Konoha's dream was a sea of stars

Orochimaru quickly completed all the preparations.

Then everyone began the long wait. There was nothing they could do; no one in Konoha knew how to activate the Dragon Vein's time mechanism.

While waiting, Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze told Shazo about the Konoha in another world that they had learned from the Konoha Ninja had traveled through time.

The two grew angrier and angrier as they talked, and felt increasingly humiliated.

In the end, they all said in unison, "Thank goodness for the Fifth Hokage, otherwise the current Konoha and the peaceful Ninja World would not exist."

Since Konoha held its first Joint Chunin Ninja Exams, Shazo acted as if nothing had happened and continued to hold two more Joint Chunin Ninja Exams.

No one dared to disrespect the Fifth Hokage Shazo, and Konoha, so they all gritted their teeth and came to participate.

Luck, Shazo was no longer in the mood to cause trouble, Chunin Ninja Exams were completed smoothly, producing a group of elite Chunin.

This year, Konoha generously allowed Sunagakure to host the event, giving a boost to its loyal ally, the Fifth Kazekage Gaara.

The exam was successfully completed, and the Chunin were indeed very elite.

Thanks to his success in the Chunin Ninja Exams, the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure secured his position as Kazekage.

No one in Sunagakure openly opposed Gaara anymore, and the village's order stabilized. In addition, after Konoha had its fill, it ceded some of its benefits, and Sunagakure began to recover in all aspects, presenting a thriving scene.

Mei Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Mei Terumi and naturally had her own ideas. She frequently tried to curry favor with Konoha, hoping to hold the Fifth Joint Chunin Ninja Exams.

The Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure and the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure couldn't sit still any longer and submitted their applications to the Fifth Hokage to host the event.

The two of them even seemed to be working together to suppress Kirigakure, showing no intention of securing the Fifth Joint Chunin Ninja Exams.

In truth, the Raikage and Tsuchikage didn't want to fawn over the Fifth Hokage, but they dared not let Kirigakure get there first, otherwise Konoha would...

The Sunagakure and the Kirigakure stand out from the other two villages because they hosted the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Once this label is posted, who knows if they will use it as an excuse to form a military alliance of southern ninja villages and then launch an attack on the two northern ninja villages Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

This sparked the Fourth Shinobi World War.

It's not fair to blame the Tsuchikage and Raikage for overthinking; they're currently at a significant disadvantage, so they really have no choice but to overthink things.

Moreover, the influence of the Chunin Exams is not limited to the major ninja villages.

Because the Chunin selected in four consecutive sessions were all outstanding, the Joint Chunin Ninja Exams became a golden brand for Ninja, giving them a huge advantage when competing for missions.

As a result, the Chunin Ninja Exams were once considered a perilous path, became highly sought after and coveted by everyone in the Ninja World.

Whether it's the Five Great Shinobi Villages or the 21 Shinobu villages, they all need to go through fierce internal competition to obtain a spot to participate.

The Fifth Hokage Shazo, managed to seize control of the entire Ninja World with just a small joint exam, commanding all the ninja villages to act according to his own ideas.

Such a miraculous feat truly shocked Orochimaru, Tsunade, Minato Namikaze, and Tobirama Senju. Even the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, stopped saying that the Fifth Hokage was incompetent.

As for Jiraiya, Hashirama Senju, and Shimura Danzō, they didn't even understand what was happening, let alone how to praise someone, let alone criticize them.

The Fifth Hokage's success was not only in the Ninja World, but also within Konoha.

Thanks to the emerging electrical and electronic industries, Konoha has doubled its income for five consecutive years, completely freeing itself from its dependence on the Fire Daimyō.

With ample funds to share the profits and the strong impetus from the Fifth Hokage, the reforms to Konoha were naturally implemented smoothly.

The distribution of benefits has been optimized, the balance of power has taken root in people's hearts, the training of Ninja has yielded fruitful results, and outstanding geniuses have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

These young Ninja were undoubtedly admirers of the Fifth Hokage and the biggest supporters of all his policies.

Konoha, with its political stability and economic prosperity, changes dramatically every year; if you leave for six months, it feels like a stranger.

