Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

Nara Shikakichi's words quickly garnered the approval of many present.

Uchiha Hikaru, Shimura Danzo, and the others wanted to say something, but Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed lightly and said directly, "Although Konoha has never had a person who stepped down as Hokage continue to serve as Hokage, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, am willing to take on this important responsibility!"

"Hiruzhan, you..."

"You'd love to come back? That would be wonderful!"

Danzo's face darkened, and he was about to speak when Mitokado Homura interrupted him.

Koharu Utatane chimed in, "Hiruzen, your willingness to step forward at this time has really done the village a great favor."

Looking at the expressions of the former Hokage's associates around him, Danzo Shimura knew exactly what had happened and immediately shut his mouth.

Seeing that his old comrade was silent, the Uchiha clan members also remained silent. Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled with satisfaction and continued, "Then, until the Fifth Hokage is chosen, this old man will lead the village again. I hope everyone will cooperate."

"Besides that, there's the fourth generation's child..."

Chapter 162 The Fourth Generation's Son Whose Identity Was Erased: The Otsutsuki Descendant Above the Moon

For various reasons, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, regained power, which was undoubtedly the best news for Konoha at this time.

Having an intimate knowledge of Hokage affairs, he devised a detailed village reconstruction plan from the outset and meticulously designed defensive fortifications to prevent any unforeseen events, including invasions by external enemies and the resurgence of tailed beasts.

Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's leadership, everyone in Konoha threw themselves into the reconstruction of the village, a task completely unfamiliar to them.

The villagers are already used to enjoying everything Konoha has to offer, even during the Fourth Shinobi World War, the flames of war never truly reached Konoha Village.

Even though they were unfamiliar with the village, with the help of the ninjas, the village was rebuilt at an extremely fast pace. The Third Hokage was busy until late at night every day, as there were simply too many things for him to handle.

Besides the reconstruction of Konoha, the most crucial issue at present is the handling of the Fourth Hokage's son. After multiple considerations by the Konoha leadership and in light of the overall situation of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately decided not to reveal Naruto's identity as the Fourth Hokage's son, but to name him Uzumaki Naruto using his mother's surname.

Similarly, Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was also kept secret.

The current damage to Konoha is so severe that the entire village simply doesn't have enough power to protect Naruto, the Fourth Hokage's son and the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.

Rather than leaving Naruto in a perilous situation with constant danger and assassination attempts, it would be better to simply keep him in hiding.

Moreover, in order to provide an outlet for the suppressed emotions of the villagers, Kurama has become the target of everyone's hatred for this disaster. The hatred of Kurama among countless Konoha people has reached its peak. If Naruto's identity is exposed, he will inevitably suffer countless attacks.

For various reasons, Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to keep everything a secret.

"Foolish Hiruzen, hasn't that terrifying battle that night brought him back to his senses yet?!"

root.

Danzo's expression was gloomy, and his cane fell heavily to the ground, expressing the emotions in the heart of this ninja in the dark.

The battle between two Grim Reapers truly shocked him; that level of power completely exceeded the power level currently possessed by Konoha.

With the death of the Fourth Hokage and the loss of a large number of Konoha's elite troops, Konoha was now in a state of transition and decline.

In this situation, Danzo actually thought of hiding such a top-tier combat power as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He had no idea what was going on in Hiruzen's head!

In his view, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should be brought into the Root and nurtured for more than ten years to become Konoha's most powerful weapon and strongest barrier. However, this idea was rejected by Hiruzen Sarutobi the moment it came out of Danzo's mouth.

Danzo tried to argue his case, but the response he received was something he hadn't heard in two years.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this..." Danzo gripped his cane tightly, his eyes growing increasingly cold.

"I have to do something. The future of Konoha must have the power to participate in that kind of top-level clash!"

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... Hiruzen, a flower grown in a greenhouse, can never become a strong person who can stand alone. Only by experiencing the ravages of wind and rain can he become a true towering tree!"

"Somebody come!"

"Lord Danzo."

An elite Root ninja suddenly appeared.

Danzo's eyes were deep and unfathomable as he spoke in a low voice.

"Spread the news throughout Konoha that Naruto Uzumaki is the incarnation of the Nine-Tailed Fox..."

"Yes, Lord Danzo!"

……

The Nine-Tails' rampage brought unimaginable trauma to the entire Hidden Leaf Village. Its severity, the damage and losses suffered far exceeded those in the original story.

Even though the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, tried his best to suppress the news, the huge changes in Konoha still spread like wildfire throughout the entire ninja world.

The ninja world is shaken!

