After chatting with Ino Yamanaka and the others for a bit, Kitazawa went to find Nara Shikaku.
He handed Shikaku the task of taking control of the Land of Water.
Being as sharp as he was, Shikaku understood immediately.
Kitazawa didn't want to remain constrained by the Five Great Nations anymore.
Clearly, as a "god of the shinobi" as well, he and Hashirama Senju were choosing two completely different approaches.
Naturally, Shikaku had no objection.
Because for shinobi, this was a good thing.
And especially for the Nara clan—they would benefit from it.
Governing the shinobi world required manpower.
A high-IQ clan like the Nara were perfectly suited for that.
In truth, the Nara clan being limited to Konoha had always prevented them from fully using their talents.
Now that the scope had expanded to the Five Great Nations and the entire shinobi world, they could finally let their abilities run free.
After finishing his talk with Shikaku, Kitazawa went to Konoha's temporary camp in the Land of Waterfalls.
The Land of Waterfalls was exactly where Konoha and Iwagakure were fighting.
Kitazawa didn't go to see Hiashi Hyuga and the others. He simply returned to his own tent.
First, because it was already late.
Second, because he was here as a spectator.
As for the bet with Mei Terumī, that was purely because it triggered a related system quest.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have interfered.
"White Zetsu," Kitazawa called after thinking for a moment.
A moment later, White Zetsu entered from outside the tent.
"Spread the news that Kirigakure has been defeated," Kitazawa ordered. "Also, compile a summary of how the Second Shinobi Force has been fighting Iwagakure, and give it to me tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
White Zetsu bowed slightly, then sank into the ground and vanished.
As soon as it left, Konan appeared in front of Kitazawa.
"Why are you wearing that outfit?" Kitazawa asked with a smile, looking at her Anbu uniform.
"I'll change right now." Konan paused, then asked, "What do you want me to wear?"
"A maid outfit," Kitazawa said after a moment's thought.
He had given Konan quite a lot of clothes before; a maid outfit was one of them.
Hearing that, Konan raised a hand and removed the Anbu outfit.
Her snow-white body entered Kitazawa's view.
He admired her openly.
Even though he'd seen it many times, he still found it stunning.
Konan calmly took out a white maid outfit.
Along with it were white stockings, white cat ears, and a white tail accessory.
A complete set.
Soon, Konan had changed into the outfit.
The cool, mature beauty suddenly gained a touch of cuteness.
Konan looked at Kitazawa.
She slowly crouched down, getting on all fours.
Her tail bobbed with her movements.
She crawled up to Kitazawa, raised her head, and stuck out her pink tongue to lick the back of her hand, then let out a soft "meow."
"So obedient," Kitazawa laughed.
He reached out and patted her head.
Konan tilted her head and rubbed her cat ears against his arm.
Kitazawa immediately felt an itch along his arm.
But even more than that, it made his heart itch.
He lowered his head, cupped Konan's cheeks, and kissed her soft lips.
A tempting sheen quickly spread across her lips.
Kitazawa's fingertip brushed over them.
Konan still wore her usual cool expression.
But there was a faint, seductive glimmer in her eyes now.
Kitazawa withdrew his hand and leaned back.
He lay down on the carpet.
Konan crawled into his arms, propping herself up as she looked down at him.
Kitazawa let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.
He reached out and kneaded her hips twice.
The white stockings only came up to her thighs, so the softness of her body was clearly transmitted into his hand.
Konan let out a muffled hum. Her legs tensed, and her blue-purple hair clung messily to her face.
A blush also rose across her pale skin.
After a long while, Konan forced herself through the fatigue and leaned close to Kitazawa.
"Remember to get up early tomorrow," Kitazawa said, stroking her head. "Good night."
Konan answered softly and closed her eyes.
Feeling her soft, fever-warm skin, Kitazawa also fell asleep.
A new day.
It was still January, but the climate in the Land of Waterfalls was completely different from the Land of Fire.
A humid, warm air hung inside the tent.
Kitazawa opened his eyes.
He felt his breathing catch, and he frowned.
Instinctively, he looked toward Konan, who was swaying her head.
She was half-kneeling on the carpet, her white-stockinged thighs full and shapely.
And with her perky hips paired with that swaying cat tail, the whole scene gave off a sudden "genre shift" vibe.
But what didn't change was the indescribable sensuality and temptation.
Kitazawa hadn't expected that one day he'd get to enjoy the kind of "anime male lead treatment" like this.
