That night, Ieyasu started to think about the responsibilities he should impose on himself for being a transmigrator.
He knew about the whole plot, and if you ignore the Boruto nonsense, Akatsuki is the main troublemaker of the next few decades.
'But if I can't get rid of them in one fell swoop, I'll just land myself into unfamiliar territory for nothing.' Ieyasu decided he should make certain clean sweeps in the most critical moments—he didn't want to be one of those foolish wannabe heroes that only made things worse.
'I should let the original Akatsuki be formed, but can I deal with the unpredictable actions of Madara and Black Zetsu after I intervene?'
'The best case scenario is if after I interfere with Nagato's darkening, kill Danzo and destroy the Rinnegan, Black Zetsu decides to abandon Madara and wait for a new pair of Rinnegan. Then I can just monitor Itachi and Sasuke to find Black Zetsu again.'
'But this all relies on Black Zetsu being that predictable, and while he didn't seem that smart in the series, he would have actually succeeded if the plot didn't bless the Shinobi world with heavenly luck. So he shouldnt be underestimated, he has uncanny abilities and inhuman patience.'
'I mean, just the fact that a couple of teenagers defeated the Progenitor of Chakra herself with diluted powers shows how ridiculous the whole plot was, how could Kaguya be such a clown with her abilities? Even from copying the Shinobi through observation on the spot should make up for any combat experience.'
'There's also the question of whether interfering too much is even good. I risk going into unexplored territory for what? The Otsutsuki are probably coming later and without Akatsuki as a common enemy only tyranny or a legendary sequence of Talk no Jutsu could unite the Shinobi world fast enough.'
'Should I maintain the common enemy and control the damage with future knowledge or try to develop Konoha into a fair all-encompassing supreme power and having unpredictable effects in the future direction of the world's development?'
Ieyasu sighed, he really didn't know what to do, but he also knew that the best time to act was still far away, as long as he didn't let Konoha decline and killed Danzo and Hanzo during the Akatsuki ambush, he was halfway there.
'The problem is that Black Zetsu is simply too perfect as a behind the scenes schemer, unless I can catch him once and for all, he's always going to be a wildcard hellbent on creating chaos, so why is it my job to change so much? But at the same time, can I really just mind my business when I know all this?' Ieyasu knew he wasn't that cold-hearted, although he would never endanger himself super altruistically, the situation was just too perfect for him to save thousands of lives.
His abilities also made him really hard to kill, once he stopped being afraid of turning to stone and finally tried to learn Sage Mode, he would probably be invincible under the level of Six Paths.
'Isn't this too overpowered, who wrote this script? And I don't even have an actual system, I guess Naruto really is all about what you're born with.'
Although Ieyasu still wasn't sure about just how much he wanted to meddle, he finally decided to no longer be as passive, the first step he would take would be to absolutely crush the other Great Shinobi Nations—he wouldn't let Konoha be a declining punching bag with internal turmoil held together by inheritance and luck like it would have been originally.
'At least Tsunade is even more of a monster now, so there's no need to worry too much, she won't die on me.' Ieyasu felt relieved to have such a scary partner in this scary world.
'I should sleep, but hm, after Nawaki graduates, I should be his instructor. Wait, he's just 3 or 4 years older than Minato and Kushina, aren't I perfect for teaching that trio? The problem is it'd be embarassing for Hashirama's grandson to be so far behind.' Ieyasu really wanted to file a complaint, why couldn't their births be more conveniently timed for him?
He wished he could have adjusted other people's birth dates for free in the Reincarnation Store, but the world isn't all rainbows, and he couldn't blame the five-star service for not doing charity.
'There's still nearly a decade of peace where I don't feel like I can do much, should I build up an independent force? Actually, Uzushiogakure is perfect, I'm not even sure how the best seal masters got annihilated in their own homeground, but if I could somehow have the Uzumaki under me, it'd be perfect.'
