Bab 244: Chapter 244
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In the early morning, Yoichi slowly got out of bed after gently moving away Mikoto's soft legs and Mina's arm draped over him.
As he went downstairs, he ran into Yugito, who was preparing for her morning training. Seeing Yoichi's perfectly toned upper body, her face turned slightly red, and she gave him a glare.
"Morning, Yugito. Looks like you slept well last night!"
"Why do you say that as if you were watching me sleep?"
Yugito's face twisted in annoyance. She immediately used her silk-covered feet to step on Yoichi, huffing as she said, "It's all your fault, you pervert. I only got two or three hours of sleep, and today I still have to train in senjutsu."
"That's easy to fix."
Yoichi said with a smile. His eyes transformed into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Yugito soon felt her whole body brimming with energy, and the fatigue from her lack of sleep instantly vanished.
Delighted, she asked, "Is this your eye technique? It's surprisingly useful. If I get tired in the future, I'll just come find you."
"If you do, I'll have to use another method to restore your energy!"
Yoichi responded with a grin, cupping Yugito's pale cheeks. Just as he was about to kiss her, he suddenly remembered that this might be inappropriate. He quickly shifted his direction and kissed her on the forehead instead.
"You're always taking advantage of me!"
Yugito's face flushed slightly after the kiss. She pouted and stomped on his foot again with her silky-smooth foot before turning around and heading off to freshen up.
Of course, the little foot stomp didn't hurt. If anything, it tickled. Yoichi chuckled to himself and then heated up breakfast, preparing a portion for Yugito and Sasuke. After eating, he headed out.
Mikoto and Mina would probably sleep in for a while longer. He didn't need to worry about breakfast for Itachi, Haku, and Kimimaro either, as Yayoi came over early every morning to prepare food.
She was now the Uchiha household's exclusive helper, responsible for looking after the children, a job that was both easy and well-paying.
After breakfast, Yoichi headed to the Hokage office.
Having awakened the Rinnegan, Yoichi could now summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but he wasn't in a hurry. He planned to intercept it from Madara when the time came.
There was still one-third of Asura's chakra remaining. Once he absorbed all of it, Yoichi planned to extract Indra's chakra as well. Sasuke had better future prospects, and the cultivation method from the Origin Gene would grant him a long life.
Absorbing Indra's Yin Release chakra after Asura's might further strengthen the Rinnegan.
This jutsu could use more practice, perhaps in a forest brimming with life energy, allowing for the extraction of vast amounts of life force. Additionally, he wondered if accumulating life energy could enable direct resurrection.
As these thoughts about the Rinnegan crossed his mind, Yoichi unconsciously arrived at the Hokage building.
Although it was not yet eight in the morning, the Hokage building was already bustling with many shinobi.
Some of these shinobi had been around the building for years. Seeing Yoichi become the Fifth Hokage evoked many feelings, but whenever they encountered Yoichi, they would still greet him respectfully, and Yoichi would respond in kind.
Upon arriving at his office, Yoichi noticed the plaque outside had already been changed to "Hokage's Office." He hadn't switched rooms with Sakumo. His current office was already spacious, with a rest area inside, so there was no need to move.
Rumi was tidying up some files. Seeing Yoichi enter, she stood up and gave a sweet smile, saying, "Yoichi-sensei, you're here."
"Yes, Rumi, please ask the ANBU to summon Nonou," Yoichi instructed. Rumi poured him a cup of tea and immediately went to relay the message to the ANBU.
Nonou was managing the Uchiha Commerce Guild and handling information transmission. Mikoto had increasingly delegated her duties, usually only managing tasks assigned by Yoichi.
With the commerce guild on track, its growth had stabilized. Mikoto now spent more time with Sasuke, Itachi, and Karin, focusing on her family.
Soon, Nonou arrived.
Yoichi spoke directly, "Nonou, send this information to Pakura. Tell her to be prepared. Madara will likely target Sunagakure soon, aiming for the One-Tail. Let Pakura know and have her prepare accordingly."
