"The troubled times are coming, and the Child of Destruction will rise in the chaos."
Since returning from Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya had been constantly muttering this sentence, the look of worry on his face growing ever thicker.
He had, of course, asked the Great Toad Sage what these words meant. Who was the Child of Destruction? What would happen in the upcoming great war?
However, the Great Toad Sage's answer was as ambiguous as ever. He only provided a vague prophecy. Even though Jiraiya questioned him repeatedly, he could not get a straight answer.
Seeing this, Jiraiya could only return home and send the Great Toad Sage's prophecy back to the Hidden Leaf Village.
Meanwhile, he devoted himself entirely to the cooperation with the Hidden Sand Village. He strove to ensure that no mistakes occurred in the battle against the Jashin Religion, hoping to nip the turmoil from the Great Toad Sage's prophecy in the bud!
While the Leaf and Sand armies were actively preparing, the Fifth Hokage of the Leaf had successfully arrived at the capital of the Land of Fire and met with the Daimyo.
To mark Danzo's arrival, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had prepared an extremely grand welcome ceremony.
Nevertheless, the large number of samurai on the capital's streets caught Danzo's attention.
"What is going on?"
Danzo looked at the nearby Root ninja with his one visible eye.
At that time, in order to prevent a fellow like Shikaku from suspecting him, he had endured the pain of gouging Shisui's Mangekyo directly from his eye socket and buried it underground using Sealing Jutsu.
Because Kotoamatsukami consumed too much ocular power, Shisui's Mangekyo would fall into a long cooling period.
Consequently, beneath the bandages on Danzo's face was merely an ordinary Sharingan.
Even so, he did not intend to expose this Sharingan, so he continued his previous style of hiding most of his body under bandages.
Furthermore, although the Daimyo's estate and the Leaf were said to be two branches of the same tree, the successive Hokage since Hashirama had never relaxed their surveillance of the Land of Fire's capital.
Danzo, as the future Fifth Hokage, was no exception.
Therefore, the moment he heard Danzo's question, the Root ninja who had been stationed in the capital for years quickly replied:
"Reporting to the Hokage, a large number of Ghouls have appeared in the capital recently. Numerous attacks occur every day. Thus, the Daimyo and the ministers had to dispatch many clan samurai to protect the civilians."
"Ghouls?"
Danzo's gaze shifted slightly.
This was a term he hadn't heard in a long time.
"I remember that the battle at the Hidden Steam Village was supposed to have wiped out a large number of Ghouls," he remarked with some confusion.
The Anbu ninja shook his head. "A large number of Ghouls have indeed appeared in the city recently. Perhaps they fled here from the Land of Rivers?"
Seeing that the latter truly did not know, Danzo did not press further. He simply pondered in silence whether the Daimyo wanted Arima because of the recent Ghoul scourge or if he had other ideas.
As for Arima, the moment he stepped into the capital, his nose caught a special chill.
This was the scent of a Ghoul.
His eyes were like a divine eagle's. His scrutinizing gaze searched through the crowded throngs on both sides, trying to identify anyone suspected of being a Ghoul.
"What's wrong, Arima?"
Dr. Katasuke adjusted his glasses, noticing Arima's abnormality.
"I smell the scent of Ghouls."
Arima kept nothing from Katasuke.
After all, his ability to possess a Quinque was entirely thanks to Dr. Katasuke's hard work. Without the latter, he probably wouldn't even have the hope of seeking revenge now.
Katasuke's gaze searched through the crowd through his lenses, but ultimately he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He patted Arima's shoulder quite calmly. "Rest assured, the Daimyo's purpose in having you come this time is to eradicate these Ghouls. You will have plenty of opportunities."
Hearing this, Arima's furrowed brows finally relaxed slightly. "I hope so," he said expectantly.
But he immediately thought of the talk Danzo had with him the night before they departed, and his expression turned gloomy again.
This time, he wasn't just coming as the Leaf's support for the Daimyo. He also carried the mission of spying on the Daimyo for Danzo.
To prevent their betrayal, Danzo had also secretly placed a Cursed Seal on them.
Katasuke seemed to see through his thoughts. He pushed his glasses up slightly and said with confidence, "Don't worry, I will find a way. Don't forget, I am Dr. Katasuke."
Looking at Katasuke's confident appearance, Arima finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As a partial Leaf citizen, Arima did not want to become a member of Root and dedicate his entire life to Danzo.
