Chapter 215: The Bond Between Obito and Madara, Konoha's Brand New Map and Future Blueprint

Recently.

Encouraged by A-Huo, the extent of Obito’s efforts had reached a whole new level.

And his goal had also been optimized from “wanting to be Hokage” to “sharing the Lord Hokage’s burdens”—

Just saying he wanted to be Hokage made his vision seem too narrow.

He needed to look further ahead, to think from the standpoint of Konoha using the Hokage’s mindset!

Obito completely agreed with this, because his idol within the clan, Fugaku, often said: “My son will think using the Hokage’s mindset in the future. After all, he was raised single-handedly by Ao!”

The meaning behind these words was actually to piggyback off Ao’s bloodline, though Fugaku had inadvertently stumbled upon a truth—

According to A-Huo’s interpretation, as the increasingly powerful Konoha developed at a rapid pace, the requirements for the Hokage’s qualities also increased, reaching an incredibly demanding level.

This was not hard to understand.

Because the Konoha of today was essentially the main village, plus Kirigakure, and half of Sunagakure, not to mention bearing the titles of Grand General of both the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. The infiltration and management of the nobles of other nations could not be relaxed either.

Although the Hokage didn’t need to attend to every detail personally, these were still areas within the scope of work that required attention.

Strength, connections, vision—

Distinct from shinobi leaders of the past, the current Hokage faced entirely new requirements regarding “economy,” “culture,” and “top-level design,” and must possess comprehensive capabilities.

This was an inevitable requirement derived from massive internal interest distribution and changes in the external environment.

Interestingly, after Hiruzen Sarutobi deployed his arrangements for the new situation, who the next Hokage of Konoha would be also became a rather hot topic in the Mountains’ Graveyard.

Whenever the six Kage gathered, they would occasionally discuss this serious issue.

After hearing it so much, Madara Uchiha also began to pay attention to the matter and fell into deep thought.

This was indeed a major issue!

The influence a Hokage had on the village was immense.

As immense as the difference between Hiruzen and Hashirama or Tobirama Senju!

They had to be selected with the utmost strictness—

On this day.

Obito, who had finally earned another half-day off, was spinning like a top, busy washing clothes, polishing ninja tools, and grilling meat for Madara Uchiha, when he heard those Warring States old-timers next door start their discussions again—

Even Sasori, who was visiting his parents, was present.

The Weirdos Association had a full house today!

Madara Uchiha cast a glance at Obito, who had been training incredibly hard recently and handled all the chores and banter flawlessly, and nodded slightly, barely noticeable even to himself.

Interesting!

He had a bit of Izuna’s vibe from back in the day!

As an elderly man living alone, even though Madara Uchiha’s body had grown younger—

The powerful inertia of decades of reclusive life hadn’t changed, and he inherently felt a sense of goodwill toward a young person taking care of him.

Moreover, under A-Huo’s mediation, Obito’s initial statements explicitly opposing Tobirama and supporting the “Great Clan Head” laid an excellent foundation for their relationship.

Even if Madara didn’t say it, Obito was indeed more than just a simple pawn in his heart.

As for his exact position—

Even Madara himself couldn’t articulate it clearly.

“Obito, come here.” Madara Uchiha coughed lightly.

Obito paused, put down the mop in his hands, and flashed a massive, bright smile: “Great Clan Head, you called! What are your instructions—”

In the very beginning, Obito, still just a youth, had quite a few complaints about his high-intensity training.

Because that level of intensity was indeed a torment for both a person’s body and spirit.

Every single sparring partner was several tiers above him, bringing suppression across the board—

But A-Huo became Obito’s spiritual pillar, helping him persevere.

“If you want to be a star, eating bitterness is mandatory! Do you have any idea how precious the resources invested in you are? Look across the entire shinobi world, no one has an opportunity like yours! Six Kage-level experts sparring with you alone—taijutsu, sensory skills, sealing jutsu, ninjutsu, you have it all. Plus, there’s the Great Clan Head, a phenomenal, legendary figure—”

“Whether it’s Lord Hokage, the Great Clan Head, or Lord Hashirama, who among them had conditions like this when they were young? Not to mention, your body is crafted from the essence of the God Tree, with Tobi sparing a small half of his body for you. It’s just that the Great Clan Head is too lazy to mention it. Do you really think you could withstand this training intensity with your original body? Don’t think about taking things slow. True geniuses progress through periodic explosive growth. One year of training here is worth thirty years outside! It’s enough to benefit you for a lifetime—”

“If you don’t want to train anymore, hurry up and tell Lord Madara, so you don’t waste each other’s time! The Great Clan Head selected you, a young and fortunate soul, because he considered that after Lord Hokage steps down, massive Konoha must have an Uchiha of their own whose heart is devoted to the village and whose Will of Fire is sufficiently pure!”

