Yoshimura laid out the situation as it was.
The immortals would never give up this chance. Even if it cost their lives, they would still fight for it.
The immortals of this era never saw normal people as humans, nor did they care about shinobi.
But their own pursuit of power was absolute. For certain things, they could hold on for hundreds of years. For certain things, they could ignore their own life or death completely.
That's what the immortals of this era are like.
Some people might find it hard to understand, but logically, it makes sense why they became this way.
Their extremely high status put their goals on a completely different level than ordinary people.
Fame, power, money, women…
They were born with these things within easy reach. When someone becomes this strong and this noble, still chasing those things would only seem cheap and low.
As immortals, their pride means they won't go after what mortals desire.
Compared to the "immortals" in some second-rate cultivation novels, the immortals of the shinobi world are weak like ants, not even worthy of the title.
But if they ever learned that those so-called immortals fought over women or battled for fame and power…
They would look down on them.
Because the immortals of the shinobi world have the true spirit of seeking immortality.
Yes, they look down on ordinary people, and yes, they will sacrifice them to pave their own path. But when needed… they will sacrifice themselves too.
The only problem is that if this succeeds, the immortals will gain huge benefits. To make the cake bigger, they'll have to share more slices.
"What benefits do we get?"
This time, it was Oonoki who spoke. The younger Oonoki radiated a sharp, aggressive aura now, completely different from before.
He was like a whole new person.
But Oonoki had no choice. Iwagakure still had strong fighters, but too few geniuses.
So he had to hold things up. In these chaotic times, someone needed to charge forward with unstoppable momentum.
"Everything!"
Yoshimura gritted his teeth.
"If all the great villages go all out, if the Five Nations gather their full strength, you'll get everything you want.
Titles, status, our secret immortal techniques…"
That was the deal offered by Master Genichi. Once they made their decision, they would fight to the death without hesitation.
Titles, rank, secret techniques… these things didn't really matter.
In the end, what truly mattered was talent and strength.
To ordinary people, this might sound crazy.
But for immortals, these things weren't important anymore. They only mattered before because they marked their identity as immortals.
Like how certain people aren't allowed in rich neighborhoods. But now it's different, because the immortals saw real benefits ahead.
The so-called status issue? Throw it aside.
Of course, some immortals opposed it, but don't forget—who really makes the decisions for the earthly Immortal Nation?
This wasn't just Master Genichi's call. Even that guy Fukuda Kiyomu joined in.
Even among the sages, there were internal problems, like different factions and so on.
But overall, in terms of status, Master Genichi was without question the leader, and in terms of strength, Fukuda Kiyomu was clearly number one.
Since these two were standing together, it meant this was the decision of all the sages.
However, after hearing Yoshimura's words, everyone present froze. Even Oonoki, who had spoken earlier, couldn't help but start breathing heavily.
And Tsunade, who had been sleeping, woke up instantly. Just because she didn't care about politics didn't mean she was stupid.
The sages had their own issues, but for the ninja villages, the same kind of problems existed too.
And that was the ninja clans…
What the sages didn't care about didn't mean the clans didn't care either.
"Power, honor, status, authority… all of these things…"
"The secret techniques the sages have studied for thousands of years, all kinds of sage arts…"
"Becoming world nobles—does that mean our clan would have the right to create a nation?"
"..."
At that moment, everyone's hearts began to burn with excitement.
Everything would change. Once that door was opened, everything would be different.
Before this era, the ninja clans didn't know much, and it wasn't until the sages appeared that they understood why ninjas were ninjas, and why world nobles were world nobles.
Even though they had united for now, in terms of power, world nobles and ninjas were still on completely different levels.
But now that the sages were opening things up, it gave some clans an opportunity.
An opportunity to completely break free from the current situation, maybe even build their own country.
And what does building a country mean? Before, they didn't know.
But now things were different. With the arrival of a new era, the Uzumaki clan's value kept rising.
