By this point, Konohagakure had fully prepared to train the next generation. They were putting everything into it, but that was only possible because their foundation was strong enough.
Just looking at Kirigakure was enough to see how ridiculous Konoha's strength was.
Right now, Kirigakure was being held together by Terumi Mei alone. Chojuro had potential, but his personality had serious flaws that couldn't be ignored.
As for Ao? He was already too old.
Only Konoha could keep producing wave after wave of clan heirs and geniuses—no matter how many they lost, there were always more to take their place.
Among the Twelve Young Ninjas of Konohagakure, any one of them would be considered a top genius in other villages. But in Konohagakure, people have long gotten used to having "geniuses" around.
A few days later, with the arrival of a new batch of "soldiers" in Konohagakure, the village became lively again.
At this time, Chiriku also returned to Konohagakure. With "Asuma," the son of the Third Hokage, being there, and given Chiriku's deep ties to the village, his return didn't raise any suspicion at all.
"Konohagakure has changed so much in just a year. The village has expanded a lot, and it looks much livelier than before."
Chiriku sighed as he observed the changes. With the growing population, Konohagakure had become even busier and more prosperous.
This was inevitable.
The nobles of the Land of Fire had sent soldiers to the village, and among them weren't just commoners—some were nobles themselves.
And when nobles arrived, they didn't hold back. They poured resources into upgrading Konohagakure's infrastructure, improving everything in sight.
The ninjas didn't really care about these things, but the nobles? They wanted to enjoy a comfortable life.
And so, Konohagakure turned into the bustling, crowded place it was now.
For Konohagakure, which had been in the process of rebuilding since the destruction caused by the "Collapse Plan," this was actually a good thing.
"Yeah, so much has happened this past year."
Asuma took a deep drag from his cigarette. The death of the Third Hokage had been a heavy blow to him.
But he didn't hold much hatred in his heart. As the son of the Third Hokage, he had inherited his father's weaknesses as well.
Asuma was well aware of his own limits—he wasn't a genius. In fact, compared to others, his talent was pretty average.
As the son of the Third Hokage, he didn't have any particularly outstanding abilities.
But because of that, he was able to clearly see his father's struggles.
He had always been overshadowed by his father. And in the same way, his father had lived under the shadow of the First and Second Hokage.
A weak mindset—that was the biggest flaw of the Sarutobi clan.
But now, Asuma had come to terms with it.
"But honestly, things aren't so bad right now.
The Daimyo and the nobles are paying more attention to the ninja villages, and the conflicts between the Five Great Nations have lessened. Even the disputes between villages have been put on hold for now."
Asuma smiled. The ninja world seemed a lot more peaceful than before—at least for now.
"You look pretty relaxed. I thought you'd be busier than this."
Chiriku sighed as well. This era had the potential to completely reshape the ninja world. Even a village as deeply rooted as Konohagakure had changed so much.
"Busy with what? Konohagakure doesn't need us ninjas to do much right now—there aren't even many missions outside the village."
Asuma spread his hands. With Shikamaru and the others gone, staying in the village felt dull. The only upside was that his old friend had returned from the Fire Temple.
Since Chiriku had just come back, Asuma made sure to look after him.
"Konohagakure's ninja academy has also started changing its system. The curriculum isn't the same as before, and there are no more team leaders.
Now, ninjas mainly serve as instructors for regular soldiers, focusing more on Taijutsu and Ninjutsu development."
"The policies Shikaku and the others put in place are meant to match the current state of the ninja world. Ninjas like us—elite jonin—just need to stay in the village and act as instructors."
Asuma shrugged. He never had any exceptional skills, but in a way, that worked out for him.
At least he didn't have to work overtime at the Hokage office.
Plus, his abilities were well-balanced. Unlike someone like Guy, who was purely a Taijutsu brute, Asuma was a good fit for the role of an instructor.
And on top of that, there was something even more important—Asuma's identity.
The son of the Third Hokage, head of the Sarutobi clan, a master of various ninjutsu, and so on.
