The Great Nations had each established their own Ninja Villages, and although the Land of Waterfall was only a small territory, it refused to be left behind. Three years after Konoha was founded, Takigakure no Sato was finally established.
Today was the day Amemiya Ruri, revered as the strongest shinobi in the Land of Waterfall, was to assume office as the First Takikage.
Ruri had met the current Daimyo of the Land of Waterfall five years ago and helped him overthrow a tyrannical regime to take his current position. However, the Daimyo's prestige was only average, on par with other elders.
Therefore, his direct appointment of Ruri as the Takikage of Takigakure was quite unconvincing to many.
Ruri looked at the few people in the conference room, feeling a bit flustered. When he helped the Daimyo ascend to power, he indeed harbored thoughts of befriending and supporting him, but he never expected to become Takikage this way. Although it was a small shinobi village, he was still a Kage.
In fact, the Daimyo had his own considerations. With Takigakure newly established, the position of Kage, the leader of the village, naturally had to be entrusted to his own people to ensure peace of mind.
Who knew if these various shinobi might harbor selfish motives? He funded the establishment of Takigakure for the sake of the Land of Waterfall, not for shinobi who might not be truly loyal.
Just as Ruri was troubled, unsure how to handle the situation, a "ding" sound suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Host assumes the position of Takikage, Village Chief System activating.]
"What? My cheat has arrived?" Ruri was stunned for five seconds. He had been in this world for decades and had never had any cheats or golden fingers.
Everything he had now was painstakingly fought for, little by little. A sudden cheat really caught him off guard.
[Name: Amemiya Ruri]
[Overall Strength: Elite Jōnin]
[Talent: Jōnin]
[Chakra Nature Affinities: Wind, Lightning]
[Special Abilities: None]
[Evaluation: Reaching Elite Jōnin strength with Jōnin talent, young man, you've done very well.]
Looking at his attribute panel in his mind, Ruri couldn't help but exclaim that the system was very accurate. If he hadn't developed powerful jutsu and secretly borrowed many secret techniques to display Elite Jōnin strength, he would indeed have only reached a standard Jōnin level, just like his talent suggested.
He had clearly felt no improvement in his strength for the past two years. It seemed his talent was indeed limited.
System bro, you're so late. You should at least give me a novice gift package or activation reward, right?
Ruri secretly anticipated that if his strength could be further improved, he would be confident enough to suppress everyone present with his power alone, as the shinobi world was a place where strength was respected.
[Congratulations to the Host for gaining the recognition of the Daimyo and the village's high-ranking officials, becoming Takikage. Rewards have been issued. Please check, Host.]
The rewards were issued directly? Ruri was startled, then thought about it and realized it made sense; the Daimyo had already made the appointment.
Even if everyone in the conference room opposed him becoming Takikage, Amemiya Ruri had to be Takikage, unless they didn't want the support of the Land of Waterfall.
Without the material and financial support of the Land of Waterfall, a few shinobi clans trying to support a ninja village would be a pipe dream.
Even powerful clans like the Uchiha and the Senju had to rely on the support of the Land of Fire to establish a ninja village.
Where do I check the rewards? Ruri's thoughts stirred, and a space seemed to appear before his eyes, with a black, round sphere floating in mid-air.
Truth-Seeking Ball??! Ruri recognized the sphere at a glance. Although it wasn't like the ones hovering behind the Sage of Six Paths, and there was only one, even one was a powerful weapon with Six Paths-level power!
Even an Impure World Reincarnation body would turn to dust upon contact. In this era where no one possessed Six Paths-level power, it was an existence that could kill gods!
With something so heaven-defying, let alone Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, even Uchiha Madara might not be able to defeat him. After all, if he shaped it into a shield, neither Wood Release nor Susanoo could break it.
However, Ruri highly doubted if this was a real Truth-Seeking Ball. Would the system make him invincible from the start?
[Host, rest assured, the Truth-Seeking Ball is genuine.]
The system seemed to have read Ruri's mind and promptly reminded him, but this only made him more suspicious. He had never seen a system so generous that it would give a world-destroying artifact after the first mission.
