At the border of the Land of Iron, heavy snow filled the sky. The cold wind howled as it swept up flurries, leaving the world blanketed in white, the biting chill carrying a dense killing intent.
Uchiha Izuna was facing the Hatake clan, the Haruno clan, and the samurai groups attached to both sides. Sword energy crisscrossed the battlefield, and killing intent spread everywhere.
This was a war of swordsmanship…
"Hatake clan, I'll give you one last chance, surrender immediately and submit to Konoha."
"If you keep going, don't force me to use the merciless sword…"
Uchiha Izuna narrowed his eyes and spoke coldly.
The Hatake clan leader's expression was conflicted and uneasy. Their retreat route had already been completely blocked.
Going further north would mean entering the Land of Iron's territory, leaving them nowhere to escape. Continuing to resist would only increase the casualties among his clansmen.
Looking at the undisguised killing intent in Izuna's eyes, the Hatake clan leader let out a long sigh. The last trace of resistance in his heart completely dissipated.
"Forget it! Since it's come to this, my Hatake clan is willing to surrender! We only hope Konoha will keep its promise and treat our clan members well!"
As his words fell, the Hatake clan leader immediately released the tachi in his hand, dropped to one knee, and bowed his head in surrender, completely giving up resistance.
———
"In the year 852 of the Ninja Calendar, with the Hatake clan's formal surrender, Konoha completely cleared out all the divided ninja clans within the Land of Fire and achieved full unification of the territory."
On Mount Myoboku, shrouded in mist, Fukasaku Sage and Black Zetsu sat beside an ancient stone table, recording this earth-shaking event in the ninja world into the computer in front of them.
After finishing the entry, Fukasaku Sage stroked the white beard on his chin, his eyes curving with a smile as he patted Black Zetsu on the arm.
"Just as expected, right, Black Zetsu? You lost the bet. The Great Toad Sage really did help Konoha unify the Land of Fire. Hurry up and give me five hundred!", Fukasaku said with a grin.
Black Zetsu rubbed his forehead helplessly, his face full of confusion. "Man, I really didn't expect it."
"The Great Toad Sage never had any intention of unifying the land before, so why did he step in this time to help Konoha pacify the Land of Fire…"
"Hahaha, that's why you miscalculated!"
Fukasaku Sage laughed heartily, continuing to tease him.
The two had made a bet earlier, wagering on whether the Great Toad Sage would lead Konoha to unify the Land of Fire. Now that the outcome was settled, the result was obvious.
"Fine, fine, a bet's a bet."
Black Zetsu reluctantly pulled out five hundred and stuffed it into Fukasaku's hand, his face full of resignation.
At that moment, an exasperated roar suddenly came from outside the room, instantly breaking the relaxed atmosphere inside.
"Fukasaku!!"
Along with the thunderous shout, Shima Sage stormed in, dragging Obito along with her in big strides.
The sudden commotion startled both Black Zetsu and Fukasaku. They both turned their heads toward the door, their faces full of surprise.
Shima didn't give them any time to react. She strode up to the stone table.
With a "bang," she slammed her phone hard onto the table, her face dark as she demanded, "Explain! What's going on with this picture?!"
Fukasaku and Black Zetsu, confused, quickly leaned in to take a closer look.
On the phone screen, the photo showed Fukasaku tightly embracing Black Zetsu, the two looking intimate and affectionate. The image was absurd beyond words.
Fukasaku's pupils shrank suddenly, panic instantly appearing on his face as he waved his hands in a flurry to explain, "Th-this... what's going on here? I never did anything like this!"
Black Zetsu only glanced at it once before immediately seeing through it. His face darkened, and he spoke with certainty, "This is an fake image!"
Shima froze for a moment upon hearing that. The anger filling her chest paused, and she looked at Black Zetsu with confusion.
"Look closely. The image quality is distorted, the edges are full of flaws. And since when did I ever have six fingers?"
Black Zetsu pointed out the inconsistencies in the photo, calmly breaking it down.
With that reminder, Fukasaku immediately reacted as well, his face turning red as he hurriedly agreed, "That's right!"
"Someone is clearly trying to maliciously smear me and Black Zetsu! At my age, how could I possibly do something like this? This is ridiculous!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Black Zetsu suddenly turned his head, his expression dark as he looked at Obito, who was avoiding eye contact nearby, and asked coldly, "I'm guessing… you're the one behind this, right?"
Obito scratched his head, then immediately put on a cheeky grin, admitting it without the slightest guilt. "Ah, you figured it out that fast~"
Before Obito could continue messing around, Shima's temper flared. She raised her hand and smacked the back of his head, scolding, "You brat, you really gave me a scare just now!"
"Hehe, I was just trying to prank everyone for fun. Didn't expect Lady Shima couldn't even tell an AI fake image."
Obito covered the back of his head, blinking innocently, his tone full of mischief.
"Ah, times are changing too fast. All these new things you young people play with, this old body really can't keep up…"
Seeing this, Fukasaku couldn't help but shake his head and sigh softly.
Black Zetsu looked at Obito, who was still grinning without a trace of regret, and said flatly, "You've lived this long and you're still like a child. Can't you be a bit more mature?"
"Come on, come on, Sage Black Zetsu, you don't get it."
"Other White Zetsu my age watch movies, scroll Douyin, play games."
"And me, Obito... I study Mount Myoboku stocks, the exchange rate of the Pure Land, research AI… it's just… yeah.", Obito said with a satisfied look.
Black Zetsu's face stiffened. "You just love showing off. Who could outdo you? You're the real tycoon of the ninja world."
Suddenly, Black Zetsu curled his lips into a teasing smile and deliberately provoked him, "Obito, you only dare to prank a few of us old guys for fun. Do you dare to make an AI spoof of Konoha's Grand Elder?"
———
[Konoha Elder Tower]
Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, and Uchiha Izuna arrived at Arisu's office.
The moment they looked inside, all four of them were startled.
Inside, Arisu was seated calmly in his position, and Uchiha Tajima was sitting safely at his side.
"Dad, you're not dead?", Uchiha Madara couldn't help but say.
As soon as those words came out, Tajima's face, which had been smiling just moments ago, immediately darkened.
"Madara, watch how you speak. Now that you've awakened the Mangekyō, you've forgotten your manners, huh?"
"Remember this, when I hit you, it's just like hitting my own son.", Uchiha Tajima said with his arms crossed.
Seeing that his father was fine, Izuna couldn't hold back his tears. He stepped forward and hugged Tajima tightly.
Tajima's expression softened as he patted Izuna's head. "Heh heh heh…"
On the side, Senju Hashirama looked delighted. "That's great, Uncle Tajima pulled through."
Senju Tobirama, on the other hand, had already expected it. He understood that this had been a staged act between Arisu and Tajima.
After exchanging a few words, Madara and Hashirama made a proposal.
"Grand Elder, now that Konoha has many ninja clans, the four of us... Hashirama, Tobirama, Izuna, and I... have discussed it. We suggest establishing a leadership position, called Hokage. What do you think?"
Madara took the initiative to propose.
Arisu paused, not expecting that the Hokage position would still come about.
Since that was the case, he might as well go with the flow.
After all, he had originally planned to establish the Hokage position once the ninja clans were unified.
"Alright, I agree. Then which of you wants to take the position of Hokage?"
Arisu smiled and looked at them.
Hearing this, they looked at each other, and in the end, all of them smiled and looked at Arisu.
Arisu was taken aback. "Why are you all looking at me?"