"The most urgent thing for the village right now is restoring order as quickly as possible," Mitokado Homura continued.
"Kiyohara is already using Wood Release to rebuild the damaged buildings. The medical corps is treating the wounded. The Anbu are clearing out the enemies on the perimeter…"
Mitokado Homura glanced toward where Kiyohara was.
The towering trees were transforming into smooth wooden boards, then stacking together into the shape of houses.
That level of chakra control was simply unheard of to Mitokado Homura. It left him amazed.
Even when the First Hokage was alive, he had never displayed such exquisite control.
"Wait."
Shimura Danzo, whose expression was growing uglier and uglier, suddenly spoke.
"Damaged buildings?"
Mitokado Homura nodded.
"Most of them were inside the barrier. Kiyohara is already handling it."
"Homura."
Shimura Danzo's voice sank.
Since he had already offended Kiyohara, he could only keep walking down this path.
Kiyohara was not exactly on good terms with him. If Kiyohara seized this opportunity to settle accounts with him, that would be bad.
"Have you considered that tonight's incident might not have been an accident?"
Shimura Danzo said.
He had already figured out how to dump this blame onto Kiyohara.
Mitokado Homura's brow moved slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"When a jinchūriki gives birth, the seal is at its weakest. Not many people know that."
Shimura Danzo paused. His lone eye stared at Mitokado Homura's face, as if observing his reaction.
Even Danzo himself had not known about this.
He had only sensed the Nine-Tails' outbreak and the attack on the village perimeter, so he had led Root out first to lie low.
"You're saying…"
Mitokado Homura frowned.
"Back then, Uchiha Madara attacked Konoha with the Nine-Tails."
Shimura Danzo's voice grew deeper and deeper.
"It is common knowledge that the Sharingan can control tailed beasts. If tonight's incident was not caused by someone inside the Uchiha clan making trouble, then how else do you explain the Nine-Tails losing control?"
Mitokado Homura looked at him without speaking.
Danzo spoke faster and faster, as if his theory were perfectly reasonable.
"Kiyohara is an Uchiha, but he is not a native-born Uchiha. His control over the Uchiha clan is limited.
"Those Uchiha who have lived in Konoha for decades—would they really be willing to let an outsider brat become Hokage? Would they really be content to remain excluded from the core of power?"
Just as Shimura Danzo was about to continue, a woman's voice interrupted him.
"Danzo."
Shimura Danzo turned his head.
Utatane Koharu was walking over from another street, holding a document in her hand, her expression serious.
"Koharu."
Danzo looked at her.
"You came at the right time. What I just said…"
"I heard it."
Utatane Koharu cut him off.
She walked up to Danzo and stopped.
"Danzo, none of what you said holds up."
Shimura Danzo's brows twisted.
"Why?"
"Because the one who sealed the Nine-Tails was Kiyohara. Don't forget, the Uchiha clan respects strength above all."
Utatane Koharu said.
She felt that Shimura Danzo's prejudice against the Uchiha ran far too deep.
Hearing this, Shimura Danzo clenched the hand inside his sleeve.
On the right arm locked beneath the restraint, the Sharingan embedded in his arm contracted at the same time.
"Everyone in the village is now saying Kiyohara is the second God of Shinobi," Utatane Koharu continued.
"If you question him now, do you think anyone will listen?"
Shimura Danzo said nothing.
He knew Utatane Koharu was telling the truth.
Before absolute power, all schemes, calculations, and political tactics were jokes.
At this moment, Shimura Danzo deeply understood that fact.
Fortunately, besides Shinnō's side, he had also been conducting other experiments.
It was something even Orochimaru did not know much about. Orochimaru had only helped him create the monster known as Nue, which could absorb chakra to a certain degree before exploding.
But Danzo had not entrusted the core experiment to Orochimaru.
It was a secret technique that could seal Nue into a space-time dimension, make it exist in the form of a mark, and use that mark to deploy it across space.
This was a secret technique Danzo had obtained by chance. It was said to have been left behind by a powerful female ninja from a thousand years ago.
Because too much time had passed, Danzo only knew vague terms like "Goddess of the Rabbit."
