Time passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already October.
As expected, snow began to fall in Yomi Castle.
This region, located on the eastern-western border, was easily affected by the climate from the east and welcomed winter earlier than usual.
However, because heating equipment was sufficiently widespread, there had been no deaths from freezing for many years.
As a result, a faint humming vibration sound could be heard in various parts of the city — the sound of the heating system installed underground in the city operating.
At this time, a ninja village called “Konoha” was quietly built in the Land of Fire.
And with the strong support of the daimyo of the Land of Fire, it rapidly spread throughout the entire ninja world.
The daimyo of the Land of Fire, in the name of the ruler of the Land of Fire, concluded an alliance agreement called “one country, one village” with Konohagakure.
With the fulfillment of this contract, the nation’s defense and military gradually came under the control of Konohagakure.
Meanwhile, the founders of Konohagakure, the Senju and Uchiha clans, rapidly recruited many other ninja clans into the village.
These ninja clans included both well-known and lesser-known ones, but due to their large numbers, they became a formidable force after being incorporated into Konohagakure.
Subsequently, the allied ninja clans with secret techniques — the Sarutobi, Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi — gladly joined Konohagakure after a secret meeting with Senju Hashirama, the head of the Senju clan.
After that, the Inuzuka clan with secret techniques visited.
At this point, except for a small number of ninja clans like the Hyuga clan that were still observing the situation, everyone had gathered in the ninja village called Konoha.
The recent upheaval in the Land of Fire also surprised the daimyos of other countries who had been watching the situation.
Eventually, each country dispatched delegations to the capital of the Land of Fire to visit the daimyo of the Land of Fire and probe the movements of the Land of Fire.
Konohagakure, founded by the Senju and Uchiha clans, would absorb one ninja clan after another from the Land of Fire and come to dominate the Land of Fire’s defense and military… This terrifying situation made the daimyos of other countries tremble.
Did the Land of Fire intend to declare war on all countries and start a ninja world war?
Yayoi, located north of the Land of Fire and adjacent to the Night Kingdom, naturally dispatched a diplomatic mission to the capital of the Land of Fire as Shogun.
However, because the distance between each country and the Land of Fire differed, the daimyo of the Land of Fire announced that a formal meeting would be held in the capital of the Land of Fire in half a month to facilitate smooth discussions.
The heads of the Senju and Uchiha clans were also scheduled to be invited.
This immediately increased the pressure on all countries.
They all hired powerful ninjas to protect their diplomatic missions while completely sealing their borders, preparing to attack the Land of Fire first if the situation worsened.
If the Land of Fire dared to take action, it was uncertain whether the ninja world would perish, but without a doubt, the first to perish would be the Land of Fire.
Even if Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were strong, could they defeat the entire ninja world?
“As expected, it has been established…”
Yayoi muttered to himself while looking at the information continuously flowing in from the Land of Fire.
He had been closely monitoring the movements of the Land of Fire recently, and whenever a major event occurred, he had his spies infiltrated in the Land of Fire report information about Konohagakure as quickly as possible.
He had known this would happen sooner or later, but when the time actually came, he felt an overwhelming pressure that made it hard to breathe.
This was the overwhelming tide of the era… No, more accurately, it was Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara who had driven the arrival of this era.
To rebel against this era was to rebel against the personal will of these two individuals.
Based on Uchiha Madara’s strength, one could infer what level Senju Hashirama was at.
This was because in the war between the Senju and Uchiha clans, the Uchiha clan had been the losers.
Senju Hashirama’s power was by no means inferior to Uchiha Madara’s.
The influence of these two undoubtedly surpassed the general flow of the era.
“Your Highness, your complexion looks very bad.
Did something bad happen?”
Kichou saw Yayoi sitting in the corridor of the inner courtyard — an unusual sight for her.
He was holding a letter in his hand, and his emotions were clearly visible.
Kichou, who happened to pass by, was curious about the content of the letter that had made Yayoi show such a strong emotional reaction.
It had been a month since she got married and moved here.
No matter how little they had known each other, after a month of close interaction, she had grasped Yayoi’s personality, preferences, and daily habits.
He appeared calm and easy to get along with, but in reality, he had a strong will and dominant personality.
Even in bed, Kichou could tell.
