Real Shinobi World
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade's meeting with the clan leaders continued, but Tsunade's gaze kept drifting towards the Heavenly Screen outside the window.
The earth-shattering battle scene shocked even her, one of the Sannin.
"Naruto... Sasuke..."
She silently repeated the two names in her heart, her thoughts a jumble of complex emotions.
--This might be one possible future, but the reality is that Sasuke has already defected, and Naruto is currently training with Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya should be able to guide him well..." But right now, she had more important things to deal with.
The content broadcast through the Heavenly Screen has already caused a huge uproar within Konoha.
"That Sasuke Uchiha... he'll actually become this strong in the future?!"
"He's missing-nin! If we let him grow up, won't he become a threat to the village?!"
"The Uchiha Clan are indeed all dangerous elements!"
Such voices spread through the streets and alleys, and even quite a few ninjas began to suggest—
"Sasuke must be eliminated as soon as possible!"
Tsunade frowned. She knew that behind these remarks, someone was undoubtedly stirring things up.
"Danzo..." This name made Tsunade's eyes turn cold.
Since the broadcast Heavenly Screen, Danzo and his "Root" organization have been secretly spreading various negative information about the Uchiha, deliberately inciting the villagers' hostility towards Sasuke.
"The Uchiha Clan is inherently evil."
"Sasuke's defection was premeditated."
"If we let him grow unchecked, Konoha will eventually be destroyed."
These remarks are undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.
But Tsunade knew very well that Danzo's purpose was never for the safety of Konoha, but to consolidate his own power.
In the days since she took office, the Anbu have gathered a great deal of evidence against Danzo:
Unauthorized human experimentation
Secretly colluding with forces from other villages
Interfering with the Hokage's decisions, and even attempting to manipulate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Played a dishonorable role in the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
"He's crossed the line far too many times..."
Tsunade tapped her fingers lightly on the table, her gaze gradually sharpening.
After the meeting concluded and the clan leaders departed, Tsunade stood up and gave an order to Shizune:
"Summon your direct Anbu and prepare for action."
Shizune was taken aback. "Lord Hokage, you mean...?"
"Danzo can no longer be allowed to continue." Tsunade donned her Hokage robes, her tone stern. "Today, I will personally lock him in the interrogation room."
Shizune immediately understood her meaning and quickly nodded. "Yes!"
As she walked out of the Hokage Building, the afterglow of the setting sun shone on Tsunade, illuminating her resolute profile.
"Konoha can no longer be shrouded in shadow..."
She looked up at the Heavenly Screen, where the battle between future Naruto and Sasuke was still playing.
"If the future really does turn out that way... then at least, I must protect Konoha right now!"
As soon as she finished speaking, her figure vanished from the spot, speeding towards the Root organization's stronghold. That night, the undercurrents in Konoha would finally be settled.
The Hokage himself is taking action, his target— Shimura Danzō!
Kumogakure...
The dust in the Training Ground had not yet settled, Fourth Raikage, A, was steaming with heat from his bare upper body, every muscle gleaming with a bronze luster in the setting sun.
He had just completed a set of extreme training exercises that would have put an ordinary ninja to shock, but now he looked up and stared at the purple lightning bolt that ripped through the Heavenly Screen.
"Indra's Arrow..." Raikage's voice was deep and rumbling like thunder, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists. The bolt of lightning that pierced the heavens and earth kept replaying in his deep brown pupils, each frame striking his pride like a heavy hammer.
At the edge of the Training Ground, several Kumogakure Jonin took a half step back. They had never seen the Lord Raikage display such an expression before—it was not simply shock, but a battle intent that had been completely ignited, bordering on rage.
"What a joke!" The Raikage suddenly roared, slamming his right fist into the ground. The violent Lightning Release Chakra exploded instantly, and spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly from him, turning the nearest training dummies into dust in the lightning.
Darui wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "Lord Raikage, you..."
"Where's that bastard?" The Raikage whirled around, his Lightning Release Armor emitting a blinding blue light. "Tell him to come here right now! Now! Immediately!"
Ten kilometers away at a hot spring inn, Killer B was leisurely soaking in the bath, humming an impromptu rap. Suddenly, his pupils behind his sunglasses contracted, and he shot out of the water like a cannonball. Almost at the same instant, a bolt of lightning shattered the spot where he had just been standing.
"You idiot brother! Do you want to kill me? Yo~" Killer B completed a mid-air spin, the Eight-Tails' tentacles appearing and disappearing. But when he saw the Raikage's expression, the rap rhythm came to an abrupt halt.
