Just as Kei took a spoonful of deer antler and berry porridge into his mouth, his expression changed dramatically, and he almost spat it out on the spot.
A strong medicinal taste rushed from his mouth straight up to his head. It nearly lifted his skull cap off.
This bowl of super nourishing porridge didn't just have visible berries and deer antler. In the broth used to cook it, several other herbs were added to balance the medicinal properties, making it more gentle and nourishing.
The effect… He could feel a faint heat building in his abdomen, followed by a surge of warmth rushing through his limbs and bones.
He quickly assessed the situation using his medical ninjutsu knowledge.
This stuff was definitely stronger than the Viagra!
Seriously, even if the Nara clan had its own research lab and herbal cultivation base, wasn't this a bit much?
He looked up at Shikaku, who was still shoveling spoonful after spoonful into his mouth while keeping a close eye on him.
Kei rolled his eyes speechlessly and decisively activated [Unlimited Arsenal].
As the spoon approached his mouth… He wrapped the contents with chakra and stored it directly into the arsenal for safekeeping.
His body was already in great condition; he'd find a chance to dispose of this stuff later.
Otherwise, Kushina would be in for a rough time!
"Remember to wash the dishes, okay? I'm heading to work now~"
Yoshino, seeing that Shikaku had finished the nourishing porridge, smiled with satisfaction.
She put on a pair of black high heels and a yukata with a black-and-white pattern. Then, throwing on a warm white deerskin cloak, she left the house.
"You just used space-time ninjutsu, didn't you!" Shikaku stared suspiciously at Kei, eyes full of distrust.
"What else? You think I left the house with a pole in front like you? Wait, no way—you're not so weak you can't even pitch a tent anymore, right? No way, no way~"
Kei tossed his spoon back into the bowl.
Mimicking Shikaku's earlier tone, he ruthlessly stabbed the verbal boomerang right into his chest.
"Let's talk business."
Shikaku paused for a moment. With his intelligence, he could tell—no matter how he answered, this was a trap.
Damn that space-time ninjutsu. Why wasn't he gifted in that?
"Hehe~ I've made a little progress again. Remember I told you there's a hidden hand behind Madara? I just happened to encounter them at the frontlines, so I used Wood Release to cleanse the area…"
Kei roughly recounted the events at the frontlines and what he planned to do next. He didn't intend to interfere too much with Iwa.
But he definitely had to visit Suna.
As for Konoha, he needed to complete the integration and power transition within a few days.
Time was tight and the mission was heavy.
Even as powerful as he was, he was just one person. There were too many things he wanted to do, and it was getting hard to manage them all.
"You sure you don't want to be Hokage?"
After hearing Kei's story, Shikaku's face was filled with disbelief.
"Absolutely sure, without a doubt."
"You're the one who intimidated Iwa, and you're preparing to intimidate Suna too. You're the key force ensuring the unification of the three villages. You say you don't want to be Hokage, but you…"
Shikaku stopped mid-sentence. He had already guessed Kei's plan.
Kei smiled without saying a word. In the One Piece world, even above the Five Elders, there's Imu.
And here, above the Five Kage, there was him—was there a problem with that?
He wouldn't involve himself in daily affairs or appear before the masses. Most of the time, people could pretend he didn't exist. As long as he held absolute power, his status would naturally be above the Five Kage—untouchable and unshakable. If he spoke, the Five Kage would have no choice but to listen.
But if he became Hokage… Being in the spotlight, he'd have to worry about too many things.
Why make things hard for himself?
"Two questions. First, are you sure you have power that not even the combined Five Kage can defeat? Second, are you… immortal?"
Shikaku raised two fingers, asking the most critical questions.
First—if he couldn't achieve that, then trying to stand above the Five Kage was nonsense.
Second—in a seemingly equal but actually unequal system, there would always be someone dissatisfied with the status quo, wanting to overthrow their ruler.
If Kei was alive, everything would be fine—peace and harmony for all.
But once he grows old and weak, his strength declines, or he dies outright, not only will the Ino-Shika-Chō trio face utter catastrophe, but the alliance of the ninja villages will likely fall apart as well.
Given Kei's personality, he absolutely must have considered these things.
So... was he truly immortal?
"Don't worry about the first point. As for the second... I wouldn't say immortal, but living a few thousand years shouldn't be a problem."
Kei stroked his chin, calculating his own lifespan.
Thanks to [Yin-Yang Sage Master] and the ability to directly absorb natural energy, he had already completed a leap in his life force.
The word "immortality" was too grand.
Some people thought living a few thousand years counted as immortal. Others thought true immortality was surviving for tens of thousands of years without decay.
But in his view… Immortality was an exalted term—embracing the universe, housing the world within oneself, living as long as the earth, shining alongside the sun and moon. Only that could barely count as entering the realm of immortality.
Where he was now? Still far from that.
"Phew... So who are you planning to make the Fourth Hokage?" Shikaku took several deep breaths to forcibly suppress the shock in his heart with reason.
A few thousand years! How many years had the shinobi world existed?
"Hmm... Tsunade or Danzō—who do you think is more suitable?" Kei quickly ran through Konoha's top-level figures in his mind.
Jiraiya was too carefree and had his own principles. Clearly, not suitable for Hokage.
Minato was strong, but the "Yellow Flash" wasn't famous enough yet. Pushing him into power now would be troublesome.
Orochimaru? He should focus on his research instead of daydreaming.
After thinking it through, it seemed only Tsunade and Danzō were viable candidates.
The former had some degree of independence. The latter had no independence but could be easily controlled from behind the scenes by Shikaku and others—probably not a problem.
"Danzō's value is just balancing accounts and taking the blame now. Putting him in power is meaningless. Can Tsunade suppress the Third Hokage?"
Shikaku shook his head, instantly dismissing Danzō, who had risen through Root. Everyone knew he was a radical. At this sensitive moment of village unification, putting him in the spotlight would only cause trouble.
"Uh, does she need to? If needed, I can enhance her a bit—it should be fine."
"If she can suppress the Third Hokage, then in three days at most, I can completely consolidate all of Konoha's forces. I'll make sure no one holds you back!"
"And the terms of village unification?"
"Simple. I'll give them to you this afternoon. You just focus on solving the Tsunade issue."
"Alright." Kei nodded. Seeing that business was concluded, he patted his butt and stood up from the dining table.
Just before stepping out the door, he remembered something crucial, turned back, and said, "My kind of longevity requires high talent. You guys probably can't manage it. But... Orochimaru's research has progressed well lately. Can't guarantee much, but living over a thousand years shouldn't be a problem. Mm... maybe even longer in the future."
Kei had considered this issue long ago, which is why he never really cracked down hard on Orochimaru, the research fanatic. Because when someone lives too long, watching all the familiar people around them age and die...
Until everything became unfamiliar.
Until there was no one left they knew.
That kind of longevity became painfully cruel and unbearably dull.
"Damn..." Shikaku stared at the spot where Kei had disappeared at the doorway, pinched his thigh hard, and even used a clan secret technique to test himself for a while—to make sure that conversation wasn't a dream.
Over a thousand years!
Kei... was seriously pulling ahead of him!
"Looks like I'll have to come up with a breeding plan... or else... damn~~~"