"As for Konoha itself."
Kiyohara paused for a moment before continuing.
"Starting today, Konoha will no longer be merely a shinobi village belonging to the Land of Fire. It will become the capital of the Land of Fire. The city walls will be expanded outward to three times their current size."
"The existing first ring will be retained as the military core district. The second ring will serve as the administrative district and residential area for shinobi. The third ring will become the commercial district and residential area for ordinary civilians. The width of the streets, drainage systems, defensive barriers, and evacuation facilities will all be redesigned according to the highest standards."
The meeting room fell silent once again.
Everyone present had heard rumors about expanding Konoha to some extent, but when Kiyohara formally proposed it as a national policy, the impact was still far beyond what most of them had expected.
He intended to transform Konoha from a military fortress into a true capital city.
Shikaku's mind was already calculating the amount of materials, manpower, and time that would be required for such a project, as well as the diplomatic buffer period that would be necessary when dealing with the surrounding great nations.
Yet this time, he did not stand up to object.
Kiyohara's three statements from earlier had already dispelled most of his concerns.
Ordinary civilians would retain their official positions. The daimyo would be demoted but not abolished. The Anbu would be expanded and would also be responsible for selecting and training officials.
These measures made it clear that Kiyohara was not simply planning to tear down the existing system and replace it with chaos.
"Then, starting today."
Kiyohara straightened his body and lifted both hands away from the table.
"Konoha will enter a wartime expansion phase. All Earth Release specialist shinobi at the level of jōnin and above will be placed under Kakashi's unified command and will be responsible for the construction of the city walls and main roads. Water Release specialist shinobi will be placed under Tsunade's command and will be responsible for the drainage system and the planning of the moat."
"Anbu Division Three will be responsible for the allocation of materials and security during the expansion. As for the specific construction plan, Shikaku will compile everything and submit it three days from now."
He paused and swept his gaze across the entire meeting room.
In the end, his eyes settled on the stone statues of the previous Hokage carved into the Hokage Rock outside the window.
"The meeting is adjourned."
On that very day, the shinobi of Konoha began moving into action.
The entire village seemed to transform into a gigantic construction site.
Kakashi led the Earth Release squads along the newly designated foundation line of the outer city wall.
Fresh earth was constantly brought up from underground by Earth Release techniques, piling into continuous mounds that stretched along the outskirts of Konoha. The construction squads then used specialized techniques to compact the soil layer by layer, gradually forming a solid foundation for the new city walls.
Tsunade stood beside the newly excavated moat with a set of construction plans in her hands. She pointed here and there while directing a group of Water Release shinobi. Every so often, she would personally jump down into the channel and smash through obstructing layers of rock with a single punch.
The resulting fragments of stone could be sent flying more than a dozen meters away.
Kiyohara stood at the top of Hokage Rock, looking down at the land below that was undergoing a tremendous transformation.
Most of the old city wall had already been demolished.
The foundations of the new walls stretched outward like the skeleton of a growing dragon, winding along the mountainous terrain surrounding Konoha.
Two-thirds of the moat had already been excavated.
Water diverted from the Naka River was slowly flowing through the newly opened channels, gradually filling the moat. Beneath the setting sun, the surface of the water shimmered with golden ripples.
Farther away, the wooden framework of the newly constructed administrative district in the second ring had already begun to take shape.
The area that Kaguya had once described as a "run-down ruin" had now been replaced by rows upon rows of wooden buildings.
At this rate, the basic structure of Konoha's new capital would be completed within three months.
The following morning, the news spread throughout the entire world as if it had grown wings.
…
Land of Fire Capital.
After Asuma finished listening to the monk Chiriku, relay the intelligence, he remained silent for a long time.
The cigarette between his fingers had already burned all the way to the end, yet he had not even noticed that the ash had accumulated.
"What should we do?"
Chiriku's voice remained calm, but the fingers wrapped around his prayer beads tightened slightly.
Asuma pressed the cigarette butt against the windowsill and extinguished it. A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"I don't know either. The old man hasn't sent us any instructions yet, but judging from his personality, he probably won't support this. Kiyohara is trying to uproot rules that have existed for a thousand years."
