Senju Tobirama watched his elder brother, Senju Hashirama, leave the room, the sound of retreating footsteps echoing faintly in the corridor.
Only when Hashirama was gone did Tobirama allow his expression to harden completely.
The decision had already been made.
Without hesitation, he turned toward the door and summoned the ANBU shinobi standing guard outside.
Two days later—
---
Akatsuki Ninja Village
Seven in the Morning
Uchiha Makoto slowly opened his eyes.
For a brief moment, his mind was completely blank.
The ceiling above him looked unfamiliar, the light filtering in from the window too bright, too sharp. His body felt heavy, exhausted in a way that no battlefield fatigue could compare to.
"…Who am I?"
"…Where am I?"
"…What happened?"
Almost reflexively, he reached down and rubbed his lower back.
Several ultimate questions of humanity surfaced in his mind at once.
A few seconds later, clarity returned.
He remembered.
Ever since he and Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku had returned to their residence, they had barely left the bedroom. Aside from meals, the two of them had spent nearly every moment tangled together beneath the covers, indulging without restraint for two full days until Tsubaki Shizuku was finally satisfied.
As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, her stamina was nothing short of terrifying.
Makoto exhaled slowly.
Being separated for four months had clearly taken its toll on her.
And more importantly—
She still did not have a child.
The Uzumaki Clan had existed for thousands of years. A clan that ancient, forged in blood and war, naturally possessed its own strict survival rules.
Among them, one principle stood above all others.
After marriage, children must be born as soon as possible.
Sons were ideal. Daughters were acceptable.
But children were non-negotiable.
The casualty rates of the brutal Warring States Period had taught every ancient clan a cruel lesson: lineages that failed to reproduce quickly enough vanished without a trace.
Even now, remnants of that era still lingered in the ninja world.
Tsubaki Shizuku had grown up immersed in that ideology. It was ingrained into her bones.
Of course, Makoto also suspected that a certain someone—Vortex Shinji—was partly to blame. The monthly letters Shinji sent to Tsubaki Shizuku were filled with… highly questionable content, and Makoto had no doubt they fueled her enthusiasm even further.
Still, now that he had entered a temporary state of "sage-like clarity," Makoto had no intention of staying locked in the bedroom any longer.
Logically speaking, after stirring up such a storm across the ninja world, it would be strange if no one reacted.
And indeed, they had.
Now that Uchiha Makoto had returned to the Akatsuki Ninja Village, countless individuals were waiting to see him.
Keeping them waiting any longer would be inappropriate.
Moreover—
Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku would wake up soon.
If he didn't leave now, he might not leave at all.
"…Time to work."
---
The Light Shadow Office
Uchiha Makoto returned to the familiar Light Shadow Office.
Because he had not publicly announced when he would resume his duties, anyone wishing to meet him had been arriving at the Kage Building every day, waiting patiently in the reception hall from morning until night.
Today was no exception.
A large group of people had already gathered.
"Kazuma," Makoto said calmly.
"Yes, Kage-sama."
"Inform them. Tell them to prepare—I'll see them shortly."
Kazuma bowed and immediately left the office, heading for the reception hall to relay Makoto's orders.
---
The Small Ninja Forces of the Land of Fire
The first group Makoto received were representatives of the small ninja forces scattered throughout the Land of Fire.
In the past, Konoha had dominated the region so completely that these minor factions existed only in its shadow. But with the sudden rise of the Akatsuki Ninja Village, the old balance had been shattered.
These small forces immediately sensed opportunity.
Fence-sitting had always been their specialty.
Normally, they would never have approached the Akatsuki Ninja Village with such humility. It was the overwhelming victory Makoto had achieved that forced their hand.
Konoha's performance in the war had been deeply disappointing—far below its reputation as the pillar of the Land of Fire.
In contrast, the Akatsuki Ninja Village, once considered weak and peripheral, had risen explosively onto the world stage.
This leg was too thick.
So thick that they had never imagined such a possibility before.
As soon as they entered the room, praise poured forth endlessly.
"Too close to Konoha, too far from Akatsuki Ninja Village!"
"All glory to the Akatsuki Ninja Village!"
"May Kage-sama's light shine across the Land of Fire!"
Makoto listened with an expression of polite indifference.
Bureaucratic flattery meant nothing.
If these people truly intended to submit, they would no longer be allowed to deceive him as they had in the past.