During this period, every night, she had been the one being dominated.
Furthermore, because this husband was confident in his abilities, he could easily overcome many difficulties.
A ninja was someone who could quickly suppress confused emotions and make correct judgments even in critical situations.
“The founding of Konohagakure, the conclusion of the ‘one country, one village’ agreement with the daimyo of the Land of Fire, and the successful recruitment of many ninja clans — this was all done by the Senju and Uchiha clans.
Now, the military unification of the Land of Fire has become an unstoppable flow.”
When asked by his wife Kichou, Yayoi hid nothing.
He briefly summarize the main events that have recently occurred in the Land of Fire.
“A ninja… village?
What is that?
A village where ninjas live?”
Kichou blinked in confusion.
This new term felt completely unfamiliar to her.
The alliance between the Senju and Uchiha clans had already begun before she married into the Night Kingdom.
However, the idea of these two families building a ninja village… felt somewhat incomprehensible.
In this era, ninjas often acted in clan units.
While forming alliances between clans, they also drew clear boundaries to ensure each clan’s independence.
However, a ninja village did not seem to fit that at all.
Furthermore, Yayoi had also mentioned that many more ninja clans had joined this ninja village called “Konoha.”
The Senju and Uchiha clans were already powerful enough, but if even more ninja clans joined… this news was more like a horror story than shocking.
“The situation is not that simple.
In short… for now, we have no choice but to wait patiently.”
Yayoi rubbed his temples, took Kichou’s delicate white hand, had her sit beside him, and felt Kichou’s breath on his skin.
Meanwhile, Kichou did not mind at all.
After all, in the past few days, the two of them had been intimate countless times.
For this man, there were no secrets about her whatsoever.
She took the letter from Yayoi’s hand and quickly read its contents with her pure white eyes.
The content was not very rich, but the facts revealed from it were astonishing.
In particular, the so-called “one country, one village” agreement could be said to be closer to a new military-political separation system.
According to this system, in the future era, daimyos would be responsible for the nation’s economic and political power.
In terms of military, responsibility would be transferred to ninja villages, and these villages where many ninjas gathered would take charge of national defense. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Ninjas would live and develop as groups based in villages, eliminating isolation between different clans and promoting integration.
Furthermore, to ensure the development of ninja villages, the government would allocate a certain percentage of funds each year as military investment.
In other words, the advantages of this development were clear.
However, every story has two sides, and risks also exist.
After all, if so many ninja clans gathered, wouldn’t they explode?
Note that many ninja clans had deep-rooted blood feuds even before this.
Kichou found it hard to imagine that these ninja clans could truly coexist peacefully.
“It is a novel idea, but it is difficult to predict how long this contract system will last.
However, it is clear that an important international meeting that will determine the fate of the ninja world will soon be held in the Land of Fire.”
Although the letter did not mention the meeting with the Land of Fire, Kichou was convinced with sharp insight that an “international meeting” was inevitable.
Considering the tremendous upheaval in the Land of Fire, other countries could not help but feel a sense of crisis.
The actions of the Senju and Uchiha clans, if they did not pay attention to their subsequent actions, had a very high possibility of causing a ninja world war.
Previously it had been clan disputes, but now that nation-level involvement had occurred, the scale of the war would inevitably expand to disputes between nations.
It would inevitably affect the entire world.
“You have quite a quick mind, Kichou.
I didn’t think you would notice it so quickly.”
Yayoi glanced at Kichou in surprise.
If one thought about it a little, it was not difficult at all to see that the Land of Fire would hold an international conference.
Anyone with even a little insight could arrive at the answer if they thought carefully.
The difficulty lay in making such a prediction so quickly at a glance.
Having intelligence was important, but what was even more surprising was this sharp political insight.
“Does my husband see me as such a foolish person in his eyes?”
Kichou put on an angry expression and playfully pinched Yayoi’s cheek.
“No, rather, you are much wiser and more adorable than I imagined.”
“Being wise is one thing.
What does that have to do with being adorable?”
Kichou released Yayoi’s skin and placed both hands on her waist.
Seeing Kichou with her hands on her waist and an expression of dissatisfaction and anger, Yayoi could not help but smile.
Perhaps he had laughed too much.
