The once bustling shinobi world seemed to have a bucket of cold water dumped over it, suddenly falling into silence.
Because the Allied Forces had disbanded, the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure once again returned to a stalemate, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.
Out of fear for his own safety, the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning spent a fortune to keep Kisame and the unit under his command on long-term hire.
Kirigakure, whose finances were already strained, was more than happy to agree. After handing the unit over to Chūnichi's management, they pulled their core shinobi back to the village.
Ōnoki of Iwagakure originally planned to take advantage of Sunagakure's internal strife to gain some benefits, but what happened next quickly wiped the smile from his face.
During his birthday celebration, the Daimyō of the Land of Earth received a "grand gift" from the Integration Movement.
A massive explosive sphere made of countless explosive tags.
It's said that when the bomb went off at the Daimyō's residence, he caught a fleeting glimpse of his grandmother in the afterlife.
With something so severe happening, Ōnoki had no energy left to think about profit. He urgently dispatched his most elite demolition troops to hunt down the Integration Movement that had suddenly erupted within the Land of Earth.
Once he heard that the plan had succeeded, Takeshi finally nodded in satisfaction.
Now that the major powers of the shinobi world all had their own troubles to handle, he could focus entirely on leading Konoha's development.
As Konoha expanded, factories rose one after another. With the joint efforts of aristocratic capital and the Research Bureau, Konoha's level of technology was beginning to approach that of the great nations.
According to Nara Shikaku's calculations, once all the factories were completed and operating, within three years Konoha would free itself from the Daimyō's material control and achieve self-sufficiency.
Ironically, Konoha's biggest problem now was that shinobi, having never worked in production, had no idea how to apply their ninjutsu to it.
New courses would need to be created for guidance.
Naturally, that responsibility fell to the one who had suggested it in the first place—Nara Shikaku.
"Ninja disobeying their ruler's command and expanding production on their own—that's treason! They should be executed along with their clans!"
Within the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Kazuma, from the Daimyō's faction, erupted in fury upon hearing the news, beating his chest as if Konoha's actions had struck at his very lifeline.
"These aren't ordinary shinobi anymore. Heavy measures must be taken!"
At his words, his supporters all showed approving looks.
Kashi, Byoki, Itsuto, Kengo, and Mibu.
Like Kazuma, they too were members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja—and staunch supporters of the Daimyō's faction.
They believed shinobi should be ruled by the Daimyō. The Hokage system was an obstacle to centralized power and should be abolished.
This position had never gained much traction in the Land of Fire. But recent events had made the nobles realize they could no longer allow Kage to lead shinobi unchecked.
Rasa's example had left too deep a scar.
Even if a Kage was loyal to the Daimyō, what about the shinobi under him?
Didn't the Fourth Raikage get overthrown by his own men?
Kashi's face was filled with righteous anger.
"We must punish Shimura Takeshi."
The others, hearing this, first froze, then hesitated.
It sounded righteous enough—but was killing a Kage really so simple?
After all, not all Twelve Guardian Ninja agreed with them.
Some, like Riku, believed the Hokage was necessary. The Daimyō only needed to provide central guidance.
"They can't see it. If we allow that idiot Shimura Takeshi to continue, the Daimyō's authority will vanish!"
Kazuma was convinced he understood Takeshi's ambition.
That bastard wanted to sever Konoha from the Land of Fire, then swallow the entire country whole.
"We can't let the Daimyō know of this. We should contact General Oda and have him send people to cooperate with our actions."
Kazuma agreed with assassinating Takeshi.
"Remember, this must never reach Asuma and the others. As far as I know, that boy grew up with Takeshi—they're inseparable friends."
"What a pity. If only we could persuade the Lightning Style Four, we could physically erase Konoha from existence."
Byoki shook his head in regret.
The Lightning Style Four possessed a powerful jutsu, "Lightning Release: Thunder Dream." Once unleashed, everything in its range would be reduced to ash.
"They're nothing but weaklings."
Kazuma didn't believe their jutsu was all that impressive.
It required all four to perform it simultaneously. Stop even one of them, and the jutsu failed.
He was the strongest of the Twelve Guardian Ninja!
Kazuma's face radiated defiance and arrogance.
...
Hokage's office.
Having not seen Takeshi in a long time, Haku and Kimimaro finally worked up the courage. After school, they went to the Hokage building to look for him.
They casually stopped a kind passerby. The man was momentarily stunned by Haku's appearance, then quickly realized and warmly guided them to Takeshi's office door.
"Come on, let me see!"
"Takeshi, nooo!"
"Let me see!"
Before they could even push open the door, Haku and Kimimaro heard voices coming from inside.
The tone… didn't sound very proper.
The ninja who had led them there was already whistling a tune and walking away before the noise even began.
Or rather, even if he had heard it, he would've had to pretend he hadn't.
After all, who wants to end up reporting to Internal Affairs, right?
Taking a deep breath, Haku steeled himself and pushed the door wide open.
He was prepared—no matter what he saw, he would keep the secret.
But the scene before his eyes did feel just a little off.
A boy was pinned on the sofa by Takeshi, who had his right hand raised high, clutching a document.
Takeshi's whole body was leaning on him, straining to grab the document from the boy's hand.
"Kabuto?"
Haku tilted his head, recognizing who was being pinned.
"Ah, it's you, Haku."
Taking advantage of Haku's arrival, Yakushi Kabuto quickly shoved Takeshi off and rushed to Haku's side, face full of grievance.
"Please talk some sense into him. I told him he can't look at this, but he insists on it!"
"Heh, you've grown up, Kabuto. Already running to complain."
Straightening his collar, Takeshi looked at him with disdain.
"Hand it over."
In the next instant, Takeshi suddenly appeared behind Kabuto, snatching the document from his hand and hurriedly flipping it open.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique? Careless of me!"
Kabuto froze. The empty feeling in his hand reminded him of what had just happened.
Thinking of the Flying Thunder God kunai tucked in his clothes, Kabuto's face filled with indignation.
"You actually used ninjutsu against someone my age!"
"Mind your own business."
Sticking out his tongue, Takeshi ignored the loser's complaints and focused on the document he had seized.
As he flipped through the pages, Kabuto's expression gradually grew more tense.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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