"Heh… Lord Hokage, I'm sure you've already guessed, haven't you? That's right, just as you suspected, I'm here to surrender," said the Daimyō of the Land of Fire without beating around the bush. Through their previous conversation, he had already gotten a rough sense of Natsuro's personality, so he got straight to the point.
"You're really willing to give up the power of the Fire Daimyō?" Natsuro was a bit surprised by how direct he was.
The Daimyō chuckled lightly. "Power means nothing if you're dead. I don't believe a Hokage who basically ended the Fourth Great Ninja War single-handedly is going to lose the coming conflict. And more importantly, Konoha is located within the Land of Fire—so naturally, we'd be the first target of your unification campaign. I simply don't have time to hesitate."
Natsuro nodded. "That makes sense. Most people could probably reason that out too, but not everyone has the resolve to make the decision you did. Once you're used to being in power, it's hard to step down."
"That's just pointless pride," the Daimyō replied casually. "The truth is, those of us without real power have never sat securely on the throne. Besides, I don't believe my power will actually diminish after surrendering."
The Daimyō's eyes lit up as he continued.
"Because when you unify the world, Lord Hokage, you won't be able to govern everything with just people from Konoha. Most shinobi are soldiers of war, not rulers. That means you'll be in desperate need of capable administrators."
As he spoke, he fanned himself lightly to hide the smile forming on his lips.
"And if I say so myself, I do have some skill in governance. Who knows? My influence might even grow larger than it was before. And with your backing, my personal safety will be more secure than ever. Not to mention… I might gain the possibility of immortality, right? Lord Hokage."
He stared intently at Natsuro, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. To someone who had once held great power, the lure of eternal life was absolutely irresistible.
Natsuro looked him over. Today's Daimyō truly showed how people can change once they're given enough incentive. Gone was the dignified elder, now he was proactive and driven.
He addressed Natsuro as "Lord Hokage" with astonishing ease, without a trace of his old superior tone. But then again, it made sense. The Daimyō no longer had anything left to strive for before; he had likely fought hard to become Daimyō and then grew complacent. What Natsuro saw now was probably the real version of him.
After a brief moment of thought, Natsuro nodded. Though the man was getting older, if he truly lent his aid, it might be possible.
The Daimyō smiled broadly. "So, why wouldn't I surrender? Besides, being the first to do so carries a very special meaning. Not to mention… the Land of Fire is a major nation. I've already had word of my surrender spread far and wide before I even arrived. It'll be a huge boost for Konoha."
Natsuro gave the Daimyō a long look. As the man said, he had indeed been considering how to manage the world after unification. The Daimyō had hit the nail on the head.
Smiling back, he was impressed, not only was this man capable, he was also decisive. If his future actions matched his current attitude, then he would have no problem turning the Daimyō's ambitions into reality.
Most crucial of all, the Land of Fire's surrender would cause the balance of power to shift overwhelmingly in Konoha's favor. Though unification was already in the bag for him, fewer casualties was always a good thing.
He wasn't worried about anyone trying to usurp his authority. As he'd said before, this world was ruled by strength. As long as he remained the strongest, no schemes could touch him.
And so, the matter was decided.
"Then... here's to a successful partnership," Natsuro said, extending his hand with a smile.
The Daimyō's eyes gleamed as he returned the handshake.
From that moment on, the Land of Fire was under his rule.
After the private meeting, Shikaku entered the room. He had been listening in on their conversation.
He smiled, feeling that things had gone even better than expected. Now it was time to discuss the logistics like how to transfer power, and how to protect the former Daimyō.
Because once he returned, there would no doubt be backlash. Even though the Daimyō held near-absolute authority, danger still existed.
Natsuro's first thought was to assign Kakashi to protect him, but he paused.
He had a better idea... Jiraiya.
After all, Jiraiya still hadn't completely accepted Natsuro's plans, which made it difficult to involve him in the coming wars.
But guarding the Daimyō? That was different. Jiraiya would accept that task without hesitation.
After all, it concerned the safety of countless citizens in the Land of Fire, something Jiraiya cared deeply about.
His resistance wasn't because he had ties to other nations, but because he couldn't bear to see more innocent people die in war.
If there were a way for Konoha to unify the world without war, Jiraiya would absolutely support it.
So if protecting the Daimyō meant preventing civilian bloodshed, Jiraiya would give it his all.
Watching him leave with the Daimyō, Natsuro smiled. This was the essence of an idealist. If Jiraiya couldn't be forced into line, then he would let him do what he could within his ideals.
And once the news of the Daimyō's surrender went public many smaller nations, who had already been on the fence, quickly made their decisions.
If even the "big brother" had surrendered, then they, the small fry, had better follow suit. The earlier they pledged allegiance, the more benefits they'd get.
Of course, not everyone followed suit.
Smaller nations allied with the other four great nations were more hesitant. Even if they wanted to surrender, they had to wait and see what their big brothers decided.
Others simply refused to relinquish power, or didn't believe Konoha could actually take on the whole world.
But he didn't care. Once the time he had given the world ran out, he would begin clearing out the obstacles to unification.
In the next two days, many small-nation Daimyō would arrive in Konoha.
But not all of them would get to meet him. He didn't plan on meeting just anyone, only the Daimyō of major nations and the Kage of the ninja villages.
