This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 232 Five Years Later: Peace Ambassador Black Zetsu (Two Chapters Combined)

Time flies, and five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

In recent years, the ninja world has entered a state of arms race.

The various ninja villages spared no expense in building the Sky City, almost exhausting their funds. Even the daimyo behind them were struggling to keep up, which is why it took five years to build the Sky City, which was only the size of a castle.

It was now Konoha Year 53.

According to the original timeline, five years have passed since the Nine-Tails' rampage, and the Konoha 1s are all five years old.

Of course, many things changed because of Ryuji, the big butterfly.

The Nine-Tails did not cause trouble five years ago, and Minato and his wife are still alive.

The Third Hokage did not resign for forcibly and unconditionally ending the war with Iwagakure.

Ultimately, reality is reality, and illusion is illusion.

The content of comics remains unchanged, but reality can develop in different directions due to people's different choices.

……

The Sky Castle of Konoha.

At this time, the Sky Cities were heading to the Land of Rain. According to their agreement, the four Sky Cities would meet here, and then begin to issue propaganda declarations, divide their respective combat missions, and attack Sunagakure.

Yes, there are only four.

Although Black Zetsu united the entire ninja world, only the other four of the Five Great Ninja Villages had the capability to build Sky Castle within five years.

Although the Sky Castle of the Sky Ninja Village is only the size of a large castle, these ninja villages don't have many puppeteers skilled in architecture. The construction work is mostly done by ordinary craftsmen, with ninjas only serving as laborers and assistants.

"The hatred that has been suppressed for years has finally had a chance to be released."

Standing on the edge, watching the white clouds drift by below, Hiruzen Sarutobi was filled with emotion.

Although he himself advocates for peaceful development, the damage that Ryuji Ayaki inflicted on Konoha in the war five years ago was so great that the village's hatred for him has not diminished in the past five years.

Even he, the Hokage, couldn't stop the villagers' revenge... This is the will of the people, and it cannot be stopped.

Even if he could stop it, he wouldn't.

Although the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was still in power at this time.

But the signs of time became more and more obvious, and the toil of various things made his body increasingly weak. His chakra, strength, and speed weakened significantly. Although he barely maintained the peak of the Kage level, this weakness also made him feel the urgency that his days were numbered.

Before that, he had to eliminate the last hidden danger for Konoha.

—Ryuuji Ayaki!

Although his current enemy is the entire Sand Village, he understands that it was Ryuji Ayaki who transformed Sand Village into a force comparable to the ninja world in just a few years.

Ryuji Ayaki – This person's existence disrupted the balance of the ninja world.

If we don't take this opportunity to eliminate him, the situation in the ninja world will inevitably become dominated by Sunagakure until other ninja villages produce similar geniuses.

Such a genius could probably only be matched by the First Hokage in the entire history of the ninja world!

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't think that a similar guy would appear again anytime soon, and even if he did, he wouldn't necessarily be in his own backyard.

"While our strength hasn't waned to the point of being unable to move, let's seize this opportunity and eliminate this threat, even if it costs us our lives!"

……

Fueled by the villagers' hatred, all the fighting force in the village, except for the genin and a few chunin who remained in Konoha to protect the villagers, had now arrived at Sky Castle.

Back in Sarutobi's younger days, he never imagined that one day, ninja battles would take place from the sky.

However, there is a crucial arrangement to be made before that.

"Orochimaru, have you finished what I asked you to do?" Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to look at his disciple.

Orochimaru licked his lips, a strange light flashing in his eyes: "Yes, Sarutobi-sensei, both the First and Second Hokage have been resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique. With Zetsu's assistance, the technique has been greatly perfected!"

As they were talking, the door was suddenly flung open.

Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, their bodies and faces cracked, entered.

Hashirama's face still held lingering curiosity and excitement.

"I never expected that ninjas in this era would be riding in one of these things."

"This is the Sky Castle of Sky Ninja Village. It took me a lot of effort to conquer it back then. I never expected that this little monkey would make this thing."

The two of them approached Hiruzen Sarutobi while exchanging a few words.