He relaxed, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep for a bit.
Konan shot him a hazy look, then lowered her head again.
It wasn't until someone knocked at the door that she puffed out her cheeks and rolled her eyes.
"Konan, go wash up first," Kitazawa said, feeling refreshed after the extra sleep.
"Mm." Konan swallowed and replied softly.
Kitazawa raised his hand and used Yomotsu Hirasaka.
A black portal opened.
"Go back to your dorm," Kitazawa reminded her. "I'll open another portal for you in half an hour."
Konan nodded and stepped through.
After getting dressed, Kitazawa left the tent.
He was used to setting up a barrier inside before sleeping.
"Hokage-sama."
Seeing him come out, White Zetsu immediately handed him a scroll. "This is the information you asked for."
Kitazawa took the scroll and waved a hand.
White Zetsu promptly sank into the ground and disappeared.
Kitazawa returned to the tent.
Konan needed some time to wash up.
He didn't mind, and opened the scroll to read.
The contents were a recent summary of the Second Shinobi Force's battle with Iwagakure.
Overall, things were going smoothly.
But among the four villages, Iwagakure's response could be considered the best.
Because Iwagakure shinobi were skilled in Earth Release.
They had used Earth Release to construct four impregnable strongholds.
And each stronghold had three thousand Iwagakure ninja inside, which made Konoha's advance relatively slow.
So far, they had only broken through two strongholds.
One of those fell thanks to Neji Hyuga's Tenseigan.
The other fell thanks to Haku's Six-Tails.
Of course, "slow" was relative—this was still extremely fast in reality.
After all, the Fourth Shinobi World War had been going on for less than half a month.
After reading, Kitazawa grew interested in Iwagakure's strongholds.
He wanted to see what they looked like—what could possibly stall Konoha's offensive.
He put the scroll away.
Half an hour later, he used Yomotsu Hirasaka again, and Konan reappeared.
She had taken off the maid outfit and changed into a secretary uniform with black stockings—her vibe shifting instantly.
Konan looked at him without saying anything, simply taking out a bento box.
Kitazawa opened it and found steaming rice balls inside.
He couldn't help but smile.
"Have you eaten?" Kitazawa asked.
"No." Konan took out another bento box.
Clearly, she wanted to eat breakfast with him.
"Then we'll eat together."
Kitazawa reached out and gave her black-stockinged thigh a squeeze.
Konan nodded.
She knelt on the carpet, her black-stockinged thighs bending with the movement.
Kitazawa wasn't used to kneeling, so he sat on the carpet without any concern for appearances.
As soon as he sat down, Konan picked up a rice ball and held it out to him.
"Thanks," Kitazawa said as he took a bite. "You don't need to feed me."
Konan didn't answer. She put the remaining half into her own mouth.
After she finished, she licked her red lips.
"Eat properly," Kitazawa said, glaring at her.
Konan lowered her head and obediently ate her rice ball, no longer making any teasing gestures.
Breakfast ended quickly.
Kitazawa handed the bento boxes back to her.
Konan put them away and looked at him.
"Let's go take a look at Iwagakure's strongholds," Kitazawa said, standing up and extending both arms.
Seeing that, Konan walked over and hugged him.
Kitazawa casually kneaded her soft hips twice.
Yomotsu Hirasaka!
His eyes jolted as a black portal appeared in front of him.
He picked Konan up and stepped through.
When they emerged again, they were already in midair.
With Kitazawa's current strength, he could fly in the air purely with chakra.
Not to mention he also had Magnet Release, the Rinnegan, the Tenseigan, and other methods.
Feeling the softness in his arms, Kitazawa looked down at the Iwagakure stronghold below.
Konan held him tightly, bringing their hearts close together.
Kitazawa swept his gaze over it, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
A massive arch-like structure came into view.
It looked like a thick, earth-colored eggshell.
And the stronghold was wrapped inside that "eggshell."
Kitazawa activated his Byakugan and checked.
The shell was at least thirty meters thick.
For Konoha's Second Shinobi Force to take two strongholds in less than half a month was indeed not bad.
Of course, there was another reason.
Neji Hyuga hadn't been making continuous moves.
If he activated Tenseigan Chakra Mode and went all out, he could break that shell.
But the issue was the cost.
And inside the shell, there were three thousand Iwagakure ninja continuously supplying chakra.
Even for Neji, after taking one stronghold, he'd need a few days of rest.
