chapter 77 part 6
"The battle in the Land of Hot Water was the turning point in the war between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Stone Village. But what kind of jutsu did Kato Dan use to knock the Four-Tails Jinchuriki into a deep coma without sustaining any injuries, forcing them to withdraw from the war? There are too many suspicious points."
"But Tsukasa Kaede's role in the Land of Hot Water battle is undeniable. It's likely he did more than what the intel shows. That guy is hiding a lot of secrets."
"A war orphan background? Hmph, so he never received a formal education from the Hidden Leaf Village. We can spread some rumors, see if we can get Konoha's higher-ups to kill this dangerous genius."
"Yes, we can use similar methods on other people from Konoha. Take down one at a time! Don't those Konoha bastards always go on about the Will of Fire? Mouths full of morals, hands full of blood. We'll start from there."
The Second Great Ninja War had officially ended, but what ended was the large-scale warfare. The model of squad-based combat would always exist, even without a Great Ninja War.
A larger, darker tide was surging. The villages' covert actions would only grow more pronounced. When their power had been amassed to a certain point, when their conflicts had escalated to a certain level, especially when a particular ninja village revealed a fatal flaw...
That would be the time for a new Great Ninja War to erupt.
The Second Great Ninja War was, in essence, a prelude to the Third. The defeated ninja villages had suffered heavy losses, but they were not truly crippled.
...
When the news of the final victory on the front line reached the Hidden Leaf Village, the vast and prosperous village erupted in endless cheers.
Even the merchants who came to do business in the Hidden Leaf Village wore joyful expressions. Peace had arrived, which meant trade would flourish further, and more business opportunities would arise.
A ninja village was essentially a large military district built by ninja and their families. With the Hidden Leaf Village's official victory, clients from all over the world were willing to come here to hire their desired personnel, and merchants from all regions were eager to do business with the ninja.
Coupled with the mission quotas and reparations the Hidden Leaf Village had seized from other villages, the Village was bound to experience explosive growth in the coming years. Its economy was destined to be extremely prosperous, and both the quantity and quality of its ninja would see a massive surge.
Everyone firmly believed this. It was a virtuous cycle. Unless some incomprehensible major event occurred that caused the various power factions within the village to crumble one by one, Konoha, which had already built a huge advantage in overall strength, would prosper forever.
The Third Hokage had already foreseen this and was deeply looking forward to it.
"The summary report from the front line has finally arrived. I must take a close look."
What surprised the Third Hokage the most was undoubtedly the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, suddenly launching an all-out assault. It was too abrupt.
Originally, the Third Hokage had planned to have the troops who retreated from the Land of Hot Water rest briefly, then reinforce them with more soldiers, and have Tsunade lead them all to the front line to end the war in one fell swoop.
But Onoki did not give the Third Hokage that chance. After learning of Roshi's defeat and realizing that Iwagakure was doomed to fail against the Hidden Leaf Village, he decisively launched one final all-out attack to see if he could achieve some results.
Fortunately, Orochimaru held his ground and successfully defeated the enemy.
"Hmm, Tsukasa Kaede actually appeared on the front line, and it seems he even had a conflict with Ryoma? Interesting."
The Third Hokage was not angry. Tsukasa Kaede acting on his own was a serious violation of regulations, but the war was won, and Tsukasa Kaede had played a crucial role, displaying the immense power and potential of Corpse Release Secret Technique and accelerating the victory.
Such military merit was enough to cover his unauthorized actions. At most, he would receive a perfunctory public warning and a slap on the wrist, and that would be the end of it.
The Third Hokage was even more pleased to see a conflict arise between Tsukasa Kaede and Danzo's subordinate.
That's right. He knew nothing about the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu. Although he knew Tsukasa Kaede had overcome his physical defect and that his Chakra had seemingly surged for unknown reasons, he would never have guessed it was because of an outrageously heaven-defying Forbidden Jutsu like the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu.
"It seems my decision to barge into Root and reprimand Danzo back then was absolutely correct. Tsukasa Kaede cannot be allowed to become a sharp blade in Danzo's hands."
The Third Hokage was in an exceedingly good mood, puffing continuously on his pipe and watching the smoke rise.
*Under my leadership, the Hidden Leaf Village has become so powerful, even surpassing the era of the Second Hokage.* Such a thought existed deep within the Third Hokage's heart.
And from any perspective, it did indeed seem to be the case.
"However, what Orochimaru mentioned in his secret letter also makes a lot of sense... In the next Great Ninja War, the Hidden Leaf Village is highly likely to face an even more ferocious siege. This is not a good thing."
Therefore, according to the ideas of Danzo and Orochimaru, they needed to push forward with Forbidden Experiments on a large scale. And after their research had made some progress, they would directly use living humans for human experimentation to accelerate the research process.
As long as there were research results, the Third Hokage was confident he could quickly possess a powerful ninja force, which would further solidify his rule.
And if it failed... what failure? It would all be Danzo and Orochimaru acting on their own initiative. They would have to bear full responsibility!
"The First Hokage's cell experiments... the most suitable test subjects are precisely the members of the Senju Clan..."
(end of chapter)