"Naruto Arrives. Read"
Excited whispers mingled with the rustling of people adjusting their seats, echoing through the vast Auditorium.
The Hokage did not wear his Kage robes. Instead, clad in dark shinobi armor still stained with blood, Uchiha Madara stepped onto the raised platform at the front, his gaze sweeping over the surging crowd and taking it all in.
His naturally imposing presence froze the atmosphere in the Auditorium.
If he had not been sitting in his seat, Rikusei would have thought his Hokage Teacher was about to deliver a wartime mobilization speech.
Madara habitually folded his arms, the Truth-Seeking Orbs hovering around him as his deep, powerful voice rang throughout the hall. "As of today, Ninja Sage Land is officially established and announced to the Shinobi World."
There was little empty rhetoric; he went straight to the point. It suited Uchiha Madara's public image perfectly.
But Rikusei, who knew the inside story, did not think so. Madara had most likely found the prepared speech too long-winded and simply done things his own way.
"From the day of its establishment onward, the alliance will do everything possible to lower the threshold for cultivating Sage Jutsu, making Natural Energy as simple and effective to refine as chakra, so that every shinobi can fully master it."
Cheers like thunder filled Rikusei's ears.
Cultivating Sage Jutsu required an enormous amount of chakra. That threshold alone shut out ninety percent of shinobi.
The Hokage's declaration at this moment gave them hope, regardless of the eventual outcome.
Once the excited voices subsided, Madara's lips curled into a meaningful smile. "The Sage of Six Paths has returned to the Shinobi World. Perhaps, on your way to Konoha, some of you may have inadvertently seen the sage who brought chakra to the Shinobi World."
Madara gave the