable. Just don't ask what's on the menu, Masashi thought.

  "Nothing special is needed. As long as you seural energy, you enter."

  "Alright, you're ing with me." Masashi used a genjutsu, subduing the shinobi.

  Then, he expanded his own sensory awareness.

  If the snakes had desighis spot as ara had to be a location where natural energy overflowed in abundance. As long as his sensory skills were sharp enough, the gatekeeper snake would open the way.

  With his current sensory abilities, perceiving the natural energy that actively spills out of the enviro was no issue for him—it only required time.