Founding a Nation and Delivering Heads

Iron Capital City Castle.

In the center of the conference hall, there was a large hexagonal conference table. Behind each side hung a rectangular screen with the characters for earth, fire, water, wind, lightning, and vortex written on it. The seats below each screen represented the seats of a ninja village.

The current Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages Konoha, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure each sat on one side, and a small group of people with the highest status in the Shinobi World gathered here.

At the very back of the hexagonal conference table sat Kushina, the leader of the Uzumaki Clan from the Land of Whirlpools, and Shiraha.

In principle, only one leader from each village is allowed to sit down, while the other attendants and guards can only stand in the circular seats behind the conference table to listen in.

However, Shiraha's strength far surpasses that of any of the Five Kage of the Era, so he and Kushina can both represent the Uzumaki Clan of the Land of Whirlpools of Whirlpools at the banquet.

None of the ninjas attending the meeting had any objections to this, nor did they dare to.

The reason for holding this Five Kage Summit is to redistribute the huge pie of the Shinobi World, and each village has to cede a portion of its interests to the Land of Whirlpools.

After all, it's much better to give it willingly than to be robbed and then be unable to fight back.

The next meeting will likely be the Six Kage Summit.

Kushina and Shiraha are positioned between the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the Third Raikage.

When they met again, Sarutobi Hiruzen could only manage to maintain basic courtesy, but he probably couldn't even manage a polite smile.

After all, not long ago, most of the Uchiha Clan's ninjas and clan members left Konoha and joined the Land of Whirlpools. The reason why the Five Kage Summit was able to be held and the Shinobi World's landscape was reshuffled was precisely because of the Land of Whirlpools' rapidly expanding strength.

In the past, the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki Clan were considered by various forces in the Shinobi World to be powerful individuals, Shiraha the rebuilt Land of Whirlpools Kushina the Uzumaki Clan were considered extremely weak.

However, with the addition of the Uchiha Clan as a new force, it won't be long before the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki Clan are on par with the Five Great Shinobi Villages in every aspect. The position of Konoha as the overlord of the Shinobi World will be completely shaken and will shift to the Uzumaki Clan.

In truth, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't really want to attend the Five Kage Summit, but he had no choice but to come, at least outwardly to maintain 'friendly' relations with the various ninja villages.

If the Uzumaki Clan reaches a special agreement with other ninja villages, Konoha will be in real danger.

If time could be reversed, perhaps he would have resolutely protected Sakumo back then, and would not have stood Danzo and watched Danzo force Sakumo, causing Shiraha and Kushina to become alienated from Konoha because of momentary selfishness.

The medicinal bath recipe that Shiraha gave him back then has been used by Sarutobi Hiruzen over a thousand times over the years. It has obvious effects on both strengthening the body and delaying aging. There are also Medical Ninjutsu scrolls that have brought about a huge change to the Medical Ninjutsu system of Konoha. All of these came from Shiraha.

If Shiraha and Kushina were still in Konoha, and Shiraha had become the Fourth Hokage, the situation might have been completely different.

Unfortunately, no one can predict the future.

Or perhaps if he really could foresee the future, Sarutobi Hiruzen might have intervened when Shiraha led Kushina astray.

Compared to Sarutobi Hiruzen's complex emotions, the Third Raikage A was also quite unsettled. However, his unease stemmed from his awe; Shiraha and Kushina gave him a feeling that they were truly unfathomable.

The two men seemed even younger than when he fought them eight years ago. Time had not left any marks on them; it was as if time had stood still and flowed backward.

When the Third Raikage A first met Kushina, he felt that although she was strong, she was not invincible, and even Shiraha next to Kushina could not attract his attention.

Kushina's strength had increased significantly during their second meeting, and she was now able to suppress him. However, Shiraha's sudden outburst meant that the Third Raikage A, had encountered a ninja whose attack and defense were both significantly stronger than his for the first time. In Nintaijutsu, his area of expertise, he lost to Shiraha.

The next meeting was at this Five Kage Summit. The two ninjas who he once thought were formidable had truly become important figures on equal footing with him, and he even had to rely on them to maintain the stability of the Shinobi World.

Thinking of this, the Third Raikage A couldn't help but glance at the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was diagonally opposite him.

Fortunately, the Third Hokage made a series of blunders. Although Konoha won the Third Shinobi World War, it failed to retain strong figures like Shiraha and Kushina, and this time it even drove away the Uchiha Clan.

