Cloud Village.
With the turmoil across the ninja world, countless daimyo and nobles have poured their power into Cloud Village, strengthening it significantly.
Today, on Turtle Island—the village's most secret base—an extraordinary gathering is underway.
Under rows of seats sit nobles from the great nations of the ninja world, with the daimyos of each nation at the front, especially noticeable are five prominent chairs.
The five great nations' daimyos are all here!
"We've already handed all our power over to Cloud Hidden. Uchiha Shirou must be eradicated!"
"The Will of Fire is pure heresy! How dare he arrogantly try to overthrow a system that has lasted for a thousand years in the ninja world—who does he think he is?!"
"He's just a powerful ninja. Even the Sage of Six Paths followed the established order, and now he dares to break it?!"
"The Will of Fire is the greatest heresy the continent has ever seen! Proclaiming himself as a god—he's nothing but a demon!"
The daimyos bang their tables in rage, especially the five great nations' representatives, whose faces are dark with anger.
They have all been exiled, lost their countries, lost everything!
But in coming to Cloud Hidden, they have also brought their respective military forces.
Combined, the military forces of the noble houses—samurai, ninja, and even the rare onmyoji—number fifty thousand.
Cloud Hidden's ninja number thirty thousand, plus a hundred thousand White Zetsu, bringing the total military strength to a terrifying 180,000.
This is why these nobles are so indignant, believing they can reclaim the ninja world.
"Don't worry, we won't let Konoha's evil ambitions succeed."
Facing the many daimyos, Fourth Raikage A appeared resolute—this support was a godsend.
All the nobles pinned their hopes on this Raikage of the Cloud.
The daimyos of Earth and Lightning countries covered their mouths with fans, their squinting eyes revealing a vicious glint.
"To protect peace in the ninja world, we five great daimyos have decided: After this war, the territories of Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water countries will be redistributed."
Even now, the daimyos keep making empty promises, stirring excitement among the ninjas who followed them.
The Turtle Island conference is being broadcast live throughout Cloud Hidden via cable.
The daimyos denounce the Will of Fire's evil and make promises to their supporters.
Countless ninjas, especially those from the Land of Lightning with no choice, are overjoyed.
Not only in Cloud Hidden but across the ninja world, many screens display this once-mysterious meeting of the great daimyos.
The world watches in shock.
"Everyone, the heretics' attempt to overthrow us daimyos is clear as day. As long as the Will of Fire exists, a sword hangs over all our heads."
The Lightning Daimyo roars at the screen:
"People of the ninja world! This is no longer just a war between ninja villages, but a war for all humanity!"
"Uchiha Shirou of Konoha is a demon from hell. He will bring unprecedented war. He calls himself a god, but he's a devil…"
As his angry voice echoed, daimyos from smaller nations also appeared, shouting furiously.
When the broadcast ended, the entire ninja world was in turmoil. People realized everything had changed.
But what did it matter to them?
In a small town in the Land of Fire, a boy scratched his head watching the speech end.
"Grandpa, what do the daimyos mean? Are they fake now?"
His grandfather patted his shoulder:
"Who cares about daimyos? These nobles' fights only bring us poor people war and hardship. What we need to do is go get free pancakes."
"Yeah! Grandpa, hurry up and get in line."
The mention of pancakes made the boy's stomach growl, while nearby, a ninja supporting the Will of Fire cheered:
"Just listen to the Will of Fire for a morning, and you can get a pancake with your attendance ticket!"
"Don't worry, the Will of Fire won't bring war, only peace. As long as we farm and develop, Lord Shirou decrees that people of Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth countries—all citizens can get a pancake for one coin every three days, based on census registration, so no one will starve again…"
Cloud Hidden's move to broadcast Uchiha Shirou's radical new policy to the entire world was a stroke of genius.
For well-fed nobles, they might consider the deeper implications, but for the many struggling just to survive, the promise of food was everything.
They didn't care what the nobles wanted; they only cared about pancakes every three days. To them, this man was their true daimyo, their god.
Ninjas, samurai, and outcast rogue ninjas watched as Sand, Mist, and Stone villages pledged loyalty to Konoha and accepted the new order.
Their eyes burned with envy!
Once outcasts, now, their status had reversed.
"Sign me up! I want to join the Ninja Alliance and help Lord Shirou bring change!"
"A new world! The Will of Fire will blaze across the continent!"
"Join the Alliance—no longer a despised rogue ninja!"
The hungry only wanted pancakes; they wouldn't rebel.
Those with power—rogue ninja, missing-nin, even samurai—longed for legitimacy and eagerly joined the Alliance.
Thus, the strong joined up, the hungry chased after food, and only a handful remained to even think of causing trouble.
Meanwhile, in the vast underground palace on Turtle Island, when the broadcast ended, the daimyos' true malicious faces emerged.
