Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

In an instant,

Onoki and Ai understood the predicament that Rasa had just experienced.

Faced with overwhelming power,

The two shadows were also completely immobilized, just like Luo Sha. They couldn't even raise their tongues to argue loudly, let alone slam their fists on the table in anger. Their bodies... had temporarily and completely lost control.

"This occasion... to be honest, isn't quite appropriate, but things have come to this point, so there's no need to drag it out any longer. I'll just be frank. What the Kazekage said earlier wasn't wrong. I intend to take back all the tailed beasts that the First Hokage assigned back then."

Zongxian so openly stated his intentions.

already,

I'm too lazy to hide it anymore.

Upon hearing this, Mei Terumi, sitting to the left of Sogen, immediately lowered her gaze, her heart heavy. This situation... was truly unsettling. Naturally, she was unwilling to simply surrender her Jinchuriki, but she lacked the courage to become an enemy of Konoha.

I couldn't help but sigh in my heart.

This 'shadow' job is really tough!

“The One-Tailed Beast of Sunagakure wasn’t assigned to us by the First Hokage; it has always belonged to us,” Rasa couldn’t help but say again.

“That’s right, the One-Tailed Beast wasn’t assigned by the First Hokage, so I didn’t say it was being taken back. I just temporarily detained it, and we’ll decide how to deal with it after investigation and research. These are two separate matters and shouldn’t be confused.” Sogen said righteously, leaving Rasa speechless.

What else can be said?

Konoha has already made it clear that they intend to rob us outright; saying anything more will be useless.

However... the Sixth Hokage may have gone too far this time, actually intending to take control of all the Tailed Beasts. This is tantamount to simultaneously making enemies of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and their own Sunagakure. If they unite, they might be able to give Konoha a surprise.

however,

next second,

"The Six-Tails' Jinchuriki is in Konoha. Returning the Six-Tails... can be done at any time."

Mei Terumi gritted her teeth, enduring the heartache, and slowly and deliberately expressed the feelings of the Kirigakure. Unlike Rasa, having witnessed the terror of the Uchiha clan, she had little confidence in fighting against Konoha. Even if the four great ninja villages joined forces, what could they do?

Zongxian has already mentioned this before.

Back when Hashirama Senju was alive, everyone was as docile as castrated cats under that wooden doll's feet, not daring to make a sound!

If they were to stubbornly confront Konoha, they would likely suffer another crushing defeat. Having already learned their lesson, the Mist Ninja were unwilling to endure such hardship again. After all, everyone has their moment of glory, and one should not mistake a moment for eternity. Konoha was currently powerless to resist, so... let's wait for the future.

Just like the Second Mizukage, he patiently waited for Hashirama Senju to die before leading the Kirigakure to set foot on the continent.

"You're too kind, Lord Mizukage."

Zongxian replied with a smile.

However, he didn't care too much about Mei Terumi's surrender. Whether it was the four great ninja villages besieging him or the three great ninja villages besieging him, it was not a problem for him. They were just troubles that he could easily quell. If these Kage knew what was good for them, he would be happy to relax a bit. But if they intended to resist to the end...

Then,

Let them resist to the end.

"Tsuchikage, Raikage, you can take your time to consider this. This final eight-round series will likely last quite a while. Just give me an answer before it ends." Sogen withdrew his gaze, and the mountain-like pressure that had been looming over Onoki and A disappeared like the receding tide.

but,

Whether it's the bad-tempered Onoki or the hot-tempered Ai,

Neither of them immediately jumped up to cause trouble. Instead, they sat silently in their chairs, stopping the guards behind them. They were unwilling to hand over their respective village's jinchūriki just because of Zongxian's words.

Unfortunately, the feeling of being unable to speak or move was truly unforgettable, and he couldn't muster the courage to just storm off the stage, thus ruining Zongxian's performance.

Especially Ai,

Recalling that undisputed crushing defeat from several years ago.

His clenched fists loosened slightly, and his slightly hunched buttocks pressed firmly against the chair again.

