Though understanding Sora's point, the leaders' faces flushed bright red at being openly scolded by a child. Had it not been for Konoha's overwhelming power, they would have gladly taught him a lesson.
Seeing the situation stabilize, Sora realized continuing the matches was impossible. Since the issue had nothing more to do with him, he lost interest and quietly returned home.
Once Sora had left, the atmosphere at the scene noticeably eased. Minato entrusted Kakashi with handling the remaining tournament issues, then brought Raikage, Mizukage, and the others back to the Hokage office.
"Say what you need quickly; we must hurry back to our villages." Though the attackers had already left, who could guarantee they wouldn't return? The village leaders were anxious to return home and handle the emergencies personally.
Minato didn't delay and immediately spoke, "Here's the situation: On the night Kushina gave birth, someone in black robes with red clouds attacked Konoha and released the Nine-Tails."
"So, I suspect that the people who targeted your Tailed Beasts belong to the same organization. According to our intelligence, they're a shadowy group—we don't yet know their numbers."
Sora had never shared much about these matters, so Minato's information was limited and based solely on his own investigation.
Even this small bit of news was enough to make the other Kage cautious.
Konoha surely had extensive security around Kushina during childbirth; after all, she was the Hokage's wife and a Jinchuriki. Yet, the attackers had still managed to unleash the Nine-Tails. Their strength must have been terrifying.
"Do you have any more information, Hokage-sama?" Raikage tapped a finger impatiently, though his tone had softened considerably.
"Not much," Minato continued gravely, "the attacker claimed himself to be Uchiha Madara. However, he was killed by Sora, proving he lied."
Seeing their faces suddenly tense at Madara's name, Minato continued calmly, "Whoever they are, their goal is obvious—the Tailed Beasts."
After sharing everything he knew, Minato quietly watched their reactions.
Initially terrified upon hearing Madara's name, they visibly relaxed when Minato clarified it had been an impostor.
"Once we return, we'll thoroughly investigate. Whoever dared attack us will pay dearly!" Raikage declared angrily.
"Since Sunagakure and Kirigakure have lost their Tailed Beasts, perhaps we should jointly safeguard the remaining Jinchuriki," Minato proposed cautiously.
Unfortunately, his suggestion fell on deaf ears.
"No need, Hokage-sama. Our villages are perfectly capable of protecting our own Jinchuriki," Raikage coldly declined.
"Hmph! Iwagakure isn't weak. The enemy simply took advantage of our absence. We're hardly intimidated by such cowards!" Onoki chimed in.
Though Rasa and Mei remained silent, their attitudes were clearly dismissive.
"Since the matter is resolved here, we shall depart immediately!" Not wasting another second, the four village leaders rushed out, hastening homeward at top speed.
Minato sighed inwardly but said nothing further. After all, the Three-Tails and Nine-Tails remained safely within Konoha's borders.
Upon learning all of this, Sora smiled knowingly and shook his head. These leaders had yet to grasp the seriousness of their predicament. Yet, he no longer wished to meddle. After all, the one manipulating events behind the scenes was the Sage of Six Paths himself—someone he wasn't yet powerful enough to confront directly.
Rather than intervene, he chose to dedicate himself fully to improving his strength. Once the system finished upgrading, he'd strive to reach Six Paths-level power. Then, whatever the Sage was planning wouldn't matter—he'd crush any schemes decisively.
With the other nations having left, the Ninja Path Tournament was forced to conclude prematurely. The audience was somewhat disappointed but dared not complain openly. Upon Konoha's announcement, they quickly dispersed.
Within the Akatsuki's base, Nagato observed his subordinates returning triumphantly and felt greatly satisfied.
Working tirelessly for twelve days straight, the Akatsuki members sealed all the captured Tailed Beasts into the Gedo Statue.
Following Nagato's orders, everyone scattered throughout the shinobi world to avoid detection and prevent any potential ambush from the major villages.
Meanwhile, Nagato himself concentrated solely on mastering his Rinnegan. Once he fully controlled these divine eyes, he'd become an unrivaled god, strong enough to directly confront Konoha.
After returning to their villages, the Four Kage immediately mobilized numerous shinobi to investigate. Despite their best efforts, only faint clues surfaced, without any concrete leads. Days turned into months, and months into years.
From that day onward, Sora secluded himself in a small house atop the Hokage Rock, rarely appearing publicly. During this period, he diligently mastered nearly all powerful ninjutsu from the original story, honing them to perfection.
He fully developed every Rasengan variation and completed the advanced applications of Chidori. Aside from the Shiki Fūjin (Reaper Death Seal), he thoroughly learned every jutsu recorded in Konoha's Forbidden Scroll of Seals.
Most notably, perhaps due to his overwhelming strength, his Sharingan evolved automatically into the fully matured three-tomoe stage.
By his own estimation, Sora had reached the absolute pinnacle of Kage-level power. However, with the system still upgrading and inaccessible, he couldn't confirm this directly.
Realizing further advancement was impossible for now, he set aside his rigorous training and instead embraced a quiet, leisurely life.
Other than occasional visits from Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, and Might Guy, few people saw Sora anymore. As time passed, he gradually transformed into a legendary figure within Konoha, eventually fading from regular conversation.
In this tranquil manner, three full years flew by quickly.
During these three years, Konoha flourished considerably. The Lightning Train featured prominently in "Boruto" was completed, connecting all of the Land of Fire.
The generation including Itachi Uchiha matured rapidly. Itachi graduated early from the academy and quickly gained fame, becoming Konoha's newest prodigy.
Meanwhile, despite exhaustive investigations from the Five Great Nations, no substantial information about the Akatsuki was uncovered. Sora didn't need to guess—it was clear that neither Black Zetsu nor Nagato alone could've orchestrated such secrecy. Clearly, the old Sage of Six Paths behind the scenes was pulling strings.
More excitingly, the famed "Konoha Twelve," now only four or five years old, were approaching academy age. Sadly, apart from Naruto—whom Kushina occasionally brought along to visit—Sora hadn't met any of the others yet.
Young Naruto differed greatly from the original timeline. Without the Nine-Tails disrupting his chakra, he'd become a genuine prodigy. At merely four years old, he'd already successfully extracted chakra and was currently being taught the Basic Three Techniques (Transformation, Clone, and Substitution) by Kushina herself.
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