Toki was still young and could not read the shift in Mizuki's emotions, but the minister beside her, Akemi, had already sensed something was wrong.
He quickly said, "My Lady Daimyō, I believe Lord Mizuki is right. As long as we do not publicize it, no one will know the Land of Birds has established a ninja village. The Land of Fire and Konoha naturally will not come looking for trouble.
Besides, once the Land of Birds has its own ninja village, we will no longer need to fear attacks from wandering ninja. For our country, that is an enormous benefit. Our citizens can also go to the new village to post missions instead of relying on other countries.
Most importantly, the children of our nation can enter the village to learn Ninjutsu and strengthen the country. No matter how you look at it, establishing a new ninja village is all benefit and no harm."
As Akemi spoke, he signaled to the Daimyō with his eyes.
Toki understood and had no choice but to agree to Mizuki's request to establish a new ninja village.
"Lord Mizuki, may I ask what the new ninja village will be called?"
Mizuki pondered for a moment.
He had originally planned to name it Tenringakure, but after thinking it over, it did not feel appropriate. He could not be the most just and pious ruler right now, especially at the beginning, so the name would lose its meaning. Still, it would be good to keep it in reserve for later.
"Since this is the Land of Birds, let's choose a name related to birds. Birds are fowl, and among fowl the phoenix is foremost. Let's call it Fushigakure (Phoenix Hidden Village), and the village leader's title can be Fushikage (Phoenix Shadow). Naruto and the others and I are all rogue ninja. Building a new village here and starting a new ninja life matches a phoenix being reborn from the flames. The past has already turned to ash. The future is brand new!"
{T/N: I'm using the word Fushichou (不死鳥, "Immortal Bird") for the naming. The other option would be Fenikkusu (フェニックス), which is definitely a no, and Houou (鳳凰), which is the Eastern version of the firebird but carries other symbolism. I thought it was better to stick with the Western term.}
And so, the new ninja village's name was decided.
Fushigakure!
Mizuki would be the first village leader, taking the title Fushikage.
Of course, it was a self-proclaimed title and not recognized by the outside world, but that did not matter. Sooner or later, the name "Fushikage" would resound throughout the ninja world.
Afterward, Minister Akemi produced a map of the Land of Birds and asked Mizuki to choose a location.
The Land of Birds was sandwiched between four countries. To the east was the Land of Rain, to the south the Land of Wind, to the west the Land of Claws, and to the north the Land of Earth.
Mizuki chose a wilderness area near the Land of Claws, spanning several hundred square kilometers.
"Here are fifty million ryō. I hope Your Ladyship will strongly support the establishment of the ninja village. I only have one request: build it as quickly as possible. If the money is not enough, just come to me."
❊❊❊❊❊
Construction of Fushigakure began. Progress was slow, since there was no seasoned builder like Tazuna to keep the project on track.
Mizuki, Naruto, and the others stayed at Minister Akemi's residence, since construction had only just started.
The kids trained every day. Sasuke, in particular, spent almost all of his time training, aside from eating, sleeping, and using the toilet. He was desperate for revenge.
Meanwhile, Mizuki familiarized himself with the abilities of the Sharingan and the Rinnegan.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye the month was over. The system's monthly quota of three "grant-and-return" opportunities per person refreshed.
On the first day of the new month, Mizuki gathered Naruto and the others and began handing out money. Each person received 100,000 ryō.
"Take this. It's your pocket money for the month."
Naruto and Daisuke's eyes immediately lit up.
"Wow, Master, you're ridiculously rich!" Naruto exclaimed.
Daisuke had grown up in an orphanage. They had never seen so much money, and they could not help swallowing hard.
The other three had no special reaction.
Sasuke had inherited a lot and did not lack money, so this amount was nothing. Shin and Sai had been trained by Danzō and were unfamiliar with worldly matters, so they also had little concept of money.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Naruto Uzumaki 100,000 ryō, triggering a 5,000× Return! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Sasuke Uchiha 100,000 ryō, triggering a 5,500× Return! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Daisuke 100,000 ryō, triggering a 500× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained 1,100,000,000 ryō! ]
[Note: Because the amount is too large to fit in the storage ring, the remaining money has been placed in the bedroom of the host's current residence.]
Mizuki frowned.
The storage ring on his hand no longer had enough capacity. A single cubic meter sounded like a lot, but it could not hold much. Even if it were filled with water, it would only hold about 1,200 liters, not even enough for a few baths.
'I need to speed up the construction of Fushigakure.'
After giving out money, Mizuki took out Food Pills as well, one for each person.
"If you get into a fight and run out of chakra, eat this. It can quickly restore chakra, and it will also fill you up."
Mizuki's total chakra amount had now reached 54.5 Kakashi-units, meaning he could cast jutsu freely. But his chakra recovery speed could not quite keep up. Recovering 0.3 units per minute was a bit slow.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Daisuke one Food Pill, triggering a 666× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained one Special Food Pill! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Sasuke Uchiha one Food Pill, triggering a 8,888× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained one Super High-Grade Food Pill! ]
[ You have granted your disciple Naruto Uzumaki one Food Pill, triggering a 9,999× Return! ]
[ Congratulations, you have obtained one Ultimate Food Pill! ]
〖 Special Food Pill: Restores 1 Ka Unit. 〗
〖 Super High-Grade Food Pill: Restores 30 Ka Unit and permanent increase of 0.9 Ka/m. 〗
〖 Ultimate Food Pill: Restores 50 Ka Unit and permanent increase of 1.5 Ka/m. 〗
Daisuke's talent really was still lacking. It was only a 666× return, and the special soldier pill he got back did not even have a permanent buff.
