Hyuga and Aburame

Nightview City center, the General's Residence.

It was where ninjas and samurai skilled in chakra techniques gathered, and also the residence of Yayoi, the general of the Land of Night.

Unlike the ninja village system of later generations, after Yayoi destroyed the regimes of the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Iron, he implemented a shogunate system in the Land of Night and established the position of general.

If one insisted on comparing it to the later One Country, One Village system, Yayoi could be regarded as a daimyo who had absorbed a ninja village's military authority, completely directing the nation's will and unifying its politics, economy, and military in every respect.

Among them, the ninjas and samurai who wielded the nation's violence naturally held the dominant position.

When Yayoi founded the Land of Night, he swiftly established a national defense institution known as the Military Bureau.

Under this institution, he established six divisions.

They were the Execution Division, Logistics Division, Intelligence Division, Education Division, Research Division, and Medical Division.

More than six hundred ninjas and over four thousand samurai were stationed throughout the country.

Within the General's Residence, two hundred ninjas and one thousand samurai stood guard year-round.

He assigned these vast numbers of ninjas and samurai specific duties according to their individual abilities and traits, making the best use of each of them.

Compared to the bloated Execution Division responsible for combat, the other five divisions could not exactly be said to be operating normally—they could only be said to have barely been established.

After all, compared to the combat field, talent in every other field was what gave Yayoi the greatest headaches.

Take the medical ninjutsu Yayoi excelled at. Among the several hundred ninjas under his command, there were fewer than ten medical ninjas, and half of them were only half-baked.

Once war broke out, one could imagine just how immense the pressure on the Medical Division would be.

Much of the treatment work depended on Yayoi alone to keep it going.

Without him as general, this country would collapse sooner or later.

Fortunately, the hardest days had already passed. With the Senju and Uchiha joining forces, the Ninja World would enjoy a period of relative peace in the years ahead.

He had to use this time to thoroughly reform the Land of Night's national defense forces from top to bottom.

Among all this, the Medical Division was not Yayoi's greatest concern. The establishment of the Education Division was the true foundation of everything.

Therefore, from the moment the Land of Night was founded, the Education Division had been the area Yayoi valued most.

The future development of the other divisions would all depend on the Education Division for support.

Otherwise, there would not have been more than six hundred ninjas under his command.

One had to know that, setting quality aside, even the powerful ninja clans of the Ninja World could not possibly possess such numbers.

Within a ninja clan, most people were ordinary civilians who did not know chakra techniques.

Even the powerful Senju and Uchiha Clans had no more than nearly four hundred ninjas at their peak.

Most of the time, being able to maintain three hundred ninjas made a clan one of the absolute top-tier clans in the Ninja World.

Most ninja clans struggled to maintain even one hundred people.

Training a ninja consumed enormous resources.

Ninja clans often worked as mercenaries. Even if they consciously wished to further strengthen their clans, they were constrained by all manner of factors and found it difficult to expand.

Therefore, cultivating a small but elite force was the most common development model among ninja clans at present.

For example, the Hagoromo Clan that Yayoi had destroyed had maintained around sixty ninjas even after being defeated and forced to flee the Land of Fire. Yet more than ten of them had reached Jonin level.

At its peak, the Hagoromo Clan could only rank among the first-rate clans in the Land of Fire, and it was not even the strongest among them. After its defeat in the Land of Fire, it had fallen to become a second- or third-rate clan.

By that reasoning, the proportion of Jonin-level ninjas within the Senju and Uchiha Clans, which stood at the pinnacle of the Land of Fire and even the Ninja World, was likely even more astonishing. Once they reached adulthood, they could probably all grow to the Jonin level.

Because this era mercilessly forced everyone to grow quickly.

Weakness meant death and elimination.

Thus, setting aside Yayoi himself, the current Land of Night did not even qualify to step onto the stage. It would only become background scenery for those ninja clans.

"Lord Yayoi, would you like to rest for a while? You look very tired."

Irori, dressed in a blue kimono and as graceful as a traditional Japanese beauty, brought over a cup of hot tea, placed it on the desk, and spoke to Yayoi in a gentle tone.

He had worked from morning until afternoon, only hurriedly eating two rice balls and drinking some water at noon. This made Irori deeply worried about his health.

Especially since this had not gone on for merely a day or two. Ever since he returned from capturing the Seven-Tails, Yayoi had remained in a state of intense work for more than half a month.

Working seventeen or eighteen hours a day, leaving the remaining time for rest and meals, had practically become routine. Staying up late was an everyday occurrence.

"It's fine. This level of exhaustion is nothing to me."

