Under the moonlight, beside the crater lake, the hundred-meter-tall God Tree stretched its endless branches and leaves like a guardian deity silently protecting the Shikkotsu Forest island.
At the base of the God Tree, in a hollow space.
"This is it."
Heiyan and Tsunade arrived at this place and found the concentration of Natural Energy here especially thick. They looked up together and saw a root stem hanging down, secreting a colorless, transparent liquid that was about to drip.
It was Hero Water.
A drop plopped down. Heiyan reacted swiftly, snatching out a gourd to catch it. Then he secured the gourd beneath the root stem to make collecting the subsequent Hero Water easier.
"It seems my guess was right."
Heiyan rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he made the deduction, "This colossal tree in the Village Hidden in the Waterfall can transform part of the absorbed Natural Energy into Hero Water filled with massive Chakra. And since the Natural Energy concentration in Shikkotsu Forest is extremely high, its production efficiency of Hero Water has increased by dozens of times compared to before."
"In that case, what originally took a hundred years to fill one bottle of Hero Water could now be done in two or three years?"
Hearing this, Tsunade exclaimed in astonishment. She had just witnessed Heiyan's transformation after drinking the Hero Water and deeply understood how miraculous this sacred water was.
"For me personally, the effect of Hero Water has already reached a critical point. No matter how much more I drink, it won't increase my Chakra anymore."
Heiyan said with a smile toward Tsunade, then explained, "Therefore, when your Sage Transformation reaches the next stage, this bottle of Hero Water should also be nearly full. You can take it then, and you'll gain tremendous benefits. But don't forget, there's poison inside this sacred water—it needs to be separated first with Orochimaru's help."
"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony then."
Tsunade smiled radiantly, accepting Heiyan's kindness generously. After all, her Sage Transformation and Sage Mode were both successfully obtained thanks to Heiyan's assistance; she already owed him plenty—what's a little more debt wouldn't crush her now.
As for how to repay Heiyan, Tsunade hadn't yet figured that out.
Whatever he might ask for, she would probably agree.
Thinking about it, she sighed helplessly, then said to Heiyan, "If you ever have any requests or orders, I promise I'll come running whenever you call."
"Oh? That's great. Actually, I do have something I'd like to consult with you and hope you can help me out." Seizing the opportunity, Heiyan replied and made his request.
"What is it?" Tsunade asked curiously.
"Some ideas regarding Medical Ninja," Heiyan answered slowly while watching Tsunade closely.
Upon hearing this, Tsunade froze for a moment.
In truth, as Konoha's most outstanding medical ninja, she had always held various visions for this profession, hoping to implement and promote them within the village. Unfortunately, they had been rejected by the Third Hokage. He claimed these ideas were too ahead of their time and not mature enough for implementation yet.
Tsunade had always walked this path alone. Now, Heiyan actually cared about the future of the Medical Ninja system too.
"Quickly tell me, what's your idea?"
She snapped back to reality, grabbing Heiyan's arm eagerly, anxious to hear his thoughts.
Heiyan offered a gentle smile before explaining his thoughts, speaking slowly and clearly.
The two discussed for over an hour, going through many details, until finally reaching a consensus.
"The Jonin Meeting should begin soon. Let's take this opportunity to present these ideas together during the meeting."
As he spoke, Heiyan extended his hand toward Tsunade.
*Smack!*
Tsunade stretched out her hand as well, grasping Heiyan's palm firmly while nodding determinedly, her voice filled with anticipation:
"Good!"
Afterward, the two bade farewell to the Sage Slug, returning to Konoha using [Reverse Summoning].
*Swish! Swish!*
As soon as they appeared in Tsunade's home and hadn't even had time to rest, they received news that the Jonin Meeting was already taking place at the Hokage Tower.
Perfect timing.
Heiyan and Tsunade exchanged a glance and a smile, then rushed out again without delay toward the Hokage Tower.
Meanwhile, inside the meeting room of the Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen Sarutobi occupied the head seat directly facing the entrance, with the three Elders standing behind him: Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Orochimaru—who had now taken Danzo's place.
On the left and right sides of the table sat clan heads or elites from all major ninja clans within Konoha, including representatives from the Uchiha, Hyuga, Sarutobi, Shimura, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, Inuzuka, Aburame, and Kurama clans; not a single one was absent.
Additionally, there were several representatives of Jonin from commoner families, along with Anbu captains.
In short, nearly every powerful figure in the Leaf Village was there—practically squeezing the life out of the already-crowded room.
The last time this room had been this full was a year ago, when the village was invaded by Madara Uchiha—the battle at the Valley of the End still fresh in everyone's memory.