However, the people who truly caused an uproar were the daimyo and the leaders of the various great shinobi villages.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire paced restlessly inside his residence, squeezing the folding fan in his hand until it creaked.
His attendants were kneeling throughout the room.
Not a single one of them dared to raise their head and look at his expression.
…
Iwagakure, Tsuchikage Building.
Onoki slammed the intelligence scroll in his hand onto the table.
His wrinkled old face had turned bright red with anger.
His back was already in poor condition, and the force of the impact sent another wave of pain through his waist. He gritted his teeth, but he did not even have time to rub it.
Instead, he pointed at the four characters on the scroll that read "Kiyohara becomes Emperor" and cursed furiously.
"He's insane! That man has completely lost his mind! The Hokage is going to replace the daimyo? And now he wants to become an emperor?"
Deidara leaned against the window, kneading a lump of explosive clay in his hands.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, an eager smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"But Old Man, think about it. If he becomes Emperor, wouldn't he have an even greater opportunity to promote art? Just imagine the scale of it! Boom! The entire shinobi world could see my masterpiece, hmm!"
Onoki glared at him.
His old eyes were filled with helplessness and the frustration of seeing a promising student waste his potential.
"You brat. Is there anything in that head of yours besides explosions? The problem isn't whether he becomes Emperor. The problem is what happens after he becomes Emperor. The Land of Fire will inevitably enter an era of comprehensive expansion. Konoha's military strength already far exceeds that of the other shinobi villages. Now he has also unified the military, political, and financial powers of the Land of Fire. What do you think his next step will be?"
"The Fourth Shinobi War isn't a question of whether it will happen anymore. The question is when it will happen."
Deidara shaped the clay in his hands into a small bird and placed it on the windowsill.
"Wouldn't that be even better? If there's a war, my art will have an even greater stage, hmm!"
Onoki was just about to continue lecturing his troublesome disciple when an Anbu hurried into the room.
The shinobi dropped to one knee and presented an encrypted scroll with both hands.
Onoki opened the scroll and quickly scanned its contents.
His brows immediately furrowed even more deeply.
"This is from Kumo."
"They're willing to use Kiyohara's violation of the established hierarchy and his disruption of traditional ethics and social order as justification to launch a joint military campaign against Konoha. They're already contacting the other shinobi villages. However, Kiri and Suna have yet to respond."
Onoki fell silent.
He had witnessed the overwhelming strength of Uchiha Madara.
He had also witnessed the immense power of Senju Hashirama.
But Kiyohara gave him a completely different feeling from those two men.
Madara was a proud and solitary eagle.
Hashirama was a broad and steadfast mountain.
Kiyohara, however, was like an abyss whose bottom could not be seen.
Onoki did not dare gamble on how Kiyohara would ultimately deal with Iwagakure.
As the Tsuchikage, the entire village was resting on his shoulders.
After a moment of silence, he waved his hand toward the Anbu shinobi.
"Reply to Kumo. Iwagakure agrees to join the coalition."
…
Land of Rain, Akatsukigakure.
Yahiko held the intelligence report in his hands and paced back and forth across the room several times.
His hair was even messier than before, clearly because he had only just woken up when this explosive piece of news reached him.
His first reaction was confusion.
Why would Kiyohara suddenly want to become Emperor?
But that confusion lasted only a brief moment.
The eyes that had been tempered by years of war suddenly brightened.
"He wants to unify the shinobi world."
Yahiko muttered to himself, his speech becoming faster as he continued.
"No, it's not simply about unifying the shinobi world. He wants to eliminate the concept of separate nations. If there is only one country throughout the entire shinobi world, then there will no longer be wars between nations."
"This is exactly what I've always wanted to accomplish, but never had the ability to achieve!"
He suddenly turned around and shouted toward the doorway.
"Kyuusuke! Idate Kyuusuke!"
A shinobi quickly ran into the room.
He was one of the first core members to follow Yahiko.
