I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 465 Looking back suddenly, I realized I had done so many inhuman things in my life.

Inside the Hokage Building, inside the Jonin training camp, the atmosphere was tense. Jonin, whom you would almost never see in the Jonin training camp on ordinary days, had also come here, including Sakumo Hatake, the Sannin, and the heads of various departments.

At the same time, there were also some new faces, such as Nawaki, Kushina, Uchiha Tenka, and Hyuga Sento, who all passed the Jonin Exams and were temporarily promoted to Jonin before the meeting began to participate in the meeting.

After reviewing the documents in his hand, Minato and Kushina leaned to the side, gently nudging Tatsuma with their shoulders, and then said, "Just as you predicted, the Third Kazekage has chosen to shift the blame outwards."

Tatsuma rubbed his temples and said, "I'm worried that this isn't the Third Kazekage's choice, but someone else's."

Minato frowned upon hearing this and said, "That shouldn't be the case, right? Didn't you already have the Analysis Team strengthen their surveillance of Sunagakure? That kid named Sasori hasn't taken any further action, has he?"

"I hope I'm overthinking it."

Tatsuma closed the documents, looked at Tenka and Sento who were rustling around, and asked, "What are you two discussing?"

Sento scratched his melon-shaped head and said, "We were talking about Yekura's matter. This time, we've been exposed, haven't we?"

Sunagakure has not yet chosen to declare war, but it has made public some information that the major ninja villages would never disclose. The information includes things that have angered both heaven and man, including things done by the various ninja villages themselves.

If these events become public, and only take a short time to ferment, the people of the five great nations will likely hold the ninja villages hostage and start a war against them.

The part about Konoha involves the actions of Tatsuma and his group in the Land of Water. Moreover, Sunagakure not only exposed Tatsuma and his group but also exposed Pakura, which is definitely a bad thing for Pakura, whose reputation has been rising recently.

"It all comes down to the speed of information dissemination. The intelligence receiving speeds of the four nations of Wind, Fire, Thunder, and Earth are roughly the same, and all four nations have been preparing for war for the past year. Now it's just a matter of who will start the war first."

As for the Land of Water, the intelligence is delayed, and coupled with the successive internal setbacks, even if they wanted to organize a ninja army to join the war, it would take some time. For us, this is actually good news.

Tatsuma nodded, then shook his head, not thinking it would be a troublesome matter, because neither Sunagakure nor Kirigakure had the ability to handle the real trouble.

"Tatsuma, what's your opinion?"

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was in the front row, turned around and asked Tatsuma a question, while gesturing for him to speak.

Tatsuma stood up, nodded, walked around to his seat, pointed to the Land of Earth, and said, "Everyone..."

The meeting room, where everyone had been discussing things, fell silent. Everyone looked at Tatsuma, who continued, "There's something I need to apologize for first."

Many people looked puzzled, after all, they couldn't think of any reason for Tatsuma to apologize. The information released by Sunagakure was all about the village's missions, and Tatsuma had done a great job, completing the missions excellently. He shouldn't have apologized.

As for the rest, we can only hear Tatsuma himself tell us. Tatsuma looked in the direction of the Land of Earth that he was pointing to and said, "The exposure of a large amount of information about Sunagakure will set off the inevitable Third Shinobi World War."

However, I don't think the person who lit this fuse was Sunagakure itself. I believe the most likely candidate is Iwagakure or Kumogakure. The Eight-Tails incident in Kumogakure will inevitably become their reason for launching an attack.

As for Iwagakure, that's where I need to apologize. I've been hiding something from the village all along.

At this moment, Sakumo Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the three Hokage advisors, the Sannin, and Tatsuma's teammates all straightened up, their bodies unconsciously tensing. They probably all knew what Tatsuma was going to say.

The others were increasingly confused, since Tatsuma rarely acted in Iwagakure. The last time was more than a year ago when he rescued Sakumo Hatake and the others. The subsequent Kikyo Castle incident and throwing the Four-Tails and Five-Tails into Sunagakure and Kumogakure were just follow-ups.

No one did a better job in the rescue than Tatsuma, but what was he hiding in the process?

Standing beside Tatsuma, Shikamaru, who had just been presiding over the meeting, frowned and glanced at Tatsuma with concern. Tatsuma turned his head and gave him a reassuring look before turning to the assembled Jonin and saying:

"In the process of subduing the Four-Tails and the Five-Tails, I used a very special ninjutsu, one that would provoke 'hatred' from other villages. I mastered Wood Release."

The meeting room fell completely silent. Even the sounds of breathing seemed jarring at that moment. Longjian, the leader of the sealing squad, stood up in disbelief, opening his mouth several times, but not knowing what to say.

He wanted to ask if it was true, but it was obvious that if Tatsuma dared to say it in this kind of situation, it must be true, and there was no need to ask any more questions.

