Qingshui, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind at all.
Though the Rain Village was currently making impressive strides, having unified several smaller nations and holding its own against the Cloud Hidden Village, seemingly poised to become the sixth Great Ninja Village, it was actually poorer than the Sand Village ever was.
How much did the Rain Village really have in reserve?
If not for the Sand Village's financial support, Hanzo wouldn't have been able to launch a war like this.
Hanzo had only just seized the territory between the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfalls. Even with some resources and manpower integrated, it was barely enough to get by.
If the Sand Village cut off its aid, the Rain Village would be the first to crumble.
The Cloud Hidden Village had a much richer reserve, and those brutes were definitely the ones who suffered the least losses in this Third Great Ninja War.
The Rain Village couldn't achieve a quick victory against the Cloud Hidden Village's forces, led by Fourth Raikage A. In such a situation, once they lost the Sand Village's support, it would be difficult for them to get what they wanted, and they might not even be able to maintain the current situation.
The Sand Village was willing to support the Rain Village because they needed an ally to help tie down some of Konoha's forces. Plus, they were uneasy about the Cloud Hidden Village's previous inactivity and failure to participate in the war, which is why they allowed the Rain Village to clash with the Cloud Hidden Village.
With four of the Five Great Ninja Villages embroiled in the Great Ninja War, the Cloud Hidden Village couldn't be the only one holding back its strength.
This was not only the Sand Village's wish but also the consensus of the other Great Ninja Villages.
Now that the Sand Village had temporarily ended its war with Konoha, it wasn't absolutely necessary for the Rain Village to tie down the Cloud Hidden Village anymore.
The Rain Village still needed the Sand Village, a dominant power, to support its bid to become the sixth Great Ninja Village and establish a major nation.
Of course, both sides were still allies, and the Sand Village wouldn't intentionally antagonize the Rain Village. With strained relations with Stone Hidden to the north and Konoha to the east, the Sand Village also needed a substantial neighbor as an ally.
But that required the Rain Village's demands to be reasonable, and Hanzo's previous asking price was clearly too high.
"Our dispute with Konoha has ended. This Great Ninja War will likely conclude this year. It's a pity. I didn't expect Konoha's trump cards to be so formidable, nor did I expect the Hidden Mist Village to be so useless. How could Yagura, leading all the village's elites, be so thoroughly defeated by Uchiha Fugaku?
Otherwise, we could have carved out a few more pieces of meat from Konoha this time.
Could it be that his strength, after awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, is also approaching Uchiha Madara's level?"
The Third Kazekage spoke with a mix of regret and exclamation.
Qingshui, however, shook his head and said, "Uchiha Fugaku shouldn't be that exaggerated yet. From the intelligence sent by the Anbu stationed there, although he defeated Yagura, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, several times, the battles were quite difficult and long. Their strengths should be on the same level.
The Hidden Mist Village's devastating defeat was probably due to spies or internal betrayal. Uchiha Fugaku appeared at the most critical moments to save the day and turn the tide several times. I suspect he definitely has a crucial intelligence network."
Qingshui recalled the intelligence reports from his covert contacts and made his judgment.
What supported his judgment wasn't just Uchiha Fugaku's consistently timely interventions, but also his observation that Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan was incredibly resilient.
Over the course of a year, he activated Susanoo multiple times. Each time he fought the Fourth Mizukage, he activated the fully armored, complete Susanoo and clashed head-on with the Fourth Mizukage in his full Tailed Beast form.
How long did it take Uchiha Sasuke from activating his Mangekyo Sharingan to exhausting his eye power and becoming blind?
Uchiha Fugaku was using his eye power so lavishly, without any restraint, yet he hadn't experienced a single problem. Qingshui found it impossible to believe.
Considering the unique nature of the Hidden Mist Village, Qingshui had no reason not to suspect that, before Uchiha Obito came of age, Uchiha Madara chose Fugaku as his successor and provided him with White Zetsu to replenish his eye power.
While a definitive conclusion couldn't be made yet, Uchiha Fugaku was undoubtedly a suspicious target.