But that person had apparently vanished for unknown reasons, leaving the technique only half-developed. After many twists and turns, it had fallen into his hands.
Danzo called this secret technique Gozu Tennō.
"And…"
Utatane Koharu glanced at Shimura Danzo, not understanding why he had suddenly become distracted.
She continued anyway.
"Danzo, you should think about how to explain yourself next. Hiruzen will probably come question you too."
"Hmph."
Shimura Danzo gave a cold snort.
So what if Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned him?
He did not believe Kiyohara could directly kill him.
"I understand."
Shimura Danzo turned and walked toward the Root base.
After a few steps, he stopped and said without turning back,
"Since Kiyohara has already handled it, I'm returning to Root."
His footsteps gradually faded.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu stood where they were, watching that figure disappear into the night.
"Do you think he might…"
Utatane Koharu did not finish.
Mitokado Homura shook his head.
"I don't know. But Kiyohara is not Hiruzen. Danzo's methods won't work in front of Kiyohara."
Utatane Koharu was silent for a while, then nodded.
"That's true."
...
Several hours later.
"That should be about enough."
Kiyohara looked at the newly rebuilt district before him and stopped releasing ninjutsu.
Using Wood Release ninjutsu on a large scale to create houses consumed an enormous amount of chakra. Toward the end, Kiyohara had even released his Strength of a Hundred Seal and used the chakra stored inside it.
"Hokage-sama, there have been some strange movements in the village."
Uzuki Yūgao came over to report.
During this special period, Konoha's security was also very tight.
Uzuki Yūgao had discovered that some ninja and certain summoned creatures seemed to be passing information to the outside world.
"Don't bother with them."
Kiyohara shook his head.
He knew there were many spies in the village, but Kiyohara had always turned a blind eye.
Even if those spies were cleaned out, new spies would infiltrate again.
It was better to keep these known spies under surveillance and, when necessary, feed them false information.
"Wait. I'm going to convene an Anbu meeting."
Kiyohara spoke to Uzuki Yūgao.
Kiyohara knew that old bastard Shimura Danzo had secretly slipped out.
In the original story, Shimura Danzo had also run this quickly. During the Nine-Tails' attack and Pain's invasion, he had run both times.
Kiyohara felt there was no need to keep Shimura Danzo around anymore.
He might as well secretly eliminate Shimura Danzo and his subordinates tonight.
Previously, Kiyohara had kept him alive because he was thinking about Danzo's Gozu Tennō from Boruto.
Now it seemed Shimura Danzo had lived far too long.
After cleaning them up, there would still be experimental data anyway.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Uzuki Yūgao nodded, looking at Kiyohara with some admiration.
'Only Hokage-sama could handle a crisis this perfectly.'
Thinking this, Uzuki Yūgao quickly left.
"Kiyohara, do you want to rest for a bit?"
Yūhi Kurenai came to find Kiyohara with some soldier pills.
Soldier pills could restore chakra and stamina. For Kiyohara right now, they were just right.
Kiyohara did not stand on ceremony either. He ate more than a dozen of them like candy.
With his current physique, he did not need to care about the side effects of soldier pills at all.
He had been able to do this a long time ago.
...…
At the same time, the intelligence sent out by Konoha's spies spread across the shinobi world through various means.
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Ōnoki sat in a wide stone chair, clutching a freshly delivered intelligence report.
The report was short, only a few lines.
"Tsuchikage-sama?"
The Iwagakure ninja standing before him asked carefully.
"Are you all right?"
Ōnoki shook his head and read the words again.
"Fourth Hokage of Konoha, Kiyohara, suppressed the Nine-Tails tonight using Wood Release. No civilian casualties. Minor building damage. Reconstruction has already begun."
Ōnoki recognized every word written on it, but when put together, they left him deeply confused.
How did Kiyohara, an Uchiha, know Wood Release now?
And Konoha's Nine-Tails had actually gone berserk.
According to the spy report, it seemed to have been caused by an outsider's attack.
Which ninja village's handiwork was this?
Ōnoki only felt a headache coming on.
"Does Wood Release have a restraining effect on tailed beasts? To think it suppressed the mysterious Nine-Tails without causing any casualties."
The Iwagakure ninja spoke.