One moment their attention was on the Land of Iron, and on the massive projects and international collaborations between Konoha, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure. But the next moment news broke that Konoha had been attacked by an unknown powerful figure, the Fourth Hokage had died in battle, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had been replaced.

Suddenly, undercurrents surged in the ninja world.

It has only been fifty-one years since Konoha was founded, although more than a year has passed since the end of the Third Shinobi World War.

However, the Third Shinobi World War ended in a disappointing way, accumulating far too many problems. For example, the grudges between Konoha and Iwagakure were never resolved. In fact, because Hiruzen Sarutobi used the Box of Paradise, Iwagakure developed extreme hatred for Konoha.

Now that Konoha has suffered such a great calamity, Onoki almost laughed himself silly.

Unfortunately, the damage caused by the Box of Bliss to Iwagakure was so great that even if Iwagakure wanted to take this opportunity to attack Konoha, they didn't have the energy to do so.

There's no way to get anyone to help.

But Yunyin is different.

At the end of the Third Shinobi World War, Kumogakure was forced to withdraw from the battlefield. Their main force suffered no losses, but they estimated that a fight with Konoha would result in mutual destruction, allowing others to gain an advantage.

The Hidden Cloud Village, already resentful of the outcome of the Third Shinobi World War, was overjoyed upon receiving news of the suffering in Konoha!

In their view, the reason why Konoha was able to defeat Kumogakure in the early and middle stages of the Third Shinobi World War was because of Minato Namikaze.

A golden flash simultaneously restrained both the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the Fourth Hokage, severely hindering the Cloud Village's operations on the front lines. Now, with Minato Namikaze dead and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki just replaced, Konoha's fighting strength is less than one-tenth of what it once was.

If we don't take action now, when will we?!

With a wave of his hand, the Fourth Raikage appointed his secretary, Tsuchida, as the commander-in-chief of the front line. He led Killer Bee (the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki), Yugito (the Two-Tails Jinchuriki), and three thousand elite Kumogakure soldiers, secretly crossing the Land of Hot Water and heading towards the Land of Fire.

Although Konoha suffered heavy losses from the Nine-Tails attack, the number of patrolling ninjas on the border did not decrease.

However, the gap between the two sides was too great. Even though Konoha discovered Kumogakure's subtle actions immediately and began to resist the invasion, their defensive line still crumbled at the slightest touch.

There's no way around it; without a top-tier expert to oversee things, this is how it will be.

The Hidden Cloud Village suffered considerable losses during the Third Shinobi World War, but apart from the Third Raikage who fought against thousands single-handedly, none of its mainstays perished.

Faced with the elite forces of Kumogakure led by the perfect Jinchūriki Killer Bee, Konoha suffered a series of defeats and could only trade space for time, appealing to Konoha for help.

With the war between the Thunder and Fire Kingdoms, various forces in the ninja world watched the spectacle with interest, while also stirring with the desire to seize the opportunity and profit from the conflict.

"If this continues, the Fourth Shinobi World War will break out very soon."

Inside Kirigakure, on Jingwu Island, two figures stood one behind the other, watching the grotesque monsters below, bathed in the setting sun, slaughtering and devouring each other. Uchiha Shisui, standing at the back, spoke in a deep voice: "This does not conform to our three-nation cooperation plan."

"You should know that our core partners are not actually Sunagakure, but all the countries along the route from east to west, the entire ninja world."

Watching the Hollows devour each other in the darkness, until finally a humanoid Hollow wearing a hideous mask emerged victorious, devouring everything and roaring with its head raised, Mizuki Yoru's face was calm: "Therefore, the value of Konoha's existence is not important; what we need is a change in our way of thinking."

With the supply of dragon vein energy, Hueco Mundo's captive breeding plan is progressing very smoothly.

Currently, there are already several Adjuchas, dozens of Killian, and thousands of Hollows in Hueco Mundo!

The only pity is that the souls collected from all over the ninja world are already somewhat depleted.

"Actually, it's good that Konoha and Kumogakure are at war. Putting aside everything else, at least Hueco Mundo will have more resources."

Hearing Mizuki Yoru's lighthearted words, Uchiha Shisui growled, "But you and Namikaze Minato have already reached an agreement, haven't you? Compared to the rough and rugged Kumogakure, cooperating with Konoha is more in our Kirigakure's interest!"

"You still have deep feelings for Konoha, Shisui."

"...Do you really have to be so ruthless?"

"Absolutely? No, I've actually been more lenient than expected. Otherwise, Konoha would have disappeared from the ninja world long ago during the Third Shinobi World War."

Yoru turned around and looked at the Second Division Captain in front of him, who had even activated his Rinnegan and was staring at him. He said softly, "I've been more lenient than Shisui... Here's what you've done: everything I'm doing now is so that I can better face those extraterrestrial visitors in the future. So can you tell me what the real driving force behind all this is, and what the driving force behind the development of the ninja world is?"