[Truth-Seeking Ball: A black orb containing all five basic chakra natures and Yin-Yang power, surpassing Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta. It can nullify all ninjutsu in the world, and any object it touches will be erased. It can be transformed into any shape at will for offense and defense. However, because the Host only possesses Wind and Lightning chakra natures, he cannot control it for long periods or change its form.]
Ruri, with a face full of doubt, read the information on the Truth-Seeking Ball. When he saw the first half, he was so excited he almost couldn't contain himself, but after finishing, he calmed down. Sure enough, there were limitations.
The Truth-Seeking Ball was originally a product of all seven chakra natures converging. He only possessed two, so obtaining it was already a stroke of luck. Flexible use was simply impossible.
Think about it, can a ten-year-old child swing a three-hundred-kilogram hammer? Even if he could lift it, it would be a miracle. Could he still be expected to perform various techniques with it?
"Takikage-sama, what do you think of our proposal? We will form the Takigakure Elder Council, responsible for handling all village affairs, to share your worries, making things easy and relaxed for you, and you can also give an explanation to the Daimyo."
An old man sitting below Ruri spoke. They had already made a decision while Ruri was studying the system.
Elder Council? And responsible for handling all village affairs? Ruri hadn't listened carefully while studying the system, and he hadn't expected them to make such a proposal.
Establishing an Elder Council was certainly no problem. Even Konoha had an Elder Council. Firstly, it could decentralize power, and secondly, it could reassure the various great families. Otherwise, if others handed over their vast clan resources without any guarantee, it would be too disheartening.
But an Elder Council responsible for handling all village affairs did not exist. An Elder Council could offer suggestions, provide concrete measures, and even impeach a Kage, but the true person in charge of the village was still the Kage!
What they were doing was undoubtedly transferring all the power belonging to the Kage to the Elder Council, and Ruri, the so-called Takikage, was merely a figurehead. If it weren't for gaining the support of the Land of Waterfall, this figurehead role might not even be necessary.
Do they want to make me a puppet? Ruri narrowed his eyes. It seemed these people were well-prepared; otherwise, they wouldn't have suddenly launched their attack during the meeting. If the system hadn't activated, he would have truly been in a difficult situation today, as his strength was insufficient. But now, everything was different.
[Name: Kubisaki Ichiro]
[Overall Strength: Elite Jōnin]
[Talent: Jōnin]
[Chakra Nature Affinities: Water, Wind]
[Special Abilities: Summoning Technique - Lizard]
[Evaluation: Although all aspects are only at Jōnin level, with a sufficiently powerful Summoning Technique, he can play a huge role even by slacking off in war.]
Surname Kubisaki? It seemed the so-called summon was the Kubisaki Giant Lizard. In Naruto, the Kubisaki Lizard, Chūbei, was definitely not weak, at least at the level of Gamabunta.
With such a giant summon in hand, it was perfectly reasonable to say his overall strength was Elite Jōnin. On the battlefield, it wouldn't be surprising if he could even unleash pseudo-Kage level destructive power.
"Takikage-sama, why don't we just decide this way..." Kubisaki Ichiro continued to press Ruri.
But before he could finish, in the next second, a black ball appeared out of thin air, flashed past him, and covered his entire left leg.
It vanished.
Kubisaki Ichiro's left leg seemed to have never existed; the portion from his knee to his foot had completely disappeared, leaving no bloodstain, only the smooth cut of his pant leg proving something had been there.
"This..." Everything happened in an instant. Kubisaki Ichiro stared at the mysterious black ball in the air, speechless. He felt no pain at all; his left leg had just vanished.
The conference room was eerily quiet. Their gazes were all focused on the Truth-Seeking Ball. That mysterious and powerful aura was a power they simply couldn't comprehend! And yet he...
For the first time, everyone present became serious. They realized they had underestimated this young Takikage. They had initially thought he was, at most, an Elite Jōnin, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
Although Kubisaki Ichiro's strength largely relied on his summon, he himself was a formidable Jōnin, and when Ruri made his move, no one reacted.