He had once served as a messenger for Akatsuki in Amegakure, and his speed was among the best in the entire Land of Rain.
"Go to Konoha yourself. Tell the Hokage, no, tell Lord Kiyohara that everyone in Akatsukigakure supports Konoha. We are willing to become part of the new order."
"I understand, Boss."
Kyuusuke nodded.
The moment he turned around, he disappeared into the curtain of rain outside.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Land of Rain, deep within a secret chamber beneath the old Akatsuki organization's base, the atmosphere was far more complicated.
Nagato sat on a stone chair.
Across from him sat Madara.
"What about Obito?"
Madara crossed his arms over his chest.
"He's still outside searching for the 'Spear of Heaven.' After conducting a careful search, he has managed to discover some clues."
Nagato answered.
Madara nodded slightly.
At present, Nagato still did not know that his so-called Rinnegan actually belonged to Madara himself.
However, Madara felt that the time was not yet right.
He had no intention of revealing the truth.
Therefore, while in his reanimated state, he had continued to use the Mangekyō Sharingan rather than the Rinnegan.
He then turned toward a White Zetsu in the corner of the room.
"What has Konoha been doing recently?"
White Zetsu peeled himself away from the wall.
"The biggest development, of course, is that Kiyohara is going to become Emperor. But there's another piece of news. Kiyohara brought Uchiha Izuna back to life through the Edo Tensei."
Madara's pupils suddenly contracted.
The fingers gripping the armrest of the stone chair tightened with tremendous force, causing cracks to spread across the stone.
"Izuna."
Madara's voice was low.
"He revived Izuna."
"How dare he revive my younger brother and use him as a pawn?"
The chakra that suddenly erupted from Madara's body caused White Zetsu to shrink back into the wall.
Nagato's Rinnegan also narrowed slightly.
That chakra was extremely powerful.
Even Nagato could clearly feel a sense of danger from it.
…
Shikaku sat behind his desk in the intelligence analysis room.
More than a dozen newly delivered intelligence scrolls were spread across the table in front of him.
His finger moved across the map.
It traveled from Iwa to Kumo, from Kumo to Kiri, and finally stopped at the red mark representing Konoha at the center of the map.
With every line he traced, his brows became increasingly furrowed.
"As expected."
He put down his pen and leaned back against his chair, rubbing his swollen temples.
"Kumo has already sent Iwa an invitation to launch a joint military campaign. Kiri's position is still unclear, but under the worst possible circumstances, Konoha may have to face a joint assault from three major shinobi villages."
"Even if Kiyohara possesses overwhelming individual strength, a single village defending against three fronts simultaneously would place an enormous burden on our manpower and supplies."
Akimichi Chōza sat across from him.
He placed a bag of potato chips on the table and pushed it toward Shikaku.
Shikaku looked at him.
Chōza merely gave him a hearty smile.
"Eat something. Your brain needs fuel if you want it to keep working."
Shikaku gave a bitter smile.
He opened the bag and ate a chip.
He rarely ate snacks while working, but today he genuinely needed a moment to relax.
Chōza spoke again.
"Shikaku, you're too tense. You know better than anyone what Konoha is like now. The Hashirama Cell vaccine has already been distributed to all jōnin, and the combat strength of the Anbu has increased by at least three times compared with before."
"Suna is our ally. Amegakure or Akatsukigakure now I guess, should also stand on our side. On top of that, Kiri and the new Mizukage are old acquaintances of Kiyohara. More importantly..."
Chōza paused before continuing.
"Kiyohara is a shinobi who is comparable to, and perhaps has already surpassed, the God of Shinobi. What he can accomplish alone is greater than what an entire army can accomplish. Even if the entire shinobi world came against him, he might still have a chance of winning."
Shikaku felt that Chōza's words were not without reason.
Kiyohara's individual strength was simply too far beyond ordinary standards.
He placed another chip into his mouth and slowly chewed.
"It's precisely because of that that I'm even more worried."
"The greater a person's power, the smaller their margin for error becomes when making decisions."
"Those of us who handle strategy must make sure he never has to shoulder everything by himself."
