After confirming Nawaki and ruling out Minato, Hui continued to consider other candidates.
For the first batch of individuals to be sent over, he didn't intend to choose too many.
A group of around ten people would be sufficient.
Nara Shikaku… there was no need for him to go.
He didn't require additional training since his role was always meant to be that of a strategist and secretary.
Hyūga Hizashi, on the other hand… was a viable option.
Along with a few outstanding young Uchiha clansmen.
However, Hui soon thought of an even more suitable candidate, Hōzuki Ranzuki!
This former prodigy of Kirigakure, now a high-ranking figure in the Water Region, was someone Hui had taken note of before.
The Hōzuki Clan possessed a secret technique, Hydrification Jutsu.
This technique was a broken ability, bearing a striking resemblance to the Logia-type Devil Fruits in the Pirate World.
Yet, there were also key differences.
Logia transformation allowed the user to fully convert their body into an element, theoretically making them immune to all physical attacks.
Of course, Hui knew that Logia users weren't invincible.
Setting aside Haki, he understood that killing a Logia user was actually quite simple.
Since Logia transformation didn't mean their soul and consciousness also became elemental, one simply had to crush their mind and erase their soul.
However, the Hydrification Jutsu functioned differently.
It had a limit on how much damage it could withstand.
Just like in the original story, where Hōzuki Suigetsu used Hydrification Jutsu to endure a direct Tailed Beast Bomb from Gyūki, only to end up completely incapacitated afterward.
In other words, Hydrification Jutsu had a tolerance threshold.
But here's the key advantage, Hydrification Jutsu wasn't affected by seawater!
That was the most important factor.
While Hydrification had durability limits and was vulnerable to Lightning Release, how many people in the Pirate World could actually wield lightning-based attacks?
They were as rare as phoenix feathers, a mere handful in the entire world.
Thus, in the Pirate World, Hydrification Jutsu would allow a shinobi to move like a fish in water, maximizing their combat potential.
With that in mind, Hui decided that Ranzuki would go to the Pirate World and form a pirate crew, ultimately becoming a Yonko-level figure in the New World.
Since Ranzuki was going, Kei Yuki would tag along as well.
The Yuki Clan specialized in Ice Release, an ability that was highly useful in the Pirate World.
However, what Hui valued even more was Kei's intellect and his synergy with Hōzuki Ranzuki.
Sending the two of them together to establish a pirate crew, Hui believed that their future would be one of dominance.
With this decision made, his confirmed list grew by two more names.
Then, he considered Rasa.
Hui initially wanted to send Rasa as well, but there was a problem, Rasa was highly interested in becoming one of the next Five Great Region Leaders.
This made Hui hesitate.
Not just Rasa, others had their eyes on the position too.
These individuals were all exceptional talents in the Sage Shinobi World.
And yet, choosing any of them made Hui feel uncertain.
After thinking about it for a long time, Hui suddenly chuckled to himself.
He realized he had fallen into the trap of relying too much on his past-life knowledge, trying to define this world based on the original Naruto canon.
But in reality…
There had to be more talented individuals in this world, not just the future prominent figures from the original story.
After all, in the original Naruto timeline, this generation would have been in their thirties or forties by the time the main storyline began.
These people had lived through the Second Great Ninja War, the Third Great Ninja War, and countless small-scale battles.
That kind of brutal and chaotic growth environment must have wiped out countless talented individuals before they ever had the chance to rise.
This world couldn't possibly be limited to just the handful of outstanding figures from the original story.
With the fifteen years of peace in the Shinobi World, the other hidden villages had initiated talent development programs.
During that time, countless exceptional individuals had emerged, 90% of whom had never even appeared in the original storyline.
Now that Hui was the ruler of the world, he could actively seek out these outstanding talents and ensure they had the opportunity to shine in the future.
And as for how to find all these exceptional people.
For Hui, it wasn't difficult at all.
He didn't need to search for them himself.
