C285

As Orochimaru said, after Konoha relocated to the new city near the capital, the Hokage election ceremony was held almost immediately—almost as if the title of Hokage was some kind of burden to him, something he didn't want to cling to at all.

Although it was called an election, in reality, it was more of a formality. The future Hokage would essentially be designated by Kain, though the previous Hokage still retained the right to nominate a successor.

The Land of Fire has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past three years, particularly the capital. Centered around the Daimyo's Mansion, the capital has expanded by over 30 kilometers and is now nearly connected to the four new cities surrounding it.

High-rise buildings now stand in neat rows, and reinforced concrete has replaced most of the old wooden houses. Bright lights have become a defining feature of the capital's nightscape.

Though many vacant areas remain unplanned, the Daimyo's Mansion already has development blueprints in place for these zones.

Following the fall of the Rain Shinobi Village, the benefits of joining the Land of Fire and obtaining civilian status began spreading to neighboring nations. Refugees from smaller, struggling countries—unable to survive in their homelands—flooded into the Land of Fire with their families.

This massive influx initially caused significant challenges. The government had to handle resettlement, while Konoha's ninjas were tasked with identifying spies. Aside from the Sand Shinobi, the other three major ninja villages were far from silent.

However, the Land of Fire generally accepted middle-aged refugees with strong labor potential and families. This vetting process led to the early identification of many spies, who were then sent to work across the country.

Ninety percent of these individuals turned out to be interested in gathering intelligence. Anyone far from Konoha or the capital was required to work as a laborer for three years before being allowed to return home. While this labor was lucrative for ordinary civilians, the spies weren't there to earn a living.

Some fled after two years; others were reassigned after three, often facing another three years of labor. They worked on reservoirs, roads, mountain tunnels, farmland reclamation, and more.

According to the national development plan, it will take at least fifteen years for the Land of Fire to become an industrial powerhouse.

Red Queen robots are still responsible for tasks requiring advanced technical skills, such as satellite launches and Internet infrastructure. At present, no one in the country but Red Queen can handle these roles.

Education reform is also a high priority. Kain raised the graduation age to 16 and divided the schooling system into two phases: a six-year basic education, followed by a three-year intensive program.

The first six years cover general education, while the final three separate students into either ninja training for warfare or other civilian roles.

While the rules on the spread of ninjutsu have been slightly relaxed, its use within city limits remains strictly regulated. This law has been formally written into the Fire Nation's legal code. 

Outside of Konoha and Daimyo government officials, any unauthorized use of ninjutsu results in a minimum sentence of 30 days of labor.

At worst, the offender may be sealed away permanently.

Although this approach reduces the number of combat ninjas, the military strength of the Fire Nation remains secure.

Kain currently commands a total of 530 biomechanical warriors. While their numbers haven't increased significantly—due to a decline in death row prisoners—their arms and weaponry have been greatly enhanced.

Thanks to Orochimaru's advancements, Kain's fire dragons have become mere rank-and-file soldiers. The Yaqi Dragon and the Tailed Beast Nine-Headed Dragon now stand as the leading biological weapons in warfare.

Orochimaru conducted a test: one Yaqi Dragon can tear apart ten fire dragons with ease.

As for the enhanced Tailed Beast Nine-Headed Dragon, even the White Snake Sage feels uneasy around it. It continues to devour fire dragons to enrich its bloodline, which now contains a fusion of multiple genes.

Creatures like dragons can emit a kind of magical pressure through their blood aura. Previously, the White Snake Sage could endure this, but after Orochimaru strengthened the Tailed Beast Nine-Headed Dragon, the Sage ordered Orochimaru to leave Ryūchi Cave.

Except for the fire dragon breeding site, all of Orochimaru's experiments have since been relocated to a facility ten kilometers away.

Currently, the Tailed Beast Nine-Headed Dragon possesses chakra from six tailed beasts. Orochimaru has yet to acquire One Tail, Two Tails, and Six Tails. Kain's version, meanwhile, has only five types of Tailed Beast chakra.

This shortfall is partially due to Uchiha Obito, who seems to have developed a stronger "virtuous" trait, shifting from level two to level three. After capturing Seven Tails, he ignored Nohara Rin's pleas—even in virtual projection—and refused to help Kain obtain more tailed beasts.

