Konoha shinobi surrounded Kirigakure.
The village was eerily quiet, not a single movement. Yōkō looked at Kirigakure, where only about twenty percent of the houses had lights on, and said, "Let's wait. See if Kirigakure intends to resist stubbornly or surrender sensibly."
After over ten minutes, a small boat rowed out from Kirigakure. On board were only three people. Facing the dark, undulating mass of thousands of Konoha shinobi on the water, a wave of desolation washed over the three on the boat. But what could they do? War and death were fates shinobi could neither avoid nor escape.
When the main Kiri-nin force left Kirigakure to attack the Land of Whirlpools months ago, they were high-spirited and full of vigor. In the blink of an eye, over 7,000 Kiri-nin had died in battle. The Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi, Elder Genji, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and the clan heads of various ninja clans had all perished one after another in the war. The two Tailed Beasts, the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, were also killed by Konoha.
Hashirama Senju's words were all lies, they thought. What good are Tailed Beasts? How could they possibly deter other villages? At least Konoha doesn't accept such deterrence.
Yōkō looked at the person standing at the front of the small boat. It was unexpected yet made sense.
Mei Terumī wore the Mizukage's ceremonial robe. Mei was five years older than Kakashi, 19 years old now, having just earned the name "genius girl." Among the remaining Kiri-nin, Mei was already one of the most capable.
Looking at the figures at the forefront of the Konoha forces, Mei felt a chill in her heart. When facing a powerful enemy she couldn't overcome, she always couldn't help but shrink back. The Underworld King Fox, a killer of countless, made even Orochimaru beside him seem somewhat amiable in comparison.
Mei jumped off the small boat, bowed, and extended her hands forward, presenting the unconditional surrender agreement scroll. Yōkō took the scroll with one hand and said to Mei, "Fifth Mizukage, lead Kirigakure to adapt to the new order."
Mei stood up, adjusting her V-neck collar. "Understood, Lord Fox."
The era of the Five Great Shinobi Villages was over. Even a Mizukage had to address Fox with respect.
Entering Kirigakure, the village's desolation was evident. Yōkō said to Mei beside him, "Kirigakure has always been isolated overseas. Since its founding, you believed only you could launch attacks on other villages, and other villages could never attack Kirigakure. So you repeatedly provoked other villages, never suffering sufficient punitive strikes. If a severe, punitive strike had been launched against Kirigakure earlier, perhaps your village wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses. Does Kirigakure even have 1,000 shinobi now?"
Mei gave a bitter laugh. "No. We tallied last night. Including retired shinobi recalled due to disabilities, we have 932 in total."
Yōkō said, "The Land of Water will be managed by the Joint Government I will establish. Your Kirigakure will no longer interfere. The Capital of the Land of Water and the four major port cities will have garrison departments established by Konoha. Apart from these five cities, the remaining towns and cities will have garrison departments formed by your Kirigakure. In about another month to a month and a half, teleportation altars will be established in all towns across the Land of Water. At that time, your Kiri-nin will also be able to use the teleportation altars."
Mei asked in surprise, "We can use them too?"
"Of course," Yōkō said. "Just destruction without construction is meaningless. I aim to establish a new order."
Mei used to think Fox was the kind of master shinobi who honed his ninjutsu and mentality to the peak, yet was also a bloodthirsty killer. From this brief conversation, she found Fox calmly and resolutely pushing forward his will. This unyielding nature made Mei understand for the first time what it meant to be truly subdued. She certainly hated Fox, hated Konoha. Yet she now understood that Fox allowing Kiri-nin to use the teleportation altars meant he simply didn't care about their hatred. He seemed utterly confident that Kirigakure would change according to his will.
After establishing a Divine Hall within Kirigakure, Yōkō watched batches of Konoha shinobi leave the village via the teleportation altars. Some returned to the village for rest, others headed to the Land of Hot Water.
Orochimaru said, "Fox, I will not go to the Land of Hot Water front. With your current strength, once you arrive there, the Kumo-nin will face a rout. I plan to return to Konoha and continue my ninjutsu research."
Yōkō said, "Alright. I'll take people to reinforce the Land of Hot Water front."
Thinking for a moment, worried Orochimaru might stray too far down the path of human experimentation, Yōkō took out a scroll. "This is the Dust Release scroll, Lord Orochimaru. You can study Dust Release. Kekkei Tōta has greater power and more potential than Kekkei Genkai."
Orochimaru took the scroll, pondering. With Fox's immense strength, his understanding of ninjutsu is likely more correct.
After seeing off the last Konoha squad, Orochimaru approached the altar. The shrine priest, an Uzumaki shinobi, unfurled a scroll before Orochimaru. "Lord Orochimaru, please touch the target altar location."
It was a map scroll of the shinobi world, with glowing points representing teleportation altars. Except for the Land of Lightning, Land of the Moon, and Land of Iron, all other countries on the map had glowing points. Orochimaru reached out and pressed his finger on Konoha's location. He channeled chakra into the scroll, activating the Flying Altar Technique formulas at both locations. Orochimaru instantly vanished.
Yōkō said to Mei, "Attacking a Divine Hall or altar is equivalent to attacking me. I will appear instantly. Remember to inform the Kiri-nin of this rule."
"Understood, Lord Fox."
Mei saw that Fox didn't use the Flying Altar Technique but simply vanished using the Flying Thunder God.
Of course, she thought. He established the entire teleportation altar system; naturally, he can teleport freely.
When Yōkō reappeared, he was in a border town of the Land of Hot Water. The frontline headquarters was waiting for him.
Yōkō first looked at Uchiha Fugaku and said, "Clan Head Fugaku, my condolences."
The Uchiha clan head, Uchiha Kane, had sacrificed himself in a battle to stall the Third Raikage. Among the three war fronts, the one in the Land of Hot Water was the most challenging. The Kumo-nin, led by the Third Raikage, were stubborn and tough, showing no intention to negotiate or yield, engaging in fierce battles with Konoha forces along the border of the Land of Hot Water and Land of the Moon.
Uchiha Fugaku said, "Lord Fox, sacrifice is inevitable in war. Konoha has lost many shinobi; my father is just one of them."
Yōkō glanced at Fugaku's eyes. He should have awakened his Mangekyō by now. I wonder what his ability is.
After Uchiha Kane's sacrifice, Namikaze Minato became the overall commander, with Fugaku as deputy commander.
Minato said, "Lord Fox, it's time to launch a full-scale offensive."
Yōkō nodded. "We'll push from the Land of the Moon all the way into the heart of the Land of Lightning, until we capture the Capital of the Land of Lightning. One month from now, we will completely end the Third Great Shinobi War."
(End of Chapter)