These titles meant nothing to a ninja, but for the nobles and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, they were quite useful.
With a title like that, you could secure a lot of funding.
Do you think Konohagakure isn't short on money? No way.
This was the first time Asuma realized just how valuable he was. At the same time, as a proud Jonin, he found it ironic that he had to rely on such means to make money.
Times had really changed.
But then again, now that he had a family to support, earning more money wasn't a bad thing. So Asuma didn't mind it too much.
"Becoming an instructor? Without having to go to the academy?"
Even Chiriku was surprised. Having someone like Asuma train civilians seemed like overkill.
"No need. The academy doesn't teach much anyway.
Talented kids don't stay in the village—they're sent elsewhere. Things are chaotic outside, but it's still better than the wartime era.
Pirates may be a plague on the ninja world, but those of us who have been through war know that they aren't the real problem."
Asuma glanced at his friend, Chiriku, who had seen the truth behind many things—that's why he had chosen to leave Konohagakure.
Asuma, as Chiriku's friend, understood his thoughts well.
Pirates were labeled as criminals, but at least they had their own code. War in the ninja world, on the other hand, was a battlefield where it was kill or be killed—no rules, no mercy.
That was exactly why all five great ninja villages opposed the strict laws proposed by the nobles and the Daimyo.
The nobles thought pirates deserved to die. The civilians agreed. But only experienced ninjas understood what would happen if those laws were enforced.
It would turn into a war of total annihilation. Ninjas might not be politically sharp, but they knew war all too well.
Right now, the pirates were causing trouble, but they weren't beyond redemption. At least this way, if someone from the village was captured by pirates, there was still a chance of survival.
This was why, whether they realized it or not, the ninja villages sided with the pirates. They weren't about to throw their lives away for the sake of the nobles and civilians.
To put it simply, as the strongest fighters, they would be the ones on the front lines.
The last clan that loved charging into battle like that was the Uchiha. They always led the charge in every war. And what happened to them?
They were wiped out by their own people.
Now, these nobles were preparing to do the same thing to the ninjas.
So before things got out of hand, the major ninja villages were choosing to tolerate the pirates.
Hearing Asuma's words, Chiriku grew curious.
He didn't know much about the whole pirate situation—just that their arrival had completely reshaped the ninja world.
"In that case, I should be able to become an instructor at the new training camp, right?"
"No chance. Right now, if Shikaku catches anyone who can help out at the Hokage's office, he'll make sure they do.
Chiriku, you're different from us. Don't even think about slacking off."
Asuma smirked when he heard Chiriku's question.
"You? An instructor? Forget it. Do you even have the brains for it? The moment you set foot back in Konohagakure, Shikaku had already made arrangements for you."
For the first time, Asuma appreciated how nice it was to be ordinary. In Konohagakure, he didn't have to worry about anything. He didn't have to be too busy.
As long as he kept his skills sharp, he could enjoy a peaceful life in the village without a problem.
As for Chiriku?
Chiriku was definitely a talented person.
Even Shikaku wasn't sure where to place someone like him.
"A Paramecia-type Buddha Fruit user—he can turn his body into a Buddha form and use exclusive Buddha-style attacks."
"His strength is incredible. Honestly, Chiriku doesn't feel like an ordinary elite jonin at all. But…"
Strength was one thing, and Chiriku's power was far beyond Asuma's. Plus, this special ninjutsu-based Devil Fruit didn't seem weak at all.
With that in mind, it made sense that Chiriku had Hokage-level combat strength.
Why Hokage level? Because the Kazekage didn't even come close.
What gave Shikaku a headache, though, was that Chiriku wasn't just powerful—he was also ridiculously smart.
The more Shikaku looked into his history, the more he realized Chiriku was a true genius. Somehow, despite being so outstanding, he had managed to stay under the radar and then smoothly leave Konohagakure.
No one knew exactly how he pulled it off, but escaping from Danzo's grasp was no small feat.
"Forget it. Let's just put him in the intelligence department."