Noticing the Third Raikage A's gaze, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened slightly. It was as if the Third Raikage was scolding him for being stupid. However, if what he did were recorded, future generations would judge him solely by the results, and he would indeed seem very foolish. He seemed completely different from his early and middle years in power. But now he had no way out.

At this moment, after the Five Kage of the Era, Shiraha, and Kushina took their seats, the Samurai leader Mifune took his seat behind the hexagonal conference table. He sat in a separate seat with a cloth bearing the word 'Samurai' on it.

"Welcome to the Land of Iron. In response to the call of the Third Raikage, the Five Kage Summit has been convened once again. The Five Kage of the Era, along with Shiraha and Kushina of the Land of Whirlpools, have gathered here."

"I am Mifune, the Samurai leader. I will now act as the moderator, maintaining order at the meeting from a neutral standpoint. The Five Kage Summit officially begins."

As Mifune finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Raikage A, Ōnoki, Yagura, and Rasa placed the straw hats symbolizing their Kage status on the table, while Shiraha and Kushina wore nothing.

Only the leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Villages are qualified to be called 'Kage' and wear a straw hat symbolizing their status. This has no direct relation to whether a ninja possesses ' Kage Level ' strength. The so-called ' Kage Level ' strength is just a vague concept and is not universally recognized.

Of course, if someone is strong enough to be like Shiraha and Kushina, whether or not they have the title of 'Kage' is no longer important.

The main characters of this Five Kage Summit are not any of the Five Kage of the Era, but Shiraha and Kushina.

Seeing that no one took the initiative to speak, Mifune looked at Third Raikage A, who had proposed the Five Kage Summit.

Seeing this, the Third Raikage A, A, nodded slightly and was about to speak when Shiraha stepped in first, smiling and saying, "Since no one is willing to speak first, then I'll go first."

Mifune paused for a moment, then raised his hand to signal, and said seriously, "Shiraha, please speak."

"You have invited us to the Five Kage Summit, which clearly places the Uzumaki Clan and the Land of Whirlpools on an equal footing with you. In that case, we will get straight to the point."

We have decided not to pursue the matter of the siege of Uzushiogakure that led to the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools.

"And today, before all of you Kage, we formally announce to the Shinobi World the reconstruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzushiogakure. Kushina will serve as the Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools, and also as the leader of the Uzushiogakure."

Shiraha spoke calmly, but his words carried weight.

The Five Kage in the room all changed their expressions slightly. Although they had been mentally prepared for this before attending the Five Kage Summit, they did not expect Shiraha to be so direct and get straight to the point.

As for the Jōnin guards who came to the meeting with the Five Kage, they were even more shocked. They looked at each other in dismay. With the current strength of the Uzumaki Clan, after joining forces with the Uchiha Clan, they were no weaker than any of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. They only lacked a little bit of foundation.

The reconstruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzushiogakure are understandable, but Kushina's dual role as both the daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools and the leader of the Uzushiogakure essentially created a unified military and political state.

Most importantly, Uzushiogakure will inevitably be ranked among the new ' Six Great Ninja Villages ', and the Land of Whirlpools will become a truly great power.

The integrated military and political system undermined the very foundations of the Great Nations and the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Most countries separate military and political affairs, with the exception of small countries that don't even have ninja villages.

All Great Nations operate under a one-country-one-village system, separating military and political functions.

The daimyo controls the economic lifeline of the country. The ninja villages do not engage in production and are self-sufficient to a certain extent, but they still rely on the funds allocated by the daimyo to maintain their operation. That is why the ninja villages attach so much importance to mission quotas.

While it may seem that Konoha's victories in the Second and Third Shinobi World War did not bring any benefits to the Land of Fire, the Land of Fire's international standing and prestige actually saw a significant boost.

Konoha can obtain more funds, as well as missions commissioned by other countries besides the Land of Fire.

As for the defeated nations, the daimyo will definitely cut funding, which will cause the ninja villages to shrink in size in order to reduce expenses.

The daimyo and the kage of a ninja village are equals, and the ninja village relies on the daimyo to a considerable extent to prevent its economy from collapsing.