Right now, the atmosphere inside the meeting room was gloomy and oppressive, everyone frowning and looking tense.
"Has everyone arrived?"
Hiruzen scanned the room, set down his pipe, and asked Sakumo Hatake beside him.
Upon hearing this, the latter double-checked, then leaned in to whisper: "Reporting, Hokage-sama, only... Heiyan hasn't arrived yet."
Hiruzen frowned slightly, deciding not to wait any longer. He stood up from his seat and coughed twice.
Immediately, the room fell silent, with all eyes fixed on the Third Hokage.
"For centuries, surviving by completing missions, earning rewards to purchase weapons and food, and then funnelling those resources back into new missions—that has always defined a ninja's way of life. Thirty years ago, our great First Hokage founded the Hidden Leaf Village, uniting ninja from various families, establishing a long-term employer relationship with the Land of Fire's Daimyo mansion, thus ushering in the age of ninjas. The prosperity Konoha enjoys today would have been impossible without contributions from each one of you and your respective clans."
Hiruzen first reminisced about the past, summarizing the history of ninjas and Konoha's rise, before shifting tone and speaking with concern:
"But now, the situation everyone has seen for themselves. Our once-assigned missions are being snatched away by Sunagakure and Amegakure. Our ninjas have lost the mission resources essential to their livelihoods—it is indeed a matter of survival for the village."
"So, I beg you all to share your opinions and work together to find a solution that can help our village overcome this crisis. Thank you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Third Hokage bowed deeply to everyone present.
Hatake Sakumo stepped forward first, expressing his opinion publicly:
"I believe compared with Konoha, although Sunagakure and Amegakure ninjas are slightly weaker in strength, their prices are much cheaper. Their core competitiveness lies in cost-effectiveness..."
However, before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a Jonin from the Shimura clan.
"Stop dodging the key issues. Isn't it precisely because of Uzumaki Heiyan that the Daimyo's Mansion no longer assigns tasks to Konoha? If not for him offending the Daimyo's Mansion, Konoha would never have fallen into today's difficult situation."
The Shimura Jonin said coldly.
The Shimura clan is considered one of the most powerful clans in Konoha, second only to prestigious families like the Uchiha and Hyuga, with a population roughly equal to that of the Sarutobi clan.
However, half a year ago, when the former advisor to the Hokage Danzo Shimura "resigned due to illness" and handed over his position to Heiyan, the status and influence of the Shimura clan within the village immediately declined significantly.
As a high-ranking member of the Shimura clan, this Jonin clearly understood some inside information—that Danzo had not voluntarily retired but had been forced out of Konoha by Heiyan and had completely vanished without a trace since then.
Because of this, the Shimura clan held deep resentment toward Heiyan. The faction opposing Heiyan within the village was mainly led by this clan.
Sure enough, as soon as this Shimura Jonin spoke, many other ninja from the same camp also voiced their support, launching attacks against Heiyan.
"The facts have already proven that Heiyan is a hot-headed fool! Such a person is only suitable for charging into battle but absolutely lacks the talent to lead powerful clans and govern the village."
"To solve Konoha's current crisis, there's only one method—we must have Heiyan go in person to the Daimyo's Mansion and bow on his knees to apologize! Only after gaining the Daimyo's forgiveness will Konoha once again receive missions and funding from the Daimyo's Mansion."
"Right. Where is Heiyan anyway? Wasn't he supposed to be back by now? Why is he hiding? Is it because he doesn't dare show himself, lacking the courage to take responsibility for the mess he's caused?"
"...".
These people kept attacking Heiyan, growing louder and more agitated, fueled by shared rage.
At that moment—
Bang!
Fugaku Uchiha slammed his hand on the table, stood up abruptly, and angrily shouted: "All of you—shut up!"
He could no longer tolerate those pathetic cowards slandering Heiyan.
Fugaku's loud roar left the meeting room in stunned silence, with many staring at him in shock and fear.
Fugaku wasn't just one of the legendary Konoha Sannin, possessing Kage-level strength—he was also set to become the next clan head of the Uchiha. His power, reputation, status, and identity were all at their peak within the village; even the Third Hokage dared not treat him carelessly.
He stared coldly, sweeping the crowd with his gaze before locking onto the Shimura Jonin and speaking slowly and clearly:
"Heiyan has done nothing wrong."
I asked you, if you were Hashirama, would you just let the Daimyo's Mansion oppress your clan without putting up any resistance? Where's the honor of being a ninja?"
The Uchiha had always been an extremely proud clan, let alone someone like Fugaku, a genius who'd already achieved so much at fifteen. The Daimyo's Mansion meant nothing to him; he didn't even bother to look down on it.
