The strength of those people was far beyond what he possessed now.
Shiki understood that clearly.
It was still far too early to truly call himself the strongest in the ninja world.
Even if the Golden Lion template reached one hundred percent, his power would, at best, reach the Six Paths level—formidable, yes, but still not enough.
After all, even adult Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, both at Six Paths level, had been overwhelmed and nearly killed by Isshiki Ōtsutsuki and that was when Isshiki was operating at only thirty to forty percent of his true power due to the limitations of his vessel.
As Amado had said…
If Isshiki were to obtain a vessel capable of fully bearing his power, then destroying the world would no longer be an exaggeration.
Of course, compared to those legendary figures, there was no question—Shiki could not defeat them right now.
But he believed in one thing above all else.
With his template system, as long as he was given time, surpassing them was only a matter of when—not if.
"Shiki-nii!"
"Huh?"
A soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Shiki turned his head, slightly surprised, only to find Kurenai staring at him with an uncharacteristically serious gaze.
"Shiki-nii," she said quietly, her voice steady despite her flushed cheeks.
"I don't want to wait for the war to end. I want to be yours… now."
"..."
Shiki raised an eyebrow and glanced at her in surprise.
"Do you have a fever?" he asked casually, placing a hand on her forehead before pulling it back.
"No fever… but if you're not sick, why are you suddenly saying nonsense?"
"Dammit! Shiki-nii, take me seriously!"
"Yeah, yeah," Shiki replied lazily.
--
Soon, news spread throughout the entire ninja world...
Under Shiki's leadership, Iwagakure had been defeated.
In Konoha, civilians erupted into celebration.
"Great! We won!"
"Lord Golden Lion is invincible!"
"Lord Golden Lion is so powerful!"
What stirred even greater admiration was the fact that it was Shiki himself who had led Konoha to defeat the Hidden Stone Village.
At this moment, his reputation had already surpassed that of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"He's incredible… Lord Shiki actually defeated Iwagakure."
Among the crowd, Uchiha Mikoto sighed softly after hearing the news.
Beside her, Uzumaki Kushina nodded in agreement.
"He really is amazing… but—"
As she spoke, Kushina couldn't help but glance around.
In the past half year, while there had been fewer people openly speaking about Konoha's 'sinner' Namikaze Minato, his reputation had never truly recovered.
Even though Minato had been fighting relentlessly against Kumogakure, almost no one cared.
Yet the moment Shiki's victory was announced, it was as if Minato had been completely forgotten.
This made a faint hope bloom in Kushina's heart.
"If Lord Shiki speaks for Minato," she said softly, eyes shining,
"then surely… people will stop blaming him!"
"Kushina…"
Mikoto looked at her helplessly. She wanted to say something but when she saw the hope glowing in Kushina's eyes, she swallowed those harsh words back down.
Kushina was her closest friend.
She couldn't bear to shatter that fragile hope.
Mikoto knew that for half a year now, Kushina had been desperately searching for ways to restore Minato's reputation but with no results.
Shiki's existence had become her last hope.
"Kushina," Mikoto said gently,
"I'll help you when the time comes. Don't worry."
"Mm!" Kushina nodded firmly, deeply moved.
--
Inside the Hokage Building, after the Third Hokage had rushed to support the battlefield at Kirigakure, village affairs were temporarily handled by the two elders—
Utatané Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
Watching the civilians outside cheering Shiki's name, both elders frowned deeply.
"Shiki's prestige…" Koharu said coldly,
"Isn't it becoming a little excessive?"
"This is practically more Hokage-like than the Hokage himself."
Such a situation naturally stirred jealousy in the hearts of the two elders.
"No," Homura said darkly.
"Shiki is too defiant. We can't allow his reputation to rise this high. It must be suppressed."
To those in power, a strong subordinate was far less valuable than a loyal subordinate.
What they wanted was obedience.
And Shiki… was clearly not someone who could be controlled.
"The war isn't over yet," Koharu added.
"Konoha still needs Shiki."
"Then we wait until the war ends."
Cold light flickered in both of their eyes.
Homura hesitated before asking,
"Do you have any specific plan?"
"No."
"..."
"Then why are you speaking so confidently?"
"We are the high-level leadership of Konoha," Koharu replied calmly.
"Dealing with a ninja… isn't difficult."
"That's true."
They nodded in agreement.
Long accustomed to their positions of authority, they believed power alone allowed them to decide everything.
In the future, however, Shiki would personally teach them one simple truth...
Before absolute strength, authority and status are nothing but illusions.
--
At the same time, on the battlefield against Sunagakure—
Upon hearing of Iwagakure's defeat, Konoha's forces erupted into cheers.
Victory on any front was victory for Konoha.
"Hmph! As expected of the man I chose!"
Inside the command room, Tsunade said bluntly.
"Tsunade," a familiar voice called.
"News from Shiki-kun has arrived."
Just as Tsunade was basking in her good mood, Orochimaru entered, holding a message scroll.
"Huh?" Tsunade glanced over.
"What did Shiki say?"
In the entire ninja world, there were very few things that could truly pique Tsunade's interest.
Shiki was one of them.
"Well…"
Seeing Tsunade clearly had no intention of reading it herself, Orochimaru shrugged helplessly before speaking.
"Shiki-kun's plan has succeeded. Sarutobi-sensei has already left the Kirigakure battlefield. He wants us to defeat Sunagakure as quickly as possible."
The Sand battlefield itself was not difficult—especially with Tsunade and Orochimaru present.
If not for the Third Hokage constantly requesting reinforcements, Sunagakure would have already fallen under their combined assault.
"It can finally end!"
Tsunade slammed her hand on the table and stood up, excitement clear on her face.
Orochimaru smiled faintly and nodded.
"I'm curious how Sarutobi-sensei will react when we return to Konoha."
Tsunade snorted dismissively.
"Whatever his attitude is—if he's happy, I won't be. And if he's unhappy, then I'll be delighted."
Orochimaru merely shrugged.
He had already formed an alliance with Tsunade and Shiki.
The sooner Tsunade became Hokage, the sooner his experiments could truly begin.
"Move quickly," Tsunade said impatiently.
"I want to see Shiki as soon as possible. I'm sick of this endless sand."
It had been over a year since she last saw him.
To say she didn't miss him would be a lie.
"Alright."
Under the joint command of Tsunade and Orochimaru, thousands of Konoha shinobi began mobilizing.
The atmosphere turned cold, heavy with killing intent.
Everyone knew...
Today was the decisive battle against Sunagakure.
Meanwhile, in Kumogakure—
Inside the Raikage's chamber, the Third Raikage sat relaxed, his demeanor calm.
It was obvious he had lived quite comfortably over the past half year.
Suddenly, a shinobi appeared before him.
"Lord Raikage!"
"What is it?"
"Urgent news from Iwagakure—"
"The Hidden Stone Village… has been defeated."
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