Though Obito still erupts emotionally when provoked, he cannot bear to see the idealized version of Rin in his heart tainted by others. Yet, he watches every second of the virtual projection without fail.

This left Kain puzzled, unaware that Obito had discovered watching Rin in this state might trigger another Sharingan evolution. Even if it wasn't his own Sharingan, Obito believed in the possibility of advancement.

It only proves one thing: the power of hatred is immense.

Rock Shinobi Village

When Namikaze Minato sought refuge, Ohnoki personally welcomed him—an exceedingly rare gesture. During the Third Ninja World War, Minato had been Rock Shinobi Village's most formidable adversary. And now, here he was, willingly stepping into their territory.

Many in the village expressed doubts, but Minato submitted to every interrogation protocol—except for a memory search. Using the intelligence they had, Rock Shinobi Village eventually approved his asylum.

"Minato-kun, I never imagined something like this would happen," Ohnoki said, greeting him with a serious expression. "Konoha had its share of traitors, but I didn't expect you and Sarutobi Hiruzen to abandon it."

Minato nodded solemnly. "It began with Mount Myōboku. My teacher, Jiraiya, and I share a summoning contract with the toads of Mount Myōboku, one of the Three Great Sage Lands. There resides the Great Toad Sage, who can foresee future events."

Minato's eyes darkened. He had narrowly escaped death after being relentlessly hunted by Konoha. If not for the Third Hokage's desperate efforts to hold off their pursuers, Minato wouldn't have survived.

That incident was the closest Minato had ever come to dying. Konoha's pursuit squad consisted entirely of elite ninjas. They had even prepared a barrier, and Nawaki—the current Fifth Hokage—personally joined the battlefield. In the end, only Minato managed to flee, battered and humiliated.

As for the members they had recruited, all of them were eventually captured. Some even belonged to the Ino–Shika–Chō and Sarutobi clans, and they were now awaiting interrogation.

Namikaze Minato is clearly hiding something, but what he has revealed is shocking enough: the daimyo of the Fire Nation possesses a war arsenal and has been prophesied to be the one who will bring about the destruction of the ninja world.

Ohnoki and several senior Rock Shinobi officials exchanged wary glances upon hearing this. It was the first time they'd heard such a claim, but the fact that Namikaze Minato, the Third Hokage, and Jiraiya had all taken action to resist this force added credibility to his words.

"Lord Third Tsuchikage, I advise you to prepare. No one knows what the daimyo of the Fire Nation plans to do next. If he continues developing those monstrous weapons, I fear there will be no place for ninjas in the world anymore," Minato said urgently.

Having witnessed the downfall of Nara Shikaku, Jiraiya, and the Third Hokage right before his eyes, Minato's heart had become heavy with grief and twisted by hatred.

From the genius of the Third Ninja World War—Konoha's Yellow Flash—to a fugitive hunted by the Fifth Hokage, Minato had watched his mentors, friends, and comrades fall one by one. Now he was reduced to a lone rebel, forced to seek shelter in Rock Shinobi Village with nothing left.

Rather than being driven by a noble mission to save the ninja world, it was hatred that now fueled him. Minato had become consumed by vengeance, his heart wholly wrapped in darkness.

Ohnoki nodded but did not respond to Minato directly. Instead, he said, "Understood. Go and rest for now. I'll inform you once our discussions are complete."

After Minato left, Ohnoki's expression soured with irritation.

One of the Rock Shinobi elders asked, "Tsuchikage-sama, shall we discuss this with the other hidden villages?"

"Discuss with who? That brat from the Cloud Shinobi? You think he won't backstab us again? The Mist Shinobi are still locked down behind their own blockade. Who could we even send there? And Sand Shinobi? They're practically feeding off the Fire Nation now. As for Konoha... you expect help from them?" Ohnoki snapped.

What irritated him most was Sand Shinobi's betrayal. Years ago, during the Rain Shinobi Village incident, instead of joining forces with Rock Shinobi, they turned around and allied with the Land of Fire. Ohnoki had cursed them, calling them shameless for siding with whoever filled their bowls.

