Transmigrating as the Third Hokage: Make Konoha Great Again!

During the alliance ceremony, they launched a surprise attack on the Second Raikage and Tobirama Senju using the Six Paths Treasures, resulting in serious injuries to both 'Kage'.

Upon hearing his father's words, the fourth-generation Ai looked solemn.

Is Tobirama Senju a man who can gain his father's approval?

"Although I admire the Second Raikage's compassion and magnanimity..."

"But there were no outsiders here. To be honest, I didn't approve of forming an alliance with Tobirama Senju at the time."

"Give him time to develop ninjutsu, and who knows what he might come up with... In any case, Kinkaku and Ginkaku are definitely rogue ninjas that Kumogakure will never forgive, because they hurt the Second Raikage."

“But killing Tobirama Senju might not necessarily be a bad thing for Kumogakure,” the Third Raikage said.

The fourth-generation Ai was stunned.

Is this really the kind of evaluation?

"The Shadow Clone Technique and the Dark Guard system, which are used in every village, were created by him."

"Leaving aside Water Release, the Flying Thunder God Technique, which allows for large-scale teleportation using multiple anchor points, is essentially an enhanced version of the Heavenly Delivery Technique."

"You understand the strategic value behind this, right?"

"He has done things like summoning the dead through the Impure World Reincarnation technique, manipulating the enemy's friends and relatives, and entering the enemy camp to detonate explosive tags that can cause a chain reaction of explosions."

"I heard that the First Hokage even forbade him from conducting research, which meant he couldn't produce these results in just a few years..."

The Third Raikage said quietly.

The fourth-generation Ai's face turned ashen.

He finally understood why his father had said those 'outrageous' words earlier…

To ally with such a person is indeed like dancing with wolves.

"I think the First Hokage said he forbade it, but actually he was condoning it in private..." the Fourth Hokage, A, said indignantly. "Otherwise, how could he have come up with so many techniques in such a short time?"

The Third Raikage waved his hand and glared sternly at his son.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, is not someone a junior like you can presume to comment on..."

"He, known as the God of Shinobi, truly possessed a heart for peace, but the ninja world could not tolerate such thoughts." The Third Raikage then changed the subject:

"So, do you understand the deeper meaning behind Hiruzen Sarutobi's words?"

"He mentioned the First Hokage, implying that the concept of 'tailed beast balance' was first created by Konoha, while Kumogakure was the village that coveted other people's tailed beasts."

"Using Tobirama Senju as a deterrent, we can tell the various hidden villages that Konoha's patience has reached its limit..."

"He's playing the card of the Thousand Hands Brothers' prestige."

Tsuchikage picked up where the Third Raikage left off: "That's right, and we have no choice but to accept it."

Diplomacy is a complex matter.

It involves the reputation of one's ancestors, the situation of various villages in the ninja world, wording, interests, and so on...

But it is also extremely important.

If you understand the game, it turns a one-on-one situation into a two-on-one or even a three-on-one situation...

"So, is the matter with Brubi just going to be left like this? Father..." Fourth Generation Ai sighed, feeling resentful: "Someone has to pay a price!"

"We haven't even found his body, and there are so many dead and wounded members of the Dark Guard. It must have been done by someone!"

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi had guessed.

Orochimaru and his group's actions went unnoticed, and the Hidden Cloud Village was unaware that Konoha was behind it.

But since something has gone wrong, a mature actor should try their best to mitigate the losses.

For example, they could use this as an excuse to try and extort some supplies from other villages...

"Haven't you realized our problem yet?!"

Lightning surged from the Third Raikage's body: "Although it's almost impossible, even if it was Konoha who did it, can the village still wage war against them?"

"With this response, the village can't find any allies to fight against Konoha. And if Konoha can really assassinate Brubi without leaving a trace, do you really want the village to fight such an enemy alone?!"

"What you need to do is to improve the village's security, lead everyone in extra training, and make them stronger!"

The Fourth Hokage, A, who had been loudly reprimanded by the Third Hokage, clenched his fists and shouted back:

"Yes, Father! I was wrong!"

"Yes, that's my good son."

The Third Raikage nodded and said to Tsuchikage beside him, "Let's prepare to respond to Konoha."