"There can be no more Uchiha in the ninja world, not even Senju or other bloodline clans."
"Yes! Not just Uchiha—Konoha shouldn't even exist."
"Damn it, these ninjas are just tools. Now the tools want to revolt? We'll break and replace them."
"Tools should be mindless beasts. I suggest in the future, train these ninja like dogs, turn them into puppets without thoughts."
"Kill! Kill all who dare resist us."
Rulers of the ninja world for centuries, the hundred daimyos were furious.
They could tolerate ninja with ambition, but never those who threatened their rule.
With the war yet to start, the fiercest resistance came from these daimyos and the black-clad faction of the Land of Lightning.
Uchiha Shirou's ambition was not just to unify villages, but to swallow all countries and rewrite the world's rules.
A ninja world ruled by a god!
Now, Fourth Raikage A smiled as he watched the daimyos curse.
"Brother, maybe we can use this chance—let the masked man and Uchiha Shirou wear each other down, and protect our village."
A pale-faced Killer B appeared, drawing concern from Raikage A.
"B, are you okay?"
"Fine, just had some Eight-Tails chakra extracted, that's all."
Despite his odd tone, Raikage A smiled.
"Don't worry, B. This time, we'll protect the village—maybe even make Cloud the strongest village in the world!"
Ambition glinted in Raikage A's eyes. Maybe, just maybe, this was his chance.
With Obito and Uchiha Shirou destined to clash, perhaps he could seize the world himself.
This was an unprecedented revolution—a clash of new and old eras.
The noise in the underground palace made Killer B frown, but he and his brother chose to return to oversee Cloud Village.
Meanwhile, the daimyos, hiding on Turtle Island and intent on regaining power (or living out their days in exile), continued their loud complaints.
This was their Noah's Ark.
"It's all because of these damn ninjas we're stuck in this stifling place! I swear, after the war, I'll drown those ninja in a cesspit!"
"Right! The air here is suffocating. Since when do daimyos have to hide? Damn ninja!"
They banged tables, shouting indignantly.
"We will win this time!"
"Victory!"
At the lavish long table, fat, oily-faced daimyos grinned greedily, raising glasses, feasting on delicacies.
Though the war hadn't started, they already tasted victory.
"To our victory!"
"Cheers!"
Despite being in a sealed space, it was filled with plants like a resort, and the table was covered in rare foods.
They even brought chefs and servants as they fled.
Bear paws, tiger penis soup, venison—summon beasts that ninja cherished, reduced to mere food for these corrupt nobles.
...
Konoha.
Once the world's strongest village, Konoha had changed dramatically.
Now filled with ninjas from Mist, Sand, and Stone, years of mingling had made them familiar.
Streets and alleys teemed with young ninjas, fervently promoting the Will of Fire's vision.
"A new era—a peaceful age ruled by Lord Shirou. The Will of Fire will blaze on every patch of sunlit land."
"How many years have we fought? For centuries, it's been endless battles. Lord Shirou is the dawn lighting our path…"
"We can't just look at the current continent—there are countless islands and resources at sea…"
"The world has never been peaceful! Even ancient disasters could return, but Lord Shirou will lead us…"
Under the Hokage Rock, an endless crowd of ninjas gazed up in fanatic worship.
This scene was broadcast across the world.
In the crowd, alongside Konoha ninja, were those from Sand, Mist, and Stone.
All eyes watched as Uchiha Shirou appeared, and the crowd erupted in cheers.
The sharp-eyed gasped when they saw the Hokage's eyes.
Rinnegan!
The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths!
This was why so many believed Uchiha Shirou could truly change the world.
"Everyone! A thousand years of war in the ninja world ends now. We've fought all the wars so the next generation won't have to! Why do we fight? For the future, for our children!"
His voice echoed, and the crowd's eyes burned with conviction.
They weren't blindly fanatical—what they'd witnessed these years made them resolute.
"Three years ago, we already had the power to end the war, but didn't! Why? Because too many didn't believe."
Shirou raised his hand high, pointing outward.
"In these years, the bloodline clans of Whirlpool and Water, and the ninja of Wind—you've all seen for yourselves the peace brought by absolute power.
I admit there may be unfairness, but wasn't it the same a century ago when warring clans with ancient grudges united to form the ninja villages? We became one family!"
"But the villages only took half a step! A hundred years of war proves they failed, but it also shows us the way…"
Under countless adoring eyes, Shirou loudly proclaimed:
"Now I am here! I will lead you to complete the mission left unfinished by our ancestors—a unified world without war or chaos. I swear!
I, Uchiha Shirou, will lead you in the fight for peace!"
"Victory!"
With a single excited shout, the entire crowd erupted in wild celebration.
"Victory!"
The shout thundered in Konoha, and the broadcast spread the message of peace to every nation.