The Third Kazekage nodded slightly, then said, "There is that possibility. But ultimately, that's a matter for the Hidden Mist, and it doesn't concern us. Our next strategic focus should also shift. We cannot cut off support for Hanzo for now. If war breaks out again, we need Hanzo to bear some of the pressure for us. Only when the village's strength has developed to truly overwhelm our enemies will it be time for our next move, to truly dominate the Ninja World."
"Then that leaves only Stone Hidden. Onoki wants to negotiate now, but he won't have a choice. After retreating, I'll entrust the village matters to you, Third Kazekage. I've already planned out the development of various specialized fields. Have Sasori prepare everything in advance. When I return, it'll be time to elevate the village's development speed to another level."
After placing all the documents on the table into a Sealing Scroll, Qingshui stood up and said to the Third Kazekage.
"It can be improved further? Have you researched something new again?"
The Third Kazekage put down his teacup, surprised.
"Yes, next time, we can bring an even greater shock to Konoha, and to the Ninja World."
Qingshui nodded slightly.
The Sand Village's foundation was already solid enough, so there was no need to worry excessively about pushing things too fast. It could also provide the basic requirements for the technologies he needed; it would just take a little more time.
As long as he created a few more Shadow Clones, things could always be sped up significantly.
"Is that so..."
The Third Kazekage rubbed the teacup in his hand, thought for a few seconds, made a decision, and said, "Then, when you return from Stone Hidden, prepare to take over as the Fourth Kazekage."
Qingshui raised an eyebrow, quite surprised.
This old man is acting a bit unusual today.
"Why so sudden? Aren't you in good health now? Why are you thinking of—"
The Third Kazekage was a few years older than Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the same age as the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, fifty-seven this year. He had maintained his health well, still at the tail end of his peak. As a Ninjutsu-type ninja, no matter how much their physical condition declined, as long as they could still serve as Ninjutsu powerhouses, their strength, no matter how much it dropped, would still have a baseline. The overall decline in strength would be much slower.
At the very least, if the Third Kazekage wanted to remain Kazekage for another two or three years, no one would complain.
"If my peak could last until I was eighty, would I be able to stay in this Kazekage position until I'm eighty?"
The Third Kazekage chuckled, then solemnly said, "I know my own physical condition. Whether it's my physical fitness, Chakra levels, or energy, compared to last year, they've started to decline. Some are obvious, some are not. Although there doesn't seem to be much change, I can feel that I'm getting old."
"My body is aging, and so is my mind.
The Ninja World is changing too rapidly now, and I'm not sure if I can still adapt. The village itself is in a vibrant period of rapid development, and it needs a leader who is energetic, courageous, and capable.
Now is the most opportune time. I cannot be the one to slow down the village's progress.
The village's interests are paramount. When you, as Kazekage, can bring greater benefit to the village, that's when it's time for me to step down."
The Third Kazekage brewed another pot of tea, his expression calm and his gaze earnest.
"So, you're planning to retire now?"
"It's up to you. You'll be the Kazekage then."
"In that case, I certainly won't let you idle."
Qingshui said with a smile.
Both were voluntary abdications, so the Third Kazekage certainly wouldn't cling to power like Hiruzen Sarutobi did in the original timeline after stepping down.
As a ninja of the younger generation, Qingshui wasn't without a foundation like Minato Namikaze.
Because many had long believed he would likely become the next Kazekage, many had placed their bets early. After becoming a Kazekage candidate, this early established base grew even larger and more stable.
And as Qingshui's teachers, Chiyo and Ebizo, one was the head of the Puppet Division and Medical Division, also holding the title of Sealing Squad leader, while the other was the head of the Anbu and Intelligence Division. Both were influential elders in Sand Village.
Especially the Puppet Force—that was already the core of Qingshui's direct lineage.
Among the top experts of the younger generation, Pakura had a deep connection with Qingshui, and Sasori was also a close friend and old teammate he'd known since childhood. Not to mention Qingshui's current strength allowed him to contend with two or three Kage-level powerhouses alone.
To put it bluntly, if Qingshui and the Third Kazekage were to have a major disagreement now, leading Qingshui to revolt and remove the "candidate" from his title of Kazekage candidate, the Third Kazekage would be powerless.