Furthermore, he wanted to know how Tatsuma mastered Wood Release. Was it an innate ability, acquired through training, or perhaps from a Wood Release experiment back then?

If it's the first two, Longjian can accept either one. No, he can accept all three, but he doesn't know how to ask this question.

Because if he wasn't careful, his eager inquiry might turn into an interrogation. He tried hard to organize his thoughts, but his mind went completely blank.

The other Jonin were also filled with excitement and disbelief. This unique Wood Release technique in the ninja world had actually reappeared in Konoha decades after the death of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and was even created by a genius whose talent was no less than that of Hashirama Senju.

Some quick-thinking Jonin had already shifted their gaze from Tatsuma to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, seeing that they remained as steady as ever.

No, among the Hokage and Hokage advisors, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Torifu Akimichi were indeed as steady as a rock, while Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were also gaping in astonishment.

Clearly, even the two Hokage advisors were unaware of this news, demonstrating just how deeply it had been kept secret.

Perhaps realizing his lapse in composure, Mitokado Homura closed his mouth, adjusted his glasses which had almost fallen off, and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose face was calm and even had a slight smile.

That monkey! It must have known about it a long time ago!!!

No wonder, no wonder he so easily relinquished the power of the Hokage, directly delegating a portion of the Hokage's authority to Tatsuma as soon as he came of age.

Because it was destined. Without Wood Release, Tatsuma would have been the strongest contender, the kind of strongest contender who, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would have been the one no one else could have gotten the Hokage position.

However, given Tatsuma's talent, abilities, and achievements, coupled with his current Wood Release, even if Tatsuma didn't want to become Hokage, the entire Hidden Leaf Village wouldn't agree.

Even if Tatsuma only becomes Hokage and acts as a mascot, Konoha will definitely let him sit in that position and hold it firmly, because that's the weight of Wood Release.

To be precise, he was a powerful ninja, possessing the strength one would expect after adding Wood Release.

From this day forward, the Fourth Hokage is now marked by Tatsuma Sakamoto. Whether he wears the Hokage robes or not, whether he holds a succession ceremony or not, whether Hiruzen Sarutobi retires or not, will not affect the fact that the Fourth Hokage of the village is Tatsuma Sakamoto.

Tatsuma's succession to the Hokage position may be three or five years from now, but his becoming the Fourth Hokage begins today.

Once the only sound in the meeting room was breathing, Tatsuma, seeing many Jonin who seemed hesitant to speak, took the initiative to say, "My Wood Release did not originate from a Wood Release experiment."

"Thump~"

Upon hearing this, Longjian sat back down, his old face creased with wrinkles, his lips curving into a wide smile, and he could no longer suppress his laughter.

Tatsuma gestured for him to stop laughing, and Ryūma realized his lapse in composure. He covered his face with his hands and rubbed them repeatedly to suppress his laughter, but the corners of his mouth remained stubbornly downturned.

At the same time, Tatsuma pointed to the map and said, "What I want to say is that the Four-Tails and Five-Tails of Iwagakure have already learned of this news. According to my prediction, the Four-Tails and Five-Tails will regain their ability to communicate with the outside world in the near future."

In other words, Iwagakure will soon learn that I have mastered Wood Release. Combined with the trigger provided by Sunagakure, Iwagakure might also choose to announce it, or even directly ignite the fuse.

At this moment, many Jonin recovered from their excitement and understood what Tatsuma was worried about, and they all frowned.

As Tatsuma said, the ninja world's attitude towards Wood Release is extremely polarized. Konoha wishes Wood Release would reappear, but other ninja villages or organizations would not want Konoha to have another Hashirama Senju.

Nobody wants a life where even development depends on others' opinions, even though Hashirama Senju had a very good personality, so good that he not only didn't restrict the development of other ninja villages, but even funded their development.

This is also Chenma's biggest challenge.

Elsewhere, while the general public generally rejects powerful figures like Hashirama Senju from enemy countries, many still admire his character and conduct, and are not concerned about living in the same era as him.

But Tatsuma? Forget about it. With the exposure of Sunagakure's information, everyone in the ninja world can see clearly that Tatsuma has messed with all four countries of wind, earth, lightning, and water in the past six years.

This was Sakamoto Tatsuma in his youth, a Konoha ninja who had not yet truly grown up.

Given Tatsuma's past achievements, once he truly matures and acquires the legendary Wood Release technique, he is unlikely to be seen as Hashirama Senju by ninjas and civilians from other countries; he is more likely to be.

Madara Senju, or Hashirama Uchiha.

Madara Uchiha was at least limited by Hashirama Senju back then, but in this era, who will limit Tatsuma Sakamoto?

Therefore, Tatsuma will become a thorn in the side of other ninja villages and organizations, and Konoha will become a target for other ninja villages to attack and suppress. Konoha will face an unprecedented crisis!

(End of this chapter)