The Point of Comparison

That was as clear as it could get.

Minato Namikaze had made his intentions clear: once Li Ke was older and strong enough, he would pass the position of Hokage to either him or Kakashi during the next Ninja World War.

With that, Li Ke finally felt at ease.

"Anyway, keep working hard, Qingtan."

Minato encouraged Li Ke once more. Just as he was about to get some more rest, Shikaku Nara walked in, waved the report in his hand at Minato, and smiled at Li Ke.

"Minato, there are some battle credits that need your approval. Do you have a moment?"

Minato gave a wry smile, took a chakra-restoring secret medicine from his pocket, and swallowed it. He nodded to Li Ke, then went off to handle the distribution of battle credits, leaving Li Ke to rest here.

But no matter what, the noisy sounds around him kept Li Ke from falling asleep.

After all, their work was done, but the slaughter of the Mist Shinobi was far from over.

"Come to think of it, will Madara Uchiha send someone to attack again? I hope he does. I'm still short on battle credits..."

Hearing the wounded crying out around him, Li Ke thought of that idiotic plan to bring the Three-Tails to attack Konoha's camp. It was so stupid that it had no chance of working. The whole point was just to make Obito see Kakashi kill Rin Nohara.

But that didn't mean Li Ke couldn't take advantage of it.

"The Third Mizukage is still in power. Karatachi Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, hasn't taken over yet. Yagura should still be a jonin, which means he probably only secured the position of Fourth Mizukage after gaining the Three-Tails' power. There's a very good chance that the Three-Tails inside Rin Nohara is real."

If he could get his hands on the Three-Tails, his influence would rise again, and he could unleash Wood Release openly and further boost his reputation.

"If Madara Uchiha's plan hasn't changed... Obito, we may be classmates, but if you kill the Fourth Hokage within the next year, I won't be able to become Hokage until the Sixth. So go back to Konoha, like Asuma, and watch the woman you love marry someone else."

Li Ke raised his hand. He was simply too young to succeed the Fourth Hokage immediately after his death.

Besides, if Konoha suffered a devastating blow, his plans would be set back.

So, to prevent anything from going wrong, he needed to get ready to kick down Madara Uchiha's door.

"But it'd be best if I could summon Hashirama Senju and find Madara Uchiha before things blow up, so I can put a stop to the Eye of the Moon Plan at its source."

Li Ke clenched his raised hand, determination filling his eyes.

He had thought of Minato Namikaze's actions on the Night of the Nine-Tails, and the chain reaction they had set off.

"Come to think of it, it's insane that Minato Namikaze had time to whisper sweet nothings to his wife while sealing the Nine-Tails, but no time to leave any intel for the village..."

For the Uchiha Clan, in particular, it was as shocking as Madara Uchiha staging a rebellion.

Minato Namikaze hadn't left behind a single piece of information that could have cleared the Uchiha Clan of suspicion. He could have at least said that he'd marked the enemy with a Flying Thunder God Mark, but he hadn't even done that. That left it nearly impossible to verify whether the Uchiha Clan had really been involved in the Nine-Tails Incident.

No one knew whether the Uchiha were hiding something.

That left the Uchiha Clan in an awkward position. But the real reason for the Uchiha Clan Massacre came down to one person.

Thinking of this, Li Ke couldn't help looking out of the tent.

At that moment, he heard Fugaku Uchiha and two other members of the Uchiha Clan talking.

"Clan head, you've done a great service this time. You should be able to become Hokage, right? That's wonderful! Once you're Hokage, no one in Konoha will look down on the Uchiha Clan anymore! We'll be able to get along better with everyone in the village!"

But another Uchiha spoke up.

"Hmph. What's there to be proud of? Those people will just call us cowards. You're always convinced we can get along with them, but have you ever wondered if they want to get along with us? Have you forgotten how we were pushed aside? Once the clan head becomes Hokage, he needs to get revenge!"

The two started arguing. Fugaku Uchiha tried to calm them down at first, but in the end, he couldn't say anything that satisfied them both. It took other shinobi arriving to get the two Uchiha to shut up.

"Enough! You two, stop arguing. We'll discuss this at the clan meeting after we get back. Don't keep talking about it here!"

Fugaku Uchiha's voice was stern, but Li Ke could only feel speechless.