He was very curious just how strong Wood Release was, for it to suppress the mysterious Nine-Tails so easily.
After all, the number of tails had a strong correlation with a tailed beast's power, and during the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha had almost never used the Nine-Tails' power.
But Kumogakure's Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B, had displayed the Eight-Tails' strength everywhere.
This made many people curious about exactly how strong the Nine-Tails really was.
After all, the Nine-Tails had one more tail than the Eight-Tails.
"You don't understand."
Ōnoki glanced at the Iwagakure ninja.
This was one of his son Kitsuchi's students, named Shido.
He was skilled at using a kind of purple Earth Release ninjutsu. That technique was heavier than ordinary Earth Release, which was why he had earned the name Iwagakure's Shido.
"You need to know that most of the tailed beasts were originally distributed to the Five Great Nations by Senju Hashirama."
Ōnoki said.
Aside from the One-Tail and Seven-Tails, which had already been held by certain places during the Warring States era, the other tailed beasts had been distributed by Senju Hashirama according to the strength of the various powers, thereby achieving a relative military balance.
In the thousand-year history of the shinobi world, only Senju Hashirama had accomplished such a feat.
One could say that ending the chaotic Warring States era was inseparable from Senju Hashirama's overwhelming power.
And the most prominent part of that power was his Wood Release.
Kiyohara was already powerful, and now he had awakened Wood Release.
Ōnoki was truly afraid that Konoha would raise an army and march north, starting a new war.
"In that case, could Kiyohara reclaim the tailed beasts?"
Shido asked curiously.
Since Senju Hashirama had been the one to distribute the tailed beasts, Kiyohara might now possess power similar to Hashirama's.
If he wanted Konoha to dominate alone, what then?
"That remains unknown."
Ōnoki sighed.
To be honest, he did have some prejudice against the Uchiha clan.
When he was young, Ōnoki had been seriously injured by Uchiha Madara, leaving him with a deep impression of that overwhelmingly arrogant being who relied solely on force.
Kiyohara had Uchiha blood flowing through him after all. If he became a figure like Uchiha Madara, that would be a tragedy for the Five Great Nations.
"Pass down my order.
"Tell all Iwagakure ninja to avoid direct conflict with Konoha as much as possible. Also, call Deidara over."
Ōnoki spoke.
Konoha had too many geniuses, while Iwagakure had not produced a single decent genius.
He also had to find a way to pass down Dust Release.
From the looks of things, his son Kitsuchi did not have the talent to inherit Dust Release.
So Ōnoki placed his hopes on Deidara.
"Yes."
Shido accepted the order and left.
His footsteps gradually faded, and the door closed behind him.
Only Ōnoki remained in the office.
"The second God of Shinobi…"
Ōnoki thought to himself.
Before long, Deidara ran into the office.
"Old man, why did you call me so early?"
Ōnoki sat behind the desk with a document spread out in front of him.
He raised his head and glanced at Deidara.
"Something happened in Konoha last night."
Deidara blinked.
"What happened?"
"The Nine-Tails went berserk and was sealed by Kiyohara."
Deidara's eyebrows lifted.
The moment he heard Kiyohara's name, he immediately became interested.
Ever since Kiyohara left, Deidara had been very interested in information about him.
He had also learned a great deal from others about what Kiyohara had done during the Third Great Ninja War.
"The Nine-Tails? The tailed beast with the most tails?"
"Mm."
Ōnoki nodded.
"And Kiyohara used Wood Release."
Deidara frowned.
A ninjutsu involving wood?
He immediately thought of the craftsmen in the village who carved wooden sculptures.
Deidara only felt that Kiyohara's artistic range was truly broad.
"Did Kiyohara carve some kind of work?"
Ōnoki looked at Deidara with disappointment.
This child was good in almost every way except for being too troublesome.
His greatest flaw was that he spent every day fussing over art.
Was the profession of ninja meant for art?
"Wood Release is the ninjutsu used by the First Hokage. In his hands, it was completely invincible."
Ōnoki said.
"Invincible?"
Deidara was puzzled.
"Stronger than your Dust Release?"
Ōnoki was silent for a while.
"You can't compare them like that."
He shook his head.