He didn't even need to assign the Five Great Regions to search for them.
Instead, he would let these outstanding young talents reveal themselves.
A faint smile curved on Hui's lips.
The world was already in the third year of the Great Unification Era, the era of sages.
It was time to hold some exciting events.
Since it was difficult to decide which of the most talented individuals were best suited for the Pirate World, then, why not let them decide for themselves?
Besides, after ruling the world for several years, he should take the opportunity to meet and understand the younger generation of elites in the Sage Shinobi World.
Thus, Hui decided, the he would hold a grand tournament.
A competition specifically for individuals aged 18 to 30.
This event would be called, The Sage Shinobi Elite Youth Tournament.
The tournament would select thirty outstanding individuals.
These chosen elites would receive greater resources and better opportunities for advancement.
The tournament format would be structured as follows:
Each of the Five Great Regions would first conduct their own regional preliminaries, selecting thirty participants each.
A total of 150 elite youths would then compete in the final tournament held in Hidden Sage Village.
Through various trials and selections, the top 30 would be chosen.
This system was perfectly viable.
Yes, this is settled!
Hui nodded to himself, and his thoughts began expanding further.
If they were holding this competition, why not more?
Sage Technique Tournaments.
Ninjutsu Tournaments.
Taijutsu Tournaments.
Genjutsu Tournaments.
Kenjutsu Tournaments.
Or even—
First-Tier Sage Tournaments.
Second-Tier Sage Tournaments.
Third-Tier Sage Tournaments.
And beyond that—
The World's Strongest Sage Tournament.
The Genius Rankings Tournament.
The Potential Rankings Tournament.
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
Hui wanted to turn these tournaments into a competitive mechanism that would sweep across the entire Sage Shinobi World.
Through these competitions, individuals could grow through rivalry.
At the same time, the entire world would become more interconnected, accelerating its integration into a unified whole.
Since he was waiting for the arrival of the remaining Ōtsutsuki Clan members anyway, he might as well keep himself occupied.
Back in his past life, the novels he read often featured ranking competitions.
Now that he had become the ruler of this world, why not let the people of the Sage Shinobi World experience the thrill of ranking tournaments firsthand?
With that thought, Hui immediately took action.
He shared his ideas with Nawaki, Minato, and the others, instructing them to draft plans.
Details such as competition formats, evaluation criteria, and which abilities would be tested, he left those up to them.
Hui only needed to make the final decisions.
…
Nawaki's eyes lit up upon hearing Hui's idea.
But then, he sighed bitterly.
At present, he was one of the Four Divines of the Sage Shinobi World, known as the Tree God.
If he were to participate in these tournaments, it would seem too unfair.
But at the same time, these competitions and ranking battles were so thrilling that he couldn't help but want to join.
After all, in the stories that Hui had told him about, there were countless tournament arcs that had always fascinated him.
"Damn it! If only this policy had been introduced a few years earlier! Time waits for no one! Time waits for no one!"
In the end, Nawaki could only sigh, feeling somewhat dejected.
Meanwhile, Minato merely smiled from the side.
Unlike Nawaki, he realized that he could participate in quite a few of these ranking tournaments.
Hyūga Hizashi was the same, he could also take part in many of them.
After all, they were both still young, and what young person wouldn't want to showcase their abilities?
Not to mention, these tournaments came with incredible rewards.
The prizes that i Hui casually mentioned just now had already made Minato and the others eager to compete.
After assigning the tournament planning to Nawaki and the others, Hui resumed his usual lifestyle.
Spending time with Tsunade.
Enjoying romance and affection with her.
The comforts of love and companionship was something he couldn't get enough of.
Then, he continued studying various abilities and formations.
There was no end to learning.
Even though Hui already seemed invincible, he didn't allow himself to become complacent.
He lived each day productively and meaningfully, all while waiting for news from Madara.
Then, after a month had passed, Madara had found clues regarding Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
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