In July of Konoha Year 35, Konoha Hidden Leaf Village and Iwagakure Hidden Stone Village officially signed a ceasefire agreement, signaling the imminent end of the Western Front War. Although the ceasefire agreement between Iwagakure and Kumogakure Hidden Cloud Village had not yet been finalized, Konoha Village could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
According to news from Hiruzen Sarutobi, after hearing that Iwagakure and Konoha were about to cease hostilities, Kirigakure Hidden Mist Village's large-scale war efforts also gradually stopped. It was estimated that in the near future, envoys would arrive at the camp to discuss ceasefire matters.
The Second Shinobi World War was quickly coming to an end. However, even though large-scale warfare had ceased, Konoha Village was not yet able to fully relax. Due to a series of impacts brought by the war,Fumori Masaki still needed to consolidate the fruits of victory to honor the sacrificed ninjas.
A portion of the reparations received from the Land of Wind and Land of Earth needed to be used for allies, especially the Land of Rain. In this Second Shinobi World War, Hanzo had truly given his all, appearing in every way to be a good friend of Konoha. Therefore, friends must be properly rewarded.
It should be noted that the battles between Sunagakure Hidden Sand Village and Iwagakure were mainly concentrated in the three small countries of Grass, Rain, and River. Since Konoha wanted to establish a shinobi alliance, it had to carefully consider the rights and status of these small countries.
Because the three countries of Earth, Lightning, and Water were temporarily unlikely to join the shinobi alliance, they still possessed considerable power and would not simply bow down and join. The shinobi alliance's voting proportions were based on each country's strength, so how could the two restless countries of Earth and Lightning agree?
Moreover, even if they were truly willing to join,Fumori Masaki did not want it to be now. With the strength of the Land of Earth and Land of Lightning, they could pose a challenge to Konoha. At the negotiating table, they would certainly not stand by and watch Konoha grow stronger. In the end, the shinobi alliance might even be difficult to maintain.
The shinobi alliance was not like the international organizations of Fumori Masaki's previous life. The Five Great Nations were too close to each other, and there were no powerful weapons capable of pacifying a region. If there wasn't one side with absolute say, problems would definitely arise in the future. Therefore, the shinobi alliance Fumori Masaki envisioned had to be led by Konoha.
Thus,Fumori Masaki believed that currently, only the two great nations of Wind and Fire, along with friendly small nations, could form an alliance. Therefore, what could be established now should be called the Southern Alliance, whose purpose was to explore shinobi world peace, shinobi world unity, and shinobi world unification, striving for a glorious future for the shinobi world.
When the Land of Fire became the unshakeable hegemon of the entire shinobi continent, and the Land of Earth and Land of Lightning also had to bow their heads, that would be the time to transform the Southern Alliance into a true shinobi alliance. At that point, the mission of the Southern Alliance would also conclude.
And now, the mission of the Southern Alliance had just begun. Although Fumori Masaki had not officially declared it, the Land of Wind and other small countries had already received Konoha's opinion and would begin discussing reconstruction matters after the complete ceasefire of the Western Front War. Of course, the main purpose was to clarify the various regulations of the Southern Alliance.
Because the Southern Alliance was a preliminary state of the shinobi alliance, its main regulations would still follow those of the shinobi alliance. Fumori Masaki's previously written "Proposed Shinobi Alliance Construction Plan" already had a preliminary discussion, mainly focusing on strengthening economic cooperation among member states, ideological unity, close political relations, and joint military defense.
Fumori Masaki had decided that the headquarters of the Southern Alliance would be located in the Land of Rain. The reason was that the Land of Rain was centrally located among many member states, its geographical position was very important, and it was the central area connecting the member states. To link the member states in a line, it could not be bypassed.
Furthermore, the leader of Amegakure Hidden Rain Village, Hanzo the Salamander, was powerful and could act as a force to restrain other countries, while also making other countries feel at ease. His country's strength was not simple, and he came from a small country, which could make people believe in the fairness and justice of the Southern Alliance.
