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The Third Hokage's words and this treaty might not seem excessive for Konoha, which had fought its way through the entire war.

But Madara Uchiha, Senju Tobirama, and Li Ke all had a very simple reason for being dissatisfied.

The Third Hokage had forgotten one thing in particular.

Li Ke and Minato Namikaze really could annihilate an entire great nation between the two of them.

The Third Hokage hadn't factored Li Ke's combat strength into the equation at all!

Minato Namikaze would check the Flying Thunder God coordinates for problems, while Li Ke used the Three-Tails' chakra to teleport with the Flying Thunder God and control the Three-Tails as it unleashed Tailed Beast Bombs.

No great nation could withstand an assault like that. And even if they sent out a Tailed Beast, Li Ke—armed with Adamantine Chains, the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Wood Release—was the person least likely to fear one.

On the contrary, he was the type to grow stronger the longer a fight went on. The more Tailed Beasts there were, the more powerful his Wood Release became.

As for why he didn't tell the others the truth about that battle...

It was mainly because that extraordinary level of power had been the result of Hashirama and Tobirama's chakra resonating with his, along with the stimulation from the chakra of the Sage of Six Paths' two sons. Normally, Hashirama Senju and Senju Tobirama wouldn't provide him with even the slightest bit of chakra. They could only help him with their experience.

That state was extremely difficult to achieve, and the power was unstable. Li Ke saw no need to let others measure him against a false standard.

Besides, Konoha really wasn't in a position to make excessive demands right now.

To put it simply, this was just a show of force—to intimidate Kirigakure and certain people in Konoha.

He didn't want to see Danzo make a move against him!

A toad couldn't kill you with a bite, but it sure could disgust you!

Minato Namikaze thought it over, then sighed. He could have refused to help Li Ke, but no matter what his reasons were, he had to respect Li Ke's wishes. So he nodded.

"I understand... I can help you, but Qingtan, how far do you intend to take this?"

Li Ke smiled faintly.

"Of course I won't question the Hokage's decision. I just need to make sure the Mizukage, Kirigakure, and the other shinobi know that Kirigakure was the defeated party, and make Konoha's shinobi more aware that they were the victors."

Minato Namikaze was somewhat skeptical, but after thinking it over, he decided that, judging by Li Ke's past behavior, there was no reason for him to lie.

He considered it for a moment before speaking.

"That's all?"

"That's all."

It was just that the scale and commotion might be a little... substantial.

After all, what was a treaty without the power to enforce it but a piece of scrap paper?

After considering it, Minato Namikaze nodded.

"I'll help, but only on the condition that you don't let things get out of hand, Qingtan. If you go too far, there'll be no way to clean up the mess, and I'll be saddled with a reputation for leaking information."

He was practically staking his own reputation on Li Ke honoring their agreement.

He had a simple reason for doing this. In the entire Ninja World, he was the only one who even suspected that one of the participants in the War of Gods and Immortals—the battle whose events had left so many people utterly baffled—might have been Li Ke!

The only reason he wasn't certain was that the chakra he had sensed that day had been very different from Li Ke's current chakra, and its scale hadn't matched either. Otherwise, he would have been completely sure.

Because—

During that battle, he had sensed the Flying Thunder God Mark Li Ke had used before.

The only problem was that he'd been too far away, and he hadn't had enough chakra to send a Shadow Clone over to investigate.

"Then thanks for the help, Minato."

Li Ke patted Minato's shoulder and flashed him a hearty smile. For some reason, though, he felt as if he'd seen this scene before—the part where he pressured Minato Namikaze.

By sheer coincidence, in Konoha—

"Monkey! What the hell are you thinking?!"

Shimura Danzō glared at Hiruzen Sarutobi and roared furiously.

"You're giving Kirigakure a chance to catch its breath! We should be demanding massive reparations right now, and taking over their mission share! What do you mean, handing them some of ours? Don't forget that the Uchiha Clan sent troops this time too. We'll have to increase their funding afterward. Are you trying to bankrupt Konoha?"

After a pause, Danzo continued.

"Besides, Root suffered heavy losses and needs more people. Hiruzen, I need to recruit more people, including members of the Ninja Clans. Otherwise, I can't guarantee the quality of our intelligence work."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his old friend, his brow twitching with frustration.

He admitted that part of what Shimura Danzō said was right. He wanted the same things, but quite a few of the village's minor Ninja Clans had been all but wiped out.

Take the Kurama Clan, for instance. It was down to one or two people, and even then, it was still one of the more prominent clans.

The Murata Clan had stood out most in this battle. If Murata Qingtan, Konoha's future, hadn't risen so suddenly, the Murata Clan would have been practically wiped off the map too.

He could keep fighting, but what about the minor Ninja Clans? What about the Daimyo's attitude? What about the situation after the war?

If they kept fighting, too many minor Ninja Clans would lose their legacies. That went against Konoha's current strategy of winning over the small and medium-sized clans, keeping the major clans in check, and giving civilian shinobi a chance to rise.

In fact, even the Ino-Shika-Cho clans had lost more than half their members, and the Sarutobi Clan had suffered heavy casualties as well.

One of the Ninja Clans serving as a secretary at his side—a minor clan of just over a dozen people—had lost five family members. And that was already considered a relatively light loss. There were also clans of dozens who'd been reduced to just five or six people.

Even the Murata Clan had been lucky. Some clans had truly been wiped out!

How could they keep fighting?

And now, in the middle of all this, his old friend was asking him for members of the Ninja Clans and for Root operatives.

Where was he supposed to get them?

"No, Danzo... You're going too far. You know the state the village is in. We're already short on strength. We can't keep taking a hard line with Kirigakure... I know what you're thinking, but even though we've regained the power of Wood Release, Murata Qingtan isn't even twelve yet. Even our teacher and the First couldn't turn the tide of a battle single-handedly at that age. What we need to do now is get through the war safely and give Konoha's future a stable environment to grow up in."

At that, Hiruzen Sarutobi lit his pipe.

"As for giving you more people, Danzo, that's impossible right now. Our top priority is maintaining the front line and restoring peace as soon as possible—not starting another war!"

If he gave his old friend enough shinobi, Danzo would march all the way to Kumogakure without giving the village or its supply lines a second thought!

So there was no way he could let Danzo take whoever he wanted!

"Then give me Murata Qingtan! Root can help him grow stronger faster!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, then looked at his friend sternly.

"Over my dead body, Danzo! He and Minato are both Konoha's future. They need to grow up in the sunlight!"

Danzo immediately understood what he meant. He glared furiously at his old friend, realizing that Hiruzen was determined to put Minato Namikaze in power. The anger of betrayal was too much for him to bear, and he roared,

"Hiruzen Sarutobi! You'll regret this!"

"Shimura Danzō! I'm the Hokage!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't hold back either. He fired back at once, his answer firm and resolute. Danzo was left reeling. He took several deep breaths, wanting to say something, yet unable to get the words out. He understood that a thick barrier called the Hokage now stood between him and Hiruzen.

The friends who had once sat beneath the moon, talking at length about their ideals, could no longer pursue those ideals together.

So he fell silent, no longer showing his anger. Yet he stormed out of the Hokage's office, furious, and slammed the door shut—

Bang!