As Kizaru returned to the village, the news of his victory over Kumogakure's forces and his capture of the Third Raikage spread through Konoha at an astonishing speed.
As for the matter of him subduing the Two-Tails, the higher-ups deliberately kept it secret. A tailed beast was far too dangerous—and far too rare—for news like that to be allowed out so easily.
With Hiruzen Sarutobi's silent approval, the Shimura clan spared no effort in spreading word of Kizaru's accomplishments, using the victory to elevate the name of their heir.
At the same time, the squad escorting the Third Raikage through the Land of Fire made no attempt to stay quiet. Everywhere they passed, the story of Kizaru's triumph was deliberately spread.
With both Konoha and the outside world feeding the same story, Kizaru's fame began to sweep across the shinobi world. In the eyes of the villagers, he had already become both a hero and a symbol of overwhelming strength.
As for Kizaru himself, no one understood the effect of that growing reputation more clearly than he did.
In just two days, the progress bar in his mind had risen from 53% to 66%, and it was still climbing at a remarkable pace.
At this rate, Kizaru estimated that as his achievements and fame continued to spread, that number would likely break past 70% before long.
And now, with the progress bar at 66%, he had gained another ability from Admiral Kizaru—
the peak physical ability of a Marine admiral.
If one had to describe the physical qualities of monsters at that level in a single word, it would simply be this:
inhuman.
At this point, even without chakra, Haki, or the powers of the Glint-Glint Fruit, Kizaru could fight the Two-Tails, Matatabi, head-on with nothing but raw physical strength.
On the outskirts of Konoha, at a training ground near the Forest of Death, Kizaru stood shirtless beneath the sun, wearing only a pair of black training shorts as he casually grappled with Matatabi like it was some sort of game.
When the Two-Tails lunged at him, Kizaru bent his knees and lowered his center of gravity instead of retreating. He thrust both hands out and caught one of Matatabi's massive forepaws head-on.
The muscles in his body tensed all at once.
The ground beneath his feet cracked.
Then, with a violent twist of his waist and shoulders, Kizaru suddenly heaved—
and threw Matatabi clean over his shoulder.
Boom.
The Two-Tails hit the ground hard and rolled across it before ending up on her side, visibly stunned.
For a moment, Matatabi just lay there, dazed.
She genuinely had not expected Kizaru to slam her to the ground using nothing but brute force, without even a trace of chakra.
Was this guy really human?
Rising slowly, Matatabi stared at Kizaru in disbelief.
"You're sure you're not from the Senju clan?" she asked.
Kizaru scratched the back of his head and laughed lazily.
"If my uncle and the elders heard you say that, they'd be furious, you know. Hahaha."
"What a monster," Matsuda muttered from the side, unable to hide his disbelief.
Kizaru placed a hand on his head and smiled in mock embarrassment.
"Oh dear, what a harsh thing to say."
"Tch."
Far away, in another land, Hanzō let out a cold snort as he set down the report in his hand.
The Third Raikage had actually been defeated and captured by a ten-year-old prodigy from Konoha.
It was humiliating.
So this was Kumogakure's strength?
And they wanted to speak of alliances with him?
Hanzō had once believed that the Land of Wind and Sunagakure were the weakest among the Five Great Nations.
But after reading the report before him, he suddenly felt that perhaps Kumogakure—the village of the Land of Lightning—deserved that title instead.
If not for the distance between the Land of Rain and the Land of Lightning, with the Land of Fire standing in between them, Hanzō might have already changed his plans and turned his sights toward Kumogakure instead.
At this point in time, Hanzō could truly be said to be standing at the height of his power.
He had crushed the Land of Iron's samurai and defeated the forces led by Mifune.
He had declared war on the Land of Wind, and when Sunagakure sent its shinobi, he had used the poison of Ibuse—the giant salamander—to devastate their vanguard, winning a resounding victory in the opening clash.
"Mayumi," Hanzō said, turning toward his trusted subordinate. "Prepare yourself. I've decided to declare war on the Land of Fire."
Umemura Mayumi, one of Amegakure's elite jōnin and one of Hanzō's closest confidants, frowned at once.
"Hanzō-sama, we haven't completely defeated Sunagakure's forces yet."
"The shinobi of Konoha have already been creeping through the Land of Rain for some time," Hanzō said, his voice rising with anger. "And that bastard Danzō has been moving in the shadows all this time."
He slammed a hand against the table.
"As for Sunagakure, I no longer care about them. If the Land of Rain is to become one of the great nations, then it must crush Konoha!"
"Hanzō-sama, Konoha's strength is not something to overlook—" Mayumi tried once more.
"That's enough."
Hanzō cut him off sharply.
"Carry out my order. The Land of Rain will formally declare war on the Land of Fire. Lead our forces and wipe out every Konoha rat hiding in this country."
Mayumi fell silent for a moment.
Then, seeing that Hanzō would not be persuaded, he bowed his head.
"Understood."
Once Mayumi left the room, Hanzō rose from his seat and walked toward the large map of the shinobi world hanging before him.
His eyes were filled with ambition.
From this day onward, the Land of Rain would rise to become the sixth great nation.
And he—
he would become the sixth Kage.
Peace in the shinobi world would be created by his own hands.
Elsewhere, in Iwagakure, Ōnoki was staring at a report of his own.
"Could that brat really create a new kind of peace in the shinobi world...?"
As the Tsuchikage of one of the Five Great Nations, Ōnoki had naturally received the news of Kumogakure's defeat and the Third Raikage's capture.
The more he read, the heavier his expression became.
For a fleeting moment, it felt as though he were looking at the rise of a second Hashirama Senju.
Back when Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha established the hidden village system, the shinobi world had experienced a rare period of stability.
The reason was simple.
Hashirama stood above the entire world.
As long as he lived, the other villages and their Kage did not dare act recklessly.
Any ambition they held had to be hidden in the dark.
But now, looking at the report in his hands, Ōnoki could not help but feel that another monster of that level had appeared.
Kumogakure's forces had been defeated.
The Third Raikage had been captured.
There were even rumors that the Two-Tails had also been defeated and subdued by the same person.
A shinobi like that was fully capable of destroying a nation by himself.
And what troubled Ōnoki most was this—
Shimura Kizaru possessed flight and terrifying speed, advantages even the First Hokage himself had not possessed in quite the same way.
An existence like that could suppress an entire country alone.
As long as Shimura Kizaru remained alive and loyal to Konoha, no other nation or hidden village would be able to truly contend with them.
Ōnoki slowly lowered the report.
Then he made his decision.
From this day forward, as long as Shimura Kizaru still drew breath, Iwagakure would not make an enemy of Konoha.
Kumogakure's bloody lesson was already there for everyone to see. Ōnoki had no intention of repeating it.
If there was to be an alliance, then they would build one properly.
Then another thought struck him.
The bounty.
The black market bounty on Shimura Kizaru had to be withdrawn immediately.
Ōnoki raised his head and looked toward the assistant standing before him.
"Withdraw the bounty on Shimura Kizaru at once."
"Understood," the assistant replied without hesitation. As one of the Tsuchikage's most capable aides, he clearly understood what Ōnoki was thinking and offered no objection.
Ōnoki continued, "And send word to Konoha. Tell them I wish to meet with the Hokage to discuss the situation in the Land of Rain."
"Understood, Lord Tsuchikage."
"Go."
The assistant bowed and quickly left the office.
Once the room fell silent again, Ōnoki remained seated, his expression complicated.
It was too late to pretend this was a small matter now.
The world was beginning to change.
And at the center of that change stood a single ten-year-old monster from Konoha.
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