Just look at the current world situation. The Uzumaki clan actually shares the same origin as the Senju clan—they're both descendants of Ashura.
The Uchiha clan is similar.
On the surface, these three clans seem the same, but in today's world, the Uzumaki clan's position is far above the other two.
You could even say it's above any noble clan.
And the Uzumaki clan is special because they once built their own country.
As for other ninja clans, they don't have that qualification or foundation, but in truth, if you trace them far enough back, they all come from important lineages.
In that case, which clan wouldn't want to become a noble family like the Uzumaki?
Just look at Naruto. In another clan, he'd just be part of a branch family, but even so, he still qualifies to attend world government meetings.
And Sasuke? His status barely makes the cut. The only reason he can be in these places is as an add-on.
As for Sakura—if she came, she'd have to wait outside the door.
At this moment, when everyone heard that the sages were willing to give up such huge benefits, no one could stay calm.
Even if they wanted to, they all knew they couldn't stop it.
The sages might not care about these things, but the ninjas and their clans did—status, sage techniques, secret arts… these were real power boosts.
However, under such overwhelming temptation, no one dared to speak.
Shanks alone had been able to force the sages into this position. If they got involved, they'd be facing an even scarier power.
Even the greediest ninja there stayed quiet, because they were afraid…
Shanks wasn't even here, but the pressure they felt now was heavier than the intimidation of his Conqueror's Haki.
Yoshimura and Elder Murakami were waiting too.
After the first defeat in the New World, they had no choice but to bow their heads. They were forced into this.
Time went back to the moment when the sages' first organized attack failed.
Genichi wasn't surprised by this failure. What surprised him was that the opponent managed to stop them all by himself.
In Genichi's view, Shanks definitely had a backup plan, yet they sent so many people and still didn't even see it.
"What are you planning to do next?"
Fukuda Kiyomu casually found a spot and sat down, looking nothing like a noble. But the old guys didn't care much about so-called manners anymore.
They were all too old for that.
Hearing Fukuda Kiyomu's words, Genichi first took a bite of ramen. The hot steam from the noodles covered his face.
But the way his chopsticks kept trembling showed just how restless his thoughts were at that moment.
After a long while…
"I don't know. I'll watch it again tonight."
Genichi spoke. He had to be careful. Shanks's strength had gone beyond everyone's imagination. At that level, sheer numbers might not be enough to win anymore.
"The red will of the New World is a big problem.
Like you said before, just the appearance of Shanks's ship was enough to weaken the will of the immortal nations gathered here.
If we want to go deeper, we'll have to wait until the will of the entire New World stabilizes. But that's different from what we planned at the start."
"If we just let Shanks keep doing this, we have no idea what we'll be facing later."
Genichi's words left Fukuda Kiyomu speechless. As expected, the two of them could never really get along.
"At least the three great Holy Land won't get involved. In this case, you can go all out. Why worry so much?"
Fukuda Kiyomu said impatiently. The biggest difference between him and Genichi wasn't strength—it was personality.
Genichi carried the weight of responsibility, while Fukuda Kiyomu was a complete madman.
"Going all out like that will only lead to bigger sacrifices. We're not lunatics like you."
One of the immortals spoke. They wanted as many benefits as possible, but they also had to consider the cost.
"That's true, but no matter how crazy I am, I won't sacrifice ordinary people.
Calling yourselves immortals, yet in the end, you still need the lives of common people to gain power for yourselves. It's laughable."
Fukuda Kiyomu sneered, his eyes full of disdain for the immortals.
"Enough talk. Finish eating and go stabilize the will here."
Genichi was also a little irritated. He waved his hand and sent everyone away.
But Fukuda Kiyomu stayed behind.
"Tell me. What did you see?"
"I haven't looked yet."
Genichi took a sip of soup, wiped his mouth, and spoke.
