"Kitsuchi! Great news!"
A Jonin member of the old Iwagakure faction rushed back to their gathering place, shouting joyfully, "The results of the Standing Member election have been released!"
"What's the outcome?"
Although the high-ranking Jonin wore an unmistakably joyful expression, the Iwagakure-born Jonins could not suppress their unease. They all instinctively pressed for more details to fully resolve their doubts.
"Kitsuchi—"
The messenger Jonin paused briefly to catch his breath before excitingly declaring, "You've been elected—successfully—as one of the Standing Members! It's Kitsuchi who's now among the thirty-five honored Standing Members of the Ninja World Parliament!"
"Praise be to Kitsuchi!"
The Iwagakure Jonins erupted into cheers, stomping their feet and beating drums in celebration.
"I couldn't have done this without your unwavering support," said Kitsuchi, trying her best to contain her emotions, though visible pride still shone through.
After all, for what was left of Iwagakure, this was no small victory.
Of the seven hundred Jonin in the Ninja World Parliament, only thirty-five are selected as Standing Members. That meant one thirty-fifth of parliamentary power had now fallen into the hands of the Iwagakure faction.
For a former member of the Five Great Ninja Villages, this number is painfully small. However, under current circumstances—with Iwagakure lacking a village as a backing force—this result was quite remarkable.
At the very least, it proves that the Ninja World Parliament still upholds some sense of fairness. With this assurance, the Iwagakure Jonins believed they could preserve their heritage and continue carrying forward the Stone Will even under governance by the Ninja World Coalition Government.
"By the way, who from Kumo got elected as a Standing Member?"
Kitsuchi waved her hand, signaling for quiet before asking this question.
Nowadays, just like Iwagakure, Kumo had also lost its base. Despite mutual dislikes between both factions, some degree of cooperation remained necessary.
Otherwise, if one side were wiped out, the other would be left carrying the weight alone.
"It's Toroi!"
The messenger Jonin replied immediately.
"Toroi—the one with [Magnet Release] kekkei genkai?"
Kitsuchi thought for a moment before recalling the relevant information about this individual.
"That's right!"
The Jonin nodded affirmatively.
"They actually nominated him..."
Kitsuchi shook her head slightly, apparently disappointed. "Looks like Kumo really has nobody left."
Back during the era of ninja villages, someone possessing a kekkei genkai would never have been chosen to take charge under any circumstances. However, given Kumo's severe decline nowadays, finding competent Jonin had become difficult, so they had no better option but to put up a lesser-known Jonin just to keep things looking balanced.
"If possible, perhaps we should consider uniting forces."
Another Iwagakure Jonin delicately expressed his opinion.
"Let's think about it carefully over time."
Kitsuchi was somewhat intrigued, but he still maintained a cautious demeanor outwardly.
However, after hesitating for a moment, he added, "If the chance comes up, it wouldn't hurt to get to know each other better. We're both Standing Members, after all. It should be fine for us to meet on official business, right?"
If Kumo could become a subordinate state, their combined resilience against risks might just become even stronger.
Thinking it over repeatedly, Kitsuchi found this idea increasingly feasible.
Thus, ignoring his earlier words about taking time to discuss further, he immediately ordered his subordinates to extend congratulations to Toroi and invite him for a meeting if he had time.
Inside the palace, Hyūga Soushu also received the list of Standing Members submitted by Sakumo Hatake.
Among the thirty-five Standing Members, the Hyūga Clan alone occupied seven seats while the Uchiha Clan held six. Naturally, as the two most powerful ninja clans within the ruling structure, the Hyūga and Uchiha naturally attracted support from numerous smaller and mid-tier ninja clans, who backed their Jonin representatives.
Apart from those thirteen seats controlled by the two great clans, nearly every family obtained representation. Surprisingly, not a single seat was secured by Sakumo Hatake's loose alliance of Konoha civilian Jonin.
"Isn't that somewhat inappropriate?" Hyūga Soushu asked.
"There's nothing wrong with it. If they choose to give their endorsement elsewhere, that's just them acting in their own interest. Besides, now that it has been officially published, we must accept reality."
