NARUTO: SECOND GOD OF SHINOBI

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Soon the clones departed, and Hiruzen, assured of their capabilities, created seven more clones, each imbued with a fragment of his soul.

"Your goal is to become Kage of Suna, Iwa, Kumo, Kiri, Iron, Frost, and the hidden stone village," he commanded. "This is their most vulnerable time."

"Oh, and I forgot one more thing," he muttered before vanishing in a flash.

Moments later, he reappeared with a sealed scroll in hand. Opening it, a whoosh followed as a White Zetsu emerged.

With swift precision, Hiruzen clamped his hand on White Zetsu, absorbing its chakra and memories.

"Assimilate," he commanded, as the White Zetsu's chakra and memories merged with his own.

The Hashirama cells within Zetsu were destroyed by Hiruzen's natural resilience, but the chakra and life force were successfully assimilated.

"You should now possess White Zetsu's body-transformation jutsu," Hiruzen informed the clones.

They nodded in unison. "Use this technique; it will make your tasks easier. Remember, you are my real-body clones and can wield all of my skills."

The seven clones disappeared without hesitation. Left alone, Hiruzen gazed at the ninja world map, his eyes gleaming with resolve. "Let the countdown begin," he murmured before vanishing from the hall.

He reappeared in his office, settling into his chair. Pondering his next move, a thought struck him.

Summoning a scroll, he quickly inscribed instructions before sealing and teleporting it away.

"Truly, summoning and reverse-summoning jutsu are invaluable, after some tweaks here and there." he mused. "You can transfer secret scrolls to the front line in mere seconds."

His gaze sharpened. "And my new invention…" A smile crept across his face.

"If this jutsu is deployed across the Elemental Nations, we'll never lose a war.

By combining Heavenly Transfer and Flying Thunder God techniques, I've developed a seal for mass teleportation on fixed routes with bare minimum chakra.

It can transfer thousands—no, tens of thousands—of ninja simultaneously. A single deployment at the borders could set up an unstoppable ambush."

Satisfied, Hiruzen issued commands: "Anbu, Yin Division Captain." The captain materialized instantly. "Recall every Anbu division across the Fire Nation."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the captain replied before vanishing.

Turning to another Anbu, Hiruzen said, "Send a message to every clan head to convene once the front line forces return."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," came the prompt response, and the Anbu disappeared.

Alone again, Hiruzen reflected. "I almost forgot—I've collected 99% of the chakra from five tailed beasts. Time to combine it."

With that, he summoned four scrolls and opened them simultaneously. The seals activated, and the chakra from four tailed beasts merged with the stored Seven-Tails chakra.

Within his chakra reservoir, the combined energies began to swirl and coalesce into a potent force surpassing super-Kage levels, breaching the domain of Six Paths strength.

An Hour later, Hiruzen awoke, sealing the scrolls. "Finally, the chakra of five tailed beasts has been combined. Four more to go, and I'll be ready to assimilate the Ten-Tails' chakra."

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A week passed, and the Konoha forces returned.

In the meeting room, Hiruzen presided over the gathering. His presence was indistinguishable—whether it was his real body or a clone, none could tell.

As the last of the jonin arrived, he activated a sealing barrier to prevent any intrusion.

"I've called you all here to share important news," he began.

"This war… we've almost won. Our total casualties were less than 1,000. Of those, 900 were minor injuries, 89 were critical, and only 10 to 20 ninja lost their lives. The overwhelming majority returned safely."

Gasps of disbelief and awe rippled through the room.

Younger jonin, unfamiliar with the brutal toll of previous wars, expressed astonishment. Whispers of amazement filled the hall.

"Its almost miracle, in the previous war there were more than 2000 death and 5000 casualties, but now it only reached 1000 combined." spoke one of the previous war jonin ninja.

one of the younger jonin in disbelief asked around, "Is it really true?"

Murmurs and chatters were ongoing when,

"It's all because of Hokage-sama's grace that such low casualties were maintained.