Once Madara took the One-Tail, Konoha would mobilize against Sunagakure. Tomorrow was Yoichi's inauguration as Hokage, and he needed to establish some achievements.
The Hyuga, Uchiha, Inuzuka, Aburame clans, and Konoha's regular forces were all prepared. If war broke out, they could quickly assemble a formidable force of four thousand shinobi.
Moreover, all of Konoha's shinobi were elite. Yoichi even counted Gates, Shinya from Ryuchi Cave, and other large snake summons among their ranks, planning to overwhelm and annex both Sunagakure and the Land of Wind.
Yoichi wanted to give Pakura a heads-up to avoid accidental injuries. While this might make Pakura feel somewhat dishonorable, Yoichi's letter detailed his reasoning to persuade her. Short-term pain was for long-term peace. After unification, Konoha would transform the desolate Land of Wind into a land filled with oases.
People would appreciate Pakura for improving their lives. Conversely, resisting Konoha could lead to unbearable suffering for the people of the Land of Wind. Faced with the choice of being a hero who bettered lives or a villain who caused suffering, Yoichi was confident Pakura would make the right decision.
After instructing Nonou on this matter, Yoichi inquired about the current state of Sunagakure, and Nonou provided a comprehensive report.
With the collaboration of the Uchiha Commerce Guild and the Fire Daimyo's office, the guild's economic control over the Land of Wind deepened. The Land of Wind had barren lands and couldn't even sustain itself.
If Konoha cut off supplies, and with the Sand Village being no match for Konoha in combat, the Land of Wind would have no choice but to submit to Konoha's slow economic stranglehold.
Some within the Wind Daimyo's office recognized this as Konoha's scheme. Once the village gained control over the economy, their ambitions would grow uncontrollably. They had repeatedly sent envoys to the Fire Daimyo to express these concerns and asked for the cessation of economic support to Konoha.
But it was all futile. Before any signs of dissent emerged, Yoichi had Shisui use Kotoamatsukami to control the Fire Daimyo. Recently, Shisui had also controlled the Minister of Economy with the same technique.
In two years, the Daimyo's will would be fully aligned with Konoha's. Whatever Konoha asked of them, they would comply.
"Let's proceed with this. For now, use the guild's influence to let the people of the Land of Wind see how fortunate the citizens of Konoha live."
Yoichi told Nonou. At his level, his goals had shifted. Now, he sought greater power and eternal life.
Unifying the ninja world was a matter of course. Wealth was insignificant to Yoichi. Unifying the ninja world's power would allow him to achieve his real goals, such as researching the Extremis Virus or Ōtsutsuki bloodlines.
There was still a hidden organization in the ninja world known as Kara. Despite efforts by the Uchiha Commerce Guild to investigate, there hadn't been any leads so far.
Clearly, the Kara organization was deeply concealed.
"Yoichi, are you in?"
Not long after Nonou left, Tsunade entered his office. In public, Tsunade gave him due respect, but in private, she often called him "brat." Sometimes, when she was close to giving in during moments of passion, she'd call him "brother" or other endearing terms.
As Tsunade pushed open the door, two others followed her: the First Hokage, Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama.
"Tsunade, you've brought the First Hokage here."
Yoichi stood up, gesturing for Tsunade to take a seat. "I know Shizune came to find me, but it was late, so I didn't want to disturb you."
"It's fine. Mainly, my grandfather wanted to see you. He was quite amazed walking around Konoha this morning!"
Tsunade spoke with a hint of pride. Though Tobirama had previously quarreled with Yoichi, he had no criticisms about Konoha's development. Hashirama, on the other hand, had been astonished, finding Konoha even better than he'd envisioned.
When Hashirama visited the Ninja Amusement Park, he saw his popularity ranked only seventh and asked the staff about it. But upon noticing his brother Tobirama's ranking was almost at twentieth, he burst into laughter.
After seeing the majority of Konoha and learning about Yoichi's achievements, Hashirama's favorability toward Yoichi had soared.
