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"Ying~"
About ten minutes passed.
The sound of Yingying's voice echoed in Hashirama's mind.
The restart process was getting faster and faster.
Yingying's figure reappeared, floating in front of Hashirama. After a day of absorbing energy, her cute little face was filled with satisfaction.
"Master."
"Regarding the tasks."
"After this update, the maximum limit for tasks remains three, but you can now delete tasks!"
"Deleted tasks can be reissued."
"However, the difficulty of the task might change due to reissuing."
"Please use this feature wisely~"
This time, Yingying didn't leave him hanging and directly explained the changes in her functionality.
"Got it."
Hashirama nodded, thinking that Yingying wasn't as useless as before; she was actually starting to be a bit helpful.
At first glance, deleting tasks might not seem useful.
But in some situations, it could be a lifesaver.
For example, when dealing with the Hidden Cloud Village earlier, if he could have deleted a task, Hashirama would have deleted the first one without hesitation.
The task to hunt the tailed beasts on behalf of the Akatsuki's mysterious leader.
That way, he could have assigned three tasks related to the Hidden Cloud Village, maximizing the benefits, and then reissued the tailed beast task after completing the others.
In simple terms, this feature allows for task management flexibility.
Hashirama also understood the concept of lowering task difficulty.
Many things are more challenging the first time you do them compared to the second time. The first time, you're breaking through obstacles!
It's a straightforward principle.
For instance, when Hashirama first soloed the Akatsuki, it was his first encounter with them, and they knew very little about him. So, the task difficulty was rated S-rank.
Now that Hashirama had already had a fierce encounter with the Akatsuki.
If he wanted to solo them again, the difficulty would be much lower. The Akatsuki knew his strengths and weaknesses, and Hashirama had also figured out their depths. Without the need for probing or surprises, the difficulty naturally decreased.
For example, if he now deleted the task to remove the Hidden Cloud Village and reissued it, it definitely wouldn't be S-rank anymore.
The task hasn't changed.
What changed were the steps leading up to its completion.
Hashirama had already flattened the Hidden Cloud Village, which served as the buildup to removing it from existence. Only the final step remained, so the overall difficulty was still S-rank.
But if he deleted and reissued it.
It would be like removing the groundwork he'd already laid.
It would feel different!
"Master, you can still issue a new task. Do you want to issue one now?" Yingying asked curiously.
"Not for now."
Hashirama shook his head. At this moment, he couldn't think of any S-rank tasks that could be immediately completed. The two tasks he currently had were related to the tailed beasts, so it might be better to leave one task slot open for contingencies.
The long night passed.
The villa was filled with joyful noises.
The lively atmosphere lasted throughout the night.
The next morning.
As Hashirama descended the stairs, ready to bask in some sunlight before attending the Four Kage Summit, he was greeted by the sight of everyone gathered in the hall, "happily" playing cards!
Tsunade was the most excited, earning the title of the MVP of the losing side!
As for the others, each of them looked exhausted, dark circles under their eyes, their hearts heavy with unspoken complaints.
As soon as everyone saw Senju Hashirama coming down the stairs, they immediately straightened up, their eyes instantly locking onto him, and they all suddenly became alert.
"You all seem to enjoy playing cards quite a bit!" Hashirama remarked with a grin. He knew full well that this was Tsunade's idea and that the others were just playing along.
However, he didn't call them out on it.
This was his subtle way of showing the Four Kage who was in charge.
Pretending not to notice.
"Y-Yeah!"
"Heh heh..."
"It's... not bad."
"Seems... kind of fun..."
Everyone quickly forced a smile, trying to agree with Hashirama. Their expressions when looking at him had completely changed.
On the way here, they knew Hashirama was powerful, but they didn't know exactly how powerful.
Now, they understood that Hashirama was incredibly powerful, but they were even less certain about the true extent of his strength.
The more they learned, the more they realized that Hashirama was unfathomable!
With their abilities, there was no way they could measure his depth.
"Who won the most?" Hashirama asked casually. He didn't bother asking who lost the most because the answer was obvious.
Whoosh!
Onoki's face immediately turned pale.
This was it—there was no escaping it now!
The moment he had been dreading had finally arrived!
Onoki felt as if he had been doused in icy wind, instantly wide awake and chilled to the bone.
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
As soon as the crowd saw Senju Hashirama coming down, they all straightened up, their eyes instantly focusing on him. They immediately became alert.
"You all seem to enjoy playing cards quite a bit!" Hashirama remarked with a smile. He knew this was Tsunade's idea and that everyone was merely playing along.
However, he chose not to expose them.
It was his way of asserting dominance over the Four Kage.
Feigning ignorance.
"Y-Yeah!"
"Heh heh..."
"It's... not bad."
"Seems... kind of fun..."
Everyone quickly responded with forced smiles, their expressions now entirely different when looking at Hashirama.
On their way here, they knew Hashirama was impressive but didn't grasp the full extent of his power.
Now, they understood that Hashirama was extremely formidable, though they still had no idea just how powerful he truly was.
The more they learned, the more they felt Hashirama was beyond their comprehension.
They felt powerless to fully gauge him.
"Who won the most?" Hashirama asked casually. He didn't bother asking who lost the most since the answer was obvious.
Whoosh!
Onoki's face turned pale.
The moment he dreaded had arrived!
Onoki felt as though he had been doused in cold water, instantly awake and shivering.
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
Everyone spoke in unison, many pointing fingers at Onoki.
At this moment, Onoki was their shield.
The one they dared not cross.
Only Onoki would take the hit.
"Very well!"
Hashirama nodded with a faint smile. He only said this one thing before remaining vague.
"I'll give you ten minutes to prepare, then we will begin the Four Kage Summit!"
With that, Hashirama turned and walked outside the villa. At the door, he paused and added, "The summit will take place outside."
Immediately, everyone's faces turned anxious.
They hurried to freshen up and grab a few soldier pills. Despite this, those as old as Onoki and Sarutobi Hiruzen still felt like their heads were splitting.
Tsunade was ruthless!
This was truly unexpected!
No sleep for days...
Absolutely relentless!
---
Ten minutes later.
The Four Kage and their guards emerged from the villa. At a distance, they saw a wooden square table.
This table was the venue for the Four Kage Summit.
It looked somewhat like a mahjong table.
"Ugh!"
Everyone took a deep breath, feeling an intense pressure, as this table was set up amidst the ruins of the Hidden Cloud Village.
They quickly moved to their seats.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Onoki sat across from each other, while Gaara and Mei Terumi sat on the other side.
The remaining four stood behind the Kage.
"Everyone is here!"
Hashirama's figure flickered and suddenly appeared at the table, raising his hand to reveal two luxurious chairs beside it.
These chairs were high enough to overlook the entire table.
"Tsunade, sit next to me."
Hashirama gestured to Tsunade, who was behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, and took his seat in one of the high chairs, his gaze sweeping over the Four Kage.
"Let's start the Four Kage Summit!"
As Hashirama spoke, the atmosphere became extremely tense, and everyone's expressions tightened.
"I didn't call you all here for any major inter-village matters."
"And there is no common enemy."
"The main purpose is just to catch up and discuss personal matters, especially concerning me, Senju Hashirama."
"That's the theme of this Four Kage Summit."
Hashirama's fingers intertwined, his eyes glinting with coldness. His demeanor was now vastly different from when he was joking about the card game, instilling deep fear in everyone.
"Since it's just a casual talk."
"Third Hokage."
"Let's start with you!"
(End of Chapter)