Now that he had one key Daimyō in his camp it was time for the others, and the remaining Kage to make their decisions.
He wouldn't give them long. A cold smile crept onto Natsuro's lips.
Unification was inevitable. Matters like culture and ideology could come after that.
Even in his past life, concepts like those hadn't existed at birth, they were established after one great man brought the nation together.
Now, he would do the same.
As he thought about all this, Natsuro mentally tracked the countdown. The world was running out of time.
Just then, someone he hadn't expected arrived in Konoha.
"The Fourth Raikage? Of all the Kage, I didn't expect you to be the first to show up," Natsuro said in surprise.
"Hmph! Sixth Hokage, I wish I could rip you to pieces right here!" the Fourth Raikage shouted, veins bulging on his forehead in rage.
"Too bad you can't," Natsuro replied calmly, stating a simple truth.
The Raikage sighed, deflated. "Yeah… which is why I came."
"I thought the first to arrive would be the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure… I didn't expect it to be you," Natsuro remarked, somewhat surprised.
"That brat? If it were just him, then maybe. But unfortunately, he's still too young, his authority among Suna's higher-ups isn't very high," the Fourth Raikage snorted in response.
"That's true," Natsuro nodded, thinking of Gaara and smiling. He wasn't too worried, Gaara definitely had the resolve.
"So, Fourth Raikage… what made you the first Kage to come?" Natsuro asked curiously.
The Raikage was silent for a moment before speaking. "Sixth Hokage, you still have the Eight-Tails in your possession, don't you?"
Natsuro glanced at him, surprised. "You're making this decision… just for your brother's life?"
"Hmph, this isn't just my decision. My voice alone isn't that powerful. I merely added pressure in the right places. The key factor is your overwhelming strength," the Fourth Raikage growled.
"So…" he continued, locking eyes with Natsuro, "no matter how you plan to handle the Tailed Beasts, I ask that you return the Eight-Tails to Bee. The tentacle inside him won't last much longer!"
"If you refuse, the Hidden Cloud Village will become the biggest obstacle in your path to unification! Even if you kill me right now, it's useless. I've already made it clear to them, if I don't return, Kumo will enter full wartime readiness!"
The Fourth Raikage's eyes burned red as he glared at Natsuro, waiting to see how he'd respond.
"…Are you threatening me?" Natsuro asked with amused interest.
"This isn't a threat, just stating facts and my resolve," the Raikage clarified, despite his rough tone. Even he didn't dare fully provoke Natsuro at a time like this.
"I see. Then you should also know that I absolutely cannot return a weapon as destructive as a Tailed Beast before the unification is complete," Natsuro replied calmly.
The Raikage fell silent. Natsuro's logic was sound, but… how could he accept that his brother might die?
"But you don't need to worry." Natsuro didn't enjoy playing with the Raikage's emotions. He tossed a golden orb to him.
"What's this?" the Raikage asked in shock, sensing the Eight-Tails' powerful chakra within.
"A portion of the Eight-Tails' power. It won't let Killer Bee keep using the Eight-Tails' strength, but it will stabilize his condition. As for what to do with the Tailed Beasts… I've already got a plan," Natsuro explained.
The Raikage stood in silence, then carefully stored the golden orb. It was his brother's life on the line.
"Can you tell me now?" he asked.
"I suppose it's fine," Natsuro agreed after a moment's thought.
"Once the world is unified, I plan to hold a trial where the nine Tailed Beasts will choose their own Jinchūriki. If a beast doesn't find a suitable host, it will wait until the following year. No one will be forced into a bond that doesn't fit," Natsuro said.
"You already know, when a Tailed Beast and its host are mismatched, it's a disaster for both."
"Will this selection be restricted to people from Konoha?" the Raikage asked. If so, what was the point?
"No. So in the case of the Eight-Tails and Bee, it's more or less a formality," Natsuro replied.
Then he paused, realizing, this felt more and more like cultivation.
A Trial to Gain the Tailed Beasts' Recognition… a "Tailed Beast Trial"?
He chuckled, amused by the thought, but didn't dwell on it.
In truth, Natsuro had already transformed the Tailed Beasts into beings composed of natural energy, since their massive chakra reserves would've otherwise gone to waste.
As for the half of Kurama inside Naruto, he had visited Yang Kurama before Naruto was wrapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi to complete the same process.
Eventually, chakra would vanish from this world altogether. Since natural energy could be converted into chakra, a higher-quality chakra, in fact it was only a matter of time. (Except for the Ōtsutsuki, of course.)
"I see… then that's good," the Raikage sighed in relief.
Once the initial discussions concluded, the Raikage's aide Mabui began working with Shikaku to discuss the next steps, how to transition power and what to do about the Land of Lightning's Daimyō, who they believed wouldn't surrender so easily.
Still, things were clearly moving in a positive direction.
Natsuro smiled. He had a feeling that, in the end, the casualties might be far fewer than he originally feared.
And really, that wasn't surprising.
When your power transcends what others can comprehend… everything becomes much easier.
Because once they understand how overwhelming your power is, most people will no longer defy you.
In that moment, Natsuro once again felt the truth of this world...
A world where power reigns supreme.
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