Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"...Ahem, elders, please don't be anxious. Although your analysis makes a lot of sense, and I also think it's possible that Shiki was responsible, there's currently no concrete evidence to prove it was him. Moreover, Shikaku has already said in his letter that all the villages suffered heavy casualties after the great battle, and Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure have already withdrawn from the Land of Rain. If it really was Shiki, he would have already come to Shikaku and the others to negotiate, instead of going back so easily. Besides... even if it was Shiki, using it to force Tsunade to comply... Tsunade isn't that kind of person. I think you're overthinking it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi almost choked on the wild ideas of those old guys. He coughed twice to clear his throat and get the smoke out of his throat before speaking.

However, the old guys' wild ideas also gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a sliver of inspiration, making him regretfully slap his thigh. If he had known this trick back then, he wouldn't have just watched that Uchiha girl get married...

I regret it so much!

"How can I not be anxious! What if that bastard Shiki can't win Tsunade's heart but still wants her body? And if there's something else going on... well... 0ДQ"

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi say that only fueled their anger. Their minds were racing with images of what was to come. It was bad enough that the Senju clan's princess was pregnant without even having a boyfriend, but if the child was the Golden Lion of Sunagakure... they would be furious!

“…”

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked helplessly at the old guys, extremely admiring their creative imagination at their age. If Tsunade really gave in and got pregnant with Shiki's child, that would be a good thing!

How amazing is the Golden Lion's talent?

With Tsunade's talent, if she were born in Konoha in the future, wouldn't Konoha be guaranteed a double-star red stick?

Where else can you find such a good deal...?

"Alright, let the young people handle their own affairs. That brat Shiki isn't as despicable as you think. If it really was Shiki, then we'll wait for Sunagakure's reaction. Hokage, you don't need to worry about Nawaki. We're at war now. If Sunagakure really wants to use Nawaki to harm Konoha, then please don't hold back."

After wearily interrupting the old guys' unscrupulous speculations, Mito Uzumaki said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "If Shiki really is just using Nawaki to get Tsunade, as the old guys think... I'm not worried. I can tell that even though Tsunade keeps calling him a bastard, she doesn't actually hate that brat Shiki."

After all, the Golden Lion was willing to wait for her for so many years, which shows his sincerity. It's just that Tsunade is not yet able to deal with the complex issues between villages.

What worries her most is that Sunagakure might use the Rope Tree to demand that Konoha cede territory and pay reparations.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi really agrees out of consideration for Hashirama and Tobirama, then all the efforts and sacrifices of Hashirama, Tobirama, and so many members of the Senju clan will have been in vain!

"...I understand, Lady Mito. Please rest well. We'll take our leave now."

Hearing Mito Uzumaki's words, the three giants of Konoha were filled with admiration. The previous generation was so noble, but they really couldn't do it!

If Sunagakure really uses Nawaki to force them to cede territory and pay reparations, they really have to. They don't want to be ganged up on by the two adults in the future; they can't handle either of them alone!

However, seeing Mito's exhausted face, it's best not to say such things. These past two years, Kushina and Minato haven't even had time for a date... ugh! And her sealing techniques have improved so rapidly, it's clear Mito won't last much longer. It's better to go along with her wishes...

.......

Konoha is in chaos because the Crown Prince has disappeared, and the entire ninja world is in a frenzy. The war in the Land of Rain is still unresolved, and so far all sides are losers. Each village has lost a lot of people. Among them, the weakest village, the Rain Village, has suffered a significant drop in strength, almost to half of what it was before, due to the serious injury of its leader, Hanzo of the Salamander, and the three consecutive major battles.

Although the casualty ratios of the Cloud, Rock, and Sand ninja clans were not as severe as those of the Rain ninja clans, they still lacked the strength to continue fighting Konoha in the Land of Rain with their current forces. Among them, the Rock ninja clans suffered the most, losing a high-ranking leader.

In terms of casualties, Konoha still had the strength to fight again, given their large population. With the Cloud, Rock, and Sand ninjas returning home to recover, Konoha could be considered the victor in the war against the Land of Rain, since they had already held off the four-way coalition forces in the Land of Rain.

However, considering the mistake made by Konoha's chief advisor Danzo before this battle, Konoha actually suffered the greatest losses in this war. Moreover, in this battle, Konoha's chief advisor Danzo was subjected to cruel treatment by some unknown idol group from Sand Village, making his life worse than death. In addition, the Uchiha clan leader, who fought five against one, was permanently retired without even a farewell while protecting his son. Furthermore, a group of Konoha ninja were poisoned and lost their fighting ability... In any case, Konoha was not much better off.

