chapter 113 part 1
**Chapter 113: Konoha's New Super Genius, Early Graduation**
The guys from Hidden Sand Village were truly anxious, and they had every reason to be.
In terms of overall national power, the Land of Wind was already the weakest link among the Five Great Nations. Most of its territory consisted of barren deserts, with scarce output and immense economic pressure. This often led the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to seek opportunities to cut funding for Hidden Sand Village!
In the other four Great Nations, such an action would be inconceivable. With frequent wars, it was baffling how they cut military expenses instead of expanding them.
But the Land of Wind had no choice; it gave off a constant sense that the entire nation could go bankrupt at any moment if they didn't cut funding.
Just like now, the crucial news of losing a Tailed Beast caused such a huge uproar that everyone now knew Hidden Sand Village had lost its only remaining Tailed Beast.
"The news has spread far and wide. I actually doubt if Hidden Sand Village truly lost a Tailed Beast... Could it be intentional misinformation?"
"It's also possible they really lost it. Perhaps the envoys from Hidden Sand Village were waiting for this moment. Kaedence it's impossible to hide, they might as well blow the matter up."
"Hidden Sand Village... it's the village with the deepest animosity towards Konoha. If they truly lost a Tailed Beast, that would be wonderful. They deserve it!"
"Even if what the Hidden Sand Village people say is true, that Tsukasa Kaede attacked the One-Tails, it's truly gratifying!"
"According to the envoys from Hidden Sand Village, Tsukasa Kaede even used Wood Release when he attacked the One-Tails Jinchuriki... I suspect they were drunk and couldn't tell the difference between Corpse Release and Wood Release."
Wood Release? That thing disappeared decades ago, didn't it? How could it suddenly appear on Tsukasa Kaede? So, those who heard such claims instinctively treated them as amusing jokes and laughed loudly.
Although there were occasional dissenting opinions among those debating—for example, that attacking Hidden Sand Village's last remaining Tailed Beast was an undisputed act of war, and Hidden Leaf Village shouldn't do such a thing—overall, public opinion within Hidden Leaf Village did not significantly shift towards condemning Tsukasa Kaede.
Even those who did condemn Tsukasa Kaede only dared to mutter quietly, not daring to confront Tsukasa Kaede directly and curse him to his face.
Because Tsukasa Kaede was truly intimidating. Manipulating corpses, fighting with a large number of Zombies, especially freshly deceased ones forced to stand up again—who wouldn't be afraid? What if they themselves became part of the Corpse Horde and were consumed? The people of Hidden Sand Village were once again disappointed; they had hoped to see Tsukasa Kaede alienated from Hidden Leaf Village, but it had no real effect.
This was unavoidable. With their only Tailed Beast gone, Hidden Sand Village was in a frenzy, mobilizing forces everywhere, practically turning the Land of Wind upside down, and then extending their search towards the Land of Fire. In just a few days, countless Hidden Sand squads had infiltrated the Land of Fire, already clashing with Konoha's teams.
In the original Timeline, when the Third Kazekage mysteriously disappeared, Hidden Sand Village caused a massive commotion, sending people to other countries to fight, and finally, with gritted teeth and stomping feet, decided that everyone should suffer, directly initiating the Third Great Ninja War.
But now, losing a Tailed Beast was far more serious than losing a Third Kazekage. Too few search parties were ineffective, but too many couldn't maintain secrecy.
The new generation of Konoha also noticed the commotion within the Village, listening to the villagers' mocking remarks about Hidden Sand Village.
"It must be true that Hidden Sand Village lost a Tailed Beast. Tsukasa Kaede is, after all, the ninja in the Village with the most experience fighting Tailed Beasts."
"But, he went to the Land of Wind and eliminated a One-Tails Jinchuriki under the protection of many Hidden Sand Village Ninja? That's too brutal. How did he do it?"
"Obito, why aren't you speaking? You're the acknowledged super genius of the Village; everyone says even Kakashi can't compare to you. You must have your own thoughts, right?"
These new generation ninja, averaging five or six years old, all looked at a frowning individual.
Obito Uchiha, a rising super genius. In both theoretical and practical classes, he was the undisputed first, even surpassing Kakashi Hatake, who regarded him as his strongest opponent whom he absolutely had to defeat.
"The situation is clear. The Village didn't let public opinion develop freely; they've subtly intervened."
Obito mused that while the One-Tails was key to the whole matter, Tsukasa Kaede creating a forest in the Land of Wind should also be heavily emphasized. To uninformed outsiders, it implied that Hidden Leaf Village had mastered a mature technique for transplanting Hashirama's Cells.
Obito said, "Even if Tsukasa Kaede truly did it, what does it matter? With his current power, Hidden Sand Village can't stop him, and neither can Hidden Leaf Village."
"What?! You mean Tsukasa Kaede can fight Hidden Sand Village?"
"...No, that's not what I mean. I mean, no one can stop a Space-Time Ninja like Tsukasa Kaede."
Sometimes, Obito found talking to his peers truly boring. After personally witnessing beings like Madara and Tsukasa Kaede, he had lost all expectations for his contemporaries.
Especially since Madara had just found him and informed him that Tsukasa Kaede had successfully Resurrected and fused with a Hashirama Clone—this left Obito dumbfounded, completely unable to grasp what "devouring and fusing with a First Hokage" meant.
In any case, Tsukasa Kaede was immensely powerful, powerful enough to defeat a Tailed Beast. Obito further understood that even Madara had no way to deal with Tsukasa Kaede. Once Tsukasa Kaede fully intervened in the Eye of the Moon Plan, he would become his biggest obstacle.
"Kakashi!"
"It's Kakashi!"
Obito heard the voice, turned his head, and glanced at the guy with the dead-fish eyes. Only this peer could barely make him take a second look.
"Obito, let's fight."
"No thanks. Your strength is too weak; it doesn't interest me. Sakumo should train you properly. Also, I suggest you go deal with that madman, Might Guy. Although his Taijutsu is somewhat interesting, he's still someone I've already defeated."
Obito sighed and shook his head: "Stupid Kakashi, and even stupider Might Guy. To think I have to compete with you guys, it's so boring. I'm going to apply for early graduation."
His declaration immediately drew adoration from those around him, especially the girls who shrieked, their eyes sparkling, shouting things like "So cool!"
This greatly satisfied Obito's vanity, causing him to strain to keep his face taut and prevent his mouth from curving into a wide grin—this was also an exceptionally difficult practice, a strenuous battle against bodily instincts.
However, Obito truly had the right to look down upon all his contemporaries. With Madara's meticulous guidance and regular fusion of small amounts of White Zetsu Cells, his physique was subtly improving, and he had long since left everyone else far behind in all aspects.
Precisely because of this, Obito knew better than anyone how terrifying Tsukasa Kaede was.