The First Generation immediately recognized the Third Generation and waved, saying, "Isn't this the little monkey? I didn't expect you to be so old. Judging by your age, you're probably even older than me!"

"First-sama-sama, second-sama-sama!"

The third generation couldn't help but smile wryly.

He's quite old, yet he's still the Hokage, but these two treat him like a child, which leaves him speechless.

Tobirama noticed Sarutobi's embarrassment and couldn't help but criticize him sternly, "Brother, watch your words. That little monkey is the Hokage now. If you keep talking like this, he'll lose face in front of his subordinates."

"Is that so?" Hashirama looked at Sarutobi, then at the speechless Orochimaru, scratched the back of his head, and laughed awkwardly.

"It's alright. In front of you two adults, I am just a child."

"Times have changed, you... never mind, let's not talk about this anymore." Tobirama originally wanted to say something, but he felt it was too troublesome and had little to do with him, a dead man, so he simply stopped talking and changed the subject, saying, "I have already heard the details from your student, so you don't need to feel any burden. I created the Impure World Reincarnation precisely for this day."

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage nodded.

When he decided to perfect the Impure World Reincarnation technique, he was strongly opposed by Tsunade, who did not want her deceased grandfather to be disturbed.

It took a lot of persuasion, from the survival of Konoha Village to the future safety of the ninja world, before she finally accepted it.

However, ever since Orochimaru began his research on perfecting the Impure World Reincarnation technique, Tsunade has never spoken to them again.

Now that we have an understanding of the First and Second Hokage, we can finally take care of Tsunade.

The Third Hokage raised his head and looked into the distance. In the azure sky, three large black dots appeared, resembling the protagonist's silhouette... these were the Sky City, which consisted of the other three ninja villages.

Although they are all sky cities, their architectural styles are distinctly different, each with its own unique village characteristics.

The Third Hokage's expression turned serious. "Regarding the issue of command in this war, we will need the First Hokage's assistance!"

"no problem."

Although the first generation usually has a somewhat mischievous appearance, to put it bluntly, he is still very good at getting to the point when it matters.

The four sky cities converged in the air and then stopped when they were about ten meters apart.

Stone bridges extended from the entrance, forming a simple platform in the middle. The Kage from each ninja village, accompanied by two guards, walked out of the castle and onto the platform.

The group consisted of the Fourth Raikage, the Third Tsuchikage, the Third Hokage, the Fourth Mizukage, Black Zetsu, and the leaders and guards of various small and medium-sized ninja villages, totaling more than thirty people.

They sized each other up, and finally all eyes fell on the four shadows.

"Our combined forces of Chunin and above number about 6. Even if Sunagakure has autonomous puppets, they are far inferior to us. But we should be wary of the chakra cannons!" the Fourth Raikage said.

The Fourth Raikage had full confidence in his own forces, but the thought of having his chakra cannon stolen made him uneasy.

Ultimately, a weapon capable of blasting the moon is not so easy to resist.

"That's not a problem," the Third Hokage said. "Our Konoha and the Uzumaki clan have been friends for generations, which is why we received sealing techniques and barrier techniques from the Uzumaki clan. These techniques were passed down from the Sage of Six Paths, and they can withstand even weapons that can blast the moon apart."

He added, "Of course, that's assuming you have enough chakra."

"Now the entire ninja world, except for Sunagakure, is united. Apart from the One-Tailed Beast and the Six-Tailed Beast, whose whereabouts are unknown, we still have the chakra of the seven tailed beasts to utilize. Chakra shouldn't be a problem, right?" Yagura said.

"Five Jinchuriki are enough to supply chakra."

"Now that the threat of the chakra cannon has been resolved, let's discuss the next important point!" Zetsu said, "What the Allied Forces fear most is internal discord, fighting amongst themselves, or even stabbing each other in the back..."

At this point, Black Zetsu glanced at Onoki, and then continued before the Raikage could erupt: "Therefore, this operation must select a leader who can coordinate and direct operations, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past."

"That's natural."

"Without a leader whom everyone trusts to command, I'm afraid no one would feel at ease with each other!"

"That's right. Without a leader, the allied forces' advantages cannot be realized."

The importance of command is self-evident, and Black Zetsu's words were agreed upon by everyone.

