I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 367 and 368: Return to the Moon

Manhattan National Park, New York.

Since its inception, Manhattan National Park has been a venue for gatherings and events of all sizes.

Today's gathering was no ordinary one; elite Secret Service agents in black suits were scattered throughout, and the park's perimeter was cordoned off by a large police force.

"We live in a great era of rapid change, and we are all fortunate to be witnesses to history and myths!"

On the podium, the president, with his distinctive blond hair resembling ears of corn, spoke eloquently to a group of heads of state and journalists from all over the world.

Although he is nearly eighty years old, the president does not show the decline of old age, but rather is full of passion and vitality.

This stands in stark contrast to his predecessor, who was like a piece of rotten wood.

Despite being accused of various fabricated crimes in 1150 million pages of documents, he made a lightning-fast comeback and reclaimed the presidency.

"Six hundred years ago, our ancestors, in pursuit of freedom, ushered in the Age of Exploration, laying the foundation for our current world domination; sixty years ago, our brave and fearless astronauts left their footprints on the moon, achieving a major breakthrough in human civilization."

The president pointed a finger straight to the sky, making his signature gesture, his blond hair standing on end exaggeratedly, and declared with an air of authority:

"The exploration of the extraordinary world is no less significant than the Age of Exploration's discovery of the New World or the advance into space in the last century! And now, it is our turn to inherit the glory of our ancestors and continue to lead the direction of human civilization in this extraordinary era!"

Although many leaders in the audience inwardly disdained the current president, they had to admit that his speech was quite inspiring and resonated with them.

After the third crimson moon descended, yokai were no longer exclusive to Japan and gradually spread to the rest of the world.

2025 marks the fourth year since the beginning of the extraordinary era. With the Akatsuki organization not descending to Earth and gods and Buddhas unable to set foot in the mortal world, monsters and other strange creatures are nothing more than a minor ailment to the modern state apparatus.

Under the relentless and ruthless pursuit and capture by various countries, monsters are killed or captured as soon as they show their tracks.

On the international black market, a live specimen of a monster can often fetch tens of millions of dollars at auction.

There are even mercenary teams that have stopped fighting altogether and are now dedicated to this lucrative job.

Although major countries around the world have several monsters hidden in their laboratories to act as guinea pigs, they have made no progress in analyzing the extraordinary.

This is not surprising.

Japan and the United States, two countries with leading economic and scientific research capabilities and a first-mover advantage, spent fifteen years researching various types of A and B after the 19th year of the Heisei era, but encountered setbacks everywhere and achieved almost nothing.

Currently, all countries are focusing their explorations on extraordinary beings and the secret realms that will emerge after the extraordinary era.

After entering 2025, the situation suddenly calmed down, and for ordinary people, the superhumans and the secret realms were just topics of conversation.

But for world leaders who know more about the inside story, it is nothing short of alarming.

The Grell Stone, unearthed from the veins beneath ancient civilization sites, contains an energy exceeding 20,000 kilowatts of electricity even in a small piece the size of an egg.

Chakra metal that is almost superconducting at room temperature.

Rare birds and beasts, exotic flowers and herbs can be found in secret realms such as Seven Grass Island and Death Forest.

The various specialties from the Naruto world caused a huge uproar on Earth.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that if these resources were put into the market, countless industries on Earth, such as energy, healthcare, and military, would experience a major upheaval.

The extraordinary blue ocean has captivated countless countries and conglomerates.

If one could monopolize the extraordinary resources produced in these secret realm dungeons, both national strength and family power would reach new heights.

Unfortunately, the entrance to the secret realm appears and disappears in an instant, and is not stable.

In many cases, once the lucky ones who stumbled in by chance came out, they never appeared again.

Even if there are a few fixed secret realms, they only accept extraordinary individuals, and there is no possibility of large-scale mining.

The world can only reminisce about the glory and wonder of this extraordinary civilization through the accounts and photographs of the lucky survivors, as well as the extraordinary items they brought with them.

"Come, come, Minister Uchiha. To commemorate the successful conclusion of the meeting, please demonstrate your extraordinary power."

A row of pits had been dug in advance in Manhattan National Park, and the heads of state attending the meeting, led by the President, filled the pits with oak saplings that were no more than a person tall.

Uchiha Senmon remained calm and stepped forward a few paces in front of countless reporters' cameras.