Such casualties left the ninja world stunned. A single battle claimed the lives of a leading figure in Iwa ninja, a renowned leader of the Uchiha clan, and severely injured Hanzo of the Salamander, although the number of Iwa ninja's heads seemed to be a case of suicidal behavior.

But this is only the beginning and high-ranking officers have already been killed in action. The casualties are in the tens of thousands. This war is even more intense than World War I!

Now all eyes are on Kirigakure, who has remained completely silent, and then on the other three villages. Who will Kirigakure target this time...?

234. Even on a date, the Mizukage can run into Madara.

Ever since Hozuki Gengetsu led his team to raid the Land of Earth during the first World War, Kirigakure has become synonymous with cunning, treacherous, and underhanded in the minds of most people in the ninja world. The Land of Water's geographical location, far from the mainland battlefield, not only resulted in incomplete intelligence about them from other countries and villages in the ninja world, but also gave them an absolute advantage in the war.

The First World War was caused by a lack of intelligence, allowing Hozuki Gengetsu to lead a group to steal the Land of Earth's homeland without anyone noticing. If it weren't for Shiki's "accidental" discovery, the fate of the Land of Earth would have been very uncertain.

This is why, in this great battle, when there were no moves from the Mist Ninja, the Raikage, Onoki, and Sunagawa all fought quite conservatively, not daring to send out too many people to lead the charge, lest their own main force be fighting outside and they not even know when their own base was being attacked.

If Onoki hadn't had a profound realization, he wouldn't have felt safe letting the village escape. They had learned this lesson the hard way during World War I, twice in fact!

Therefore, when most people saw that Kirigakure had fought against Konoha and several major ninja villages without making a move, they began to speculate that Kirigakure was plotting to raid someone else's territory again...

.....

However, many people don't know that the Hidden Mist Village is no longer planning to raid the enemy's base. Even if they did, it wouldn't be so bad, since their reputation is already ruined. It would be more practical for them to take advantage of the war to make some gains.

But now that their water shadows have disappeared, how the hell are they going to steal an egg's house?!

Since the Land of Rain declared war, the Hozuki, Minazuki, and Kaguya families, having tasted the sweetness of raiding the Land of Earth's territory during the first war, have actually had this idea. Although their Mizukage died in the first war, they did indeed make a fortune from that raid on the Land of Earth.

They wondered if the war would repeat itself from over twenty years ago. But when they went to the opposite side of the Mizukage to ask to be the vanguard, they found that their Mizukage was gone. Damn it, the person in charge is most afraid of disappearing. What the hell is the point of fighting then?

So even though they knew that everyone in the ninja world was focused on them, they could only feel helpless and try to find the person in charge first.

...

"Hmph! I didn't expect someone like this to become the Mizukage. He's not even as good as Byakuren."

Meanwhile, in a basement somewhere in the Land of Water, Madara glanced smugly at the object resembling a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) on the ground in front of him and said...

He was also inwardly amazed at how incredibly strong he was! After all these years, he was still so damn good at fighting; the Third Mizukage couldn't even withstand a single slap from him...

The roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) in front of Madara is none other than the Third Mizukage, whom the Kirigakure ninja have been searching for.

It's a damn coincidence, really. To make the world even more chaotic... ugh! To make the world even more chaotic, and when White Zetsu's clones were causing trouble in several major ninja villages, and those villages were all declaring war on Konoha, Madara, because both White Zetsu and his clones suffered from seasickness just like Hashirama Senju, further confirmed that White Zetsu was created from his best friend's cells—even his quirks were the same as his best friend's—decided to personally come to the Land of Water. After all, sitting for too long made his butt numb; he needed to exercise. Relying on that ugly monster behind him wasn't enough; life is about movement!

However, it's unclear whether it was fate or just bad luck that the Third Mizukage was able to run into Madara on his dates.

Just as Madara stepped into the Land of Water, before he even had a chance to boast about his past glories to his underlings, he happened to run into the Third Mizukage, who was secretly playing a duet with one of the daimyo's beloved concubines.

The Third Mizukage, still savoring the exquisite skills of a certain concubine of the Daimyo of the Land of Water, saw Madara and the memories sealed away for many years flooded his mind like a raging torrent. That look that made everyone look like a grandson, that domineering aura that looked down on the world, and that temperament that had never been surpassed even after decades—who else could it be but Madara, the Asura of the Shinobi World who had passed away many years ago!

The Asura of the Ninja World is still alive??