"Fugaku Uchiha's absolutely right," Hiashi Hyuga said, standing up and chiming in. "On what grounds does the Daimyo's Mansion treat us like this? Without the Battle of Uzugakure and without Konoha's army guarding our borders, rival nation ninja would've already invaded the Land of Fire and taken the Daimyo's Mansion long ago. That so-called Daimyo is nothing but a corrupt fool!"
These shocking words sent shockwaves through the entire room.
Just like Fugaku, Hiashi was also among the Sannin. And as the eldest son of the Hyuga main house, his leadership over the Hyuga Clan was predestined since birth. In terms of status within the village, he was Fugaku's equal in every way.
"You two—Fugaku and Hiashi—you're simply out of your minds!" the Jonin from the Shimura clan shouted, pointing a trembling finger at them in fear. "If these words reach the Daimyo's Mansion, they'll brand you both as traitors!"
"The Daimyo is a descendant of the gods," an elderly man declared sternly as he rose to his feet. "From a bloodline so noble it's ruled our land for over a thousand years! This legacy must not be defiled!"
"Descendant of gods?" Hiashi snorted in contempt. "We're descendants of Immortal sages too, aren't we, Fugaku?"
"Hahahaha!" Fugaku couldn't have agreed more and immediately burst into wild, unapologetic laughter.
"These two – Fugaku and Hiashi – are disrupting the order of this meeting! Throw them out!" the Jonin from Shimura ordered coldly, trying to rally others present to drive them away.
"Just by you useless cowards?" Fugaku shot back.
As soon as those words were spoken, both Fugaku and Hiashi simultaneously activated their Mangekyo Sharingan and Byakugan, unleashing powerful waves of ocular energy that sent their opponents flying backward along with their chairs.
For a moment, the meeting room descended into utter chaos.
"Enough!"
Finally unable to bear it any longer, Hiruzen Sarutobi growled in a low voice filled with authority. His imposing gaze swept around the room, temporarily calming the conflict between the two sides.
As the Third Hokage of Konoha, Hiruzen had thought countless times about the future of the village. He had long realized that it was no good having Konoha's economic lifeline held tightly within the grasp of the Daimyo's Mansion.
He originally hoped to use this meeting as an opportunity to push for reforms inside the village, gradually freeing Konoha from its dependence on the Daimyo's Mansion.
But now, clearly, there was no consensus possible among the attendees, nor could any practical plans arise.
Could it really be that the community of ninjas was just a bunch of opportunistic riffraff without belief, ambition, or foresight?
Just when Hiruzen was feeling hopeless—
Creak.
Suddenly, the meeting room door was pushed open.
In an instant,
Swish swish swish swish swish—
Dozens of eyes around the table turned sharply toward the entrance. A man and a woman entered side by side, calm and composed.
It was Uzumaki Heiyan and Tsunade.
At this moment, both were dressed in capes over their armor. The man stood tall and handsome; the woman was stunningly beautiful. Together, they looked like a pair of perfectly matched golden boy and girl, making ordinary people feel inferior by comparison.
Perhaps due to the aura of the Sage Mode they both carried, an otherworldly presence surrounded them. The instant they stepped into the meeting room, all eyes locked onto them, stunned into silence.
As the attendees snapped back to reality, murmurs rippled through the room like wind through leaves.
The true star of this Jonin meeting—the person at the very eye of the storm and the center of a whirlwind of controversy, the one who had sparked endless heated debates among them...
At last, he had arrived.
"Uzumaki Heiyan, how dare you even show up at this meeting?"
Before anyone else could speak, that Shiranami Jonin rushed forward and confronted Heiyan head-on, loudly reiterating all the accusations from the opposition faction.
In the end, he demanded Heiyan take full responsibility.
"Finished?"
Heiyan glanced toward the Shiranami Jonin and said calmly.
His voice remained calm. No aura emanated from him at all. Yet, just one glance was enough to drain the blood from the man's face, sending him stumbling back several steps in fear.
During the past six months while Heiyan had been away from Konoha, many had openly criticized and insulted him as they pleased, as if his once-unshakable reputation had completely crumbled.
However, only when standing directly before Heiyan—before this godlike Ninja known as the top of the Sannin—could they truly feel that omnipresent pressure.
Heiyan pulled his gaze away and swept his eyes across everyone in the meeting room before delivering a statement that would shake them all to the core:
"Before resolving the crisis our village is facing, I'd like to ask all of you one question: Do you really believe Konoha should continue to exist in this world?"
[Thunderclap out of clear sky!]
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