Yet in recent years, Sand Shinobi had made remarkable progress. After allying with Konoha, their trade had flourished. Every year, they received a steady stream of missions from the Fire Nation's Daimyo Mansion. 

However, even Sand Shinobi needed to apply for time-limited entry permits to operate within the Fire Nation.

Thanks to the Red Queen's computerized network, the Daimyo Mansion had tightened control over civilian registration. Ninjas were welcome, but only under strict regulations.

It was precisely Sand Shinobi's ambiguous attitude that made Rock Shinobi hesitate to act, even when the Land of Fire destroyed both the Land of Birds and the Land of Bears.

Without allies, the Rock Shinobi alone will lose completely in a war against Konoha. The disparity in the number of Kage-level ninjas, total military strength, and funding is vast. 

The Sand Shinobi remain ambiguous in their stance, and apart from the large number of troops stationed at the borders, Ohnoki dares not make any rash moves.

Another Rock Shinobi executive asked, "So are we to do nothing, Lord Third Tsuchikage?"

"If we do nothing, we might as well sit and wait for death. Send messengers to the Cloud and Mist Shinobi. If Namikaze Minato is right, this may be our last chance."

Ohnoki paused in thought and let out a deep sigh. Though the ninja world had no such idiom as "a frog being slowly boiled," he understood the metaphor perfectly—if things continued as they were, the eventual destruction of the Earth Country was inevitable.

Ohnoki hadn't missed a single issue of Ninja World Weekly, and the Fire Nation made no effort to conceal its intent to unify the ninja world. At least six out of every ten issues promoted the advantages of a unified world and the so-called benefits to peace.

Besides the magazine, Ohnoki had also heard that the Fire Nation had even established a national TV station.

There, public debates were held regularly. Almost every few days, discussions took place on whether unification of the ninja world was desirable.

 And every time, the side opposing unification lost—utterly unable to refute the pro-unification arguments.

Ohnoki had watched twice himself. All he could say was this: the Fire Nation's wolfish ambitions were on full display. If the Rock Shinobi didn't act soon, there might not even be a Fifth Tsuchikage.

As for the Fire Daimyō's Mansion—due to the rapid growth of public bureaucracy—it had undergone several expansions and renovations. 

The front half of the complex, spanning about 200,000 square meters, was dedicated to official business. Thousands of directives were issued daily, either as paper documents, or digitally via the Internet or telephone.

An artificial lake divided the compound. The large estate at the back was where Kain resided. It wasn't just spacious—it was luxurious, complete with gardens and a training ground. Kain had truly taken the art of indulgence to the next level.

Originally, Kain had planned to transfer the Kushina Fortress into a floating sky castle. But Kushina, Tsunade, and Nono weren't comfortable living in the air, so he abandoned the idea. 

The floating fortress was eventually lent to Nawaki and is now considered one of the Fire Country's core military assets.

"I'm furious!"

Tsunade suddenly entered the room with Yoko, grabbed a cup of tea from the table, and downed it in one gulp. The flush on her face hadn't faded.

Kain, who was refining lightning magic, looked up in surprise. Tsunade hadn't been this angry in over a year. What on earth had happened?

After Kain glanced at Yoko, the little girl simply shrugged, her tone full of helplessness as she said, "Mom and Uncle Nawaki had a fight. But it must've been her fault—Uncle Nawaki's always upright. Mom came back angry after saying she couldn't beat him."

"Don't expose your mother like that, you stupid daughter!"

Tsunade shouted at Yoko in embarrassment, clearly flustered and trying to stop her from saying more.

Kain immediately understood the situation and said casually, "In that case, don't make things harder for Nawaki. The other party clearly showed signs of treason—it's already quite generous to simply detain him for investigation. The others definitely won't be convinced otherwise."

"I know that," Tsunade replied, clenching her fists. "But it's still infuriating to have that brat talk down to me like that. I should remind him just how majestic his big sister really is."

Just then, she noticed Yoko smirking at her, and immediately wanted to catch and punish her troublesome daughter.

But Yoko wasn't as clueless as Naruto. Noticing the glint in her mother's eyes, she quickly said, "I have class. Gotta go!" And with that, she vanished from the room using Apparition.

…

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