Shazo: No Ninja Wanted Peace with Konoha

Tobirama Senju inquired again about the division of the Nine-Tails.

Minato Namikaze replied with a wry smile, "Second Hokage, you greatly underestimate the Nine-Tails."

"Kurama may not have meant much to the First Hokage, but for us junior Ninja, he is as dangerous as a natural disaster."

"Especially after subduing the Nine-Tails, the most suitable Jinchuriki in the village was my child, but he was only born and couldn't withstand the full power of the Nine-Tails."

"I had no choice but to split Kurama and seal him into my own body and Naruto's body respectively."

Tobirama Senju recalled the state of Konoha had indeed suffered a severe loss of talent, which saddened him.

Then he turned around, grabbed the Third Hokage, and slammed him to the ground, beating him mercilessly. "This is all your fault, you bastard."

"It's clearly your poor leadership that has caused Konoha to suffer from a loss of talent and become devastated, even sending young generations to their deaths. Why don't you just die yourself?"

Tobirama Senju, he grew increasingly angry, and his blows became more and more brutal.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's Edo Reanimated Body is specially made, possessing sensitive senses not found in other Reanimated Body, making him particularly sensitive to pain.

Tobirama Senju resentment, Hiruzen Sarutobi, causing him unbearable pain. Coupled with the guilt he felt upon seeing Minato Namikaze, tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

This scene was commonplace for everyone else, who all watched with smiles.

But for Minato Namikaze, this was simply unbelievable, a sight he could never have dreamed of. He was dumbfounded, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.

In the end, Orochimaru and Shazo persuaded Tobirama Senju. Their reason was not that they felt sorry for the Third Hokage, but rather: the sacrifices were not cheap, and they didn't want to break them so quickly.

As a newcomer to this small circle, Minato Namikaze tries his best to learn about the others.

To him, everyone here was a stranger, even his teacher Jiraiya had undergone a complete transformation.

Former acquaintances were fine; Minato Namikaze easily understood their changes. But Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Izumi truly shocked him.

He said happily, "You have all Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, which shows that the Uchiha Clan has truly been revived, and the village's strength has also greatly increased."

Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Izumi exchanged a smile; the Fourth Hokage indeed had no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan.

It's a pity that the Fourth Hokage died so young, otherwise Uchiha Itachi would never have become so twisted that he would have gone so far as to Carnage his entire clan and defect.

The two Uchiha's regrets were fleeting; their lives are now far better than when the Fourth Hokage came over, because the Fifth Hokage favored the Uchiha Clan.

Being favored feels much better than being treated fairly.

What shocked Minato Namikaze the most was the Fifth Hokage Shazo's age. "Wait, Fifth Hokage, you're only 19 years old! How can you be so young?"

"You are the Fifth Hokage after me. Have I been dead for less than five years? Or has some major change occurred in the village?"

Tobirama Senju replied, "There's no need to doubt it. After you, Fourth Hokage, sacrificed yourself, my worthless disciple actually pulled off a restoration, serving Hokage for a full 10 years before being overthrown by the Fifth Hokage."

Tobirama Senju sighed deeply, "How embarrassing."

After saying that, he struck Hiruzen Sarutobi several more times, venting his anger.

Recently, the Third Hokage has been getting beaten up Tenten by his teacher, and he has long been completely subdued and numb.

The blows from Tobirama Senju barely bothered him; he wasn't even bothered to move.

After a while, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, finally understood what had happened. He once again bowed sincerely to Shazo, thanking him for taking good care of his son and helping him grow into a true man.

However, he still asked curiously, "Fifth, why did you ask Lord Orochimaru Impure World Reincarnation me?"

"I am neither as powerful and prestigious as the First, nor as adept at research as the Second— "

Shazo interrupted him, "Who said you can't do research?"

"You're just not good at developing Ninjutsu, but you're quite good at developing Sealing Technique."

"Besides, I have other reasons for gathering all five Hokage."

Shazo Zuo recounted the story of Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, Nagato, the Rinnegan, and the alteration of the Uchiha Stone Tablet, leaving Minato Namikaze completely bewildered.

The matter of Obito Uchiha, in particular, greatly upset the Fourth Hokage.