Dust Release had the effect of disintegrating all things, but its wind-up was very long, far less swift than Wood Release.
"Each has its strengths and weaknesses," Ōnoki added.
Deidara gave an "oh" and did not continue asking.
By comparison, he was more interested in understanding how far Kiyohara had gone in comprehending art.
Thinking of this, Deidara felt an impulse to leave the village.
Ōnoki saw it and sighed.
"Deidara."
"Hmm?"
"Your training volume doubles starting today."
Deidara froze.
"What?!"
"I said it doubles."
Ōnoki repeated.
"Konoha's geniuses keep appearing one after another. Iwagakure cannot fall behind."
"I don't have that much time."
Deidara immediately wanted to flee.
If his training volume doubled, where would he find time to pursue art?
"Once your training is complete, I'll take you to Konoha to participate in the Chūnin Exams."
Hearing Ōnoki's words, Deidara, who had almost jumped out the window and run, froze in place.
If he went to Konoha, he would be able to see Kiyohara again.
After weighing the pros and cons, Deidara decided to agree to Ōnoki's terms.
"Fine…"
He muttered, then turned and walked toward the door.
…
Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Rasa sat behind his desk.
The intelligence report was thicker than he had expected, densely covered in writing.
From the Nine-Tails going berserk to Kiyohara suppressing it, from the emergence of Wood Release to the barrier isolating the battlefield, from zero civilian casualties to reconstruction beginning, every detail was written clearly.
Each time Rasa finished reading a section, he stopped, closed his eyes to think for a while, then continued reading.
Rasa had a strange feeling, as if he had been imprisoned for years and only just released.
There was a mysterious organization controlling white enemies to attack Konoha, Konoha dividing a tailed beast into two, and Kiyohara mastering Wood Release.
If Rasa did not know that his subordinates would not dare deceive him, he would have dismissed this as a joke.
"Wood Release…"
Rasa finally spoke.
"The First Hokage's Wood Release."
Chiyo nodded.
"It seems the shinobi world will return to the structure it had when Senju Hashirama was alive."
Chiyo paused.
"Peace will likely last for a very long time."
Rasa shook his head.
"Not necessarily."
Chiyo raised her eyes and looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because Konoha is getting stronger and stronger."
Rasa frowned.
"So strong that it may no longer need allies."
Maki's brow furrowed even deeper.
"Kazekage-sama means…"
"If I had the power to conquer everything, why would I still need to ally with others?"
Rasa said.
The office fell silent.
"Kiyohara is not Senju Hashirama."
Rasa finally stopped tapping his fingers.
"Senju Hashirama would bow his head to opponents, make concessions for peace, and divide the tailed beasts among other villages. Kiyohara may not."
Rasa's words made Chiyo fall silent for a while before she nodded.
"You're right."
She sighed.
"Then what does Kazekage-sama intend to do?"
Rasa leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
"Send an envoy to Konoha."
"To discuss what?"
"Cooperation."
Rasa opened his eyes.
"As much cooperation as possible."
Rasa planned to strengthen cooperation with Konoha. This could also be seen as Sunagakure taking the initiative to show goodwill.
Maki nodded.
"I'll make the arrangements immediately."
He turned and walked toward the door.
After Maki left, Chiyo looked at Rasa.
"Does Kazekage-sama think Kiyohara will accept our cooperation?"
Rasa looked at her.
"He will."
"Why?"
"Because he needs time."
Rasa stood and walked to the window, gazing out at the yellow sand filling the sky.
"At least for the next three years, there will be peace. Konoha lost too many ninja in the war. Until they recover a certain number, Kiyohara should not take the initiative to start a war."
He paused.
"And we need to become stronger before he finishes digesting everything."
Chiyo fell silent.
After a long while, she nodded.
"Kazekage-sama is right."
"As for the One-Tail, I think we can also conduct some similar experiments."
Originally, Sunagakure and Konoha could have happily remained allies.
But now Konoha's strength had already made Sunagakure wary.
How could one person with a gun and another person without a gun ever interact as equals?
Rasa estimated that many other ninja villages were also wary of Konoha now, wary of Kiyohara.
I had something to do today, so the update came a little late.