Previously, Makoto simply hadn't had the time or energy to deal with them.
Now, he did.
And he made his position clear immediately.
---
Makoto's Conditions
First: the headbands.
Though these people now wore Akatsuki Ninja Village headbands, many of them secretly carried two at all times—one for Akatsuki, and one for Konoha.
That practice would end today.
Completely.
Second: supervision.
In the coming months, Akatsuki would dispatch its own shinobi to their territories—not only to supervise them, but also to assist in implementing orders directly from the village headquarters.
Third: education.
Each year, these small forces would be required to send a portion of their younger generation to the Akatsuki Ninja Academy for unified, militarized training.
This was not a request.
It was integration.
A series of heavy blows landed in quick succession.
The representatives exchanged uneasy glances.
They understood immediately—Uchiha Makoto intended to formally absorb them into the Akatsuki Ninja Village's administrative system.
The era of double-dealing was over.
Their hesitation was obvious.
"…Are you unwilling?"
Makoto's tone was calm, but the displeasure beneath it was unmistakable.
At once, a sharp-eyed representative spoke up.
"We follow the Akatsuki Ninja Village!"
That single declaration broke the tension.
The others quickly followed suit.
They were weak.
They had no bargaining chips.
Between Konoha and Akatsuki stood two colossal forces, and these people had witnessed firsthand how mercilessly Akatsuki had cleansed dissenters during its rise.
Those unwilling to submit had either been wiped out—or had fled the Land of Fire long ago.
Compared to Konoha's closed and conservative nature, the aggressively expanding Akatsuki Ninja Village offered something irresistible.
Protection.
Prestige.
Authority.
The thought of enemy ninja retreating the moment they saw an Akatsuki headband was enough to straighten their backs.
"Good," Makoto said with a nod.
"Register with Kazuma."
---
Makoto's Assessment
As the representatives departed, Makoto reflected silently.
Nearly three-fifths of the small ninja forces scattered throughout the Land of Fire had now joined him.
In the past, while these factions nominally submitted to Akatsuki, they remained firmly within Konoha's sphere of influence.
The remaining two-fifths?
Hopeless.
They were either too close to Konoha—or had already been quietly absorbed by it.
"So Tobirama's groundwork wasn't wasted after all," Makoto muttered.
"Using Konoha's strength to infiltrate the grassroots… clever."
"If I hadn't won this war, in a few years, Akatsuki would've been surrounded completely."
"Damn you, Senju Tobirama."
Makoto sneered.
Trying to turn Akatsuki into a lone wolf?
Not anymore.
---
The Wealthy Merchants
After a brief rest, Makoto met his next guests.
The wealthy merchants of the Land of Fire.
From a global perspective, ninja and merchants were two entirely separate power blocs. The merchants had long sought to merge with ninja power to form a new ruling class—but most ninja villages were too short-sighted to understand their value.
Except Akatsuki.
Makoto's economic vision had already transformed the village.
Yet he wanted more.
Much more.
Before the war, the merchants had hesitated. They feared Makoto couldn't protect them.
Now, they sat before him willingly.
Several of the most powerful business magnates in the Land of Fire were squeezed together on a sofa, sweat dripping from their brows as Makoto's chakra pressure filled the room.
"You are all prosperous men," Makoto said coldly.
"Protected by nobles. Shielded by laws written for your benefit."
"So you rejected my proposal."
"You didn't need me."
"But now you're here."
His eyes narrowed.
"You don't respect me."
"You don't even call me Kage-sama."
The merchants panicked instantly.
"Kage-sama—please!"
"There was a misunderstanding!"
Makoto raised a hand.
"Perhaps."
"But misunderstandings between friends should not repeat."
Relief spread across their faces.
Then—
One merchant stepped forward and presented a document.
A share certificate.
Registered capital: 40 billion ryo.
Akatsuki's share: 50 percent.
No investment required.
An apology gift.
Makoto's eyebrow rose.
More important than money was influence.
Resources.
Networks built over generations.
Two-thirds of the investment came from Land of Fire merchants.
The rest—from across the ninja world.
They were betting everything.
"You know what this means," Makoto said quietly.
"The daimyo… the nobles…"
The merchant bowed deeply.
"It may destroy our families."
"But this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance."
"…And we believe Kage-sama will protect us."
Makoto smiled.
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