"It was Obito? The masked man who attacked Kushina, released the Nine-Tails to attack Konoha, and forced me to use the [Reaper Death Seal] was Obito?"

Minato Namikaze collapsed to his knees, muttering to himself, "It's all my fault. I failed to teach Obito properly. I'm such a terrible teacher."

Shazo laughed dismissively, "Fourth Hokage, don't be sad. Killing your teacher is a tradition in Konoha."

Minato Namikaze looked at Shazo: "Huh?"

Shazo pointed at Jiraiya and laughed, "Your teacher took in three disciples in the Land of Rain. Last time he went to the Land of Rain to gather information, he would have been killed by his students if I hadn't come to his rescue in time."

Jiraiya gave an awkward laugh.

Shazo then pointed at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "The Third Hokage acted recklessly, causing panic in Konoha. If I hadn't overthrown him and killed him beforehand, he would definitely be dead at Orochimaru's hands today."

"Because all the Ninja in Konoha will cooperate with Orochimaru, this enemy," to send the Third Hokage, who was causing everyone unbearable suffering, to his death.

"Of course, Orochimaru- senpai will sacrifice his own reputation to ensure the Third Hokage's ' The Superstar ' status."

"Let this Hokage, who served for 30 years but only fought for the village on the Nine-Tails Night, die in Hokage battle to protect the village, completely covering up all the previous problems."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly looked up, staring in disbelief at his favorite disciple.

Orochimaru simply smiled and tacitly agreed with the Fifth Hokage's statement.

Shazo laughed and scolded, "Orochimaru- senpai, what are you laughing at? Don't think you can get away with this!"

"If I hadn't pointed out the problems and solutions to [Living Corpse Reincarnation], would you have tried to seize Uchiha Sasuke's body in order to obtain the Sharingan?"

Orochimaru was stunned.

Shazo continued, "In order to obtain a powerful body, would you train Sasuke, teach him better Ninjutsu to help him Awakening the Sharingan, and Cursed Seal in him?"

Orochimaru slowly opened his mouth. "It seems... probably... likely... maybe..."

Shazo spread his hands. "See, doesn't that mean I've officially become your disciple?"

"When you take over Sasuke's body, you'll find it's impossible. Sasuke will eventually crush your soul, steal your knowledge, and pull off a stunning comeback."

"Look, this is yet another case of a master being murdered."

"Fortunately, I arranged for Uchiha Sasuke to be given to my senior's disciple this time. I believe that out of respect for me, you won't think about taking over his body."

Orochimaru shook his head and laughed, "Of course not. Fifth Hokage, you pointed out the right path for me, so naturally I won't take this dead end."

"However, Fifth Hokage, you underestimate me too much. I am Orochimaru. If I really wanted to take over Sasuke's body, what makes him think he could kill me?"

Shazo's mysterious smile sent a chill down Orochimaru, but he said, "There's a reason why I said you're no match for Sasuke in the battle of souls."

However, I cannot tell you the reason now.

Orochimaru was very composed. Although his curiosity was raging, he kept his composure and didn't ask any questions.

Shazo continued, "By putting all the previous clues together, we can vaguely see the outline of a huge conspiracy."

"It's clear that this isn't a conspiracy targeting Konoha, but rather the entire Ninja World."

"As the strongest ninja village in the Ninja World, Konoha is the first to bear the brunt of this crisis. There is no way to avoid it, and we must gather all our strength to deal with it."

Hashirama Senju asked, "Why not notify the other ninja villages and gather the strength of the entire Ninja World to deal with the crisis?"

Tobirama Senju frowned, but before he could speak, Shazo stopped him with a gesture.

Shazo sharply rebuked, "First Hokage, this is where you're wrong."

Hashirama Senju was dumbfounded. "Huh?"

Shazo explained, "First, you have three problems: you're too strong, you're in too high a position, and your perspective is too narrow."

"You completely misunderstand the suffering of other ninja villages, yet you presume to care for them, which only makes them feel afraid."

"In the current Ninja World, Konoha Number One Under Heaven. Even the Four Great Ninja Villages combined are no match for us. They only feel fear and dread towards us."

"If I told you there was an enemy, a very terrifying enemy, lurking in the shadows plotting to overthrow the entire Ninja World, do you think the First Hokage would believe me, or suspect that I'm setting a trap for them?"

