"Time really does pass quickly."
Sitting inside the Hokage's office, Hikaru looked out at Konoha's bustling streets and could not help smiling.
Time always moved faster than people imagined.
Before he knew it, the calendar had quietly reached Konoha Year Sixty.
For Hikaru, this was a very special year.
Because he knew very well that this was the year the original story truly began.
Although the story line of this world had already been smashed beyond recognition by him, Hikaru no longer cared much about that.
Five years ago, on the moon, Hikaru had learned the true nature of the shinobi world.
He had also elevated his Jōgan to the second stage.
From that moment on, there was no longer anyone in the shinobi world who could be considered his enemy.
Even the fully revived Uchiha Madara, or Senju Hashirama himself, could no longer threaten him.
At his current level, Hikaru could practically slick his hair back with a handful of gel, rise into the sky, and declare, "I shall stand above the clouds."
His strength had already surpassed the shinobi world by far.
Perhaps the only thing that could truly threaten him now was Madara absorbing the God Tree.
But Madara no longer had any chance to absorb the God Tree.
After learning that he had been deceived, that arrogant man had completely abandoned the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan.
What Hikaru found most amusing was that even someone as proud as Madara had a strangely awkward side.
He had secretly come to Hikaru and confessed every arrangement he had made in the past.
That was something Hikaru had not expected.
In Hikaru's view, should Madara not have secretly told Hashirama instead?
But Hikaru reacted quickly.
He immediately understood where Madara's hesitation came from.
Madara probably felt that the things he had done were too stupid.
He was too embarrassed to tell Hashirama about them.
After thinking it over, Hikaru felt this explanation was the most reasonable.
The relationship between Madara and Hashirama was unique.
There were some things Madara simply would not want to say to him.
Even though he was proud and would not deny his own mistakes, he would still avoid making deeply embarrassing matters known to everyone.
After confessing, Madara temporarily earned Hikaru's trust.
However, although Hikaru trusted him for the moment, and although Hashirama had persuaded him, Hikaru only agreed to eventually help Madara revive.
As for Akatsuki and Madara's Rinnegan, Hikaru had not made any concessions for the time being.
Madara found this difficult to understand.
But Hikaru was not unreasonable.
He directly explained why he was doing this.
"I need them to collect the Tailed Beasts' chakra.
"Although with my current strength, I can do almost anything I want, there are many things I cannot do simply because I feel like it.
"Akatsuki is a very convenient group for doing certain things."
Madara did not fully understand this explanation.
In his eyes, with Hikaru's strength, the entire shinobi world should be something he could take as he pleased.
After all, Madara had never been Hokage.
He also had no way of knowing Hikaru's system mission.
However, what Hikaru said next allowed him to understand somewhat.
"There is another purpose.
"I plan to let Akatsuki act freely across the shinobi world and become a common enemy.
"If they are strong enough, they will make the entire shinobi world—except Konoha—feel fear.
"Under that fear, as long as we express our willingness to fight them together, the shinobi world can unite.
"The Ōtsutsuki threat cannot be handled by us alone.
"We can handle one or two, but if more of them appear, we will not be able to deal with everything.
"Shinobi still need to rely on themselves.
"One on one, they may not be capable.
"But what if they rely on collective strength?
"What if they rely on the power of the entire shinobi world outside of us?
"And a united shinobi world can also be considered an alternative kind of peace.
"After all, the shinobi world is divided because everyone is hostile toward one another.
"But if the shinobi world has a common enemy, do you think they will still hate each other, constantly drain themselves, and endlessly start wars?"
Hikaru's explanation made Madara understand a great deal.
Although they could no longer rely on force to directly unify the entire shinobi world, that did not mean there were no other ways to integrate it.
The reason the shinobi world had internal conflicts was largely because benefits were distributed unevenly, and the upper limit of development was restricted for various reasons.
But in the end, shinobi were still human.
Once an external enemy appeared outside the category of humanity, and that enemy's goal was to destroy the world, humanity would inevitably unite and resist.
Such unity could, to a certain extent, balance the distribution of benefits.
It could also erase mutual hatred.
After all, if everyone refused to abandon old prejudices and unite against an external invasion, their ending would be obvious.
"After full unity is achieved, we can begin cultural and ideological promotion from within, weakening the influence of the other villages.
"Once all shinobi truly believe they are one family, even without an external enemy, will war still appear?"
Cultural promotion had always been something Hikaru valued greatly.
As a transmigrator, he understood better than anyone how terrifying cultural influence could be.
And as someone from China in his previous life, Hikaru naturally knew what cultural assimilation meant.
