Naruto: I am the Hokage

Mass Release 5 Chapters!

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Hyuga Hizashi took a deep breath. He had a line of thought; the rest was implementation. He knew well that at a time like this, he couldn't act impulsively. Otherwise, if Hiashi noticed anything unusual, it would not be beneficial to the execution of his strategy—his elder brother had always been a deep thinker. Rushing things would only make it worse.

However, for the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, the idea Kyohiko gave was very good. For example, Kyohiko had integrated Wind Release nature transformation into his own Superhuman Strength technique, making its penetrating power even greater. The Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm could be modified in the same way. By integrating nature transformation on top of the Vacuum Palm, combined with the characteristics of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist, the effect should be excellent.

As expected. When he was stuck on something that required brainstorming, finding Kyohiko was sure to yield a solution. Unfortunately, the other party represented Konoha and the Anbu, and his interests and position were not completely aligned with his own. Coming here today was a risk. If Hyuga Hiashi found out the content of their conversation, he would be punished, to say the least.

"Kyohiko…"

"Rest assured, I will be tight-lipped. Not even the Hokage's office will know."

"Thank you!" If he could use Kyohiko's method to truly make his child a member of the main family, then it would all be worth it. This was a shackle he really didn't want to pass down to his child. Hyuga Hizashi's heart was a mix of excitement and trepidation.

Watching him leave, Kyohiko was filled with emotion. For the past twenty-odd years, Hyuga Hizashi had never resisted the main and branch family system, but for his child, he had become a different person. He hoped Hiashi wasn't just making empty promises.

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In the Anbu dungeon.

Pakura sat quietly inside. There were no signs of torture on her body; even her clothes were clean. If it weren't for being in a dungeon surrounded by sealing formulas, one might think she was a guest. In truth, she didn't know why she was here. On the way here, Pakura's feelings were very complicated. On one hand, she was disappointed with Sunagakure, with Rasa and the others. On the other hand, she hated Konoha's schemes.

However, everyone had different standpoints, and any means were normal. In contrast, Kyohiko's attitude and courteous treatment showed a level of magnanimity that was more than just a notch above Rasa's. Furthermore, even now, she still didn't know what Kyohiko really wanted to do. It was very confusing. A thousand emotions, all tangled and complex.

Pakura sighed softly. Just then, she heard a series of footsteps. Very light.

Squeak—

She saw clearly, but was also very surprised. "It's you."

"It's been a while. How have you been?" Kyohiko entered. This Anbu prison, although underground, had a window carved out above, allowing light to shine in. At night, one could even see the starry sky. Besides being suppressed by sealing formulas, which prevented her from using ninjutsu or leaving, there were no other drawbacks.

Pakura said nonchalantly, "It makes no difference to me. Even if I returned to Sunagakure, I'd probably receive similar treatment."

"You seem to see things clearly."

"If I didn't, how could I still be alive?" Pakura laughed self-deprecatingly. Kyohiko hadn't restricted her basic mobility; if she wanted to commit suicide, she probably could.

She looked at Kyohiko and smiled. "It's not easy to see you. Why don't you tell me, what do you really want?" Pakura had originally thought Kyohiko would use some means to force her to surrender. Otherwise, why go through all the trouble of designing such a scheme? But that wasn't the case. This was the first time she had seen Kyohiko since she arrived.

Kyohiko tossed her a scroll.

Pakura looked up in confusion, then lowered her head to open the scroll. On it was written some intelligence and recent news about Sunagakure. Sunagakure had basically surrendered completely. Also, Rasa had gone to mine gold sand? Pakura's expression was strange; for a moment, she didn't know how to comment. As the Kazekage, Rasa was truly pitiful—no one would have thought that the Third Kazekage, at his peak, would suddenly die at Konoha's hands, followed by the suffering and hardship of defeat. Thus, the mess fell onto Rasa's shoulders. The current Rasa was busy mining to fill the void in Sunagakure's finances.

Pakura rolled up the scroll, silent. The village's current situation worried her. But…

"What are you trying to say?"

"The Land of Wind's resources and areas of expertise are actually complementary to Konoha's. There's no need for conflict. I don't understand why Sunagakure has always been targeting us," Kyohiko expressed his confusion. Since the First Hokage's era, Konoha had always been synonymous with "powerful," while Sunagakure, though one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, had always been at the bottom. The shinobi world wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. Why was Sunagakure always clashing with Konoha?

Pakura was stunned for a moment. She thought about it and said, "Konoha is strong, but you also have many enemies. We can draw in greater support, and if we succeed, even if we can't take the Land of Fire's territory, we can get a large piece of the Land of Rivers." The Land of Rivers was crossed by a river, making its land extremely fertile. Sunagakure was practically salivating over it.

"But the difficulty is also the greatest. So, do you people from Sunagakure like to gamble so much?" Kyohiko said with a smile, his tone tinged with sarcasm.

However, Pakura didn't feel angry. Judging by the results, attacking Konoha was indeed irrational. But a better choice—was there a better choice? To the west? Around the Land of Wind, besides the Land of Rivers, there were only small countries like the Land of Bears, the Land of Demons, and the Land of Ogres. But, correspondingly, to meddle in these countries, they would have to clash with the Land of Earth. Once that happened…

Pakura frowned, vaguely understanding Kyohiko's calculations. Let Sunagakure deal with Iwagakure of the Land of Earth. They would gain territory, while Konoha could strike at Iwagakure and ensure its own safety. Moreover, Konoha could gain other benefits from the war between Sunagakure and Iwagakure. The most terrifying thing was, even though she understood, she still agreed with Kyohiko's proposal—attacking the Land of Earth was more profitable than targeting Konoha!