"Since everyone agrees, then I'll take the liberty of recommending myself!" After the chorus of approval subsided, Onoki was the first to speak. "After all, I'm a few years older than everyone here and have more experience to lead you to victory."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Raikage stepped forward to object, "If you become the leader, then Kumogakure will withdraw from this operation."

"What does Raikage mean?"

"Is the old man pretending not to understand?" Yagura sneered. "Your reputation is renowned even in Kirigakure overseas, and I don't trust you."

"You..." Ohnoki was furious.

However, he was well aware of the good deeds he had done and knew that what others said was true and could not be refuted.

But remembering that he had stabbed Kumogakure not long ago, he still shamelessly said, "Times have changed. Facing Sunagakure, which threatens the entire ninja world, I will not do anything to bring about my own destruction."

If Sunagakure, another of the Five Great Ninja Villages, were to stab them in the back during wartime, it would inevitably lead to a complete rout.

Even if he manages to win by a narrow margin, the alliance that betrayed the entire ninja world will not let him off the hook afterward.

but.

Although everyone is well aware of this, Onoki's past actions still fail to convince the public.

After an argument, the conflict centered on the Raikage and the Tsuchikage.

Onoki said he could give up being the leader, but he couldn't let the Raikage be the leader.

He had previously stabbed Kumogakure in the back and was worried that the Raikage, as the leader of this operation, would use the people of Iwagakure as cannon fodder.

If the Raikage becomes the leader, he will lead Iwagakure out of the village.

At this moment, Black Zetsu said, "In that case, let the Hokage take command this time!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him in surprise.

Black Zetsu chuckled and continued, "Whether it's the Raikage or the Tsuchikage, if one of you becomes the leader, the other will withdraw, and the alliance will collapse. So the only option is for both of you to withdraw."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded slightly.

"Although the Fourth Mizukage quelled the internal strife in Kirigakure and led the village into a new era, in the end, the Mizukage not only lost to Sunagakure on the main battlefield in the Land of Whirlpools, but also lost to Ryuji Ayaki in Kirigakure afterward. Everyone will doubt whether you have the ability to lead us to victory."

Upon hearing this, Yagura's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, but he was unable to refute it.

"But the Hokage is different." Black Zetsu continued, "Although Konoha also lost to Sunagakure six years ago, it was a surprise attack by the enemy, and no one expected such a powerful weapon as the floating continent. The Hokage still defeated their leader, Ryuji Ayaki, even when outnumbered, and ultimately protected the village. His strength and prestige are more than enough to make him the leader this time."

"That's right. In terms of character, prestige, and strength, how can Onoki compare to the Hokage?"

"I support the Hokage, of course, as the leader of this operation."

I agree.

"I have no objection!"

"Me too!"

As soon as Black Zetsu finished speaking, everyone agreed, even the Raikage and Yagura admitted it.

Although Onoki's expression was somewhat unpleasant, he had to admit that Hiruzen Sarutobi was the most suitable person to lead this operation.

"Since everyone thinks so highly of me, then I can only presume to try my luck this time." Sarutobi stroked his mustache, a slight smile on his face.

Although he had coveted this position from the beginning and even set a goal to take it, he was unexpectedly offered it to him without even having to compete for it. This unexpected development truly delighted him.

Black Zetsu was extremely grateful to Black Zetsu for advocating that he be the leader of this operation.

"As expected of someone who inherited the Akatsuki's ideals, in order to achieve a balance of power in the ninja world and maintain the First Hokage's ideal of peaceful development, he did not hesitate to use the Sky Castle blueprint as a trump card. He was not tempted by power at all. Such a person should not be treated unfairly."

The thought flashed through his mind, and Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said, "Because everyone has had various grudges in the past, in order to avoid infighting, we ask Mr. Zetsu to serve as the peace ambassador and be responsible for mediating the conflicts between the villages."

Peace Ambassador!?

Black Zetsu was stunned, his face filled with disbelief.

For so many years, he had been hiding in the shadows, stirring up trouble and causing chaos in the ninja world, but in the end, he was appointed as a "peace ambassador" by the leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

This is truly surreal.

(End of this chapter)