Under the guidance of a noble minister, the group soon arrived at the banquet hall and met the most honorable person in the Land of Fire—the Daimyo.
In the center of the magnificently decorated hall, the Land of Fire Daimyo sat quietly.
The Daimyo wore a kimono and a special headdress that looked like an open paper fan. Three red flames were painted on the fan, and his every move exuded noble grace.
As for the other noble officials, they also wore kimonos, but their black hats bore a simple "Fire" character, and their clothing was not as grand as the Daimyo's.
"Greetings, Daimyo."
Danzo walked in leaning on his cane and offered the first greeting.
Everyone following behind Danzo had to perform a kneeling bow to the Daimyo, while Danzo only needed to nod his head.
This was his privilege as the Hokage.
The Daimyo raised his hand slightly, signaling everyone to rise. Then he said, "So it's Danzo. It's been a long time."
Danzo's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "It has indeed been a long time since we met."
He remembered the last time they met was when Hiruzen Sarutobi resumed the position of Hokage as the Third...
It was at that time that Danzo arranged an assassination attempt against Hiruzen.
Putting that aside, Danzo, Hiruzen, and the Daimyo before him were indeed old acquaintances with a decent relationship.
The Daimyo looked at the old acquaintance he hadn't seen in a long time. He finally unfolded the paper fan in his hand and said with regret, "I didn't expect Hiruzen to be so strong yet suffer such an accident."
Facing the Daimyo's sentimentality, Danzo remained unmoved. He simply said coldly, "While I also regret Hiruzen's passing, we have more important matters now. Only by quickly unifying the power of the Leaf and the entire Land of Fire can we avenge Hiruzen, restore the Leaf's dignity, and revive the glory of the Land of Fire."
Danzo's voice gradually became lower and more forceful.
He was expressing his attitude to the most honorable person in the Land of Fire: only if the Leaf has dignity can the Land of Fire be safe.
The Daimyo certainly understood Danzo's meaning. To put it bluntly, his earlier act of mourning Hiruzen Sarutobi was merely out of noble etiquette.
"Ahem, you are right, Danzo. I am quite at ease having you serve as the Fifth Hokage of the Leaf."
The Daimyo timely expressed his affirmation of Danzo and then guaranteed: "Next, I will have the Daimyo's estate provide sufficient funds to the Leaf to help with reconstruction and to eliminate the Jashin Religion as soon as possible to avenge Hiruzen."
Hearing this, Danzo finally nodded with satisfaction.
"Then I thank the Daimyo."
"It is all what I should do. The Leaf and the Daimyo's estate are two branches of the same tree. Supporting the Leaf is only natural."
The Daimyo agreed with a few more words before complaining, "If it weren't for those Ghouls in the capital being so arrogant these past few days, I would have prepared to select some samurai from the various nobles to support the Leaf!"
Danzo's eyebrows twitched.
As a seasoned politician and conspirator, he naturally would not believe the nonsense the Daimyo was speaking.
With their cowardly personalities, it would be a miracle if they were willing to send samurai to support the Leaf.
Moreover, given the character of the nobles in the capital, the samurai they trained probably wouldn't have much combat power...
However, Danzo still picked up on the meaning in the Daimyo's words. This was also one of the contents of their transaction.
"I have long heard of the Ghouls committing crimes in the capital, so I specifically brought these two from the Leaf."
After Danzo finished speaking, he waved his hand and called Arima and Katasuke forward.
"Arima, a Special Jonin of the Leaf. The first Quinque was discovered through him, and he is the first Quinque user in the Shinobi World. He is very skilled at dealing with Ghouls."
"Dr. Katasuke, also a Special Jonin of the Leaf. The Quinque was developed by him, and he has also conducted very important research on Ghouls."
Arima and Katasuke, upon being called, hurriedly bowed to the Daimyo.
When they saw the two of them, the Daimyo and the group of noble officials finally perked up, as if they had been waiting for their appearance all along.
Danzo, sensing their change in mood, sneered in his heart.
The more they valued Katasuke and Arima, the more secrets the two could access. The Leaf's understanding of these nobles would become deeper, and they could even influence the Daimyo estate's decisions through the two of them.
However, the Daimyo at this moment obviously did not know Danzo's inner thoughts. He merely looked at Arima and Katasuke with a face full of admiration.