This immediately elevated Obito’s perception by several levels—

Yeah, isn’t that exactly right?

Obito instantly thought of Kakashi.

In the past, Obito deeply envied Kakashi for having the famous Sakumo Hatake as a father.

Having a powerhouse as a sparring partner from a young age meant avoiding many detours in cultivation.

While he was just an orphan. Even though Konoha’s Ninja Academy resources were abundant, there was still a massive gap in level.

If he went back to Konoha and told Kakashi about his former sparring team, Obito couldn’t even imagine how abstract the expression on that cold-faced kid would become—

He would definitely think Obito was bragging!

And even Lord Hokage’s son, his classmate Asuma, only had Hiruko and Kakuzu jointly acting as his teachers, completely incomparable to Obito’s current resources—

Or rather, for a thousand years in the shinobi world, besides Asura and Indra, no one could compare with him!

So, Obito achieved enlightenment.

From this perspective, serving the Great Clan Head in any way was completely reasonable!

He had to sincerely humble himself to the extreme—

And under A-Huo’s design, Madara—the embodiment of Uchiha stereotypes—inevitably found his affection rising for a junior who was modest, eager to learn, thick-skinned, and constantly full of praise—

It was a virtuous cycle!

“Have you learned the Wood Style training?” Madara Uchiha evaluated Obito’s physical body with his Rinnegan. It had fused rather perfectly with Hashirama’s cells.

To be fair, this was a remarkable talent.

Just like when he fused with Hashirama’s cells, if anyone else tried his crude method of suturing them in, even if their body didn’t explode and die, they could never attain its power.

Tobi’s limbs weren’t something ordinary people could bear either. This was also why Konoha’s research into Hashirama’s cells was constantly moving towards “reducing the virulence to achieve universal applicability.”

“I’ve learned it, I’ve learned it!”

Obito chuckled, his smile good-natured and even a little goofy: “Great Clan Head, you taught me very thoroughly. I just feel Lord Hashirama’s power and then use chakra to release it—”

Right at this moment, A-Huo returned, travel-worn, from Konoha.

As the only White Zetsu currently able to roam freely in Konoha without triggering malicious intent sensing, A-Huo regularly visited Konoha’s noticeboards to copy down new policies and summarize them into briefings for Madara and the other organization members—

Madara Uchiha could naturally control the White Zetsu personally, but doing so would be a huge loss of face—

It would make him look like an outsider peeking in!

Through its own efforts, A-Huo allowed Madara to experience participation in village affairs.

Keeping the sensitive old man’s mood stable so he wouldn’t suddenly slap his thigh and go down a rabbit hole over nothing—

Seeing this scene, A-Huo blinked and quietly observed.

“You’ve learned it? Show me!” Madara was slightly doubtful. To truly master Hashirama’s power, he had actually put in quite a bit of effort back in the day.

Of course, after awakening the Rinnegan, Wood Style became second nature.

“Yes, Great Clan Head!” Obito nodded obediently, mobilizing the chakra within his body. “Wood Style: Cutting Sprigs Jutsu”!

Obito clapped his hands together, his gaze fixed solemnly on a humanoid target in the distance. A highly vibrant branch sprouted from his palm—

Madara Uchiha was somewhat surprised.

He hadn’t taught Obito this move; this was Obito’s own development of Wood Style.

However, just as a look of joy flashed in Obito’s eyes, thinking the release went smoothly, the branch, which was supposed to become a javelin, shriveled up into a twisted, drooping willow twig—

Obito’s expression instantly became incredibly awkward. He looked at Madara with pleading eyes: “This, this—”

Madara Uchiha’s expression was subtle, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

A-Huo facepalmed and sighed.

In reality, being able to master the shape transformation of Wood Style in such a short time was already considered impressive.

But the special atmosphere created by Obito’s unpredictability turned what should have been a display of genius into a comical scene—

It was hard to evaluate.

