Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 153 The Fourth Shinobi World War is Inevitable (Updated, 3/3)

After talking about the Fourth Mizukage, Orochimaru continued to talk about the Master.

"Yuan Shi has grown older. He has gathered a small group of Kirigakure ninja and is doing his best to protect the young Kirigakure ninja from harm."

"But he currently has no intention of protecting any bloodline limits, and seems to want to avoid a direct conflict with the Fourth Mizukage."

Xia Zuo sneered, "As expected, ninjas get stupid as they get older!"

"The Fourth Mizukage's actions are clearly problematic; he's actually thinking of backing down and compromising—utterly foolish!"

"However, this is Kirigakure's own business. No matter how many ninja they lose or how heavy their losses are, it has nothing to do with us."

Xia Zuo suddenly paused for a moment: "It can't be said that it's completely unrelated. I remember that Kirigakure also stole a Byakugan from the Hyuga clan."

Nara Shikaku replied, "Yes, Fifth Hokage, that eyeball was implanted in the eye of a Kirigakure ninja named Ao."

Xia Zuo snorted coldly: "I remember this Hidden Mist ninja; he seems to be called the Byakugan Killer—what an unpleasant title."

He looked up at Hiashi Hyuga and said, "Clan Chief Hyuga, next time I go to Kirigakure, come with me and ask for this Byakugan back."

Hiashi Hyuga stood up excitedly and shouted, "Yes! Fifth Hokage!"

Xia Zuo asked him to sit down, and then looked around the Hokage's office at the three legendary Konoha ninja, the 15 members of the Jonin Council, and Uchiha Shisui, for a total of 19 Konoha Jonin.

This is the entire leadership of Konoha Village. Once you've communicated with them, the results can be disseminated throughout the entire village in the shortest possible time.

Xia Zuo cleared his throat and said, "The situation is basically clear."

"The Hidden Mist Village is in chaos, the Fourth Mizukage is behaving strangely, and infighting continues, but the foundation of the great ninja village is still intact, and it still has the strength to fight."

"Sunagakure's financial situation is getting worse and worse. The Fourth Kazekage is clueless and can't even manage the Jinchūriki. But the situation is still much better than Kirigakure's."

"Iwagakure is old-fashioned and deeply entrenched in its ways. The Third Tsuchikage has no successor, but Iwagakure ninjas are numerous, meticulous, and tenacious. They are still a formidable enemy we are familiar with."

"We interrupted the momentum of the Hidden Cloud Village's vigorous development, but the Fourth Raikage is still ambitious and the Hidden Cloud ninja are still full of energy and are eyeing us covetously."

"Finally, there's the Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village), or more specifically, the Akatsuki organization. They have seven Kage-level ninjas, and their leader, Nagato, is equivalent to six Kage-level ninjas."

"The Akatsuki is currently our strongest enemy in Konoha, and they pose an extremely great threat."

Nara Shikaku was extremely surprised: "I never imagined that such a secret organization at the bottom of the ninja world could grow to this extent."

"However, this method of absorbing rogue ninjas from other ninja villages to strengthen itself is very risky. We can spread their information, which may cause other ninja villages to attack Akatsuki."

After Nara Shikaku made his suggestion, everyone's eyes turned to Yamanaka Inoichi.

He was better at winning people's hearts than Nara Shikaku.

Yamanaka Inoichi thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, that won't happen."

"Since the Fifth Hokage took office, Konoha Village has reversed its decline, and everything is developing in a positive direction. The Konoha ninjas have also regained their pride and confidence."

"But in the eyes of other ninja villages, Konoha Village, this big guy, has transformed from a soft and flabby creature into a muscular and bulging one."

"Moreover, our strength is growing rapidly. Whether it's a major ninja village or a minor ninja village, their attention will only be focused on us. They won't take Amegakure seriously, let alone consider the threat from Akatsuki."

Xia Zuo said, "The Jonin Yamanaka is right."

"Before being thoroughly beaten by the Akatsuki, no one would have thought that the Land of Rain, sandwiched between three great nations, and an obscure secret organization could pose a greater threat than our Hidden Leaf Village."

He asked with a chuckle, "Putting aside others, before this battle with Amegakure, if I had said that Amegakure of the Land of Rain was Konoha's strongest enemy, would any of you have believed me?"

The Konoha Jonin were taken aback, then fell silent in thought, before revealing awkward smiles.

Yes, without the adventures of Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, and Shisui Uchiha, and without the Fifth Hokage's village-annihilation ninjutsu being stopped by the Akatsuki, they wouldn't have believed it either.

That's absolutely absurd.

