Time flows like water—no matter how desperately one tries to hold it in the palm of their hand, it always trickles down slowly.
After Shen recovered from his injuries, he resumed his daily routine: sparring with clan members in the morning and training Anbu in the afternoon.
The Third named both Shen and Nayou as Konoha's new Jōnin.
"Tch, like I care!" said Nawaki aloud, though secretly envious inside.
"You're the worst group I've trained yet—your form was absolutely terrible!" That's what Shen said after sparring with the fifty new recruits recently accepted by Uchiha Kendo Academy.
As for the previous batch of fifty recruits, he had already pushed them all through graduation ahead of time.
Note: Graduated, not finished.
"Aren't any of you even trying? I can activate my Elemental Chakra Mode across my entire body within a single day. You guys have been at this for months! At best, you only manage both hands!" Shen always felt frustrated with them, convinced they were simply here to fill the ranks.
Kazushi, Shen's father, who held a leadership role, could already maintain four limbs in chakra mode without affecting his movements.
Maintaining one hand isn't difficult; maintaining two becomes somewhat challenging. Add both feet and you've already reached the average person's limit.
Constantly monitoring over 130 trillion cells requires more than just an ordinary mind.
In short, the Third Hokage noticed that lately, most Anbu officers showed up to work looking utterly exhausted.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya, now transformed into a refined pervert, walked through the streets every day openly discussing the beauty and figures of various young ladies.
When people called him a pervert, he would seriously reply, "One must acknowledge their weaknesses. It's wrong to get angry out of embarrassment."
Soon enough, Jiraiya gained the title of "The Perverted Sage." He even came up with a "Konoha Top Ten Most Beautiful Women" list that was regularly featured in the newspaper.
At number one, unsurprisingly, was Tsunade.
She remained unchanged, but since returning from the casino, she had started buying the newspaper every day, seemingly interested in something written within.
Number two on the list was Shen's mother—Uchiha Aiko.
With her beautiful looks paired with her prestigious status as a leader, she had captured the hearts of countless promising young men in Konoha.
Not long ago, some foolhardy soul dared publicly confess his love for her. Enraged, Kazushi locked him inside the interrogation room, where things didn't calm down until half a month later.
Nayou, ranked third, was still quite young, yet with her strong natural advantages, she easily beat many adult women.
However, she showed absolutely no interest in these superficial honors.
All day long, she was either seeking clan members to spar with or on her way to find more.
Mikoto came next at number seven—a woman who would eventually become Shen's sister-in-law.
Having two Uchiha women on the list caused many villagers to question the credibility of the rankings.
So the original troublemaker of Konoha made it clear that this list had been personally approved by him and carried considerable authority.
The previously loudmouth villagers now dared not raise any objections, even claiming Jiraiya had a conscience—"The ranking stands as is!"
As for Kushina, she was very honored to take the tenth place on the list at the age of nine.
There was certainly some shady business behind it all. Those few days gave Jiraiya nothing but headaches.
Under such a peaceful and ordinary daily rhythm, time passed by until November of Konoha Year 32.
In the Raikage Tower, after reading the letter, the Third Raikage raised his hand and crushed it into a pile of debris.
"Konoha! You're truly pushing too far!"
The letter was written by the Third Hokage. During these past few months, the two Kage had been communicating through letters.
The content of this particular letter was nothing more than Konoha's reprimand towards Kumogakure once again.
It also issued a final ultimatum concerning the seventeen fake envoys: one hundred million ryo per person, or else those individuals would be forced into unpaid labor in Konoha until the debt was fully settled.
"Raikage-sama, there's a second letter," an Anbu said, handing him a newly arrived message.
When the Third Raikage opened it, he discovered the second letter was actually an invitation card, inviting him to Konoha to attend the inauguration ceremony for the very first rail line in the ninja world.
"Flaunting their power again, huh? The Hokage never changes his ways."
Any sensible observer would see how deeply humiliating it would be for a village's Kage to attend such a ceremony.
If he went, wouldn't people assume he was afraid of Konoha?
If he didn't go, it would show indifference to the event, making future cooperation with Konoha difficult.
The relationship between Konoha and Kumogakure was arguably the worst among the Five Great Nations.
During the First Great Ninja War, after suffering a crushing defeat in the battle Kumogakure couldn't accept, the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers staged a coup, killing the Second Raikage.
Then, they led a large force of ninja to pursue the Second Hokage's squad — with Tobirama Senju at its head.
What could Tobirama do? The Flying Thunder God technique hadn't been improved yet, and he didn't possess Sage Transformation like his older brother Hashirama. For Konoha's future, he alone went ahead as bait to cover their retreat.
The outcome was that Kinkaku and Ginkaku, along with Tobirama, all met their demise together.
Adding to the recent actions against Uzumaki Village a few years ago and the recent impersonation of envoys to kidnap Uzumaki clan females, it wouldn't be surprising for either side to erupt into war at any moment.
Watch Konoha flaunt their power? The Third Raikage had no intention of doing so. He only wanted to resolve his younger brother's issue as soon as possible.
Otherwise, the eight-year-old Burubi would have no choice but to become the jinchuriki, and perhaps in a few years' time, his own blood brother's lineage would vanish from the ninja world.
The successor jinchuriki would then need to be brainwashed and cultivated from childhood, forcibly instilled with loyalty towards the Raikage.
"It wouldn't hurt to go check it out, but before that…"
The Third Raikage curled his lips, seemingly foreseeing what would happen over a month later.
Across a vast ocean from the Land of Lightning lay the Land of Earth, where Iwagakure stood encircled by layers of rugged mountain peaks.
Onoki, the elderly flying savior known as the Two-Day Elder and the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, also received an invitation from Konoha.
Currently, Iwagakure didn't have significant conflicts with Konoha.
At worst was the incident from years back when the Second Tsuchikage Mū, along with a young Onoki, went to seek peace from Madara Uchiha, only to be rudely rejected and witness Madara demonstrate his unparalleled ocular technique.
But the impact of this incident planted an enduring idea in Onoki's mind.
Only the strong have the right to set terms!
Iwagakure and Sunagakure had always been at odds with each other.
Two countries situated so close naturally experienced constant territorial conflicts.
Today, Sunagakure would accuse Iwagakure of crossing the border.
Tomorrow, Iwagakure would strike first and kill them.
The two sides had been holding grudges for ages, teetering on the edge of open war.
"Konoha can stay out of trouble for now, but Sunagakure..."
Onoki immediately decided he should make an appearance to stir up some fun for Konoha and Sunagakure.
Declare war? Truthfully, he just didn't have the guts for it now.
Judging from the ambiguous attitude of Konoha and Sunagakure's alliance, his side might end up fighting two enemies at once.
So he picked up a pen and spent nearly half an hour writing a secret letter.
"Deliver this letter to the Raikage."
After giving those orders, Onoki turned his gaze toward the humble-looking stone that embodied the Will of the Stone.
Search for [ReadingPal] official website: www.kanshuzhushou.com – Read millions of popular books free of charge for life without any ads!
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
Want to read the subsequent content in advance?
Please follow my Patreon:patreon/Tansnovel
Tans Novel - The Fastest-Updating Naruto Fanfiction Account
Read 100+ chapters in advance, with at least 3 new chapters updated every day! More free chapters! 20+ Naruto fanfictions!
Just three steps:
1. Download and open the "Patreon" app
2. Search for "Tans Novel"
3. Click on the collection and enjoy to your heart's content
<><><><><><><><>