Hokage-sama's unparalleled jutsu were the driving force behind the frontal assault, and his tactics were like nothing ever seen in the ninja world.

His meticulous planning and precise execution were otherworldly. Even the previous Second Hokage couldn't have accomplished this.

And more so, his strength—single-handedly stopping three Kage and three jinchūriki with their Tailed Beast Bombs—is a feat only the First Hokage could have achieved.

But Hokage-sama possesses both might and intellect combined."

The Gekko clan leader stood up and bowed deeply, his voice filled with reverence.

"On behalf of my clan, I thank you for what you have done for Konoha and for the Gekko clan, Hokage-sama. We will never forget this debt of gratitude."

The room fell silent, the weight of the leader's words resonating with everyone present.

Soon, others stood and followed his example, bowing in unison.

"We are truly indebted to Hokage-sama," they said in near-perfect harmony.

Hiruzen, not used to receiving such high praise, felt a flush of embarrassment creep onto his twenty-year-old face.

He scratched the back of his head nervously and spoke, "What are you all doing everyone? I'm the Hokage; this is my duty. There's no need for such things."

Kagami Uchiha, his expression solemn, shook his head.

"No, we dare not diminish your accomplishments. Even if someone else were Hokage, these results are unprecedented.

Ever since the Warring States period, no one has achieved what you have.

The scale of this war is far larger, involving multiple nations, yet you have surpassed all strategists of the world."

Nara Shuzaku nodded in agreement, his voice calm but filled with admiration.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Even I, a Nara, find myself mesmerized by your cunning tactics and your ability to deliver such devastating blows to our enemies. Your ingenuity is unparalleled."

Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh, a hearty chuckle escaping him. "Hahahaha…" he muttered to himself, Who would guess that these are just modern war tactics and a bit of sneaky assistance from my jutsu?

Even then, I always had a keen interest in war strategies and tactics in my past life. It seems my wish to explore them has been fulfilled.

After a moment, he composed himself and addressed the group. "Everyone, I appreciate your kind words, but please...., sit down."

As the room settled, Mito Uzumaki spoke up.

Her tone was thoughtful, as if connecting previously unclarified thoughts. "Hiruzen, is this your real body or a clone?"

Hiruzen paused for a moment before responding. "It's my real body."

A wave of surprise rippled through the room, and Mito pressed on.

"But how is that possible? Your heart was pierced—I thought you would have been sealed inside a barrier or some form of preservation jutsu."

Hiruzen nodded slightly before explaining, "Yes, my heart was indeed pierced, but I managed to suspend my body and regenerate my heart."

The room erupted in a mix of shock and awe. Among them, only the First Hokage had been known to possess regenerative abilities.

Mito's brows furrowed as she asked, "Does this have something to do with Wood Style?"

This revelation sent another ripple of astonishment through the group, especially among the returning jōnin.

The knowledge that Hiruzen had somehow mastered Wood Style despite not being from the Senju clan was nearly unbelievable.

Hiruzen shook his head. "No. It's unrelated to Wood Style. What I used was a newly created S-rank forbidden technique: Creation Rebirth.

I devised it specifically to regenerate my heart. This jutsu can regenerate any body part by using chakra and life force."

Gasps filled the room, and the atmosphere grew heavy with the implications of such a technique.

To regenerate any body part with chakra and life force was nothing short of revolutionary—almost godlike.

Mito's gaze sharpened, and she asked, "Is this technique something that could potentially be shared or circulated?"

Hiruzen understood the weight of her question but answered plainly,

"No. The jutsu requires almost perfect chakra control—something only one person in Konoha could hope to achieve, and that is Tsunade.

Even she would need ten years of dedicated practice to master it. For any other ninja, the idea of learning it is completely out of reach.

It's not just about control, ....the current ninjutsu system of the shinobi world itself is... flawed."

His words sent another wave of astonishment through the room, but it was quickly replaced by the sobering realization of his final statement.

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