Of course, complete fairness and justice were impossible. Konoha's standards and those of the shinobi alliance would be the same in the Southern Alliance, merely with certain adjustments based on actual circumstances. Konoha would inevitably have the highest voting proportion, followed by the Land of Wind. Although all other small countries combined would not win, if their rights were not considered, the alliance would inevitably be unsustainable.
This was also a restraint Fumori Masak iwanted to impose on his successors. As long as Konoha could take care of the interests of most countries—even if they were all small countries—it could achieve the highest say in the alliance. But once it disregarded them, there would be very serious adverse consequences. This would prevent anyone from affecting the overall situation for their own benefit, and in the future, only policies beneficial to the vast majority of countries would likely be implemented.
If you can't give other countries the respect they deserve, why would they faithfully follow behind you?
Fumori Masaki was not at all worried about Konoha's voice in the Southern Alliance. The Land of Wind and Land of Rain were currently very dependent on them. Although the Land of River and Land of Grass had somewhat distant relationships, after this war, voices friendly to Konoha would surely emerge in both countries, which could then be slowly manipulated.
Before the Land of Wind's strength recovered, Konoha would certainly be the decisive authority. And after the Land of Wind's strength recovered, Konoha should also integrate with the small countries; relying solely on the Land of Wind would not be enough to win. Moreover, there were also people within the Land of Wind who were friendly to Konoha.
What Fumori Masaki needed to consider now was to formally finalize the Southern Alliance's system. Once finalized, there would be greater room for operation. However, this was not something he could decide alone; it required the approval of the leaders of other countries' ninja villages. It wasn't a Five Kage Summit, but a summit among the leaders of the allied ninja villages would begin soon.
Now, they just needed to wait for Kumogakure and Iwagakure to formally cease hostilities. Once the ceasefire was in place, numerous reconstruction plans would be put on the agenda, as would the establishment of the Southern Alliance, and the propaganda needed to maintain world peace after the victory of the Second Shinobi War—
Thinking carefully, although the war had ended, Fumori Masaki's responsibilities as Hokage had not diminished at all. On the contrary, because everything had to be done in a short period, the burden had become even greater. But there was no alternative; this was the path Fumori Masaki had chosen, and he had to continue even if he found it arduous.
Moreover, Fumori Masaki's goal was now halfway accomplished. As long as he dealt with this guy Black Zetsu, even if the shinobi alliance wasn't established, choosing a suitable successor should be achievable. Things couldn't always be completed within one generation; being too hasty would be detrimental to stability.
By then,Fumori Masaki should also consider retirement. The Hokage position was for life; as long as the Hokage himself did not intend to step down, unless overthrown by force, he could continue to serve. In the original timeline, Hiruzen Sarutobi also voluntarily stepped down before choosing the Fourth Hokage.
However,Fumori Masakialways felt that before the new era in the future, the lifetime tenure system must be abolished. While lifetime tenure had its advantages, its drawbacks were also significant, especially as one aged. Older people tend to have rigid thinking and lack energy, which can lead to foolish policies.
In the dynasties of Fumori Masaki's previous life, many monarchs who were renowned in their youth inevitably showed signs of senility and incompetence in their later years. If they woke up in time to cut their losses, it was fine, but if they never truly realized it, they would commit major mistakes.
In Fumori Masaki's view, some of the mistakes Hiruzen Sarutobi made during his tenure as Hokage were, to some extent, due to being too old to effectively solve problems.
Therefore, to maintain the vitality of the ninja village and ensure it continues to lead in future competitions, it would be best to set a term limit for the Hokage position. Based on Fumori Masaki's own experience as Hokage, a ten-year term would be ideal, with the possibility of two consecutive terms. In certain special circumstances, one could be reappointed, but this would require strict consideration.
Aside from someone as talented as Minato Namikaze, others would need to be around thirty years old to possess the ability and reputation to serve as Hokage. If a person was capable in internal affairs, two consecutive decades would be enough to achieve significant results, just like Fumori Masaki now. But if they lacked ability, even if they served longer, it would only maintain stability, so ten years would suffice.
After twenty years, a capable Hokage would be around fifty years old, which is the peak of a ninja's prime. Once past this age, their condition would inevitably begin to decline. At this point, having the former Hokage serve in advisory roles, using their rich experience to guide the younger Hokage and ensure a smooth transfer of power, should be a better method. This would ensure the vitality of the ninja village and guarantee the capability of successors.