Xia Zuo chuckled a few times and said with ill intent, "First, send a message to the Tsuchikage, Raikage, Kazekage, and Mizukage. It doesn't need to be too detailed; just let them know that the Akatsuki exists."

"Yes, we should inform Master Yuan of Kirigakure in case something happens to the Fourth Mizukage."

Jiraiya scoffed and said, "I reckon they won't take it seriously, secretly laughing at Konoha for making a fuss, or even laughing at them to their faces."

Nara Shikaku understood what Natsume meant and couldn't help but laugh, "Hokage-sama's idea is good. We've already informed them of the information; if they don't take it seriously, that's their own business."

"Hahaha, they can't blame us when they get a good beating from the Akatsuki."

The Konoha ninjas burst into laughter, filling the Hokage's office with a joyful atmosphere.

What kind of shared hatred and hatred? That doesn't exist!

When faced with a powerful enemy, being forced to band together is a choice that the weak have no choice but to make. But Konoha Village is no longer a weak village.

Nagato, the leader of the Akatsuki organization and the mastermind behind Pain, was indeed very strong, stronger than any ninja could be, just like the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, who was invincible in the ninja world.

But the Fifth Hokage of Konoha is even stronger; he was able to completely suppress Pain in battle.

The Fifth Hokage, Natsume, chose to back down simply because his weaknesses were too obvious, and he was unwilling to bear the corresponding losses.

What makes the Konoha Jonin feel embarrassed is that the Fifth Hokage's weakness is actually themselves.

So embarrassing.

Fortunately, the Hokage also discovered and exploited Nagato's weakness.

Konoha Village versus Amegakure Village, Hokage versus Pain—both sides tacitly achieved a balance of deterrence.

Since the Fifth Hokage has brought Konoha to the shore, why can't he watch those who are drowning without realizing it make a fool of themselves?

At this time, all 20 Konoha ninjas in the Hokage's office, except for the Fifth Hokage, had experienced the baptism of war, and none of them were saints.

So they laughed wildly, venting their excitement and mocking the foolishness of their former enemies.

Amid laughter, the Fifth Hokage proposed that the 15 members of the council of ministers and Jonin vote, and the Fifth Hokage's plan for the future strategy of Konoha Village was unanimously approved.

The timeframe is two years.

Within two years, taking advantage of the peace period secured by the Fifth Hokage, the main focus of work will be on resolving internal problems within Konoha Village.

At the same time, they closely monitored the development of the situation in the ninja world and secretly prepared for Konoha Village to turn to war.

Two years later, Konoha Village fully turned to war preparations in preparation for the impending Fourth Shinobi World War!

The Konoha Jonin accepted Xia Zuo's assessment: war was inevitable!

The period of peace has lasted for 10 years. No matter how many times we have been on the verge of war, war has never broken out.

Apart from Kirigakure, all the other ninja villages have accumulated considerable strength and are showing signs of being ready to make a move.

The Fourth Raikage led the Hidden Cloud Village ninja to invade the Land of Fire, which was the Hidden Cloud Village's impulsive act of being the first to test the waters of war.

Fortunately, Xia Zuo led Uchiha Shisui into battle and defeated the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee, as well as nearly 10,000 ninja soldiers from Kumogakure.

Although fewer than 1000 Cloud Village ninjas died, Xia Zuo's powerful performance was like a wake-up call, forcefully interrupting the outbreak of war.

With Xia Zuo becoming the Fifth Hokage, all four major ninja villages felt immense pressure and restrained their war impulses.

At least for the next two years, war will not break out between the major powers and the great ninja villages; the pressure will be released through the smaller countries in the buffer zone.

The Fifth Hokage's strength can guarantee peace for the next two years, and promote the rapid recovery and growth of Konoha Village's strength.

The stronger Konoha becomes, the greater the pressure its massive size exerts on other ninja villages.

Two years later, the small countries in the buffer zone will all be plunged into war, and there will be no more room for maneuver among the five major powers.

Whether it's the Fourth Kazekage who hasn't experienced the pain firsthand, or Onoki who's driven mad by the succession issue, or even the Fourth Raikage who has tasted some bitterness, they will all be forced to consider war.

If we prepare with all our might for another two or three years, the Fourth Shinobi World War will begin.

The only uncertainty is who will fight whom in this war.

Perhaps, the four great ninja villages joined forces, emulating the strategy used during the Second Shinobi World War, to launch a full-scale siege against Konoha.

Perhaps it was the Akatsuki organization from Amegakure that couldn't hold back any longer and launched an attack on the entire ninja world, igniting the Fourth Shinobi World War by relying on Nagato's immense strength.

