Reborn in Konoha; I Think I’m Cultivating Immortality

The battle between Kakashi and Sarutobi Asuma ended exactly as expected, with Kakashi emerging victorious.

With that, the Class's practical combat exercise concluded.

From beginning to end, the students had only practiced taijutsu.

This was because their current studies focused solely on physical combat.

Although they had been introduced to Sage Techniques, they had not yet delved deeply into them.

The reason for this was that their future paths had not yet been determined, whether they would follow the Sage Chakra path or the Natural Energy path.

If they chose the Sage Chakra path, learning Sage Techniques at this stage wouldn't be an issue.

However, if they later chose the Natural Energy path, early study of Sage Techniques would have limited value.

The techniques of the Natural Energy path differed significantly from those of the Sage Chakra path.

Sage Chakra-based techniques were essentially ninjutsu enhanced with Sage Chakra, techniques that still relied heavily on hand seals and chakra control.

In contrast, the techniques of the Natural Energy path, created entirely by Hui, were all seal-less.

The principles behind these techniques were fundamentally different from conventional ninjutsu.

After offering words of encouragement to the children, Hui led the visitors away from the academy.

He had shown them Konoha's future.

Through his divine ability, Hui could sense that the hearts of these leaders had changed once more.

Several of the smaller village leaders were already contemplating how to surrender to Konoha.

It wasn't that they lacked pride or resolve.

It was simply that Konoha's power was overwhelming.

Reflecting on everything they had seen since their arrival in Konoha:

The area of Konoha, excluding uninhabited outskirts and training grounds, was already more than five times larger than the largest ninja village in the shinobi world.

This vast size implied that Konoha's population was at least five times greater than that of the most populous ninja village.

Konoha's infrastructure was at least thirty years more advanced than that of the rest of the shinobi world.

For smaller, less developed villages, Konoha's progress felt like it was moving at four times their pace.

Then there was the people of Konoha, both civilians and regular ninjas.

The ordinary citizens of Konoha were different from the people of other villages.

Each person exuded confidence, energy, and an unexplainable sense of pride.

Moreover, the visitors noticed that while Konoha had many ninjas, not all of them wore ninja headbands.

However, those who did wear headbands were all at least Chūnin-level in strength.

And even among the Chūnin, there were very few regular ones, most were elite Chūnin or Jōnin.

The distribution of power was staggering.

In comparison, in the visitors' villages:

Konoha's Genin were as powerful as their Chūnin

Konoha's standard Chūnin were equivalent to their elite Chūnin.

Konoha's elite Chūnin were equivalent to their standard Jōnin .

It was as if Konoha's entire ninja hierarchy was an entire rank above theirs.

Even this assessment was based on the visible ninja who wore their combat uniforms.

Who knew how many hidden ninjas Konoha had?

Who knew how many more powerful warriors lurked in the shadows?

Looking at Konoha as a whole, the village crushed them with overwhelming dominance.

Then came the high-level combat forces.

Konoha's top-tier strength was enough to instill despair.

It felt as though even if all the villages combined their forces, they still wouldn't stand a chance against Konoha.

Finally, there was the future of Konoha, an entire class of geniuses, more than thirty children in total!

And among them was the white-haired boy.

A child with strength so incredible at his age that it felt like they were witnessing the rise of the next Hui.

It was as if they were seeing the birth of another God of Shinobi.

And that was just one class.

Roughly estimating based on what they saw, the ninja academy had over a thousand students.

How many more prodigies were hidden among those thousands?

The mere thought of this made their hearts sink further.

Many of them completely abandoned any notion of opposing Konoha.

"That white-haired boy..."

The Third Mizukage finally broke the silence, his voice hesitant and filled with confusion.

"His name is Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi," Hui replied.

"Hatake...?"

"Yes, Hatake Kakashi, the son of Hatake Sakumo."

After learning about Kakashi's lineage, the visitors felt a strange sense of relief.

Hatake Sakumo.

That name was all too familiar to them, and they had just seen him earlier.

He was a ninja whose strength was certainly not inferior to that of the Kage from the four great villages, perhaps even stronger.

If Kakashi was his son... then such genius...

It was still absurd!

This boy was only five years old, yet he had the strength of an elite Chūnin!

What kind of monster was he?!

They felt utterly hopeless, completely defeated.

Faced with such a powerful Konoha, if the village ever decided to start a war, none of them could fathom how they could possibly win.

They laughed bitterly to themselves, because the truth was, there was no way to win.

Hui sensed their thoughts and allowed himself a small smile.

Although he didn't care about their fear, it was a form of recognition, a testament to how well he had performed as Hokage.

This gave Hui a strange sense of accomplishment, as if he had achieved the highest score in a strategic sandbox game.

Just then, Hui's footsteps suddenly halted, his eyes lighting up.

It seemed he had sensed something.

He turned to the group and said, "I just remembered that I have something urgent to take care of. I'll have to excuse myself. Minato, please continue showing our guests around Konoha."

With those words, Hui's body vanished before their eyes.

In that instant, every single one of the visitors' pupils constricted.

That speed...

They exchanged glances and could tell from one another's expressions that none of them had been able to follow Hui's movements.

A chill ran down their spines.

Mochizuki Hui's strength had truly reached another level.

There was no doubt about it, he had reached the level of a God of Shinobi.

Absolutely.

This final display of Hui's strength was the last straw, the one that broke the camel's back.

Several leaders of the smaller ninja villages had already made up their minds to surrender to Konoha.

Surrendering to such a powerful village wasn't shameful.

In fact... deep down, they yearned to live the way the people of Konoha did.

This place, like a city from the future, was something they had admired and envied for a long time.

They wished they could be part of Konoha, to enjoy its daytime and its nights, to revel in both its material comforts and its sense of purpose.

Their concern now wasn't what would happen to their villages if Konoha went to war.

Their concern was how their villages could become a part of Konoha.

And even more so, how they themselves could live in this paradise.

At that moment, some of the leaders began to panic.

What if Konoha didn't accept their surrender?

What if Konoha did accept their surrender, but wouldn't allow them to live in the village?

No, they couldn't let that happen.

They had to live here, no matter what!

As they recalled Konoha's streets, its food, its goods, and its infrastructure, their desire grew even stronger.

They made up their minds: if necessary, they would even offer themselves as Konoha's vanguard to conquer the other ninja villages on Konoha's behalf.

At that moment, such thoughts took root in their minds.

In just a few short days, Konoha had completely "converted" the leaders of these villages.

Some of them, shamelessly, already thought of themselves as half-Konoha citizens.

They were even imagining how they would live their future lives in Konoha.

Even the Third Mizukage and Hanzō of the Salamander were deeply shaken.

After witnessing Konoha's display of power, they could no longer see any hope or future for their own villages.

The gap was simply too large.

The difference in strength was insurmountable, there was no way to endure it.

No one could endure it!

However... they still struggled internally.

The Mizukage, as the leader of one of the four great villages, and Hanzō, as the head of the "sixth great village," were proud.

How could they surrender so easily?

Even if they couldn't see a future or a light at the end of the tunnel...

This was what it meant to be human. Until the very last moment, some people would never give up hope.

"Everyone, shall we continue our tour?"

Minato spoke to the group, his voice calm and confident.

Even though he was only sixteen, he showed no trace of fear when facing these high-ranking leaders.

The visitors turned to look at Minato.

The more they observed him, the more they realized how extraordinary this young man was.

They couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

Konoha's future wasn't limited to the students they had seen earlier.

It included this young man, Namikaze Minato, and others like him.

A future filled with such prodigies...

Who could possibly stop a village like Konoha?

Surrendering early seemed like the best option.

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