Seven days later.
The morning sun pierced through the sea of clouds, pouring golden light over the marble-paved main avenues of the Holy City, reflecting a brilliant, glass-like luster.
This was no longer the dilapidated, perpetually raining Amegakure.
Kameda stood at the edge of the hundred-meter-high altar, looking down.
The plaza below was densely packed; a million civilians had converged into a massive, dark ocean of humanity.
The time they had spent living in the Holy City was more than enough to erase whatever cheap nostalgia they still held for their old nations.
Here, every meal included white rice and meat. The houses were perfectly, constantly warm. At night, there were no stray kunai flying out of the dark to slit their throats.
To the commoners, it didn't matter who ruled the world. What mattered was who allowed them to live like actual human beings.
"The muddy swamp of the old era has finally been paved over," Kameda muttered to himself, his fingers trembling violently with excitement.
The sound of ceremonial cannons erupted from the four corners of the city—specialized Lightning Style jutsu fired high into the sky, blooming into long-lasting patterns of the Akatsuki cloud.
However, in one corner of the viewing platform, the atmosphere was oppressive and heavy.
Tsunade gripped the stone railing so tightly her knuckles were white.
Looking down at the massive flag symbolizing absolute unification, a tangled mess of emotions churned in her chest.
As the granddaughter of the First Hokage, she had fought half her life to protect Konoha.
But right now, watching those once-displaced refugees from the Land of Fire cheering with pure joy below, the "Will of Fire" she had stubbornly guarded for decades was shaken by an almost absurd realization.
So the so-called stability isn't achieved through the political games of the Kage... but through absolute suppression.
Tsunade closed her eyes. The smiling faces of Nawaki and Dan surfaced in her mind.
If this kind of power had existed back then... would they still have had to die?
Orochimaru stood beside her, his golden snake eyes brimming with fanatical zeal and sharp mockery. "Tsunade, are you still reminiscing about that pile of ruins? Look at this place. Chakra is no longer a tool for murder; it has been tamed into the very pulse of this city. This is the ultimate form of evolution. That Lord... he has walked far ahead of everyone else."
Not far away, Kurenai Yuhi and Anko stood side-by-side.
Anko chewed on a skewer of dango, but her eyes couldn't look away from the breathtakingly beautiful figures standing high above on the altar.
Hinata wore a moon-white ceremonial robe, Ino was dressed in a gold-patterned gown, and even Mei Terumi had changed into a deep purple robe signifying her status among the Empire's highest echelon.
Honoka, Shion, Kaguya Otsutsuki, Samui, Ryuzetsu... all of them stood there, utterly radiant and dazzling.
They looked like the very center of the world.
They stood at the absolute pinnacle of power, their eyes carrying the tranquil confidence of women who had been thoroughly pampered by a God.
"I used to think becoming a Jonin was the absolute limit." Anko swallowed her dango, her voice a little dry. "Only now do I realize that in His Lordship's eyes, the entire ninja world is nothing more than a little bonsai tree. Kurenai, do you think... we still have a chance to squeeze our way into that bonsai tree?"
Kurenai remained silent, her red lips pressed tightly together. Hidden deep within her eyes was a trace of inferiority, overwhelmed by a far deeper, intense yearning.
Clang—!
The tolling of a massive bell echoed through the clouds.
The raucous venue of a million people instantly fell into a deathly silence.
An indescribable pressure descended from the sky—a tier of life that utterly surpassed conventional ninja comprehension.
"The Empire is established! The Deity descends!" Kameda's shrill, fanatical roar ripped through the amplification arrays.
A massive rift tore open the sky.
Konan was the first to emerge.
The six massive paper wings behind her unfurled completely, every single feather flowing with a pure, milky-white sacred radiance.
She hovered directly in front of the Angel Statue, her face cold and noble. As her eyes looked down upon the earth, she truly looked like a savior descending from the high heavens.
"I am the Angel God. I bestow absolute rule upon this world."
Konan's tone was calm, but it pierced every ear like rolling thunder.
With a wave of her hand, the barrier canopy above the Holy City instantly flared to life.
The dazzling, miraculous phenomena in the sky caused the million civilians below to drop to their knees, kowtowing madly.
In the eyes of mortals, this was a true God.
Immediately after, Alex slowly stepped out from the void.
He didn't display any flashy jutsu. Merely by standing there, the entire fabric of reality seemed to collapse around him, making him the absolute center of existence.
Dressed in dark Imperial robes trimmed with dark gold, his abyssal gaze swept across the masses. Wherever he looked, all living things bowed in submission.
In that moment, Hiashi Hyuga was the very first to drop to his knees, smashing his forehead heavily against the stone pavement. "Your subject, Hiashi Hyuga, greets His Imperial Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"
Behind him, the elite Hyuga guards fell to their knees in perfect, unified precision. The clattering of their armor struck straight into the soul.
This fervor spread like a plague.
Shikaku let out a long sigh and slowly bent his knees.
He was followed by Choza, Inoichi... The proud backbones of the former Konoha ultimately chose to lower their heads before the absolute tide of the new era.
"We greet Your Majesty!"
The roar of a million voices merged into a tsunami, violently shattering the clouds above.
Alex walked to the supreme throne and turned to sit down.
In this exact moment, the ninja world's thousand-year-old feudal lord system, along with the fractured era of hidden villages, was completely and utterly nailed into its coffin.
Hinata stood faithfully by Alex's side. Feeling the crushing, world-dominating majesty radiating from him, her legs subconsciously pressed tightly together. The thick adoration in her eyes was so dense it could not be melted away.
In her heart, there was nothing left but absolute, devoted submission.
The ceremony neared its end.
The setting sun dyed the Holy City in a blanket of blood-red gold.
Alex leaned back against the throne, his fingers unconsciously tracing the true dragon carvings on the armrest.
Konan folded her wings and stood quietly beside him. As their eyes met, both saw the profound triumph and satisfaction in each other's gaze.
This empire, this city, the life and death of billions—it all rested in the palms of their hands.
"Alex," Konan whispered softly, so only the two of them could hear.
"Konan." The corners of Alex's lips curled upward as he looked out toward the accelerating construction of the outer city's silhouette.
"This is the peaceful, stable world we built. The goal we set back then... right now, it is realized."
The two shared a smile, each perfectly reflected in the clear depths of the other's eyes.
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