He had already begun doing this.
Those minor countries and shinobi villages were his experimental targets.
The results proved that he had done fairly well.
Although this was his first time doing such a thing, and various problems inevitably appeared, everything was generally going smoothly.
Through years of adjustment and operations, they had accumulated no small amount of experience.
After so many years of refinement, Hikaru believed that even if Konoha were now ordered to culturally infiltrate and promote itself across the other villages of the entire shinobi world, Konoha would be capable of doing it.
Madara was convinced by Hikaru.
For the time being, he stopped obsessing over his Rinnegan.
However, he secretly observed Nagato's situation.
To his surprise, he discovered that Nagato seemed to completely trust Hikaru.
Even the Land of Rain had been pulled into Hikaru's hands.
Madara found that rather amusing.
But amusing or not, no matter how close Nagato was to Hikaru, those eyes belonged to Madara.
He would inevitably take them back.
That was something no one could change.
Hikaru fully supported Madara's intention as well.
"After all, people need to recognize themselves clearly sometimes.
"For now, let him keep them.
"Once things are almost done, I will tell him the truth.
"At least by then, it should be easier for him to accept.
"After all, the shinobi world will also be at peace by then…"
…
Peace in the shinobi world had always been something every character in Naruto pursued.
Whether they were righteous or evil in the original story, no matter what they had done, their common goal had always been that.
It had never changed.
For many of them, if their own lives could be exchanged for peace, they would be willing.
Nagato was actually that kind of person too.
In the original story, after regaining his conviction, he had been willing to give up his life to revive everyone in Konoha, entrusting his hope to Naruto.
Hikaru did not intend to take his life now.
He only planned to have Nagato return what belonged to its original owner.
Although Hikaru could guess that the truth would be a huge blow to Nagato, who had believed all his life that he was the inheritor of the Sage of Six Paths, a fact remained a fact.
Nagato needed to recognize himself once again.
"But he should be able to accept it.
"After all, the Land of Rain has already been transformed by me.
"And Yahiko has also been revived.
"That should count as compensation."
Yahiko had already been brought back to life by Hikaru.
Although Hikaru had entirely used him as a tool to control Nagato, Yahiko did indeed have his own value.
Besides, for the current Hikaru, the cost of reviving someone had become extremely low.
With Impure World Reincarnation and One's Own Life Reincarnation, reviving a person was truly not difficult for him.
Especially since he also possessed Hidan's immortal body as reference, and Orochimaru was constantly improving and researching the process, the cost had become even lower.
Even though Hikaru's eyes had not gained any resurrection-related ability, he did not need such a power.
Since obtaining this revival method, Hikaru had revived six people.
Hatake Sakumo.
Senju Hashirama.
Senju Tobirama.
Nohara Rin.
Yahiko.
And Uzumaki Mito.
It seemed like he had revived quite a few people, but in truth, he had already been very restrained.
He had also decided that unless absolutely necessary, he would not use this technique casually in the future.
However, he would still leave Madara a chance.
After all, he had promised Hashirama, and he had also promised Madara.
Madara had not chosen to fully revive yet.
According to him, his eyes were still in someone else's hands, so he could not display his greatest power.
An incomplete version of himself could not fully unleash his strength.
It was better to wait until he recovered his eyes before choosing true revival.
Hikaru did not refuse this idea.
To him, it was not a major problem.
Madara's issue had been handled, allowing Hikaru to feel somewhat at ease.
Although he had somehow erased the original story's super final boss again, Hikaru did not think it mattered much.
In his view, the shinobi world's rebellious force still had Obito supporting it, so there should basically be no problem.
Besides, reducing the danger level of the shinobi world's rebellion could be considered a meritorious act.
As for Obito's future, Hikaru was not too worried.
Considering Obito's abilities, Hikaru did not mind saving him.
No matter how excessive the things he had done were, Hikaru could directly stuff him into ANBU.
In the original story, Orochimaru and Kabuto had both ended up fine.
Although Obito had been one of the masterminds, if Hikaru quietly protected him, no one would know.
Even if someone knew, they would not dare say anything.
And they might not even say anything at all.
After all, Hikaru was the Hokage of Konoha.
"Still, Obito's matter can wait.
"For now, I should handle what needs to be handled first."
Leaning back in his chair, Hikaru stretched lazily.
There were indeed still some matters he needed to deal with.
And this problem was not simple.
Because after thirteen years of recovery, Namikaze Minato had finally recovered.
Today, he was returning to Konoha.
