Hidden Cloud Village.
"A-sama, they're dead, all dead!"
"What do you mean, all dead?"
A hurriedly grabbed the other person to ask.
The ANBU ninja opened his mouth, and finally, crying silently, said, "The Third Raikage is dead, the Third Tsuchikage is said to have also died in the Hidden Rain Village... the Fourth Mizukage has been captured!"
"What?!!"
A was utterly horrified.
He was first filled with grief, then a sense of utter despair.
In his heart, the Third Raikage was an invincible being. He had once thought his father was omnipotent, until he was later defeated by the combined forces of Kyohiko and Namikaze Minato, only then did he understand...
So there were things in the world that his father couldn't handle.
This time, from the moment his father left, he had vaguely felt uneasy, because the Third Raikage's actions were almost like he was settling his final affairs.
And now...
Everything had come true.
His father was truly dead.
A slumped into his chair and didn't speak for a long time.
Finally, after a long silence, his voice was a bit hoarse, "How did Onoki die in the Hidden Rain Village?"
"This..."
The ANBU ninja didn't know how to answer for a moment.
In his view, that didn't seem to be the main point.
But.
A keenly sensed that something was wrong.
"Raikage-sama made a move with them. How did Raikage-sama die in the Land of Grass, while he died in the Land of Rain?"
A looked at the battle report, his tone filled with intense anger.
Onoki had clearly betrayed his father!
"A, calm down."
Dodai walked in from outside.
"Uncle Dodai."
"I already know."
Dodai gestured for the ANBU ninja to leave.
Then, he said softly, "A, Raikage-sama is gone. You must take on the responsibility, become the new Fourth Raikage, and lead the Hidden Cloud Village forward!"
"Then I..."
A stood up, about to make a decision.
But after a few seconds, he sat down dejectedly and said, "I understand, Uncle Dodai. I will show goodwill to Konoha, even bow down as a subject."
"Konoha is too powerful. The three of us together were no match, let alone just one... The fact that you can calm down shows that your father did not misjudge you."
Dodai was quite gratified.
Then, he gave some words of caution before leaving.
A looked at the portrait in the office, of a man laughing heartily, and couldn't help but fall silent.
Father...
Was this your final gamble?
But.
In the end, we still failed.
"If we lose, we admit it. What's the harm in enduring for a generation?"
These were his father's words before he left.
Now, it seemed as if they were still echoing in his ears.
A clenched his fist, firmly engraving these words in his heart.
...
In Konoha, amidst the ruins, with the help of Wood Style, houses were rebuilt one by one.
Beside them, a giant puppet was assisting in moving away some of the rubble and broken walls.
Outside the village.
Next to the Security Force headquarters, a huge monument was erected.
Inscribed on it were the deeds of everyone in Konoha uniting as one to resist the foreign invasion. A woman in a green robe stood under the monument, her fingers touching the words on it.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just feel that this monument is too heavy."
Tsunade lamented.
Konoha had won, and the victory was very easy.
At least in terms of the battle's outcome, it was indeed "easy."
However.
Even so, many ninjas still died in the war.
Some civilians would never see this day in Konoha.
"People always die in war, unless every one of us can fight against ten thousand like you. But what about the future? When you and I are gone, they will start new wars, just like back then."
As Tsunade spoke of this, her heart grew heavier. "Kyohiko, these few days, I increasingly feel that the world is like a cycle, always repeating the stories of the past."
"It's inevitable."
Kyohiko looked up at the stone monument.
He was silent for a few seconds and said, "For Madara, wasn't the scene back then also a repetition of a past story?"
"Yes!"
Tsunade let out a long sigh.
All the ninja villages were once individual clans, which gradually came together after chaotic wars in search of peace and tranquility.
But after the villages were established, everyone still couldn't avoid war.
Even.
The scale of war was greater than before.
Because after everyone had united, they became stronger. Once a war broke out, the scale of death was more terrifying than before.
A world of illusion...
Tsunade looked at Kyohiko and smiled, "You've always been good at creating miracles. Can you do it this time?"
"How could I?"
Kyohiko shook his head.
Peace...
It has been difficult to achieve since ancient times. Even as a transmigrator, he couldn't change the eternal law. All he could do was maintain it for a period of time and establish a concept of peace and unity.
What's more.
This "unification" might take years, even decades, to slowly achieve.
He looked at the stone statues in the distance.
"In any case, at least there won't be any more wars for a short time."
"Yes."
...
"Naruto!! You're looking for death!!!"