Is Konoha, now at its zenith, something they can defeat by joining forces? This question kept lingering in his mind, constantly tormenting his thoughts, leaving him no time to think about anything else; his mind was no longer on the Chunin Exams finals.

Just as Ai was caught in a dilemma between heaven and man.

Old man Onoki felt his scalp tingle, especially at Mei Terumi's surrender. He cursed inwardly, thinking that if the four great ninja villages joined forces, they might have a chance to teach this Uchiha brat a lesson. But these spineless cowards from the Mist Villages had just slid to their knees.

This not only weakened the expected strength of the anti-Konoha alliance, but also indirectly strengthened Konoha's power. To put it simply, it changed from a four-on-one fight to a three-on-two fight. In a real battle with Konoha, they were really unsure of themselves.

Don't say anything else,

The mere mention of the Rinnegan is enough to make one's mind uneasy.

A complex and eerie atmosphere permeated the five Kage. Apart from Sogen continuing to enjoy the match with great interest, the other four Kage had completely ignored the situation on the field. Compared to the fate of the Tailed Beasts, the match of a group of Genin was utterly insignificant.

Even the guards of the various shadows had different expressions and couldn't help but wonder what should be done about their own village.

At this time,

"Fengying, congratulations, your son has won."

Zongxian offered his congratulations to Luosha.

Rasa, who was pondering what to do, paused for a second before turning his attention back to the arena. He discovered that the fierce battle between the boys had come to an end, and Gaara had emerged from the impenetrable sand sphere. Hozuki Suigetsu, pale-faced, looked dejected.

The result of the first round of the match was exactly as the fans predicted.

Although Hozuki Suigetsu was also a prodigy, Gaara's talent was in no way inferior to his, and he was also the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast... Despite exhausting all his methods, Hozuki Suigetsu was unable to break through Gaara's absolute defense. In the end, before his chakra was exhausted, he decisively raised his hand to admit defeat, choosing not to continue fighting Gaara.

that's it,

The first round of the Chunin Exams finals has concluded, with Gaara of Sunagakure emerging victorious!

"...Is this how they're going to take Gaara away?"

Ignoring Sogen's congratulations, Rasa went straight to the point and asked how he would deal with Gaara.

"There's no rush. As long as your son doesn't lose control, we'll ask him to stay in Konoha for a while longer once the finals are completely over. By the way, Kazekage, you don't need to worry about your son's safety. Even if we have to deal with the One-Tailed Beast to protect Konoha's safety, it won't endanger your son's life."

"How is this possible? A Jinchuriki who has been stripped of their Tailed Beast is certain to die."

Rasa's eyes widened, his mind racing, and he instantly realized a possibility: "Could it be... that you, Hokage, have mastered a method to deprive the Tailed Beasts while preserving the Jinchuriki's life?"

"As expected of the Kazekage, his mind works fast enough."

Zongxian nodded and frankly admitted, "I have indeed made some progress on this matter. I have a way to ensure that the Jinchuriki does not die while extracting the Tailed Beast. Lord Mizukage does not need to worry about the safety of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki. Without the Six-Tails, Kirigakure may actually have one more top-notch expert who is not at risk of going out of control."

Having said that, Zongxian looked at Onoki and A again, "However, protecting the lives of Jinchuriki is also quite troublesome for me. Not all Jinchuriki will enjoy such preferential treatment. If they cooperate honestly, their lives will be safe. But if they try to resist... then I'm too lazy to make trouble for myself by protecting the lives of enemy Jinchuriki."

These words,

This caused Onoki and Ai's expressions to become distorted.

Ai's expression, in particular, was one of deep inner turmoil and pain. The Eight-Tails and Killer Bee... how should he choose? He was completely at a loss.

[Chapter 467: Madara Uchiha and his group await]

The tense atmosphere on the high platform did not spread outwards, and no one dared to casually spy on the situation of the Five Kage. Apart from this small group of people, the vast majority of the audience was already immersed in a sea of ​​cheers. People cheered enthusiastically because of the exciting battles between the young people on the field, and enjoyed this pleasant time to the fullest.