Just as Madara Uchiha was about to open his mouth, preparing to deliver some of his comfortable Warring States-style suppressive education, his heart stirred. He saw A-Huo standing thoughtfully to the side. “You’re back, A-Huo?”

“I’m back, Lord Madara—”

A-Huo trotted over in a textbook manner, holding two stacks of documents, and handed one to the President of the Warring States Weirdos Association.

Madara Uchiha paused. Why only give him half?

Understanding intuitively, A-Huo explained: “Lord Madara, yours is an optimized version utilizing mind maps. Knowing your time is precious, I created a table of contents to make it convenient for you to review the original documents—”

“The remaining copies are for the others in the organization to read. They have nothing to do all day anyway, so they can just casually browse through it. Besides, they are all outsiders to Konoha—”

Madara Uchiha gave an “oh” and cleared his throat: “Hmm, acceptable.”

But in his heart, he was extremely satisfied!

Compared to Black Zetsu, the so-called clone he created who only knew how to hide in the shadows and slack off every day, this rising star A-Huo actually served a purpose—

A-Huo keenly perceived Madara’s reaction and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: “Konoha is truly advanced!”

Being able to think of serving Madara in this way wasn’t actually A-Huo’s own original idea.

Rather, by contemplating Hiruzen Sarutobi’s cultivation journey, it had grasped a fundamental truth.

Following the path of predecessors and learning from those who succeeded drastically reduced the cost of trial and error.

“In his early days, Lord Hokage was known as the Professor of Ninjutsu. But unlike Tobirama Senju, he didn’t expend massive amounts of energy creating various complex, unrefined ninjutsu. Instead, he solidly laid down a foundation—”

“Whether it’s the Lightning Style Chakra Mode, Boil Release, Lava Style, or the ‘Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration,’ they are all mature jutsu validated by predecessors. It was only after decades of accumulation that ‘Spirit Release’ came to be—”

A-Huo looked at Madara, whose mouth had curled upwards by a few pixels, and thought to itself: “I have no talent for cultivation, but Lord Hokage said that mastering one principle allows you to master all. Different working mindset models share common ground—”

“Therefore, for me, as a ‘secretary,’ I should first learn from Committee Member Hiruko, and then thoroughly study the ways ‘Tenzo Hyuga’ and ‘Isshin Uchiha’ interact with Lord Hokage—”

“Only by thoroughly understanding these three people can I have the capital to say I possess a certain level of professional skill.”

During its days undercover in Konoha.

A-Huo didn’t just copy the noticeboards; it also attended numerous speeches given by Isshin Uchiha and Tenzo Hyuga within their clans and the Konoha Police Force regarding the interpretation of the village’s systems.

A-Huo also went to great lengths to infiltrate the Anbu, enduring hardships akin to sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall.

It often spent hours underground just to move a few steps, finally obtaining one or two work reports, earnestly studying their formats.

A-Huo was finding Obito his future positioning.

And naturally, it had to find a positioning for its own future as well.

Its vision for itself was akin to the administrative roles of “Koharu Utatane” and “Homura Mitokado.”

Responsible for the accuracy of top-down communication, driving the organization to operate more smoothly, and avoiding meaningless internal friction.

“Hmm, how would you evaluate Obito’s Wood Style?”

Madara Uchiha flipped through a few pages and realized he didn’t quite understand it.

But according to what Izuna had told him, when you don’t understand something, don’t say a word.

Wait for others to analyze it before speaking. Thus, Madara Uchiha remained silent and tossed the conversational ball to A-Huo.

The Great Clan Head was gradually regaining the feeling of being in the clan back in the day.

Madara Uchiha had to admit.

In terms of village system construction, Hiruzen—the inheritor of his youth’s will—was perhaps slightly better at it than himself—

“Obito, try it again! You can do it!”

A-Huo loudly encouraged Obito: “Don’t get down over such a trivial matter. Don’t forget, the Great Clan Head once ignored the ignorant fools who questioned the timing of his eye awakening, laying down his foundation step by step.”

“Although you can’t compare to the Great Clan Head’s talent, you must learn from his spirit!”

Madara Uchiha nodded slightly as he listened.

A-Huo was always so good at giving examples—

“Yes, Great Clan Head, Mr. A-Huo!”

Due to A-Huo’s presence, Madara Uchiha’s sarcastic, provocative words were interpreted as “ardent expectation through silent encouragement” before they even left his mouth—

Obito’s spirit was lifted. Once again, he felt the Tobi cells and chakra within his body.

