Thanks to Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique, Uchiha Madara and his brother quickly returned to the Hidden Leaf Village's office building, bringing along the battered Fourth Raikage.
As they entered the meeting room, Madara and Izuna Uchiha stood out due to their attire—both were dressed in samurai armor reminiscent of the Warring States era.
Ye Wen found it odd that ninjas would use samurai armor, considering how heavy it must be.
But as the saying goes, might makes right, and no one dared to criticize the Uchiha brothers for their choice of clothing.
Aside from Madara's group, the office was already packed with people. In addition to Konoha's upper echelons, the other three former Kage of the major hidden villages were also present:
- Kazekage Rasa
- Mizukage Yagura
- Tsuchikage Ōnoki
Upon seeing Madara return, Kakashi nodded respectfully but without humility—he was, after all, the openly acknowledged First Apostle.
Looking around the room, Kakashi felt a deep sense of nostalgia. Aside from the Five Kage Summits, such gatherings were rare. The old era was coming to an end here and now.
"The era of the shinobi has ended," Kakashi said with a sigh of relief.
After a millennium of war, the ninja world had finally achieved true and lasting peace.
However, to completely sever ties with the past, Kakashi—after unifying the land—consulted Ye Wen about renaming the "Ninja World." It was changed to the "Vast Ocean Realm", while the nation retained its name, the Holy Nation.
Together, these names represented a world dedicated to worshipping the sacred Vast Ocean God.
Ye Wen had no objections. Even at his level, faith power was always welcome, and since he had personally orchestrated the unification and peace of the ninja world, he accepted this worship with a clear conscience.
Since the Vast Ocean Realm was now exclusively his domain, Ye Wen naturally ensured there would be no lingering threats. Though the age of the shinobi had ended, this remained a world of extraordinary abilities.
Each planet in this universe nurtured unique cultivation systems, but they all shared common principles. The chakra of the Vast Ocean Realm was essentially spirit energy, ki, or qi—just condensed through Ōtsutsuki technology, which imposed an upper limit. For centuries, no true god from this realm had emerged.
But in Ye Wen's eyes, this deliberate limitation on the realm's potential was meaningless. With just a slight effort, he could bring an end to the age of chakra.
With Ye Wen's blessing, he distributed holy water infused with his divine power. Without exception, all shinobi lost their chakra.
However, those who underwent this divine baptism gained new extraordinary powers. Since they had already refined chakra in the past, retraining was relatively easy. Ye Wen then established a new cultivation system in the Vast Ocean Realm—one that not only enhanced combat strength but also extended lifespans.
The old ninja world had placed too much emphasis on bloodlines, capping the potential of ordinary civilian shinobi. Those with superior ninja lineage easily reached chūnin or even jōnin levels, while civilian shinobi relied solely on combat techniques to improve their ranks.
But that era was gone forever. Ye Wen bestowed upon the Vast Ocean Realm the legacy of qi cultivation.
Though talent still mattered, the ceiling was far higher than with chakra, and individuals could optimize themselves through various means.
After all, the Vast Ocean Realm was merely a world under Ye Wen's dominion, providing him with faith power. He had no intention of nurturing god-tier forces from its inhabitants—after all, in a thousand years, the realm had produced only a handful of top talents, and their achievements were hardly worth mentioning.
Soon, however, Ye Wen discovered something amusing.
Jiraiya was trying to incite Kakashi to betray him.
This plot seemed eerily familiar…
Ah yes, the Sage of Six Paths had been similarly manipulated into fighting his own mother.
But Ye Wen couldn't understand why the millennial-old toad sage, who supposedly possessed foresight, would fail to grasp Kaguya's strength and the power of her clan.
Even if they defeated Kaguya, what then? When the Ōtsutsuki arrived, wouldn't the ninja world still face annihilation?
Instead of wasting time, wouldn't it be better to flee while they still could?
Was the toad sage's shortsightedness—a failure to comprehend the true meaning of divinity—what led him to make such a foolish move?
But Ye Wen was no pushover like Kaguya, that timid woman.
The so-called sages of the ninja world were nothing more than overhyped frogs.
Ye Wen had long been irritated by them. Previously, he hadn't bothered because he didn't discriminate based on species, but now that they had dared to provoke him, they had brought this upon themselves.
"Kakashi, the god you worship is an evil deity. He will surely bring unprecedented calamity to the ninja world. You must shoulder the mission of saving it!"
Though peace had long been established, Jiraiya still wore his ridiculous ninja attire and spoke to Kakashi with utmost seriousness.
At this point, Kakashi, as the leader of the Vast Ocean Realm, bore a striking resemblance to Naruto in his later, worn-out state.
Kakashi had married Rin Nohara, who had recently become pregnant, and they were soon to form a happy family of three.
Kakashi mechanically reviewed documents and stamped approvals, his eyes lifeless, resembling a literal salted fish.
Still, Jiraiya's words stirred something within Kakashi. He looked up, displeased, and shot Jiraiya a cold glare.
Seeing Jiraiya's ninja outfit, Kakashi frowned.
"Jiraiya, the era of the shinobi is over. Go change out of that ridiculous getup."
Kakashi was no longer the lowly ninja who once addressed Jiraiya as "Lord Jiraiya." Now, he stood just below the god himself, wielding absolute authority over millions.
Though Jiraiya understood how times had changed, he was deeply troubled by the altered prophecy given by the Toad Sage.
Having spent his entire life pursuing the "Child of Destiny," Jiraiya now found himself living a joke. Frustrated, he slammed the table and declared earnestly:
"Kakashi, you must believe me! That so-called Vast Ocean God is truly an evil deity who will bring calamity!
The Great Toad Sage once fought alongside the Sage of Six Paths to prevent the destruction of the ninja world. His words cannot be wrong!"
What Jiraiya didn't expect was for Kakashi—who had appeared half-dead moments ago—to suddenly unleash a terrifying aura, sending Jiraiya flying across the room.
Kakashi's desk remained perfectly intact, untouched and unmoved, while Jiraiya was the only one sent flying. This demonstrated just how masterfully Kakashi controlled his newfound ki.
Kakashi slowly approached Jiraiya and looked down at him condescendingly.
"Out of respect for your role as my teacher's mentor, I have tolerated your antics for far too long. Even when you refused to partake in the holy water ritual, I said nothing.
But you've crossed a line by repeatedly slandering the great Vast Ocean God. This is an unforgivable act, heretic!
You will go to prison to reflect on your sins!"
With that, Kakashi activated his qi, preparing to subdue Jiraiya.
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