In short, the Fifth Hokage's prestige and power had reached their peak.

Because the situation was so good, he unknowingly became complacent with success, thus relaxing his guard and causing himself to encounter danger after his most recent sharing.

As Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze recounted their "familiar" Ninja World and Konoha, Shazo's mind began to wander.

The Konoha in another world... hah, it's exactly as rotten as I remember. Tsunade, too, is familiarly spineless. If she doesn't dare to eliminate the Root and elders, what can she possibly do?

They were unaware of the Akatsuki's existence or the unusual situation in Amegakure, and would undoubtedly passively await the arrival of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze both deduced this result and shook their heads in regret.

Minato Namikaze sighed, " With Konoha like this, Vice Admiral be at a complete disadvantage in the war. Not only will we have to deploy the largest possible force, but we won't even be able to control the war."

Orochimaru agreed, saying, "The Fourth Hokage is right. Command will definitely fall into the hands of the Fourth Raikage. That Fourth Raikage is much more arrogant than our Raikage."

Shazo Zuo spoke up, "Let's not talk about others, let's talk about ourselves."

Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze were both stunned. Orochimaru, being the living person, spoke up, "Us? Our Konoha is currently the strongest in the Ninja World, completely dominating the direction of the Ninja World's situation, controlling the policies of the Four Great Ninja Villages, and attracting all the young Ninja. What could be a problem with that?"

Shazo sighed, "Orochimaru- senpai, that's the problem."

"We have indeed reached the pinnacle, but after the peak comes the decline, and that signifies the fall of Konoha."

Shazo said loudly, "These past few days, I went to the center of the desert, where I carefully considered the present and future of Konoha and re-examined the Konoha under my governance."

"The situation is very good, not just good, it's excellent!"

"After five years of hard work, we successfully reversed the decline of Konoha Konoha, allowing it to stand at the pinnacle of the Ninja World, completely suppressing the Four Great Ninja Villages, and even being able to command them at will."

"However, I was also horrified to discover that I had absolutely no idea what Konoha should do next, or what our future would hold in the next ten years."

What should we pursue in twenty years?

Minato Namikaze died very young, and he couldn't understand what Shazo was saying, so he looked at Orochimaru with a puzzled expression.

Orochimaru, however, fully understood the meaning behind Shazo's words. He frowned and muttered, "The Fifth Hokage is right, this is truly terrifying."

"Ninja who are complacent will inevitably become lax and their strength will soon decline. Similarly, ninja villages that are complacent will also become lax and begin to breed all sorts of problems."

"Ninja villages are disciplined violent organizations; their problems don't easily surface, but once exposed, they are almost impossible to reverse."

Orochimaru looked at Shazo and said with sincere admiration, "Fifth Hokage, you truly deserve to be called the best Hokage of all time. You even foresaw the hidden dangers beneath the prosperity during this flourishing period."

"I, Orochimaru, am completely convinced by you."

After listening to Orochimaru's words, Minato Namikaze, with his exceptional Talent, finally understood the meaning of their conversation and realized what problems Konoha was facing.

He gasped, looking at Shazo with the eyes of someone staring at a monster, and exclaimed in amazement, "We're all Ninja from Konoha, Fifth, you were two years younger than me when I died, how can you be so outstanding?"

Orochimaru asked, "Now that the Fifth Hokage has discovered the problem, he should have found a solution as well, right?"

Shazo Zuo nodded and said, "This problem isn't actually difficult to solve. We just need to instill two ideals in the Ninja of Konoha."

Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze simultaneously whispered, "Two ideals?"

Shazo held up one finger and said, "The first ideal must be something tangible and achievable."

"The second ideal is something extremely lofty, with almost no chance of being realized, but just thinking about it makes your blood boil."

Orochimaru smiled happily, "Yes, just like my dream of learning all the Ninjutsu in the world."

Shazo Zuo nodded in agreement, saying, "Orochimaru is right. This kind of ideal is the first ideal."

Orochimaru's pupils shrank to slits as he asked in surprise, "Is this the first ideal?"

Shazo laughed and said, "Do you think you have no chance to learn all the Ninjutsu now?"