This time, the Wood Style: Cutting Sprigs Jutsu was executed once more.

From his palm, a javelin-like branch shot out rapidly, piercing a humanoid target deep within the cavern, and upon penetrating it, exploded violently from the inside!

The power was highly impressive.

“Not bad at all—” Madara Uchiha finally said a kind word. “Although there is a gap compared to when I was young, you at least have some capability. Your talent with the Sharingan is average, so using Wood Style to compensate is a viable path.”

“I had no interest in Wood Style when I was young, but I shouldn’t hold you to my standards—”

“Times are different from the Warring States period now. Uchiha shinobi can’t rely solely on bloodline power. Rest for today and listen to the recent changes in Konoha—”

Obito nodded repeatedly: “Thank you, Great Clan Head!”

Madara Uchiha smiled: “Brat, don’t thank me so early. The gifts of fate always have a price—”

“No matter what, I am very grateful to you, Great Clan Head.”

Obito looked at Madara Uchiha, his eyes incredibly sincere: “You are a good person. If it weren’t for you, Kakashi, Rin, and I would have already died on the battlefield.”

“You are exactly as the Ninja Academy textbooks describe. Although your methods are—well—unconventional, everything you do is absolutely for the good of the village, your comrades, and your clansmen!”

Madara Uchiha felt a warmth in his heart and turned his head away. “Brat, enough. I don’t need your flattery. I do things my way and owe no one an explanation.”

Obito chuckled: “Of course, of course! You are always right—”

Although Obito wasn’t as clever as A-Huo, having made up his mind to become Hokage and share Hiruzen Sarutobi’s burdens, he had already decided to act according to the style A-Huo tailored for him.

Regarding Madara, no matter what he said, Obito would treat him like one of Konoha’s eccentric old men—praise him relentlessly and provide emotional value.

What was the point of arguing with an old man?

Just agree with him!

Madara Uchiha couldn’t suppress a smirk.

Seeing Madara’s reaction, A-Huo felt much more secure.

More than half the problem was solved!

With the relationship between Madara and Obito progressing like this, A-Huo could now smoothly offer suggestions regarding Madara’s plan to stimulate Obito—

Ensuring the process remained controllable, without leaving an unbridgeable rift between them.

A-Huo had realized that given Madara’s awkward and eccentric personality, if it hadn’t intervened, it couldn’t imagine how bizarre their relationship would have become—

In reality, A-Huo’s guess was spot on.

Without its involvement, future conversations between the two would have become excruciatingly awkward, reaching the bizarre levels typical of Indra and Asura reincarnates.

Madara, I never considered you a comrade.

“Hmm, that’s for the best.”

Madara, what exactly am I to you?

To me, you are nothing else. You are simply Madara.

It could only be said that among all the major bonds in Konoha, the Uchiha’s was the most terrifying kind—

Hiding in the shadows, Black Zetsu observed this scene silently.

At the beginning of the conversation, it was mentally roasting Madara Uchiha for being so dramatic!

When you were young, you practically died wishing you had Wood Style. Your physical condition just didn’t meet the requirements, and you lacked the knowledge—

If I hadn’t altered the stone monument, do you really think you would have awakened the Rinnegan in your lifetime?

But as it listened further, Black Zetsu became focused.

Because the combined offensive of A-Huo and Obito yielded results far superior to its millennium of deceiving Indra!

They had completely immersed themselves in the atmosphere and their personas, softening even a man as stubborn as Madara—

“I underestimated the heroes of the world—”

“To think an inferior White Zetsu born from the God Tree could achieve this level through study—”

“I must not be arrogant either! It seems I haven’t made progress in a long time—”

Black Zetsu realized a problem.

Evaluated objectively, its mother, Princess Kaguya, actually had some personality flaws. She lacked the ability to unite disparate factions, and her combat awareness was deficient.

Black Zetsu at least had this much self-awareness.

If Kaguya didn’t rely on overwhelming raw stats, her combat techniques wouldn’t even match those of the Obito before it—

“The Infinite Tsukuyomi has practically been shelved by Madara. Even if Mother is revived, I’ll likely have to rely on Hiruzen Sarutobi cultivating according to the stone monument!”

“Using his body as a degraded Gedo Statue, with a slight fusion of the nine Tailed Beasts’ chakra as a catalyst, to allow Mother’s will to descend into his body—”

“But that would be far from her peak condition. Given Mother’s combat skills, if we factor in unexpected variables, the probability of failure is actually quite high—”

Black Zetsu thought with deep concern.

