NOVEL NEXT Chapter 332: Chapter 332
That night, Hui and Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo had a long conversation.
By the end of it, Hagoromo was completely convinced by Hui.
Hui's philosophy, character, abilities, vision. Everything about him filled Hagoromo with admiration.
With a light heart, Hagoromo agreed to assist Hui by investigating the Pure Land and uncovering the truth about the gods.
Meanwhile, Hui once again became occupied with his plans.
He sent his First Shadow Avatar to track down Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, assigned his Second Shadow Avatar to handle daily affairs, and personally immersed himself in the laboratory.
With the branch family descendants of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo as research material, the team finally made progress in studying the Ōtsutsuki Clan's unique physiology.
Their research was gradually bearing fruit.
And so, time passed.
In the blink of an eye, another five years had gone by.
The timeline had now reached Konoha Year 39.
Hui was 29 years old this year, but he still looked like a young man of 18 or 19, with strikingly handsome features.
This year, Konoha underwent another significant transformation, its territory expanded further, and its population grew larger.
Konoha had fully entered the modern era.
Electric appliances had become household essentials. Digital screens were widespread, and even televisions, video game consoles, and automobiles had made their appearance.
This year also marked the two-year countdown to the expiration of the Non-Aggression Treaty that Hui had signed with the Four Great Shinobi Villages.
In two years, the Unification War would begin.
The Shinobi World was on the verge of a new era.
Of course, this war could break out ahead of schedule, as the Four Great Shinobi Villages and other smaller shinobi factions were growing increasingly restless.
Despite their efforts, none of them had managed to produce a shinobi they deemed capable of rivaling Hui. Their so-called "Genius Project" had ended in complete failure.
As the deadline approached, the frequency of their secret communications increased.
They no longer feared that Konoha would use these meetings as a pretext to strike early.
After all, it had already been 13 years since Konoha last took action, it wouldn't make sense for them to start a war two years ahead of schedule over such trivial provocations.
Some villages even went so far as to send spies to Konoha, hoping to gather information.
Unfortunately for them, none of these spies could make it past Konoha's security.
The current Captain of the Police Force's First Division was Senju Nawaki.
And the Head of the Konoha Police Force was none other than Uchiha Fugaku.
Senju Nawaki was now nearing his 18th birthday.
In the past five years, he had become a perfect jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails and had reached the level of a Fourth-Tier Sage.
His strength had reached a level comparable to that of his grandfather, Senju Hashirama, once considered the strongest shinobi below the Six Paths tier.
In fact, even without Hui, Nawaki alone might be able to wipe out the Four Great Shinobi Villages.
However, in Hui's eyes, such strength was nothing extraordinary. He was fully aware that Nawaki's path was one that grew harder as it progressed.
The Nine-Tails had already provided its maximum boost to Nawaki's power. Any further progress would have to come from mastering the Eight Gates Sage Ascension Technique.
And mastering the Eight Gates Sage Ascension Technique was no easy feat as it required painstaking dedication, time, and exceptional talent.
Many were in the same situation, not just Nawaki.
Hui adhered to the principle of "making the best use of talent" and assigned Nawaki to the Police Force.
The Nine-Tails' ability to sense the good and evil in people's hearts made identifying spies and intruders a breeze.
With the Nine-Tails' keen senses and Konoha's advanced security systems, all outsiders attempting to infiltrate the village were intercepted before they could glean any useful information.
However, Nawaki had grown increasingly bored of this task.
"This is so dull! Do these fools have no self-awareness? Do they really think Konoha is that easy to infiltrate? After so many failed attempts, isn't this getting old?"
The Nine-Tails grumbled inside Nawaki's mind. After spending more than ten years with Nawaki, the Nine-Tails had grown used to his presence and even regarded him as a true friend.
"I'm done with this! If someone else wants this job, they can have it!" Nawaki complained as well. Both he and the Nine-Tails found the task monotonous.
In their boredom, Nawaki's mind wandered to a particular memory. The Chūnin Exams.
Nawaki was preparing to approach Hui with a proposal to host a Chūnin Exam in Konoha.
By doing so, they could openly showcase Konoha's current state to the entire world.
Maybe, just maybe, this would make the other villages recognize the truth of the situation and surrender willingly, allowing Konoha to unify the Shinobi World without bloodshed.
However, when Nawaki was ready to find Hui, the latter was not in the Hokage's office.
He was at the Ninja Academy.
Because today was the opening ceremony for a new school year.
In Konoha Year 39, Hui didn't want to miss this event.
In fact, since he became Hokage, he had never missed a single opening ceremony.
But this particular year, Hui was even more excited than usual.
Because this year, there were many familiar faces among the new students.
As he gazed down at the children below, a smile appeared on his face.
Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, Ebisu, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Shizune, Anko Mitarashi, Ibiki Morino…
One after another, familiar names from the future of Konoha, each of them now a young child, looked up at Hui with eyes full of admiration.
Each of them bore a Sage Seal on their foreheads.
This was a mark that Hui had engraved on them two years ago.
Of course, the new student intake wasn't limited to these familiar faces.
There were many, many more.
Thanks to Konoha's pro-natalist policies, the younger population was steadily increasing.
In Kakashi's cohort alone, there were over five hundred new students.
Naturally, not all of these five hundred students would become shinobi.
In fact, only a small percentage would make it as shinobi, and they were always the elites of their generation.
The Ninja Academy now taught a far broader and richer curriculum than before.
Most of the students received general education, learning various essential life skills and subjects.
Standing before the gathered children, Hui began his speech:
"Congratulations on officially becoming students of the Ninja Academy.
"Here, you will receive a top-tier education and come to understand many things that you don't yet comprehend.
"In the future, some of you may become shinobi. Others may become scientists, merchants, or even ordinary civilians.
"But no matter what you become, you are all members of Konoha.
"Konoha is a community, and every person in it is valuable.
"So I hope that, regardless of what path you take in the future, you will adjust your mindset and approach your lives with sincerity and purpose.
"If you become shinobi, use your strength to complete the tasks entrusted to you by the village and protect its people.
"If you become civilians, shine brightly in your roles and be part of the many lights that illuminate Konoha's future.
"Whether you become shinobi or civilians, as long as it's for the good of the village, you are heroes.
"Today, I want to tell you this: No matter what path you take in the future, remember this. You are my pride."
A wave of cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.
After five years, Hui's prestige had only grown stronger in Konoha.
Everyone here admired him, they were his loyal followers, his ultimate fans.
He was an idol to every single person present.
Whether they were ordinary civilians or members of prestigious clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga, it was the same.
Even Kakashi, who was known for being aloof and proud, regarded Hui as his lifelong role model.
Of course, Kakashi was also one of the children Hui had high hopes for.
Hui couldn't deny that Kakashi was an extraordinary genius.
At only five years old, Kakashi had already reached the level of a Second-Tier Sage.
Hui firmly believed that Kakashi was one of Konoha's most promising candidates to break through and reach Eighth-Tier Sagehood.
After finishing his speech, Hui quietly left the ceremony.
This time, he wasn't accompanied by Sakumo Hatake—instead, the person by his side was Minato Namikaze.
In the past five years, Minato had grown immensely.
At only sixteen years old, Minato had already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique to the same degree as he had at his peak in the original timeline.
In terms of strength, Minato was now one of Konoha's top-tier shinobi.
He was also a Fourth-Tier Sage.
Although the original series mentioned that Minato wasn't skilled at Sage Mode, that didn't mean he lacked talent for natural energy.
After all, he was capable of entering Sage Mode almost instantly.
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