He stood up from his chair and rolled up the intelligence scroll, tucking it beneath his arm.
"I'll go speak with Kiyohara. The material allocation plan for the expansion also needs his signature."
At the same time, Kiyohara was not in Konoha.
Shikkotsu Forest.
The air here was humid and heavy.
Every breath felt as though he were inhaling a mass of warm mist.
The ground was not made of ordinary soil.
Instead, it was covered by a thick layer of soft mycelium that felt almost like clouds. Every time someone stepped on it, the surface would sink slightly before slowly springing back into place.
Gigantic ancient trees rose from the layer of mycelium.
Their trunks were covered in moss and lichen of various colors, each emitting a faint glow that illuminated the surrounding forest.
Kiyohara stood before the Slug Sage.
The Slug Sage's body was even larger than that of the White Snake Sage, yet unlike the White Snake Sage, she did not give off an oppressive aura.
"You want to plant the God Tree?"
The Slug Sage slowly opened her mouth.
Her voice was soft and strangely gentle, almost as if it were coming from deep within the damp forest itself.
"I have lived in this sacred land for thousands of years and witnessed countless rises and falls. Yet the name God Tree is something I have not heard spoken for a very, very long time."
"Once the roots of the God Tree sink into the earth, it will endlessly absorb the most concentrated natural energy in the shinobi world. Therefore, planting the God Tree here is indeed the most suitable choice."
"But what will be the price?"
"I will establish a barrier."
Kiyohara answered.
"The God Tree's absorption range will be strictly restricted to the area within the barrier. It will not affect any other part of Shikkotsu Forest. As for replenishing the natural energy, I will find a way to introduce additional natural energy from outside."
"Not only will this prevent Shikkotsu Forest from being depleted, but in the long run, it may even increase the overall concentration of energy here."
Hearing this, the Slug Sage looked at Kiyohara.
Based on everything she had learned about Kiyohara during their interactions, the Slug Sage believed that he would not lie to her.
"All right. I cannot stop you anyway, so I suppose I will choose to trust you, Kiyohara."
The Slug Sage spoke in her usual gentle voice.
Her personality was considerably milder than that of the White Snake Sage.
Seeing that she had agreed, Kiyohara nodded.
By the time he returned to Konoha from Shikkotsu Forest, the sky was already approaching dusk.
The moment he pushed open the door to the Hokage's office, he found Konan already waiting inside.
"The intelligence from Yahiko has arrived. The messenger is still on the way, but the contents of the report are very clear. Everyone in Akatsukigakure under Yahiko's leadership supports Konoha, and they support you as well. He said that this is the path toward eliminating war that he has been searching for all this time."
Kiyohara nodded.
"I understand."
The result was entirely within his expectations.
He then glanced at Konan and took the intelligence scroll from her hand, placing it on the desk.
However, he did not sit down to read the other documents waiting for him.
Instead, he turned around and walked toward the door.
"Come with me to the capital of the Land of Fire."
"What are we going there for?"
"Obviously, to inform the daimyo about this."
Konan quickly followed him.
The next moment, as Kiyohara touched her, the two of them disappeared.
…
Land of Fire Capital, Daimyo's Palace.
The new Daimyo was a young man who had just turned twenty.
He had inherited the position less than two years ago. He had barely had enough time to experience the taste of power before hearing the news that Kiyohara was going to become Emperor.
He immediately summoned all the guards and hired shinobi in the capital and ordered every entrance to the palace to be completely sealed.
Yet the moment Kiyohara pushed open the main gate of the palace, all those defenses became nothing more than a joke.
The crimson glow of the Sharingan flashed through the dimly lit hall.
The guards did not even have time to draw their weapons before collapsing to the ground and losing consciousness.
Asuma rushed out from one of the side halls.
He stepped directly in front of Kiyohara, gripping his trademark pair of chakra blades.
His expression was complicated.
There was no simple anger in his eyes. What dominated his expression was conflict and hesitation.
As one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, his duty was to protect the daimyo.
However, his father, Hiruzen, had been the former Hokage of Konoha, while Kiyohara was the current Hokage.