"Good, good, good! With the help of you two, the Ghoul scourge in the capital is nothing to fear!"
Next, Danzo discussed the details of the aid with the Daimyo.
After the exchange of interests and the conclusion of the banquet, the Hokage's coronation ceremony officially began.
Witnessed by many nobles and citizens of the Land of Fire capital, the Daimyo personally placed the hat representing the Fifth Hokage on Danzo's head. Danzo had finally achieved his wish and truly became the Hokage of his dreams!
After the coronation ceremony ended, Danzo did not stay in the capital for long.
After all, the Leaf was currently in a special period. Ceremonies should be as simple as possible. He still had to go back to take charge of the overall situation.
Therefore, on the day after the coronation ceremony, Danzo returned to the Leaf with the first batch of aid given by the Daimyo's estate.
After Danzo left, the Daimyo and the various nobles couldn't wait to call Arima over to demonstrate the power of the Quinque.
Perhaps out of consideration for what was to come, Arima demonstrated power comparable to a Jonin this time, completely winning over these nobles.
One must know that the ninjas they could usually invite were only around the level of Chunin. Most were wandering ninjas and wandering samurai with the strength of Genin.
Only the Twelve Guardian Shinobi belonging specifically to the Land of Fire Daimyo possessed the strength of Jonin.
This clearly could not satisfy the desire of the Daimyo and the nobles to grow stronger.
Therefore, they had long set their sights on the special power of the Quinque, which was different from ninjas.
If they could cultivate a Quinque force, would the Daimyo's estate have the hope of moving past the one-country, one-village situation and firmly grasping the military in their own hands?
Thinking of this, the hearts of the nobles burned with passion.
It was precisely because of this immense value that the Daimyo decided so readily to aid the Leaf and support the Leaf's upcoming war.
After witnessing the terrifying power of the Quinque, these nobles became even more determined to establish a force of their own.
"Dr. Katasuke, how difficult is it to manufacture this Quinque?"
Katasuke replied: "A Quinque requires a Kakuhou as the raw material, which is the organ Ghouls use to attack. The manufacturing difficulty isn't too great, but the required raw materials..."
"Don't fear that. There are plenty of Ghouls in the capital. As long as we can manufacture Quinques, everything else is not a problem."
The Daimyo waved his hand, completely unconcerned with this issue.
But he immediately asked: "What about the power of the Quinque?"
Since it involved his professional knowledge, Dr. Katasuke spoke without hesitation: "This depends on the quality of the Kakuhou and the personal aptitude of the Quinque user. Some people have a higher compatibility with the Quinque, making it easier to exert its full power."
"Generally speaking, an ordinary Quinque user can reach the level of a Genin after training. If the compatibility is high and the Quinque quality is good, they can even reach the level of a Chunin or a Special Jonin."
"After experiencing a Quinque Awakening, one can break through to Jonin-level combat power or even higher."
Subsequently, the other nobles asked Katasuke many questions, and he answered them all fluently.
The blueprint Katasuke described left all the nobles feeling refreshed and enchanted.
It was as if they could assemble a super army tomorrow and sweep across the Shinobi World.
The Land of Fire Daimyo immediately announced the establishment of a research institute in the capital to mass-produce Quinques.
Furthermore, he established a new agency called the Investigation Office, specifically responsible for capturing Ghouls and training Investigators!
History seemed to take a completely different path from this moment onward.
At the same time, beneath the capital of the Land of Fire, in a vast and dark cave, a girl with short white hair who looked only in her teens sat in a wheelchair and slowly opened her eyes.
A crimson light slightly illuminated the cave.
She bared her teeth and looked at the huge, twisted tumor embedded in the wall before her. She gently raised her slender, delicate fingers and placed them on the tumor, her eyes overflowing with endless tenderness.
On her pale skin, her bright red lips parted slightly.
"Brother, it's almost time. Soon, we will let this world feel our pain!"
After all the ministers had left, a dark shadow slowly emerged from behind the main hall.
The Daimyo, sitting high in his seat, actually showed a fawning expression upon seeing this figure.
"Mr. Kamiki was right indeed. The value of Katasuke and Arima is truly beyond expectations."
His eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a dangerous glint.
"Perhaps the Daimyo's estate really can escape the constraints of the Leaf and become the true number one in the Shinobi World!"