"Also, you'd best not spread this around," Natsuro reminded them.
Although Naruto was still struggling to accept Natsuro's goal, he nodded. As for Sasuke, he had no objections at all.
In truth, he had no intention of telling too many people about his true purpose. He understood the principle that "the more you say, the more likely you are to slip."
Not even Jiraiya and Tsunade, who were close to him, would be told. Tsunade was harder to read, but he was fairly certain that Jiraiya would oppose his vision, that much was clear from his personality.
Of course, Naruto and Sasuke weren't the only ones who needed to know. There were others who had already begun to suspect something based on his behavior, like Shikaku.
The heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans could be trusted. As for the Konoha 12, well…
They had too many differing personalities. He wasn't sure how they'd respond. Some of them were too impulsive—Kiba or Lee, for example. If they found out, they might outright try to stop him.
And while they might be future clan leaders, they weren't leaders yet. Instead, calling the current clan heads gave him better control. They understood the weight of political decisions. Even if he didn't ask them to keep it secret, they would anyway.
So Natsuro didn't dwell too long on the idea and said, "Alright, let's get back quickly and report everything from the Five Kage Summit."
After that, Naruto and Sasuke stepped forward, and he used Flying Thunder God to bring them to the top of the Hokage Rock in Konoha.
"Sasuke, notify all the advisors and jōnin to come to the council chamber," Natsuro ordered.
"Understood," Sasuke nodded before disappearing.
"I'm going home first, Natsuro," Naruto said wearily.
"Get some rest," Natsuro nodded. "If you really can't accept it, when the time comes, you don't have to fight. I don't want to force you to go against your will."
To him, losing Naruto wasn't a huge deal, as long as Naruto didn't stand in his way.
"Mm," Naruto responded before leaving.
Natsuro stood atop the Hokage Rock, gazing down at the village, a smile forming on his face.
They had finally reached this point. Things were about to get exciting.
Soon, he announced the Fourth Great Shinobi War and the formation of the Allied Shinobi Forces during a high-level meeting.
The shock was palpable.
Even in such a formal setting, among the village's most powerful figures, people couldn't help but whisper in disbelief.
Natsuro didn't stop them. He just sat and let them process their emotions.
"I never imagined the Fourth Shinobi War would begin like this," Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, said, having experienced the past wars himself.
"Agreed," said Jiraiya and Tsunade, equally stunned.
Enemies who once fought each other bitterly were now united. It was hard to believe, even with a common enemy.
Some even questioned whether Akatsuki was really a threat great enough to unite all five villages.
After all, thanks to Natsuro, the destruction caused by Pain in the original timeline had never happened. They'd never experienced the full force of Akatsuki's power.
Originally, advisors Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane wanted to suggest not forming an alliance.
But as soon as they heard Konoha would lead the alliance?
Suddenly, they had no objections.
Now they were wondering just how much glory Konoha would gain from this.
Their dissatisfaction with Natsuro, especially his overwhelming authority as Hokage, also began to fade.
Ever since he took office, he had centralized power. The advisors were basically figureheads now. They had tried to resist, seeking help from former Hokage Hiruzen and Tsunade.
But Hiruzen was too old to care, and Tsunade, who had been annoyed by them during her own term, had no interest in helping.
With no support, the advisors' influence had only declined. Now, watching Natsuro secure the role of Supreme Commander, they weren't even surprised. With his strength and decisiveness, if Konoha hadn't gotten that role, something would've felt wrong.
Homura and Koharu exchanged a look and sighed. Even the other Kage had ceded authority to him, who were they to resist?
After everyone settled down, Natsuro began assigning wartime duties.
First, they would announce the war to the public, using optimistic framing: That this was a war to protect world peace, that the Five Great Nations were united, and that Konoha would lead the alliance.
This would boost morale.
Next, medical ninja would be assigned to counsel combat troops.Many of them had never seen war before, and those without the mental resolve could be reassigned to logistics.
Then came the logistical preparations—food, weapons, medicine, supplies.
Once he finished giving orders, everyone got to work. Konoha, as a machine of war, began to move.
As for battle plans, those would come later, once the alliance was fully formed.
After the main council meeting ended, Natsuro went to a smaller private chamber.
He had already sent quiet invitations to several key individuals. Soon, they began arriving.
These were:
The current clan heads of Ino-Shika-Cho, Hiashi Hyuga, Shibi Aburame, …and Kakashi.
He had ultimately chosen not to involve the Konoha 12. They were too young, too idealistic. Kiba or Lee, for example, might oppose him outright.
Their clan heads, however, were better options. If nothing else, they understood politics, and the long-term benefits.
Still, many of them were confused.Why had they been called now?Was there a secret mission?
Shikaku, however, had a hunch.
Natsuro wasted no time, he got straight to the point and revealed his goal.
The room went dead silent.
Even his father-in-law, Inoichi, was stunned.
Only Shikaku wore a look of "I knew it".He had already suspected this and now saw that Natsuro had chosen the perfect moment.
"I agree. This war is a great opportunity," Shikaku was the first to speak.
Once Inoichi snapped out of his shock, he also agreed. Choza Akimichi, who usually followed the other two, also nodded.
The rest, despite their inner shock, voiced their support.
Then, their eyes burned with ambition.
If he succeeded in unifying the world…Their clans' status would skyrocket with him.
Kakashi, meanwhile, looked at him with complicated emotions. He had once thought Natsuro resembled his late teacher, Minato Namikaze.
Now… clearly not.
His teacher could never have such ambition.
Even if Minato were alive, still Hokage, and even equal to Natsuro in strength, he would never walk this path.
If anything, he'd stand in his way.