Perhaps, the four great ninja villages have declined, and Nagato of the Akatsuki organization has also died unexpectedly.

The Fifth Hokage, Natsume, said that he would lead Konoha to launch a war, swallowing up the four major ninja villages and all the smaller ones one by one, and unifying the ninja world in ten years.

After all, once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.

As the situation in the ninja world has developed to this point, Xia Zuo has no way to prevent the war five years from now. Even if the Sage of Six Paths descends to earth and manifests his power, he cannot stop the outbreak of war.

Xia Zuo even believed that if the Sage of Six Paths insisted on stopping the wheel of war, he would become the public enemy of the ninja world and personally start the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Of course, the Sage of Six Paths was ultimately too powerful, and in the end, it was likely the entire ninja world that would be crushed by the wheels of war.

In just 12 days, the Fifth Hokage, Natsume, demonstrated future development trends to the Konoha Jonin and pointed out the path forward for the village.

Although war was just ahead, none of the Konoha Jonin were worried. They felt they had clear vision and were full of confidence in the future.

After the vote was completed, the laughter of the Konoha Jonin grew even louder and lasted for a very long time.

After the laughter subsided, the most gentle-natured of them all sighed, "Alas, what a pity. The Akatsuki could have been an ally of Konoha."

Upon hearing Choza's words, Jiraiya visibly slumped down, his dejection and sadness impossible to conceal.

Not only Jiraiya, but also Tsunade, Orochimaru, Natsume, Uchiha Shisui, Nara Shikaku, and others showed expressions of pain.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan were all disciples trained by Jiraiya. Apart from Nagato's unparalleled strength, even Yahiko and Konan became Kage-level ninjas before the age of 20.

Even without interference, the development of the first Akatsuki organization would inevitably arouse Hanzo's suspicion, which would then trigger Amegakure's encirclement and suppression of the Akatsuki organization.

With no other options, their remaining forces would naturally establish a strong connection with Konoha Village through Jiraiya, and with the help of Konoha Village, launch a counterattack against the Land of Rain.

Just like now, Nagato will kill Hanzo, and the Akatsuki will take control of Amegakure.

This means that Konoha Village indirectly controls Amegakure Village and has taken control of the strategically important Land of Rain.

As a result, this promising future was ruined by Danzo Shimura's messy actions, and what was originally a powerful natural ally turned into an enemy, becoming Konoha's most formidable foe.

At this moment, the Konoha Jonin all thought of one thing: what would Konoha be like if the Third Hokage were still in power instead of the Fifth Hokage?

The Konoha ninjas were unaware of the Akatsuki's existence, let alone their terrifying nature, and continued to decline along the path of decadence under the rule of the Third Hokage.

When the Akatsuki organization begins its operation, the scene of being attacked by them without any psychological or physical preparation is unimaginable.

Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, and Shisui Uchiha, who had personally experienced Pain's Deva Path [Super Shinra Tensei], couldn't help but feel fear.

That terrifying repulsive shockwave, if it hadn't been blocked by the Wood Release forest mixed with Magnet Release, would have definitely swept across the entire valley.

If Pain Tendo had done that in Konoha, more than half of the village would have been destroyed, and the death toll might have exceeded 20.

Fortunately, there was the Fifth Hokage. Fortunately, he kicked the Third Hokage away and then shouldered the burden of Konoha Village himself.

At this point, no one missed the Third Hokage anymore.

Even Aono Muneki, a Jonin promoted by Hiruzen Sarutobi, had his memories of the Third Hokage fade away.

I didn't realize it when I had only seen the Third Hokage, but it was only after the Fifth Hokage demonstrated his extraordinary strength, political wisdom, insight into the situation in the ninja world, and foresight into the future.

Only a complete idiot would think the Third Hokage was better.

Once everyone's laughter had stopped and he realized that their trust in him had increased, Xia Zuo nodded to himself in satisfaction.

He waved his hand and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, things will be very stable in the next few months, and all work can proceed step by step."

"I'm all done here, everyone go back to what you're doing."

The Konoha Jonin all stood up, including Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, and all bowed their heads in unison.

They shouted loudly, "Yes! Fifth Hokage!"

The Konoha Jonin filed out, with only Uchiha Shisui and the Fifth Hokage exchanging words in hushed tones.

Now everyone understands that the Fifth Hokage, who is suspected to be from the Senju clan, has a close relationship with the severely damaged Uchiha clan.

But no one questions this.

Because what Xia Zuo gave to the Uchiha was only a mission and responsibility, not privileges like those of the Root.

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