A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Madara Uchiha had never led a ninja village. When Konoha was founded, he lost to Hashirama Senju.

He wasn't particularly disheartened by his loss to Hashirama, as Hashirama surpassed him in both strength and popularity at the time.

What truly angered him were two things: first, in his eyes, Hashirama, with his naive peace ideals, had no idea how to govern a village. Second, the Uchiha Clan betrayed him, his grand vision was dismissed and abandoned by his own clan.

That's right, in Madara's mind, it wasn't he who betrayed the Uchiha Clan; it was the Uchiha Clan that betrayed him.

Now, reborn in a new era, Madara suddenly entertained a different thought.

Back then, he failed to become Hokage and couldn't realize his great ambitions. Perhaps this time, things could be different.

Now, he had control over a village. While its strength was lacking, it still had a foundation. With proper guidance, it could grow into something formidable.

Aoba's reputation in the ninja world wasn't just due to his personal strength. A key factor was his reforms, which had skyrocketed Konoha's power and turned it into an undisputed leader, far ahead of the other villages.

If Madara could transform Kirigakure into a village that surpassed Konoha, it would prove that he was superior to Aoba not just in strength, but also in leadership.

Once this idea took root, Madara couldn't suppress it. This was also why he didn't immediately break ties with Ōnoki.

Madara had already planned it out. As soon as he reclaimed the Rinnegan, he would kill Ōnoki and annex Iwagakure, accelerating Kirigakure's development.

At that point, he would surpass Aoba Kamikawa in both personal strength and leadership ability. Then, he would activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi right before Aoba, leaving him utterly defeated and humbled.

The mere thought of such a scene excited Madara, and a slight smile crept across his face, which made Black Zetsu, observing from the side, shudder with unease. It felt as if Madara had realized something deeper.

While Madara resolved to build up Kirigakure, a major event unfolded in the Land of Fire.

Konoha declared its independence.

Of course, independence was the outcome. The full sequence of events began with the assassination of the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.

Subsequently, many nobles suspected that the assassins were Konoha ninjas, leading to a tense standoff between Konoha and the new Daimyō.

The new Daimyō issued a decree to remove Tsunade from her position as Hokage, demanding that Konoha elect a new Hokage and send Tsunade to the capital to face justice. The new Hokage would be appointed by the Daimyō himself.

Konoha's response? A blunt refusal. Essentially, they told the Daimyō to mind his own business, they were busy thriving and had no time for such nonsense.

Enraged, the nobles of the Land of Fire assembled an army composed of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, hired mercenaries, and wandering ninjas to march on Konoha.

The result? The army was defeated less than a day after leaving their camp, by a single Konoha squad.

That squad was led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, accompanied by ten elite Konoha war ninjas clad in chakra armor.

The battle was almost comical. Hiruzen and his squad stood on a hillside and bombarded the opposing army with a barrage of jutsu.

One after another, they unleashed high-level ninjutsu from all five elements, casting over a dozen A-rank jutsu in succession, causing the enemy to collapse entirely.

The opposing army wasn't devoid of talent, the Twelve Guardian Ninja were all top-tier jōnin.

However, as jōnin, they were also keenly aware of how absurd Konoha's war ninjas were. Each of them cast over ten large-scale A-rank jutsu in a single engagement.

This was beyond comprehension, giving the impression that they were facing a dozen Kage-level opponents at once.

Without hesitation, the Twelve Guardian Ninja led a retreat, causing the entire army to disintegrate.

In truth, if they had pressed forward, they would have discovered that these war ninjas were far from traditional ninjas.

Their ninjutsu was powerful, and their chakra reserves were immense, but they were weak in taijutsu, lacked combat experience, and were nearly useless in adaptive scenarios.

This was because they were trained specifically as human artillery, with little focus on other aspects of ninja combat.

Of course, in actual missions, they were always accompanied by support ninjas to prevent assassinations.

In any case, the battle ended in a way that left the entire ninja world dumbfounded.

Shortly afterward, Konoha announced its independence.

Surprisingly, Konoha didn't seize the Daimyō's authority or declare dominance over the Land of Fire. Instead, they simply declared their separation.

Most people couldn't understand Konoha's move. Only a few experienced veteran ninjas grasped the brilliance of their strategy.

In Iwagakure, Ōnoki explained Konoha's plan to his son.

"Konoha is developing too quickly, so quickly that it has left the other villages, and even the Land of Fire itself, far behind."

"Once they turn to governing the entire Land of Fire at this point, they would have to take responsibility for it. Otherwise, the question arises: If everyone is part of Konoha, why do the people of Konoha live so well while those in other cities suffer?

This kind of inequality cannot be eliminated in a short time and would become a significant hidden danger.

At that point, Konoha would have two choices: one, to ignore it and continue developing Konoha while letting the inequality worsen; or two, to pause Konoha's growth and elevate the entire Land of Fire to Konoha's current level.

Neither of these choices is acceptable to Konoha. So they chose a third path: independence.

By declaring independence, Konoha is no longer responsible for the Land of Fire. The conflicts naturally dissolve, and Konoha can continue its development without restraint."

"But if that's the case, Konoha will remain just a village. No matter how well they develop, their potential will ultimately be limited."

"You're absolutely right," Ōnoki said, smiling proudly at Kurotsuchi. He then shot a glare at Kitsuchi, who stood quietly nearby. His son was strong but lacked the sharpness and wit of Kurotsuchi.

"You haven't visited Konoha in a long time, have you? According to our intelligence, Konoha's rapid development has attracted a massive influx of jōnin and civilians. Over the past two years, its population has grown by more than 70%.

In reality, it may have already doubled. Konoha has undergone continuous expansion and is now the size of a large city. And this is just the beginning, Konoha continues to grow. Kurotsuchi, can you discern what's happening?"

Kurotsuchi hesitated before replying uncertainly, "Could it be that Konoha is trying to rebuild the Land of Fire around itself?"

Ōnoki burst into laughter, pleased with her response.

"Exactly! I am confident that this is Tsunade and Aoba Kamikawa's ultimate goal. They are planning to rebuild an entirely new Land of Fire centered around Konoha."

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Currently on Chapter 284 - Die, Aoba Kamikawa!