Back then, when Hikaru injected vitality into Minato, he had deliberately tampered with it so Minato would not recover all at once.
This had given Hikaru enough time and cover to accomplish what he needed to do.
And Hikaru had fully achieved everything he wanted.
The position of Fifth Hokage was his greatest result.
To be honest, Hikaru was truly somewhat grateful to Minato.
Although Hikaru had tricked him back then, and the purpose behind saving him had not been pure, Minato had indeed helped Hikaru greatly.
Hikaru knew very well that the tampering he had done back then could not have been perfectly precise.
In a place like Mount Myōboku, Minato's recovery speed would definitely not be slow.
Yet Minato had never chosen to return.
In a sense, that meant he had kept the promise he made back then.
Now, his return could not threaten Hikaru in the slightest.
Likewise, Hikaru knew Minato had no such intention.
His purpose in returning was simple.
Naruto was about to graduate.
Naruto's graduation was a major event for Hikaru.
For Minato, it was even more important.
This was the first step his son would take into the shinobi world.
There was no way Minato would not care.
Now that Naruto was about to become a shinobi and would no longer remain constantly under Konoha's protection, Minato was unwilling to continue staying in Mount Myōboku.
As the Fourth Hokage, his return had to be properly arranged by Hikaru.
But exactly how to arrange things depended on Hikaru's meeting with Minato later.
In truth, Hikaru was more inclined to place Minato in ANBU.
After all, Hikaru had once promised Kakashi he would let him leave.
Having Minato take over ANBU would be the most suitable choice.
However, how Minato himself felt about this was unknown.
If the Fourth Hokage intended to become an ordinary mission shinobi and personally lead Naruto's team, Hikaru would definitely have a headache.
Not because of Minato leading Naruto.
What troubled him was who should take the position of ANBU Commander.
"Hokage-sama."
Just as Hikaru was worrying over this matter, saya opened the office door and walked in.
"Fourth Hokage-sama and his wife have arrived."
…
"Fourth-sama, long time no see."
Sitting behind his desk, Hikaru smiled at Minato and Kushina.
Only the two of them had come this time.
Naruto had not followed them.
Both of them wore smiles, but Hikaru could tell that Minato's smile was somewhat stiff.
After thinking for a moment, Hikaru roughly understood Minato's current mood.
Minato's feelings were probably complicated.
The seat Hikaru now occupied had once belonged to him.
But although Minato had held the title of Hokage back then, he had not possessed much of the Hokage's authority.
At that time, four people had stood behind him.
Calling those four Konoha's Four Giants would not have been an exaggeration.
They had firmly controlled Konoha's core power, almost turning Minato into a puppet who merely carried out their orders.
Minato truly had not liked those days.
Although he had been happy to become Hokage, those experiences were something he would remember for the rest of his life.
In contrast, Hikaru had no such concerns.
All authority in Konoha was held in his hands.
He could mobilize all resources to accomplish whatever he wanted.
Everyone under him also knew he was the one and only Hokage, and they would properly cooperate with his policies.
Smooth implementation of orders.
That was something every Hokage dreamed of.
Minato had never enjoyed such treatment back then.
So it was only natural for him to envy Hikaru.
However, Minato reacted quickly.
He immediately came back to himself, then smiled and nodded at Hikaru.
"Long time no see, Fifth Hokage-sama."
"You can just call me Hikaru."
Hikaru smiled and shook his head.
He had a good impression of Minato.
No matter what, Minato had helped him back then.
Hikaru still had a sense of gratitude.
Although his moral bottom line had always been unstable, at least he did have one.
"Then please do not call me Fourth-sama either. Just call me Minato."
Minato nodded lightly before continuing.
"All these years, I have been reading the newspapers.
"I know Konoha has developed extremely well under your leadership.
"Congratulations, Hikaru.
"You are an outstanding Hokage.
"And I must congratulate myself as well.
"Although I was a failure as Hokage, at least I chose an excellent successor for Konoha."
Minato's wording was very careful.
He did not call Hikaru his heir, but his successor.
Clearly, he was telling Hikaru that he did not regard him as a junior.
He saw him as an equal, perhaps even someone he needed to look up to seriously.
At the same time, he was also telling Hikaru that he no longer had any thoughts about the Hokage position.
He was already part of the past.
Hikaru was somewhat surprised.
He had not seen Minato in so many years, yet Minato had become smoother than when he was Hokage.
Facing such wording, Hikaru could only smile and nod.
Then he went straight to the main topic.
"Then I will not stand on ceremony, Minato.
"Do you have any plans now that you have returned?"