Sakumo Hatake understood what Hyūga Soushu implied, but he still politely declined any suggestion or goodwill that might involve interfering with the parliament and nomination procedures.
After all, regardless of the outcome, these were decisions made by the Jonin representatives. Sakumo did not wish to change the results, nor did he have the intention to take initiative to alter them.
Moreover, while the current system under the Ninja World Coalition Government wasn't perfect, at least when it came to productivity and stability, the order personally built by Hyūga Soushu was indeed outstanding—far surpassing the era when the Five Great Countries and their respective Hidden Villages stood equal.
Hence, the die is cast. We might as well accept reality!
"Then proceed with issuing the official document!"
Since Sakumo Hatake had no objections and appeared quite firm in his position, Hyūga Soushu naturally had no issues either.
Although the list had long been leaked out, procedurally, it still needed official authorization under the name of the Ninja World Coalition Government to confirm the identities of the Standing Members of the Ninja World Parliament.
This was also how balance was maintained between the Joint Government and the Parliament.
According to the rules set by Hyūga Soushu, legislative power had already been transferred entirely to the Parliament. However, this did not mean that the Parliament became the supreme authority above the Joint Government, because the actual administrative powers still belonged to the Joint Government.
Therefore, to ensure equality between the two parties, some adjustments in responsibilities and authorities were necessary—for example, granting the Joint Government the authority to appoint the Standing Members, thus reflecting mutual cooperation and equilibrium.
"By the way, what about adjusting the composition of the active-duty Standing Ninja Army?" Shortly afterward, Sakumo Hatake subtly raised another point.
"The Ryuchi Cave will be the next target once the Ninja World has recovered and restored its vitality. Therefore, the Standing Ninja Army won't undergo excessive downsizing."
Hyūga Sōshu caught the underlying implication in Sakumo Hatake's words but dismissed them without hesitation: "Furthermore, we're only conducting a limited personnel adjustment at the moment. In the future, we'll definitely carry out a full-scale expansion of the Ninja Force and implement rigorous specialized drills. Otherwise, launching a military campaign into the underground world and conquering the Ryuchi Cave deep within the Nine Netherworlds would be unthinkable."
This was another point of contention between Sakumo Hatake and Hyūga Sōshu.
Sakumo Hatake understood that the Ryuchi Cave was known for its ruthless savagery, but their settlement lay beneath the surface. Thus, large-scale military operations there were theoretically unfeasible.
After all, no matter how strong ninjas were, they remained human and couldn't survive in an environment with nearly zero oxygen and extreme heat.
Therefore, Sakumo Hatake believed maintaining a basic structure for the Standing Ninja Army was enough, while redundant active-duty ninjas should be discharged to ease the current severe shortage of personnel in the Ninja World government.
However, Hyūga Sōshu firmly believed that building up the Standing Ninja Army was the top priority. No matter how difficult it was to conquer the Ryuchi Cave, he was determined to push forward—even if he couldn't wipe out the Ninja Snake clan as thoroughly as the devastation inflicted on Mount Myoboku, he still wanted to keep pressing forward with both reconnaissance missions and attacks into the Underground World.
Besides, Slug Sage had already revealed the precise coordinates of the Ryuchi Cave to him, which made him even more determined not to let this golden chance slip away.
Moreover—and most importantly—without a suitable and enduring enemy, who could say whether the new order he'd built would come crashing down the moment he was gone?
Even though the feasibility of conquering the Ryuchi Cave remained under debate, he saw it as essential for maintaining the delicate balance of internal contradictions within the Ninja World. In his view, having a powerful enemy could not only divert some internal tensions but also unite people's hearts, bringing temporary unity and peace across the Ninja World.
In addition, Hyūga Sōshu planned to tie the merits earned from attacking the Ryuchi Cave to promotions to Jonin ranks. At the very least, this would allow younger generations of ninja to experience actual combat—to discover just how brutal bloody slaughter could be.
However, these arrangements weren't ones he intended to discuss too deeply with Sakumo Hatake.
After further conversation confirmed all matters, Sakumo Hatake left, carrying a stack of approved documents.