The first variable being the Sage of Six Paths—

Thinking of the Sage of Six Paths gave Black Zetsu a headache.

This elder brother of its, Kaguya’s rebellious son, displayed talent on the level of an “atavism”!

He and Hamura actually managed to seal Kaguya, who had consumed the complete Chakra Fruit of the shinobi world—

His self-created sealing jutsu even allowed him to fight opponents above his tier.

Tobirama Senju’s Edo Tensei, coupled with Madara Uchiha’s repeated usage of it—

Made Black Zetsu realize that the “Pure Land” in the shinobi world seemed to house the souls of all shinobi—

Not just the special Asura and Indra, but all other shinobi were accepted entirely.

Such a domain clearly had a mighty being standing behind it.

“This so-called Pure Land… I fear it’s a chakra recovery jutsu modeled after the God Tree by Hagoromo—”

“He experimentally created the Box of Ultimate Bliss before, so he had a foundation. He even became the complete Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. With the souls of a millennium of the shinobi world’s dead gathered in his hands alone, his power must be terrifyingly vast!”

“That bastard might even be able to manufacture Six Paths-level enforcers—”

“I must recognize reality. I must learn from A-Huo and Obito, these two inferior life forms. I can give up on Madara now; I need to consider how to persuade Mother to act according to my plans in the future—”

“Otherwise, we’ll suffer!”

Black Zetsu dropped its aloof attitude, preparing to lower its head and humbly ask A-Huo about the various things it had learned in Konoha, intending to apply them to Kaguya—

Madara Uchiha flipped through the documents in his hand again and frowned.

What’s going on?

He still couldn’t understand it!

“A-Huo, send this next door for them to look at. They are all powerhouses of the Warring States period, after all. Discuss it with them, and Obito, you go over and study as well—”

“Right away, Lord Madara!” A-Huo’s heart stirred.

It understood—

Lord Madara probably didn’t fully comprehend it himself and wanted the think tank next door to break it down.

Obito and A-Huo went next door.

Madara Uchiha breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He had actually been a little afraid that the puppy-like Obito would ask questions about Konoha’s current policies, and he wouldn’t know how to answer—

Always acting cold and aloof wouldn’t work; Madara understood at least that much.

Fortunately, he now had A-Huo and those former “Kage” to interpret it for him—

“Come, come, everyone take a look. Fresh off the press Konoha briefings—”

A-Huo, beaming, greeted them: “Oh, young Sasori is here too! Long time no see, missed you! How have things been in Sunagakure lately? I saw that Rouran was carved out; your village’s situation doesn’t seem very stable—”

“Have you thought about how to deal with the Third Kazekage and Rasa?”

Sasori, having just finished chatting with his parents, couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. He replied, “Not particularly. Do you have any insights, Mr. A-Huo?”

He never really cared about Sunagakure; just glossing over things was enough for him—

Let alone the fact that the Third Kazekage had been crippled by Hanzo; even if the Third Great Ninja War hadn’t erupted, Sasori had planned to find an opportunity to off him anyway!

“This isn’t my strong suit. Do Lord Tsuchikage and Lord Raikage have any good suggestions?” A-Huo turned to Mu and the Second Raikage, the only two people among the six Kage who possessed a functioning brain.

The reason it asked them was that both the Raikage and Mu had privately contacted A-Huo.

Their intention was to see if, for old times’ sake, A-Huo could pull some strings and put in a good word for them with Lord Tobirama, so that Kumogakure and Iwagakure wouldn’t end up looking as terrible as their neighbor Kirigakure did—

Mu and the Second Raikage no longer held the slightest doubt regarding Tobirama Senju’s might.

Because the six of them, combined with the terrifying White Zetsu intelligence network alone, were an unstoppable force that no village other than Konoha could withstand—

And if they wanted A-Huo to speak up for them, they naturally had to work for Konoha.

“That’s simple—”

A sharp glint flashed in the Second Raikage’s eyes: “I suggest that upon returning, Sasori has the Third Kazekage confess and apologize in front of all the Suna shinobi, stoking everyone’s emotions—”

“You’re skilled with poison, right? While the Suna shinobi throw stones and curse this destroyer of peace, just have him drop dead from ‘fear’ while confessing. It’s the perfect way to recycle trash.”