His face twitched, he exhaled with a hiss, and breathed heavily.
While rubbing his cheek that had been pinched by Kichou, Yayoi said resentfully, “You really don’t hold back.”
“If it was just for show, wouldn’t it look like we were flirting?”
“We are husband and wife, and there are no outsiders around, so it’s fine to flirt.”
“How could you say such outrageous things to your young wife in broad daylight?
You shameless man.”
“So, it’s okay to go out far at night too?”
Hearing Yayoi’s shameless words, Kichou widened her eyes in exasperation, but felt a strange sweetness in her heart.
Whether she had initially gone with the flow or passively accepted it was uncertain, but for now, she did not dislike this man who was somewhat indulgent toward her.
“However, it has become quite cold recently, so Your Highness, could you please warm my hands?”
While speaking, Kichou gently blew on her frozen white palms, trying to feel some warmth.
“Understood.”
Yayoi would never say something unromantic like “use chakra to warm up.”
Since his wife was so affectionate, of course he had to listen to her.
So he wrapped Kichou’s small hands in his large palms.
The other one snuggled against her broad chest, and a light, captivating fragrance drifted from her freshly washed black hair, lingering around Yayoi’s nose.
Not only was her body attractive, but it was also incredibly soft to hold.
It felt as if Yayoi was embracing a warm and comfortable heater.
Perhaps because of that comfort, the girl in Yayoi’s arms soon had her breathing calm down and curled up like a small animal, falling asleep.
…
The international conference of the nations of the Land of Fire officially began at the end of October.
Not only the traditional Five Great Nations, but also emerging nations like the Night Kingdom, and even small nations that had been insignificant in the ninja world until now, dispatched important figures to this multinational conference.
No matter what the outcome of this meeting was, it was clear to everyone’s eyes that it would determine the future fate of the ninja world.
The conference lasted a full month and officially ended close to December.
During this period, diplomatic missions from each country exchanged numerous letters with their respective highest rulers to represent their will and engage in dialogue with the daimyos of the Land of Fire.
They also began to understand the various changes in the Land of Fire and consider whether the ninja village system would be the path to order.
Indeed, war was something no one desired.
Even the daimyos of the various nations felt endless weariness and boredom from this long and chaotic Warring States era.
In many weak nations, and even in nations forced by their own ninja groups, they had been drawn into endless wars, leading to the destruction of nations and homes.
Many nations had perished in war, and afterward, new regimes had been born.
The “Kingdom of Night” was one example, but by no means an isolated case.
In such an era, even major powers feared the day their own regimes would collapse.
For these reasons, the lord of the Land of Fire decided to cooperate with Konohagakure, founded by the Senju and Uchiha clans.
Against this backdrop, the prototype of the “one country, one village” system was born.
Since ninjas possessed the most powerful violent force, they should be calmed down and made to abandon their traditional employment relationships.
By having ninjas form alliances with nations and establish order, domestic wars would be eliminated, national stability ensured, and powerful defense capabilities brought to the nation.
This system model not only attracted attention from the daimyos of the other four major nations, who were already beginning to transform, but they also recognized the advantages and benefits behind it.
As influential daimyos, they each held the most powerful authority in their respective countries.
The ninjas they had previously cooperated with were also the most powerful ninja groups in their respective countries.
Otherwise, they would not have been able to solidify their positions as daimyos.
Therefore, after the conference between the nations ended, the small nations set aside their concerns and harbored anxieties about an uncertain future and whether it would bring instability to their rule.
However, the other four major nations acted very quickly, held secret meetings with their strongest ninja groups at night, and built close cooperative relationships.
While small nations were still hesitating, these major powers had already efficiently mobilized their domestic resources.
This was only natural.
In times of chaos, the daimyos of any major power were ambitious monarchs.
Incompetent and conservative monarchs could not solidify their positions as daimyos.
For this reason, the organizational power of major powers in this era was astonishingly strong, and once orders were given, actions were executed efficiently and quickly.
Compared to major powers that were enthusiastically preparing for large-scale undertakings and small nations filled with anxiety, the Night Kingdom continued its activities as usual, with some fluctuations.
…
Konohagakure, Land of Fire.
Although not much time had passed since its founding, this huge town was already beginning to take shape.
