"Okay, Brother Ryōsuke, I want to become a Tailed Beast Jinchūriki."
Sasuke agreed without hesitation.
As long as he possessed the power of a Tailed Beast, he would not fall behind his peers.
"Very well. I will find a time to seal a Tailed Beast into your body," Ryōsuke replied.
Ryōsuke planned to seal the strongest one he had on hand, the Eight-Tails, into Sasuke.
After all, Naruto had the Nine-Tails, so Sasuke's naturally couldn't be too weak. They would make for an excellent pair of rivals.
Seeing that Ryōsuke had personally given his word, Mikoto naturally had no objections, and her husband, Fugaku, certainly wouldn't object either.
A few days later, the reconstruction of the village was still underway.
Only a large number of houses near the village gates had been destroyed.
The residents had long been evacuated before the battle began.
Furthermore, Ryōsuke had used the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to resurrect those who had died in battle, so there was no lingering atmosphere of sorrow in the village.
As long as no one remained dead, everything was acceptable.
Even now, the great battle from a few days ago remained the main topic of conversation among the Leaf Village citizens.
The clashes, both inside and outside the village, had been absolutely astonishing.
Finally, the scene of the dead returning to life made them revere him like a god; it was truly a divine miracle.
Those who knew the truth kept it a secret that Ryōsuke was the one who cast the jutsu.
At the same time, this news naturally spread to every corner of the shinobi world, as the events were simply too shocking.
In the Raikage's office, the Fourth Raikage's expression changed drastically as he read a secret letter delivered by his subordinates.
Although he no longer had spies planted inside the Leaf Village, the Cloud Village still maintained covert operatives along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
The Fourth Raikage couldn't believe that someone had actually dared to attack the Leaf Village.
That was *his* village—who in their right mind would court death like that?
Continuing to read, the report mentioned an army of white humanoids, as well as a terrifying battle Uchiha Ryōsuke fought against the attackers outside the village, describing it as a living hell.
In the end, the Leaf Village emerged victorious.
Even more shockingly, the Leaf ninja who had died in battle were actually resurrected.
He was instantly overwhelmed with shock.
*Was such a thing even possible?*
Just from reading the text, he could sense that this war was many times more intense than his previous conflict with the Leaf Village.
The details of the battle mentioned in the letter were simply staggering.
The suspected resurrection of Senju Hashirama, the use of the ultimate Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands, falling meteorites, and a massive sphere rising into the sky—it was utterly terrifying.
Sweat dripped down his forehead.
If this hadn't come from his most trusted spy, he would have thought it was a joke.
He let out a deep sigh.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about restoring the Cloud Village's former glory.
He had been training relentlessly these past few days, and his strength had improved significantly.
He believed that if he could just defeat that man, perhaps he could restore the Cloud Village's prosperity.
But hearing this news now, his heart ached. There was absolutely no chance of a comeback.
That man had become even more terrifying.
He was far more fearsome than when they had first crossed paths. The Raikage slumped weakly into his chair.
He felt bitter. *Are we destined to be completely at the mercy of others for the rest of our lives?*
The twenty years' worth of reparations they had to pay was a massive mountain weighing down on the Cloud Village.
He could only let out another helpless, deep sigh.
Meanwhile, in the Stone Village to the northwest of the Leaf Village, the Tsuchikage also received the report, and it shook him to his core.
To think that such a terrifying battle had occurred outside the Leaf Village—it could even be described as a clash of inhuman proportions, far more intense than a Great Ninja War.
*To think there is someone in the shinobi world powerful enough to cross blows with that man from the Leaf Village.*
The Leaf Village was capable of dealing with such foes, but the Stone Village certainly could not.
Fortunately, that hidden faction had been wiped out.
However, Ōnoki had already made up his mind: he would never clash with the Leaf Village again.
He would even actively seek peace.
During the Second Great Ninja War, both sides had suffered casualties, and the same was true during the Third Great Ninja War.
Ōnoki's greatest fear was that the Leaf Village would settle both old and new scores at once, which would mean the absolute end of the Stone Village.