“That way, he’ll end up exactly like Mizutori—dead and forever unable to turn his reputation around.”

“As for Rasa—”

The Second Tsuchikage picked up where the Raikage left off, speaking enthusiastically: “There’s no need to kill him. He actually has a talent for panning gold, and gold reserves are a rare and precious resource.”

“I’ve read his file; he values his wife and children quite highly. Send his family to Konoha as hostages, and have him pan for gold while writing public apologies—”

“As for the other hawks, I reckon most of them are dead anyway. Just make examples of a few. For instance, when the Kazekage is confessing, there are bound to be some stubborn fools who speak up for him—”

After witnessing Hiruzen Sarutobi block even Particle Style, Mu had completely extinguished any thoughts of opposition.

Calling Hiruzen Sarutobi the “Demigod of the Shinobi World” wasn’t even flattery anymore.

Gengetsu Hozuki burst into loud laughter.

Although being captured sucked, looking at Mu with a sense of superiority right now actually felt pretty good.

Oho—

Someone’s getting anxious!

Why, I wonder?

So hard to guess—

Mu’s face darkened, ignoring Gengetsu Hozuki’s piercing laughter. In his heart, he felt it was incredibly unfair.

Looking at the results, it seemed that the worst Kage in history, Mizutori, had actually led his village down the right path by sheer dumb luck!

Where is the justice in that?

“I suggest you increase the scale of your reparations. Whether it’s jutsu or gold, sincerely display the utmost goodwill first, and try to establish economic ties with Konoha.”

Gengetsu Hozuki said leisurely: “I speak from experience; cooperating with Konoha won’t result in a loss. As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi is Hokage, I believe mutually beneficial cooperation will be the norm.”

“He is a truly honest man.”

Mu cast a glance at Gengetsu Hozuki and curled his lip.

This guy who got carried to victory sure makes a lot of noise!

“I understand—”

Sasori diligently recorded the ideas of the Kage, planning to make the Third Kazekage’s death a bit more valuable upon his return.

And to arrange things clearly for Rasa.

As for negotiating with Konoha, he would just greenlight everything and leave the actual implementation to Pakura and Chiyo—

He had puppet jutsu to research!

Over the past few days, Chiyo had been constantly proud of her grandson for possessing “Kazekage-level thinking.”

Accurately judging the situation before the war even started, and refusing to follow the Third Kazekage down the wrong path—

What the old lady didn’t know was that Sasori was essentially playing the role of a puppet in this regard, too lazy to think for himself.

Just putting everything on autopilot and letting A-Huo and these Kage handle it was enough—

“Let’s look at Konoha’s newest policies—”

The Second Raikage shook his head, and the others also picked up the intelligence reports and began reading.

Beside them, Madara Uchiha began reading synchronously, waiting for their explanations and discussions.

First was a map with Kirigakure and Amegakure as the two wings, Rouran as the new development zone, and Konoha as the absolute core.

After this war, the neutral Rouran was annexed into Konoha. Their treatment would be slightly lower than that of Amegakure, which had paid the blood tax.

Amegakure, as a whole, would enjoy eighty percent of the benefits of Konoha shinobi.

Meritorious Amegakure shinobi, like Nagato, were granted official Konoha citizenship.

It was worth noting that Hiruzen Sarutobi utilized the momentum of the war to establish detailed files for every shinobi of Amegakure within Konoha’s records.

Although not formally and fully annexed into Konoha, practically speaking, they were already one village.

As for Kirigakure, because the Third Mizukage had ultimately betrayed the alliance and Kirigakure had proactively initiated hostilities, they could not enjoy the same integration as Amegakure.

Files for all Kirigakure shinobi were also established.

However, their treatment would primarily rely on their own economic cycle initially. Integration would only begin after they repaid Konoha’s war reparations, starting at fifty percent.

During this period.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clearly designated Iwagakure and Kumogakure as training grounds, with Konoha transitioning from defense to offense overall.

He emphasized fighting a “limited, controllable war,” using minimal casualties to temper the foundational skills of Konoha shinobi over a period of two years.

They weren’t aiming for land; Konoha was already completely stuffed.

The most pressing matter was digesting these dividends, as there wasn’t enough manpower to manage the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning.

Furthermore, lacking sufficient legal justification, the governance costs of conquering them would be exorbitant.