Yayoi paused briefly before continuing to work at his desk. He needed to personally review all manner of documents, as well as the nation's future development plans.

It could be said that although the country could operate independently, Yayoi did not dare relax in the slightest when it came to controlling its overall direction.

Yayoi himself was a little amazed that he could work so diligently. He had never been this motivated at work in his previous life.

Perhaps that was the difference between working for oneself and working for someone else.

Fortunately, ninjas possessed sufficiently strong constitutions. To a certain extent, his special chakra also granted him tremendous vitality, and he normally took good care of himself.

As long as he did not encounter an accident, living healthily to a hundred in the future would not be a problem.

As a leader, a healthy and long-lived body was more important than anything else.

Knock, knock.

Yayoi took the hot tea Irori handed him and drank a sip when a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

After Yayoi spoke, a man dressed as a samurai, his long hair tied in a single ponytail, entered the room.

Unlike a ninja's attire, he wore dark-colored layered heavy armor that fully armed his body.

He looked to be in his thirties. A katana with a black hilt hung at his waist, and his entire person was like a sword waiting to be drawn. His gaze was sharp, and only when looking at Yayoi did it reveal a trace of respect.

"Lord Yayoi, I have returned."

"You've worked hard this time, Kurobei. You didn't encounter any danger on the road, did you?"

A faint smile appeared on Yayoi's face as he looked at the travel-worn samurai who had returned.

Kurobei, like Kakuzu, was one of the old hands who had followed him from the very beginning.

He came from a samurai family in the former Land of Iron that had long since been wiped out. He understood chakra techniques, and when he burst forth at full speed, even a ninja's Body Flicker Technique found it difficult to keep up with him.

His powerful swordsmanship, paired with chakra reinforcement techniques, allowed him to easily cleave apart a massive boulder ten meters tall.

Moreover, his sensitivity to the battlefield during combat was astonishing. During the war that founded the Land of Night, he had slain hundreds of elite samurai from the Land of Iron in just two years.

Though he was not a ninja, his true strength surpassed even Kakuzu's. He was the strongest person under Yayoi's command.

Kurobei was simply too fast. Many ninjas would be cut down by his blade before they could even release a ninjutsu.

Even if Kakuzu used Earth Release to harden his body, he would not dare take a slash from Kurobei.

"The journey was all right. There were some setbacks, but overall, it went smoothly. The Hyuga Clan has already agreed to your conditions, Lord Yayoi. The Aburame Clan is still hesitating, while the other ninja clans..."

Kurobei gave Yayoi a detailed account of the results of this trip.

Yayoi merely listened quietly as Kurobei recounted the process, frowning at times and nodding at others.

Due to certain plans, Yayoi had dispatched Kurobei to the Land of Fire not long ago to handle some matters.

Namely, to win over some ninja clans in the Land of Fire and bring them into an alliance.

There was no helping it. This was an era in which ninja clans contended for supremacy.

Even if he refused to acknowledge it, Yayoi had to accept this ironclad fact.

Even after allowing Irori to act independently and obtaining the Seven-Tails, greatly increasing the Land of Night's military strength, Yayoi still did not have the courage to challenge this rule.

If he had not understood the vastness of the world, he might have considered challenging the tide of the era.

However, after witnessing true power, many of his little schemes had died before they could begin.

Faced with the surging tide of the times, obediently accepting reality was the only way to survive.

Yet because of that, Yayoi had many new ideas.

Since the trend toward the One Country, One Village era could not be stopped, he would ensure the greatest possible benefits.

While Konoha was still in its infancy and the many ninja clans feared the Senju and Uchiha alliance, he needed to accumulate enough capital to ensure he could establish a foothold in the future Ninja World.

Thus came Kurobei's trip to the Land of Fire.

First and foremost, he had to establish ties with the Hyuga Clan—through a political marriage alliance with the Hyuga Clan.

Then, he would win over ninja clans with inherited secret techniques and have them join the Land of Night.

As for why he had placed marriage with the Hyuga Clan first, aside from needing the Hyuga Clan's assistance, he also needed a stable line of succession.

Unlike the future ninja village system of selecting the Five Kage, the shogunate system he established in the Land of Night remained a monarchy centered on blood ties.

Therefore, whether he had a blood-related heir was an extremely important matter for the Land of Night's succession and likewise the key to stabilizing people's hearts.

Furthermore, every ruler needed a solid and reliable team to consolidate their rule.

This team could consist of the old hands who had followed him from the beginning, or descendants related to him by blood.

After weighing his options, the Hyuga Clan caught Yayoi's attention.

As for whether the Hyuga Clan would agree... honestly, Yayoi was not overly worried about that.