"You're not the type to say something you haven't done. If you mentioned it, it means you already saw it. It's just… it doesn't look good, does it?"
Fukuda Kiyomu dropped his usual carefree attitude and stared at his old friend in the distance.
The next moment, all the lights in the wooden house went out. A beam of gecko-like light pierced through the house and shone on Genichi, covering him in layers of silver glow.
Genichi put his hands on his chest and formed a seal—a ninja hand sign.
In an instant.
The gecko light quickly gathered back. At the same time, a vertical mark opened on Genichi's forehead, and a crimson glow appeared.
As Gecko slowly shrank, the vertical mark on Master Genichi's forehead gradually unfolded, turning into an eye.
When Gecko shone on Genichi's forehead, the moon in the sky became unusually bright.
"You actually stole Kaguya's power?"
Fukuda Kiyomu frowned, unable to believe that Genichi had been hiding such a move.
"I had no choice. After all, Kaguya ate the Chakra Fruit—someone has to sacrifice themselves for this new era.
The new era Shanks has opened is built on the God Tree. Since I'm paving the way for everyone, I have to do this," Genichi said calmly.
He hadn't stolen Kaguya's power, but rather borrowed it to analyze this era and observe where this 'Devil Fruit' era was headed.
Of course, doing this came at a price—an extremely dangerous one.
But as I said from the start, someone has to make the sacrifice.
"Tell me, what did you see?"
Now that things had come this far, Fukuda Kiyomu couldn't argue anymore.
"I saw the problems within the Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom. The shackles of the Sage of Six Paths still exist, and they're inside the Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom itself.
The ninja have allied with us, but they haven't broken their contract yet. That's the biggest source of instability.
So the Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom can't truly unite. Next, we need to use the ninja's power to make the will of the Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom a true whole."
"The red will of the New World is different from that of the Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom. The red will of the New World is complete.
If the Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom can't fully unite, there's no way to fight against the red will of the New World. And if we can't do that, there's no way to make the entire Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom ascend."
Hearing Genichi's words, Fukuda Kiyomu looked puzzled.
"Right now, the Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom already meets the conditions for ascension. I'm not that involved, but the strongest among the immortals can use the land's power to reach a level equal to the heavens. It shouldn't be that hard.
In other words… in our current state, we already have what it takes to challenge the Sage of Six Paths."
Fukuda Kiyomu's tone was full of doubt.
Hearing this, Master Genichi let out a long sigh. His finger twitched slightly, and Gecko twisted instantly, turning into a stream of light drifting toward Fukuda Kiyomu.
"Do you know why I borrowed Kaguya's power?"
"To be equal to the heavens… that was only what we once imagined. That guy… is far more terrifying than we thought.
Look for yourself!!"
Hearing this, Fukuda Kiyomu curiously reached out and grabbed Gecko.
In the next instant, his perspective appeared on the moon, overlooking the entire ninja world. The whole world was covered by an immense membrane of will.
And from the direction of the New World, a terrifying red will tore straight through the ninja world's will and shot into the void…
Fukuda Kiyomu's very soul trembled. A deafening roar exploded in his ears, and that red will felt as if it was going to crush him completely.
In the next moment… he pulled back, opened his eyes again, and saw a thin layer of cold sweat on his hand.
Only now did Fukuda Kiyomu realize why Genichi's hand trembled when holding chopsticks—Genichi had never had this habit before.
It was a habit that only appeared after Genichi laid the foundation for the Land of Earthly Sage Kingdom.
"You…"
Fukuda Kiyomu's voice was hoarse, and his tone carried more accusation than doubt.
"You knew all along?"
"Yes!"
Master Genichi replied.
The next moment, Fukuda Kiyomu's fist slammed hard into Genichi's face. Genichi didn't dodge at all, letting blood drip from the corner of his mouth.
He looked at the furious Fukuda Kiyomu standing in front of him, slowly pushed the table aside, knelt before him, and lowered his head.
"Help me. Just this once!"
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