Konoha was too strong. For them, being adjacent to Konoha, the best way to quickly recover and become stronger in the current situation was to unite and deal with external enemies. War was the fastest way to recover and quickly gain the Daimyo's support. This was an open conspiracy.

Pakura licked her lips, feeling her mouth go dry and a sense of fear rising in her heart. "You are more terrifying than Danzo!" Although Danzo's methods were dirty, they weren't difficult to deal with. Kyohiko's methods were different. Externally, he suppressed with force and lured with benefits. Internally… although she didn't know much, based on what she had heard, Kyohiko, as Jiraiya's disciple, was very benevolent internally. Overt and magnificent, making it impossible to resist.

"Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment. Although I don't like Danzo as a person, I can tell you've taken my suggestion to heart," Kyohiko smiled.

A map of the shinobi world appeared in Pakura's mind. The north, the west… although the difficulty was not small, it was undoubtedly better than a head-on collision with Konoha. However.

"The complementarity you mentioned…"

"Just like what Rasa is doing now. Using Magnet Release to find and mine minerals, combined with the Puppet Technique for exploration. Isn't that more profitable than ordinary missions?" Kyohiko asked. In his view, Sunagakure was sitting on a treasure mountain but didn't know how to use it. Magnet Release combined with the Puppet Technique, besides combat, was an excellent combination for mining and exploration, and Konoha would never delve deep into these two fields. There was no fundamental conflict between them. For now, it seemed Rasa was starting to develop in this direction, but it could also be a helpless move with no other choice.

Pakura pondered. Deepening mining and exploration wasn't out of the question, but she looked at Kyohiko suspiciously. This guy… she always felt there was a hidden meaning in his words, as if he had dug a pit for them. "If Sunagakure does this, what benefits will Konoha get? You said it's complementary; it's impossible for Konoha to get nothing out of it."

"If you want to achieve peace through these means, that's just wishful thinking."

"No one will complain about having too much money." Human nature is greedy. Right now, she wasn't considering it from Sunagakure's standpoint, but purely from the path of peace. Without a doubt, Kyohiko's vision was beneficial to Sunagakure, and probably had hidden benefits for Konoha as well, perhaps even more than what Sunagakure could gain. But once Sunagakure had enough money and resources, they would definitely train more ninjas and accumulate strength to continue plotting for the Land of Rivers. Because the Land of Wind was too barren, the few oases were not enough for their survival and development. In the end, war between the two villages was still inevitable.

"The fact that you can think to this level means you indeed have the ability to become Kazekage. A pity, even if you hadn't met me, you couldn't have become Kazekage. You might have even died at Rasa's hands all the same," Kyohiko said.

Pakura nodded lightly. "You're right." She didn't deny it. Rasa mastered the Gold Sand technique and was the Third Kazekage's disciple. Barring any accidents, he would definitely be the Fourth Kazekage. At that time, she, with her different ideals from Rasa, would likely not be recognized or accepted by him. The outcome might still be being schemed against and killed. This was also where she felt helpless.

Kyohiko was about to chat a little longer, but the next moment, he frowned slightly. "Let's stop here." He then left the prison, reapplying the seal.

Outside the door, Gekko Shusaku lowered his head and said, "Sir, the Iburi clansman returning from the Land of Water was attacked. One died, one was captured."

"Where did it happen?"

"After they docked." Gekko Shusaku replied.

Kyohiko frowned. The Land of Fire. Danzo? No! Unlikely. No matter how foolish Danzo is, he wouldn't pick on a mere Iburi clansman. He would definitely go straight for the jugular. Otherwise, if he left a weakness, I would have a reason to counterattack, which would be very disadvantageous for him.

So, was the other party after the Kekkei Genkai? Several figures flashed through Kyohiko's mind, finally settling on one person.

Hiruko. A ninja from the same generation as the Sannin. Also considered a genius, but unfortunately, as an ordinary person, he wanted a Kekkei Genkai and ended up researching the forbidden jutsu "Chimera Technique," for which he was put on the wanted list and hunted by the Third Hokage. If it was this person…

"Go and check if there is any intelligence about Kekkei Genkai ninjas being attacked in other countries. Also, pull back the Iburi clansmen near the eastern border for the time being."

"Yes!" Gekko Shusaku disappeared in a body flicker.

Kyohiko vanished with the Flying Thunder God. He also needed to search through records to see if there had been similar incidents.

Several hours passed. Gekko Shusaku returned, bringing intelligence from Inoichi Yamanaka's side. "Sir, according to the intelligence we found, besides us, Kumogakure and Kirigakure also have reports of Kekkei Genkai ninjas being attacked. The area is roughly around the Land of the Sea and the Land of Waves." Gekko Shusaku drew a line on the map. The Land of the Sea, the coast of the Land of Fire, the Land of Waves. The route where the other party was active happened to be an international trade route, which would also go north to the Land of Lightning.

"Who was attacked in Kirigakure?"

"Terumi Mei. She possesses Boil Release."

"I see." Kyohiko was even more certain. The attacker was very likely Hiruko! Had that guy completed the Chimera Technique?

"You continue to investigate on your end." The next moment, Kyohiko used the Flying Thunder God to head to Orochimaru's base.