Especially after Kagami Uchiha lost his sight, the other ninja villages paid much less attention to him.
Of course, "less" was relative; they still had to keep an eye on him.
The powerhouses of the great ninja villages all knew that before Madara Uchiha became even stronger, he had also been blind for a time.
And after he regained his sight, his strength was several times greater than before.
No one knew if Kagami Uchiha, after losing his sight, would also regain it like Madara and have his strength greatly increase.
Of course, based on Kagami's previous performance, even if he regained his sight, he couldn't possibly reach Madara's level.
After all, before Madara lost his sight, he could contend with the First Hokage's Wood Release.
After obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, the First Hokage had to use "Sage Art" to defeat him.
The strength of Sasuke Sarutobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Kagami Uchiha was understandable to everyone.
After all, during the Warring States period, although the Sarutobi clan was not as powerful as the super-clans like the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki, it was still much stronger than the average small ninja clan.
But the rise of Sakumo Hatake and Li Anshi was puzzling.
The Land of Iron was a country formed by samurai who had abandoned their code and learned to cultivate chakra.
Because most of the samurai possessed impressive swordsmanship, their strength had greatly increased after learning chakra and becoming ninjas.
Although they couldn't compare to the ninjas of the five great nations, they were among the best of the smaller countries.
And yet, none of the samurai of the Land of Iron possessed swordsmanship as powerful as Sakumo Hatake's.
The strongest samurai in the Land of Iron was only comparable to an Elite Jonin from one of the five great ninja villages.
To wound a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki like Sakumo Hatake was simply impossible for them.
As for Li Anshi, he was even more terrifying.
No one could have imagined that the simple skill of throwing kunai could be cultivated by him to such a frightening level.
To the villagers of the other four ninja villages, if Li Anshi was the great demon king, then Sakumo Hatake could at least be considered a lesser demon lord.
For children, they were equally terrifying.
Hearing Li Anshi's words, Sakumo Hatake waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, no, compared to you, Anshi, I am still too inexperienced."
"Oh, not bad, Sakumo."
"I thought that after seeing my true strength, you would have lost the will to chase after me."
"It seems you're still in good shape."
Seeing Sakumo still bantering with him, Li Anshi was also very happy.
When he was conscripted last year, Sakumo Hatake was already a Chunin with the strength of a Jonin.
A year later, Li Anshi had become a taboo subject in the other ninja villages. He had been worried that Sakumo would feel uncomfortable around him.
But now, Li Anshi didn't hear any ill will in Sakumo's words.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Sakumo Hatake's character was top-tier even in the world of Naruto.
The firmness of his beliefs was no less than that of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha.
And it was precisely because of this pure belief that it could not tolerate the slightest stain.
With such a mindset, how could Sakumo Hatake be dissatisfied with Li Anshi because of his great strength?
In fact, because of Li Anshi's power, Konoha had ended the war early and restored peace. Sakumo would only be happy for his strength.
"Anshi, why are you here?"
"Could it be that Lord Third invited you to join the Anbu?"
Seeing Li Anshi emerge from the Hokage's building, and combining it with the information he had received, Sakumo guessed that he, like himself, had received an invitation from the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Yes, the Third asked me to be the Commander of the Anbu, but I refused."
"Oh? Why?"
Sakumo Hatake was puzzled.
Whether in the Ninja Academy or in their later reunion, from their conversations, Sakumo could feel the "Will of Fire" in Li Anshi.
In Sakumo's view, becoming a high-ranking official in Konoha and contributing one's strength to the village was the best way to practice one's "Will of Fire."
Why would Anshi refuse?
"Haha, Sakumo, you seem to have forgotten that before I became a ninja, I was the owner of a carving shop."
Li Anshi shook his head. "This year of war has made me realize that compared to being a ninja, I still prefer being the owner of a carving shop."
"To protect my family with a blade in times of war, and to seal the sword and disappear into the dust in times of peace."
"Isn't that a great joy?"
"Sakumo, my era is over. Next, it's your time to shine."
"I hope that one day in the future, you too can become a taboo among the ninjas of other villages, so that when they encounter you, they can abandon their mission without it being considered a failure."
After patting Sakumo's shoulder, Li Anshi walked away, leaving a bewildered Sakumo behind.
For some reason, watching Li Anshi's carefree departing figure, a hint of envy rose in Sakumo's heart.
But he quickly suppressed it.
To contribute his strength to Konoha, to practice his "Will of Fire," was Sakumo's pursuit and dream.
Strengthening his conviction, Sakumo Hatake stepped into the Hokage's building and walked towards the office on the second floor.
…
"This is truly an unexpected delight!"
In the secret room of the Shimura clan, Danzo's cold eyes stared at the three eight or nine-year-old children before him.
He never would have imagined that simply by having his clansmen gather information on Sakumo Hatake and Li Anshi, he would obtain a piece of news that was extremely important to him.
"Little Li Flying Dagger," Li Anshi, had actually passed on his secret flying dagger art to the three Genin he had taken under his wing on the battlefield.
This made Danzo's heart leap with joy.
He had previously coveted Sakumo Hatake's sword technique and Li Anshi's secret flying dagger art.
However, both Sakumo and Li Anshi were currently stronger than him.
If he wanted to seize their secret techniques, he couldn't use force.
And he didn't dare to use force against them.
Sakumo Hatake was one thing; even if he refused, he wouldn't attack him.
But Li Anshi…
Danzo only dared to use a shadow clone to go near Li Anshi's carving shop, not his real body.
In fact, after the information about Li Anshi's battle with the Cloud was made public, there were very few in the entire ninja world who dared to use their real bodies within a hundred meters of him.
Well, of course, this was limited to those who held hostility towards Li Anshi.
Those who were on good terms with him, like the Third Hokage, Tsunade, and Sakumo Hatake, had no concept of Li Anshi attacking them, so they naturally weren't as apprehensive as Danzo.