"Ah?! Mom, I'm sorry! Stop chasing me!"
"If you didn't run, would I chase you?"
Kushina's angry voice traveled across a street to the ears of a yellow-haired child.
He screamed, carrying a paint bucket and swinging it around, splashing paint everywhere on both sides. Kushina chased after him, apologizing and shouting at the same time.
Soon.
Naruto bumped into a man and fell to the ground with a cry of "Ouch."
"You..."
He looked up and saw a strangely dressed man standing in front of him. Beside him was a red-haired child, who was looking at him curiously.
Furthermore, the paint had splattered, and some of it had unavoidably gotten on them.
The two children looked at each other.
Naruto got up, scratched his head, and bowed in apology, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."
"It's nothing. You're Minato's child, right?"
The other person smiled slightly.
Naruto nodded lightly, staring at the man for a long time, feeling that he looked very familiar.
After a few seconds, he suddenly slapped his forehead, took out his pocket watch, and looked at it. Then he shouted, "Oh, oh! I remember now, you look so much like my big sister!"
Hearing this name, Rasa was taken aback for a moment.
"Yes, I..."
He was silent for a few seconds and said, "I'm her relative. I came here this time for some business, and also to see Temari."
"So you're my sister's relative. Sorry, sorry, my name is Namikaze Naruto..."
Naruto was introducing himself.
Suddenly.
A hand from behind directly grabbed his clothes, lifted him up, and an angry voice burst out.
"Naruto!!!"
Veins popped on Kushina's forehead, her face full of annoyance. Then, she held Naruto and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama..."
Kazekage?
Naruto was stunned for a few seconds.
Rasa was silent for a few seconds, then smiled freely, "Don't call me Kazekage anymore. It's meaningless."
Several years have passed in a flash.
So fast!
He had once thought that Konoha's influence might become very large. After all, Kyohiko's and Minato's strength was there for all to see, especially after the previous war...
Everyone knew that Kyohiko's strength had surpassed even beings like Uchiha Madara.
Who would dare to be disrespectful?
Even though—
The other party had just turned eighteen this year and was preparing to succeed as the Fifth Hokage.
But.
What Rasa didn't expect was that the first to be affected were the areas around the Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Rain Village, and the Land of Rivers.
Because of the cooperation zone in the northern part of the Land of Rivers that they themselves had advocated, and the greening project in the northern part of the Land of Wind.
The more people from Konoha there were, the stronger the influence of the "Will of Fire."
What exactly was this thing? Everyone could say a few things about it, and opinions varied. Konoha had even encouraged everyone to discuss and learn about it.
This move was extremely ruthless.
Now, even within the Hidden Sand Village, many people agreed with Konoha's philosophy and ideology.
How could Rasa not know that Konoha was good?
But.
On what basis was Konoha good?
Because the Land of Fire and Konoha were rich and powerful. They had the money and the strength to do so.
The Hidden Sand Village couldn't do it, and had no way to learn.
They could only go their own way.
Sadly, the current Hidden Sand Village had already become a vassal of Konoha, and even the Land of Wind felt that...
Instead of cultivating the Hidden Sand Village, why not directly seek help from Konoha in the joint area?
As for the changes in the northern part of the Land of Wind.
These were all done by Konoha. The Hidden Sand Village had only contributed some money and manpower, but much of the money was allocated from them.
All these things led to the current Konoha...
In the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain, it had a great momentum to replace their respective ninja villages.
But the ninja villages of the two countries were completely powerless to resist. In fact, on the side of the Land of Rain, many people clapped their hands in approval, and—
The gains of the Hidden Rain Village were also great.
Although the climate of their village couldn't completely get rid of the phenomenon of flooding, it was much better than before.
Rasa had originally wanted to struggle a bit more.
However, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had already surrendered. What could they do?
In fact, this influence was not only affecting the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Rain Village. Many small ninja villages had been driven by this move from Konoha and had now gradually merged into the Allied Shinobi Villages.
The Allied Shinobi Villages.
This was the name Kyohiko had given to this massive combination of ninja villages.
"Let's go. I'll take you to see Temari first. In the afternoon, after the ceremony is over, I'll take you to see Kyohiko."
...
In the afternoon, at the Konoha Hokage Building.
"Kyohiko, are you ready?"
"I'm ready."
Kyohiko got up and walked out of the room.
"How is it?"
Outside the door, Tsunade sat on a chair, idly playing with dice.