Meanwhile, the first task Hyūga Sōshu planned to assign to the Standing Members was reviewing the three-year general infrastructure development plan for the Ninja World Coalition Government.
Of course, whether or not the infrastructure projects actually proceeded exactly as planned didn't entirely depend on the Ninja World Parliament's approval. The real reason he brought up these details was simply to ensure thoroughness and identify any potential omissions.
After all, since he personally established the Ninja World government, there was no way he'd willingly hand over all authority to a bunch of rubber-stamp officials who just nodded along with everything.
Asura spent three whole days loafing around Heiankyo like some idle street rat.
Then, he holed up in an inn, feverishly writing down all of his observations.
Three days later, Asura finally emerged from his room with his magnum opus—and a short but sharp essay. He planned to take it to a printing workshop and get it mass-printed, so he could plaster copies all over the Ninja World to "enlighten" the people.
"No one would dare publish something like this," Kakuzu muttered after reading Asura's work.
In fact, the content was utterly preposterous—Kakuzu even suspected that Asura had written it as a joke.
Setting aside the absurd ideas and nonsensical logic, such clearly provocative writing wouldn't be accepted by most printing workshops—if any dared accept the job, they'd probably be luring him into a trap.
After all, despite its liberal attitude toward speech, Heiankyo remained the capital of the Ninja World Coalition Government. There was no way they'd tolerate open rebellion like this.
"Hmm, you might have a point," Asura said thoughtfully and reluctantly admitted the point.
Yet knowing this didn't stop him from once again launching into a full-blown critique of both the Ninja World Coalition Government and Hyuga Soushu.
It went on for nearly half an hour before Asura finally stopped, still feeling rather satisfied. Kakuzu, already with a pounding headache, hurried downstairs to complete the checkout process at the inn.
If the room hadn't been decently soundproofed, Kakuzu was sure that Asura's reckless ramblings alone would've already summoned the Heiankyo Security Force.
"Arrest them..."
As the thought surfaced, Kakuzu's mind immediately started racing: although he himself couldn't directly act against Asura, wouldn't just failing to hide things lead straight to the arrival of the Heiankyo Security Forces—or even the Standing Ninja Army of the Ninja World government?
And technically, that wouldn't violate the restrictions of the Sealing Technique, right?
The more Kakuzu thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
So, unintentionally—or perhaps intentionally—a special needle marked with a unique pattern slipped from his sleeve and fell to the floor.
The special needle made a faint sound as it landed, but Kakuzu completely ignored it. He simply returned directly to the room to report and ask Asura whether they should depart.
"You seem... unusually cheerful?" Asura noticed that Kakuzu appeared slightly off.
Compared to his usual gloomy self, Kakuzu now looked as if he had suddenly come alive.
"I remembered something cheerful," Kakuzu replied expressionlessly.
"Then explain—what exactly counts as 'cheerful'?" Asura frowned slightly, sensing something strange. But considering they were currently in enemy territory—Heiankyo, the heart of the Coalition Government—he decided not to activate the Sealing Technique for interrogation just yet.
"Leaving Heiankyo is cheerful," Kakuzu offered a reason. "This place is too dangerous; once we leave, we won't have to live in constant fear anymore. Isn't that cause for happiness?"
"You might have a point," Asura said, still somewhat suspicious but choosing not to press further.
So together, they left through another passenger passage with their minimal luggage.
Half an hour after the two left, a cleaning staff member accidentally discovered the throwing needle lying in the corridor.
At first, he thought it was just a Ninja Tool dropped by a careless ninja. He bent down and picked it up out of curiosity, then touched the tip with his finger, wondering just how sharp a combat weapon could be.
However, as soon as the needle pricked his skin, a numbing sensation shot from his fingertip straight to his brain. Moments later, he began foaming at the mouth and collapsed to the ground—dead.
About ten minutes later, an angry cleaning supervisor finally found the laborer he suspected of slacking off. When he saw the horrific death scene before him, he screamed out loud.
Shortly afterward, ninjas from both the Policing Department and the Security Force arrived in quick succession. After collecting the throwing needle and the body, they immediately transported them to a secret laboratory for testing, hoping to uncover any clue that might lead to the culprit's identity.
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