Just as the Third Mizukage was completely bewildered as to why the Asura of the Ninja World was still alive, perhaps because he hadn't fought in many years and was itching to show his skills, Madara forgot his good habit of asking his opponent to dance before making a move. Upon recognizing the person in front of him as the Third Mizukage, he excitedly summoned the Blue Giant and slapped the still bewildered and unresponsive Third Mizukage into a meat sandwich.

In fact, given Madara's current state, if the Third Mizukage were prepared, Madara would have had to put in a lot of effort to defeat him, even if he summoned the Blue Giant. There are incompetent top students, but there are no incompetent leaders. To be able to sit on the throne of Kirigakure's leader, one must have something to offer.

However, those who lived under the immense power of Madara and Hashirama Senju had a deep-seated fear of them. The sheer bewilderment of witnessing someone who had been dead for decades, coupled with the terror instilled by Madara's doting gaze, caused him to momentarily lose his composure, resulting in him being slapped flat by Madara.

He became one of the most mysteriously killed figures since the Fourth Shinobi World War, even more lowly than Shamon, at least Shamon still has people visiting his grave every year...

"Lord Madara, you killed the Mizukage. Without finding the Mizukage, Kirigakure can't possibly start a war with Konoha!"

Black Zetsu said with a black line on his face, "Their purpose in coming to the Land of Water is to cause trouble and drag Kirigakure into the battle. They want to create chaos in the world and weaken Konoha's strength at the same time. When they encountered the Mizukage, he was thinking of having the old man use his Sharingan to control him, which would make it easier to get Kirigakure into the battle."

But now look what's happened! They've slapped the other side into a meat sandwich. With no Mizukage to lead the charge, what's the point of fighting a war? They should just make a grand family drama first!

"...Right now, having that brat Golden Lion leading several villages to besiege Konoha is enough. As for Kirigakure... let's wait until they choose a Mizukage!"

Madara realized he had acted impulsively, but he couldn't be blamed. The Mizukage was so weak, while Madara himself was so strong that he couldn't even withstand a slap from Madara. But none of this mattered to Madara!

As long as his number one die-hard fan, Golden Lion, is effective enough in fighting Konoha, there's absolutely no need for those useless Amegakure members to boost Konoha's stats. If Black Zetsu didn't always think this kid was an unlucky conductor and extremely ominous, he'd be tempted to give this number one fan a lesson and brainwash him. He's his fan, not from Konoha, has enough talent, and doesn't need brainwashing—what a perfect candidate!

235. Hey! I, Uchiha Madara, also have fans.

Thinking of his fans makes Uncle Ban feel great!

I, Madara Uchiha, also have fans!

Back then, almost all young people idolized his best friend Hashirama. Many were afraid of him, and given his personality and character, he certainly didn't have the same appeal as Hashirama...

When his younger brother told him that Shiki was a fan of his, he was a little taken aback. Shouldn't everyone in that era be a fan of Hashirama?

In the era when he and Hashirama Senju dominated the ninja world, there were many outstanding figures, and handsome people were everywhere. However, although Hashirama Senju was not handsome, he was so popular that many people remained in the second or third tier even after decades of debut. Even he, the most handsome and powerful genius in the history of the Uchiha clan, had to transform into a powerhouse actor. But powerhouse actors are not as popular as idols. Back then, he only had a few fans among the Uchiha clan, and no fans outside the Uchiha clan.

I didn't expect this golden lion to be so profound; I admire his talent and ability...

"......"

When Black Zetsu heard that Madara hadn't mentioned the Golden Lion Shiki, whom he had predicted wouldn't live past eighteen and who was now in his early thirties, he immediately fell silent. That kid was truly a freak!

After returning from the Land of Whirlpools, he dug out his history notes to investigate the origins of the Miyazaki clan. However, because he had focused on the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans for nearly a thousand years, he had very little information about the Miyazaki clan of the Land of Wind. Nevertheless, there were some records of the Miyazaki clan's rise to power. The Miyazaki clan's rise to power was relatively short, only two or three hundred years, like most ordinary clans in the ninja world. It was incomparable to the hundreds or thousands of years of history of the royal families like the Uchiha, Senju, Hyuga, and Uzumaki. Therefore, his previous hypothesis that the Miyazaki clan was a product of Hagoromo Otsutsuki's drunkenness, and that this kid was a reincarnation of Hagoromo Otsutsuki's drunkenness, was no longer valid.

