Epilogue 5

The night passed quickly, with the official meeting between the Sannin and the representatives arriving.

Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya sat opposite from Akio, Lady Shijimi, and many other prominent nobles in the Land of Fire, with them all knowing that this meeting would decide the future of the nation.

"It's a pleasure to have you joining us today, Lady Senju, Lord Orochimaru, and Lord Jiraiya." One of the nobles said with a smile on his face.

"The pleasure is all ours. But, I'm afraid that we don't possess the time to spare in which we can exchange pleasantries." Orochimaru said with a smile of his own.

Many of the nobles exchanged gazes with each other, with the Minister of Finance taking the initiative to speak.

"Yes. We heard overnight about your wish to relocate the capital of the Land of Fire into our Shinobi Village, something unprecedented in the Shinobi World. I would like to ask how you believe that it would be a better option, seeing that we could simply request for Konoha to have Shinobi of your caliber reside in the capital indefinitely in the protection of the Daimyo's family." 

"While that would be a temporary measure, we also have to look at the fact that any issues that arise internationally would likely force us away from the capital, leaving us fully vulnerable to the same situation we were in prior. Therefore, I see no better way to ensure the safety of the Daimyo than to move them to Konoha." Orochimaru retorted.

"Then, are you suggesting that all of the Nobles move to Konoha? How would you accommodate the many businesses, State Buildings, and Properties owned by Nobles who would move to Konoha? How long would it take to build these residencies? We don't have that type of time to put the governmental issues on hold." The Minister of Education asked.

"I'll personally take responsibility over that, by utilizing my Wood Release to help build new accommodations for the influx of citizens and to help move over the State Institutions one after another. This can help ensure the benefits from the current capital are brought over." Tsunade answered.

The meeting went on for another 8 hours, with it mostly consisting of Orochimaru handling the diplomatic affairs, Tsunade chiming in to offer insight, and Jiraiya merely remaining quiet.

The meeting seemed to be finally coming to a close, with Lady Shijimi saying she wanted to announce something at the end.

"While I will be serving as the current Daimyo, through the rules of the lines of succession, I announce Tsunade Senju as the future Daimyo."

The words carried immense weight, with the Nobles choosing to remain quiet as they knew that they had no input on what occurred.

Tsunade merely nodded in agreement, with it signaling her acceptance as the future ruler of the nation.

The meeting came to an end, and the items discussed at it were quickly implemented to the Village of Konoha once the group returned to the Village.

The size of the Village nearly quadrupled, with new districts such as the Industrial District or the revamped Commercial District making the Village become more akin to a Metropolis.

However, the situations in the other Villages seemed to be changing greatly as well, with Iwagakure installing a puppet Daimyo, one that seemed to follow the will of Onoki.

The Raikage, on the other hand, consolidated his power in his Village, using the situation to give him power over the Military and Economic aspects of the nation, making him the person with the most political power in the Shinobi World.

The Sand, faced with the assassination of their Kage, were forced to appoint Lady Chiyo as the new Kazekage, with her focused on bettering the standard of her Village's shinobi and spending time with her family.

The Mist, always the most mysterious due to their border being closed, seemed to be preparing their forces for an inevitable conflict, though the question over whose side they would fight on would be answered far later.

And a final force also began its own preparations to combat the Shinobi World.

"Lord Madara, we have located the tomb of the First Hokage. Will you be using them to augment the strength of the Zetsu army?" Black Zetsu asked as he looked at the man.

Madara, no longer looking old and grizzled, but instead, appearing as if he was still in his youth except for the grey tendrils on his body, smiled sinisterly.

"Of course. Don't attempt to bring the entire corpse. Just some of his DNA will work all the same. 

Peace will soon arrive on this wretched world."

The era of development commenced, with every force preparing for the inevitable war. And with that, 7 years passed.