"Has it really been half a year already?"
"It feels a bit hard to believe."
Tobirama's thoughts were completely the opposite.
He muttered to himself with a sigh.
The others who heard him looked at him strangely.
"What have you been up to lately?"
"Your sense of time has become so odd."
Hashirama couldn't help but ask!
Tobirama seemed somewhat sleep-deprived.
He even had dark circles under his eyes!
Moreover, back in his own world,
he rarely appeared in the Chat Group.
He seldom came out to chat!
This puzzled Hashirama greatly.
After all, he knew his younger brother's personality all too well.
Although Tobirama was a rather serious person,
he still had a fondness for chatting.
This Tobirama,
shutting himself in a small room every day—
what was he doing?
Many others were thinking the same thing.
Tobirama's behavior...
felt somewhat strange to them!
But Tobirama himself didn't seem to notice.
"Really? I don't feel like I've been doing much."
"Just ordinary research, that's all."
Hearing his words,
the others didn't know what to say.
After all, Tobirama was a research fanatic.
And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
They couldn't very well discourage him over it.
Madara Uchiha, however, spoke up excitedly.
"Are you all confident in your world's development?"
"I feel like I'll take first place this time!"
"Hahaha!"
He laughed heartily.
Who knew what he had done in his own world to give him such confidence.
Naruto, brimming with confidence, declared,
"First place will definitely be mine!"
"There's no doubt about it!"
"After all, it's my first time joining—I should at least get second place!"
Hearing his words,
the other Hokages' expressions changed.
Several who had been quite confident
suddenly felt less sure.
Naruto wasn't wrong.
His world was already highly advanced in its development.
None of them had forgotten the shock from the previous meeting.
Naruto had achieved the second-best result the first time he joined.
If not for Aoki's overwhelmingly outstanding performance,
Naruto might very well have taken first place!
And before that,
they all still remembered the incident when Naruto had called for help.
After witnessing firsthand the advanced state of that world,
everyone felt somewhat less confident about their own worlds.
"Alright, I think everyone has said enough by now!"
Aoki spoke up at this moment.
He had allowed the Hokages to release the pent-up excitement they had accumulated over the past six months.
Now, it was about time to begin the ranking!
Upon hearing his words,
everyone gradually quieted down.
All eyes turned to the center of the meeting room,
awaiting the start of the ranking!
[Will the World Ranking List for this session be initiated?]
The voice of the Chat Group rang out.
"Begin!"
Aoki issued the command.
As Aoki's voice faded,
the Light Screen at the center of the Round Table Conference began to change.
Countless characters instantly started rearranging and combining.
The results were about to appear!
This was the most thrilling moment.
Everyone stared intently at the Light Screen before them.
[World Ranking List ranking begins]
[Participants in this ranking: First Hokage Hashirama's World, Second Hokage Tobirama's World, Third Kakashi's World, Fourth Hokage Aoki's World,
Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze's World, Fifth Hokage Tsunade Senju's World, Road to Ninja Tsunade's World, Sixth Hokage Kakashi Hatake's World, Fantasy Hokage Uchiha Obito's World, Madara Uchiha's World, 5.5th Hokage Sasuke's World, Seventh Hokage Naruto's World!]
[Please note!]
[The rarity of the ranking rewards is related to the national strength of the participating worlds!]
[To obtain better rewards, please strive to enhance the power of your respective worlds as much as possible!]
The Chat Group issued its routine reminder.
All twelve Hokages were present.
And just like before,
the rewards for the top three were undoubtedly the most generous.
The first-place reward remained the highest of all!
Everyone wanted to be first.
Even if they couldn't take first place, being in the top three was still excellent.
Over the past six months, everyone had been intensely focused on improving their strength,
striving to develop their worlds faster and more powerfully.
The goal was to secure a good ranking in this meeting!
Soon, under the tense gaze of everyone,
a line of large characters appeared on the Light Screen.
Upon seeing this line,
the Hokages' faces showed expressions of no surprise.
And Aoki wore a faint smile.
[First Place: Fourth Hokage Aoki's World!]
Seeing this ranking,
Madara Uchiha and the others all sighed in disappointment!
"Seriously? It's still Aoki's world!"
"Damn it! I really thought I had a chance this time!"
"Who would've thought it would still be that kid Aoki!"
"This is infuriating! Why isn't it my world?"
The Hokages voiced their complaints like this.
Although they had somewhat grown accustomed to Aoki's world consistently ranking first,
not being first themselves
was undeniably frustrating.
Especially for the most ambitious Hokages.
Over the past six months, they had not slacked off in the slightest,
exerting every effort to develop their worlds better.
Yet again, he hadn't managed to snatch first place.
It was hard not to feel a bit resentful.
Still, no one was completely despondent.
After all, even if they couldn't get first place, there were still second and third.
The top three all received extra rewards anyway.
Getting any extra reward was already quite good.
"Let's see it quickly."
"What has Shira World developed into?"
Madara Uchiha asked curiously.
He wanted to know just how big the gap still was between his world and the other's.
Even if he couldn't take first place this time,
if he could bridge that gap,
maybe next time he could be number one!
At that moment,
Aoki himself was still in a very cheerful mood.
First place again.
This proved that
the grand prize of this meeting still belonged to him.
He wondered what kind of good thing it would bring him.
Aoki was very interested in that.
Just then, the voice of the meeting room rang out.
[Do you wish to display national power?]
Hearing the Chat Group's inquiry,
Aoki nodded.
"Display national power."
After Aoki agreed,
the Light Screen in the center of the room instantly began to change!
Then, on the screen, Shira World slowly appeared!
[National Power Display commencing!]
[3!]
[2]
[1]
As the countdown ticked down bit by bit,
the Hokages also gradually focused their attention!
Awaiting the display of Shira World's national power!
Finally!
The countdown ended.
The display of Shira World's national power
officially began!
Everyone stared intently at the screen!
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "QueenTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!