After all, apart from him, no one can withstand the ravages of time. Even Hagoromo Otsutsuki couldn't, let alone his son. If it weren't for the fact that Hagoromo Otsutsuki's drunken offspring could develop such strange and powerful taijutsu and swordsmanship, what else could he be but a freak? He had been in the ninja world for over a thousand years and this was the first time he had encountered such a freak. Moreover, this freak was also difficult to handle, with a bizarre personality. On one hand, he was fighting against Konoha, and on the other hand, he liked the girls of Konoha. Wasn't that a contradiction?

.......

"Hey! Good morning, handsome boy! How about going to the hot springs with your big brother today? You've grown so good all this way just staying home..."

"No."

"Shall we go to the park? There are lots of little girls there every morning..."

"Not interested."

"Let's go to the toy store? There are a lot of little girls there..."

"No."

"........"

"Aunt Chiyo, have you noticed that handsome Sasori is a bit... withdrawn?"

In Sunagakure, Masato looked at Sasori, who had just finished breakfast and immediately hopped back to his little room on his short legs, and said helplessly to Chiyo, "This kid is almost four years old, and he still stays in his room all day playing with wooden figures. He barely farts two or three times a day. He seems a bit reclusive."

After the war in the Land of Rain ended, every village suffered losses, and Sunagakure was no exception. After returning with their men, Sunagawa and Ebizo had to give compensation to the families of the men who had been hailed as village flags and carry out a brainwashing campaign. After that, they had to plan the next attack. If nothing unexpected happened, it would be impossible to go to war with Konoha again for more than half a year.

The same applies to other villages. After all, the two major battles in the Land of Rain have caused heavy losses to each village, and they need some time to recover.

However, these matters are the responsibility of the head of the household and the Minister of Military Affairs. After returning to the village, Mato became an idle person. The Jonin team had more than 20 secretaries who took turns working every day, and their work efficiency was much higher than his. Now he was too lazy to even clock in for work.

Several days after he returned, he noticed that the handsome young boy, Scorpion, was becoming increasingly withdrawn. When his father was a child, he would either bury himself in chemistry books or play with wooden figures. However, his father would occasionally go out for some fresh air, and it was precisely because of these occasional outings that he got to know his mother.

This little guy is now an extreme case. Aside from coming out to eat during mealtimes, he stays in his room all day like a little adult, studying his wooden dolls. Even during mealtimes, he won't utter a sound for half an hour, and no matter how you try to coax him, he won't react. He completely lacks the innocence and cheerfulness of a child, instead giving Masato a feeling of seeing Snake...

Are all research geniuses this arrogant?

"You're the reclusive one. Scorpion only recently started making his own puppets. Don't bother him unless it's absolutely necessary. This is his first puppet ever."

Chiyo rolled her eyes at him, then couldn't suppress her pride and said...

Her gaze softened as she turned to look in the direction of her beloved grandson's room.

Making puppets at the age of four!

Before her beloved grandson was born, she would never have believed that someone could make their first puppet at the age of four. Having inherited all the puppetry secrets of the puppeteer progenitor, Wen Zaemen, she could be considered the most outstanding genius in the Land of Wind besides Wen Zaemen. She herself only started making her own puppets at the age of seven, while her beloved son started making his first puppet a year later at the age of eight.

However, her beloved grandson's talent shocked her. He had only been involved in puppetry for less than a year, yet he had already learned to make puppets. His talent far surpassed hers. She even suspected that the ancestor, Wen Zaemen, had seen the decline in talent in their puppetry profession in recent years and had probably reincarnated in her beloved grandson. Starting to make puppets at the age of four was just too damn impressive!

Isn't her nephew amazing? A man who can wipe out an entire village with a single sword strike, a super genius that the Wind Kingdom has seen only once every few centuries. But when her nephew was four years old, he was still running around the village playing in the mud!

"Don't be too happy yet. It's great that your precious grandson is so talented, but from a psychological point of view, a super genius with an overly aloof personality isn't necessarily a good thing. There are far too many super geniuses in history who have gone to extremes, such as... Uchiha Madara?"

Seeing Chiyo's proud face, Masato, while eating the sumptuous breakfast on the table, said, "Good heavens, ever since Sasori was born until he was weaned, he's been eating instant noodles for breakfast for several years in a row..."

He originally wanted to compare Orochimaru to him, since Orochimaru had two childhood friends, yet he still ended up killing his mentor, Hiruzen Sarutobi. However, considering Orochimaru is now a top contender for Hokage, he could only use his idol as a foil. Look at Madara Uchiha, he had a great buddy like Hashirama Senju, yet he still managed to raid Madara's base with his fox spirit.