In the blink of an eye, five years had passed since the Resurrection Grand Sacrifice, time flying by.
For these five years, the ninja world had enjoyed peace and harmony.
There were no wars, no conflicts, no deceit.
Of course, where there is light, there will always be darkness; this is unavoidable.
The sun shines on all things, but there are always shadows behind it.
Today was a very important day, and Lin Nan naturally had to go.
At this time, Naruto was twenty-five years old, and today was the day he succeeded the Hokage.
This was vastly different from the original work.
In the original work, Naruto married at twenty, and shortly after, they welcomed the fruit of his and Hinata's love—Boruto, who was naturally unable to combust. He only succeeded the Hokage at thirty.
Of course, Kakashi served as the Sixth Hokage, which was why Naruto became Hokage at thirty.
However, at this time, Naruto had not chosen to marry so early, so Boruto had not yet been born.
And Kakashi had not chosen to become Hokage, so Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, had continued to govern the village and the Fire Country's security.
Of course, Kakashi himself did not want to be Hokage. His becoming Hokage in the original work was mainly to fulfill Obito's dream.
And now, although Obito had not chosen to be resurrected, he still spent his days with Kakashi, so this Hokage dream no longer persisted.
Of course, how could Obito hang out with Kakashi without bringing Guy along?
Guy had also been resurrected during the Resurrection Grand Sacrifice. Although his body fragments were difficult to find, they were eventually located.
With a new body, Guy was not the same as in the original work, where his leg was broken.
Oh, it's worth mentioning here that both Kakashi and Guy were elected as councilors of the Fire Country, with Kakashi even holding the position of Speaker.
So it was quite normal for them to often go play with Obito, who was in the Enforcement Group.
Kakashi had even suggested joining the Enforcement Group, but if he joined, Guy would also want to join, just like in the ANBU back then.
However, Guy was neither suitable for the ANBU nor the Enforcement Group.
Although the Enforcement Group was not as cold-blooded as the ANBU, they still required impartial law enforcement, and one could not show leniency just because someone looked pitiable.
Guy was completely incapable of this.
Therefore, he could only use his influence to be a councilor, which was already very good.
In these years, Naruto had not only followed Tsunade; he had also spent a considerable amount of time at the United Nations headquarters, which was in the Hidden Rain Village, with Nagato.
Nagato was currently in a position akin to "Secretary-General," but he would eventually step down, and Lin Nan had actually reserved this position for Naruto from the beginning.
Nagato was more suited to working behind the scenes, and Naruto was a hero who had saved the world; no one was more suited for the Secretary-General position.
Therefore, Lin Nan had spoken with Naruto before, wanting him to give up the Hokage position and become the UN Secretary-General.
But Naruto refused. The Hokage was his dream, and he could concurrently serve as Secretary-General!
Upon hearing Naruto's exact words, Lin Nan was astonished.
Was his mind that quick?
Was this still the Naruto who used to say "Dattebayo"?
Clearly, Naruto had undergone a transformation and was no longer that impetuous youth.
It wasn't just Naruto who had transformed; Sasuke had too.
After being severely lectured and educated by his brother, or perhaps after seeing such a peaceful world, Sasuke's personality became what it was in the Boruto era.
Like Nagato, he did not want to be in the spotlight, and the Enforcement Group was not suitable for him.
So, Lin Nan gave Sasuke a mission through Itachi Uchiha.
That was to investigate the traces of the Ōtsutsuki.
This was essentially the same mission as Sasuke's in the original work.
As long as the Ōtsutsuki were not eliminated, they would always be a persistent worry for Lin Nan.
But it was still too early to worry. If there were no unforeseen circumstances, the Ōtsutsuki would not arrive for another seven years.
Of course, Lin Nan had also sent members of the Akatsuki to investigate the existence of the "Kara" organization, but so far, nothing had been found. It seemed time was still too early.
Upon arriving at the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire, Lin Nan remained extremely low-key, appearing at the succession ceremony of Naruto as an ordinary citizen.
Without Boruto and Himawari, Naruto ascended the ceremonial platform as he had wished and received the Hokage hat from Tsunade.
From today onwards, Tsunade officially retired, and Naruto officially stepped onto the stage as Hokage.
And not just Naruto, of course.
Several years prior, Ōnoki had announced his retirement, and his granddaughter Kurotsuchi had succeeded him as Tsuchikage.
Apart from the Kazekage, the other Kage were likely to pass on their positions.
A new era was about to dawn!
"Congratulations to Naruto Uzumaki on becoming the Sixth Hokage!"
Just as the succession ceremony concluded, a voice suddenly sounded from above, not like a booming thunderclap, but it clearly resonated in everyone's ears.
This was Lin Nan's voice.
Because Naruto Uzumaki's succession ceremony was essentially broadcast live to the entire ninja world, Lin Nan took this opportunity to add the position of head of the United Nations to Naruto's responsibilities, so the entire ninja world would soon know about it.
"Concurrently, Naruto Uzumaki will also become the first Secretary-General of the United Nations, primarily responsible for all matters of the organization."
Lin Nan's voice had essentially echoed across the land.
Of course, this was not surprising to the leaders of the Five Great Nations and other smaller countries, as they had already been informed of this matter.
Lin Nan intended to cultivate Naruto into the actual ruler of the ninja world, but he hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
However, the general public was not very clear about these concepts.
They knew about the United Nations and that life seemed to have improved after its establishment, but they still didn't have a clear understanding of it.
But now they knew.
The United Nations would lead the Five Great Nations and other countries, and Naruto, as Hokage, would effectively become the "Shadow of Ninjas."
A village chief for the ninja world.
Before this, Lin Nan had been quite worried about Naruto.
After all, Naruto was already quite busy as Hokage. Now that he was also the UN Secretary-General, wouldn't he be overworked to death?
Therefore, Lin Nan assigned Nagato, Shikamaru, Konan, and others to assist him.
Naruto's moral compass was absolutely sound, so he only needed to make decisions on certain matters.
Lin Nan had faith in entrusting things to Naruto.
This was also why Lin Nan had felt reluctant to kill Naruto when he confronted him and Sasuke.
Firstly, Naruto himself was reliable, coupled with public recognition and a good personal image.
Wouldn't this make for a perfect leader image?
With this, Lin Nan was able to shed his heavy responsibilities and continue his cloning of the Ōtsutsuki's bodies.
But shortly thereafter, a piece of news from Sasuke made Lin Nan feel pressured.
Sasuke had discovered traces of the Kara organization, but Orochimaru and Kabuto were still one step away from completing the cloning of the Ōtsutsuki.