Asuma had been taught from childhood that he had to remain loyal to Konoha.
But now the Hokage of Konoha was standing inside the daimyo's palace, intending to abolish the daimyo system.
For the first time, Asuma did not know where his loyalty should lie.
"Asuma."
Kiyohara's voice remained calm.
"Return to Konoha. Lord Third is already old, and the era of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi has also come to an end."
"You are being far too domineering."
Asuma gritted his teeth.
The chakra blades in his hands remained raised.
"The daimyo system has been the foundation of the shinobi world for a thousand years. You cannot simply abolish it because you say so."
"The Land of Fire needs a new foundation."
Kiyohara shook his head.
He did not possess any of those deeply ingrained traditional beliefs.
"The daimyo system has been broken for far too long. What I am doing is for the sake of making the world a better place."
Although what he was establishing might still look like a feudal system on the surface, Kiyohara was merely guaranteeing his own transcendent position.
As for everything else, he would do his best to ensure fairness and impartiality.
The entire shinobi system of the world would change because of Kiyohara.
He turned his head slightly and gave Konan a subtle signal.
Konan stepped forward from Kiyohara's side.
The moment she raised her hand, the blue strands of her short hair were blown upward by the chakra currents.
Countless white sheets of paper surged from her sleeves and the edges of her clothes, sweeping toward Asuma like a raging snowstorm.
Asuma swung his chakra blades, cutting the sheets of paper flying toward him into two.
However, the severed pieces did not fall to the ground.
Instead, each sheet split into two even smaller pieces in midair and continued closing in around him.
Asuma was forced to retreat again and again.
In the end, the Paper Release completely wrapped around his body, trapping him in place and leaving him unable to move.
Kiyohara walked past him.
Step by step, he approached the daimyo.
The young man was slumped helplessly in the daimyo's chair.
His legs had gone completely weak, and he did not even have the strength to stand.
His lips trembled as he tried to say something, but no sound came out.
"I will not kill you."
Kiyohara looked down at him.
The Mangekyō Sharingan pattern in his eyes slowly rotated.
"You will continue to live. Your treatment will be somewhat lower than it is now, but from today onward, there will be only one existence standing above everyone beneath the heavens."
"Me."
The moment the final word fell, the dojutsu power of the Sharingan suddenly erupted.
The daimyo's pupils became unfocused for an instant before slowly regaining their clarity.
His eyes became obedient and hollow.
Kiyohara had not erased his consciousness.
Instead, he had planted an absolute suggestion deep within his mind, one that made it impossible for him to resist.
After Kiyohara finished dealing with everything, Konan withdrew her sheets of paper and handed the restrained Asuma over to the Anbu who arrived shortly afterward.
They would escort him back to Konoha.
Konan then turned around and looked at the vast and luxurious palace.
After a moment, she suddenly asked,
"Are you planning to live in Konoha from now on, or are you going to live here?"
"Of course I will return to Konoha."
Kiyohara walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window beside the daimyo's chair and looked out at the brightly illuminated streets of the capital.
"Konoha is currently being expanded. Once construction is complete, it will become the largest city in the Land of Fire. This place will only be retained as a temporary palace."
"Besides, I will soon begin recruiting suitable people from across the entire country to become shinobi."
"Not only children. Adults who possess sufficient potential can also enter the academy. Even if they cannot become shinobi, I will still ensure that the people of the Land of Fire live better lives than they do now."
"At the very least, there will no longer be a situation where children are left wandering the streets as homeless orphans."
Konan stood behind him.
Something seemed to flicker faintly within her eyes.
She herself had been an orphan displaced by war.
If not for Jiraiya and Yahiko, she would have probably died alone in some nameless ditch long ago.
Perhaps to other people, the things Kiyohara had just said were nothing more than political slogans.
But to Konan, they were words she could understand on a deeply personal level.
"I support you."
Konan spoke softly.
Kiyohara turned around.
He reached out and wrapped an arm around Konan's waist.
Kiyohara glanced around the palace.
"We will stay here for tonight."
Konan's cheeks turned slightly red, but she did not push him away.
