A moment later!
In the magnificent hall, Sakumo Hatake finally met the Great Demon King Lucian, who had shaken the ninja world multiple times!
Lucian sat calmly on the throne, looking down at him.
The master of the Wandenreich?
At this moment, Sakumo Hatake felt at a loss, a feeling of not being in control of his own life.
"The White Fang of Konoha."
Lucian looked at this extremely famous White Fang of Konoha, also one of the most regrettable powerhouses in the original timeline.
Of course, what Sakumo Hatake was most famous for was having a son named Kakashi Hatake.
"Lord Lucian, may I ask why you have summoned me?"
Sakumo Hatake spoke under the pressure.
Although he used honorifics, his body stood straight, and his eyes were full of fortitude.
From this, one could see that Sakumo Hatake was not the kind of... man who would commit suicide because of some gossip.
Regardless of whether there was a conspiracy, and regardless of Sakumo Hatake's thoughts at the time, what Lucian wanted was just to annoy Sarutobi and Danzo and add a talent to the empire.
At that moment, Orochimaru walked over with a cup of sake.
Lucian got straight to the point, "What you want to know most is nothing more than my intelligence, and the source of Orochimaru's power. These... are all in the wine with my blood dripped in."
"Those who drink my blood wine will obtain a power that is in the same vein as mine."
"But at the same time, their life and death will be in my control!"
Hearing the last sentence, Orochimaru raised his eyes slightly, but there was no extra expression.
It seemed he had already guessed.
Power itself has a price!
Lucian never concealed this. It was a meaningless thing.
"The source of all power? Indeed..."
Thinking of this, Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but glance at Orochimaru and said in a deep voice, "Your Excellency's power is not just that, right? Otherwise... the Sannin would not have betrayed so easily."
"No matter how strong you are, there will come a day when you grow old!"
"A ninja as determined as Jiraiya, if it were just about strength, even if he were to die, he would have sent out intelligence to let Konoha make countermeasures."
"If it was impossible, he could also preserve the embers of Konoha's will!"
"The embers of Konoha's will are scattered throughout the ninja world, living in anonymity. If ten years is not enough, then thirty years, fifty years!"
"When you grow old, when you are no longer that strong, or when hope appears in the embers, then Konoha will be rebuilt."
"The reason a ninja is called a ninja is because of the word 'endure'!"
At this, Sakumo Hatake thought of a certain possibility, and his heart grew heavier.
"But Jiraiya didn't do that at all. I can even see from his eyes that he is truly loyal to you."
"What on earth is possible to make all three Sannin make such a decision?"
Orochimaru looked up, and Lucian looked at the White Fang of Konoha with interest.
Lucian gestured, "Say your thoughts."
Sakumo Hatake's voice grew heavier, "I can only think of three possibilities. First, the more a person experiences war, the more they understand its cruelty. They saw the hope of ending the war in you."
"After all, you are not only powerful, but you also have ambition, and you have the people in your heart."
"You are seen as someone who can unite the ninja world, pass down the empire, and let the ninja world no longer have war."
But this possibility was directly rejected by Sakumo Hatake.
The Sannin might have such thoughts, but it was definitely not the most important.
"Second, your power has some kind of brainwashing ability, directly changing people's thoughts."
Hearing this, a dangerous light appeared in Orochimaru's eyes. He said coldly:
"Sakumo Hatake, a guess is a guess, but don't use your narrow-minded heart to guess His Majesty's greatness."
Sakumo Hatake also rejected it, and not because of what Orochimaru said.
As he saw it, a king like Lucian would disdain to use such a method. Otherwise, he would have changed him by now.
"Then there is only one possibility..."
Sakumo Hatake took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm.
"Despair! Only deep despair! Only when Konoha has no hope at all will they try to change their hearts and submit to you."
"Only by working hard for you and offering their loyalty will there be a sliver of a chance to leave behind the embers of Konoha's will."
"This kind of despair is not just that your power is beyond imagination!"
"More importantly, no matter what Konoha does, no matter how many embers are left behind."
"No matter how many years they endure, a hundred years, a thousand years, they will never be able to recreate the despair of hope!"
"Absolute... despair!"
"..."
