Chapter 168: The Immortal Army

With Sora’s incident resolved, Sasuke finished reporting everything to Tsunade before taking his leave.

After Sasuke left, Tsunade climbed onto the rooftop.

Just as always, Kai was sitting there reading a book.

She let out a sigh.

"Could you at least pretend to care?"

Without even looking up, Kai replied calmly,

"Care about what?"

Tsunade walked over and sat down beside him.

"What do you mean ’what?’"

"Aren’t you bothered that I’m considering making Sasuke the Sixth Hokage?"

Kai smiled.

"Why would I be? That’s a good thing."

Tsunade stared at his profile for a long while before sighing again.

"You could at least show some concern."

"That’s the position of Hokage."

"It’s something countless people devote their lives to pursuing."

"But you treat it with complete indifference."

"It almost makes everything I said earlier feel ridiculous."

Kai closed his book.

"So... you were trying to provoke me into reacting?"

"You should already know that wouldn’t work."

Tsunade sighed helplessly.

"I know."

"But I still wanted to try."

"Who would’ve thought you genuinely wouldn’t care?"

After a brief pause, she asked,

"The power Sasuke used... that was Urashiki’s power, wasn’t it?"

Resting her chin on one hand, Tsunade sat cross-legged beside him.

The two looked less like Hokage and bodyguard and more like old friends.

Kai put his book away before answering,

"Not entirely."

"Urashiki’s power is only a catalyst."

"It’s helping guide Sasuke toward awakening his own Rinnegan."

"With the visual prowess he possesses now, it won’t be long."

"When that happens, he won’t need Urashiki’s power anymore."

"He’ll possess strength that surpasses both the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha."

Naturally, Kai was referring to Madara during the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan era.

In reality, Sasuke’s current strength was already not far below that level.

Since Sasuke had already explained the situation earlier, Tsunade wasn’t particularly surprised.

Looking at Kai, she asked,

"What do you think Sasuke’s limit will be?"

"How much stronger than my grandfather could he become?"

Kai considered the question for a moment.

"He should reach the level of the Sage of Six Paths."

"And surpassing him isn’t impossible."

Tsunade had no real concept of just how powerful the Sage of Six Paths had been.

Kai, however, knew exactly.

Without Urashiki, Sasuke would never reach that level.

But with Urashiki’s power...

His future potential would almost certainly exceed even the Sage of Six Paths.

Of course, that depended on whether Sasuke eventually inherited all of Urashiki’s power.

Even though Tsunade didn’t fully understand the Sage’s strength, she knew he was a legendary figure far beyond even her grandfather.

She nodded.

"So choosing Sasuke as the Sixth Hokage really isn’t a bad idea."

She watched Kai carefully, hoping to see some reaction.

Deep down...

Her first choice had always been Kai.

If he were willing to become Hokage, nothing could change her mind.

Unfortunately...

Kai simply had no interest in the position.

"Of course it isn’t."

"If Sasuke becomes the Sixth Hokage, Konoha will become stronger than it has ever been."

Tsunade looked disappointed.

"You really don’t want to become Hokage that badly?"

Kai remained silent.

After another sigh, Tsunade muttered,

"Honestly..."

"Is being Hokage really that undesirable?"

"I’m practically trying to force the position on you, and you still refuse."

Having accepted Kai’s attitude, Tsunade finally gave up trying to persuade him.

Instead, she shifted her focus toward grooming Sasuke as her successor.

In truth...

Whether Kai or Sasuke became Hokage made little difference.

Although Sasuke wasn’t as strong as Kai, throughout the entire shinobi world, only Nagato might rival him.

Even then, that assumption rested solely on the fact that Sasuke had never actually fought Nagato.

If Nagato’s strength matched what it had been in the original timeline...

He might not even be able to defeat Sasuke.

And regardless...

Even if Sasuke became Hokage, Kai would still remain in Konoha.

As long as he was there...

Even Nagato would meet his end if he dared attack the village.

Several Months Later

One day, Konoha’s emergency assembly alarm suddenly rang throughout the village.

It was the first time in many years that such an alert had been sounded.

Everyone immediately understood.

Something serious had happened.

Shinobi across the village rushed toward the Hokage Tower.

On its rooftop, every Jōnin and Tokubetsu Jōnin in Konoha gathered together.

The veteran officers stood in the front rows.

Sasuke and the younger generation stood farther back.

Among the Konoha 12, Sasuke, Neji, and Sakura had all become Jōnin.

The others—Naruto included—were still Chūnin.

Since only Tokubetsu Jōnin and above had been summoned, only those three members of the Konoha 12 were present.

Kai and the Hokage Guard Platoon stood behind Tsunade.

Even the two village elders had appeared.

They rarely attended meetings like this.

Their presence alone demonstrated how grave the situation had become.

With a solemn expression, Tsunade explained the reason for the emergency assembly.

The demon Mōryō, which had been sealed within the Land of Demons, had been released.

Its followers had also awakened the Immortal Army, and they were marching toward the Land of Marshes.

There, Mōryō’s physical body remained sealed.

If its soul reunited with its body...

It would regain the power to destroy the world.

The crisis wasn’t limited to Konoha.

All Five Great Shinobi Villages had been alerted.

The last time Mōryō had appeared, it had attempted to eradicate the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Only the sacrifice of the Priestess Shion’s mother, Miroku, who gave her life to seal Mōryō away, had saved the world from destruction.

Kai still remembered parts of the story.

Mōryō commanded an army resembling living terracotta soldiers.

They couldn’t truly be killed.

Even if shattered into pieces, they would regenerate on their own.

Unless Mōryō itself was defeated...

There was virtually no way to stop the Immortal Army.

As news of Mōryō’s imminent resurrection spread, every one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages mobilized.

Remembering the devastation caused during the previous conflict, each village immediately dispatched shinobi squads to the Land of Demons.

Their mission was to protect the current Priestess.

She alone possessed the power to seal Mōryō.

Under no circumstances could anything happen to her.

At the same time, Mōryō would undoubtedly send assassins after her.

If the Priestess died...

No one would remain capable of sealing him.

Tsunade began assigning missions one after another.

Curiously, she assigned nothing to Kai.

That made perfect sense.

As her personal bodyguard, his normal duty was to remain at her side rather than leave the village.

The same was true for Genma Shiranui and the other Hokage Guards.

Normally, however, they stayed elsewhere in the village.

Only Kai remained constantly beside Tsunade.

After returning to the Hokage’s Office, Tsunade looked at Kai with unusual seriousness.

"Kai..."

"I want you to represent Konoha and go to the Land of Demons."

"Protect the Priestess."

"No matter what..."

"Don’t let Mōryō’s followers assassinate her."

"She’s vital."

"I’m counting on you."

Kai didn’t refuse.

Instead, he simply nodded.

"Don’t worry."

"Nothing will happen to her."

He had complete confidence.

If he wished...

He could eliminate Mōryō himself.

Its so-called immortality meant nothing to him.

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