The two of them then headed toward the rear palace.
After spending the night there, the morning sunlight gradually streamed into the room.
Konan slowly opened her eyes.
She realized that her face was buried against Kiyohara's chest.
One of her hands had unconsciously come to rest on his shoulder, and their bodies were pressed closely together.
She could feel his steady heartbeat beneath her.
She curled her body slightly and moved her cheek a little closer.
"Awake?"
"Mm."
Konan's voice still carried the slight hoarseness of someone who had only just woken up.
She remained silent for a moment.
Her fingertips unconsciously traced small circles against Kiyohara's chest before she finally spoke.
Her voice was softer than usual.
"Kiyohara, who are you going to marry first?"
Faced with Konan's sudden question, Kiyohara raised an eyebrow.
His hand slowly moved upward from behind her waist, sliding along her smooth and delicate back.
"I don't know. It is still too early to talk about that. The situation has not stabilized yet. The expansion of Konoha is still underway, and a conflict with the Ōtsutsuki clan could break out at any moment."
Konan did not respond.
Her lowered eyelashes cast a small shadow across her face.
Kiyohara could feel the disappointment coming from the woman in his arms.
"But I definitely won't forget about you."
Konan raised her head.
Her lips moved slightly as though she wanted to say something.
In the end, however, she said nothing.
She simply lowered her head again and buried her face against Kiyohara's chest.
Her forehead rested against his collarbone, and her breath brushed gently against his skin.
Kiyohara reached out and gently pinched her soft cheek.
He knew that, deep down, Konan had grown up in an extremely feudal environment.
The Land of Rain was not Konoha.
There was no formal shinobi academy there, nor was there any systematic education.
She had wandered the streets as a child.
Later, Jiraiya had taught her ninjutsu for three years, after which she followed Yahiko in establishing the Akatsuki.
No one had ever taught her modern concepts such as equality between men and women.
No one had ever explained to her what a normal romantic relationship or marriage should look like.
As a result, she had a much higher tolerance for Kiyohara having multiple wives than any other woman around him.
Kiyohara silently calculated the situation in his mind.
Tsunade was undoubtedly the most difficult one to deal with.
The word "sharing" probably did not exist in her dictionary.
Although Kiyohara intended to treat everyone fairly and give each person an equal share of his affection, he could already imagine how unhappy Tsunade would be.
There was no need to rush.
He could only take things slowly.
Several more days passed.
Hokage Tower.
The intelligence concerning the allied forces of Kumo and Iwa was already sitting on the table.
Shikaku had used a red pen to mark three possible invasion routes on the map.
But Kiyohara only glanced at it once before setting it aside.
Those ordinary matters concerning warfare were things Shikaku could handle far better than he could.
What Kiyohara needed to deal with were the things beyond conventional warfare.
He leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes.
Then an extremely familiar mechanical female voice suddenly sounded inside his mind.
[Please retrieve your alternate future self's last will and urn. Make sure to properly take care of their remains.]
A brand-new urn was already floating within his mental space.
There was a swirl-shaped pattern engraved on its surface.
"Another Uzumaki, huh?"
Kiyohara stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Click.
The urn opened.
Uzumaki Kiyohara emerged from inside it, his spirit slowly floating into the air.
"Is the Sasuke in your world a normal Sasuke, or is he a playboy Sasuke?"
Uzumaki Kiyohara got straight to the point.
Kiyohara was somewhat confused by the question.
"Sasuke is still young right now. But he certainly has nothing to do with being a playboy."
Hearing Kiyohara's answer, Uzumaki Kiyohara visibly relaxed.
"Thank God. I finally escaped from the 'Limited Tsukuyomi.'"
Uzumaki Kiyohara spoke.
"Although I came out of it dead."
He shook his head.
"Limited Tsukuyomi?"
Kiyohara remembered that this was the world from the theatrical movie.
So this world had a future as well?
If that was the case, would other worlds appear in the future besides the world of the "Limited Tsukuyomi"?
Kiyohara stroked his chin, deep in thought.
(End of Chapter)