This way, there wouldn't be a situation like during Hiruzen Sarutobi's time, where due to the unexpected death of the Fourth Hokage, no one could be found to serve as Hokage. Young people lacked sufficient strength and prestige, so the already retired Hiruzen Sarutobi had to step forward again. At that time, only Hiruzen Sarutobi had the strength and sufficient prestige to maintain stability in Konoha after the Nine-Tails attack.
If the ninja village's high-ranking officials could be rejuvenated early, it would both train the younger generation and allow them to step up if something unexpected happened to the older generation.
Moreover, the term limit system could also ensure the democratic process within Konoha's internal high command. Of course, promoting and ensuring the treatment of retired ninjas was also a worthwhile consideration.
In fact,Fumori Masaki was somewhat worried now. To put it bluntly, with his current prestige, even if he pushed for a term limit system, whether he could safely retire was still a question. Before the term limit system was deeply ingrained in people's minds, a leader like him, who had made significant contributions and was still relatively young—due to his Sage Mode, his energy was better than ordinary people—if he talked about retirement, others might not necessarily agree.
However, that was still a distant future. Black Zetsu hadn't been found yet, so Fumori Masakicouldn't retire with peace of mind. That guy was a complete troublemaker, as seen from the Uchiha Kagami incident. He was probably scheming something somewhere right now.
At the same time, in a certain mountain forest in the Land of Grass, a person dressed as a wanderer stood on a tree, staring intently at the distant ninja camp. Beside him, a black phantom emerged, and a heavy voice rang out: "I didn't expect the war to end so quickly. I thought it would last longer."
"Ah, it was indeed quite fast. However, I have also gained enough power to begin my plan," the man next to the black shadow replied indifferently.
These two were Black Zetsu and "Uchiha Kaguya," who had been resurrected by the Yellow Springs Life. During this time, Uchiha Kaguya used his newly acquired power to absorb the grievances of the deceased on the battlefield, thereby enhancing his own strength.
Although Uchiha Kaguya could no longer do this due to the cessation of the war, as he said, he had already gained enough power, and there was an unexpected bonus: he had actually reached the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan!
This even surprised Black Zetsu. It was known that the Mangekyo Sharingan could not evolve without great sorrow; this was not something that could be achieved by simply stimulating it with genjutsu.
Everyone has some resistance to genjutsu, more or less. Even if they are fooled on the surface, they will subconsciously know that it is genjutsu. Although it can cause mental damage, it cannot stimulate special chakra in the Uchiha clan's brain or evolve the Sharingan.
This is why, in the original timeline, Itachi Uchiha repeatedly used Tsukuyomi on Sasuke, making him relive the night of the clan's extermination. No matter how much he was tortured or how much Sasuke suffered, his Sharingan showed no signs of evolution. This was because Sasuke's subconscious understood that it was just genjutsu, and the torment brought by this genjutsu could not trigger certain special structures in the Uchiha clan's brain to produce the chakra that evolves the Sharingan.
Unless one could provide mental stimulation without the person's subconscious fully realizing it was genjutsu. However, even Uchiha clan members who haven't awakened their Sharingan have a keen sense for genjutsu. They might not be able to break it, but they wouldn't be fooled even in their subconscious.
Shisui Uchiha's Kotoamatsukami in later generations could indeed deceive the subconscious. The essence of Kotoamatsukami was to infinitely magnify a certain thought in a person's heart, even if as tiny as a speck of dust, subtly rewriting their thoughts. However, Kotoamatsukami also couldn't provide strong mental stimulation, and thus still couldn't evolve the Sharingan.
But Uchiha Kaguya managed to do it because the ability he brought from the Yellow Springs World allowed him to absorb others' grievances. While enhancing his power, it also drew others' emotions into his soul, allowing him to feel those emotions. The despair and pain among them were real and undeniable, thereby promoting the evolution of his Sharingan.
Although Black Zetsu felt that if this continued, Uchiha Kaguya would definitely go insane due to too many soul impurities, what did that have to do with him?
Uchiha Kaguya just needed to be a good tool.