'Yeah, it really is weird, and it's so annoying that Kishimoto has this absurd amount of history of the Naruto world that never gets explained. How did Uzushio even get decimated? Didn't they have a Kage-level fighter and the best Fuinjutsu knowledge? Did all four Great Nation Kage pull a blitz besiegement on them? Is that how the unknown Third Mizukage died offscreen? Maybe they couldn't deal with a flying Onoki and Third Kazekage combined with the lightning speed tank that was the Third Raikage? Sounds reasonable, but did they fall too fast for Konoha to even act? Sounds unlikely, it feels like it was just an excuse to no longer have powerful clans, same reason so many other strong clans and people got decimated.'
'So how should I interfere? There must be a reason they never integrated into Konoha. They aren't proud like the Uchiha, but they can be very stubborn, in fact, that's probably their most defining trait. Maybe they just don't feel like moving? Or is it a stupid reason like people admonishing their red hair? It did happen with Kushina, but it seems like that was just a Konoha problem, it sounded more like Kishimoto generating drama. Why didn't we see Nagato, Yahiko, Karui, the Akimichi and other characters like that getting discriminated.'
'I should get to know this world and it's people more, maybe I should travel until the war starts, but I don't want to leave Tsunade... well, if she doesn't feel like it, we can gamble on it.' Ieyasu decided that after getting married, he'd go on a honeymoon world trip, if someone wasn't satisfied, they could go and file a complaint to the Hokage. 'My life on Earth was filled with what ifs and indecisiveness. I ended up not spending enough time with my parents before they died and not developing any real bonds. There's probably no one on Earth that misses me, and it's almost sadder that I don't miss it either. I don't know if this world is an illusion or not as real as Earth, but I don't care, I'll act in a way that will make my future self proud of the present me.'
Then, Ieyasu finally stopped thinking so much and went to sleep, to be honest, he was also avoiding thoughts he had about his loved ones' longevity compared to his and Tsunade's. Not everyone could have unaging cells like them, but he decided to have more productive thoughts for the sake of resolving more immediate problems. If people he cared about died, he would at most have to fetch them from the Pure Land in the future—he knew most deaths weren't final in this world, especially if you had Edo Tensei material and a conveniently suicidal associate that would use a Rinnegan Samsara for you and your buddies.
...
About one year later, Tsunade and Ieyasu finally got married.
Jiraiya had years of foreshadowing leading up to this moment—fortunately, Ieyasu's efforts had paid off, he isn't heartbroken like in the original series, now, he just envies "that lucky bastard Ieyasu."
The wedding venue was actually in the same place Hashirama and Mito had gotten married.
It was a peaceful classic Japanese-style garden near the Senju compounds.
Tsunade really wanted to have the marriage here and Ieyasu saw no problem with it.
Tsunade's parents were still alive, Hashirama's daughter was her mother, but her and her husband were officially only genin as neither wanted to pursue a Shinobi career.
The marriage was just a gathering of family and friends—as relatively well known figures in the Shinobi circle, they also invited a representative of each clan out of respect, including the Uchiha.
Nothing unexpected happened, their mothers and grandpa Mito were quite emotional–thankfully Tsunade's parents were more peaceful like Hashirama than intense like Tobirama.
"Oh my little Tsunade, this grandma of yours is so happy to see that there's such a good boy that can handle your temper out there." Mito suddenly spoke this around everyone in the middle of the 'after-party'.
"That's right, Tsuna, your grandpa also had to be quite special to handle my mom." Tsunade's mom chimed in.
"Hey! I'm the one that has to handle his antics, okay?" Tsunade defended herself instinctively.
"Woah, don't paint me as the problematic one. And don't feel bad about it, your temper at least strengthens my body, it's not that bad-- Ow! It's our wedding, can you not hit me for at least today?" Ieyasu actually didn't dislike getting hit when it was her that did it, and Tsunade also realized it, she always felt like she was massaging him, not beating him up.
"Fine, sorry! Let's just move on, then."
By the end of the party, when the sun was setting, they told their friends and family about their honeymoon trip that could last over a year.
