"The current Hokage is Tsunade?"
Danzo could barely believe it. How could Tsunade have pulled this off? The way Konohagakure had developed was beyond imagination.
"Yeah. Surprised?"
Ichidai Kiyomu walked ahead, answering flatly.
Danzo had been resurrected, and he was now the Jinchuriki of a sage under the World Government.
As for how exactly he became a Jinchuriki, even Ichidai Kiyomu didn't know. He only knew that those old guys had all sorts of hidden tricks.
The Sage of Six Paths was the strongest of all sages—and also the most well-rounded.
But from another angle, his existence marked the start of a new age for sages, one where roles became more specialized.
Some sages might not be the best at fighting—but in certain areas, their strength could be overwhelming.
Still, even Ichidai Kiyomu couldn't figure out why those old geezers chose to back Danzo. In his eyes, Danzo just wasn't that valuable.
"How did she do that? That's impossible."
Danzo still couldn't believe what he was seeing.
As for Ichidai Kiyomu, he actually remembered Tsunade quite well. She was the only one who dared to fall asleep during a World Government meeting.
"It's easy. You just don't do anything."
"As for you..."
"The only value you have is that as long as you're alive, Konohagakure will never get better.
But once you and Sarutobi Hiruzen are both dead, Tsunade-sama won't even need to lift a finger—Konohagakure will naturally improve."
Ichidai Kiyomu mocked him.
He still gave Tsunade the respect she deserved.
After all, the Five Kage were the "Five Elder Stars" of the World Government, representing its public image. That was part of the deal between the ninja and the noble class of their world.
In that sense, the nobles were at least showing the ninja some respect.
But Danzo's face darkened even more at Ichidai Kiyomu's mockery.
And yet, he couldn't fight back.
Only after truly seeing the power of these sages did Danzo realize just how terrifying their strength was.
Power so great it could even control life and death—completely different from the so-called Sage Mode.
Even though Danzo was now technically a sage too, he was really just a puppet for the world nobles.
Sure, with time he might get stronger, but unless he could cross that final line, he'd always just be a tool.
And right now, he wasn't strong enough to go against Ichidai Kiyomu.
"Stay here. Too many people in the Hokage Building. If you get spotted, it'll be trouble."
Ichidai Kiyomu braced himself and walked into the Hokage Building, which looked like it was about to split in two. After his fight with Kakashi, he had a better understanding of how tricky Konohagakure could be—who knows what other monsters were hiding here.
Because of the recent events with Naruto and the major clans, Tsunade had been in a bad mood for days.
Her desk was fine—it was reinforced—but the building itself was close to falling apart.
As for Konohagakure right now, most of the important things had already been arranged.
Most of the clan elites had already left, leaving the village more empty than ever. And of course, someone else wasn't having a good time either.
After mocking the major clans in public at the Hokage Building, Chiriku had been getting flamed nonstop these past few days. The clans weren't exactly enjoying themselves either.
All the drama had basically turned Chiriku into a walking revolution propaganda machine. No one even bothered hyping up Shanks anymore—Chiriku had started using Nagato and the revolution army as his go-to weapons to pressure the clans.
But the clans had had enough. Tired of hearing him praise the revolution army, they pulled out real intel tying him to them: "You like yelling so much? Fine. Here's your proof, traitor."
And yes, the intel was real. The clans had ways to gather info on the revolution army and even plant spies among them.
But here's the thing—you could accuse anyone you wanted. Just not Chiriku.
Even Shikaku couldn't be bothered to investigate him. And even if the World Government found out, they wouldn't waste time looking into it either.
That's because Chiriku was clearly just a loyalist who was mad at how messed up Konohagakure had become. Sure, maybe he acted a bit extreme—but wasn't that just proof of how much he cared?
As for the clans' response? Not laying a hand on Chiriku already showed they considered him one of their own. They just couldn't take the embarrassment.
Anyway, for the past few days, Konohagakure was either arguing or fighting nonstop. Tsunade even had him thrown out of the Hokage Building.
"They say those guys are getting ready to send you back to the Fire Temple. You've been a monk for so many years, and it doesn't seem like you've made any progress!"
Asuma said with a cigarette in his mouth, shaking his head.
No doubt about it—Chiriku was basically roasting a whole group of people by himself, and he wasn't holding back at all. Even Shikaku got dragged into it.
Well, same for Asuma, but he was already used to it.
"Send me away? Do they even dare? Worst case, they toss me to the frontlines. Even then, they'd still have to apologize to me properly."
Chiriku and Shikaku had completely different focuses when it came to internal affairs.
Shikaku came from a noble ninja clan, so he naturally had the trust of the major families.
But Chiriku didn't.
Shikaku, in his position, still had to show some respect and care for the big clans.