The first round of the match has ended.

Gaara secured his first victory in the final.

The second round of contestants then took to the stage, but... compared to the exciting battle of the first round, the fight between Kurama Yakumo and Temari was a bit baffling. It must be admitted that the visual appeal of illusion battles is really poor.

Especially for those viewers who are not ninjas,

If no one explained it to me, I wouldn't understand why the Sand Village girl collapsed to the ground after just a brief encounter. It was really... meaningless. Fortunately, this round ended quickly enough that the third round began before anyone could even utter a few dissatisfied boos.

In this round,

The two sides in the match are Naruto Uzumaki, a ninja from Konoha, and Rokuro Karatachi, a ninja from Kirigakure.

The fight between these two was incredibly exciting. Naruto summoned more than ten shadow clones and engaged in close combat with Rokuro Karatachi. Fists and kicks clashed, swords flashed, and the fight was fierce. The audience immediately forgot about the confusing match from the previous round and cheered for the amazing performance of the young men on the field.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Hokage, what... exactly are you trying to do?"

After a moment of silence, Onoki voiced his question. Staring at Sogen's profile, he demanded, "By placing all the Tailed Beasts in Konoha's hands, are you planning to wipe out the ninja world?"

"It's for peace!"

Zongxian leaned back in his chair, enjoying the competition among the young people on the field. "Back then, the First Hokage distributed the Tailed Beasts to various countries, intending to use their power to maintain peace. Unfortunately, reality proved him wrong. As soon as he died, war broke out. The Tailed Beasts, which were distributed equally, not only failed to play a balancing role, but instead allowed various countries to master large-scale weapons of mass destruction that could be passed down through generations."

"Your village... has failed the First Hokage's expectations."

These words,

The four figures remained silent.

Regardless of the circumstances, when the First Hokage convened the Five Kage Summit, he proactively distributed the Tailed Beasts to various countries, hoping that the ninja world could usher in a long period of peace. However, the final result was that each country and village slapped the First Hokage's tombstone twice with their actions.

From this perspective, Zongxian certainly has every right to demand the return of the tailed beasts he has assigned.

"Therefore, I decided to try a different path, which is to bring the eight tailed beasts under Konoha's control, so that Konoha would have an overwhelming advantage over any other village, and see if doing so could prolong the peace of the ninja world. That is... my goal."

Zongxian was telling the truth.

He even mentioned eight tailed beasts instead of nine.

Because the One-Tail was indeed in the hands of Sunagakure a long time ago, and it is the only tailed beast that has never fallen into the hands of the First Hokage. For Konoha, it makes little difference whether they control eight or nine tailed beasts. The reason for temporarily bringing the One-Tail under their control is simply because they need the power of the One-Tail to revive the God Tree and deal with Madara Uchiha and Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Once this series of troubles is resolved,

Returning the tail to its owner is not out of the question, as long as nothing unexpected happens during the plan.

"Peace?"

Terumi Mei murmured.

To be honest, she didn't believe such a reason, but upon closer examination, she realized that the Sixth Hokage seemed to have no reason to lie to them, and the Sixth Hokage's idea wasn't so outrageous.

In all the previous Shinobi World Wars, Konoha was always the one being declared war on; Konoha never initiated a war. Neither Konoha nor the Land of Fire had any interest in expanding outwards. The Land of Water was far overseas, nine-tenths of the Land of Wind's territory was desert, the Land of Lightning was a kingdom atop mountains, and the Land of Earth had endless barren mountains.

To be honest, bringing these places under our control would only increase the financial burden. Most of the land of fire is still forest, and we can't even develop our own territory, so we have no interest in touching those 'barren lands'.

That is,

Unlike the other villages, Konoha lacks a reason to expand outwards.

If Konoha possessed overwhelming power, it might actually be able to maintain long-term peace. After all, powerful ninjas will grow old and die, just like even the God of Shinobi couldn't withstand the reaping of death. But tailed beasts are something that can be passed down as family heirlooms from generation to generation; they are a power that can be inherited.

"...Is it true that the Jinchūriki's life was spared?"