Nine-Tails Naruto. Eternal Mangekyō Sasuke.
With both of them secured, the Land of Fire's overall strength had once again risen sharply.
Especially Naruto.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, he and Killer Bee fought seven tailed beasts at once without falling behind. True, Naruto's current chakra reserves were still somewhat weaker than in that era, but given time to grow, he could one day stand on his own even in a world like Marvel's.
"This isn't the Marvel Comics Universe, where gods constantly clash," Haruto thought. "This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
With Naruto's strength, even if placed within the Avengers, he would rank among the very top.
Haruto silently weighed Naruto's power against figures like Thor and Captain Marvel. In terms of raw destructive ability and battlefield presence, Naruto was not inferior. And his Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu remained an overwhelming tactical weapon.
Sasuke, on the other hand, while able to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō by transplanting Itachi's eyes, still did not yet measure up to Naruto in his Nine-Tails form.
Even Sasuke's very first battle after receiving the Eternal Mangekyō would be overshadowed by Itachi's brilliance.
"Still," Haruto murmured to himself, "perhaps I can guide both of them to reach even higher."
Six Paths Naruto. Rinnegan Sasuke.
If he could push them to that level, the increase in power would be nothing short of world-shaking.
"For now, I'll wait until the surgeries are complete," Haruto decided.
Itachi's condition was far worse than Sasuke's. To stop Uchiha Madara, Itachi had forced his frail body to perform impossible feats. If surgery was performed recklessly, the risk of further side effects—or permanent damage—was high.
And if his condition prevented him from awakening the Eternal Mangekyō, that would be unacceptable.
Of course, Haruto had entrusted the operations to Orochimaru and Tsunade—both legends of the shinobi world, once known as two of the Legendary Sannin.
With their assignments given, Haruto turned his full attention to the upcoming Three Kage Conference.
The day of the meeting arrived quickly. Everything progressed in an orderly manner.
As Haruto expected, the participants were the Tsuchikage and the Raikage.
Representing the Stone was none other than the man known as the "living fossil" of the ninja world—the legendary Ōnoki of the Two Scales.
As for the Raikage, it was Darui, once the trusted right hand of the Fourth Raikage.
But compared to Ōnoki, Darui appeared unimpressive.
Among elite jōnin, his skills were remarkable. During the Fourth Great Ninja War, he had even slain the infamous Gold and Silver Brothers. But against the legacy of past Raikage, Darui's record was modest.
By the time of the Boruto era, he had no great achievements to his name. He had neither the terrifying physical might of the Fourth Raikage with his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, nor Killer Bee's ability to perfectly control a tailed beast.
To put it bluntly—
In Haruto's eyes, someone like Darui didn't even deserve the title of Kage.
Accompanying the two leaders were their chosen escorts: Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi for Ōnoki, Omoi and Karui for Darui.
The first pair represented Iwagakure's strongest younger generation. The latter were disciples of Killer Bee.
The truth was plain—
The death of the Fourth Raikage, Killer Bee's loss of the Eight-Tails, and the capture of the Two-Tails' jinchūriki Yugito had devastated Kumogakure.
Once, the Village Hidden in the Clouds had stood as an equal rival to Konoha. Now, they were a shadow of their former strength, barely hanging on.
Even before arriving, Darui already understood Haruto's true intention.
After all, the friction between Konoha and Kumogakure had not been one or two incidents.
Darui remembered vividly Haruto's methods, his style, his sheer overwhelming ability.
To him, words like "ninja village," "shinobi nation," or even "daimyō" were already relics of the past.
After today's conference, they would become history.
The thought that Kumogakure would vanish in his hands filled Darui with a heavy sigh, tinged with regret and guilt.
"I'm sorry… to all the Raikage who came before me."
He muttered inwardly, apology heavy in his heart.
The unification of the shinobi world was like rivers flowing inevitably to the sea. His strength was far too small to resist or change anything.
To spare his village needless bloodshed, the only sensible path was to accept all of Haruto's demands.
Not out of cowardice—
But for the greater good.
For the sake of the village.
From the intelligence reports he had seen, every nation that tried to resist Haruto had met a disastrous end.
"It seems the Fifth Raikage has already made his choice," Ōnoki muttered, noting Darui's dejected sighs and lifeless demeanor.
The old man was no fool. Though age weighed on him, he was not so stubborn as to ignore the realities of the world.
The Land of Water and the Land of Wind had already been invaded by Haruto's Root organization. The Fifth Mizukage captured. The Fourth Kazekage killed.
Though Haruto was still young, his iron-blooded methods were ruthless.
Ōnoki hardly needed to guess the purpose of this Three Kage Conference.
This was no gathering to unite the nations or form an alliance.
This was Haruto's move to unify the shinobi world under one rule.
From Darui's attitude, it was clear: not only had he realized Haruto's plan, he had already chosen compromise in his heart.
"Young people these days…" Ōnoki sighed deeply.
He had once thought to unite with Kumogakure's strength and oppose Haruto. But now, he knew such plans were impossible.
"At this point, there are only two paths," Ōnoki reflected silently. "One is to follow Darui's example—abandon the title of Kage, surrender all authority, and let our villages and nations be absorbed into Haruto's dominion. To let history mark the end of the shinobi nations."
"The other…"
His gaze sharpened, though his body trembled with age.
The truth was, he was tired. He no longer longed for conflict or war. He had hoped only to retire in peace, to one day pass quietly into the Pure Land.
But this conference shattered that dream.
"If I surrender here," Ōnoki thought grimly, "then in the Pure Land, I'll have no face to meet the Tsuchikage of generations past."
His eyes cleared, determination settling into them once again. He had made his decision.
"Once it was Uchiha Madara. Now… it's Senju Haruto."
Ōnoki's voice rumbled low, his gaze fixing firmly on the door of the conference chamber.