Kirigakure shinobi would be integrated alongside Amegakure into Konoha squads, aiming to further erase barriers and build a shared identity amidst the fires of war.

“As steady as ever.”

Mu sighed: “The core benefits and sense of superiority of Konoha shinobi, the further integration of Amegakure, and the grand promises made to Kirigakure have all been accounted for—”

“Establishing these tiers ensures that Konoha always maintains a developmental gap over Amegakure, Rouran, and Kirigakure, preserving its status as the absolute core, while also ensuring that the living standards of each continue to improve—”

“If this continues, sooner or later, every shinobi under heaven will fall into the Hokage’s net!”

The Second Raikage remained silent for a long while. “Truly worthy of being the disciple of Tobirama Senju and the God of Shinobi. The Hokage has learned the essence of both men.”

“If Hashirama Senju faced this situation, he might wave his hand and merge Kirigakure, Rouran, and even Amegakure directly into Konoha, without bothering with these distinctions.”

“If it were Tobirama Senju, then the regions outside Konoha would suffer. Just like the former Konoha Police Force with the Uchiha, he has plenty of underhanded tricks—”

“But Hiruzen Sarutobi inherited Hashirama Senju’s ideals while interweaving them with Tobirama Senju’s rationality—”

A-Huo listened earnestly; this was also a form of progress for it.

Its mind whirred, and thinking that Lord Madara next door might still not fully understand, it asked: “Lord Raikage, could you elaborate further?”

The Second Raikage pondered for a long time: “Simply put, Hiruzen Sarutobi operates from four major aspects: legal justification, tiering, interests, and integration. He avoids accumulating generational hatred through high pressure, or nurturing ungrateful wolves by injecting too many resources—”

“It’s hard to believe he’s a shinobi! No wonder he was able to become the leader of the nobles’ faction—”

“Crucial administrative positions in the Land of Rain and the Land of Water are now held by people from the Land of Fire. The general trend has been set. Now, Iwagakure and Kumogakure are in for hard times; they can only serve as whetstones!”

“Once these territories are thoroughly digested by Konoha, Iwagakure and Kumogakure will have absolutely no capability to resist—”

Mu spoke with a heavy heart: “Gengetsu Hozuki and I witnessed everything Hiruzen Sarutobi did in the Land of Water—”

“Powerhouses can determine the outcome of a war, but those who can truly hold territory and achieve effective governance are the massive number of mid-to-lower-tier shinobi and grassroots bureaucrats whose hearts belong to Konoha—”

“Hiruzen Sarutobi is shoring up Konoha’s shortcomings in every aspect.”

Upon hearing this explanation, looks of sudden realization appeared on both Obito and Madara Uchiha’s faces simultaneously.

So that was it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s line of thought essentially mirrored the “Five Domains System” of the Western Zhou Dynasty, creating three tiers: the absolute center, closely aligned vassal states, and distant surrendered territories.

It also integrated the loose-rein system of the Han and Tang dynasties and the military meritocracy of the Qin and Han dynasties, supplemented by the frontier mutual trade systems of various eras, to further bind them economically and through shared interests.

“Regarding scientific research projects—”

“The reduction of the virulence of Hashirama’s cells has entered a new phase. It’s likely close to being universally applicable.”

“Natural energy and Sage Mode have also entered the second batch of experiments, with preparations for large-scale rollout within the next two to three years—”

Mu read the intelligence in his hand, his frown deepening: “Wait, what is Hiruzen Sarutobi doing?”

“If he actually pulls this off, never mind those Konoha Committee Members, if even the frontline grunts all possess Hashirama Senju’s cells—even at low purity—it would be terrifying enough—”

It would practically be an army of Konoha super-soldiers.

When that time comes, Iwagakure and Kumogakure’s forces wouldn’t even need to talk about breaking through; they’d have to struggle just to avoid being pushed back by the grunts—

Not only that, but Mu also realized something terrifying.

When elite shinobi from Kirigakure, Amegakure, and Rouran enter Konoha, the method to further construct an ironclad shared identity would be transplanting Hashirama’s cells!

If everyone has Hashirama’s cells in them, then there’s nothing more to say—they’re all one family—

“Uh…”

“Fortunately, although Konoha is preparing to implement curse marks, the Hokage currently doesn’t seem to have plans to cultivate them.”