The Raikage's Chakra materialized into a thunderstorm, crackling the air within a hundred meters. "Enough talk! See that Uchiha's Lightning Release in the Heavenly Screen?" He ripped off his already tattered shirt. "Kumogakure's Lightning Release —we can't lose to a brat!"
Killer B, unusually, didn't respond to the joke, but instead solemnly removed his sunglasses. As the one who knew his older brother best, he understood that any joke was superfluous at this moment. "Are we getting serious?"
"Nonsense!" The Raikage's figure suddenly vanished, and the next second, a heavy fist wrapped in Lightning Release slammed into Killer B's face. The shockwave generated by the collision of the two terrifying Chakras directly overturned the outer wall of the Training Ground.
On the distant observation platform, Mabui rapidly recorded data. "The Lightning Release Chakra intensity is twice the usual amount... no, it's still rising!"
Darui smiled wryly, pressing his Forehead Protector, which had been blown away by the gale, down. "It seems the content inside the Heavenly Screen is more stimulating than I imagined."
Iwagakure...
Beneath the Heavenly Screen, Ōnoki floated inside the house. He squinted his eyes, which had seen through decades of turmoil in the Shinobi World, while the intense light from the explosion in the Heavenly Screen cast shifting shadows on his wrinkled face.
"It's... an unpleasant sense of familiarity," Ōnoki muttered to himself, his voice hoarse like the grinding of sand.
Kitsuchi strode over, still holding the unfinished documents in his hand. "Father, are you looking at..."
"Shut up!" Ōnoki suddenly shouted, startling Kitsuchi. Tsuchikage stared intently at the three-headed, six-armed Chakra giant in the Heavenly Screen, his nails digging deeply into his palms. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... and that Uchiha orphan..."
The scene in the Heavenly Screen shifted to a shockwave sweeping across the earth, with several mountain peaks reduced to ashes in the aftershocks. Ōnoki's pupils contracted violently—this power was even more exaggerated than their battle against Edo Madara in the previous video.
"Father?" Kitsuchi cautiously spoke again.
Ōnoki's voice suddenly became eerily calm. "Order the entire Explosion Corps to assemble."
Ōnoki looked down from the air at the assembled Explosion Corps. These elite Iwagakure soldiers all stared solemnly at the contents of the Heavenly Screen, some even trembling involuntarily.
"Scared?" Ōnoki sneered, suddenly raising his hand to form a hand seal. "Dust Release: Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A blinding white light flashed, and a small hill in the distance was instantly reduced to atoms. The soldiers gasped in shock.
"I'm not so old that I'd be outdone by these brats!" Ōnoki's voice boomed. "From today onwards, Iwagakure enters a state of high alert! All Ninjutsu research funding will be doubled, and the Dust Release training program will expand its enrollment!"
Kitsuchi hurriedly tried to dissuade him. "Father, this is not in accordance with the budget..."
"Finance?" Ōnoki whirled around, his eyes flashing with cold light. "Are you waiting for those powerful figures shown on the Heavenly Screen to come knocking on your door before you think about preparing military funds?"
Sunagakure...
Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office.
Outside the window, the sunlight from the Heavenly Screen shone on the yellow sand, enveloping the entire village in a golden halo.
Baki stood at the table, tapping his fingers on the surface, his tone slightly helpless. "Gaara, this document needs your signature."
However, Gaara's gaze was fixed on the Heavenly Screen —where Naruto and Sasuke's ultimate battle continued. The moment the Yin-Yang Rasenshuriken collided with Indra's Arrow, the world lost its color, and the aftershocks swept across ten thousand meters.
"..."
Gaara's fingertips unconsciously caressed the teacup; the tea had long since cooled.
Baki sighed and followed his gaze, "Looks like you've been quite shocked too."
Gaara didn't answer immediately, but slowly closed his eyes, as images from several months ago flashed through his mind—
The Konoha Crush Plan.
Back then, he was a "monster" filled with hatred, while Naruto was just a loser despised by the villagers.
"Why... why are you working so hard?"
In that battle, Naruto shattered his loneliness with his fists and roar.
The Naruto projected onto the Heavenly Screen now displays a power so immense it could shake the entire Shinobi World.
"... That's truly remarkable."
Gaara opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Once a bottom-of-the-class student, he will one day stand at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.
And what about myself?
"Teacher, "Gaara suddenly spoke, his voice low and firm.
Baki was taken aback. "What's wrong?"
"I'm going to train in the Demon Desert."
"What?" Baki frowned. "Now, village affairs..."