It was too fast, so fast that there wasn't a single trace. It was hard to imagine what would happen if such an attack landed on oneself.
Let alone others, even Ruri himself hadn't expected it to be like this. The power of the Truth-Seeking Ball was simply unstoppable for ordinary shinobi!
Soon, Ruri recovered. After all, he was the one who released this Truth-Seeking Ball, and just as the system explained, it was indeed genuine. However, its usage time was limited. In just this short while, nearly half of his chakra was depleted, and he had to finish everything before it ran out.
"The proposal is rejected. Do any of you have any objections?" Ruri pulled the Truth-Seeking Ball to his side, then said in a seemingly casual voice, "I aimed a bit crooked just now. If it were an arm, losing one would probably render you unable to use even the Summoning Technique, right?"
After all, they were the fighting force of his own village. Takigakure was weak, and for the village to develop in the future, he would still rely on them. Ruri could intimidate them, but directly crippling one would still have a negative impact.
Kubisaki Ichiro looked at his pant leg, said nothing, and turned to the square-faced man with a dark expression.
[Name: Hagane Maemori]
[Overall Strength: Elite Jōnin]
[Talent: Jōnin]
[Chakra Nature Affinities: Earth, Lightning]
[Special Abilities: Steel Release]
[Evaluation: Possesses the Kekkei Genkai, Steel Release. Has good attainments in taijutsu, but his ninjutsu is not commendable.]
Steel Release was a good Kekkei Genkai. It was truly rare for Hagane Maemori to bring his clan members to join Takigakure. A summon could only enhance one person's combat power, but a Kekkei Genkai could benefit the entire clan, continuously producing elite shinobi.
However, in the current shinobi world, all well-known Kekkei Genkai families had joined the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Hagane Maemori, who brought the Hagane Clan to Takigakure, definitely had his own intentions.
"A Steel Release user?" Ruri lightly pointed forward, and the Truth-Seeking Ball slowly floated in front of Hagane Maemori. No one dared to block it.
"Takikage, I think..." Hagane Maemori swallowed, seeming to want to say something. His intuition told him that even the Steel Release, which was said to be able to resist all ninjutsu, would not be able to withstand this black sphere.
"Steel Release - Steel Transformation!" The oppressive feeling the Truth-Seeking Ball brought to Hagane Maemori made him unconsciously use his Kekkei Genkai. His exposed skin showed a metallic luster; ordinary ninjutsu could not break through its defense.
However, it was all in vain. The Truth-Seeking Ball passed through Hagane Maemori's left palm without hindrance. After a brief pause, it swept upwards, and in the blink of an eye, an arm was gone.
This time, everyone saw it clearly. The Steel Release, touted as a powerful defense, could not stop this black sphere in the slightest. Hagane Maemori, one of the strongest physical fighters in the Land of Waterfall, could only watch helplessly as his arm disappeared.
Terrifying, truly terrifying.
Kubisaki Ichiro had already made a name for himself during the Warring States Period, and Hagane Maemori was the only Kekkei Genkai clan leader in the Land of Waterfall. These two were no match for Amemiya Ruri; they didn't even have the power to fight back, let alone the other lesser individuals.
By this point, no one dared to bring up the Elder Council matter again. Crippling the two strongest people in the village by an arm and a leg, with such a forceful style, whether Takigakure would even need an Elder Council in the future was still a question.
"Is it okay for me to wear this Kage hat?"
Ruri placed the Takikage hat from the table onto his head. The hat was modeled after those of other great villages, its color being Takigakure's representative 'violet', with the character "Taki" (waterfall) printed in the center. This was the symbol of a Kage.
Casually storing the Truth-Seeking Ball back into the system space, Ruri subtly panted under the cover of the hat. In just this short while, his chakra was already down to one-tenth. The Truth-Seeking Ball was truly not something he could afford to use lightly at his level.
"So, let's talk about the main business. Will the Five Great Nations sit idly by while other countries' ninja villages hold the title of Kage?"