Chapter 312: Run! The Enemy is Too Strong!
"Un-Un-Uncle! Your face is cracking! Go to the hospital quickly!"
The long-haired man carrying the log was shocked. "What?! My face is cracking?!"
Obito nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah! Are you okay, Uncle?!"
Kakashi stared at the bizarre yet familiar man, unconsciously becoming alert.
"Ah... right... probably because I'm dead..."
Might Guy's well-trained calves began to tremble.
Just then, a Cloud ninja carrying a strange backpack walked over, glanced at them, and said, "Hashirama-dono, we're short on timber in the west. Come with me."
"Hai-yo! Coming!"
The Konoha contestants hesitated at the gate for a long time until they finally met someone they knew.
Shikaku Nara happened to be passing by with blueprints. Seeing the dazed group at the gate, he came over to explain the situation.
Shikaku was of the same generation as Minato, so he was their senior.
"WHAT?! The village lost?!"
Obito's loud voice attracted side-glances from people nearby. Many eyes dimmed.
Shikaku quickly hushed him. "Shhh, don't shout so loud. Everyone is feeling a bit down. Do you see those fortresses in the distance? Those were left from the siege of Konoha. Originally, there were some at the main gate too, but they were too ugly, so we applied to the Cloud to demolish them."
"B-B-But... what about Hokage-sama? Why didn't Hokage-sama lead us to continue fighting?!!"
Shikaku scratched his head. "The current situation is the joint decision of several Hokages. Also, the Fourth Hokage has abdicated... A new Hokage hasn't been selected yet."
Kakashi gritted his teeth. Involving his father, he could no longer hold back. He used Body Flicker to rush into the village.
"I don't believe it! I'm going to see for myself!"
"Kakashi, wait for me! I'm coming too!"
"Then... I will accept the original copy of the Scroll of Seals."
A massive scroll, recording dangerous ninjutsu sealed by successive Hokages and powerful techniques requiring merit to access.
Yotsuki Dana solemnly accepted what might be the most valuable scroll in the ninja world.
Of course, the scroll was just a carrier. The essence was that Konoha had made these jutsu public and shared them with the Cloud.
This was one of the most important benefits of swallowing Konoha. The value contained within was self-evident.
Eight Inner Gates, Flying Thunder God, Edo Tensei, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags. These were the four most valuable ones. Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu wasn't bad either. Others like Bringer of Darkness also had some reference value.
Just these names were enough to drive anyone in the ninja world crazy.
To obtain these smoothly, Dana made many compromises during the negotiation, relaxing some restrictions on Konoha.
For example, the original plan capped Konoha's registered ninja at 15,000—effectively demanding disarmament and permanently limiting their scale. But after discussion, this number was raised to 26,000, roughly equal to Konoha's current remaining ninja count. However, it still couldn't increase in the future; a new one could only be registered when an old one retired.
Restrictions on numbers were necessary, but Dana wasn't worried about Konoha threatening the Cloud numerically in the future. The Cloud sat on 10 Ninja Academies and a complete higher education system. In the future, children from the Land of Fire would also be integrated into the ninja education system. How could a single village compare to that capacity?
It is worth mentioning that the Scroll of Seals represented the ninjutsu mastered by the Hokage lineage.
As the main body of negotiation and surrender, plus with the approval of the First and Second Hokage, using the Hokage lineage's ninjutsu as chips was irreproachable. However, Dana didn't touch the jutsu belonging to individual ninja clans.
Many clan jutsu in Konoha were also valuable—Ino-Shika-Cho, Hyuga, Uchiha, even Sarutobi and Shimura clans had some foundation after being nurtured for so many years.
By the way, during the census, the number of Sarutobi clan members startled Dana. They could build a small village on their own.
Most clan jutsu had clear biases and even required Bloodline Limits to use, so Dana saw no need to touch the sensitive nerves of the clans. He wanted true integration; as long as these clans could serve the Cloud in the future, that was enough.