Those two Uchiha had been arguing right in front of him for nearly three minutes! And Fugaku Uchiha hadn't said a word during those three minutes!

"Fugaku Uchiha really doesn't act like a clan head at all. Looks like I'll have to support an Uchiha who'll listen to me. Otherwise, the Uchiha's strength will go to waste..."

Li Ke gave his verdict.

Fugaku Uchiha kept wavering, so neither side considered him one of their own. He couldn't represent anyone, and with him as their leader, nothing ever got done. The Uchiha shinobi could even pressure him into doing what they wanted. He was their clan head, yet he couldn't keep his own people in line.

The biggest share of the blame for the massacre lay with him, but the Third Hokage was at fault too.

The Third was about as bad as Fugaku Uchiha, maybe even worse. He didn't find out what Danzo had done until after that mess had already gone rogue. To fail so thoroughly as a leader was something else.

Fugaku Uchiha and the Third Hokage were unquestionably the ones most responsible for the Uchiha Clan's downfall.

You could even say that, when it came to handling the Nine-Tails Incident and the Uchiha Clan Massacre, not one of the people involved—including Minato Namikaze—acted like a human being.

Anyway, the first thing he'd do after taking power was kill. Kill on a massive scale. Civilians, shinobi, daimyo, samurai—he'd kill them all. Anyone who opposed him would die. He'd stick to the basic principle of killing the whole family when he said he would, and learn from the Mongols' advanced practice of flattening the wheel. He'd wipe out the so-called shinobi village system and all five daimyo.

As for what came next? How to govern after the killing? How to distribute power and wealth?

That was the Seventh's problem. It had nothing to do with the Sixth, who'd be home cuddling his wife and children. Orochimaru seemed like a great fit for Hokage, anyway.

Murata Qingtan knew nothing about politics, okay? And wouldn't it be better to spend the time he'd waste on politics having a few more kids with Kurenai? Living like Naruto in Boruto was the height of stupidity.

If his wife were Hinata, his father-in-law would be looking after the kids until he was sick of it.

"But right now, the most important thing is to rest. Still, it's sad to think that a bunch of idiots like this are the ones informing Konoha. But what's saddest of all is that this world is a cesspit..."

Exhausted, Li Ke closed his eyes, preparing to rest.

But just as Li Ke tried to drift off, beneath Mount Kikyo, Madara Uchiha stared at the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his hand, fury in his eyes.

"This is definitely Senju Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Mark and his chakra... So Konoha used Impure World Reincarnation to win this battle? That makes sense. Senju Tobirama is the only person in the world who knows the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. With the endless chakra of Impure World Reincarnation, he could certainly have achieved what happened on the battlefield."

So...

"So you used Izuna, didn't you, Senju Tobirama?!"

He angrily threw the Flying Thunder God Kunai, its tracking function now useless, to the ground. The sudden movement set him coughing violently.

Just then, a black, humanoid creature walked over. Watching Madara Uchiha cough uncontrollably, it spoke.

"Are you really going, Madara? With your body in its current state, you can't fight for long. If you fail..."

"It doesn't matter. If I wear a White Zetsu, I'll have ten minutes to fight. That's enough to deal with this. But if Senju Tobirama keeps making moves, our plan could easily be exposed. And since he went out of his way to summon Izuna, I suspect he's discovered something."

Madara Uchiha raised his head. The Sharingan in his eyes spun faster and faster, nearly merging into one, but his age ultimately kept him from succeeding.

Time had taken its toll. Even Madara Uchiha, who had once been able to single-handedly destroy other nations, had grown old, and his strength had greatly waned. Without other treasures to prolong his life, he would have died long ago.

But even in this state, as long as he didn't care about his life, he could still fight with considerable strength.

"Fine. If it's Senju Tobirama, then he's certainly someone to be wary of."

Black Zetsu nodded. Truthfully, he didn't want Madara Uchiha to die, but Madara Uchiha's Yang Release was not good enough to preserve his youth.

But he knew Madara Uchiha wanted to go himself because he had sensed Izuna Uchiha's chakra and confirmed that Senju Tobirama had used the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

He could endure anything else, but Madara Uchiha would never accept the desecration of his younger brother Izuna Uchiha's soul.

Still, Madara Uchiha remained rational. He knew that luring Minato Namikaze away wouldn't be enough. They also had to draw away the other Flying Thunder God user.

