Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode.

Chapter 78 Changes Brought About by Powerful Strength

In February of Konoha Year 33, Amegakure officially surrendered to Konoha, but the additional conditions attached to the surrender immediately caused a huge uproar.

Internationally, needless to say, the leaders of various ninja villages immediately realized Konoha's current weakness and sent their ninjas to infiltrate the Land of Fire in order to further investigate Konoha's true strength.

Meanwhile, the two major ninja villages, Iwagakure and Kumogakure, directly dispatched a large number of ninjas to the border of the Land of Fire to put pressure on Konoha, preventing Konoha from diverting too many troops to support the battlefield of the Land of Wind, and then stood by and reaped the benefits.

Inside Konoha, the villagers' initial joy at the victory vanished almost instantly, and they even felt ashamed. No one proudly told outsiders about Konoha's victory over Amegakure anymore.

A large number of militant ninjas and villagers gathered in front of the Hokage Building to protest, demanding that the Third Hokage reject Amegakure's surrender and restart the war in the Land of Rain.

Faced with the strong protests from the militant ninjas, the Third Hokage and his two advisors were at their wits' end. They quickly contacted the heads of the various ninja clans in the village and representatives of the civilian ninjas, asking them to help persuade these radical militant ninjas and villagers.

The clan leaders of each ninja clan were all shrewd and had a broad perspective. Although they disliked the Third Hokage and the two Hokage advisors' attempt to shift blame, they still reluctantly agreed.

They all knew perfectly well that if they didn't agree this time, the Third Hokage and the others would definitely make things difficult for their clan's ninjas in the upcoming war between Konoha and Sunagakure.

With the support of the various ninja clans, the Third Hokage was finally able to suppress the discontent of the militant faction in the village.

The war between Konoha and Amegakure has officially ended.

However, the turmoil caused by the Third Hokage's appeasement policy continued to ferment in Konoha Village, and the voices of dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage not only did not decrease, but increased.

A week after the end of the war in the Land of Rain, around noon, Kirito and Nawaki were having lunch together in the living room at Nawaki's house.

"I really don't know what the Third Hokage was thinking, to agree to such an outrageous surrender demand from Amegakure. If I were the Hokage, I definitely wouldn't accept such a surrender."

At the dinner table, Nawaki kept rambling on about his views on the Third Hokage's acceptance of Amegakure's surrender, his face full of indignation, showing his strong dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage.

Kirito listened patiently to Nawaki's words without offering his own opinion.

But he was also disappointed with the appeasement policy implemented by the three generations.

In his view, peace is won through fighting, and peace achieved through compromise is unsustainable and will only earn the contempt of others.

He believed that if Amegakure continued fighting, it would only hasten its defeat, and Konoha could hold out until Amegakure could no longer sustain itself.

Sometimes, war is all about that last bit of willpower; whoever loses their willpower first loses.

Undoubtedly, the Third Hokage lost heart before Hanzo, which resulted in Konoha winning but the benefits not being enough to cover the losses, and also revealing its weakness to other countries.

That was a terrible move.

Of course, he was never able to sit in the Hokage's seat in person, so he couldn't fully understand the pressure the Third Hokage was under, and he wasn't qualified to point fingers at the Third Hokage.

Just express your dissatisfaction slightly.

However, judging from the transformation of Nawaki, who was originally a simple guy who loved the Third Hokage very much, into someone who is now utterly disappointed in him, the Third Hokage's decision has greatly damaged his prestige in Konoha, and the young ninjas' impression of him has changed.

Ninjas admire the strong, especially young ninjas who are full of energy and passion. However, a strong person who is weak in the face of external threats is not worthy of their admiration and following.

"The young ninjas are disappointed with the Third Hokage, so they will inevitably choose a powerful figure who is strong in external affairs to serve and follow. In the original story, Danzo's Root grew rapidly in this way, didn't it? Third Hokage, did you see the hidden dangers in this?"

Kirito ate his food, thinking to himself.

"Hey, Kirito, are you even listening to me?"

Suddenly, Rope Tree's dissatisfied voice brought him back to his senses.

"Oh, I'm listening. Please continue, I'm listening."

Kirito replied dismissively.

"Hmph, you definitely didn't listen just now. But whatever, since you don't want to be Hokage, you can't possibly understand the sorrow I, the future Hokage, feel right now. I really want to grow up quickly, have Jonin strength as soon as possible, and then go to the battlefield to defeat those bastards from Amegakure and Sunagakure."

Nawaki pouted and stared at Kirito, saying with a dissatisfied expression.

As he spoke, he channeled his grief and anger into his appetite, quickly devouring the food on the table, and then left triumphantly under Kirito's bewildered gaze.

He will continue to hone his skills on the training field.

"That idiot, I hope he won't be used as a pawn by someone with ulterior motives. It's ultimately not good for him or the Senju clan to have such opinions coming out of his mouth, as it's against the Third Hokage."

After Nawaki left, Kirito regained his calm expression and sighed inwardly.

Then he picked up a bell from the table and shook it.

Soon, a maid entered from outside and respectfully said to Kirito, "Lord Kirito, please give your orders."

"Could you please bring another table of food?"

Kirito said in a pleasant tone.

"Yes, I'll have someone prepare it right away."

The maid answered immediately and then quickly withdrew, instructing someone to prepare new food for Kirito.

"Indeed, having great strength is the fastest way to gain the respect of others."

Kirito looked at the maid's respectful manner towards him and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Ever since it was revealed that he possessed the ability to easily kill a special Jonin, the villagers' attitude towards him has obviously changed dramatically. No one dares to treat him as a child anymore; their attitude has changed from care or contempt to respect or awe.

This change in attitude had both positive and negative effects on him.

The downside is that he feels more distant from his peers. Many of his old friends who used to play ninja games with him are now hesitant to greet or talk to him. Even when they do talk to him, they are somewhat reserved, unlike before when they were more casual.

In short, it has become increasingly difficult to connect with people your own age.

Another major downside is that the good old days of trying to buy things from those uncles and aunts' shops by pretending to be young and getting discounts are gone forever.

However, there are also many benefits. The biggest benefit is that the ninjas who are older than him no longer dare to treat him like a child. Genin will speak to him with an equal or even respectful attitude. A large number of Chunin will do the same. Jonin will at least regard him as an equal and will listen to him carefully.

This change in attitude became increasingly apparent after he officially became a medical ninja.

Once he demonstrated strength at the Jonin level, his status as a child was no longer a disadvantage in Konoha, but rather a plus.

Clearly, any ninja who isn't mentally unstable understands his potential, and that potential is very likely to be realized quickly. Perhaps in three to five years, he will become a Kage-level powerhouse.

Therefore, befriending him beforehand can only bring benefits and no harm.

For example, in the recent incident where the Third Hokage accepted Amegakure's surrender terms without paying reparations, which sparked protests from many militant ninjas, Kirito felt that this change in attitude was very good.

He only inadvertently revealed his dissatisfaction with the Third Hokage's appeasement policy to some patients during a consultation, and many civilian ninjas from the militant faction came to him.

Unbeknownst to him, he had already been regarded as someone to whom many of the village's martial arts ninjas could seek refuge.

It's tough for a new author to get ahead, so I hope all my fellow readers will visit often to increase the readership. After you finish reading, I hope you'll vote for this book and invest in it. If you could give me some monthly tickets and rewards, I would be extremely grateful. It's so hard for a new author and a new book.

(End of this chapter)