After returning to the Taiji Hall, Senju Kaito convened the first official national assembly on schedule.
At that meeting, he formally announced the founding of the Myriad Worlds Shinobi Empire.
The capital was renamed the Imperial Capital, and he bestowed upon himself the title of Emperor Senra.
Drawing inspiration from historical administrative structures, he established corresponding government offices and positions, appointing suitable members of Konoha to each role.
The Hidden Leaf Village would henceforth become a Shinobi Training Base.
Shinobi would no longer serve as conventional military forces but would instead be reorganized into Special Operations Units.
With the Senju Clan’s efforts to recruit support, the samurai of the Land of Iron would become the empire’s primary military force.
Ordinary civilians would also be eligible to enlist.
Dressed in a black dragon robe, Kaito sat upon the throne and gazed down at the assembly with imperial authority.
“I hereby declare!”
“Beginning today, we are at war with the other four great nations!”
The announcement immediately threw the hall into chaos.
Sarutobi Sasuke stepped forward at once.
“Your Majesty, please reconsider!
Peace has only recently been established.
The clans have no desire to return to war.”
Kaito spoke calmly.
“Madara has sent word.
After executing Abe Akiteru, he pursued the Daimyo into the Land of Earth and decided, while he was there, to conquer it as well.”
“What?!”
“Lord Hokage is being far too reckless!”
“We must send reinforcements immediately!”
The hall descended into uproar.
“There’s no need to worry.”
“Tobirama and the others have already gone to support him.”
“As for me, I will personally lead the campaign against the Land of Wind.”
“Shumo will serve as Regent.”
“Sarutobi Sasuke, Uzumaki Mito, and Shimura will act as his advisors.”
Before anyone could recover from their shock, Kaito shook his head.
“There will be many more events in the future that exceed your imagination.”
“You’ll need to adapt quickly.”
“Now, submit your reports.”
The assembled clan representatives exchanged glances.
As expected, Sarutobi Sasuke stepped forward first.
“Your Majesty, the city truly is controlled by the great noble families.”
“They monopolize commerce and resources.
Through intermarriage, they’ve formed an extremely complicated network.”
“It will be difficult to deal with them quickly.”
“Difficult?”
Kaito ‘s voice grew colder.
“Or are you simply unwilling to deal with them by force?”
“Do you think they’ll be grateful to our empire if we leave them alone?”
“Completely wrong.”
“They’ll use every means possible to overthrow us and restore the Daimyo.”
“I hereby order the Stealth Mobile Unit and the Personal Guard Corps to mobilize immediately!”
“All relevant departments will cooperate.”
“Once evidence is found, confiscate their property and arrest them at once.”
“Anyone who resists will be executed without mercy.”
“By Your Majesty’s command!”
At that moment, Sarutobi Sanshan stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, Yamanoue Hiroshi has confessed everything.”
“His family was involved in illegal industries, maintained private assassination squads, and persecuted civilians.”
“Excellent.”
“Then we’ll begin with the Yamanoue Clan.”
“Eliminate the leading families first.”
“The rest can be dealt with gradually.”
“At the same time, implement state ownership of land.”
“All land belongs to the Myriad Worlds Shinobi Empire.”
“Anyone attempting private ownership will be charged with treason.”
“Redistribute land equally among the civilians.”
“Reduce taxes by twenty percent so that people can survive.”
“As for the confiscated wealth, divide it into three portions.”
“One portion goes to the people.”
“One goes to the national treasury.”
“And one will be invested in education and medicine.”
“Finally, I have one more piece of good news.”
“There’s no point hiding this any longer.”
“According to Tobirama’s confidential report, the assassination operation was exposed not only because of the barrier specialist’s abilities…”
“But also because three former elders of the Senju Clan secretly colluded with the Daimyo.”
The entire Taiji Hall fell into dead silence.
Kaito let out a cold laugh.
“These relics of a bygone age ignored the interests of both clan and village to satisfy their own selfish desires.”
“As a result, one hundred and fifty-nine members of the strike force died.”
“Arrest those three elders and all related personnel immediately.”
After giving the remainder of his instructions, Kaito adjourned the meeting and headed toward the Liangyi Palace.
There was another important matter waiting for him there.
His queen was waiting.
Creak—
As the doors opened, Mito was already waiting.
Her cheeks were flushed and charming.
The loose white inner robes she wore could not conceal her graceful figure, and her slender waist showed not a trace of excess.
Sitting at the edge of the bed, she slowly raised a hand.
Kaito immediately understood.
So this was the “surprise.”
“Sorry about this,” he muttered quietly as he walked forward.
The palace doors shut tightly behind him.
Outside, rain suddenly began to fall.