Before its destruction, the Land of Whirlpools was founded by the Uzumaki Clan as a Ninja Clan. Its economy and military were integrated, and its strength was among the top in small countries, second only to the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

The Land of Whirlpools, which is about to be rebuilt, is now among the major powers in the Shinobi World, serving as a model for all other ninja villages.

For a daimyo, if the leader of a ninja village ever decides to emulate the Land of Whirlpools and implement a system that integrates military and political power, the daimyo will be the first to suffer.

Every Jōnin present had been taught to sacrifice everything for the village, to give their lives for the mission, and to fight for the village, the country, the Kage, and the Daimyo. The sudden appearance of the Land of Whirlpools, an anomaly, was a huge shock to them.

However, the shadows in their respective villages remained silent, as these people had no right to speak.

"As for the mission quota issue that everyone is worried about, please rest assured that the rebuilt Land of Whirlpools will not rely on mission commissions as its main economic activity. Therefore, it will only selectively accept a small number of mission commissions and will not compete with you for missions from other countries."

With the establishment of the Land of Whirlpools, we will form military alliances with the Demon Country, the Bird Country, the Bear Country, the Land of Snow, and other countries.

Our main source of income is the benefits of commerce and industrial manufacturing. We warmly welcome all countries and villages to engage in trade with us on the premise of fair competition.

As long as no country initiates aggression or infringes upon the interests of the Land of Whirlpools and its military allies, we pledge not to be the first to use force at any time.

Seeing that the Five Kage remained silent, Shiraha continued.

However, his promise did not make the Five Kage happy, because the Serpent Spirit Corporation's Medical Ninjutsu scrolls and medical potions were selling well throughout the Shinobi World, and the benefits they generated even exceeded the sum of the rewards for ninja villages to carry out missions.

If the Serpent Spirit Corporation is allowed to expand like this, perhaps before the next Ninja World War breaks out, countries will have to engage in an arms race to stockpile Medical Ninjutsu scrolls and medical drugs, and the biggest beneficiaries will inevitably be the Serpent Spirit Corporation and the Land of Whirlpools.

Ultimately, this could very well shake the very foundations of the ninja system.

"In the name of the Third Raikage, on behalf of Kumogakure, I acknowledge the status of Land of Whirlpools and Uzushiogakure, and hope to establish diplomatic relations with Land of Whirlpools and conduct friendly trade," the Third Raikage A, said thoughtfully, making the decision first.

Since we can't beat them, we might as well join them. Anyway, neither Shiraha nor Kushina has any bad reputation, so they are trustworthy.

Of course, the main reason is that we can't beat them, so we can only reason with them.

"The same goes for Iwagakure," Ōnoki added, since there wasn't a good way to deal with it at the moment.

Unless the Five Great Shinobi Villages join forces to deal with the Land of Whirlpools.

But that's impossible.

No one wants their village to pay too high a price in a war, which is why Konoha won the Third Shinobi World War.

Immediately afterwards, the pressure shifted to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Seeing that the Third Raikage A and Ōnoki were both looking at him, Sarutobi Hiruzen said in a deep voice, "As an ally of the Uzumaki Clan, Konoha firmly supports the reconstruction of the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzushiogakure."

At this point, the three strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages had agreed, Fourth Kazekage Rasa of Sunagakure, could only frown and admit it, but he did not agree to trade with the Land of Whirlpools.

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, spoke calmly, glancing indifferently at the crowd before saying, "Kirigakure does not agree."

"."

"???"

"!!!"

As soon as Yagura said this, the entire conference room fell silent, and the previously harmonious atmosphere instantly became tense.

Shiraha stared at Yagura in surprise, then heightened his senses, a hint of astonishment in his eyes.

Kushina's smile vanished instantly, and an invisible aura rose from her body, causing everyone present to feel a rapidly increasing pressure.

"Not good!"

The Jōnin guards listening from the rear tensed up when they sensed something was wrong.

Brush!

The instant Kushina gently raised her hand, all the Jōnin surrounding her used Body Flicker Technique to appear beside their respective Kage, and the situation was about to erupt.

Yagura's bodyguards were a man and a woman, both Jōnin early twenties. One of them was Momochi Zabuza, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist, and the other was Mei Terumi of the Terumi Clan, both possessors of two Kekkei Genkai.

Zabuza gripped his Kubikiribōchō tightly in his right hand, his fierce eyes fixed on Kushina and Shiraha, while keeping a wary eye on the other ninjas around him, as if he were about to strike at any moment.

