A statue over 300 meters tall rose from the site of the original Valley of the End.
The people who built this statue were not ordinary workers, but all ninjas, and above the rank of Chūnin.
After all, at a height of 300 meters, most Genin would run out of chakra before even reaching the top, and their chakra control would not be good enough, which could easily cause damage.
It took three thousand Chūnin two months to complete the sculpture. The rest was the work of the sculptors. During the day, people could be seen crawling on the statue like ants.
As for who the statue belonged to… needless to say.
This was to commemorate and express gratitude to Yami for unifying the ninja world.
They believed that the Hokage Rock in Konoha and the statue in the center of the village were not enough to represent his achievements, so they spontaneously built an unprecedented statue for him at the Valley of the End, so that future generations would have the chance to admire his great deeds.
Yami had tried to refuse in every possible way at the time, but the people were too enthusiastic. In the end, he could only sigh, "You have made me suffer," and let it go.
There was no way. They could not dampen the people's enthusiasm. This was a spontaneous action and had nothing to do with him.
He only made a few requests at the end to ensure that the statue carved by the craftsmen would show at least one-thousandth of his own style.
A year passed slowly.
The turbulent ninja world gradually returned to stability, and the punished ninjas from the defeated nations also completed their tasks one after another and waited for new assignments.
Konoha had become the capital of the Ninja Kingdom, and its size had expanded several times again. Facilities such as the Forest of Death and major training grounds that hindered the city's development were all demolished and moved to the farthest areas.
Tram cables were installed throughout most parts of the city, and public transportation was becoming increasingly complete. Konoha was now too large, and even ninjas needed transportation. They could not simply run across rooftops every day.
Currently, the permanent population of Konoha had exceeded three million, and wealthy merchants and common people from other nations were gradually preparing to relocate.
They could no longer just build bungalows or four- to five-story high-rise buildings as before. More than ten-story residential buildings had begun to appear in the village.
In the former strongholds of Suna, Iwa, and other villages, Konoha also built branch bases to prevent remote areas from slipping out of the control of the Ninja Kingdom.
Hokage Building.
Although he was nominally the current ruler of Konoha, the succession ceremony had not yet been held, so Shisui did not work in the Hokage's office. This was his respect for Yami.
During this year, Shisui's ability and magnanimity had also won over Konoha's high-ranking officials.
Even Danzō's attitude had become much calmer.
He had no intention of causing trouble.
Instead, he led Root to gradually reduce its presence, guarding Konoha only from the shadows. This made Hiruzen jealous.
Damn it, when he was Hokage, Danzō constantly made trouble for him, but now that an Uchiha had taken the position, he became obedient. How could Hiruzen feel balanced?
But Hiruzen had no say in Konoha now. He was just an ordinary supervisor. Whatever he said would be pushed back by the Second Hokage, so he could only sulk in silence.
In the office, Shisui frowned, as if he had encountered a difficult problem and was unable to act.
After a long while, he suddenly spoke.
"Where is Yami-sama?"
An Uchiha quietly walked out from the shadows and whispered, "Two days ago, we received news that Yami-sama is currently in the territory of the former Land of Demons, accompanying Koyuki Kazahana for a film shoot."
"So leisurely…" Shisui sighed subconsciously, then immediately returned to a serious expression.
Only when one was in this position could they understand how much pressure it carried.
In the past, he was Yami's confidant. He knew most of what Yami did, and the important tasks were completed by him personally. It was also through this process that he came to understand Yami's thoughts and ideas, gradually changing his own personality.
After experiencing the initial fear, Shisui had been full of energy when he learned he would become the new Hokage. He vowed to continue the glory created by Yami and keep Konoha strong.
But as he worked on it, he became more cautious.
As a leader, the hardest part was not coming up with ways to do things, but choosing one decision among thousands and bearing the consequences.
Because of his decisions, some people might become rich overnight, while others might become homeless.
Some could rise to high positions, while others would disappear completely into the crowd.
The more emotional a person was, the more hesitant they would be before making a decision, and the more tormented they would be afterward.
At first, he only needed to follow Yami's orders. He never thought that just speaking a word, issuing a command, would be so difficult.
In order to make himself as "absolutely correct" as possible, Shisui had not had a good night's sleep in the past year. Even on weekends, he read documents at home or disguised himself to gather intelligence with his own eyes.
But there were still too many things that made him hesitate, such as the current matter.
Sighing, Shisui instructed Yuichi, "Send someone to find Yami-sama. I can't make the decision on this matter. I am not the real Hokage yet."
(To be continued.)
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