Kairen saw Hinata fall asleep, then put on his clothes, fastened his belt, and walked out of the room.
He told two shadow clones to prepare a nourishing meal and, when Hinata woke up, to help her recuperate.
Hanabi was practicing on a wooden training post in the small courtyard.
Kairen watched quietly for a while.
Hanabi glanced at Kairen, stuck out her tongue, and made a disgusted face.
She still couldn't forgive Kairen's womanizing.
Kairen smiled and slowly walked out of the courtyard.
When he passed Wolon and Fenchu, he took an extra look. The two pandas were earnestly studying.
Kairen was shocked—these two lazy bears were actually starting to work hard!
I, Moku Kairen, can't keep slacking off either. I have to hurry up and complete my hundred-man kill streak.
...
Kairen walked through Sunagakure.
He could clearly feel the change in the atmosphere here. The old sense of poverty and desolation was gone, replaced by signs of prosperity.
Kairen had confiscated the nobles of the Land of Wind, and the entire country's economy was now concentrated here.
Some merchants were still wary of Kairen's high-handedness and didn't dare move in, but they would come sooner or later.
Kairen passed by a melon stall.
Watermelons were very common in the Land of Wind—it's a fruit to beat the heat.
He stepped forward and asked, "Boss, are these melons guaranteed ripe?"
"Whoosh, whoosh…"
Kairen's ears twitched. He heard the sound of shuriken flying. His palm shook, and he caught the two shuriken that appeared out of nowhere.
In just an instant, Kairen's shadow clones on patrol around the area shouted:
"Your Majesty is under attack—seal off the entire area!"
The street instantly fell into chaos. The melon vendor didn't bother to pick a fight with Kairen and hurried off.
Temari stood with her hands on her hips, staring coldly at Kairen and scolding,
"Kairen, what do you mean by issuing that beauty selection list?"
Kairen smiled, flashed over in an instant, and slung Temari over his shoulder.
Temari kept pounding Kairen's back.
"You big pervert, put me down right now, or I'll make you regret it!"
"Stop messing around!"
Kairen jostled Temari and carried the emergency rations back to the palace.
For Konan and Hinata, he'd spend some thought comforting them.
But as for the other women, forget it. I, Moku Kairen, don't have that much energy to persuade you one by one.
After a vigorous "tasting" of Temari, Kairen went to hall, sat on the throne, and listened to his subordinates' reports.
Canon pinched his fingers into a delicate pose and spoke in a thin voice,
"Your Majesty, the beauty selection list has already been issued, but it seems there's no response among the common people."
Hearing Canon's words, Kairen slapped the dragon throne and said angrily,
"Preposterous! Why is no one signing up to enter the palace?"
Canon read the room and advised, "Your Majesty, this servant thinks everyone under heaven already knows the might of Your Majesty. Why not livestream the ninja world? This will surely awe all and win the hearts of beauties across the realm."
Kairen beamed. "Excellent. That's a brilliant idea."
Canon smiled. "Your Majesty flatters me!"
"Guards! Drag Canon out and hang him in the sun for three days."
"Your Majesty, no!"
A green-haired loli stuck out a snake tongue, standing below and secretly eyeing Kairen.
Orochimaru sneered inwardly… I thought you were so lofty—turns out you're just a simple lecher.
Hmph! Women only hinder a ninja's path. Kid, just wait—you'll die on a woman's belly someday!
Wait… this guy turned me into a woman—will he set his sights on me one day?
A chill crept through Orochimaru's heart. Every move of the one who moves the pieces is worth pondering. Kairen turning her into a woman seemed to hide an ulterior motive.
She had been a woman before, but she definitely didn't want her backside split open.
No, I have to find a way to change back.
Deidara was bored to the point of bubbling over. He squatted down and teased Akamaru.
"Hey, mutt, perform a chest-smashing-a-boulder for me."
Akamaru buried his head and ignored Deidara. He'd figured it out.
Everyone here is his own kind—there isn't a single normal person.
Finally, someone stepped forward.
Gaara, with short red hair, stepped out. He coughed and tried hard to adapt to the empire's court.
"Y-Your Majesty, this humble servant has a remonstrance."
Kairen's gaze fell on the bowing Gaara. This kid had finally lowered his head.
Gaara wasn't stupid. He had seen Sunagakure's changes.
Even though Kairen wasn't human, what he did was barely human affairs.
Sunagakure was thriving. If he kept blocking things, he'd really be a fool.
What's more, Kairen had now tied the Land of Wind to his war chariot. Gaara couldn't just stand by.
He had secretly studied the empire's court language for two days and barely picked up the gist.
Kairen waved his hand. "Speak, my minister."
Gaara said, "Your Majesty, the entire Kairen Empire… is all yellow sand. The people have suffered for a long time. I beg Your Majesty to condescend and use Wood Release to alleviate the empire's barrenness."
Kairen nodded. "What you say is right. We do need to change the empire's land and water. I will send three thousand Wood Release troops to improve the soil."
"Also, the Land of Rain is under my rule now too. If we balance the two places, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
The shadow clones led the people of Sunagakure in a unified bow. "Your Majesty is wise!"
Orochimaru watched quietly and also learned in his heart.
He was now the Second Supervisor of the Eastern Bureau and needed to understand how Kairen's people operated.
After watching for a while, he felt it was quite flashy.
Kairen chuckled. "Mm… Canon, write this down—Canon?"
Cloud Kairen reminded him, "Your Majesty, Chief Canon is being hung on the city tower."
"Oh! I know. Then… Minister Snake!"
Orochimaru was called and immediately bent at the waist. "Your Majesty."
...
Sasuke jolted awake from a nightmare and immediately saw a man with a yin-yang face—half intact, half damaged.
"Who are you?"
Obito pointed at himself and revealed his Rinnegan and Mangekyō.
"An Uchiha of tragedy."
Since Obito's identity had already been exposed, he simply stopped pretending.
Sasuke snorted. "Playing tricks!"
Obito smiled, didn't mind Sasuke's mockery, and instead folded his arms, preparing to deceive… to guide Sasuke onto the path.
"Uchiha Sasuke, how does revenge feel?"
Sasuke fell silent.
How did revenge feel? What he felt was only emptiness.
In Kairen's words,
It was like finishing a round and becoming a sage with a cigarette in his mouth, always feeling like he'd seen through everything.
Besides that, Sasuke also felt a deep doubt.
Why was Itachi smiling when he died? Why did that man smile?
When Sasuke calmed down, he realized his hatred was filled with too much design.
No matter how bad Konoha was, it couldn't have let Itachi wipe out the entire Uchiha clan alone.
Could it be… there was something else hidden in this?
Obito looked at Sasuke's contemplation and smiled.
And what he didn't know was that he and Sasuke were being livestreamed to the entire ninja world.
A crow looked at the light screen and murmured, "Sasuke, when you know everything, what choice will you make?"
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