"Here's the situation, lately, in the four other great ninja villages aside from Konoha, rumors have been spreading about the disappearance of ninjas who possess Kekkei Genkai." Shikaku began explaining.
Natsuro raised an eyebrow. "What's so strange about that?" Kekkei Genkai users weren't invincible, it was normal for them to die.
"The issue is that, according to Konoha's records, the ninjas mentioned in these rumors didn't disappear recently, they vanished a long time ago." Shikaku clarified, providing an example.
"For instance, Pakura from the Sand Village, she died back during the Fourth Kazekage's era as part of a peace negotiation with the Mist Village. Yet now, rumors of her have resurfaced in the Sand Village, with the timeline blurred."
"Pakura?" Natsuro Li felt the name was familiar.
After thinking for a moment, he remembered, wasn't she the kunoichi known for her beautiful back?
Such a flawless back… wouldn't it be perfect for sticking a few kunai and shuriken into?
"So someone is deliberately spreading these rumors?" Natsuro mused.
"Exactly. But as of now, we still don't know their objective." Shikaku said.
"So many troubles cropping up at once…" Natsuro tapped his temple, feeling a headache.
He had some vague recollection of this, but he couldn't quite recall the details.
"For now, just have the Intelligence Division focus on gathering information. Since no Konoha ninjas are involved in these rumors, let's not intervene yet." Natsuro instructed.
"Understood." Shikaku nodded. He agreed with that approach.
After that, they proceeded with their normal office duties.
Suddenly, Natsuro frowned and looked toward the sky.
The weather outside had abruptly turned dark, as thick clouds swirled unnaturally fast.
Something wasn't right.
He and Shikaku quickly moved to the roof of the Hokage Building, gazing in the same direction.
There, a gigantic figure appeared, a white-haired man with red eyes, wearing an oversized high-collared coat fastened by three belts.
Though his face was only partially visible, his features seemed delicate, almost childlike.
Then, the enormous figure spoke, its voice amplified by chakra, resonating throughout the village.
"I am a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village, Hiruko!"
"What?!" Shikaku's eyes widened.
As the head of the Nara Clan, he knew who Hiruko was.
But this wasn't right.
Hiruko's body structure was different, and he wasn't a child.
Natsuro casually gestured for Shikaku to stay calm.
After all, whatever was happening, he was here.
Upon hearing the name Hiruko, he finally remembered.
Oh, so it's him.
The man who possessed one of the most convenient jutsu for a civilian to gain power...
The Chimera Techique.
Of course, at this point, that jutsu was meaningless to him.
Kekkei Genkai? He didn't need them.
If anything, Kekkei Tōta or even Kekkei Mōra would be more worthwhile.
Hiruko continued speaking.
"Using the Chimera Techique, I have acquired all the Kekkei Genkai of the Four Great Shinobi Villages!"
"Once I obtain a fifth Kekkei Genkai, I shall become invincible!"
"I will become the immortal, perfect shinobi! With this power, I declare the Fourth Great Ninja War! I shall dominate everything!"
After finishing his speech, Hiruko's massive form vanished, and the sky instantly cleared up.
"Well, I guess that clears up the mystery behind the rumors."
Natsuro stretched lazily and glanced at Shikaku.
The whole thing was just a ploy to provoke conflict between Konoha and the other four villages.
"Yeah…" Shikaku sighed with a wry smile. He hadn't expected the truth to be revealed so quickly.
Still, Shikaku couldn't help but worry.
"No need to be concerned." Natsuro smirked.
"Hiruko is just a frog in a well.
He thinks five Kekkei Genkai will make him invincible?"
Even Kekkei Mōra doesn't guarantee that, and he thinks five little Kekkei Genkai will?
Honestly, given enough time, he could probably develop five or more Kekkei Genkai of his own.
But… what's the point?
Even if he wanted to experiment with Kekkei Genkai, he had long since stopped worrying about the risks, his Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode and Yang Release mastery made those risks negligible.
If he really wanted, he could fuse together multiple Kekkei Genkai easily.
But why bother?
Even if he unlocked more Kekkei Genkai, would they be more powerful than his Sage Thunder Release: Kirin?
More devastating than the Exploding Truth-Seeking Orb?
Not a chance.
So this was nothing more than Hiruko's delusional fantasy.
Besides, why five Kekkei Genkai?
He suspected that this was the limit of the Chimera Technique.
And honestly, that wasn't surprising.
As a jutsu, it was already incredibly powerful. If used wisely, it could grant power beyond ordinary shinobi.
But ultimately, its upper limit was just about reaching Super-Kage level.
After all, Hiruko had already fused four Kekkei Genkai...
And Naruto, without even using perfected Sage Mode, defeated him with an incomplete Wind Style: Rasenshuriken… What a joke.
He simply couldn't believe that adding one more Kekkei Genkai would make any significant difference.
If the Chimera Technique was truly that powerful, Orochimaru would have never let it slip through his fingers.
But Orochimaru never pursued it.
This suggested that even he considered the technique flawed, perhaps the fused body was inherently unstable or unable to fully utilize the potential of the merged Kekkei Genkai.
Now, if Hiruko could somehow fuse the Rinnegan, Tenseigan, or Ōtsutsuki bloodline, then even if he couldn't use those powers to their full potential, he'd probably still reach near Six Paths level.
But… was that even possible?
Forget acquiring them, even if he got his hands on those abilities, could he actually merge them successfully?
Shikaku nodded. "That makes sense."
He trusted Natsuro's judgment when it came to assessing power levels.
But his concerns weren't just about that.
"Lord Hokage, the real issue is that Hiruko just declared war on the entire world… as a ninja of Konoha."
Shikaku sighed bitterly. "And now, the daimyō of every major nation is likely to convene to discuss Konoha, including the Fire Country's daimyō."
"Honestly, that's not a problem." Natsuro yawned.
"Our only real opponents are the other four Hidden Villages.
The Sand Village, not an issue. Their relationship with Konoha was currently stable.The Stone Village, after Orochimaru's stunt, they wouldn't dare start a war so soon. Ōnoki would definitely make some loud complaints, but that's about it.The Mist Village, similar situation to the Stone Village. The impact of the Blood Mist era hadn't fully faded.The only potential problem… is the Cloud Village."
Natsuro's lips curled into a smirk.
"But they have bigger problems, like Akatsuki."
"They already lost the Two-Tails. Right now, they're probably racking their brains trying to deal with Akatsuki."
"And they still have the Eight-Tails to protect. At this point, they're too busy securing their own village to even consider attacking Konoha."
Shikaku nodded. "That does make sense."
But in reality, the biggest challenge wouldn't come from the Hidden Villages, it would come from the governments of the nations themselves.
That's where things got complicated.
As he thought about this, Shikaku glanced at Natsuro.
There was something unusual about the way he spoke.
He spoke as if he didn't care about the daimyō at all.
That realization startled Shikaku, but he kept his expression neutral.
After all, he was part of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio.
And their three clans had always stood firmly behind the Hokage.
No matter what decision the Hokage made, they would support him.
"Let's wrap this up, Shikaku."
Natsuro gave his final instruction.
"Tell Konoha's shinobi to keep a low profile in their missions for now, and to be extra cautious."
"Understood." Shikaku responded.
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Currently on Chapter 338 - Allied Forces Deployment