Chapter 160: The Next Step, Prelude and Finale.
Over the past five years, the ninja villages have kept their promises, and the supplies they've delivered have not decreased. However, from the attitude of the ninjas delivering the supplies in recent visits, it’s clear that the seeds of conflict buried deep within their hearts have likely started to sprout. Still, given Konoha's current strength, I don't think they'd dare defy the old treaty.
…
Konoha, Hokage’s Office.
While organizing intelligence reports, Minato discussed the current situation with Hakken. In the past five years, the major ninja villages had all recovered to varying degrees. Yet, the tribute they had to pay to Konoha every year remained a significant burden. Kirigakure aside, since it was a subordinate village, the tribute would only stop if Terumi Mei had lost her mind. But the Kage of the other three villages must have accumulated quite a bit of resentment.
This was inevitable. No one wanted to surrender the hard-earned wealth they had fought for. But they had no way to fight back. Konoha’s power had far surpassed what they had anticipated. To put it in perspective: five years ago, Konoha was like a newly awakened First Shinobi Village still in recovery. But now, the sleeping beast had fully risen, extending its sharp claws. No one knew where it would strike next. That oppressive atmosphere made even the surrounding beasts instinctively want to retreat. Such was the might of the First Shinobi Village!
"So, what’s our next step?"
Rubbing his temples, Minato asked. He had been overwhelmed with work lately. As Hokage, there were simply too many issues demanding his attention. A few days ago, he had talked to Hakken. After all, his disciple had grown up, and he thought it might be time to hand over some of the weighty responsibilities to him, allowing himself a bit of rest.
But the outcome had been exactly what he expected. His disciple didn’t even consider it and flatly rejected his proposal!
"Become Hokage?"
Not interested in the short term. And in the long run, when unification truly arrived, what would the title of Kage even mean? By then, perhaps only ascending to the throne would hold any real appeal for Hakken. For now, he definitely wasn’t becoming the Fifth Hokage. Besides, Minato was still young—he could manage.
"The first five-year plan for the ANBU is complete. Just training soldiers without real combat experience won’t lead to significant improvements."
"The second five-year plan can begin."
After a moment of thought, Hakken stood up and walked to the Ninja World map hanging on the wall of the Hokage’s office. He took it down and placed it on Minato's desk. Using a pen from the desk, he pointed to the small nations wedged between the major powers.
"Before the next great war breaks out, we need to reclaim these ninja villages and nations. This will help facilitate true unification later and prevent the remaining great nations from being caught off guard."
The Second Five-Year Plan.
Reclaim the small nations! Take control of those smaller ninja villages!
Perhaps the small nations, caught in the cracks between the great powers, had often complained about the unfairness of the world whenever war came. They were like buffer zones for the great nations’ conflicts. Being weak meant being bullied, slaughtered.
But they weren’t without options. Now, the opportunity lay before them to integrate those nations into Konoha’s sphere of influence. Any future attacks would be seen as a direct provocation against Konoha itself.
As a result, the power of the daimyō in those small nations would be diminished, relegating them to local governors. For the common people within those nations, however, this would be a huge blessing. This was the second step of Hakken’s plan to reshape this chaotic Ninja World.
After hearing his disciple’s words, Minato fell into deep thought. No one had ever tried annexing small nations in this way to expand their territory. Even Konoha had always seen those small nations as natural battlefields. No one had ever considered those lands themselves.
Take the Land of Rain, for example. It was the default battleground for the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Lightning. Had the Land of Water not been so far away, it might have joined the conflict alongside Kirigakure. But Hakken’s words had opened up a new way of thinking.
Peace sometimes requires necessary bloodshed. The path to unification had never been clearer.
“Is that so? Then we'll have our hands full from here on out.”
“The Ninja World isn’t small. Some ancient nations still cling to their own systems, making implementation quite challenging.”
After a moment’s contemplation, Minato nodded in approval of Hakken’s plan. This was true unification—difficulties weren’t the real fear. The true dread lay in losing the resolve to persevere.
“But Hakken, regarding this grand decisive battle you mentioned—how do you assess our chances against the current Leaf?”
After a pause, Minato voiced his lingering doubt. Was the so-called Infinite Tsukuyomi, coupled with Obito’s threat, truly that insurmountable? He struggled to envision anyone in present-day Konoha capable of challenging them.
In terms of elite combat power, the Night Owls—formed by his own disciples—were likely the most formidable force in the entire Ninja World. Then there were the meticulously vetted ANBU ninjas. Most crucially, the growth in strength of Konoha’s Kenpachi over these years would astonish many.
“Infinite Tsukuyomi is merely the prelude.”
Hakken shook his head, gazing out the window at the sky. No matter how Obito schemed with the Eye of the Moon Plan, Hakken feared nothing. Running a hand over his Zanpakutō, Hakken even felt like laughing. An Impure World Resurrection that could only be sealed, never truly destroyed? Beneath this blade, such a thing simply did not exist! A Zanpakutō—it cuts souls!
The true enemy had never been Obito or Madara Uchiha. It was the mysterious Ōtsutsuki clan! The very clan that made Kaguya Ōtsutsuki —the Rabbit Goddess, the progenitor of chakra—tremble with fear. What kind of existence was that clan?
Hakken’s intelligence was limited. Ultimately, he needed to have a thorough conversation with Princess Kaguya to gain deeper insight into the clan’s origins and power.
Before engaging in profound discussions with her, using advanced techniques to win her over and extract the truth about the clan’s lineage, boosting Konoha’s overall combat strength was an absolute necessity.
The era of ninjas is over? Who gave you the nerve to say such things!
Discussing this with Minato now was pointless and unnecessary. The Ōtsutsuki clan possessed Six Paths power per capita. Even the Ōtsutsuki ultimate technique, the Merciless Iron Elbow, could only be countered by the Uchiha’s grappling throw—absurdly powerful.
"... Anyway, first we’ll take down those small nations and minor ninja villages. Leave this to the ANBU reserve squad.”
“Those who excel will be formally admitted into the ANBU. Opportunities are equal for all, with the other members of the Night Owl Team overseeing the process. Should any trouble arise, Kakashi and the others will intervene.”
Having spoken in one breath, Hakken took a swig of sake and stretched lazily.
“And what about you?” Minato asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
“Me? I’ll enjoy the genjutsu first. Once I’ve had my fill, I’ll head out. Find some innocent Haku to have a proper chat with.”
“I’m finding your words harder and harder to follow.” Minato gave a wry smile.
Whether it was the so-called prelude to the Infinite Tsukuyomi or claims that the real test hadn’t arrived yet, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
The only thing he could be certain of was this: that child had grown up, changed greatly. But that heart... still belonged here.