"Fifth Hokage, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Thanks to you, Konoha has flourished… Hmm, isn't that my chakra necklace?"
As Hashirama spoke, he suddenly noticed the necklace around Yoichi's neck. He was intimately familiar with his own chakra and recalled giving that necklace to Tsunade.
Tsunade blushed slightly. "I lost it in a bet, grandfather, so just leave it."
"Oh, Tsunade, your gambling skills haven't improved. It's fortunate you didn't become Hokage; otherwise, Konoha's finances might be in jeopardy."
Hashirama nodded in understanding. It wasn't unusual for Tsunade to lose things. He used to take her to casinos, and they'd lose so much that even Mito would get anxious. Ironically, most of that money wasn't even lost by him.
Before Tsunade could get upset, Hashirama shifted the conversation, asking, "Fifth Hokage, you probably already know why Tobirama and I are here. A large part of it is because we encountered the Sage of Six Paths in the Pure Land."
"Brother," Tobirama frowned immediately. He hadn't expected his elder brother to be so straightforward, revealing their cards so easily.
"Tobirama, the Fifth Hokage is married to Tsunade and has developed Konoha beyond what we achieved. If we can't trust him, who in the ninja world can we trust?"
Hashirama said, turning to Yoichi, "The Sage of Six Paths told us two things. First, about Madara. He's awakened the Rinnegan and plans to collect the tailed beasts to become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki and cast Infinite Tsukuyomi."
While sharing this information, Hashirama carefully observed Yoichi's expression. Seeing no signs of concern, he continued with a smile, "As expected, just as Tsunade said, you have a way to deal with Madara, even if he has the Rinnegan."
"Yes, because I also have the Rinnegan. It's no big deal."
Yoichi replied, his eyes shifting through the Sharingan stages: three-tomoe Sharingan, Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and finally, the purple Rinnegan.
And this wasn't Yoichi's limit. The Star Stone chakra—possibly linked to the Ten-Tails—had opened the path to Yoichi's chakra evolution. Once he absorbed Indra's chakra, his Rinnegan could evolve even further.
"The Rinnegan…"
Tobirama's eyes were filled with emotion as he saw Yoichi's Rinnegan. He felt a surge of impulsive thoughts but suppressed them in the presence of his brother and Tsunade.
The Rinnegan spoken of by the Sage of Six Paths had indeed appeared.
"It really is the Rinnegan. So, that strong chakra fluctuation we sensed yesterday must have been you evolving your Rinnegan. That being the case, I can tell you about the second matter."
Hashirama recovered from his initial surprise at seeing the Rinnegan and continued, "In the Pure Land, the Sage of Six Paths asked us to find Indra's last reincarnation, Madara, and use the ninjutsu he taught us. This would allow Madara to meet the Sage of Six Paths."
"He said he'd grant Madara the power for us to seal the third Rinnegan in the ninja world, which seems to refer to you, Fifth Hokage."
Yoichi's brows furrowed slightly at these words, but Tsunade was more anxious than he was, frowning as she asked, "Grandfather, why does that Sage want to seal Yoichi? He's been dead for over a thousand years, hasn't he?"
Hashirama shook his head. "Tsunade, even if you ask, I can't say for sure. He didn't tell me his reasons, only that the third Rinnegan is wielded by a dangerous person, comparable to his mother, Kaguya."
"Well, he certainly thinks highly of me. But, First Hokage, why did you tell me everything? As the previous incarnation of Asura, I thought you'd be more inclined to trust the Sage of Six Paths, like the Second Hokage."
Yoichi said, to which Tobirama immediately interjected, "I don't trust him. I trust my own judgment. Previously, I deemed Madara the greater threat, which is why I urged the village to mobilize against him."
"Because you're stronger than me, Fifth Hokage," Hashirama added, "The matters of the future should be left to the future generations. Besides, you have three children and have developed Konoha so well. Could someone like you really have any desire to destroy the world? Perhaps the Sage of Six Paths has misjudged you."
(End of Chapter)
Status Power Mingguan
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Power 
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