"Wood Release!"

Uchiha Senmon clasped his hands together and slammed them onto the ground.

The row of newly planted oak saplings grew rapidly, branching out and becoming towering trees, eventually forming a large forest.

"Wow wow wow!"

"That's amazing!"

"Department Head Uchiha, look over here, look over here!"

The reporters were shouting and marveling, their cameras never stopping.

He especially took photos of the Uchiha Sage Gate relentlessly.

The heads of state attending the meeting were all old guys; the audience was already sick of seeing the same old faces.

As the number one superhuman, Minister Uchiha was not only powerful but also young and handsome, a breath of fresh air. Even three years later, he was still the focus of media attention.

Other heads of state couldn't help but cast envious glances at the Japanese prime minister.

Currently, 90% of the world's extraordinary beings and secret realms are located in Japan, a small island nation.

It's almost unbelievable that Japan is the chosen nation of this extraordinary era.

The Japanese prime minister was beaming with pride.

At this international summit dominated by predominantly white nations, Japan, an Asian country, truly stole the show.

If it weren't for the President-elect, who acts as a figurehead, keeping the Japanese Prime Minister in check, he might be swaggering around.

After the advent of the extraordinary era, other countries followed suit and established similar agencies to deal with supernatural crises, but without any extraordinary individuals under their command, they naturally felt uncertain.

When encountering a "superpower" like Japan, it is only natural to feel inferior.

However, this does not include the United States.

Because what belongs to the son belongs to the father, this applies to Japan and the United States, there is no difference.

With loving fathers and filial sons, the two countries are as close as one family!

"Hahahaha! May the fate of our free nations be as evergreen as these oak trees."

Next, it was time to take a group photo after the meeting concluded.

Standing beneath the newly formed oak forest, the triumphant leader took the center position without hesitation, and even affectionately pulled Uchiha Senmon to his side.

Even the Japanese Prime Minister did not enjoy such preferential treatment and could only stand aside, looking like a stunted little dwarf next to a group of tall white people.

After the group photo was over, the Grand Commander still clung to Uchiha Senmon, enthusiastically taking out his phone to take selfies.

It's estimated that it won't be long before a photo of the Grand Commander and the Uchiha Sage appears on Twitter.

Uchiha Senmon smiled slightly, but there was a hint of helplessness in the depths of his eyes.

Even when you're just going through the motions with other powerful and influential people, it's not this tiring.

When the Uchiha Senmon and the Japanese Prime Minister came to New York for a summit on dealing with supernatural crises, wildfires in the United States continued to rage for several months.

During their first meeting, this leader had the audacious idea of ​​asking the Uchiha Sage if he could use his superpowers to plant trees and restore the burned forest.

The American interpreter at the scene blushed with embarrassment.

Uchiha Senmon was speechless.

The area of ​​forest burned white by the wildfire is over a thousand square kilometers. Unless Konohana Yagi descends to earth, who could use Wood Release to green such a large area?

Fortunately, the US side also realized that this idea was unreasonable, and the president did not say such unreliable things again.

Having finally broken free from the entanglements with the President and other heads of state, the Uchiha Senmon were utterly exhausted.

Today is also my last day in the United States; I'll be able to go home soon.

-

As night fell, a private jet smoothly glided through the clouds.

"Sir, here's some ice water for you."

A young flight attendant respectfully handed a glass of ice water to the Uchiha Sage.

"Thank you," Uchiha Senmon replied calmly, taking the cup.

Seeing that Uchiha Senmon remained expressionless and showed no further intention to give instructions, the flight attendant wisely withdrew.

"The flight from New York to Tokyo takes twelve hours, so Minister Uchiha can take advantage of that time to rest on the plane."

Sitting next to the Uchiha Senmon, Ichimaru's assistant, with his squinty eyes like a fox, spoke.

"I see."

Uchiha Senmon picked up his cup, took a sip of ice water, and appeared deep in thought.

Seeing Uchiha Senmon's serious expression, Assistant Ichimaru rolled his eyes and shut his mouth.

According to Uchiha Senmon's own observations, this international summit, ostensibly aimed at addressing the supernatural crisis, did involve strengthening military capabilities, exchanging intelligence on the supernatural, and conducting scientific research cooperation. However, it was mostly the United States and Japan boasting about their strength in the supernatural field to their allies, who had almost no supernatural abilities.

