The next day, early morning.
Mei Terumī and Pakura, who had been tormented by each other for half the night, recovered after receiving Medical Ninjutsu personally performed by Meikyō, the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages, as well as some high-ranking officials of Konoha, came to the conference room together.
"Ninja Alliance, Daimyo Constitutional System?"
Whitestone stared intently at the document in his hand, not daring to miss a single word.
"The power of the Daimyo will be restricted, and their taxation, legislative, and executive powers will be taken away and placed under the jurisdiction of the Ninja Alliance's cabinet government. The prime minister will be elected from the Ninja Alliance Council, which will be the highest level of the Ninja Alliance. The prime minister will serve a four-year term, and the council members will serve six-year terms. One-third of the council members will be re-elected every two years, with a total of fifty members. Five original seats will be established, automatically awarded to the incumbent Five Kage. They will serve as the highest leaders of the alliance besides the prime minister, and in addition to the powers of the Five Kage, they will also have the responsibility of jointly managing the Ninja Alliance Council..."
The Fourth Raikage read through the document word by word with his club-thick fingers.
He wasn't stupid, but he was actually a reckless fool, and his mind was nowhere near as sharp as that of people like Tobirama Senju or Orochimaru, who had a hundred Eye Guy.
In his view, Uchiha Meikyō was actually doing the same thing as Hashirama Senju did back then.
End an era of war, and then create your own era in your own way!
The era of Ninshu, founded by the Sage of Six Paths of Sage of Six Paths, ended after his death. Under the leadership of Indra and Asura, two powerful sons of the Sage, the Sengoku Period, which lasted for a thousand years, began. Hashirama Senju ended the Sengoku Period with his overwhelming power and established the Ninja Village era.
The endless wars turned into wars that broke out every now and then, which brought a relatively stable and long-lasting peace to the Ninja World continent, which had been in conflict for thousands of years. Peace and war alternated every few years or decades.
Now, the one leading the era has become Uchiha Meikyō.
Could this bring about a longer period of peace to the Ninja World?
The Fourth Raikage didn't know, though he thought it was possible.
But there was only one question that he cared about most from beginning to end.
What should Kumogakure do?
So the Fourth Raikage just asked him directly.
In this Ninja Alliance system, what should the Five Great Ninja Villages do?
"The Five Great Ninja Villages are all under the management of the Ninja Alliance. As I just mentioned, the Five Kage will automatically occupy the five highest-ranking permanent chairman positions in the Ninja Alliance. In other words, the Ninja Alliance is a whole with the Five Great Ninja Villages as the main body and various smaller ninja villages as vassals. It combines the power of the Five Great Ninja Villages and jointly hands over a portion of its power to the Ninja Alliance in order to manage the Ninja World."
Nara Shikaku, as the Hokage's secretary, stepped forward to explain.
"Relinquish some power?"
Whitestone felt some resistance, but he also knew that this might be a necessary condition for preserving Iwagakure.
"That's right. After relinquishing some power and joining the Ninja Alliance, each ninja village is prohibited from starting wars without cause. Any ninja unit with more than one hundred members must report to the Ninja Alliance. This is to ensure the future peace of the Ninja World, preserve strength to fight against the Otsutsuki Clan, and accept the leadership of the Ninja Alliance. Of course, the Five Kage are also part of the leadership of the Ninja Alliance."
Now that Whitestone and the Fourth Raikage understood, they breathed a sigh of relief.
This means that, ostensibly led by the Five Great Ninja Villages, but actually spearheaded by Konoha, a Ninja Alliance was established to manage the Ninja World and limit warfare.
The ninja villages of Kumogakure and Iwagakure still exist, but they have been incorporated into the Ninja Alliance, transforming from powerful local Ninja World into subordinate organizations of the Ninja Alliance.
If, as in the past, the Five Great Ninja Villages were evenly matched and none of them would submit to the others, then the Ninja Alliance would have limited effectiveness. Even if it could play a role, the Ninja Alliance's power would be granted by the Five Great Ninja Villages.
However, judging from the current situation, Konoha is definitely the most important of the five Ninja Alliance villages, and any one of its Five Great Ninja Villages could easily defeat it with a Super Kage-level combatant.
