Three days passed in a blur.
Inside the Hokage Building.
Ryota sat quietly in the main seat, eyes closed, his right index finger tapping lightly against the armrest.
Below him, Uchiha Fugaku and Orochimaru stood to his left and right.
Orochimaru leaned forward slightly and spoke:
"According to the intelligence reports, Kumogakure is holding position for now, seemingly still waiting to see how things play out. But Kirigakure has already mobilized part of its forces. They're moving in secret… yet it's clear they've begun to stir as well."
"As for Iwagakure… Ōnoki has been summoning the upper echelons frequently. He's undoubtedly scheming something."
"But the most direct threat is Sunagakure."
"Just a few hours ago, our sensory division detected the infiltration traces of their elite forces along the southwestern border of the Land of Fire."
As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, Ryota's tapping stopped. He opened his eyes, sweeping his gaze over Orochimaru and Fugaku, and suddenly shifted the subject:
"…Have you spoken with Finn and the others?"
The change in topic was abrupt.
Even Orochimaru, with his composure, froze for a moment before a faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
He glanced at Fugaku, as though exchanging a silent understanding, then bowed slightly:
"Yes, I've already met with him."
"The unification model Lord Finn proposed… it's indeed highly efficient for integration and governance. We've merged it with Konoha's existing administrative framework, and the village is operating smoothly."
"As for the disobedient ones… Fugaku has already dealt with them."
Fugaku nodded calmly, adding:
"They were a handful of chunin tied to remnants of old factions. In the chaos, they tried to incite the villagers. We of the Uchiha handled it cleanly."
He paused, then continued:
"We've cut off the possibility of division at the root."
Ryota nodded faintly at that, his tone light:
"Good."
"Finn is more seasoned at command than anyone… that's exactly why I brought you all together."
"Konoha cannot remain the Konoha of the old, nor can it be a sandbox for children to play in."
His gaze sharpened:
"It must evolve."
The air itself seemed to tremble faintly.
Orochimaru's eyelids twitched. He sensed it keenly—Ryota's words weren't spoken solely for the two of them.
Some greater upheaval was quietly brewing.
He didn't know that Finn was "the greatest commander in the world of Orario."
But anyone summoned by Ryota to reshape Konoha was clearly not someone he, Orochimaru, could casually dismiss.
"Have you told Fugaku about our plan?"
Orochimaru nodded:
"Yes. Regarding… the plan to capture the Tailed Beasts."
"I've already discussed it with Lord Fugaku and Lord Finn."
As he spoke, a familiar manic gleam lit his eyes:
"Our consensus is this—since Sunagakure has already lost patience, they make the perfect testing ground."
"Extracting the One-Tailed Shukaku will not be difficult."
He licked his lips:
"After all, its jinchūriki is still just a child—unstable, mentally fractured. As long as the extraction is controlled, it won't be much trouble."
Ryota gave no response, only watching him.
Feeling that oppressive gaze, Orochimaru restrained his grin and lowered his head respectfully.
He knew well—in this plan, he was only an executor.
The true hand holding the rhythm and fate… was this boy before him.
Then Ryota rose slowly to his feet.
"Then let's begin with the One-Tail."
Ryota's eyes fell on the village outside the window, but his mind churned ceaselessly.
The One-Tail. Sunagakure.
His thoughts had already leapt to the next step:
"The Tailed Beasts are scattered too far apart."
"Hunting them one by one is too slow, too disruptive."
"But… Sunagakure is different."
They had brought themselves to his door, hoping to stab Konoha while it reeled in chaos.
In that case, they couldn't complain if he used the chance to gut them instead.
Ryota lifted his head slightly, gazing at the clear sky outside.
"Swallow Sunagakure whole. Seize the Tailed Beast. Dismantle the shinobi village system…"
"This is a step that must be taken."
A cold light flickered in his eyes.
The great shinobi villages—the remnants of the old order—would, sooner or later, become the foundation beneath Ryota's feet.
The Land of Fire would no longer be the center of the shinobi world.
The shinobi world—would no longer belong solely to shinobi.
He would create a true divine order—spanning dimensions, transcending worlds.
And all the shinobi villages, all the Tailed Beasts, all the resources and power—must make way for his future.
"Have Finn and the others go as well."
Ryota suddenly spoke again.
"Order them to head for the Sunagakure border and rendezvous with the frontline forces."
"Fugaku will remain to guard Konoha. Orochimaru, you're coming with me."
"What?"
Uchiha Fugaku's head snapped up, brows furrowed.
Orochimaru also tilted his head slightly, surprise tugging unmistakably at his lips.
"You intend… to lead the campaign personally?"
This was beyond anything they expected.
The Hokage, on the battlefield himself?
In all the history of the shinobi world, such a thing had almost never happened!
And the target was Sunagakure!
One of the Five Great Villages—strong, with deep foundations.
Its environment alone was merciless, a wasteland of endless sandstorms.
Everyone in the shinobi world knew:
"No shinobi who survives in Sunagakure is a tame housecat."
