Hearing she would be taken to Konoha as hostage, Kurotsuchi's eyebrows shot up as she glared fiercely at Makoto. But remembering his recent terror, she swallowed her anger, though her hands behind her back instinctively made an international friendly gesture.
'Damn it! I'll definitely find a way to get back at him later.'
Just then, Tsunade said somewhat displeased:
"Isn't all this trouble unnecessary? Can't you just have that little girl of yours make them sign a contract?"
During the attack on Kumogakure, Tsunade hadn't been on the front lines, but Nayuta's abilities had already spread throughout the village.
While marveling at the girl's fearsome power, Tsunade had to admit it was incredibly convenient.
Controlled individuals would never dare rebel.
Although somewhat cruel, for fickle Ninjas, it was truly effective.
Makoto spread his hands: "I just forgot to bring her. Anyway, crushing them is easy. Does the method really matter?"
Tsunade glanced at Kurotsuchi and said crossly: "You just think that girl's legs look good."
She had also noticed Makoto's sideward glances earlier.
'Dog of a man, falling for one after another.'
Makoto raised an eyebrow, 'Why expose the truth so bluntly?'
"Cough~"
Makoto shifted the topic somewhat stiffly. "From now on, Iwagakure's number of Ninjas will be reduced. Defense operations will be handled by Konoha's Ninjas.
"As for military expenses, Iwagakure will cover the reimbursement."
Kitsuchi gritted his teeth, suppressing his anger.
Makoto continued: "As for other matters, wait for the government's orders. Of course... you just need to execute them."
Kitsuchi gritted his teeth, veins bulging at his temples. No matter how humiliated he felt, he knew they had no power to resist.
The Third Tsuchikage was killed, the Five-Tails' Jinchuriki captured, and the Four-Tails' Jinchuriki was wandering outside.
With what could they resist?
Kitsuchi took a deep breath, lowered his head, and replied in a deep voice:
"Yes."
Seeing their new Fourth Tsuchikage's attitude, the other Iwagakure's higher-ups reluctantly bowed their heads in submission.
Although they wanted to ask Makoto: On what basis?
The small countries that joined the government only paid money, they didn't have garrisons stationed.
But honestly, compared to the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure, which had been completely erased from the map, their situation was much better.
Their Iwagakure at least still existed.
At least the village's name remained.
…
Subsequently, Makoto had Gyuki take the unconscious Han back to Konoha.
Back in Konoha, Makoto had Ai make her move again.
Ai crouched beside Han, her hands covered in dark black energy, palms pressed against Han's abdomen.
Black light surged, and the Five-Tails Kokuo was forcibly extracted from Han's body.
Kokuo hadn't recovered from the earlier battle and was extremely weak, not even having the strength to struggle.
Makoto pulled out a Poké Ball and threw it at Kokuo.
A red light flashed.
The ball wobbled on the ground twice.
"Ding—"
The button glowed red.
Capture successful.
He had obtained another new Pokémon.
Makoto picked up the Poké Ball and nodded with satisfaction.
Like this, Pochita, Ragnir, Matatabi, Gyuki, Kokuo... that made five in total for one lineup.
Oh no, Ragnir was still Marina's Pokémon... Makoto was just borrowing it.
Although Marina didn't mind, he still had to give it back.
Makoto maintained that he was not like those morally low NPCs in the anime who say they'll take care of Ash's Pokémon but never actually intend to return them.
However, this meant that out of the nine Tailed Beasts, five were now in Makoto's hands.
…
Upon hearing that the Five-Tails had also fallen into Makoto's possession, Obito knew he couldn't wait any longer.
He found Nagato, a rare hint of anxiety in his eye:
"We can't wait any longer. The Ninja World Government has more and more Tailed Beasts. The longer we drag this out, the less chance we'll have to act. We must launch the capture operation targeting the Tailed Beasts immediately."
Nagato was silent for a moment, his Rinnegan reflecting Obito's partially masked face.
"I understand."
…
Konoha Village.
On the bustling streets, villagers came and went.
Compared to the past, a lot of new, unfamiliar faces had appeared.
The most conspicuous were the muscle-bound, dark-skinned... former citizens of Kumogakure.
"As expected of Konoha, the environment is so much better than ours."
Akatsuchi, who had once served as the Third Tsuchikage's guard and was also an Iwagakure's Jonin, couldn't help but remark.
Kurotsuchi stood with her arms crossed, squinting at the flow of people on the street. Upon hearing this, she snorted.
"So what? It's not like they got it by plundering others' resources?!"
She stomped her striking long legs hard on the ground, making a 'thud, thud' sound.
Passersby involuntarily focused on those long legs.
Even passing Ninken from the Inuzuka Clan stuck out their tongues and panted.
Akatsuchi scratched his head, organized his words, and then said carefully: "Um... Kurotsuchi, it doesn't seem like Konoha... ever plundered other villages' resources, right?"
He then added, "After all, the resources they hold are the best in the Ninja World."
Honestly, he felt his junior colleague was engaging in some pretty baseless and awkward criticism.
Konoha was located on the most fertile land in the Land of Fire. Why would it need to plunder others?
Before Makoto's rise, it was always other villages attacking Konoha first, with Konoha forced to retaliate.
Konoha hadn't started any of the first three Great Ninja Wars.
In some respects, Konoha genuinely held the moral high ground.
Kurotsuchi opened her mouth to retort but found she couldn't come up with any compelling arguments, so she simply huffed and fell silent.
"Iwagakure's people appearing here... that means the Land of Earth was taken too, right?"
Just then, a cold female voice reached the ears of Kurotsuchi and the others.
Everyone turned to look.
Quite a few of the male companions couldn't help but swallow, thinking only one thing... 'So big.'
The newcomer was none other than Kumogakure's fair-skinned beauty, Samui.
Pale white skin, light blonde hair.
The plump contours of her chest were barely contained by her tight outfit, visibly swaying with each step.
She now wore a forehead protector with the 'Shinobi' insignia of the Ninja World Government.
Kurotsuchi's gaze fell on Samui's chest, then glanced down at her own, cursing inwardly.
'What did this cow eat growing up?'
Samui walked up to Kurotsuchi, her gaze calm, recalled something, and asked: "Did you sign that contract too?"
Kurotsuchi was confused: "What contract?"
"A little girl next to Makoto. A very terrifying ability..."
Samui briefly recounted what had happened in Kumogakure.
The ability where, once the contract was signed, Nayuta could transfer any harm to the signer at will, holding absolute power over their life and death.
No distance limit. No means of defense. No possibility of escape.
After hearing this, the Iwagakure's people couldn't help but shudder at the terrifying ability, their faces pale and backs chilled.
"N-No, not at all..."
Kurotsuchi felt a sense of relief, like surviving a disaster.
'Holy crap, Nishikawa Makoto had that ace up his sleeve too?'
After the initial shock, for some inexplicable reason, a strange sense of happiness welled up inside Kurotsuchi.
'He hadn't used that terrifying contract on me.'
'It felt... like he treated me quite well?'
In fact, Kurotsuchi knew she had no ability to retaliate against Makoto.
Kurotsuchi's eyes darted about as her thoughts ran wild like untamed horses.
'Since I couldn't retaliate directly... maybe I should try another method?'
'For example—'
'Form a whole football team for him?'