Chapter 472 – The Final Chapter!

Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke concealed their movements and began visiting the Land of Iron. After their visit, they quietly entered the Land of Taki, the Land of Grass, and several other nations.

All of these countries shared one commonality—in the Fourth Great Ninja War, they were each conquered by Uzumaki Raiden himself.

Restoring livelihoods after the war wasn't easy. Resistance forces formed by diehards arose in various regions. Along the way, Naruto, Sasuke, and the Sage of the Six Paths witnessed not only scenes of peace and order but also suffering and displacement. Many lived and worked contentedly, while others were wandering, homeless.

They even saw several battles where Konoha's shinobi executed rebels right in front of them. Naruto had witnessed many such conflicts but seldom intervened.

On one side were Konoha's shinobi; on the other, resistance forces who had attacked and killed them. Naruto wasn't sure whether he should stand with the village to suppress the rebellion or side with the weak and sympathize with the victims. After all, the resistance could no longer be called innocent.

To Naruto and Sasuke's relief, throughout their long journey, they never saw Konoha's shinobi slaughter civilians. Still, they encountered plenty of chaos.

After visiting several nations, Naruto and Sasuke crossed through the Land of Rain, heading toward Konoha on the advice of the Sage of the Six Paths.

Naruto seemed to understand what Uzumaki Raiden was planning. His initial resistance toward Raiden's goals had noticeably faded.

While Naruto and Sasuke roamed the ninja world, Uzumaki Raiden had already led a large Iwa-nin force into the Land of the Moon. With his arrival, Kumo completely lost control over the country. The two sides stationed troops at the border, forming a tense standoff.

"Lord Raikage, intelligence from our scouts has just arrived."

"During this time, Konoha and Iwa-nin forces have taken control of the Land of the Moon. Most intel can only be sent via sea routes, which has delayed things."

In Raikage Ai's office, Mabui placed several scrolls on his desk and reported the situation. Besides Raikage Ai and his secretary Mabui, seven or eight other Cloud shinobi were present.

With the war developing to this point, Raikage Ai's judgment alone was no longer sufficient.

"Finally! After all this time, we've received intel!"

"I thought the entire intel division had been wiped out!"

Raikage Ai snorted coldly, clearly displeased with their performance. Back when Konoha's shinobi invaded the Land of Hot Water, Kumo had detected the movement—but by the time they acted, they had lost control of the Land of Rivers. When the war reached the Land of the Moon, only then did Kumo begin to retaliate.

Yet the war had dragged on, and Kumo's intelligence division remained blind to the broader situation in the ninja world—no reports came until today.

As he grumbled, Ai grabbed a scroll, quickly unfurled it, and skimmed the contents. His expression, already dark, grew even grimmer.

One by one, he read through the scrolls. His face became increasingly serious, and the tension in the room thickened as everyone noticed.

"Bastards! Those Konoha shinobi dared to do this!"

"Uzumaki Raiden was hiding his schemes all along—he's plotting to control the entire ninja world!"

After reading the final scroll, Raikage Ai finally exploded. He slammed his hand down, splitting the massive desk in half. His outburst left everyone stunned, but from his few words, the severity of the situation was clear—and their hearts sank.

The worst had come to pass. In previous wars, battles were fought over missions or bloodline vengeance. Though bloody, wars eventually ended as resources and manpower ran low. Even the losing side only lost economically.

But this… this was different.

No one had tried to dominate the ninja world in this way for generations.

And yet now, it was happening.

"We can't continue this standoff. If we do, our Cloud shinobi are finished!"

"The fools in the intelligence division are completely incompetent—missing something this huge!"

"I'm heading to the front lines myself. There's no time to waste!"

With that, Raikage Ai shattered a window and launched into the air like a bolt of lightning. After his departure, the remaining Cloud shinobi gathered the scattered scrolls and began reviewing the new information.

The reports were extensive, but the key points stood out:

The entire Iwa-nin Village had turned against Konoha. Under Raiden's leadership, they had conquered the Lands of Grass, Taki, Iron, and Sound. Meanwhile, the Sand and Mist shinobi had aligned with Konoha and were assisting them in overtaking nearby nations.

At this point, Cloud shinobi were the only force left capable of mounting a substantial counterattack.

But they had missed their window. The Land of the Moon had been fully taken. Raiden's Iwa-nin forces had merged with Konoha's shinobi there.

Unknowingly, Cloud shinobi had reached the brink of extinction.

As they read the intel, reactions varied—fear, panic—but no one was ignorant of the truth: Konoha's dominance had become inevitable. The only way to turn the tide now was to kill Uzumaki Raiden.

He was the cornerstone of Konoha's strength. Without him, the ninja coalition would collapse.