Not to mention that, apart from Konoha, the other four major ninja villages have all declined to an unprecedented level.
Aside from Pakura, Kirigakure Suna only rely on Konoha for support. Iwagakure and Kumogakure a bit better off, but apart from the Kage, they don't have any particularly strong fighters.
And what about Konoha?
Aside from a few exceptional fighters, the Fourth Hokage Dan Katō and the Legendary Konoha Sannin are still in their prime, and the younger Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, Might Guy, and many other Kage Level shinobi. Their regular high-end fighting strength is more than ten times that of other ninja villages.
It could even be said that the Ninja World Alliance was a tool used by Konoha to bring the Ninja World under its control.
However, the Fourth Raikage and the Fourth Tsuchikage were somewhat relieved that Konoha had not resorted to violence, but instead adopted the approach of the Ninja Alliance.
This method can relatively well transition the ninja village era to the new era, minimizing the impact.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure still exist.
The Raikage and Tsuchikage had no choice but to agree; their immediate thought was to sign a treaty with Konoha as soon as possible and establish the Ninja Alliance.
That way we'll all be on the same side as the Ninja Alliance. You, Konoha, can't fight us anymore, right?
As long as Kumogakure and Iwagakure still exist, it's uncertain who will be in charge of the Ninja Alliance a hundred or two hundred years from now!
Meikyō could certainly see that Ninja Alliance established in this way would definitely have hidden dangers.
The principle that a ruler who rises by this will also fall by this will apply everywhere.
If Konoha truly has no successors a hundred years from now, and this generation passes away, then the Ninja Alliance will inevitably fall apart, resulting in a fragmentation of power among warlords.
Unfortunately, even if Konoha truly lacks a successor, the current group of people can still step up and maintain the situation.
For immortal beings, many of the rules governing normal social operations no longer apply to them.
"Then this contract..."
"They'll sign! Iwagakure will definitely sign!"
"Kumogakure also signed!"
"The Kirigakure was prepared long ago."
"After the agreement is signed, Suna can hire ninjas from other villages to help rebuild the Land of Wind, right?"
The contract was signed smoothly.
On the fourth day after the wedding of Meikyō, and after finalizing all the details, the Five Great Ninja Villages jointly issued the same statement to the Ninja World.
The Ninja Alliance was established, and as any discerning person could see, the Ninja World was entering a new era.
Shinobu villages like Yugakure and Yukigakure are all requesting to join the Ninja Alliance, and even many Rogue Ninja are trying to sneak in.
In the past, if you offended a major ninja village, you could escape to another country. But that might not be the case in the future. Joining the Ninja Alliance is the best way to protect yourself.
However, joining the Ninja Alliance is not so easy.
Besides council members, the Ninja Alliance certainly has many affiliated organizations, but that doesn't mean they're easy to get into.
Even the Ninja Alliance doesn't accept all the ninjas from the Five Great Ninja Villages — the Five Great Ninja Villages are under the leadership of the Ninja Alliance, but that doesn't mean that the people from the Five Great Ninja Villages automatically become members of the Ninja Alliance.
The members' abilities in all aspects, including their political background, must be vetted. At the very least, a ninja who harbors hatred towards Konoha cannot be allowed to join. If such a ninja were to rise to a certain position, it would cause trouble.
The establishment of the Ninja Alliance signifies that Meikyō has essentially completed what he needed to do in the Ninja World. Apart from the high probability of Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's arrival nine months later, he only needs to continue developing step by step.
Apart from two extra women who Meikyō had to deal with from time to time, there was basically nothing else that required Meikyō to pay too much attention to.
Of course, there are some exceptions.
Because Snake Uncle has pulled off another big surprise.
"This is... a medicinal pill?"
Meikyō held a bright green sphere that emitted a strange fragrance in her hand and said in disbelief.
"Hehe, Meikyō- kun, isn't it amazing? Just smelling it makes you feel like the flow of Senjutsu Chakra within your body is smoother?"
Orochimaru, wearing a white coat, said with a smile.
"This thing... can it help us cultivate immortality techniques?"
It was clearly a question, but Meikyō spoke with absolute certainty.
Because he sensed that Orochimaru had become somewhat different.
Even without piloting a Gundam, Orochimaru's current strength should have reached the level of Super Kage-level.
