The trial was over.
Under the envious and astonished gazes of everyone present, Shimoku still placed the Gatling gun back into the wooden box.
He'd wait until Riyō, Gin, and others grew stronger and officially became [pseudo-Jinchuriki] before unsealing it for their use.
After all, at this stage,
Yueji was currently the only [pseudo-Jinchuriki] in the village. Others didn't yet have the ability to fully utilize this Gatling gun.
So he had no choice but to keep it sealed away for now.
Of course, Shimoku also refrained from forcing Zabuza to take a trial shot.
The weapon's power did exceed even Shimoku's expectations—just slightly.
If Zabuza were to directly withstand its attack, he might end up as another sacrificed "tool."
Such a losing deal simply couldn't be done.
...
In addition, Shimoku decided not to invest much effort into designing or customizing other types of firearms just yet.
After all, the ninja world was vastly different from his past life.
For instance, back in his world, a standard sniper rifle had an effective range of no more than 1,500 meters.
But when arrows infused with chakra were fired using strength several times greater than that of an average human,
they easily traveled beyond a thousand meters,
and could even outclass standard sniper rifles in destructive power!
Judging comparatively,
arrows were actually more effective for long-range sniping.
Certainly, heavy anti-material rifles capable of firing several kilometers—or even tens of kilometers—were indeed superior.
However, given the current technological and material science limitations within the ninja world,
such weapons simply couldn't be manufactured.
Rather than struggle with them, better to focus on producing mid- to short-range firearms and rely on sheer quantity instead!
That doesn't mean giving up on such research entirely.
It just meant postponing further development until the village strengthened technologically.
After all, once their village fully absorbed the advanced technologies of the Rain Hidden Village, things would become feasible enough.
Remember,
even Asura Path Pain belonging to Nagato, after receiving bodily modifications, had laser weaponry installed inside the brain!
This clearly showed how technologically advanced the Rain Hidden Village really was.
Once they reached that tech level,
and managed to develop more laser weapons and electromagnetic weapons of their own…
they'd definitely experience a major overall boost in the village's strength!
At that time, with high-energy laser cannons or anti-material electromagnetic sniper rifles, combined with Byakugan enhancements,
killing experts at the Kage level from thousands of meters away wouldn't even be impossible!
Even experts at the Kage level,
if shot straight in the head or pierced through the heart…
would still die!
To sum up, the path of glory had already been set foot upon.
From here on out, they just needed to keep moving forward steadily.
By estimates,
it wouldn't be long before a "Six-god-tier-equipped" Genin squad could chase down and thoroughly dominate entire teams of Jonin enemies.
Just imagining it made one's heart race!
After all,
building a powerful Hidden Village and preparing to dominate the entire ninja world
wasn't something accomplished overnight.
Economy, culture, military power… everything was indispensable.
This was exactly why Shimoku always emphasized diverse developmental strategies for the village.
Meanwhile, as the Homuragakure Village was developing in an orderly manner,
Back at Konoha Village,
They had, through persistent and relentless efforts, mostly completed the reconstruction work.
Most of the shattered village had been restored to something close to its pre-war condition.
Of course, there were still some minor differences.
At least now there were far fewer mixed bathhouses and Lingerie Shops than before...
Also, in several designated areas of the village,
They had constructed multiple Underground Shelters,
To allow villagers to evacuate quickly and minimize casualties in case another war broke out...
It was clear that Konoha had been thoroughly shaken.
After all, in the first three Great Ninja World Wars, their village had only been attacked as far as its gates.
Unlike this time—twice—
When nearly half the village was completely destroyed with devastating losses!
Such a miserable state had finally shattered Konoha's deep-seated pride entirely.
As for their hatred toward the Uchiha Clan?
Sometimes,
When the power gap reached a certain level, such hatred would turn into nothing more than fear!
The Uchiha Clan—
An old lunatic and a young one,
Both possessed enough strength to annihilate the entire Konoha Village. What reason did ordinary villagers have left to hate them?
Just staying sane was considered fortunate enough.
Moreover, some people had even begun subconsciously shifting the blame onto the village itself.
