The "Strongest" Hokage

War always accompanies destruction and rebirth.

For Konoha, the Third Shinobi World War that had just ended brought far too much pain.

Hardly had the Shinobi World War ended when the Nine-Tails Uprising erupted in Konoha.

Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, died a tragic death.

In this very year, Madara Uchiha died of old age, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were born, and Konoha, its wounds yet unhealed, launched into war with Cloud Village once again.

The destiny of shinobi seemed to be just that—merely a double-edged sword in struggles for power and profit, hurting others while hurting oneself...

The Hokage Building.

Inside the office of the Third Hokage.

Various documents and a massive crystal ball rested on the expansive desk.

A man of around fifty years of age was puffing away on a pipe while reading through documents.

The red-and-white haori and the conical hat bearing the kanji for "Fire" both proved that this person was the Kage of Konoha Shinobi Village.

He was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the far-famed "Shinobi Hero".

Yet now he showed unmistakable signs of old age; though barely in his fifties, his hair was already graying, and senile age spots had appeared on his face.

The path of a shinobi was a short-lived profession. The price paid for squeezing chakra from one's cellular cells and accelerating metabolism was youth and lifespan.

In such turbulent times, everyone's life hung by a thread, and only by possessing absolute power could one take charge of one's own destiny.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi held a different understanding of the word "power".

Back when he was still young, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of Konoha, passed away, and all the major shinobi villages transitioned into the era of the Second's administration.

Even the God of Shinobi had to bow to time.

From his master Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi heard tales of Hashirama Senju's strength on more than one occasion.

Yet in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, Hashirama Senju had been far too naive.

"Peace."

How could it possibly be that simple?

No, peace was an absolute impossibility!

Even if achieved, it would be nothing more than a temporary compromise, and beneath the facade of harmony inevitably lurked undercurrents where desires and hatred intertwined!

Interests and power were the eternal main themes.

In the present Konoha, on the surface it was a place where he alone called the shots, but in reality it was a commonwealth of various shinobi clans and factions.

As the Kage, as the inheritor of the Will of Fire, he had to lead Konoha toward strength.

Born under the afterglow of the First, he grew up under the shelter of the Second.

Wars between nations, open strife and veiled struggles between shinobi clans.

The birth of his son, the disputes with his close friend, the death of the Fourth, the distant and disappointed gaze of his disciple.

Time and again, these made him doubt himself: was he truly walking on the correct path?

Following the death of the White Fang, the dissolution of the Senju, and the passing of the Fourth and his wife, Hiruzen Sarutobi had compromised far too many times regarding the handling of their orphaned survivor, Naruto Uzumaki.

Whenever he recalled his own cowardice when facing the Nine-Tails and Minato Namikaze chose the Reaper Death Seal, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help but reproach himself.

If he had been the one to choose to seal the Nine-Tails back then, would the current Fourth have made Konoha even better?

With the Yellow Flash around, Kumogakure certainly wouldn't have kept harassing the borders of the Land of Fire the way they did now, right?

Yet at the thought of the power in his hands, and the Sarutobi Clan.

The Third's remorse vanished in an instant.

Everything was for Konoha...

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared to continue processing documents, a sharp pain suddenly wracked his chest.

Breathing became difficult, his entire body lacked an ounce of strength, and not a single shred of chakra could be mobilized.

Just like that, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha, slumped over his desk and died suddenly.

Perhaps it was due to days of relentless work and overwhelming pressure, or perhaps it was because an hour ago he had used the crystal ball to peep on the women's bathhouse, getting his blood boiling. It was precisely because of this crystal-ball spying that he had dismissed the on-duty ANBU guards.

Not a soul discovered that the Shinobi Hero had passed away.

Yet merely three heartbeats after Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart stopped beating, it began to beat powerfully once more.

Taking a deep breath, Hiruzen Sarutobi sat up again.

Only, the original Hiruzen Sarutobi's soul had long since scattered into nothingness, leaving him not even the chance to journey to the Underworld. The soul residing within this shell now belonged to someone else entirely!

Sun Xiaolong sat up in a daze, his mind flooded with numerous memories that did not belong to him.

Konoha, shinobi, war...

Had he time-traveled?

This was the Naruto World, and he had actually crossed over to become Hiruzen Sarutobi?

Sun Xiaolong found it a bit hard to believe. How was it that with just a blink of an eye, he had arrived in the Shinobi World and even become Hiruzen Sarutobi?

However, he immediately calmed down. In his previous life, he was no ordinary person, but a cultivation practitioner!

Unfortunately, the Blue Star where he resided was already in the Age of Dharma Ending, with spiritual Qi nearly exhausted, and the cultivation world's heritage had almost been cut off.

Sun Xiaolong was an orphan who had lived in a Daoist temple since childhood. From a cave in the back mountain, he had found an ancient book that not only contained a complete cultivation technique, the Yin-Yang Body Refinement Formula, but also secret arts such as alchemy and talisman-making.

Yet, despite bitter cultivation for a lifetime, he still stopped short at Perfected Qi Refinement and was completely unable to reach Foundation Establishment.

Before passing away, he finally came to a sudden realization that the path of immortality on the Blue Star had been severed, and the Qi Refinement Stage was already the limit.

Now that there was actually a chance to live another life, Sun Xiaolong was extremely excited.

Sorting through the memories in his mind, Sun Xiaolong felt a bit worried. This was currently a period of chaos, and coupled with his transmigration, he could be said to know nothing at all about ninjutsu. Even with Hiruzen Sarutobi's memories, there was no way to achieve complete mastery in a short time.

Almost instinctively, Sun Xiaolong sensed the surrounding spiritual Qi, and his heart immediately hammered wildly.

The spiritual Qi in this Naruto World was actually frighteningly dense!

The spiritual Qi and the powers of the five elements in the air were extremely active. No wonder ninjas could breathe fire and spit water just by forming a few hand seals.

This discovery excited Sun Xiaolong even more than being reborn into the world.

After perceiving the condition of this body, Sun Xiaolong's wildly joyful heart immediately calmed down.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's body was not going too far to be described as riddled with scars.

There were chronic injuries left behind by wars, and premature aging caused by extracting massive amounts of chakra. Although his age was only in the early fifties, his internal organs were like those of a sixty- or seventy-year-old elderly person.

The ecstasy of discovering spiritual Qi was diluted; even a clever housewife could not cook a meal without rice.

Even with abundant spiritual Qi, the body was the foundation. Cultivating immortals required cultivating oneself first; refining the spirit required refining the body first.

This so-called chakra was the product of the combination of human physical energy and spiritual energy.

However, the people of this world did not possess so-called "chakra" innately; rather, it was because of the arrival of the Otsutsuki Clan, when Kaguya Otsutsuki stole the fruit of the Divine Tree, gained the power of chakra, and then distributed this power to her two sons: Hamura and Hagoromo.

And Hagoromo was the Sage of Six Paths, who gave chakra to more people.

Yet, in Sun Xiaolong's view, this chakra was not a blessing, but instead felt more like a "Gu poison"!

Those who cultivated chakra were all nourishment!

Chakra not only consumed the practitioner's flesh and spirit, but also continuously absorbed the surrounding natural energy.

Chakra differed from the path he walked; he cultivated immortality, seeking longevity and freedom!