After a long time, Koharu Utatane put down the document in her hand and slowly spoke.
"Homura, what do you think?"
"And you, Koharu?" Homura Mitokado asked instead of answering directly.
Hearing this, Koharu remained silent for quite some time before slowly speaking, her voice filled with emotion.
"This child may have inherited not only Tobirama-sensei's wisdom and will, but also the same scope of vision as the first Hokage. I think I finally understand now. Perhaps this child is destined to create an entirely new era in the future."
"So?" Homura adjusted his glasses.
"So..."
Koharu picked up the pen on the table.
"What old people like us can do is support him, let him do what he wants, and then watch carefully to see what kind of era he is going to create."
With that, she signed her name at the end of the document and silently handed it to Homura Mitokado.
Homura accepted the document, glanced at her serious expression, smiled, and said nothing more.
Picking up a pen, he wrote his own name beside Koharu Utatane's.
Some time later, the latest battle report concerning the decisive battle on the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire was delivered to the Hokage's office in Konoha with the highest priority.
Inside the office, the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Danzo Shimura each read the report in their hands.
As the third Hokage continued reading, a smile bloomed across his face like layers of chrysanthemums blooming in autumn.
Even the usually stern and expressionless Danzo Shimura rarely showed a trace of a smile.
Today's offensive plan would have appeared utterly insane to any commander.
Konoha had placed all its bets on whether Shinichi Higashino could leverage the might of heaven through his own power, yet just as on the northeastern battlefield and the southwestern battlefield, the young man had once again created an unbelievable miracle.
The two put down their reports and simultaneously turned their gazes toward the final document on the table that had not yet been reviewed.
Written neatly on its cover were several words: the Rinkai City Convention.
A moment later, the third Hokage picked up his pipe and took a deep drag before looking toward Danzo.
"Danzo, what do you think?"
"Hmph! I think it's completely unnecessary!"
Danzo snorted coldly before adding, "However, since the kid proposed it, there's no harm in trying it."
The third Hokage: "...?"
The third Hokage was momentarily stunned. How exactly did you connect "completely unnecessary" with "there's no harm in trying"?
But Danzo paid no attention to Hiruzen Sarutobi's reaction; he had already picked up a pen from the table and was the first to sign his name on the document.
Seeing this, the third Hokage could not help but laugh.
'This old friend of his…'
...
July 5th, Konoha Year 47.
At a time when all Five Great Ninja Villages had entered the war and flames of conflict spread across the Shinobi World, the small nations and villages trapped between the major powers all lived in fear, worried that they would be the next to be swept into the war, yet at the very moment when the war was growing ever fiercer and all sides were increasing their stakes,
An unprecedented typhoon landed on the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire with unstoppable force.
Along with the arrival of this typhoon, the Village Hidden in the Mist suffered its most devastating defeat since the outbreak of the war.
In a single day, Village Hidden in the Mist was not only driven completely out of the southeastern coastline by Konoha and forced to retreat in panic to the Land of Waves, but also paid the terrible price of more than three thousand ninja casualties. (Including prisoners and those missing in action.)
For the Village Hidden in the Mist, a ninja village like the Village Hidden in the Sand that was not known for having large numbers of ninja, such losses were devastating.
And the chief culprit behind Village Hidden in the Mist's tragic losses, or rather, the absolute protagonist of this battle… that's right!
Once again, it was him, Shinichi Higashino!
This young genius, who was very likely the most monstrously talented prodigy in Konoha's history and perhaps even in the entire history of the Shinobi World, had once again created an unbelievable miracle, just as he had done on every battlefield before.
It could even be said that this achievement was more glorious and more shocking than any of his previous accomplishments.
After all, whether it was countering Chiyo's successive poison techniques on the southwestern battlefield, seizing the Village Hidden in the Sand's commander's banner at Kikyo Pass, or penetrating deep into Village Hidden in the Cloud territory on the northeastern battlefield and launching a chain of attacks against their logistics, although every one of those feats was enough to be recorded in the military history of the Shinobi World, they still could not compare to the sheer and naked impact of destroying an entire city with a single strike and causing thousands of ninjass to collapse and disintegrate in seconds.
When this news spread from the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire to every corner of the world, the entire Shinobi World seemed to ignite at the same instant.
The major newspapers went completely mad, terrified of missing even a single hour of exclusive news.
Emergency special editions were printed day after day, further fueling the story, and like wildfire scattered by a raging wind, the news spread across the entire continent.
It was said that even the Land of Snow, located on the edge of the continent in the far north, a peaceful nation covered in snow year-round, received reports of the event.
For a time, from the upper echelons of every major nation and ninja village to taverns and teahouses on city streets, from battle-hardened elite Jonin to ordinary civilians who had never set foot on a battlefield, nearly everyone was discussing the same name and the same feat.
"How many people did Shinichi Higashino kill in that battle?"
"How exactly did he do it?"
"Destroying an entire city?"
"What kind of jutsu was it?"
"What principle was it based on?"
"Or was it some forbidden technique that has never appeared before?"
Some elderly survivors from the Warring States Period were even horrified upon hearing the news and proposed a startling possibility: Had Shinichi Higashino already reached the level of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha from back then?
However, the moment that question was raised, it was immediately ridiculed by self-proclaimed rational analysts who believed they understood the situation.
Shinichi Higashino had merely borrowed the power of nature.
The endless storms and thunderclouds carried by the typhoon already contained world-destroying energy, and he had simply acted at the right moment and taken advantage of the situation.
If he were truly that powerful, then why choose the exact day the typhoon made landfall? This achievement was clearly the result of borrowing external forces and certainly contained a great deal of exaggeration, but the opposing side was not willing to back down.
They immediately mocked those claims in return.
So what if he borrowed the power of heaven and earth? Shinichi Higashino still did it.
Why didn't anyone else borrow it? The battlefield and typhoon were there.
Only he could use it, and only he dared to.
Only he succeeded in using it.
That itself was part of his strength.
As for exaggeration?
Hadn't all the other great ninja villages remained silent until now?
Especially the Village Hidden in the Mist, which had maintained complete silence regarding the matter.
If the reports were exaggerated, why weren't they stepping forward to deny them? Silence was, in fact, the weakest form of admission.
That could only mean that the numbers Konoha reported were probably understated rather than exaggerated.