Complete Unification
Uchiha Kō stood up and surveyed the entire arena. Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the person on the stage without uttering a word. They had all placed their hopes on Uchiha Kō, for any decision he made at this moment would affect the entire Ninja World.
Uchiha Kō understood the importance of his decision, so after seeing everyone's reaction, he slowly said, "Brothers, I won't say anything more. For everyone, for the Ninja World, we have no choice but to fight to the death in this battle."
"I promise that if we win, I will bring back to life all those who died in this battle. Furthermore, I, Uchiha Kō, promise that those who make significant contributions to the war will be personally awarded medals and honors after the war ends, and a system of accumulating battle merits will be implemented."
"Actions such as killing, capturing alive, fighting, and rescuing will be recorded as battle merits. After the battle, you can exchange them for Ninjutsu, money, summoning qualifications, and training resources. I will also recommend you to Mount Myoboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest to train in Senjutsu."
Uchiha Kō understood that a generous reward would surely attract brave men. The already high spirits of the Ninja World were ignited by Uchiha Kō's promise and the system of accumulating battle merits. They were determined to prove themselves rather than fight for material gains.
Aside from Konoha, the ninjas from the other four divisions looked on with longing eyes at Uchiha Kō. They were incredibly envious of Konoha for having such a leader, who possessed strength, ability, resources, and connections.
Just considering the recommendation qualifications from the Three Great Sage Regions, 99% of the people in the Ninja World have already been eliminated. Suddenly, Ōnoki raised his hand and asked, "Lord Hokage, I wonder if other departments are eligible to participate in the merit accumulation system?"
He stared intently at Uchiha Kō. Although they had been demoted from a village to a brigade, it didn't mean they didn't want to become stronger. The things Uchiha Kō gave them had huge practical benefits for personal strength, village economic development, and talent cultivation.
Rather than those empty honorary titles and the like, Ōnoki naturally wanted to secure some benefits for his Rock District, no, he wanted to secure many benefits.
Uchiha Kō looked at Ōnoki without replying. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the other three vice-ministers, such as Karatachi Yagura, Hayashi, and Darui. Their gazes were no different from Ōnoki's, all hoping to get a promise from Uchiha Kō.
Uchiha Kō laughed, "Of course, the Four Divisions belong to Konoha belongs to the Ninja World. Everyone serves Konoha and the Ninja World, so naturally they should enjoy all the rights they deserve, while also bearing certain responsibilities and obligations."
"If you are to participate, there is one condition: you must completely obey the commands of me, Nara Rokumei, Hatake Sakumo's team. You are not allowed to act on your own; anyone who disobeys will be executed. You are not allowed to question the difficulty of the mission; just carry out the task. Anyone who disobeys will be executed. You must fully cooperate with the three-person team; anyone who obeys the orders will be executed!"
Uchiha Kō knew this, and so did the Konoha Ninja. These three points were practically meaningless to the Konoha Ninja; they hadn't come out here to live, and they would support and endorse all of Uchiha Kō's decisions.
The four vice-ministers were beginning to show signs of apprehension, but before long, Ōnoki spoke up, "It is the way it should be, it is how it should be, it is how it should be! Lord Hokage, the Rock District clan is willing to follow all your instructions, even at the cost of our lives!"
"Rock District, from now on Iwabe will always be your supporter and advocate. On behalf of the 600,000 villagers and ninjas of Rock District, I swear allegiance to you, Hokage!" Ōnoki was going all out for development, even though you could say that Ōnoki's strength was not as good as Uchiha Kō's.
However, you absolutely cannot say that Ōnoki's political awareness was inferior to that of Uchiha Kō. He lived for so many years, and although he could not match Uchiha Kō's reforms, he was very adept at assessing the situation!
Uchiha Kō walked up to him with a smile, took his hand, and said with a smile, "Lord Tsuchikage, you flatter me. I wouldn't deliberately arrange for you to go to difficult positions. I just thought that this battle is of extraordinary significance, and everyone must work together to have a chance of victory."
"As for saying you'd go through fire and water for me, you can't say that anymore." Although Uchiha Kō said this, the smile on his lips betrayed his true thoughts.
Previously, Konoha ruled the Ninja World simply because of their strength. However, at this moment, Ōnoki's intervention and oath signify that Iwagakure has completely submitted to Konoha. He is confident that after this great battle, he can completely assimilate the people of Rock District with generous rewards. At that time, Konoha will officially take over the territory of Iwagakure and the Land of Earth.
However, this was not the end. The second person to step forward was Lin: "Lord Hokage, our Sand Division is also willing to serve you, just like the Lord Hokage Rock District, from now on."
"Lord Hokage, the original Sand Division was located in the Land of Wind. Due to the long-term effects of desertification, less than 10% of the land in the entire country is arable. This has led to resource shortages and difficult living conditions in our Sand Division."