Orochimaru fell silent. He now truly felt that this dream could come true, and he genuinely hadn't considered what he would need to do after mastering everything.

suicide?

For some reason, when Orochimaru thought about what he would do after his dream came true, this phrase popped into his head, startling him so much that he immediately stopped thinking.

Minato Namikaze asked, "Fifth Hokage, what is the ideal you set for Konoha?"

"Shazo pointed upwards and said, 'Let's go to the moon.'"

"Ah?"

Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru were dumbfounded. They truly hadn't imagined that reaching the moon could be an ideal; what was the difference between that and a dream?

Shazo sighed and said, "Actually, my initial ideal was to unify the Ninja World and completely resolve the root cause of the war."

"But I soon discovered that it was impossible."

"It's now Konoha year 64. The Ninja of the Five Great Shinobi Villages have all undergone a complete change of four generations: Hokage, Kazekage,..."

The Mizukage is already the Fifth; the Ninja ' identification with their respective villages is unbreakable.

"No matter how strong I am, I can only destroy physical ninja villages, but I cannot destroy the ninja villages in the hearts of the Ninja."

"The current Ninja World no longer possesses the fundamental conditions for unification."

"The earth beneath my feet has no suitable target, so I can only raise my head and look to the sky. The closest thing to us is the moon, so I've made conquering it my ideal."

Orochimaru still found it hard to understand. "This... is an ideal that can be realized?"

Shazo said decisively, "It's definitely possible, and it can be achieved in our generation."

"Then, we will stand on the moon, gaze at the endless starry sky, and stride towards the sea composed of stars."

Shazo knew that the difficulty of landing on the moon in the Ninja World was actually very low, and that as early as a thousand years ago, there were descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki who, as early pioneers of the moon, left a very good foundation on the moon.

They even built a tunnel between the Earth and the Moon, allowing them to travel between the Ninja World and the Moon at any time.

However, Shazo firmly believes that Konoha must not take this path, because Konoha's ideal destination is not the moon, but the vast Sea of Stars.

The moon is merely the first stepping stone for Konoha on its journey to the Sea of Stars.

Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze were hearing the phrase "the Sea of Stars" for the first time, and they understood its meaning and the astonishing grandeur and profundity behind it almost instantly.

Just like what the Fifth Hokage Shazo, said, it sounds like something that's almost impossible to achieve, but it still makes you feel excited and filled with the urge to try it.

They even felt that just taking a step forward, getting slightly closer to this great ideal, would make them feel extremely proud.

Just like now, if I could land on the moon, stand there and look at the Ninja World and the stars even further away, I would probably feel at peace even when I die.

Orochimaru suddenly burst into laughter. "Good, that's wonderful!"

"Fifth Hokage, your ideal is truly wonderful. Just thinking about it makes my heart race and fills me with energy. I want to make a big splash!"

"I will absolutely support you wholeheartedly in striving to achieve this dream!"

Shazo smiled smugly, "Yes, I'm completely relieved that these two ideals can attract Orochimaru. I believe all the Konoha Ninja will be attracted and regain their enthusiasm."

Minato Namikaze nodded and said, "Haha, even I, a dead man, feel my blood boiling. I believe most Konoha Ninja would feel excited and be willing to put in the effort."

"However, there will definitely be some Ninja in Konoha who won't accept this. What will we do about them?"

Shazo casually waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. As long as one-third of Konoha Ninja are attracted, it will be enough to change Konoha's complacent situation."

"With so many Konoha Ninja striving and working hard, it will be enough to propel the Konoha forward by leaps and bounds."

"As long as Konoha can progress rapidly, progress itself will naturally weed out those Ninja who cannot keep up with the pace and cannot keep up with Konoha's progress."

Shazo's voice unconsciously carried a metallic tremor. "That's just as well, it keeps my hands from getting stained with the blood of those bastards."

Minato Namikaze was terrified. "Good, natural elimination is best. Fifth Hokage, your reputation is too high now. You'd better not get your own people's blood on your hands again."

Shazo clicked his tongue. "Fourth Hokage, all I can say is: I'll try my best."