The Land of Wind.
In a spacious and bright laboratory.
Orochimaru, dressed in a white lab coat, stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at the boy on the lab table.
The boy, shirtless, was covered in black Cursed Seal and had twisted, terrifying black tentacles.
"Konohamaru, do we really have to do this?"
"With your eye power, you can safely advance to the ordinary Mangekyo."
" With Shisui under Kagami-kun's protection, Sasuke's eyes..."
"Actually, you also have your older sister, Uchiha Izumi."
"There's no need to take such a big risk. Give your sister a boost; she has a high chance of advancing to the Mangekyo. You should discuss it with her..."
Following Shinkwa, several members of the Mangekyo clan also emerged.
It was only then that the Uchiha Clan realized that it wasn't that Shinkwa's Mangekyou Mangekyo was too weak; that was the normal Mangekyo.
People like Kagami Uchiha, Shisui, Sasuke all possessed Mangekyou Sharingan abilities that transcended the level of ordinary Mangekyo!
Konohamaru shook his head on the lab table, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Ms. Jing is no longer here."
"Brother Shisui told me about that step, but he couldn't help me."
"My sister is very happy now. I don't want her to awaken the Mangekyo, and I would never want her eyes."
"I inherited the names of the Uchiha and Konoha, I am..."
"Uchiha Konohamaru!"
A red light flashed in the boy's eyes, and he siphoned the black tentacles and Cursed Seal on his body into his eyes!
"This is my own choice, and I am determined to succeed!"
"I will definitely obtain Eternal Eye Power!"
Tumultuous!!
The blazing flames began to scorch Konohamaru's body, as if tempering him.
The people around the lab bench quickly stepped back.
Yakushi Kabuto looked at Orochimaru with some concern. After Konohamaru entered the Uchiha Elite Class, he was the one who taught him most of the time, just like his younger brother.
"Mr. Orochimaru, will Konohamaru be alright?"
Orochimaru watched the boy, who remained silent even as the flames burned, with admiration and anticipation in his eyes, as if he were witnessing the birth of a masterpiece.
"It will succeed."
"He is a man who possesses both Teacher Sarutobi's bloodline and the Uchiha bloodline."
"I don't care whether he succeeds or not, not a single penny of the money Earth Grudge Fear can be spared!"
Beside him, a middle-aged man with seemingly ordinary, beady eyes sneered.
Orochimaru smiled and nodded, "Of course, I dare not fail to repay what I owe Kakuzu- san."
"You are my most important employee."
"Don't be so presumptuous, Orochimaru!"
"We are partners, I am not your subordinate!"
"Okay, okay~"
——
——
The Land of Earth.
Iwagakure is nestled among mountains, and its environment, after being transformed by Iwagakure Shisui, is now well-suited for human habitation.
There will be no rain of flying stones.
Only...
Tumultuous!!
Suddenly, a massive slash bursting with white light slammed into the Iwagakure Building.
"Damn it, Shisui, witness my Explosive Severance Release! Hah!"
Boom!!!!
A tremendous explosion echoed.
As the smoke and dust cleared, the Iwagakure Building remained unscathed, with a layer of protective ripples spreading across its surface.
Shisui opened the French windows and looked at Deidara on the Clay Bird in mid-air.
He frowned and said, "Is this just a different form of Dust Release? It has nothing to do with Severance Release, does it?"
"If you keep making noise, I'll really lock you up in the Illusion World and never let you out!"
"Damn it Shisui! This is clearly Severance Release! And it's Severance Release that explodes!"
"An upgraded version of the Severance Release's technique! You..."
Whoosh!
Before he could finish speaking, the invisible Flying Thunder God Slash shattered the Clay Bird beneath him.
As he fell, he grabbed the railing of the Iwagakure Building, his body swaying.
"Hey, Shisui, I heard Konoha is getting Hokage, aren't you going?"
"You're the undisputed strongest Shinobi World!"
"I will not participate."
Shisui shook his head and said with a faint smile, "They think I'm the strongest only because of my Dōjutsu, which allows me to summon that person..."