The Uchiha Senmon, the head of the supernatural police department, the leader of the "Twelve Divine Generals," and nominally the number one superhuman on Earth, is equivalent to a nuclear weapon-level ultimate weapon.

When the Uchiha Sage used the Descent into a World of Trees technique in the Mojave Desert of California, creating a vast forest in the barren land of yellow sand, the heads of state were deeply shocked by the Uchiha Sage's extraordinary power, which they called earth-shattering.

So, naturally, heads of state from various countries agreed to their countries’ supernatural affairs and were willing to accept guidance and assistance from Japan’s Supernatural Police Department.

The United States and Japan used the Uchiha Sage Clan as a tool to pressure their allies, but wasn't the Uchiha Sage Clan also harboring ulterior motives?

The Uchiha Sage Sect had several trump cards up their sleeves, and had never shown their full strength from beginning to end.

In addition to attending this international summit, Uchiha Senmon has also been invited to visit military bases in the United States and give speeches at Ivy League universities such as Harvard and MIT over the past month, drawing huge crowds wherever he goes.

At the request of the Uchiha Sagemon, he also visited the renowned NASA.

When visiting NASA and inquiring about their lack of plans for a manned lunar landing in recent years, Uchiha Senmon appeared disappointed.

After the Asakusa Incident, before Taizan Fujun returned to the underworld, he pointed to the moon and gave a hint. Through the words of the toad sage Jiraiya, it was confirmed that the origin of the Age of Gods' revival was on the moon.

After that, countries around the world turned their attention to celestial bodies 380,000 kilometers away.

Countries around the world are launching probes toward the moon.

Even India's probe successfully soft-landed on the surface of the moon's south pole, making it the fourth country to land on the moon.

Britain, France, Japan, and other countries followed suit, creating an unprecedented spectacle.

But that's all; lunar probes and satellites from around the world have not found any trace of anything on the moon.

The Uchiha Sage Sect has also been paying close attention to this development.

After launching probes and satellites to search for the moon without success, some people suggested restarting the manned lunar landing program.

NASA stated that what lunar astronauts can do, exploration robots can also do, so there is no need to spend huge sums of money on manned spaceflight.

Indeed, this is precisely why the Apollo manned lunar landing had even greater significance in terms of publicity.

Moreover, NASA will likely be powerless to restart manned lunar missions 60 years from now.

Humanity's return to the moon seems a long way off.

Uchiha Senmon couldn't help but sigh.

I don't know whether to call it short-sighted or down-to-earth.

"Ichimaru, what are your work arrangements after arriving in Japan?"

Uchiha Senmon rubbed his temples and asked Ichimaru's assistant:

"Avoid unnecessary social engagements and unimportant meetings. You know, I received my great-uncle's obituary during the day, and I have to rush to Shizuoka Prefecture for the funeral."

"Yes, Minister Uchiha, there is only one important matter."

Assistant Ichimaru took out a small notebook and quickly flipped through it.

"Mr. Higashiyama was severely injured by Yamashita Tetsu in the Forest of Death and has been unconscious ever since. The doctors are helpless. We can only ask Minister Uchiha for help."

The Wood Release chakra of the Uchiha Sage Mode is full of vitality. The No-Seal Healing technique can not only heal the user but also accelerate the recovery of others' injuries.

"Well, is there anything else?"

"That's all, Uchiha Department Head."

Uchiha Senmon nodded slightly, then stood up and walked towards the airplane's restroom.

First, he scooped up some water to wash his face, and after feeling refreshed, Uchiha Senmon stared blankly at the mirror, lost in thought.

Uchiha Senmon's eyes suddenly turned blood red, and several black tomoe appeared.

It wasn't the original two-tomoe Sharingan; it was actually a three-tomoe Sharingan!

"I never expected that the biggest gain from my trip to the United States would be these Sharingan eyes with three tomoe."

Uchiha Senmon looked at himself in the mirror, his expression complex, and muttered to himself, "With eyes like these, I should be able to see through the fog that I couldn't see before."

"Whether it's a demon lurking within the Japanese cabinet, yet impossible to find a single clue about..."

"Or perhaps, the Naga Shrine, which I've searched for everywhere but haven't found..."

(End of this chapter)