Not to mention they held the One-Tail as a living weapon. Even the elderly Granny Chiyo had once reaped countless lives during war.
And yet Ryota—intended not only to go, but to lead personally?
Fugaku couldn't stop himself from warning:
"Lord Ryota, you are Hokage now. To risk yourself so recklessly—"
"This isn't recklessness."
Ryota cut him off softly, his gaze clear as glass.
"This is harvest."
His tone was calm, but each word rang with a weight heavier than thunder.
"Sunagakure walked into the trap of its own accord. Why should I not personally claim this gift?"
"Besides…"
His eyes swept over Fugaku and Orochimaru, and a faint smile curved his lips.
"One relic of the old order—one shinobi village—is hardly worth fearing."
At those words, even battle-hardened Uchiha Fugaku, even prideful Orochimaru, both lowered their heads, eyes filled with shock and awe.
They understood.
This wasn't a battle.
It was conquest.
Just then—
Thud, thud, thud.
Footsteps echoed outside the door.
Ryota's brow lifted slightly, his eyes turning toward the entrance.
Creak.
The door swung open.
Finn strode in, dragging behind him a disheveled, battered shinobi with Sunagakure's forehead protector.
"Ryota, I brought you a guest."
The man was thrown heavily to the floor, blood spraying from his mouth.
"Cough, cough… You… you dare… This is an act of war!"
Ryota's gaze fell on him, his tone cool:
"Maji. Sunagakure jōnin. Specializes in Wind Style and Puppet Master Jutsu. During the Third War, led a team to ambush Konoha's supply lines, causing massive casualties… I'm not mistaken, am I?"
"You… how do you know that—"
Maji's face twisted. He tried to struggle upright, but Finn's boot pressed him back down, voice cold:
"Stay down."
Maji writhed, then forced out hoarsely:
"I… I was ordered to come and clear up a misunderstanding! Sunagakure… has not declared war!"
"Oh?"
Ryota chuckled.
"Then what are you here for? To apologize? Or to surrender?"
Maji froze, face flushed red, unable to speak.
Orochimaru and Fugaku exchanged a glance.
Both saw the same emotions in each other's eyes—confusion, shock, and… an involuntary tremor of doubt.
Orochimaru lowered his gaze again, scanning the intel scroll in his hands.
It was the scouting record sent back by the sensory division hours ago from the southwest border of the Land of Fire.
In bright red ink, it detailed Sunagakure's elite infiltration unit—their routes, numbers, composition, distribution.
Even their rations and weapons were listed clearly!
It was a force prepared for a night raid on Konoha's outer defenses. They had already crossed the warning line and entered the Land of Fire.
And yet now…
Orochimaru's head snapped up to stare at Maji, dragged in by Finn. His eyes shook violently.
Wasn't Maji supposed to be commanding that unit at the border?
How was he captured alive?
And now claiming he came to "clear a misunderstanding"?
Unless this had all been arranged from the start.
"Don't tell me… this was part of his plan all along?"
For the first time, Orochimaru felt dazed.
His mind raced—intelligence reports, Maji's identity, Sunagakure's troop movements… and above it all—
Ryota's calm, unshakable face.
That boy who never seemed anxious, never thrown off by sudden turns—
It was as if he had already stood at the end of time, reading the script to its last line.
"…."
Orochimaru's throat was dry. A wild, absurd thought struck him:
"Is there even anything in this world… he doesn't already know?"
"If Maji's caught, then that entire strike force probably didn't even reach Konoha. They must've already been split apart and surrounded…"
He realized suddenly—his role as "executor" might not even be execution at all.
He was only moving along the steps of a script already written.
Beside him, Fugaku was thinking the same.
The two of them fell silent, while Ryota walked forward with a faint smile, gazing down at Maji.
"Your head…"
"…will serve as our declaration of war against Sunagakure."
"W-what?"
Maji's face drained of color, terror flooding his eyes.
"I—I'm a jōnin! I serve directly under the Fourth Kazekage himself! You can't kill me! If you do, you'll be at war with all of Sunagakure—"
Before he could finish, Ryota lifted his hand.
Snap.
His fingers clenched.
Maji's body froze—
And in the very next instant—
BOOM!!
A muffled blast thundered through the hall!
His body ruptured from the inside out, exploding into a storm of blood and gore. In the blink of an eye, he was reduced to crimson mist and shredded flesh—obliterated at the center of the chamber!
Only his head remained, terror still frozen in his expression, as it thudded to the floor.
The entire process took less than a second.
Fugaku and Orochimaru both froze, unable to even register what technique Ryota had used.
That wasn't ninjutsu.
It wasn't any jutsu they knew.
It was the descent of a higher law.
"Come."
Ryota spoke lightly.
A black-clad Konoha ANBU appeared instantly, kneeling before him.
"Wrap up that head. Send it to Sunagakure."
"And include a message."
Ryota stood with hands clasped behind his back, his voice as calm as still water:
"Konoha… hereby declares war on Sunagakure."