Kushina's face darkened.

Boom!

A terrifying orange Chakra erupted from her body.

Click click click!

The hexagonal conference table that was in contact with her body immediately cracked, and everyone in the room felt as if the air had become heavy and solid, and they subconsciously held their breath.

"Lord Kushina!"

Mifune, who was presiding over the meeting, cried out in surprise and quickly stopped the Samurai around him who were about to get involved.

"Don't get agitated Kushina." Shiraha's gentle voice rang out, and he gently placed his right hand on Kushina's shoulder, pressing her back into her seat.

Pop~

Like a bubble bursting, Kushina's Chakra instantly returned to her body, and her aura dissipated as if nothing had happened.

Upon hearing Shiraha speak, the Third Raikage A, Ōnoki, Sarutobi Hiruzen Rasa, and Rasa relaxed their tense bodies slightly. At the same time, they cursed Yagura, thinking that even if he disagreed, he shouldn't have been so blunt. He was practically courting death and almost dragged them down with him.

If they were to fight here today, it's uncertain whether they would be able to return to the village alive. After all, even if they joined forces, it's impossible for them to truly cooperate and deal with Kushina and Shiraha together.

"Phew!" Zabuza, who had just excitedly drawn his Kubikiribōchō, Zabuza a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to put the Kubikiribōchō back, he suddenly felt a chill and his hair stood on end. Instinctively, he Kubikiribōchō horizontally in front of him and braced it against the back of the blade with his left hand.

Boom!

Zabuza shot out like a cannonball, crashing through the wall and flying out of the castle.

Duh!

Buzz~

The severed half of the Kubikiribōchō spun down from the air and then plunged into the ground, the blade trembling and emitting a buzzing sound.

All of this was caused by Shiraha flicking his finger, firing a coin-sized ball of Chakra from his fingertip.

"Lord Shiraha!?" Mifune was stunned. He had thought Shiraha was trying to mediate, but he hadn't expected him to take action directly.

"He glared at me first, and I don't like it when someone points a knife at Kushina," Shiraha said. "We'll cover the cost of repairing the wall. Don't worry, I wasn't serious just now, he won't die."

Sensing Shiraha's calm tone, the Jōnin guards in the arena fell silent, not daring to even breathe too loudly.

The Kubikiribōchō broke in two, and this is what they call not even getting serious yet?!

Noticing everyone's expressions, Shiraha smiled slightly. He hadn't really gone all out. What he had just instantly unleashed was Second-Level Attack Spell, [Magic Shockwave]. If he had used Magic Power to release it, Zabuza probably wouldn't have been reduced to ashes. He had only used a small amount of Chakra to activate the [Magic Shockwave], and it was even shaped into a sphere, minimizing its power.

"I hope everyone can sit down and discuss this properly, and not resort to force lightly," Mifune reminded him. "That is the original intention of this meeting."

However, at that moment, Shiraha's dark eyes suddenly turned blood red, revealing his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, which made all the ninjas present tense up again.

"Ah!"

Yagura, who had maintained a blank expression throughout, suddenly clutched his head and cried out in pain.

Shiraha made another move, and launched a direct attack on Yagura, which surprised everyone.

"Your Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Genjutsu. Didn't any of your Kirigakure ninjas notice?" Shiraha said calmly, glancing at Mei Terumi beside Yagura.

"What?! Yagura, he..."

"The Fourth Mizukage was controlled by Genjutsu?"

"How could a ninja like him..."

The Jōnin in the arena all looked incredulous, and even the other four Five Kage were stunned.

The Shadow of a Village: The fact that its supreme leader can be controlled is a disaster!

After Yagura stopped struggling, he looked at everyone in the room with a blank expression. "Where... is this?"

He noticed that everyone else was looking at him with the same expression.

******

Parallel World.

Outside Konoha, in Orochimaru's underground base, inside the laboratory.

After four months of working together, Issei, Orochimaru, and Kabuto finally succeeded in growing a brand new arm for Sasuke.

At this moment, Sasuke lay shirtless in the Nutrient Tank in the middle of the laboratory, the light green nutrient solution just covering his ears.

Sasuke's left arm was severed in the middle of his upper arm during his battle with Naruto at the Valley of the End. For more than a decade, he fought using only his right arm.

However, his most dominant arm is still his left arm.

