[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully conquering Amegakure as the mastermind behind the scenes, and delivering the final blow to kill the Demi-God of the Shinobi World, Hanzō of the Salamander!]
[For the sake of personal desire, you brought Takigakure under your command, making a group of young combat forces willingly fight to the death for you, and voluntarily attack Amegakure. You also successfully obtained the support of the Land of Iron through the use of the Transformation Technique, persuading the Land of Iron's general, Mifune, to join the subjugation war.]
[In the end, you even snatched the kill and claimed the title of executing the Demi-God Hanzō in one fell swoop! Extremely shameless! But this system likes it!]
[Special Reward: strength +7!]
[Ding! Host strength has reached 100! Passive attribute activated: strength amplification 50%! Note: For reference, the host's current pure strength comparison is: Guy < Host < Fourth Raikage < Tsunade.]
[Special Reward: hand seals +11!]
[Ding! Host hand seals have reached 100! Passive attribute activated: Clap your hands and shout, and whatever you want comes! As long as chakra is circulated, ninjutsu can be used! Overly complex ninjutsu are excluded! For example: Reaper Death Seal.]
[Special Reward: ninjutsu amplification +20%!]
What a blast—this was absolutely a huge explosion!
Listening to the continuous stream of system notifications in his head, Gekko Chizan remained dazed for a long time.
This was the most rewards he had ever received in all these years—two attributes reaching 100 and activating passive abilities.
And there was even a ninjutsu amplification. Damn.
But thinking about it carefully, he felt these rewards were exactly what he deserved.
How many years had it been? Ever since he took Yahiko and the others away from Amegakure and brought them into Takigakure, slowly plotting over Takigakure.
He had even deliberately abducted Yugito from Kumogakure and Mei Terumī from Kirigakure.
Bit by bit, he armed Takigakure, terrified that they might suffer losses. He even spared no effort traveling to the Land of Iron to sell wine for a long time, finally conquering General Mifune of the Land of Iron and bringing him into this war.
Enough said. The more he talked about it, the more tears there were.
...
"Hanzo is dead!"
"Konan, we succeeded! Without Hanzo's brutal rule, Amegakure will surely see the light again!"
Seeing Hanzō of the Salamander die with his own eyes, Yahiko was extremely excited.
These past years had been far too difficult for Amegakure—whether civilians or shinobi, everyone had suffered immensely.
He couldn't wait to liberate this country as soon as possible.
"Chizan, thank you! This day has come entirely because of you!"
"Please accept my bow!"
Yahiko was a hot-blooded youth and immediately moved to kowtow to Gekko Chizan.
The latter's mouth twitched violently. With a casual wave of his hand, crystal condensed and directly restrained Yahiko, afraid that he might really kowtow.
"Alright, cut out this empty ceremony nonsense."
"The war may be over, but there are many things we'll have to face afterward."
"First is the reconstruction of Amegakure. Look around—see how badly everything's been destroyed?"
Gekko Chizan swept his gaze across the surroundings. This battle had been fought fiercely, and the number of destroyed buildings was countless.
The subsequent reconstruction would also be a troublesome matter. After all, Takigakure didn't have anyone who could use Wood Release—it couldn't be rebuilt as smoothly as Konoha.
Yamato: ...So I'm just a construction maniac, huh?
"It's fine. We'll arrange for people to carry out repairs as soon as possible."
"The main force of Takigakure has already dispersed around Amegakure. From now on, Amegakure will be incorporated under Takigakure."
"However, it will continue to retain the name Amegakure. I'll have Konan serve as Amegakure's village head. I don't think the daimyo's mansion will object."
The daimyo's mansion of Amegakure? Heh heh heh. Because of Hanzō's existence, the daimyo's mansion had been a mere formality for many years.
With a new village head, the daimyo might even be overjoyed.
"That works. Just handle the follow-up matters properly."
"Yugito, Mei Terumī—after you finish dealing with things here, don't forget to return to the Land of Grass and the Land of Hot Water."
"Mifune-sama, the war is over. Shall I see you off?"
Gekko Chizan walked over to Mifune with a smile. The latter didn't refuse and instead nodded.
Clearly, Mifune also wanted to have some contact with Gekko Chizan.
The two walked step by step toward the outside of Amegakure.
By the time they descended from Hanzō's castle platform, a large number of Takigakure shinobi and samurai had gathered below. It was obvious that they had already suppressed all unrest throughout Amegakure.
...
"Okisuke, command the samurai legion. The war is over—Hanzō of the Salamander has fallen. We return to the Land of Iron immediately."
"Yes, General Mifune!"
The samurai legion of the Land of Iron gradually withdrew. At this moment, Mifune spoke:
...
"Sir, should I address you as Shuan, or as Gekko Chizan?"
"Oh?"
Gekko Chizan looked at Mifune with slight surprise. He was very curious how the other party had recognized him.
...
"Heh heh heh. I am, after all, a general of the Land of Iron. Although you hid yourself very well, there were still some inadvertent details that exposed your identity."
"For example, that wicked grin of yours—no one else could smile like that."
Gekko Chizan was instantly speechless. What the hell?
His smile exposed him? His smile was clearly very approachable—how did that expose him?!
But since he had already been recognized, there was no point pretending anymore.
"Heh heh heh, Mifune. Since you've recognized me, then let's leave it at that."
"That's right. Shuan is me."
Gekko Chizan openly admitted his identity. Seeing this, Mifune let out a soft sigh.
"Chizan, what exactly are you trying to do?"
"Based on what these eyes of mine have seen, the war between Takigakure and Amegakure was instigated by you."
"The war situation was clearly peaceful—why provoke this battle?"
The light rain continued to fall. Gekko Chizan slowly raised his head to look at the sky, then murmured:
"If I said it was for true peace, would you believe me?"
"Hanzō of the Salamander was a stumbling block on this path—he had to be kicked aside."
"Only by uniting Takigakure and Amegakure can these two countries achieve true peace."
There was one more sentence he didn't say.
That was: only in this way could he truly possess his own rear base.
Yes—Gekko Chizan regarded Takigakure as his rear base, not Konoha.
To deal with what was about to happen next, he needed his own power. When the enemy truly appeared, that would be the moment he fully revealed himself.
"Heh heh heh, peace?"
"What kind of peace would the peace spoken of by Konoha's Ghost be like?"
"I'm very curious."
"Chizan, since you've already made your move this time, I won't pursue the previous matters. I'm also very curious about the peace you speak of—I'll be watching."
"If the two countries truly achieve the peace you described, the Land of Iron wouldn't mind continuing to maintain friendly relations with you."