He guessed it?
Orochimaru was slightly surprised. The White Fang of Konoha had some skills.
"Saving the country by a roundabout way? What despair!"
Sakumo Hatake had indeed guessed it. Konoha had no hope. Only by finding hope in Lucian was Jiraiya's choice.
It was impossible for others to guess.
Only by hearing Lucian's explanation of the power inheritance and feeling his current pressure!
And then linking it to Lucian's growth process, the growth of Kushina and the other children, and Jiraiya's loyal eyes, could he vaguely guess some of it.
But that possibility was too incredible.
Lucian smiled inexplicably, "Then, your choice!"
At this moment, Sakumo Hatake felt that he couldn't breathe.
It wasn't Lucian's pressure, but the various thoughts that were pressing down on his heart, making it too heavy.
The more he thought, the harder it was to breathe.
"Hah!"
Sakumo Hatake took a deep breath before he said in a condensed voice, "Do I have a choice?"
What was in front of him was either to flee and die in battle, or to drink the blood wine.
Lucian looked at Sakumo calmly, "It seems you've misunderstood. I've always been generous to talents, provided they don't offend me."
"Magnanimity..."
Sakumo Hatake muttered. It was time to choose.
A meaningless death was not as good as fighting for hope for Konoha!
Reading the look in Sakumo Hatake's eyes, Lucian flicked a drop of blood into the sake.
Orochimaru handed it over and said, "A reminder, the process is a bit painful."
"Heh!"
Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but sneer. How could a ninja be afraid of pain!
He downed it in one gulp.
The next moment, Sakumo Hatake's face turned pale!
Pain! The pain of his soul being torn apart, of being cut by a thousand blades!
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on gaining a great general."
Seeing this, Orochimaru also immediately congratulated him.
He knew that after Sakumo Hatake drank the blood wine, he would understand the cruel despair that Jiraiya and Tsunade felt.
An almost immortal Lucian, an immortal Quincy army!
How could Konoha resist!
How could they not despair!
Only by prostrating at his feet could they beg for that sliver of invisible hope!
Of course, that was Jiraiya's and Tsunade's initial thought. When they saw more and more happy smiles on the faces of the civilians in the Wandenreich, their thoughts gradually changed.
One cannot know the bitterness of war without experiencing it!
The existence of Lucian and the Quincy was the only thing that could bring peace to the ninja world.
And it was an almost eternal peace!
They were willing to give everything for it!
"Konoha, heh..."
Lucian discovered that Konoha had so many talents.
Every decade or so, talents would emerge!
Most of the younger generation had been dug up by Lucian, but the next generation had many geniuses.
Like Minato Namikaze, Nawaki Senju, and the next generation had Kakashi, Might Guy, and so on. Shisui was even younger.
And the next generation was even more incredible.
At a glance, they were all full of cheats!
"Indeed, a deep despair..."
After Sakumo Hatake endured the pain and realized his own power and transformation, his eyes dimmed a lot.
That feeling of life being hard to decay. Konoha would eventually become history.
Intelligence was useless. On the contrary, it would only make Konoha even more desperate!
"Don't think too highly of Konoha. His Majesty's target is the entire ninja world. Konoha is no different in His Majesty's eyes."
"Submit and live, resist and die. It's that simple!"
Orochimaru walked over and patted Sakumo Hatake on the shoulder:
"And don't even think about using so-called loyalty to change any of His Majesty's decisions."
"If you want Konoha to survive, you might as well show absolute power when attacking Konoha, force everyone to submit, and stop killing with killing."
"Do you understand?"
Sakumo Hatake's body shook!
It seemed that the one who understood the most was Orochimaru.
Orochimaru also knelt on one knee as he turned around and said, "Your Majesty, I have overstepped. Please punish me."
"Such a small matter, what crime is there?"
Orochimaru was right, and Lucian didn't explain.
Was there a difference between Konoha and the Land of Rain?
After submitting, weren't they living well!
Why did people always treat him as a great demon king? Lucian was also tired.
Lucian: I just want to bring peace to the ninja world. Am I wrong?
Madara: I also want to bring peace to the ninja world. Am I wrong?
The various countries: It's our fault, daddy!
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