Right now, the intelligence department was short on people, and Chiriku's abilities were too exceptional to be wasted elsewhere. Assigning him to the newly established unit made perfect sense.
So when Chiriku saw his new position, he was a bit stunned. Just like that, he was suddenly part of Konohagakure's intelligence division—and not just a member, but the leader?
And soon after, Chiriku's performance proved Shikaku's decision was right.
In just a month, he had fully set up the intelligence network and even infiltrated the underground black market's information network.
Well, most of the work was done by Kakuzu… but still, can we agree that Nara Shikaku has an eye for talent?
Meanwhile, over in Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya was stunned when he saw the "Poneglyph" that the sages had somehow dug up.
The White Snake Sage sighed helplessly.
"Lately, Orochimaru has taken over Ryuchi Cave. He insists on making that kid Kabuto learn our Ryuchi Cave's Senjutsu.
It's been a whole month now."
The White Snake Sage had no way to deal with Orochimaru. He just refused to leave. And fighting him? That wasn't an option either.
The White Snake Sage was strong, but he couldn't kill Orochimaru. And Orochimaru couldn't kill him either.
In fact… he could barely even scratch Orochimaru.
So, Ryuchi Cave ended up being taken over.
"A month?"
Jiraiya was shocked. Orochimaru staying in one place for a month? That didn't seem possible.
"That guy won't leave until that kid Kabuto masters the training. So I had no choice but to grab some things and come here for a while."
"Jiraiya, you've been researching the legacy left by the Sage of Six Paths, right?"
The White Snake Sage asked directly. Whatever Orochimaru wanted to do, he could do it.
Using dirty tricks and still getting slashed by Shanks—that was embarrassing. The White Snake Sage wasn't about to argue with such a disgraceful dragon.
"Yeah. The ninja path hasn't reached its end yet. But to push forward, we have to understand how Ninshu was originally created."
Jiraiya nodded.
Tracing things back to their roots was necessary. Luckily, he had the means to do so.
"If you're out of ideas, maybe you should look into the origins of the sages."
"The origins of the sages?"
"Hmm, the source of the Sages.
Before meeting the old toad, Rikudou Sennin didn't know Sage Mode. And neither did his brother."
The White Snake Sage spoke. This was one of the great secrets of the Three Sacred Lands. Some people had tried to uncover it before, but they all failed.
"But… couldn't you Sages just tell me this directly?"
Jiraiya scratched his head. All three of the Great Sages were right here—what was the point of investigating?
"We can't, because we don't know either.
We may be very old, but back in Rikudou Sennin's time, we were still young. And as for the Sages before us, we have no idea what they were like."
The White Snake Sage explained. When the Toad Sage first met Rikudou Sennin, he was still just a young toad.
But before them, did the ninja world really have no Sages? That didn't seem possible.
"The only one who might know is the Slug Sage. She has lived much longer than any of us."
"Then again, she might have forgotten too."
"So that means… Shanks is…"
Hearing this, Jiraiya immediately thought of Shanks.
At the same time, the White Snake Sage nodded.
"Exactly."
"That's why the old toad was so shocked. Shanks has truly broken fate, shattering a pattern that has existed in the ninja world for so long."
Jiraiya's expression became serious.
It seemed there was a lot about Shanks that he had overlooked.
But really, this wasn't just about Shanks—it was about the ninja world itself.
The biggest problem with the ninja world was that its power system always had to be traced back to the past.
The simplest example was the Fourth Great Ninja War.
After so many years of ninjutsu development, people discovered that the modern-day ninjas still couldn't defeat Hashirama and Madara.
And even Hashirama and Madara couldn't beat Rikudou Sennin. Rikudou Sennin had only given Naruto and Sasuke a small power boost, and they were already strong enough to crush Madara.
This power system clearly showed that the further back in history you went, the stronger people were.
But Shanks' arrival completely broke that pattern. In all the records of the Three Sacred Lands, Shanks was simply the strongest.
What happened in the Land of Wind proved this as well. Shanks' existence had completely overturned the rules of this world.
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