But...
The brother I summoned now does not have his own consciousness.
No matter how hard I try, it's no use...
Deidara shuddered at the thought of that person.
The image of slashing through the mountains under the moonlight back in Konoha was deeply etched in his mind.
"Shake your head, "Deidara said.
"Back then, I was still young and embarrassed that old man Ōnoki."
"If you don't participate, I'm definitely going to win first place this time! I'm going to change my title from Hokage to Tsuchikage!"
Shisui looked at him with a smile.
"Sure, as long as you can win, I'll change it to Explosion Kage."
Deidara's eyes lit up.
"Yeah... I feel a little bad for Ōnoki, but the Explosion Kage is definitely cooler."
"Shisui, you have great taste!"
"Then I'll be going now!"
As Deidara rode away on his Clay Bird, Kurotsuchi, dressed as a secretary, approached.
"He's so arrogant! How could Deidara possibly be a match for those monsters? Iwagakure, why don't you try to persuade him?"
Shisui shook his head and smiled, "It's alright, no one will die in the Hokage selection."
"We'll see..."
"He needs to win the votes of a hundred Konoha ninjas first."
"It's good that they left; I can have a few days of peace and quiet."
——
——
The Land of Water.
Mei Terumi, who succeeded Kakashi as the Sixth Mizukage, saw him off at the village entrance.
In fact, the Five Great Nations are only represented by water and fire, and they still maintain their traditions.
She straightened Kimimaro Kaguya's collar and instructed him like an older sister, "I've already taken care of the Konoha ninja vote for you. You just need to do your best."
"I don't expect you to become Hokage Position, but you must stay safe and sound, understand?"
Kimimaro nodded expressionlessly.
Mei Terumi looked at Zabuza and Haku beside her. "Kimimaro doesn't like to talk, Haku, you must take good care of him."
Even as an adult, Shiro was still as beautiful as a girl. She smiled and nodded, "I understand, Lord Mizukage."
Zabuza said with dissatisfaction, "I'm the oldest, Mizukage. You should be asking me to take care of them!"
Mei Terumi glanced at Zabuza and scoffed disdainfully, "I only sent Haku along. When did I call you?"
"You insisted on following me, and with your appearance, you're lucky if you don't scare people."
"Ha!?"
Haku grasped Zabuza's arm and whispered, "Don't be angry, Lord Zabuza."
"Kimimaro has already left, let's hurry and catch up!"
Zabuza around and glared fiercely at Mei Terumi: "I'll settle the score with you when I get back!"
Mei Terumi remained dismissive.
She didn't want to talk to this guy with questionable sexual orientation.
——
——
Konoha.
Izakaya.
This place is reserved for the Konoha Women's Association today.
The young women sat around a table, laughing and joking.
Karin, carrying a small sake flask, her face flushed, asked, "Hey, Hinata, how's it going on your end?"
Hinata, Hinata and taking big bites of meat, looked up.
She's not so shy anymore; at least she can eat and drink freely in front of other people, except when she's with Naruto.
Hinata knew what Karin was talking about, and her face flushed slightly as she said, "That... that..."
"Naruto-kun, promise me... that you'll go out with me after this Hokage selection..."
"What!!"
Karin slammed her hand on the table and said angrily.
"You've come to this point and you're only now telling me!"
Hinata lowered her head shyly. "Where's Karin-chan? And what about Sasuke...?"
Karin shook her head in distress and took a swig of sake.
"Ah... Aunt Mikoto has been urging him, and I don't think he dislikes me, but he just won't accept my feelings, saying things like..."
"I will only slow down his cultivation speed!"
As she spoke, Karin shed two lines of clear tears.
"That makes no sense. That kind of thing should only affect my cultivation, like getting pregnant or something..."
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Karin shook her head wildly as if she were drunk, then slammed the wine pot onto the table.
"I've made up my mind!"
"I must defeat everyone and become Hokage!"
"And the first order is for Sasuke-kun to marry me!"