Kakuzu, Toyed in the Palm of the Protagonist's Hand

Mid-April, Year 1 of Konoha. (Year 10 of the Land of Night)

Construction of ninja villages in the four great nations outside the Land of Fire had largely been completed.

The Five Great Nations had also formally ushered in the era of One Country, One Village, becoming the vane guiding the direction of the age.

Although this was a grand undertaking by the Five Great Nations, the Ninja World was one whole, and the Five Great Nations were simply too vast. Such an enormous transformation would naturally affect the smaller countries as well.

"If only I had the Shadow Clone Technique. Then I could work and train at the same time."

In the office on the highest floor of the Tenshu Tower, Yayoi handled official documents as usual.

Perhaps because he had been sitting for too long, and because processing documents was so dull, he could not help thinking of the Shadow Clone Technique's usefulness.

Although he also knew other Clone Techniques, their effects were far inferior to those of the Shadow Clone Technique.

The accumulation of experience alone—something even the Byakugan and Sharingan could not distinguish—made the Shadow Clone Technique the pinnacle of Clone Techniques.

Other Clone Techniques could not accumulate experience, and when they returned to the original body, the clone's memories would not remain either.

If he used ordinary Clone Techniques to process documents, then once the clones disappeared, the memories of processing those documents would not be absorbed by the original body.

That could easily cause trouble.

"I need to find another opportunity to visit Konoha and make a deal with Tobirama Senju."

Yayoi felt that such an opportunity would come again soon.

Once the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations had completely stabilized, the upper echelons of the five great ninja villages would surely gather again for talks.

"What do you want to trade for, Lord Yayoi?"

Irori entered while carrying a large stack of documents. She set the massive pile on the desk with a dull thud, then tilted her head at Yayoi.

"Ah, nothing. By the way, haven't there been more documents to handle lately?"

Yayoi pointed at the stack of documents, over twenty centimeters thick.

"The international situation is tense right now, and many large-scale domestic projects are being built at the same time. It is only natural that there would be so much to handle. Also, the matter of the Land of Song has been settled. The Land of Song's daimyo and his family have safely arrived in Nightview City. I had a residence arranged for them."

Irori brought up the matter of the Land of Song.

"Oh, that matter."

Yayoi recalled what had happened in Konoha several months ago. (If you do not remember, please refer to Chapter 16.)

He was not surprised in the slightest. For a tiny country that did not even amount to a colored patch on the map, it was hardly strange for it to suddenly disappear. No one might even notice.

Still, the outcome was not bad. Under the protection of the ninja and samurai he had arranged, the Land of Song's daimyo and his family had successfully arrived in Nightview City, intending to settle down here.

Yayoi had done all he could for them.

"Take eighty percent of the fee charged for protecting the Land of Song's daimyo and his family, and divide it equally among all the ninja and samurai responsible for this mission. They have been away from home for months, so they have worked hard."

Yayoi gave the order.

Although the employment fee was substantial, it was still insignificant on a national scale.

"Do not worry, Lord Yayoi. I have already distributed it equally."

"..."

Are you the general, or am I?

I had not even given the order, and you already handled it yourself?

Yayoi held back the urge to complain.

He felt that Irori had been making more and more decisions on her own lately.

She even lectured him, her master, without the slightest restraint.

"Has anything particularly noteworthy happened recently?"

Yayoi flipped through the documents listlessly. Most of them contained the same old things. Work was just that tedious, with much of it repeating day after day.

But even such daily matters required the general's signature before they could be carried out. Otherwise, management would fall into disorder, which would not benefit the nation's stability.

"There is. Although many ninja and samurai in the Military Bureau have already married and started families, quite a number of them are still single."

Irori spoke with a perfectly serious expression.

"...That is indeed a matter of utmost importance."

Yayoi scratched his head, his expression growing somewhat more solemn.

The greatest foundation of his rule over the Land of Night was this group of first-generation meritorious figures who had followed him in conquering the land.

For a ruler to govern a country for a long time, he had to find an interest group that stood on the same side as him.

These ninja and samurai were precisely such an interest group, and they were also the Land of Night's greatest armed force.

However, these ninja and samurai would one day grow old, retire, and die.

Therefore, to ensure the stability of power, the direct descendants of these first-generation founders—the second and third generations—would become the nation's new foundation.

Then Yayoi saw the ninja listed at the very top, the one most in need of settling down—Kakuzu.

As the head of the Combat Execution Division, Kakuzu was undoubtedly one of the Land of Night's high-ranking officials.

He was nearly thirty and still unmarried. That truly was a little unreasonable.

After all, Kakuzu was not the missing-nin from the original story who had been betrayed, lost all hope in the world, and only wanted to make money everywhere.

The current Kakuzu was still a young man full of optimism and enthusiasm for the world.

It was merely because of his taciturn personality that he was not good at expressing his inner thoughts. He only buried himself in work and quietly devoted himself to the country.

Looking at it that way, he was practically an outstanding young man who could endure hardship and possessed remarkable ability.

"Are there any unmarried female ninja or female samurai of suitable age in the Military Bureau?"

Yayoi suddenly had the urge to arrange a blind date for Kakuzu.

"No. Director Keika of the Medical Division got married two years ago."

Irori mentioned Keika, the head of the Medical Division.

She was a woman a few years younger than Yayoi. She had joined Yayoi's team three years later than Kakuzu, and aside from Yayoi, she was the most skilled medical ninjutsu user in the Land of Night.

She had also displayed exceptional talent for learning in the medical field. Yayoi had entrusted her with the heavy responsibility of leading the Medical Division, and she was currently working on the front lines to train more medical ninja for the Land of Night.

"That makes sense. There are few female ninja and female samurai to begin with, so they must be highly sought after in the Military Bureau."

Moreover, due to the existence of chakra, as long as they took proper care of themselves, ninja and samurai generally had looks above average.

Those ninja who used special ninjutsu or secret techniques that affected their figures and appearance were excluded.

Yayoi could only give up, but a new idea soon occurred to him.

"I remember that the Land of Song's daimyo has several daughters of marriageable age, right?"

Yayoi remembered the scene when the Land of Song had gone to Konoha seeking sponsorship, bringing several daughters along.

"Yes, none of them seem to be married yet. Lord Yayoi, do you intend to..."

"Have someone take photographs of those girls to Kakuzu and let him choose one."

Though he could not remember their appearances clearly, Yayoi vaguely recalled that the Land of Song daimyo's daughters all seemed quite young and beautiful.

"Even so, Mr. Kakuzu does not seem like a man particularly interested in romance between men and women."

Recalling Kakuzu's always taciturn attitude toward work, Irori voiced her opinion.

"Irori, do not let his honest appearance fool you. Back when he was in the underground black market, after receiving his first payment, he spent an entire day and night at a pleasure house.

When he came out, his steps were unsteady, yet he lied to Kurobei and me, claiming he had been attacked and gotten into a fierce fight. If Kurobei and I had not secretly followed him, he might have fooled us."

Yayoi instinctively recalled the time when he had started his enterprise with Kakuzu and Kurobei, and Kakuzu had secretly gone alone to a pleasure house.

The most infuriating part was that he had not invited him along.

Even now, Yayoi still did not know whether the young ladies in the pleasure house had been gentle or not.

"..."

Irori felt that Yayoi had revealed a useless piece of embarrassing information.

So Mr. Kakuzu was that kind of secretly passionate man?

And his superior had even followed and tracked him, learning such an embarrassing secret.

Poor Mr. Kakuzu, toyed with in the palm of Lord Yayoi's hand. Irori felt a little sympathy for him.