The village was surrounded by the vast forests of the Land of Fire, encircled by multiple wide artificial roads.
Walls of wood and stone towering around the huge village were also being rapidly constructed by countless craftsmen.
In this process, the help of ninjas was indispensable.
Although ninjas did not understand sophisticated craftsmanship, their strength and skills were impeccable, which greatly accelerated the formation of the village.
Beneath the massive mountain wall north of Konohagakure stood a rather tall circular building.
In the conference room on the top floor, a white-haired man dressed in black ninja attire — Senju Tobirama — was leaning against the window with his arms crossed.
“The Hokage?!
Brother, you’re being too reckless.
There’s no way you can hand over such a position so easily, right?
I understand you want to recommend Madara as Hokage.
But this is something you shouldn’t decide alone.
You should know whose achievement it was that allowed those ninja clans to join so smoothly.
Besides, even the daimyo agrees that you should become the Hokage.”
Tobirama could not help but furrow his brows at his older brother Senju Hashirama’s worldly and reckless idea.
The idea of making Madara the Hokage seemed completely ridiculous.
Hokage — the ninja who held this title would become the leader of Konohagakure.
At the same time, it was also a stabilizing force to calm the chaotic hearts of various ninja clans.
Among the ninjas in Konoha, he believed that no one other than his older brother Hashirama was worthy of that title.
“But I already made a promise with Madara…”
Hashirama was sitting in a chair beside him, wearing loose casual clothes instead of battle ninja attire.
Faced with his younger brother’s harsh words, Hashirama could not help but want to retort.
“That’s just your opinion.
Everyone who joined this village knows who contributed the most to this village.
Now that the village has been established, we cannot decide the leader based on the standards of Father’s era.
High moral character and the ability to unite everyone are also important qualities for a leader.
Brother, you are the ninja who can unite everyone the most.
That is an undeniable fact.”
Their strength was an important factor as well as a decisive one.
However, if that were the case, those ninja clans would not have joined him so easily.
It was because of his compassion and tolerance, as well as his decisiveness and sense of responsibility as a leader, that the ninja clans trusted him.
Even if it was Uchiha Madara, with his immense power, those ninja clans would choose death over peacefully joining him.
Ninja clans were not cowards.
Tobirama had seen many instances of weak ninja clans fighting to the last person and refusing to surrender.
Power alone was insufficient to completely subjugate these fearless ninja groups.
In the end, all that could be obtained was scorched, devastated land.
“Besides, the Uchiha clan also knows this, and the entire Uchiha clan believes that Brother should become the leader of the village.”
Tobirama’s words completely shattered Hashirama’s thoughts and left him speechless.
He had not known these things.
He had thought that Madara, as the head of the clan, would be the most respected person in the Uchiha clan.
“Madara became the head of the Uchiha clan because he was the strongest.
But Brother, you not only have strength, but you also became the head of the Senju clan and gained the trust of your clan members.
Your tolerance and compassion are the keys to uniting not only your clan but also other clans.”
Initially, he had been worried that if other ninja clans joined, conflicts would arise.
But now, Tobirama realized he had been overthinking.
Thanks to Hashirama’s power, various clans were able to sit down and negotiate peacefully.
And thanks to his tolerance and compassion, various ninja clans gradually lowered their guard.
These two factors were indispensable to the success of Konoha’s construction.
“Hahaha, Tobirama, am I as strong as you say?”
Hearing Tobirama’s words, Hashirama could not help but laugh and scratched his head in embarrassment.
Seeing Hashirama’s sudden foolish smile, a wrinkle formed on Tobirama’s forehead, and he could not help but want to use Water Release to bring him back to his senses.
It would be better if he fixed that idiotic smile.
“Haaah.” Tobirama sighed tiredly.
“Well, let’s end this conversation here.
The meeting is starting.
Also, Brother, could you speak a little more seriously?
Stop talking to people in such a servile tone all the time.”
“Ah, then what should I do?”
“You don’t need to say anything.
I’ll speak for you.”
“Um, actually I…”
“Shut up!
I don’t care what you’re thinking!”
When Tobirama yelled at him, Hashirama instinctively trembled and stepped back.
Ah, I made Tobirama angry again.