"I don't understand what you mean, but war is definitely not what we want!"

Shisui paused for a moment, then growled, "War can only lead countries into an arms race, and will only deepen the contradictions and estrangements between countries and villages. It will never bring the entire ninja world to a state of unity."

"You yourself said that through peaceful development, the major powers and countries of the ninja world can abandon their prejudices. Only in this way can the ninja world have a real chance of unification, and only then can it better help you deal with those extraterrestrial visitors in the future, right?"

"Moreover, besides me, the other two in Seireitei probably don't want to see Konoha fall like this."

"Yes, you're absolutely right."

Ye nodded slightly: "But if I still refuse to let you help Konoha against Kumogakure, what will you do?"

"..."

Shisui fell silent. He knew what he would do, but he couldn't imagine what Minazuki Yoru would do.

The power gap between the two is already on a completely different level.

"Alright, alright, just kidding. I said I wouldn't restrict you too much." Night suddenly smiled. "I can allow you, or those two, to help Konoha, but I have one condition."

Shisui's eyes lit up: "Go ahead!"

"See that guy down there?"

Night's gaze shifted from still water to Adjuchas, who was roaring at the sky below, and she said softly, "I want you to use your power to devour it."

"Wha, what?!"

……

at the same time.

On the moon.

Inside the altar palace where the giant Tenseigan was enshrined, a faint light flashed across the giant Tenseigan.

A puppet responsible for cleaning the temple was struck by the light and suddenly dropped its broom, rushing towards the distant palace.

The next moment, he disregarded the etiquette ingrained in his bones, hurriedly pushed open the heavy palace doors, and quickly knelt down and kowtowed to the person sitting in the main seat.

"Lord, master!"

"Hmm, has the attendant awakened?" A handsome middle-aged man dressed in a pure white robe adorned with jade ornaments asked calmly, leaning against the throne with his eyes closed.

"No, it's not."

The puppet, trembling with fear and drenched in sweat, stammered, "Yes, it's the giant Reincarnation Eye within the temple that's acting strangely..."

"what?!"

The middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes. His pure white eyes were very similar to the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, except that his eyes looked cleaner and clearer.

The next moment, his figure vanished from the throne and rushed towards the temple where the giant Tenseigan was enshrined.

The Giant Tenseigan. This treasure, formed from the combined Byakugan of all the Otsutsuki branch family members on the moon, is the most important artifact of the entire Otsutsuki clan, and it must not be allowed to be damaged under any circumstances!

Upon arriving at the temple where the giant Tenseigan was enshrined, the middle-aged man's eyes sharpened as he watched the faint light emanating from it. He quickly formed several hand seals before placing one hand on the giant Tenseigan.

The next moment, a mysterious power emanated from the giant Reincarnation Eye, and the next moment, an image appeared in his mind.

That was a scene of Hozuki Gengetsu battling the Grim Reaper; the terrifying clash of spiritual energy made him frown deeply.

But that's not enough to cause such an unusual phenomenon in the giant Tenseigan...

"Wait, this is it!"

Suddenly, the middle-aged man's breathing became rapid, and his face became extremely tense. His eyes were fixed on the giant Tenseigan in front of him, as if he could see something extraordinary through it.

Indeed, he saw something extraordinary, a magnificent attack that crashed down from the sky, powerful enough to annihilate everything!

"That is... the power of the Great Ancestor..."

The middle-aged man's consciousness slowly separated from the giant Tenseigan, but his expression was extremely complicated.

His name is Otsutsuki Abandoner, a descendant of the Otsutsuki branch family on the moon.

The Otsutsuki clan on the moon are descendants of Otsutsuki Hamura, the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths. They bear the heavy responsibility of guarding the Ten-Tails' husk, the 'Gedo Mazo'.

After Hamura's death, his descendants split into two factions due to differing understandings and interpretations of their ancestor's last words. The main family believed that they should coexist peacefully with the world created by the Sage of Six Paths, while the branch family believed that the world created by the Sage of Six Paths had been plagued by war for a thousand years and was a failure, and should be destroyed.

Differences in ideology led to severe divisions and conflicts within the Otsutsuki sect on the moon.

Although both sides tried their best to restrain themselves, the suppressed emotions eventually exploded. After defeating the main family, all the members of the branch family contributed their Byakugan and created this giant Tenseigan. With the Tenseigan, they wiped out the main family members who advocated peace at the time.

After the war, although the branch family won, the Otsutsuki descendants on the moon suffered heavy losses, with only a few remaining.