Hikaru sat up straight and lightly tapped the desk.
Sitting to the side, saya nodded and began recording.
Minato naturally noticed this.
Although he had been in Mount Myōboku all these years, he had learned a great deal about Konoha's current situation through newspapers and Kakashi.
For example, Hikaru had specially divided many departments in the administrative field.
Minato knew this very clearly.
These divisions had clarified the specific responsibilities of each unit and department, greatly improving Konoha's administrative efficiency.
Moreover, to allow administrative personnel in various departments to work better, Hikaru had specifically established a new department called the Secretariat.
The secretaries in the Secretariat were responsible for coordinating and supporting administrative officials at every level.
This was another major improvement to work efficiency.
Even Kakashi had two secretaries assigned to him.
So Minato understood very well the role and difference between a personal secretary and an executive secretary.
To be honest, he truly admired Hikaru's imagination.
The establishment of this department alone was something Minato had never thought of.
And Hikaru's later policies were even more things Minato would never have dared imagine.
The Uchiha girl before him was one of the highest-ranking secretaries in Konoha's Secretariat.
She was Hikaru's personal secretary.
The authority in her hands was also considerable.
Her remaining here to keep records was a routine measure that could prove the Hokage's words and actions.
Clearly, Hikaru was someone who disliked trouble.
Such records could, to some degree, help him serve as important testimony in debatable matters aimed at him.
Of course, if something was not open to discussion, then even if there were records, they would never be taken out.
"Plans? I am not sure either."
Minato thought for a moment, then answered Hikaru seriously.
"That depends on the Hokage's arrangements. I have no objections."
"Then how about replacing Kakashi and becoming ANBU Commander?"
Hearing Minato say that, Hikaru naturally did not hold back.
Having a former Hokage become ANBU Commander looked like a dangerous matter.
And with Hikaru's own precedent, future Hokage probably would not easily place ambitious people in the ANBU Commander position.
But Hikaru was not worried.
His influence over ANBU was beyond imagination.
And his control over all of Konoha was also something ordinary people could not believe.
Five years ago, his battle with Urashiki had made everyone in Konoha sincerely recognize and deeply respect him.
In the eyes of all Konoha residents, the current Hikaru was no weaker than Hashirama.
He might even be stronger.
The title "God of Shinobi" had increasingly gathered around him.
Although Hikaru had never acknowledged that title, he had never actively denied it either.
"ANBU Commander?"
Minato's expression became somewhat strange when he heard Hikaru's words.
"Hikaru-kun, are you joking?"
"Do I look like I am joking?"
Facing Minato's doubt, Hikaru was extremely direct.
"I would not joke about something like this.
"You can relax.
"I trust your professional ethics, Minato.
"Besides, you have cooperated with ANBU on missions before, so you are not unfamiliar with the process.
"And as the Fourth Hokage, I believe in your ability.
"Are you unwilling to try this new challenge?"
Hikaru spoke very seriously.
After thinking carefully for a while, Minato finally nodded with some difficulty.
He was not particularly good at refusing others.
However, he was also somewhat curious, so he asked, "If I go to ANBU, what about Kakashi? He is the current ANBU Commander."
"Kakashi naturally has his own arrangements."
At this question, a smile appeared at the corner of Hikaru's mouth.
He tapped the desk lightly, then asked slowly, "What do you think about letting him become Naruto's jōnin instructor?"
…
Letting Kakashi become Naruto's jōnin instructor could be considered a way of returning the wheel of history to its proper track.
To be honest, Hikaru did not know what kind of result this would produce.
But that did not stop him from making an interesting attempt.
As the destined Team Seven of the original story, Hikaru was truly curious about what kind of sparks the current Kakashi and Naruto's group would create.
Especially since the current Naruto was not the original Naruto.
Likewise, Sasuke was not the original orphan Sasuke either.
Now, that boy still had both parents.
He also had an elder brother who loved him.
His life could be described as happy and complete.
Under such circumstances, Hikaru was looking forward to seeing how this Team Seven would change.
Of course, he had no intention of keeping Sakura in Team Seven.
The reason Sakura had been placed in that special team in the original story was mainly because she served as a bridge and lubricant.
After all, Naruto liked Sakura, while Sakura liked Sasuke.
That trait could be used to turn that extremely special and divided team into an actual whole.
But now the situation was completely different.
To put it bluntly, whether Sakura was there or not made no difference.
As for who should be inserted into the team, that was indeed a question.
But Hikaru was not worried about it.