Still, Iwagakure's efforts were ultimately futile.
Konoha winning this war was only a matter of time.
After thinking for a moment, Kitazawa opened another portal and arrived at Iwagakure's main base.
Same shape—but the thickness had increased by another ten meters.
And in the sky, several white birds circled.
Kitazawa could tell at a glance they weren't real birds, but clay creations.
No doubt, Deidara's work.
Because of the butterfly effect he'd caused, Deidara had been called back early by Ōnoki.
And he avoided the fate of joining Konoha alongside the Akatsuki.
Kitazawa looked around and spotted quite a few traps Deidara had left behind.
Clearly, taking Iwagakure's main base wouldn't be easy.
With Ōnoki, Deidara, and the others there, this main base had truly achieved both offense and defense.
Especially in terms of top-tier fighters, Iwagakure had more than Kumogakure.
Like Ōnoki, Kitsuchi, and Deidara.
No need to explain Ōnoki—Third Tsuchikage. His Dust Release could be called the most destructive among "standard Kage-level" techniques.
Kitsuchi was his son. Based on his performance in the original story, he was already Kage-level.
He could punch away a tailed-beast-transformed Kinkaku, and he could briefly suppress the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Ten-Tails with Earth Release.
Deidara didn't have much of a record at this point.
But in the original story, he fought Gaara head-on, and his performance wasn't bad either.
Kumogakure only had the Fourth Raikage and Killer B as top-tier fighters.
But Killer B—the Eight-Tails jinchūriki—had already been captured.
That left the Fourth Raikage fighting alone.
Even so, Kitazawa still had no intention of stepping in.
Because the Second Shinobi Force still hadn't reached its limit.
Neji wasn't using his full power, and neither was Might Guy.
Kitazawa carried Konan back to the tent.
Meanwhile, at Iwagakure's temporary camp…
Ōnoki, Kitsuchi, Akatsuchi, Kurotsuchi, Deidara, and other shinobi gathered together.
Because they had received the latest intel about Kirigakure.
After White Zetsu spread the word overnight, news of Kirigakure's surrender had already swept the entire shinobi world.
"So now it's only us, Iwagakure, left?" Akatsuchi asked with furrowed brows.
"This was inevitable," Kurotsuchi said heavily.
She was young, but her personality was steady.
And with solid talent and strength, Ōnoki kept her close to train her.
"Even Kumogakure lost. You can't blame Kirigakure," Ōnoki said with a grim expression.
"So what?" Deidara snorted. "I can't wait for Konoha to see the art of my explosions!"
"Deidara's right!" Kurotsuchi agreed. "What—are we going to surrender?"
"We can only fight Konoha to the end!" Ōnoki said, unconsciously clenching his fist.
He recalled the distant past—Uchiha Madara beating him and his teacher into the ground, and the Second Tsuchikage…
No matter what, he could never surrender the way Kirigakure did.
"We might not lose," Kitsuchi analyzed. "The most troublesome shinobi in the Konoha Second Shinobi Allied Force are Neji Hyuga and Haku."
Because of Hinata Hyuga's fame, the Tenseigan had already entered the radar of every major village's top leadership.
And Neji had used the Tenseigan when attacking Iwagakure's strongholds earlier, so Iwagakure already understood how terrifying it was.
As for Haku—he was the Six-Tails jinchūriki.
Jinchūriki… they all knew what that meant.
"But… Konoha has more than just the Second Shinobi Allied Force," Akatsuchi said worriedly.
"From what we can tell, Konoha won't send reinforcements for now," Kitsuchi said after thinking.
"But if we defeat the Second Shinobi Allied Force, Konoha will definitely send reinforcements," Akatsuchi insisted.
"Then we won't give them the chance," Kitsuchi exhaled. "After we defeat the Second Shinobi Allied Force, we immediately negotiate terms with Konoha."
Ōnoki and the others froze slightly.
They quickly understood Kitsuchi's thinking.
If the war dragged on, Iwagakure's defeat was only a matter of time.
But if they beat Konoha's Second Shinobi Allied Force first, it would prove two things.
First: it would prove Iwagakure's strength.
If Konoha kept fighting, they would have to pay a price.
Second: it would preserve Iwagakure's dignity.
Because negotiating after a victory was very different from negotiating after a crushing defeat.
Whether Konoha would agree to talks or not—Kitsuchi didn't know.
All Iwagakure could do was try their best.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— This Fanfic is Completed in Patreon!