And so, at 17 years old, Ieyasu and Tsunade officially became husband and wife—this was a perfectly normal age for marriage in the Shinobi world, fortunately for Ieyasu, Tsunade looked like a young adult at 15.
The high cellular activity had the benefit of making things less weird for him.
...
One month after the wedding.
Hikaru owned a casino in a trading town located on the southern region of the Land of Rivers.
Today was a day like any other until this young woman that lost repeatedly came in.
What's the problem in that, you may ask?
Well, it wouldn't be a problem at all if there wasn't this other kid that "kindly invited" everyone that won against the young lady to play with him.
He won every single time, and it was clear he was cheating with Shinobi jutsu.
This was awful for his business, so Hikaru was about to call some friends and kick these troublemakers out, if he could, he'd even take some of their money as repayment for their disruption.
As he started walking over, it was like the young man read his mind, he immediately came over and patted Hikaru on the shoulder like an old friend.
"Are you the owner of this place? Let me tell you, I've had a great time here. Naturally, I felt like the owner of such a great place could only be an equally great person, and it seems you've proven me right! So tell me, great man, what does a guy like you want to tell a happy and satisfied customer who isn't going to make any trouble and is about to leave like me?" Ieyasu didn't feel bad about cheating, if he made money from the people that gained from Tsunade's bad luck, he was just breaking even, he wasn't even making them poorer.
And if he got money from the casino? He couldn't ask for more! He wished he could rob them blind! And he would if it didn't mean they would take even more money from ordinary people to recoup their losses—no casino owner is an upright citizen.
Pissing these people off was a source of joy for Ieyasu, it just felt liberating—it also made Tsunade's abysmal luck easier on his pockets.
...
Back in their inn.
'I've been looking for news on stuff related to the Ancient Era around this area, but I've found nothing. Is there really nothing much?' Ieyasu had written down important things to remember when he was 3, and one of them was that Kaguya and Hagoromo's ancient settlement should be in the southwestern region of the Land of Fire or in the Land of Rivers.
'It seems like there really is no good stuff left around here, there was just a chunk of something that may or may not have been the bark of the God Tree, it was only useful to make some self-regenerating clothes for me and Tsuna anyway. Well, it's quite good, these clothes are elite and now we can get absolutely shredded without worry.' Ieyasu was very satisfied with the outfits he and Tsunade had weaved.
'Now the question is, should I try to get the Ryumyaku or not? It should really exist, but I'm not sure my Adaptive Vital Body can adapt fast enough before I die to its power. It's just like Sage Mode, I don't need it yet, should I really risk it?' Ieyasu didn't feel a sense of urgency when it came to learning Senjutsu, but it's not everyday that the opportunity to travel deep into the western Land of Wind came.
'Fuck it! If Tsunade loses the next bet, I'm going! It's free chakra straight from the Earth, I don't know it's origins, but it can't be a bad thing, right? Surely the "dragon vein" isn't related to actual dragons, right?' Unsurprisingly, Tsunade lost her bet, so Ieyasu pulled her to leave and told her they were going to the Kingdom of Rōran west of the Land of Wind.
"What? What do you want to do going to the edge of the world like that? It's too troublesome! Do you really want to walk through the desert just for some kingdom? Weren't we supposed to enjoy ourselves? How long is this gonna take?" Tsunade rapid-fired reasonable complaints at Ieyasu for suggesting such an awful location for a trip.
"Look, Tsuna-chan, there's just an awesome sea of chakra there! Besides, it's a really coold kingdom, I even heard they make great liquor. And don't you also want infinite chakra like a Tailed Beast? I'll share, then we'll truly be untiring monsters that simply don't die, come on, it's just too beautiful!"
"Urgh, fine. But if they don't have any good liquor and it isn't as interesting as you said, I'm gonna break every bone in your body."
"Sure, then let's get to the next town before it gets dark."
...
Three months later, they had arrived in the Kingdom of Rōran.
And beneath the seemingly regular desert lay unlimited power.