Once Qingshui became the Fourth Kazekage, the transfer of power would be completed in an extremely short time, and it would be the kind that the Third Kazekage couldn't possibly reclaim.
At that point, if he wanted power, its source would only be the new Kazekage.
The Third Kazekage could certainly foresee these things, and so could everyone else.
Did he truly not want to continue in this position? Of course, he did, but the fact that the Third Kazekage was willing to propose this now showed that he was genuinely capable of letting go and clearly understood the situation.
Qingshui was growing stronger, his influence expanding, while the Third Kazekage was steadily aging. The Third Kazekage himself surely knew that as time passed, if he continued in his position, the likelihood of conflict between them would only increase.
Retiring now, while the Great Ninja War had just ended, his prestige was still high, and he was at the tail end of his prime, was actually the best choice.
Because the Third Kazekage also understood that if he didn't pose a threat to Qingshui's authority after stepping down, Qingshui would absolutely not let someone of his caliber—with his strength, prestige, and abundant administrative experience—remain idle. It was likely he would still be leading most of the village's administrative work, as Qingshui had more important things to do.
However, even with the Third Kazekage saying this now, Qingshui wouldn't immediately take over.
This Third Great Ninja War, which lasted just over a year, might have entered its final stages after the peace talks between Sand Village and Konoha, but it wasn't over yet.
At least for Sand Village, after having its fill in the Land of Fire, it still wanted a "dessert" from Stone Hidden.
You can't just send people to attack me, and now that you see Konoha is no longer a deterrent and you definitely can't win, you want peace talks just like that, can you?
Konoha can deploy so many experts and has so many trump cards, but what about you, Stone Hidden?
If Stone Hidden doesn't cough up something, Sand Village can truly devastate it.
Qingshui planned to depart again that night under the cover of darkness, heading to the northern border of the Land of Wind.
With the Blood Demon Art Flying Thunder God, he could reach his destination within an hour if he left now.
This matter wasn't urgent for the time being. Before departing, Qingshui had one more thing to do.
After parting ways with the Third Kazekage, Qingshui returned to his room.
Current Fortune Value: 12.53%
Worlds Unlocked: 6
The black vortex reappeared.
This time, Qingshui observed and sensed the black vortex, which could separate his consciousness and transport it to other worlds, more carefully than ever before.
He didn't understand the principle behind this black vortex. His previous observations hadn't revealed anything useful.
His Avatar in the Marvel Universe had brought him many insights into the spatial domain, allowing him to take a step on the path of preliminary space manipulation.
This black vortex must be related to space; otherwise, it couldn't transport his consciousness separate body to another world. But it was definitely more than just that.
A wisp of consciousness detached, probed into the black vortex, and was then drawn in.
Damn it, he still couldn't see a thing.
...
...
In an unknown modern city.
Inside a relatively clean, but not exactly tidy, apartment suite.
Qingshui's Avatar in this world rubbed his eyes, felt his kidneys, got up from bed, and habitually observed his surroundings.
On the cluttered floor beside the bed, several wads of waste paper had spilled from an overflowing trash can, and a cooled cup of instant noodles sat on the table.
The writing on it was Japanese, but not any brand Qingshui recognized.
Is this world set in modern Japan, or a similar background?
On the nightstand, a flip phone, still charging, lay beside two posters hanging on the opposite wall.
Both posters depicted beautiful young women.
The one on the left had a sweet smile, dressed in an elaborate outfit like a pop idol, though her chest was notably flat.
The one on the right was a mature beauty with short-to-medium green hair, a cool expression, and a magnificent bust. Despite being wrapped snugly in a black trench coat, it was evident that this lady had a profound Lightning Technique—her lightning was truly quite substantial.
Qingshui examined the text details on the posters as relevant information continuously surfaced in his mind.
The "Little Lightning Sister" was named Vibikaisha, a world-renowned idol and singer who had recently announced a temporary hiatus for six months of training. This poster was from her final farewell concert before that hiatus.
As for the "Big Lightning Sister" on the right...
"Hellish Blizzard, Hero Association B-Class Rank 1, Blizzard Group promotional poster... so this is that world..."
Qingshui's expression shifted to one of realization.
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