Previously, he had worried that The Illuminati's God King would control the Stone Village to stir up trouble, but the God King still hadn't appeared.
He didn't believe the other party had simply forgotten.
The God King wasn't as old as he was and was definitely plotting something important.
He instantly felt deflated.
Even as a Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages, he couldn't decide the fate of his own village.
This man was also someone he could not oppose.
*Sigh.*
He felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
Similarly, in the Kazekage's office of the Sand Village in the Land of Wind, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, wore a dark expression.
The terrifying attack on the Leaf Village reminded him of the man who had previously attacked the Sand Village, taking on the entire village single-handedly.
Even with Rasa present, they had been powerless to resist.
Yet, the Leaf Village had managed to withstand an incredibly terrifying assault.
The gap between the Sand Village and the Leaf Village was truly widening.
Perhaps in a few short years.
The Sand Village would become a crippled village just like the Cloud Village, reduced to working for others.
He sighed deeply. It was agonizing that, despite being the Fourth Kazekage, he was powerless to change this reality.
To make matters worse, the Wind Daimyō was now causing trouble over the previous attack. Just as Rasa had suspected, that bastard was using the excuse that the Sand Village couldn't even handle a single person to cut their funding once again.
It was completely outrageous, and his heart burned with fury.
The current situation left him completely overwhelmed.
The only power he could rely on now was that so-called mysterious man. The fact that the man could fight an entire village alone made Rasa inclined to submit.
In truth, as long as the other party could bring enough benefits to the Sand Village, submission wasn't impossible.
Ultimately, it was just a matter of taking what each side needed. But thinking about it again, he realized he was being a bit naive. That guy was so domineering—would he even allow Rasa to negotiate terms?
Over in the Mist Village's elder office, Genji, the elder in charge of the village, had also received a report from the Leaf Village.
After glancing at it, his normally closed eyes widened completely. The contents mentioned within were simply too shocking.
He handed the intelligence report to Terumī Mei, who was sitting nearby.
"Take a look at this."
Terumī Mei was the junior he favored the most in the Mist Village. In the steadily declining Mist Village, she was considered extremely formidable. Not only did she possess a rare Kekkei Genkai, but her base combat power was also exceptionally high.
She was more than qualified to take on the mantle of Mizukage.
If she hadn't given birth to a child with an unknown father, the position of Mizukage would have been a sure thing for her.
Seeing Elder Genji's drastic change in expression, Terumī Mei took the letter and began to read.
Her initial worry quickly turned into joy. *My child's father is simply too amazing.*
She was naturally shocked that he was able to engage in such a terrifying battle against powerful enemies.
She had never actually seen Ryōsuke fight seriously; she had only heard that he was incredibly strong.
After all, his previous reputation for strength came from defeating the Cloud Village's ninja army.
But his current battle record was undoubtedly far more terrifying.
Genji keenly noticed Terumī Mei's reaction.
She couldn't hide the pleasant surprise on her face. It was important to note that the Mist Village and the Leaf Village had fought against each other during the Third Great Ninja War. Logically speaking, it was impossible for Terumī Mei to have any favorable feelings toward the Leaf Village.
Unless the child's father was connected to the Leaf Village.
Why else would she be so joyful?
He couldn't help but ask, "Terumī Mei, is the father of that child connected to the Leaf Village? Otherwise, why would you hide it?"
Terumī Mei was inwardly surprised.
"Elder Genji, why would you say that?"
Genji, however, became even more certain.
*Good heavens, it really is the Leaf Village. Which young talent could possibly make Terumī Mei bear his child?*
Suddenly, a bold thought crossed his mind. *Could it be the one widely rumored throughout the shinobi world?*
"Actually, you don't need to hide such a thing," Genji said. "The situation has changed now. If it is *that* person from the Leaf Village, perhaps we can use this to build a bridge between our two villages."
"The current Leaf Village is the strongest in the shinobi world. Sweeping across the entire shinobi world probably wouldn't even be an issue for them."
"The Mist Village naturally does not wish to make an enemy out of them."