"Relax a bit, gather your Chakra at the severed arm, and then devour the cells in the arm," Issei reminded him.

"Um."

Sasuke nodded, and the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan his right eye unconsciously appeared.

Issei took a pale-skinned left arm out of the Culture Dish and placed it on Sasuke's severed left arm.

As Sasuke gathered his Chakra at the severed arm, the pale left arm quickly connected to Sasuke's skin, and numerous white buds, like tiny tentacles, climbed towards the severed part of the left arm.

"Hiss!"

Sasuke his teeth and gasped, as if he were enduring some kind of pain.

Orochimaru stared intently at Sasuke.

However, Issei remained calm. The arm he had cultivated for so long was highly compatible with Sasuke's, and theoretically there was no possibility of failure in the fusion.

Soon, in less than five minutes, Sasuke had consumed a large amount of Chakra and fully adapted to the arm cultivated from the fusion of Urashiki Cells and Hashirama cells.

"Sasuke? How are you feeling?" Yakushi Kabuto asked from the side. He wanted to finish the experiment as soon as possible and then return to the Orphanage to take care of the children.

"I succeeded. I feel my Chakra and Eye Power are both increasing."

Sasuke sat up from the Nutrient Tank and flexibly moved his left arm.

"Let's record your physical condition." Issei nodded to Sasuke and turned on all the instruments beside him. Orochimaru's laboratory was fully equipped, even more so than his own. However, given the time difference of so many years, the technology had only developed to this extent, which was frankly not very fast.

"Okay." Sasuke left the Nutrient Tank and went to the instrument, where he asked Issei to record the various data.

Now that the Cell Experiment and transplantation have all been successful, it's time for him to prepare to return.

Two months later.

Issei formally bid farewell to Naruto and Sasuke, returning home with a full heart.

Shortly after he stepped out of the Konoha Gate, at an altitude close to the clouds, a pink triangular drone recorded his entire journey.

From the dense forest not far away, the voices of three people talking could be heard.

"The target has finally left Konoha!"

"We've waited half a year already. This time, none of you should make a move. Let me deal with him!"

"Delta, be careful. Contain your Chakra and don't sense things carelessly. We're too close to Konoha!"

Delta, Amado, Victor discussed the matter.

"Stop talking nonsense! What's there to be afraid of! Whoever comes, we'll deal with them together!" Delta scoffed.

Her body is covered in Scientific Ninja Tool, and she has three bodies.

The Pink Triangular Drone high above Konoha is her true form; as long as the drone is not damaged, she can revive multiple times.

Through the drone's shared vision capability, her field of vision extends far beyond the so-called Byakugan and powerful Sensory Ninjutsu.

Because her body has been modified, she is completely undetectable by conventional sensory abilities.

In addition, with her ability to absorb and reflect Ninjutsu, so-called ninjas can't exert much combat power in front of her.

"Wait until the target leaves the Land of Fire before making a move!" Amado voice. This time, he was in charge of the mission, so he had to ensure that no accidents would happen. Moreover, more than Jigen's orders, he wanted to know what Jigen valued about the target that made him so solemnly order its capture alive.

"Listen to Amado!" Victor chimed in from the side.

"I know, you're such a coward!"

Delta said with dissatisfaction, and the three of them waited until Issei had gone far enough before following him.

Anyway, with Delta's drones, even if they go a little further away, there's no fear of losing track of them.

As a technological product, drones contain extremely weak Chakra, making them very difficult to detect.

Before leaving, Amado gently pressed a button on his Orange Glasses to notify Jiraiya's clone, Kashin Koji.

Once he captures the target alive, he will have a way to learn Jigen's secret.

However, what the three did not know was that shortly after they left, a dark, gaping hole suddenly appeared in the hidden spot where they had just been—a Space-Time Portal had appeared.

Sasuke stepped out from there.

By this time, Sasuke had become completely familiar with his left arm, and his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in his right eye had evolved into the Rinnegan over the past two months.

Because Anrokuzan mysteriously disappeared, Issei, for the sake of safety, hoped that someone could escort him back when he left. So Sasuke agreed to follow him all the way until Issei arrived at the Dragon Vein of the Ruins of Loulan.

"I didn't expect Issei's worries to be true; a member of the Kara actually appeared."

Sasuke looked surprised. After finding the direction the three were heading, he waited for a while, then opened the Space-Time Portal again and went inside.