And he was certain that the second Flying Thunder God user was Senju Tobirama.

The other man's chakra and distinctive Flying Thunder God Mark proved it. How could there be any doubt?

"You're back, which means the Three-Tails is in place? Let the plan begin. The Konoha shinobi must be feeling pretty pleased with themselves right now, but the more pleased they are, the more careless they'll become... Black Zetsu, if I die on the way, tell Obito about our plan. But before that, take some of my chakra to the Konoha battlefield as bait. If it's Senju Tobirama, he'll definitely come out to investigate. Once he leaves, we'll put our plan into action."

He lifted his head, his gaunt face twisted into a savage expression. His crimson Sharingan made him look even more chilling.

"Black Zetsu, if I die on the way, tell Obito about my plan!"

Black Zetsu nodded. Madara Uchiha was clearly going to pick a fight with Senju Tobirama, but as long as Obito awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, it wouldn't be a major problem.

More precisely, as long as the Rinnegan still existed, it wouldn't be a problem for Black Zetsu.

After all, there would always be ambitious people in the world!

So, while Kirigakure scrambled to deal with Konoha's counterattack, Kirigakure's Sealing Squad received an order they didn't know what to make of.

"Capture Minato Namikaze's student, Rin Nohara, seal the Three-Tails inside her, and control her with a Cursed Seal. Once she returns to Konoha, release the Three-Tails to cause destruction..."

The Sealing Squad jonin who received the order couldn't help looking up at the sky. Whoever had given this order had to be seriously ill.

The plan included using a Cursed Seal to control Rin Nohara, the temporary Jinchuriki, so she couldn't kill herself or reveal that she had the Three-Tails inside her.

But she could simply refuse to go back!

A Cursed Seal couldn't control her movements without leaving a trace!

And with their sealing skills, sealing the Three-Tails in such a short time while making sure sensory shinobi couldn't tell she was a Jinchuriki was, in theory—

"This is a pipe dream."

It was simply impossible! Any halfway competent sensory or sealing shinobi would notice something was wrong. The plan couldn't work and might even cost them the Three-Tails.

But...

It was an order from above, so no matter how stupid it was, they had no choice but to carry it out.

As they prepared the sealing materials, Li Ke, far away at Konoha Base Camp, finally fell asleep. But the moment he did, bizarre images appeared before his eyes again.

"Another newcomer?"

Startled awake, Li Ke thought this was getting ridiculous. Newcomers were arriving way too quickly. His cheat was seriously overpowered.

But that was fine. The more overpowered, the better! Li Ke had never been afraid of an overpowered cheat!

He quickly entered the Black Mist Space and immediately saw something astonishing.

He saw two men whose styles were completely different from everyone else's.

One of them practically had the words "hard-boiled" written all over him. Just standing there, he seemed to be surrounded by onomatopoeia.

But when Naruto Li Ke looked at the other man, all he could think was how frail he seemed. If his face hadn't been faintly recognizable, he would have thought the wrong person had shown up.

Naruto Li Ke hurried over to shake hands and introduce himself. Then he learned why the two men seemed so different, and why both carried such melancholy, even depressed, airs.

The first was a hard-boiled Li Ke from a post-nuclear-war wasteland. His parents had died of radiation sickness when he was young. He'd struggled through life, surviving into adulthood thanks to a little medical knowledge and some repair skills, but the village he relied on had recently been wiped out by bandits.

He was currently wandering the wilderness alone, carrying a gun and accompanied by a dog, searching for clean water and a place to build a settlement. He was planning to recreate Fallout 4 in real life.

He'd just wiped out a village that had been eating passersby when he arrived.

The second Li Ke... Well, there was good news: his world had magic.

The bad news was, it had nothing to do with him.

Though that wasn't entirely true. When he was three, his father was burned to death by a mercenary wielding a sword and magic. When he was four, his mother died from overwork and grief. When he was five, his grandparents were tortured to death with magic by a lord collecting debts. Now he lived with his uncle, struggling to survive.

There had recently been a famine, so the village chief gathered everyone and said a god could help them. The boy went along, half believing it, only to discover that the god's name was Nurgle.

After sharing their memories, Naruto Li Ke suddenly felt that, well...

The world of Naruto was actually pretty great.