As time passed, all of Konoha's jōnin began gathering beneath the Hokage Rock, except for those who had already departed for the Land of Water.
Regarding this Hokage election, everyone wore faint, knowing smiles on their faces.
It wasn't that the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was truly unpopular. It was just that, compared to an old man, everyone would much rather see Tsunade as their Hokage.
"Ever since the Fourth Hokage fell in battle, Konoha should have selected a Fifth."
"However, at the time, one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, had defected, Tsunade had left the village, and Jiraiya was pursuing the rogue ninja Orochimaru. The entire village had no suitable candidate for Hokage, so this old man had no choice but to shamelessly continue serving as Hokage and handling affairs."
"Now, Tsunade has grown into her role. It is time for this old man to lay down the burden he carries!"
Standing on the platform built beneath the Hokage Rock, Hiruzen looked at the jōnin below—and even the villagers further back, all smiling. For some reason, a trace of sadness rose in his heart.
Had he really done such a poor job as Hokage?
"Present the Daimyō's letter of appointment!"
The jōnin vote encountered no obstacles at all. Everyone could see that even Hiruzen himself had already given up competing for the position. This made the vote proceed with an almost unbelievable smoothness.
As Mitokado Homura brought the Fire Daimyō's official appointment letter onto the stage, cheers erupted from the shinobi and even the civilians below.
And when Tsunade received the letter in her hands, the expression on her face was unexpectedly calm.
"Hokage…"
Looking at the cheering crowd below, Tsunade only let out a soft sigh in her heart.
...
While Konoha was holding its Hokage election, the Akatsuki had already begun to move.
"The Land of Earth hasn't paid up!"
Kakuzu's expression was extremely ugly. If he remembered correctly, their previous attempt to assassinate Uchiha Keizumi had included a bounty of three hundred million from the Land of Earth. But he had never expected them to stoop so low!
Akatsuki had lost one of their major members, yet the Land of Earth refused to pay?
They even claimed that the contract had been to kill Uchiha Keizumi—and that Akatsuki had merely managed to harass him at best!
"It's not just the Land of Earth. There's also a problem on the Land of Fire's side. Utatane Koharu, the one who was in contact with us, has been confirmed dead."
"White Zetsu reported that she was killed by Hyūga Hiashi, who sacrificed his entire clan to obtain a Sage Eye!"
On the other side, Sasori added further information as he spoke, his gaze shifting toward Deva Path Pain.
If he remembered correctly, their leader also possessed a pair of Sage Eyes.
"Hyūga Hiashi sacrificed his entire clan to obtain a Sage Eye?"
Konan's eyes suddenly lit up upon hearing this.
Back when she and Yahiko were children, Nagato had once told them that his Sage Eyes had appeared suddenly one day—they weren't something he was born with. At the time, Yahiko and Konan had assumed it was some kind of awakening.
But now, hearing that another Sage Eye had appeared in the ninja world—and that it had been created through the Hyūga clan's actions—an uncontrollable thought surged in her mind:
Were Nagato's Rinnegan… truly his own?
"Tell me more about this Hyūga clan's Sage Eye."
After forcibly calming herself, Konan pressed Sasori for more details.
As Sasori relayed all the intelligence he had received from White Zetsu, even Nagato's expression began to change.
"Another pair of Sage Eyes…"
"And one that requires the entire Hyūga clan to sacrifice their eyes in order to manifest?"
"Hyūga Hiashi, with just that one eye, was able to fight Uchiha Keizumi to a standstill…"
Nagato's emotions stirred. He couldn't understand it.
Could it be that the Sage of Six Paths possessed two entirely different kinds of eyes?
"Put Konoha aside for now. I need to further develop the power of the Rinnegan."
"Kakuzu, Sasori—you will accompany Konan to the Land of Earth."
"Since the Land of Earth refuses to pay, then we'll take away the Tsuchikage's disciple instead. According to the intelligence from their side, that disciple is very likely learning Dust Release."
After a long silence, Nagato finally spoke through the Deva Path.
After his last encounter with Uchiha Keizumi, his losses had been severe. Even reconstructing the Six Paths would take time—especially since the most critical path, the Naraka Path, had also been destroyed.
Under such circumstances, Nagato had no desire to clash with Uchiha Keizumi again. Instead, he chose to pick on a softer target.
And unfortunately for them, the Land of Earth was that target.
"By the way, are Uchiha Madara, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu really not a problem?"
"This is clearly an Akatsuki operation, yet they don't even show up. Who knows what they're doing!"
Kakuzu was quite dissatisfied with Obito and the Zetsu. People called him a rogue ninja, but Kakuzu actually had some attachment to Akatsuki—or rather, he saw it as a place where he belonged.
"No need to worry about them. Our plan has little to do with theirs. At most, we're just using each other."
Deva Path Pain slowly shook his head. If not for the remaining value of White Zetsu and Uchiha Obito, he would have already removed them from the organization.
...
While Akatsuki was planning a major move against the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning was not idle either.
"Reports from Konoha confirm that Tsunade has officially taken over as the Fifth Hokage."
"But that's not the key point. The key is that man—Uchiha Keizumi!"
"According to spies from the Land of Fire, this morning they saw a second sun rise in the direction of Konoha. That second sun was most likely created by Uchiha Keizumi."
"That kind of power shouldn't be an ordinary Kekkei Genkai. It's very likely a Kekkei Tōta!"
"The Uchiha clan's Susanoo, Senju Hashirama's Wood Release, and now a completely unknown Kekkei Tōta… Uchiha Keizumi's strength has already reached an incomprehensible level."
The Fourth Raikage, A, looked at the elite Kumo jōnin before him and couldn't help but sigh.
He simply couldn't understand it.
Why was it that Konoha kept producing these utterly unreasonable shinobi, one after another? Could it be that there was something special about that land itself?
"The Daimyō has begun urging us again."
"This morning's events in the Land of Fire were too massive—they've made the Daimyō afraid."
"He's worried that one day, while sitting peacefully in his residence, a fireball might suddenly fall from the sky and flatten the entire place!"
"The Daimyō has issued a direct order: if Kumogakure does not go to war with Konoha and eliminate Uchiha Keizumi, he will cut off all funding to the village!"
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