Dana's approach significantly reduced resistance during the post-negotiation reform process. The clans discovered that since the negotiation ended, they hadn't lost anything inside or out. Ending the war early meant fewer deaths in their families, and the Cloud even helped rebuild houses!
As for the Hokage lineage, with the current high command utterly defeated and the First Hokage fully supportive, things went relatively smoothly.
Tobirama Senju looked at the Scroll of Seals—massive for ordinary people but just right in Dana's single hand—and sighed with emotion. Most of the jutsu inside came from him.
"You really are impressive... Not only powerful but also possessing the ability to discern the human heart. Perhaps you are the 'Hashirama Senju' of this era..."
Dana's lie detection ability had given the Konoha negotiators endless headaches.
Dana laughed. "It's not that useful. The human heart is the hardest to fathom. A lie isn't necessarily wrong, and the truth isn't necessarily right. By the way, have you reached a conclusion on the candidates for the new Kage and two elders?"
During the negotiation and the subsequent handover, Tobirama basically presided over the Konoha side.
Correspondingly, Dana took the title of "Inspector," a position created specifically to handle Konoha's aftermath. Similar to a special commissioner, on paper, his authority was like the Supreme Emperor over Konoha, controlling everything.
But for stability, many things still needed to be discussed.
However, with the Cloud as the victor and Konoha as the loser, over time, it seemed like Tobirama had become Dana's deputy.
But Tobirama wasn't an ordinary person. He felt no resentment. Instead, he wanted to use this opportunity to thoroughly understand if the Cloud could fulfill the promises made in the negotiation and what the Cloud's philosophy was.
He couldn't count on his brother for these things. That guy was probably happily making lumber somewhere.
Tobirama said, "Regarding the new Hokage... currently..."
Suddenly, the keen-sensed Tobirama stopped. Dana paused too; clearly, both had detected something.
In the next instant, a figure flipped in through the window, slashing a short sword toward Dana's waist.
Dana extended two fingers, precisely catching the blade.
Missing the strike, the assailant couldn't even pull the sword out. He abandoned the weapon and retreated, holding a kunai across his chest.
"Purple Moon Demon! You dare stay in the Hokage Building!"
Dana picked up the short sword and played with it. It was the same model as Sakumo Hatake's, just made of ordinary iron.
"Speaking of which, the title 'Purple Moon Demon'... no one has dared to mention it since I've been in Konoha this time. You're the first, Kakashi."
Tobirama watched coldly, wanting to see how Dana would handle this.
Minimally, it was an impulsive act by children unable to accept reality. Maximally, it could be labeled as an assassination attempt.
As an old relic from the Warring States Period, he valued "magnanimity" greatly.
In the next moment...
"Kakashi, don't panic! I'm here to help!"
Another figure flew in from the window with a flying kick, landing squarely on Tobirama's head.
CLANG!
A big footprint was left on his helmet.
Tobirama remained motionless. "Huff! Huff! Magnanimity... deep breaths..."
Obito, failing to move him with the kick, rolled smoothly to form a pincer attack with Kakashi, also holding a kunai vigilantly.
"Are you the two evil guys destroying Konoha?! If we defeat you, we can save Konoha, right?!"
Dana said, "Yeah, yeah. Come defeat us quickly."
Obito clearly didn't expect that answer. He hesitated and said, "You look familiar. So does the short guy next to you."
Kakashi said gravely, "This guy is the Purple Moon Demon! Yotsuki Dana! The short one next to him is... is... Eh? Is that the Second Hokage from the monument...?"
Kakashi froze. As someone who spent an hour every day admiring his father's face on the monument, he had a deep impression of the other three faces too...
Obito was also confused. "It really looks like him..."
"Kakashi! Obito! I'm here to save you!"
A green figure flew in with the exact same flying kick, target... Tobirama's head.
"IS THERE NO END TO THIS?!!"
Tobirama finally snapped. He grabbed the attacker's leg and slammed him to the ground, shattering the floorboards.
"Huff! Huff!" Tobirama panted heavily.
Might Guy's leg twitched uncontrollably as he moaned, "Kakashi, Obito... run... the enemy is too strong..."