Perfect Susanoo, but it should be able to defeat a Super Kage-level gatekeeper like a fully-formed Nine-Tails.
"That's right, Meikyō- kun. When you were fighting Madara, the God Tree had a lot of parts cut off. This thing absorbed a huge amount of Natural Energy during its growth and is the Qidian of Chakra. If it can be used properly, it can bring considerable benefits. So I used a process similar to the Golden Potion to process it. This is the final product."
Orochimaru, accompanied by Meikyō, arrived in front of a furnace that was over ten meters tall.
Meikyō raised her head and looked at the huge furnace radiating heat.
Goodness, its shape, with a bulge at the bottom and a pointed top, really does resemble a Bagua furnace.
This guy actually managed to refine pills?
"The specific refining process is quite complex. The initial processing is similar to that of the Golden Potion, but at a certain step, it needs to be processed further while it is in a liquid state, just like the Golden Potion. Therefore, I built this furnace, which can maintain the highest temperature to melt it into a liquid state. It works in conjunction with the high-temperature resistant robotic arm that I installed inside. The finished product is poured into the mold and cooled down, and that's how it looks."
Orochimaru pointed to the pills displayed in the chemical containers in front of him.
"Of course, Tsunade and Kabuto also provided a lot of advice during the process. The final product does indeed look somewhat similar to the Ration Pills. By the way, do you remember those two guys, the Wind God and the Thor?"
Orochimaru suddenly asked.
"I remember, you two idiots, your bodies and brains are inversely proportional, and you put Cursed Mark on them before."
"That's right, it's those two. After their bodies Cursed Mark, their affinity for Natural Energy increased significantly. I even developed two rudimentary cultivation techniques specifically for them based on their mutated bodies. They were the first to take this medicine made from the God Tree —about one-twentieth of the amount I have here. As test subjects, they helped me confirm that this thing is harmless and can bring great benefits to our cultivation, so I was the third to take it."
Orochimaru then took out a thin stack of documents from the file folder and placed them in front of Meikyō.
"Take a look."
Meikyō took the paper and began to read it carefully.
The paper records various changes Orochimaru experienced after taking the elixir, including Orochimaru's own feelings and external observations from instruments and other personnel.
The pills have the effect of purifying and amplifying Senjutsu Chakra, but their effects are also extremely strong. The strength of the body's meridians and the compatibility with Senjutsu Chakra must reach a sufficiently high standard to withstand them. However, Orochimaru can detect the user's data in these two aspects and then adjust the appropriate dosage of the pills accordingly.
Orochimaru initially followed the standard procedure, but during the refining process, he clearly sensed an improvement in his cultivation level and reached a bottleneck. So he increased the dosage on the spot, which led to his breakthrough.
He had already theoretically mastered the method of condensing liquid Senjutsu Chakra into a solid state. After putting it into practice, although it still caused some damage to his physical meridians, he successfully broke through the realm and condensed his own liquid Chakra.
It's not a completely solid state, but rather a gel-like state between a solid and a liquid. It needs continuous strengthening to truly stabilize in a solid state.
"My lifespan should now be over five hundred years, but I shouldn't be able to live for a thousand years like the immortals of the Three Great Sage Regions. However, based on my perception, I can infer that their attainments in Natural Energy should be at the same level as mine now. There may be some slight differences, but they are generally on the same level."
Orochimaru said this after seeing that the Meikyō had finished reading.
"Could it be due to the difference in species? Different species have different innate lifespans, so the lifespan acquired through acquired means should also be different."
Meikyō explained this based on his memory of the fact that demons of the same realm in Xianxia novels generally lived longer than humans.
"That's possible, but I actually prefer another inference: that they actually spend most of their time hibernating."
Do Katsuyu hibernate?
Snakes and frogs are definitely possible.
Indeed, some species of Katsuyu hibernate.
"According to Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku spends most of his time sleeping, and the White Snake Sage of Ryūchi Cave is rarely seen. The Katsuyu of Shikkotsu Forest has never truly shown its true form; what we see are only its clones. So its main body must also be sleeping. At their level, they can definitely control their body's instincts very easily and maximize their natural talent. They don't need to hibernate in winter; they can hibernate anytime they want to reduce the consumption of their life force."