"Official business can wait until I return." Gaara stood up, the sand flowing silently around him, as if echoing his will.
"But you're already preparing to become the new Kazekage, so your cultivation can..."
"That's why I must become stronger." Gaara's gaze was sharp as a knife. "You've seen the future in the Heavenly Screen. If the Shinobi World truly faces such a battle, Sunagakure... cannot fall behind."
Baki was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "... I understand."
Gaara raised his hand, and the sand condensed into a tiny sand hand. "I'll leave the village's affairs to you for now."
"I will become stronger—strong enough to protect everything here."
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure turned into a wisp of quicksand and drifted out of the window.
Kirigakure...
Kirigakure, Mizukage's Office.
A light drizzle fell outside the window, and a damp mist enveloped the entire village. Heavenly Screen pierced through the clouds, refracting a hazy glow in the rain.
Mei Terumi leaned lazily against the window, her slender fingers gently swirling the teacup. The amber tea reflected on her delicate face, which showed signs of slight annoyance.
Sigh...
She sighed and turned her gaze to the earth-shattering battle in the Heavenly Screen — Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra burned like flames, Sasuke's Susanoo stood like a demon god, and the clash of their powers tore the sky apart.
"If only we in Kirigakure had ninjas like that..."
She took a sip of tea, but all she tasted was bitterness.
Today's Kirigakure is no longer the fearsome "Bloody Mist Village" it once was. The tyranny of the Fourth Mizukage, the purges of clans with Kekkei Genkai civil war... the village's foundation has been almost completely eroded, and among the younger generation of ninjas, there are very few who can stand alone.
"Chōjūrō a good kid, but compared to those two monsters in the Heavenly Screen..."
She shook her head and slammed the teacup down on the table.
"This is infuriating!"
Just as she was getting agitated, there was a gentle knock on the office door.
"Lord Mizukage, these are today's official documents, and also..."
Qing pushed open the door and entered, carrying a stack of scrolls in her hands, her expression slightly embarrassed.
Mei Terumi raised an eyebrow. "What else?"
Qing coughed lightly and placed a stack of ornately bound scrolls on her table. "... Portraits of suitors, sent by nobles."
"..."
A vein bulged on Mei Terumi's forehead instantly.
She casually picked up a scroll and unfolded it. The painting depicted a pale-faced, thin nobleman, striking a melancholy and refined pose.
"Is this man, who's so frail he could be blown away by a gust of wind, trying to make me a widow?"
She turned to the second volume—this time it featured a heavily made-up noble young master, holding a flower in his hand, his eyes glazed over.
"... More delicate than a woman, does he want to marry me?"
Volume 3, Volume 4...
"Heh."
Mei Terumi's lips curled into a dangerous smile, the temperature in the office suddenly rose, and the water in the teacup began to boil.
Qing silently took two steps back, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
"Do these old fogies think I'm unmarriageable, or do they think the Mizukage is just bored?"
She slammed her hand on the table, and the scroll was instantly enveloped in a mist of high-temperature vapor. The paper quickly turned yellow, curled, and finally turned to ashes.
Tell them--
Mei Terumi stood up, her red lips slightly upturned, but her eyes flashed with a cold killing intent.
"If they dare to stuff any more of this useless stuff into my place, I'll throw all their sons into the Training Grounds in the Bloody Mist Village and let them experience what it's like to be a 'ninja'."
Ao swallowed hard. "... Yes, Lord Mizukage."
After Ao left, Mei Terumi looked up at the Heavenly Screen again; the battle was still ongoing.
She squinted, her fingertips tapping lightly on the table.
"Insufficient strength, lack of foundation, and the nobles are constantly causing trouble..."
"Kirigakure, this can't go on any longer."
She suddenly turned around, walked to a hidden compartment in the office, and took out a long-forgotten scroll.
"It seems it's time to restart 'that plan'..."
The scroll clearly read, "The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist - Reorganization Plan"
Mei Terumi stood atop the Mizukage Building, letting the rain soak her long hair.
In the distance, the light from the Heavenly Screen pierced through the rain, illuminating her resolute profile.
Naruto, Sasuke...
She murmured the two names, a confident smile playing on her lips.
"The future of Kirigakure will not be easily conceded."
"Just wait and see, the Shinobi World-- "
The Fifth Mizukage isn't so easily left behind by the times!
In the rain, her figure vanished like mist, leaving only a whispered word drifting away on the wind.
"First, we need to find a few capable ninjas..."
"If all else fails, I'll do it myself!"