"It was Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage of your village, who used Wood Release plant trees every day, that our desert has slowly been restored to a plain, with arable land. At the same time, those trees stabilized the water source, so although Sand Division doesn't have much water now, it's more than ten times what it used to be."
"As you all know, our Sand Division in the Land of Wind is the village most fond of starting wars. But have you ever considered that the living conditions of us Sunagakure Ninja are extremely harsh? We simply don't have enough food or water to feed our families."
"Under such circumstances, everyone could only resort to robbery and fighting. But after Sunagakure became the Sand Division, everything changed. The Sand Division now has its own land and its own water source. In the long run, it will definitely be able to become self-sufficient. The Sand Division's ninjas cherish the hard-won peace more than anyone else."
"And the self-sufficiency of resources, so Lord Hokage, we must not forget those who dug the well when we drink the water. Even without a reward, I, Sand Division, am willing to serve Konoha and become Konoha's most steadfast supporter."
Sand Division Rin's words were reasonable and convincing. Even the First Kazekage, Reto, who was Impure World Reincarnation, couldn't help but nod, his eyes slightly moist.
He originally founded Sunagakure to improve the lives of the ninjas in Sunagakure, and now that Konoha has helped Sunagakure achieve that, it is only natural for Sunagakure to submit to Konoha.
God knows how difficult those days of constant war for food and water were. Why did Sunagakure take one less when the Tailed Beast were being distributed?
It wasn't that they didn't want it; it was that their living conditions had severely impacted the villagers' lives, so they had no choice but to give up a Tailed Beast to another ninja village in exchange for a large amount of money.
Reto didn't feel uncomfortable with Lin's words; on the contrary, he felt that Sunagakure had a worthy successor.
Uchiha Kō also somewhat moved, never expecting that Senju Hashirama's act of kindness would be rewarded in such a way. He patted Lin on the shoulder. "Well done. But since you're willing to join Konoha's camp, I won't be stingy. You'll also enjoy the same merit-based system."
Lin's face lit up with joy, and he cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you Lord Hokage!"
Uchiha Kō shook his head and prepared to walk towards the main seat. At this moment, Karatachi Yagura and Darui stepped forward and knelt behind Uchiha Kō. Hearing two thuds, Uchiha Kō stopped and turned back to look at the two kneeling figures with some hesitation.
Everyone was stunned. In this situation, someone actually knelt down before Uchiha Kō. What kind of operation was this?
Uchiha Kō turned to look at the two people and found that it was Darui and Karatachi Yagura. He didn't say anything or make any statement, but just looked at them.
Darui spoke first, "Lord Hokage, we had already perished in the attack of Ōtsutsuki Isshiki. It was Lord Hokage, who defeated Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, revived me, and gave me a second life."
"Therefore, Lord Hokage, my life is yours. As the highest leader of the Cloud Division, I will naturally follow Lord Owl's lead!" His words clearly indicated that he was only loyal to Uchiha Kō.
Uchiha Kō wasn't surprised; he'd already done enough at this point. Then he looked at Karatachi Yagura, Karatachi Yagura face was flushed. "Me too!"
The originally solemn and dignified atmosphere was broken by Karatachi Yagura's words, and everyone's Kakuzu unconsciously curled up, but no one laughed out loud.
Although Karatachi Yagura's actions were somewhat out of character for a village kage, no one could deny that the person he knelt before and the person he was loyal to was the number one Ninja World.
If that's the case, then all of this seems reasonable and less funny.
Uchiha Kō immediately smiled and helped the two up, "Why did it have to come to this? I know you are loyal. I was planning to call you two over after dinner to discuss this matter, but you've made such a fuss."
He looked at the two with satisfaction in his eyes. With Darui and Karatachi Yagura, two Kage, kneeling and submitting, it meant that the Ninja World had completely won over, and his human race's fortune would rise again.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished thinking, his golden dragon of fortune surged three to four times. Although the people present could not see it, they could feel that the pressure and power emanating from Uchiha Kō seemed to have increased even further.
Then, Namikaze Minato knelt down first and said, "Congratulations, teacher, on the complete unification of the Ninja World! The people are now united in your hearts!"
After witnessing Namikaze Minato's actions, everyone realized what was happening and immediately knelt down, bowing their heads in gratitude. "Congratulations, Lord Hokage, on completely unifying the Ninja World! The hearts of all people are with you!"
Uchiha Kō smiled and walked towards the main seat. Nara Rokumei and Hatake Sakumo also knelt on the ground obediently, not daring to raise their heads, but they were clearly in a good mood.
Uchiha Kō, seated in the main seat, watched this scene and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, rise!"
"Thank you, Lord Hokage!" After Uchiha Kō finished speaking, they stood up, none of them daring to sit down, their eyes fixed intently on Uchiha Kō in the main seat.