Over the years, she had not only cleared her debts but also accumulated some wealth. Now that she was quite well-off, her hands were getting itchy.
She was just waiting to step down so she could go on a spending spree!
Thinking of this, Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle. She was about to urge him again.
The door opened.
A handsome man, wearing the Hokage cloak, walked out of the room. The slightly pressed down cloak slanted, covering his handsome face.
But.
Looking up from below, you could still see half of Kyohiko's face.
Tsunade couldn't help but be stunned.
This scene, she had seen countless times in her dreams. But waking up time and time again, she remembered the coldness and cruelty of reality, which had once plunged her into fear and sorrow from which she couldn't escape.
And now, she had gradually forgotten those two faces.
It seemed...
Just like this scene before her.
"How is it?"
"Very, very good. This is the bearing my successor should have!"
Tsunade's tone was stuttering.
Kyohiko held his head high and smiled, "Big Sis, you're wrong."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Tsunade's mind was in a mess, and she couldn't react for a moment.
Kyohiko smiled, "It's not a successor, but you ending your duty as the acting Hokage, and I'm taking back the Hokage position that belongs to me!"
He chuckled.
"Big Sis Tsunade, I am the Hokage!"
"You little brat, how dare you talk like that?!"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
Then, she couldn't help but burst out laughing and said, "Do I have to cooperate with you and say 'Kyohiko, you will regret it'?"
"Yes, yes."
Kyohiko couldn't help but clap his hands in approval.
Beside them, a light cough was heard, and the air instantly fell silent for a few moments.
Then, Kyohiko smoothly changed the subject.
"The weather is really nice today!"
"Yes, yes!"
Tsunade nodded repeatedly, then looked outside and fell silent.
Pitter-patter.
Small raindrops hit the window.
The weather was not cooperating. It had started raining in the afternoon and hadn't stopped yet. This weather really didn't match the description of "nice."
"Ahem, Kyohiko, given the situation, do you think we should reschedule? Or, maybe set up a tent on site? We can't let everyone stand in the rain, right?"
"Mmm, let's go take a look. I'll put my hat away first."
Kyohiko turned and went back into the room.
Tsunade's expression instantly froze, and she secretly cursed Kyohiko for being disloyal.
Then, she forced a smile.
"Well, Sensei, please have a seat!"
Tsunade pointed to the opposite seat.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed helplessly and said, "Danzo has been dead for many years. There's no need to keep bringing up certain things..."
"Yes, yes, we were just joking."
Tsunade nodded repeatedly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed silently and said, "We have already made arrangements for the rain. We'll let everyone be in the tents, and those who can't fit can watch from home..."
"No need for such trouble!"
At this moment, Kyohiko opened the door and came out. Then he looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Sandaime-sama, I'll go and hurry it up. It will finish raining soon."
"Huh?"
Before Sarutobi Hiruzen could figure out what was going on—
He saw a clap of thunder outside.
In the sky, lightning intertwined.
Then, rain as big as beans poured down, hitting the windows with a crackling sound.
The rain got heavier!
Dark clouds gathered in the sky.
But.
As time passed, minute by minute, the rain slowly subsided, and a ray of sunlight gradually shone through.
"How can we let everyone watch from home because of the weather?"
Kyohiko said with full confidence, "Let's go!"
Tsunade looked at the ray of sunlight and couldn't help but smile, "Yes, this is the most precious Hokage inauguration ceremony. How can we let everyone be at home?"
She winked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Then, Tsunade quickly followed Kyohiko, humming a little tune.
The sky cleared up after the rain.
Nothing makes people happier than this!
When Kyohiko walked outside, it was already a sea of people below. Many Konoha villagers and people who had come from all over the country and various places just to attend the ceremony were gathered below.
The moment Kyohiko appeared on the rooftop...
"Awooo!"
Screams and cheers erupted from below.
Kyohiko had a confident smile on his face, "From today onwards, I, the Fifth Hokage, Ryoho Kyohiko, will officially lead everyone!"
"Kyohiko!!"
His name echoed throughout Konoha.
Kyohiko looked at the crowd below, and a line of familiar text flashed before his eyes.
[Officially canceling Tsunade's status as acting Hokage.]
[You have reclaimed the authority of the Hokage and become the Hokage again. You will become the only Hokage in Konoha to be reinstated...]
System, you're really stubborn!
Kyohiko complained in his heart, but on his face, there was still a fervent smile.
Under his leadership...
The future of Konoha and the ninja world will definitely be better than the original!