Claiming they should've never opposed the Uchiha Clan from the start, nor pushed them away so harshly...
It was all Danzo and other higher-ups' fault for pushing too hard,
Which eventually forced the Uchiha into rebellion...
Punish Danzo severely...
Comments like these—and many others—were common.
Even some radical individuals went as far as:
Advocating arresting Danzo, Homura Mitokado, and others, handing them over to Homuragakure Village to ease tensions between the two villages...
These extreme and absurd opinions
Could not even be suppressed by Tobirama Senju himself.
He could do nothing but ignore them.
Evidently, no matter which village one was in, human nature remained difficult to eradicate.
Bullying the weak, fearing the strong, and always finding someone else to blame...
At this moment, none of them ever considered reflecting on themselves.
Who exactly were those loudest voices against the Uchiha Clan back then?
It was precisely these very people who had barked like dogs the loudest!
Even more eager than Danzo and the others to wipe out the Uchiha Clan entirely.
Yet now they regretted it.
But it was far too late.
...
At the same time, in the Hokage's office,
"Tobirama!"
An excited Hashirama Senju burst through the office door loudly.
"Brother, how many times have I told you—knock before entering!"
"For crying out loud, knock!"
Startled, Tobirama frowned and shouted in response.
He really wished he could lock his older brother away in a dark room just for peace and quiet.
"Oh right, I'll remember next time!"
"Huh? Tobirama, are you heading out?"
Scratching the back of his head, Hashirama looked curiously at Tobirama, who was tidying up his equipment.
"Yes."
"The village affairs are mostly settled now."
"It can run normally according to standard procedures without needing my further intervention."
"I finally have some free time myself."
"Do you still remember what I mentioned previously about Master Jigen?"
"I'm planning to pay them a personal visit to see if we can recruit them. I also want to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to the Fire Temple," Tobirama explained.
Things had been super hectic for him lately.
Without the support of his Impure World Body, he probably would've died of exhaustion at his desk.
Unfortunately, the current situation in the Ninja World was precarious.
There was no time for rest yet.
Preparations must be made early!
"Oh, that's what it is!"
"Then leave it all to you, Tobirama! Be sure to bring that great master back with you!"
Hashirama cheerfully encouraged him.
"Oh right, Brother, you seemed very excited just now—what exactly were you about to say?"
Prompted by Tobirama, Hashirama suddenly recalled the important matter and quickly answered:
"Oh yeah! Here's the thing."
"He's finally uncovered Madara's plan!"
"Oh?"
Tobirama raised an eyebrow in surprise. He found it hard to believe that his rather naive elder brother could actually uncover Madara's schemes and intentions?
How was that even possible?
That said, he didn't mind hearing his older brother ramble on a bit.
After all, it wouldn't take more than a few minutes.
Well,
After many days of tireless research by Hashirama...
He really did uncover many clues hidden within numerous Uchiha clan texts, notes, and manuscripts...
Eventually piecing together a coherent picture.
After all, Madara himself had once personally explained the contents on the Uchiha Stone Tablet to him.
And several subsequent Uchiha clan leaders, including Fugaku, had also interpreted the stone tablet, leaving behind different records.
Drawing on this info, plus Konoha's vast resources and the Akatsuki organization's behavioral objectives...
Surprisingly, Hashirama managed to put together a rough but reasonable theory.
...
A few minutes later, Hashirama finished explaining.
"So Brother, you're saying that the Demonic Statue is actually the legendary remains of a god?"
"And Madara wants to revive this god and obtain divine power; so he intends to capture all the Tailed Beasts and offer them to the Demonic Statue, thus resurrecting the deity?"
Tobirama asked skeptically, clearly finding it absurd.
One of them must've lost it.
"Exactly!"
"This is Madara's ultimate wish, his true goal!"
"Once he revives the god or gains its divine power, he will be able to completely dominate the entire ninja world!"
Hashirama said with unwavering conviction.
His instinct told him that his deduction absolutely had to be correct!
He knew Madara all too well—even better than he knew himself!
Therefore, in Hashirama's view, only such an ambition could possibly drive Madara to commit so many extreme actions.
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