The previous daimyo of the Land of Lightning had once offered the position of secondary wife and taken the daughter of the Chinoike Clan's leader as a concubine, forming a political alliance. (A plot point from the official novel.)

Although that political alliance later fell apart due to certain events, and the Chinoike Clan declined, it still showed that the daimyo of a nation held considerable political status in the eyes of ninja clans.

Because ninjas had to temper their strength and their system was closed off, they were exceptionally weak in areas such as the economy. Yet they also had to communicate with the outside world, making daimyos and great nobles who ruled nations their best possible partners.

In terms of status, Yayoi naturally could not compare to the daimyo of the Land of Lightning, one of the Five Great Nations. But he was now still the ruler of a country, and the territory under his control was not small.

Under his management over the past years, the Land of Night had flourished. Yayoi believed the Hyuga Clan would gather such intelligence and make a clear judgment of the situation.

Moreover, the marriage alliance he wanted did not require the Hyuga Clan leader's daughter. It would be enough for them to marry off a woman from the main family.

And unlike the concubine position the daimyo of the Land of Lightning had offered the Chinoike Clan, Yayoi was offering the position of principal wife, which showed far greater sincerity.

One had to know that before its decline, the Chinoike Clan, which had lived in the Land of Lightning for generations, might not have been weaker overall than the current Hyuga Clan.

"So the Hyuga Clan has decided to choose an elder's daughter to marry into the Land of Night, is that right?"

After learning this result, Yayoi felt slightly relieved.

Just as he had expected, this marriage alliance with the Hyuga Clan was essentially settled.

"Yes, but they still need to discuss which elder's daughter will marry. The Aburame Clan is also inclined to join the Land of Night, but there are still voices within the clan opposing it. They do not wish to leave the Land of Fire."

Kurobei explained each matter in turn.

As for the remaining ninja clans, their attitudes were clearly firm. They would not leave the Land of Fire.

Even though the Senju and Uchiha alliance had made the situation in the Land of Fire more dangerous than ever, they had not retreated even half a step.

With the mindset of at worst, we'll sink the Land of Fire, they continued to remain in the ancestral land where they had lived for generations.

"The Aburame Clan needs additional incentives. Since I captured the Seven-Tails, there are basically no dangerous threats left in Black Steel Forest. Afterward, continue persuading the Aburame Clan. If they agree to join the Land of Night, I can allow them to establish a base in Black Steel Forest and breed their insects there."

After considering it, Yayoi decided to use Black Steel Forest, whose dangers had just been cleared away, as a bargaining chip to invite the Aburame Clan to join the Land of Night.

Black Steel Forest was an undeveloped primeval forest with abundant resources. In particular, it contained many varieties of rare insects, an irresistible temptation for the insect-controlling Aburame Clan.

Though the Land of Fire was rich in resources, it had too many powerful ninja clans. The resources controlled by the Aburame Clan were neither too few nor too many, only barely enough to sustain the clan's operations.

If they wished to go further, they needed to open up new resource sites, but every other place had long since been claimed.

The Land of Night's overall resources were far inferior to those of the Land of Fire, but it had many undeveloped regions. The weak ninja clans that had not submitted had either been destroyed by Yayoi or fled to other countries.

As long as the Aburame Clan came, the resources they would enjoy would definitely exceed what they had in the Land of Fire.

"Yes."

Kurobei accepted the order and left, planning to rest at home for a few days before returning to the Land of Fire to negotiate with the Aburame Clan.

With the benefits Yayoi had offered, the Aburame Clan would most likely relent and migrate to the Land of Night.

Whether to occupy a small resource site in a powerful country or a larger one in a weaker country, as long as they cast aside the pointless pride that hindered the clan's development, the choice was not difficult.

"Lord Yayoi, will I have another mistress in the future?"

After Kurobei left, a curious look appeared on Irori's face.

"Yes. I hope she'll be a woman who doesn't cause me trouble."

That was Yayoi's hope.

As for her appearance, he trusted that the Hyuga Clan would not try to fob him off with an ordinary woman.

He was not only the ruler of a country but also a ninja who wielded great power.

In this era, strength was the only standard that earned respect.

Other than that, his only requirement for his future partner was her character.

As long as she did not cause trouble or hold him back, his standards were not high.

He would not demand a godlike companion, so he did not need a pig-like teammate either.

Afterward, Yayoi summoned Kakuzu and had him go to the Hyuga Clan to discuss the marriage arrangements. At the same time, Kakuzu was to see what betrothal gifts the Hyuga Clan required so Yayoi could prepare them in advance.

After years of development, he had accumulated quite a bit of wealth.