The Division of Imperial Power

"Grandma Tsunade, you were already amazing, it's just that Lee's even more amazing! Martial arts are incredible! If you learned martial arts too, you definitely wouldn't be weaker than Lee!"

Naruto comforted her.

"Right, Tsunade-sama is one of the Legendary Sannin! If she learned martial arts, she wouldn't lose to Lee!" Sakura chimed in.

"You little brats… I'm not so weak that I need your comforting."

Tsunade laughed while scolding them.

She turned her gaze back to the broadly grinning Imperial Lee and the cold Imperial Neji.

"In this fight, my loss feels deserved. Lee, you're truly too strong."

"Hahaha! I'm not that strong. In the Empire, there are tons of people stronger than me! Hahaha… Tsunade-sama, you're flattering me too much, too much!"

Imperial Lee's cheeks flushed from the praise, scratching the back of his head with his large hand, grinning widely and laughing heartily.

"Tch. Stop laughing before you tear your mouth."

Imperial Neji sneered at Imperial Lee's foolish behavior.

"He's a bit too strong. That punch's power was enough to rival a Bijuudama… Are there really many people as strong as Lee in the Empire? Neji, Obito, how do your strengths compare to Lee's?"

Shikaku seized the chance to gather information.

At the question, the others grew curious too.

"I recall in the ninja village era, strength was generally divided into Genin, Chunin, Tokubetsu Jonin, Jonin, and Elite Jonin, right?"

Imperial Neji didn't answer directly, instead posing a question.

"Correct. Elite Jonin are typically the strongest ninjas, and a village's Kage is chosen from among them." Tsunade nodded.

"But those who become Kage are the strongest Elite Jonin, far surpassing the others." Shikaku added.

"That's the vagueness of the power division. In the Empire, each level is clearly defined. It's generally split into Ninja ranks and Martial Arts ranks. Since you're unfamiliar with Martial Arts ranks, I'll focus on Ninja ranks."

"It's divided into several stages: Genin, Chunin, Jonin, Elite Jonin, Kage, Super Kage, and Six Paths. Each stage is further split into lower, middle, upper, and peak tiers."

Imperial Neji's expression was serious.

"Removing Elite Jonin? Adding Kage, Super Kage, and Six Paths tiers? Can you explain what kind of strength each tier represents?" Tsunade asked.

"Neji-kun, you just saw him fight Tsunade-sama. Can you tell us what tier his strength falls into? It'd help us understand the tier system." Shikaku asked.

The others grew excited, listening intently.

"Hokage-sama?"

Imperial Neji muttered, glancing at Tsunade, frowning in thought before saying:

"Hmm… if I had to say, probably around middle-tier Kage."

"Middle-tier Kage? Then what about Lee? What's his strength like?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"What's Lee's strength? Super Kage? Or Six Paths?" Naruto asked curiously.

"At my peak, I'd say I've just entered lower-tier Super Kage! Six Paths is still far off!"

Imperial Lee scratched his head, looking sheepish.

"Super Kage? And only lower-tier? Not the so-called Six Paths?"

Tsunade was slightly shocked, her heart trembling.

If that kind of power wasn't Six Paths, how terrifying was Six Paths?

Were the Empire's people from another world really that strong?

Or were their lying and storytelling skills just that good?

Deep down, Tsunade couldn't be sure and didn't want to believe it was true.

"The benchmark for lower-tier Super Kage is the Kyuubi. Only strength comparable to the Kyuubi qualifies as Super Kage."

"Lee's strength is indeed powerful, but much of it comes from temporary boosts and bursts. In a short fight against the Kyuubi, he could hold his own, but in a prolonged battle, he'd lose. So, he's only just entered lower-tier Super Kage."

Imperial Neji explained.

"The Kyuubi, a natural disaster-like monster that left all of Konoha helpless, forcing the Fourth Hokage to sacrifice himself to seal it, is only lower-tier Super Kage?"

Shikaku muttered, his chest heaving, clearly shocked by the news.

This was the strongest of the nine Bijuu!

The ultimate weapon of war!

And yet, this otherworldly Lee could match such a monster? Too strong, unbelievably strong!

Most importantly, if the Kyuubi was only lower-tier Super Kage, how powerful were the higher tiers?

"S-so strong… Lee's already this powerful?" Sakura mumbled.

She recalled Naruto unleashing Bijuu power against Orochimaru before.

If she remembered correctly, Naruto had only used four tails…

Even then, he could fight Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, even overpowering him. So how strong would the Kyuubi be at full power with nine tails?

But thinking of Lee's punch from earlier, it all seemed to make sense.

"Truly powerful. So, Neji, what about you? What's your strength like?" Naruto asked, shocked but curious.

"You guys are really curious, huh?" Imperial Neji countered.

"Hehehe! You guys are so mysterious. Why didn't you tell me all this earlier?" Naruto laughed.

"It's not impossible to tell you. As for me, I'm not on Lee's level—just peak-tier Kage." Imperial Neji replied.

"Peak-tier Kage? Isn't that way stronger than Grandma Tsunade? Amazing!" Naruto exclaimed.

Tsunade's forehead twitched angrily as she shouted:

"You stinking brat! Someone's stronger than me, and you're happy about it?"

The next moment, Sakura's pink fist made intimate contact with Naruto's head.

*THWACK!*

"Ow!"

Naruto clutched his head, wincing in pain:

"Grandma Tsunade, why'd you hit me again? I… I was just shocked at how strong Neji is."

"Hmph! Stinking brat!"

Tsunade grumbled, turning her face away.

Sakura sighed in awe:

"Lee's truly incredible. In our world, among our age group, only Neji became a Jonin."

"Hahaha… Neji's also super strong. Though his peak combat power is one tier below mine, he's not weaker than me overall! After all, I need to go all out to temporarily reach lower-tier Super Kage. But Neji, in his normal state, is almost always at peak-tier Kage."

Imperial Lee explained, smiling.

"So, what about Naruto? What's his strength level now?" Shikaku asked again.

"Mastering the basics of Rokushiki and Wind Breathing Style, even blending them perfectly, he'd be considered lower-tier Kage." Imperial Neji thought for a moment before saying.