"Who agrees? Who objects?"
Namikaze Mirai's calm voice cut through the air, and the entire conference room fell deathly silent.
The quiet was so complete that every breath, every heartbeat seemed magnified.
No one moved.
No one dared to speak.
Everyone understood — this was not the time to be the first to stand out.
Killing a Daimyō, overthrowing the One-Country, One-Village system established by the First Hokage… even hearing such words was enough to make their hearts pound with disbelief.
Just as the silence stretched unbearably long—
"I object!"
The sudden outburst shattered the stillness like glass.
The voice, thick with anger and self-righteousness, echoed harshly across the room. Heads turned instantly toward the source.
The one who spoke was a rugged man with thick hair and a coarse, angular face — a jōnin from the Sarutobi clan.
Many of the high-ranking officers frowned. Ever since Namikaze Mirai became the Fifth Hokage, the Sarutobi clan's influence had waned sharply. For one of them to jump up now could not be simple coincidence.
And sure enough—
That Sarutobi jōnin's words came out in a tone dripping with moral outrage.
"Fifth Hokage! Do you understand that the One-Country, One-Village system was created by the First Hokage himself? Konoha's very existence stems from that foundation!"
He slammed his palm on the table, face flushing red.
"The Daimyō is the most esteemed man in the Land of Fire! Every year, Konoha's funds come from him. If you kill the Daimyō and dismantle the system, wouldn't that be an act of barbarity? Of rebellion?"
He looked around, trying to ignite the same outrage in the others.
"If this spreads beyond our walls, how will other nations view Konoha? How will the world see us?!"
Each word struck like the roll of distant thunder, filling the chamber with his booming indignation.
In truth, the man's mind was racing behind his righteous mask. His heart throbbed with greedy delight.
'Perfect! This is my chance!'
Namikaze Mirai had crossed the line, and this was the opening he needed. He imagined the headlines already — the Fifth Hokage impeached for treason, the Sarutobi restored to their rightful prestige, perhaps even the old Hokage reinstated.
'If I can lead this revolt—'
"Have you said enough?"
The quiet, almost casual words froze his thoughts.
Mirai's azure eyes lifted, devoid of any expression.
The jōnin's throat went dry.
"If you've said enough," Mirai said softly, "then die."
He raised one hand and snapped his fingers.
The crisp snap echoed through the chamber like a judgment.
The jōnin stared down at his right hand — and terror filled his eyes. His fingers were… fading.
They were becoming transparent, like smoke dissolving into air.
"What— what's happening to me?!"
In an instant, all five fingers vanished.
"Hokage-sama! I was wrong! I agree—"
*Bang!*
Before he could finish, his body convulsed violently. His skin swelled, his frame distorted, and in the next moment — with a muffled explosion — he disintegrated completely.
The air shimmered where he had been standing. No blood, no flesh, no bones. Just dust and silence.
If one could look closely, one might see a faint glitter of drifting particles — fragments of molecular structure unraveling, then vanishing entirely.
The Sarutobi jōnin had ceased to exist.
Gasps rippled around the table. Several elders drew sharp breaths, hands trembling.
Such a thing — to make a man vanish so completely — what kind of power was this?
Mirai's gaze swept the room. "Gentlemen," he said quietly, "does anyone else object?"
No one spoke.
Mirai's voice remained calm as he continued, "Magnetic fields are everywhere. The human body itself is a magnetic field. The cohesion of matter — life as you know it — depends on the electromagnetic force. So tell me, what happens when a person's magnetic field is forcibly erased?"
He let the words hang for a heartbeat.
"Without that force, the body becomes nothing but a loose scattering of atoms. A person without structure… is no person at all."
The words, clinical and cold, cut through their fear like a scalpel.
"I approve!"
"I… I approve too!"
"Approve!"
The responses came almost at once, each one louder, faster, more desperate than the last.
Those who hesitated looked pale, their voices trembling as they rushed to declare loyalty. No one wanted to share the jōnin's fate.
Orochimaru chuckled softly. The sound slithered through the silence like a whispering serpent.
"Gentlemen," he said, his tone low and hoarse, "I understand your hesitation. Overthrowing the Daimyō's rule — such an event has no precedent in history. Naturally, you fear the unknown."
He smiled thinly, his golden eyes glinting.
"But that is precisely why it's so magnificent. The Land of Fire — no, the entire ninja world — has been stagnant for too long. And you, all of you, will become the architects of the new order."
'Architects of a new order.'
The phrase resonated. The words filled the hesitant with visions of power, of glory, of freedom from the old world's chains.
Their fear began to melt into something else — ambition.
"Hokage-sama," said a jōnin from the Nara clan, his voice steady and sincere, "you will become a legend like Senju Hashirama."
Mirai smiled faintly, his expression unreadable.
The meeting was over.
The decision was made.
…
Konoha erupted.
An uproar unlike any before.
The Fifth Hokage had declared the end of the One-Country, One-Village system. He would forge a new age — one without Daimyō, one without nobility.
When the news spread, it hit the world like a thunderclap.
"No! Absolutely not!"
In the Sarutobi clan compound, Sarutobi Hiruzen's roar shook the walls. The old man slammed his hand on the table, sending the teapot flying and splattering across the tatami mats. His wrinkled face twisted with rage and disbelief.
The One-Country, One-Village system — the framework built by the First Hokage, sustained for generations — was about to be erased by this reckless successor.
"Namikaze Mirai! Do you even know what you're doing?!"
His teeth clenched so hard that the veins on his temples bulged. His body trembled, more from fury than age.
If Konoha truly struck against the Daimyō, it would not simply be a domestic rebellion — it would be an earthquake that shook the entire ninja world.
No Daimyō would stand idle while one of their own was slain. No noble family would watch quietly as their privileges burned.
As Hiruzen fumed, the door burst open with a crash.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stumbled in, their faces pale.
"Hiruzen! Have you heard? Namikaze Mirai — he's moving against the Daimyō!"
Their voices trembled. The words felt almost blasphemous even to speak aloud.
For decades, they had lived under the same system — the balance of power between Daimyō and village, ruler and shinobi.
The thought of that structure collapsing made their blood run cold.
Hiruzen's expression hardened. His eyes, usually dull with age, now burned with defiance.
"I'll go to him myself." he said, each word cold and heavy. "No matter what, I won't stand by and watch him drive this village into ruin."
*****
Support me on my Ko-fi page to keep me motivated to continue uploading chapters.
https://ko fi.com/rroy28 (put a "-" between "ko" and "fi")
I have added Uncensored NSFW Illustrations in my Discord server, available only to paid members.
I am working on the following projects:
✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ Bleach: In My Second Reincarnation, I Became The Ninth Kenpachi
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]
✓ The Academy's Saint Is Too Popular, But He's Not the Protagonist [R-18]