Crystal droplets slowly seeped downward, striking the ground with soft, rhythmic sounds.
Judging from the intensity of the storm, it seemed likely to continue for several hours.
The next day, at five in the morning—
Although Kaito hadn’t slept all night and had spent the entire time cultivating, he felt completely refreshed.
After bidding farewell to Mito, who looked equally radiant, he selected five guards and three hundred members of the Senju Clan and began the march toward the Land of Wind.
However, the morale of the clan members was abysmal.
They looked as though they were marching to their deaths.
“Relax a little.”
Kaito smiled.
“How about this?
I won’t act like an emperor right now.”
“I’m still your clan leader.”
His words immediately drew their attention.
“Some of you have never witnessed my true strength, so you’re worried.”
“But do you really think I’d gamble with my own life?”
He patted his chest and laughed.
“All you’ll need to do is supervise and stabilize the situation after the enemy surrenders.”
“You’ll each earn merit.”
“But you must obey the laws I’ve established.”
“Anyone who violates them will receive no mercy.”
Upon hearing that rewards were involved, morale visibly improved.
“That’s better.”
“Show some spirit!”
“Yes, Clan Leader!” × N
Speed was critical.
After reassuring the clan members, Kaito moved ahead alone.
As soon as he passed through the dense forests at the border of the Land of Fire, the landscape changed dramatically.
Before him stretched endless yellow sands and barren desert.
“People actually live here?”
He couldn’t help but wonder.
“No wonder they kept invading the Land of Fire in the future.”
“Anyone would.”
Yet the sight also gave him another idea.
An idea they would never be able to refuse.
But that could wait.
For now, Kaito boldly entered the desert.
Using Kagura Mind’s Eye, he quickly located a border outpost.
“Who’s there?!”
A sensor-type shinobi detected him immediately.
But in the next instant, darkness consumed his vision.
Not only him—all of his comrades suffered the same fate.
Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!
Kaito swiftly incapacitated each of them without taking any lives and continued deeper into enemy territory.
He repeated the process several times.
Eventually, he realized his position had likely been exposed and prepared to change routes.
“So many traps.”
Wood Release armor covered his body, and a wisp of smoke rose from the impact.
Explosive tags.
Shuriken.
Large numbers of puppets.
The Hidden Sand wasn’t bad at all.
As he evaded trap after trap, he continued forward.
Clack!
Clack!
Clack!
Another wave of puppets appeared.
Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs Technique!
After completing the hand seals, dozens of sharp wooden spikes shot from his palm and effortlessly pierced through the puppet formation.
“Come out.”
“Your chakra strings gave away your position.”
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
“Truly worthy of being the leader of the Senju Clan.”
“Such power at such a young age.”
As the speaker appeared, the surrounding desert filled with shinobi.
Kaito estimated there were at least a thousand of them.
“Could you tell us why you’ve entered the Land of Wind?”
“If you refuse to explain, we’ll consider this a deliberate provocation by Konoha.”
“We’ll jointly petition the Daimyo of the Land of Fire for justice.”
Kaito couldn’t help but laugh.
“First, you’re mistaken.”
“I’ve already established an empire.”
“The Land of Fire has become the Myriad Worlds Shinobi Empire.”
“And I am—”
“Emperor Senra.”
“I have personally come here to conquer the Land of Wind and unify the world.”
“Arrogant!”
“Ridiculous!”
“Kill this madman!”
The surrounding shinobi erupted into anger and ridicule.
But Kaito merely smiled.
“Second.”
“You suffer in these barren deserts.”
“I have come to save you.”
“Surrender to me.”
“And I will bring prosperity and happiness to both you and the world.”
Before they could react, he immediately formed hand seals.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
“Enemy attack!”
“Stop him!”
The shinobi of the Hidden Sand immediately prepared for battle.
Yet they soon discovered that the roots avoided attacking them.
Instead, they spread outward in every direction.
In mere moments, over one hundred square kilometers of desert had been transformed into a lush forest.
Kaito spread his arms.
“Well?”
“Will you submit to me?”
The First Kazekage, Reto, laughed for a long time before finally catching his breath.
“The world says that Hashirama is naive.”
“I never imagined he was this ridiculous.”
“If solving the Land of Wind’s problems were really this easy, do you think we’d have waited for you?”
“Hahaha!”
“Go ahead.”
“Try.”
Kaito looked around the forest in confusion.
He didn’t understand why they were mocking him.
Then he noticed it.
The color of the trees seemed…
wrong.
Even Wood Release, famous for absorbing chakra, had begun to lose its vitality.
As time passed, the forest rapidly withered.
And the laughter of the Hidden Sand shinobi only grew louder.