With this realization, Kumo's leadership began summoning their subordinates and rushed to the front lines. In mere moments, the entire village mobilized, leaving almost no reserves behind. The situation had become desperate.

Meanwhile, Raiden wasn't idle. As Konoha and Iwa-nin joined forces, internal friction flared. Some Konoha shinobi viewed Iwa-nin as mere captives and treated them with disdain. Many Iwa-nin couldn't tolerate this, sparking repeated conflicts within the camp.

Fortunately, Raiden's overwhelming power quickly ended such unrest. After punishing several instigators, order was restored. Among today's Konoha, only Uzumaki Raiden could command such a hybrid army. Even Minato wouldn't have earned Iwa-nin's loyalty.

To resolve tensions, Raiden launched a covert infiltration into the Land of Lightning. Though he had originally designated it as a training ground for Naruto and Sasuke, their disappearance forced him to proceed without delay.

Under Raiden's escort, waves of shinobi slipped into the Land of Lightning. Their goal wasn't to fight Cloud's ninja, but to assassinate the nation's nobility.

Raiden's true target wasn't Kumo—it was the ruling elite of the Land of Lightning. No matter how powerful the Raikage was, he only ruled a village. Raiden sought control beyond that.

As assassinations spread, panic swept through the Land of Lightning. The Cloud shinobi on the front line wavered. Raikage Ai soon arrived at the front, but on the very night he did, an unexpected visitor entered his tent.

No one knows what occurred that night—but the next day, Cloud shinobi fully withdrew from the border, and the Konoha-Iwa coalition advanced into the Land of Lightning.

In March of Konoha Year 66, Raiden's plan was realized. The entire ninja world came under Konoha's rule. The daimyo system, which had dominated for a century, was abolished.

In April of the same year, a summit of high-level shinobi was held in Konoha. Led by Uzumaki Raiden, the meeting determined the distribution of postwar benefits and restructured the entire ninja system.

National titles were eliminated. The entire ninja world was unified under one country: the "Ninja Nation." Shinobi became the Ninja Army. The land was divided into 66 provinces. Konoha, the capital, housed the Central Ninja Army. Cloud became the Northeast Ninja Army, Iwa the Northwest, Suna the Southwest, and Kiri the Southeast.

Former villages became military zones, with academies established to train new shinobi. Political colleges were also founded to produce administrative leaders.

A sweeping disarmament began. Many former shinobi became police, firefighters, or civil servants. The remaining Ninja Army was sent to the border between the Lands of Wind and Earth to terraform and make the area livable using ninjutsu.

The ninja world, already industrialized, quickly recovered under Raiden's guidance. To ensure social mobility, he replaced the old three-tier ninja ranking system with 26 levels, based on merit and task performance.

Indeed—task volume mattered.

Though peace had returned, rebel groups appeared, and the mission system remained in place. Raiden established mission centers across all regions where clients could post tasks. Each military zone rotated its forces every three years.

In the early days of the Ninja Nation, systems were incomplete, and Raiden worked tirelessly alongside leaders from Konoha, Iwa, Suna, Kiri, and even Kumo. He excluded no one from power.

He also freed Orochimaru, who resumed his post as Dean of the Academy of Sciences. Under his leadership, the ninja world's technology evolved rapidly.

United in purpose, the ninja world flourished with new life.

Naruto and Sasuke, still wandering, observed the transformation. Initially intending to return, they changed their minds on the advice of the Sage of the Six Paths and continued traveling.

Half a year later, having witnessed the changes firsthand, they finally returned to Konoha—only to be immediately enrolled in the Political Academy by Raiden.

After five more years of rapid reform and development, the Ninja Nation stabilized. Systems were reviewed and refined.

Once stability was achieved, Raiden handed power over to Namikaze Minato and traveled the world with Terumi Mei.

Six years later, they returned. Two had left, but three returned.

"Father, is this Konoha?"

At the village gates, a pink-cheeked five-year-old girl with jet-black eyes lay in Terumi Mei's arms, staring curiously ahead.

"Yes, this is Konoha."

"We'll live here now, and you'll make many friends your age."

Raiden smiled at the village entrance.

"Friends?!"

"Can I really make friends? Will they call me a monster, like others did before?"

Hope flickered in her eyes, only to dim. She lowered her head, red hair falling over her face.

"No. I've told you many times—you're not a monster. You're my child, and a genius."

Raiden gently took her from Mei's arms, patting her head softly.

"Okay!"

Her mood lifted instantly. She raised her arms and cheered. As she did, a terrifying chakra burst from her, shaking the earth beneath Raiden's feet.

The nearby guards stared in disbelief. When they recognized Raiden, astonishment filled their faces.

Raiden, unaffected, held her tightly and said:

"Come on. We're going home."

(End of this chapter)

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An: a bit of a rushed conclusion but there wasn't much left to tell anyways