Chiriku? From how things are going now, it's obvious he doesn't care about any of that.
So almost everything he handles is military and political.
He's in charge of training the Marines in the Land of Fire, training new recruits, and coordinating with people sent by the World Nobles, among other things.
You could say Chiriku had a deep grasp of the entire military structure of the Land of Fire.
Before, that wasn't a big deal—but now that the major clans had sent most of their forces out, Chiriku, being the one who knows the Marines best, was definitely not going to be allowed to sit still either.
Someone has to take charge on the outside, right? Someone needs to command and manage the bigger picture.
Kakashi, as the next Hokage, technically qualifies—and his skills are recognized by everyone.
But when it comes to battlefield command, Kakashi just can't match Chiriku, because that takes serious brainpower and long-term vision.
In all of Konohagakure, aside from Shikaku, only Chiriku had that kind of big-picture thinking.
In the original story, Shikaku was also the chief strategist during the Fourth Great Ninja War—his ability speaks for itself.
And right now? He's even more extreme than in the original timeline.
Don't ask why—it's all because of Shanks.
Sure, Shanks is just one man, but every time he makes a move, it involves tens of thousands of people.
The first time, he was attacked by tens of thousands of pirates. That had nothing to do with Shikaku.
But the second time, in the Land of Wind, more than 200,000 people were involved. The incident included ninja from the Five Great Nations, members of the World Nobles, and a bunch of chaotic pirates.
When Shikaku got the report that Jiraiya had sent back, he was totally stunned.
He had no idea where all those people had even come from.
Back during the original Ninja Wars, the numbers weren't this crazy. Now with pirates thrown into the mix, Shikaku honestly felt like he was way out of his depth.
What kind of micromanagement is even possible anymore? You think you can run this thing by staring at a map? No way.
So, faced with that, Shikaku shifted gears and started thinking like Shanks—focusing on grand strategy.
Why? Because he had no choice. Micromanaging is pointless now—every battlefield has too many unpredictable variables.
And Chiriku? He's different from Shikaku. He was forced into this by Nagato.
As for what Nagato and Konan are like—well, Kakuzu and Orochimaru summed it up best: if you know, you know.
They're not dumb at all. It's just that they're not the most well-rounded people.
And Chiriku? He had no clue what was coming.
But Nagato trusted him completely. And Chiriku couldn't let that trust go to waste. So by sheer willpower—and with the old ideals of his late friend "Big Buddha" pushing him forward—Chiriku turned himself into a strategic thinker on Shikaku's level.
"But if you head out," Asuma thought for a second, "the World Government is definitely going to start adjusting their military too, right? I mean, with that many people moving at once, someone's gotta handle the logistics."
As someone who oversees external affairs for Konohagakure, Chiriku naturally holds a high-ranking position.
More importantly, Konohagakure actually deserves it.
They've already sent people out, and soon, it won't just be the Land of Fire's Marine that has Konohagakure's people—there will be Konohagakure ninja within the Marines of the entire World Government.
That's how politics works.
And Chiriku? This guy's background is squeaky clean.
He was an orphan from Konohagakure, persecuted for years by Danzo and forced to hide out in the Temple of Fire.
After Danzo died, he came back to Konohagakure and helped rebuild it bit by bit.
And besides that? He doesn't belong to any ninja clan. His only real friend is Asuma, and Asuma's background is also pretty sensitive.
As for what happened with the Third Hokage, and the whole plan to collapse Konohagakure back then—everyone involved was there at the time. Let's just say, everyone knows the unspoken truth.
It's one of those things no one talks about. Everyone just saves face for each other.
It's like how the Third Kazekage was called the strongest Kazekage, or how the Fourth Kazekage got assassinated by someone—some things just need to be left alone for the sake of appearances.
So when it comes to Chiriku's identity, it's right there in the open.
Sure, Konohagakure has a lot of influence, and others are willing to show some respect. But if they tried to appoint someone from a major clan, the other villages would never accept it.
Instead, Chiriku—who makes the big clans feel awkward just by standing in the Hokage building—turned out to be the perfect choice.
And truthfully, Chiriku really is clean—so clean it's scary. He's basically a die-hard Uzumaki fanboy.
"The World Government will definitely make some counter-move. And when it comes to military matters, I'm sure the other ninja villages will want a hand in it too."
"Kumogakure definitely will. The others… not strong enough yet."
"But that guy, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Chiriku changed the subject, frowning as he looked toward Danzo in the distance.
Seeing Chiriku's gaze, Asuma looked over too.
"Yeah, same here. Maybe we saw him at a World Government meeting or something."
"I hope that's all it is."
Chiriku stayed silent, but deep down, he'd already made up his mind.
That guy wasn't from the World Government. He was a ninja.
---
You can read 50 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu