join patreon.com/worldoffanfiction for advanced chapters and to support the daily update
Half a month later, Konoha Village, Land of Fire.
After half a month, Wuchen had returned to Konoha. The war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind had completely ended. Just yesterday, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind had signed a treaty of surrender. Wuchen didn't inquire about the specifics; anyway, none of it concerned him.
To say the war was over was correct, and to say it was not yet over was also correct, because three other countries were simultaneously eyeing Konoha. The Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Onoki, was the most notable; it was said that this old man had been very restless lately, secretly mobilizing a large number of troops.
Iwagakure's strength surpassed Sand Village's. In all aspects—geography, economy, military—Sand Village couldn't compare. Especially Onoki, this old man, was inherently someone who couldn't stand idleness.
In terms of seniority alone, the only one in the ninja world who could rival Onoki was the current Third Hokage. They were barely the last surviving products of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha's era.
However, if one were to say who was more adept at scheming, Onoki definitely understood and was more immersed in this path than the Third Hokage.
Wuchen still remembered that during the Third Great Ninja War, this old man was extremely cunning. To reduce his own village's losses, he hired the Akatsuki, an organization composed entirely of S-rank rogue ninja. And that old man even schemed to kill the Third Raikage…
From this, it was clear that Onoki was exceptional in both intelligence and strength.
"It seems an era of chaos is about to begin…"
Wuchen's heart couldn't help but feel heavy. In the "Kannabi Bridge" battle between Konoha and Iwagakure, Uchiha Obito, that tragic villain, was supposedly crushed by the gears of fate…
But in reality, he defected to Uchiha Madara.
"Should I go and eliminate Uchiha Madara, Uzumaki Nagato, and Black Zetsu now?"
Wuchen's eyes suddenly lit up, his gaze constantly shifting. Clearly, he was genuinely tempted. After all, both Uchiha Madara and Uzumaki Nagato were currently born at an inopportune time.
Uchiha Madara had completely died of old age and could only barely cling to life with the help of the Gedo Statue. Although Uzumaki Nagato, who had transplanted his Rinnegan, was troublesome, Wuchen was confident he could deal with Nagato and snatch the Rinnegan in the process!
The only key point was Black Zetsu!
"Black Zetsu, oh Black Zetsu…"
Wuchen murmured, slowly swaying in his reclining chair. Closing his eyes, he began to scour his mind for information on Black Zetsu. If Uchiha Madara was a villain of unparalleled skill throughout history, Black Zetsu was the god of villains, with a qualitative difference…
Both Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju were merely toys in his hands.
The Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju, deified by the world, were actually puppets in someone else's hands. Or rather, all shinobi were his pawns and playthings. His meticulous mind and depth of scheming were unheard of.
The most important thing was that Wuchen himself had no confidence. This Black Zetsu fellow was truly eerie. Only a ghost knew his true strength. Although he merely stayed behind the scenes, manipulating everything, until the very end when Kaguya Otsutsuki was revived, he never displayed any power. However, it was impossible for such a cautious individual, who factored everything into his calculations, not to have some life-saving means.
What puzzled Wuchen the most was that Kaguya Otsutsuki had been sealed for at least a thousand years. Even the Sage of Six Paths, as the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, could only slowly decay before the ravages of time. Yet, Black Zetsu, a product of the same era as Kaguya, was still alive. Wuchen would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised.
It was true that Kaguya Otsutsuki, as the origin of chakra, was immortal and could exist forever. But what right and what means did this little wretch, Black Zetsu, possess? Wuchen truly wanted to know.
"This is clearly an Otsutsuki family matter, yet it implicates the entire world, which is truly annoying. Don't you agree, Ling'er?" Wuchen couldn't help but sigh with emotion, silently cursing Kaguya Otsutsuki, and at the same time, offering his condolences to the mother of her two sons.
"Why do I have this feeling, Wuchen?" In his mind, Ling'er's ethereal voice spread out, her tone full of doubt.
"Why shouldn't I have this feeling?"
Hearing this, Wuchen rolled his eyes. Of course, it was because he was worried about his own damn life! Uchiha Madara, that old geezer, intended to use the genjutsu "Infinite Tsukuyomi" to control the entire world, and Wuchen naturally couldn't stand idly by.
Wuchen was not so foolish as to entrust his life to that pair of "good friends" who loved to engage in "bromance." Entrusting one's life to Young Master Sasuke and the Talk-no-Jutsu fanatic was clearly something only an idiot would do.
"Not resisting fate only leads to slowly being crushed by the advancing gears of history. The fact that you have this unpleasant feeling shows you've grown up, Wuchen."
"Pfft!"
Wuchen, sleeping on the rocking chair, lost his balance and directly fell to the ground, his mouth twitching. He had lived two lives, adding up to someone in his late twenties, even nearing his late thirties, yet you're telling me I've finally grown up?! Should I be thrilled about this?!!
"Damn it, how unlucky!"
Wiping the dust off his body, Wuchen said, feeling extremely frustrated. He didn't know why, but whenever he was in front of Ling'er, he couldn't find any sense of superiority.
"I'm going to push you down, sooner or later!"
Shifting all the blame onto Ling'er, Wuchen's mind suddenly drifted to Ling'er's usual aloof and elegant demeanor, and the human desires that had long since died within him began to burn once more…
"This feeling…"
Wuchen's face was full of misery. That loser mentality, which he had long discarded, was inexplicably slowly rising again in front of Ling'er…