Whether it was Hinata, or Karin Uzumaki—whom Hikaru had casually brought back years ago and who had now grown up—either would be a far better choice than Sakura.
Minato was truly tempted by Hikaru's proposal.
Having his own disciple teach his son seemed a little strange in terms of seniority.
But his disciple was someone absolutely trustworthy.
With Kakashi around, his son would definitely not have any problems.
"Then I will leave this matter to you, Hikaru-kun."
"Do not worry. I have made arrangements."
After sending Minato and Kushina off with a smile, Hikaru had finally completed another matter.
Kakashi had probably been unable to endure ANBU for a long time.
After all, when Hikaru had sent him into ANBU years ago, Kakashi had been reluctant.
Letting him out now could be considered fulfilling his wish.
To be honest, Hikaru had quite a few pure shinobi like Kakashi in his circle.
But among those who held great authority while having little interest in it, there really were not many like him.
"saya, contact Kakashi and tell him the result."
Although Hikaru was thinking about all kinds of things, he quickly arranged for saya to notify Kakashi.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
saya smiled and nodded.
Then she quickly turned and walked out.
For a moment, the office became quiet again.
Hikaru could not help stretching lazily.
With Minato's matter settled, Hikaru's internal arrangements for Konoha were basically complete.
What remained was waiting for time to move forward.
And waiting for certain necessary events to happen.
"According to the intelligence, Nagato and the others are probably preparing to make a move on the Tailed Beasts."
After Yahiko's revival, Nagato had fully sided with Hikaru.
However, his allegiance was given in the capacity of the ruler of the Land of Rain.
The main reason for this choice was that Obito had already arrived in the Land of Rain.
Obito's operations in the Land of Water were over.
His plan could be considered both successful and failed.
It was successful because, over the years, he had truly thrown Kirigakure into utter chaos.
Almost every bloodline clan had been viciously harmed by him.
Even now, bloodline clans in Kirigakure were still treated like nightmares, hated and feared by countless people.
But he had also failed.
Even without Ao's Byakugan, his flaw had still been discovered.
Unfortunately, by the time he was discovered, it was already late.
The damage suffered by Kirigakure had reached an irreversible point.
After failing and leaving the Land of Water, Obito naturally came to the Land of Rain.
The changes in the Land of Rain left him completely dumbfounded.
Because he had never expected Nagato to actually cooperate with Konoha.
However, Nagato's attitude toward this was extremely calm.
According to him:
"Akatsuki's operations require money.
"Konoha's actions are helping the Land of Rain develop its own capacity, which naturally gives us enough money.
"Since that is the case, why can we not cooperate with Konoha and use Konoha's money to deal with Konoha in the end?"
This explanation left Obito speechless.
In the end, he could only compromise on this matter.
However, after understanding Akatsuki's current development, Obito made a decision.
He wanted Nagato to begin capturing the Tailed Beasts.
Nagato had already reported this matter to Hikaru.
And Hikaru's suggestion to Nagato was simple.
Go ahead.
There was no way Hikaru would refuse this kind of thing.
Although the timeline had shifted strangely, was that not even more interesting?
"Besides, five years have passed.
"The things I obtained from Urashiki should almost be ready, right?"
Hikaru lazily leaned back in his chair as sunlight shone through the window and fell on him.
He closed his eyes slightly.
When he opened them again, his system panel appeared on his retina.
Name: Senju Hikaru
Gender: Male
Birthday: Konoha Year 34, March 24
Level: Kage-level — system evaluation without using special abilities; chakra reserves are abnormally vast
Dōjutsu: Jōgan — Second Stage, development rate 90%
Bloodline Development: Advanced — Senju Secret Arts, Intermediate Yang Release Secret Arts; Kekkei Tōta, unnamed; Second Kekkei Tōta, unnamed; Advanced Shikotsumyaku; Intermediate Yin Release Secret Arts; Yin–Yang Release, can improve as Yin and Yang Release improve
Jinchūriki: Nine-Tails — Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Six-Tails, Eight-Tails; Advanced
Seeds: Source Power Seed — 98%; Extreme Byakugan Power — 99%
Fruits: Advanced Fire Release Fruit ×10, Advanced Water Release Fruit ×10, Advanced Earth Release Fruit ×10, Advanced Lightning Release Fruit ×10, Advanced Wind Release Fruit ×10
Mission: Become the True Final Boss of the Shinobi World — Unique, progress 97%
Optional Mission: Ten-Tails Jinchūriki — currently possesses Nine-Tails, Eight-Tails, Six-Tails, Three-Tails; mutual fusion progress 50%; overall fusion not activated
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