The First Hokage frowned and said, "Fifth, that's where you went wrong. Your actions in the past were indeed not entirely aboveboard, which has damaged your credibility in their eyes, and that's why they don't believe you."

The Fifth Hokage smiled and said, "That's the difference between you and me. I'd rather they fear me than trust them."

"My stance differs from that of the Four Great Ninja Villages; our fundamental interests are diametrically opposed. No matter how much they trust my character, they will not change their hostile attitude towards me."

"I dare say that if you, First Hokage, had stood up and said the same thing, the Four Kage would have truly believed you, but they would absolutely not have formed an alliance with our Konoha."

"They will be eager to find and join the other side, launching the Fourth Shinobi World War against our Konoha, and will fight relentlessly to defeat and dismantle Konoha."

Shazo's words contradicted the First Hokage's ideals, and he could not accept such a statement under any circumstances. However, before Hashirama Senju could refute him, Shazo said, "First, you convened the first Five Kage Summit, and tried to convene it many times afterward, but you could not succeed because none of the Four Kage would meet with you."

"You know, you assigned Tailed Beast to the Four Great Ninja Villages at the first Five Kage Summit. Not only did they avoid war, they also gained enormous benefits. Why didn't they participate in the second Five Kage Summit?"

"First Hokage, didn't you ever think about why? Didn't you think about the differences between before and after the Five Kage Summit?"

Shazo's question not only silenced Hashirama Senju, but also plunged Tobirama Senju into deep thought.

Shazo didn't wait for their reply, but gave the answer directly, "Because the goal of the Four Great Ninja Villages isn't to take a small share from you; they want all of Konoha and all of the Land of Land of Fire!"

"What they want is the destruction of Konoha!"

"From the perspective of the Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage, and Raikage, you, the First Hokage, are the biggest problem in yourself; what they want is for you to die!"

"The key to the success of the first Five Kage Summit was Madara Uchiha! The Four Kage were afraid of Madara Uchiha, afraid that this unreasonable guy would destroy their village."

"When faced with two evils, choose the lesser. To avoid being attacked by Madara Uchiha, the Four Kage have no choice but to come and meet you, their enemy."

"Although you promised them safety and the power of the Tailed Beast, enough to balance the strength of the ninja villages, it's still far from what they want. They can't possibly be satisfied."

"On the contrary, they feel that since they can get so much, they should be able to get even more from you."

"But you, First Hokage, could not possibly disband Konoha, nor could you commit suicide to put their minds at ease, much less divide the Land of Fire into four parts and give them to the Four Kage."

"So, the Four Kage hate you."

"Besides, you're so gentle, you won't actively attack them, and you can't achieve the result they want—the destruction of Konoha. Why would they come to see an enemy they can't defeat?"

"By the time you passed away, they felt they had no one left to defeat, so they naturally couldn't wait to launch the First Shinobi World War."

The First Hokage and Second Hokage remained silent, but Shazo continued, "This isn't just the personal will of the Four Kage, but a decision made by the collective will of the Four Great Ninja Villages."

"Back then, you, the Second Hokage, defeated the Three Great Shinobi Villages one by one. The Second Raikage decided to end the war, but the result was the rebellion of the Kumogakure, and you and the Raikage both paid for it with your lives."

"Such a large-scale rebellion shouldn't even be called a rebellion in my opinion; it's more like the Cloud Ninja shouting: Why did the Second Raikage betray the Kumogakure?"

"Second Hokage, if you hadn't stayed behind to fight Kinkaku and Gold and Silver Brothers, but instead returned to Konoha as quickly as possible, you would have witnessed the Miracle the Second Raikage being recognized as missing-nin."

Shazo concluded, "No Ninja wants peace with Konoha unless they know they are completely outmatched."

"Therefore, as long as I become Hokage, I would rather the entire Ninja World fear me than be grateful to me. I would rather fight against the world-destroying conspiracy with the strength of Konoha alone than unite the Ninja World."

"Unless----"

"Unless they are badly beaten by that enemy, to the point of near annihilation, and come crying to me begging for their lives, I might consider it."

Shazo's tone was strange and puzzling when he said "perhaps".