“In the meeting minutes, he even joked that he couldn’t learn Sage Mode, and his special sealing constitution makes it inconvenient for him to host a curse mark right now. Ultimately, he isn’t entirely omnipotent; he hasn’t truly become Hashirama Senju—”

Kinkaku said with a light cough.

Experienced Warring States shinobi all knew that Sage Mode was Hashirama Senju’s true trump card—

He was essentially the founder of the “second phase” combat style currently popular among Konoha powerhouses.

“Hard to say.”

Mu said ominously: “You didn’t see him dismantle my Particle Style. I highly suspect the Hokage is hiding things. Even if one day he suddenly clapped his hands together and entered Sage Mode, I wouldn’t be surprised—”

“Playing dumb is the First Hokage’s specialty, I heard Lord Ishikawa mention it before!”

Ashina Uzumaki waved his hand: “That’s unlikely. Sage Mode is incredibly difficult to cultivate. When cultivating the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration, one wouldn’t have the time to juggle both.”

“First, you must construct the five-element sealing cycle, then fill in the four pillars and eight beams—”

“But it doesn’t matter. With my kinjutsu, which rivals Sage jutsu, he’s not lacking a Sage Mode—”

Most of the others also agreed with Ashina Uzumaki’s view.

“And regarding the development of the Dragon Vein resources, Sunagakure failed to harness that territory for so many years, and now they’ve just handed it over to Konoha for free! I really don’t know what to say!”

“Having such a massive advantage yet still exercising self-restraint, keeping Iwagakure and Kumogakure around to slowly encroach upon them—”

The Second Raikage felt incredibly exhausted: “Hiruzen Sarutobi is so steady it’s as if he’s lost something before. Just who is his hypothetical enemy? He seems to want the entirety of Konoha’s shinobi to be able to participate in the next war—”

“Otherwise, it’s impossible to lavish resources on grassroots shinobi like this.”

“But to deal with Iwagakure and Kumogakure?”

Mu laughed at the thought: “Probably not. The two of our villages aren’t worth that much face—”

“This level of preparation looks like he’s going to fight the Sage of Six Paths!”

“It really does—”

Ginkaku said gravely: “Even preparing to fight the Sage of Six Paths would only look like this. Natural Energy Curse Marks, Hashirama’s cells… this is meant to give everyone in Konoha the ability to inflict damage on powerhouses!”

“So Hiruzen was thinking this far ahead?” Madara Uchiha nodded thoughtfully. “Still, it aligns with my own thoughts. For the Will of Fire to possess vitality, everyone must become strong—”

The group continued chatting.

Suddenly, for some unknown reason, their gazes fell upon Obito!

Wait a minute—

Among them, there seemed to be a youth who might potentially become Hokage in the future!

If they built a good relationship with this brat, then in the future, regardless of whether it pertained to Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, or the attitude toward the Uzumaki and the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration—

They would at least have a relatively friendly Hokage in charge.

Obito looked at the fiery gazes these old uncles directed at him and involuntarily shivered: “Wait—”

“Please don’t look at me like that, you’re scaring me. We can talk this out—”

Madara Uchiha, meanwhile, was contemplating deeper issues. He stared at a single sentence from Hiruzen Sarutobi in the briefing.

A state without strict laws and wise counselors within, and without the threat of enemy nations without, will invariably perish—

“These words make sense. Hiruzen is indeed more educated than Hashirama.”

“Iwagakure and Kumogakure are playing the role of the ‘threat of enemy nations without,’ but their strength is too weak, and they are not under my control.”

Madara Uchiha narrowed his eyes: “I need to find a time for the ‘Akatsuki’ to make their debut! Take over Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and create a scenario where the shinobi world is split in two—”

“But I can’t interrupt Hiruzen’s troop training. This is his rightful reward for clearing this stage.”

“A little over a year from now, when the training is more or less complete, I’ll use that Danzo as the breakthrough point to resolve taking over the two villages and Obito’s Mangekyo issue in one fell swoop—”

“Hmm, seems fair enough!”

And right at this moment.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to Konoha.

Isshiki Otsutsuki had also followed him, posing as a border merchant from Amegakure. After preparing his backup identities, he strolled leisurely through the village.

The shinobi world was vast; who could possibly stop him?

But turning his head, his gaze met that of the Shinobi World’s Sage of Fairness, currently Konoha’s Ramen Sage!

As the two locked eyes, both of their hearts skipped a beat!

Something wasn’t right—

The other party was ninety percent entirely suspicious!