"They acknowledge that Hiruzen Sarutobi is the Hokage who inherited the will of the First and Second Hokage, and also because the two countries once had a foundation of a friendly alliance..."

"Kumakunobi admits that its judgment was somewhat hasty. It has found traces of the forces that covet the Eight-Tails and hopes to reach a consensus with Konoha to one day jointly punish those who disrupt peace!"

Tutai immediately replied: "Understood!"

This boosted Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation.

The subtext is: don't escalate the situation any further and actually start a war...

The Third Raikage narrowed his eyes, gazing towards Konoha.

Although theoretically speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi is most likely just a case of "a rabbit will bite when cornered".

But he secretly felt that this old rival seemed to be displaying a different kind of ability...

"Forget it, I don't have time to think about Konoha."

"The preparation of Jinchūriki for the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails must be put on the agenda immediately!"

038 Chain Reaction, and Danzo's Long-Awaited Walk

Konoha's strong response to Kumogakure has also attracted the attention and discussion of other hidden villages.

Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, hovered in the air with a furrowed brow.

"The Hidden Cloud Village appears to have been damaged; this is confirmed intelligence from our scouts."

"But that barbarian's demeanor makes it hard for me to tell if he's real or not..."

Similar to the Third Raikage, he was also accompanied by his son, Koto.

Although Onoki was short, Koto was broad-shouldered and extremely tall.

"Father, will war break out?" Huang Tu asked in a deep voice.

"Didn't you make your own judgment?" Onoki glared at Huangtu and said irritably.

His son is impeccable in terms of chakra level and mastery of Earth Release.

However, his personality is too straightforward, even to the point of being considered naive.

This word is by no means a good description for a village's shadow.

Therefore, Onoki had some concerns about the future of Iwagakure, even though the village had an advantage in terms of numbers among the major hidden villages.

But we can't find anyone who is truly outstanding!

Even if Hiroto were his own son, Onoki would not let him succeed him.

His teacher, the Second Tsuchikage Mu, taught him Dust Release, not because of blood ties…

"I don't know, Father." Huang Tu wasn't annoyed; he simply listened quietly to the orders.

"Sigh!" Onoki shook his head: "There won't be a war..."

Immediately afterward, Onoki and Yotsuchi explained the underlying principles, which were largely the same as those explained by the Third Generation Rai and the Fourth Generation Ai.

Unless the Third Raikage has gone mad, he won't push Konoha any further; instead, he'll offer both sides a way out.

Huang Tu nodded in sudden realization.

Onoki rolled his eyes; he was truly at his wit's end with his son.

They are suited to be perfect executors, but lack any talent for decision-making.

"But we must speak out..."

"We'll give Hiruzen Sarutobi a shout and criticize Kumogakure vehemently, exposing their covetousness of the bloodline limit."

"The feud between us and the Hidden Cloud Village is irreconcilable. Taking this opportunity to tarnish the Hidden Cloud Village's reputation will at least have some effect."

This can at least reduce the probability of renewed warfare and the formation of an alliance between Kumogakure and other hidden villages.

"Konoha has changed too."

Onoki's gaze deepened: "Has Hiruzen Sarutobi finally figured it out? I thought he was going to explain..."

"What a hassle!"

Iwagakure has long coveted Konoha's bloodline limit techniques and the Land of Fire's fertile land.

Or rather, this applies to all hidden villages...

However, the lingering influence of the First and Second Hokage meant that, inevitably, it resurfaced after the Second Shinobi World War…

Hiruzen Sarutobi's strong rebuttal seemed to be a warning against this kind of thinking.

"How are Huangtu, Lao Zi, and Han doing now?"

"Old Purple is still traveling the ninja world, while Han is in the village."

Onoki said in a deep voice, "Tell Rōshi that the village's tolerance of him is to allow him to master the power of the Tailed Beasts. If he can't, then he can expect to be punished!"

Rōshi and Han are the two Jinchūriki of Iwagakure, one wielding the Four-Tails and the other the Five-Tails.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's change also made Onoki wary.

The Hokage's hardening has a chain reaction of consequences...

The same applies to Sunagakure.

The conclusion reached by the Third Kazekage, Chiyo, and Ebizo is...

Support Konoha's strong response to Kumogakure; the attitude should be firm enough, and ideally, it should be used to escalate the situation between Konoha and Kumogakure.