But Kakashi sighed. He had no intention of opposing him. Based on what he knew, Natsuro could handle this. Unifying the world… maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Besides, even if Kakashi wanted to stop him, he couldn't.
"You may inform your most trusted clan members," Natsuro told them."But until the final moment, I don't want this leaked."
Everyone nodded seriously.
"Alright then. You're dismissed. I trust you'll all begin your war preparations."
"Yes." The meeting ended, leaving only him and Shikaku behind.
"Hokage-sama," Shikaku said, "there's still a problem. The common-born shinobi might not support this."
Even though the clan heads were on board, the bulk of the village's forces were still non-clan shinobi.
"I know," Natsuro replied. "But there aren't really any good candidates to represent them… Except maybe one."
Shikaku was intrigued and asked who.
"Me," Natsuro said with a smile.
Shikaku froze.
Then he remembered...
Though he was trained by one of the Sannin and married into a major clan, he had been born a civilian.
His father, a chūnin, had died before he was even born. His mother was just an ordinary working woman.
So, in Konoha, Natsuro's popularity wasn't just because of his strength, it was also due to his legendary life story. Of course, it couldn't be denied that he became Hokage through sheer power.
To many people, he didn't become Hokage because of his background or connections, but because of his effort and talent.
Thinking about it like that… it did make sense. Shikaku glanced at Natsuro. This young man had indeed earned all his resources through ability.
So when the day came for Natsuro to make a public declaration to the world, could he win over the people?
Shikaku pondered. Maybe... he could win over the majority. And that was already enough.
"Shikaku, I'll be leaving the details of our next steps to you," Natsuro said, looking at the advisor who had been silently contemplating.
Shikaku let out a helpless chuckle, feeling the weight on his shoulders grow heavier, but at the same time, a fire lit within him. He knew this might be the only opportunity of his entire life.
If they succeeded, even if he died right after, he could die with a smile.
"Understood. I'll draft a plan for unifying the shinobi world." Shikaku said solemnly.
"The shinobi world?" Natsuro repeated, raising an eyebrow.
Shikaku's heart skipped a beat. Did I guess wrong?
But Natsuro simply looked at him, then shook his head.
"What I want to unify isn't just the shinobi world. That was already done once before, long ago by the Sage of Six Paths. It didn't mean much."
Shikaku stayed silent, staring at Natsuro. He finally understood what he truly meant, and it left him shaken.
Natsuro stood there, hands behind his back, gaze distant.
"Five great nations is still too many. What I want... is for this entire land to become one single country, with no more concept of 'ninja villages.'"
"I see..." Shikaku nodded solemnly. The difficulty had clearly increased, but that only made it more of a challenge.
"Alright. Get to work. Right now, our top priority is the Fourth Great Ninja War. You'll likely be our Chief Strategist," Natsuro said with a smile.
"Sigh..." Shikaku gave a weary laugh. Still, with great ability came great responsibility, and this was a position he wouldn't hand over to anyone else.
Then he left.
Natsuro stood up and gazed into the distance.Truth be told, he hadn't started out wanting unification. But as his strength continued to grow, and the world offered less and less of a challenge, his mindset began to shift.
Even with the knowledge from his previous life, he knew this road would be incredibly difficult.The first step, military conquest, was the easiest part. That, he could do with sheer force.
The hard part, governing the world, would come later.
How could he get people from different nations to accept the concept of a single nation?That couldn't be solved overnight.
But if he was going to do it, he wasn't just going to stop at unification for its own sake.He wanted something closer to a true golden age.
Even the legendary founder, who created miracles, had only maintained his dream for a short time.
Natsuro refused to accept that. He might not be able to create a regime that lasted for all eternity, but he would not allow it to fall apart in a single generation.
Still, this world was far more complicated than the one from his past life, especially with the existence of chakra and shinobi.
Just imagining it, he could feel the immense difficulty ahead.
But that only made it more exciting, didn't it?
As he was thinking, he suddenly recalled the existence of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
"Ōtsutsuki..."
Natsuro muttered to himself.
There was no doubt, the Ōtsutsuki were aliens. And they were very likely to invade this world eventually.
So... could he leverage that identity?
Perhaps unifying the world under the pretense of resisting alien invasion? Protecting our world together?
It might be feasible.
But Shikaku had already left. Natsuro realized he'd need to start sharing more classified intel with Shikaku going forward. That might make the man's job a little easier.
Natsuro sighed.
Shikaku had it tough, sure, but so did he.
Not only did he need to think about how to unify the world, and how to govern it afterward, he also had to ensure that his power always remained the strongest.
He was beginning to suspect that even reaching the Six Paths level might not be enough.
To truly stay at the top, he might need to reach the level of Kaguya herself.
If he could attain her physical potential... Combined with everything else he already possessed...
Then yes, he would be truly invincible.
Of course, that was wishful thinking. It was probably impossible. He wasn't greedy, reaching peak Six Paths level would already count as a success.
Natsuro looked down from his perch, where Konoha's ninja were receiving orders and rushing around.Even the usually calm Konoha was starting to fall into chaos.
No one could stay completely composed in the face of such news.
Still, it was only temporary.
With Konoha's foundations, the panic wouldn't last long.
So he didn't need to pay it much attention.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
Soon, Sasuke entered, bringing with him a woman, Anko Mitarashi.
"Hokage-sama, Sasuke said you wanted to see me?" Anko said casually, hands in her pockets.
"Yes. Sasuke, guard the door. Don't let anyone else in," Natsuro instructed.
"Understood."
Anko raised an eyebrow at the scene and couldn't help but joke:
"Hokage-sama... you're not trying to use your position to seduce me, are you?"
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Currently on Chapter 388 - Natsuro and Kaguya's Final Clash