Sasuke and Naruto did not disappoint Mizuki.
'Once I eat these two soldier pills, my chakra recovery speed will reach 2.5 Kakashi-units per minute.'
That was unbelievably fast.
If Kakashi knew, he would be jealous to death.
With three people, there were nine total return opportunities this month, and Mizuki had already used six on the very first day. Each person still had one left, and he was not in a hurry to give anything else.
He took 200 million ryō and delivered it to the Daimyō's residence.
"Lord Mizuki, we still haven't used up the previous 50 million, so we're not short on money right now." Toki said.
Mizuki waved a hand, "Please recruit more workers and speed up construction of the ninja village. I have plenty of money, so don't worry about being unable to pay wages."
The faster the village was completed, the sooner he could become the Fushikage.
Once he became a Kage, he could directly appoint Sasuke, Naruto, and Daisuke as Chūnin, or even Jōnin. When a disciple's ninja rank rose, the number of slots for taking disciples would increase. Five disciple slots were simply not enough.
"Don't worry, Lord Mizuki. I will urge them on and speed up the village's construction." the Daimyō said. Then she added, "The Fire Daimyō has sent an invitation. Konoha will hold the finals of the Chūnin Exams in half a month, and they are inviting me to watch. Lord Mizuki, do you think I should go?"
Mizuki said, "That is for you to decide, my lady. Don't worry about what I might think. I'm establishing a ninja village only to find a place to live, not to control the Land of Birds."
Toki said, "Then I won't go."
Mizuki did not comment.
The Daimyō had probably already made up her mind. Asking now was clearly a test of Mizuki's attitude. She did not trust him.
Mizuki did not care what others thought, as long as they did not come looking for trouble.
'In half a month, the finals of Konoha's Chūnin Exams will begin, and Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan will follow.' He narrowed his eyes, a cold light flashing within, 'Orochimaru, don't blame me for stealing the kill. The Third should die by my hand.'
❊❊❊❊❊
More than ten days later, Mizuki left the Land of Birds and headed for Konoha in the Land of Fire.
Naruto and the others stayed behind in the Land of Birds. This time, Mizuki was going to cause trouble, and bringing genin along would only be a burden.
When Mizuki arrived in Konoha, it was the morning of the finals.
Using the Transformation Jutsu, he casually took on a different appearance and swaggered straight through Konoha's gates. The gate guards, Izumo and Kotetsu, ignored him completely.
Just like that, Mizuki entered Konoha and made his way to the Chūnin Exam finals arena.
The finals had just begun. The first match was Neji versus Kiba.
Without Naruto's involvement, Kiba had managed to slip into the finals. But against Neji, he could only be crushed. He had no way to fight back.
"Huh? Neji's Rotation is different from the original. Why does it look so much like Tai Chi?" Mizuki was surprised from the stands.
Not just him. Even the Hyūga clan members were shocked.
The head of the main branch, Hiashi Hyūga, sighed, "Neji's talent is too great. It's a pity he's from the branch family."
Without Naruto's talk-no-jutsu, Neji's hatred toward the main family remained unresolved.
After that, the matches continued one after another.
The second match was Temari versus Shikamaru, with Shikamaru winning through strategy. The third was Kankurō versus Shino, but Kankurō forfeited. The last match was Rock Lee versus Gaara, but it only made it halfway through.
Feathers drifted down, and the spectators in the stands fell into a deep sleep.
The Konoha Crush plan had finally begun!
What puzzled Mizuki was that it was not Orochimaru and the Third Hokage fighting one-on-one on the rooftop. Instead, Orochimaru had teamed up with the Fourth Kazekage, turning it into a two-on-one as they bullied Hiruzen, an old, weak, and sick man.
"So Orochimaru didn't kill the Fourth Kazekage ahead of time. Looks like it's because of me, and a butterfly effect happened."
Mizuki transformed into a Konoha ANBU, went up to the rooftop, and watched from outside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
There was no need to rush. First, enjoy a Kage-level battle.
On the rooftop, Hiruzen fought two against one and still held their ground, trading blows back and forth without falling behind.
Finally, Orochimaru could not hold back any longer. They bit their finger and slammed a hand onto the ground.
Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei ▻ Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation
Two coffins rose from the ground. One coffin lid bore the character "初" (First), and the other "二" (Second). Unlike the original story, there was no third coffin.
The coffin lids opened, and the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, stepped out.
Hiruzen looked at Orochimaru, heartbroken, "Orochimaru, you've fallen this far. You would profane the souls of our predecessors and disturb their rest?"
Tobirama glanced at their own arm and said, "This Impure World Reincarnation was my invention. Who's so lacking in virtue that they'd use it on me?"
Hashirama sighed with emotion, "Monkey… I never thought we'd meet again like this."
Orochimaru walked behind them and thrust a kunai engraved with sealing patterns into their bodies.
"Let's end the reminiscing here, Teacher Sarutobi. How will you deal with the attacks of these two former Hokage?"
He wore a broad smile, as if he could already see Hiruzen being beaten down, then personally killed by them.
Hiruzen sighed, then bit their finger and formed seals rapidly.
Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei ▻ Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation
As the words fell, another coffin appeared before Hiruzen.
Orochimaru's eyes widened. They froze for a second, then grinned and stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.
"Hehehe… Teacher Sarutobi, you say I'm profaning the souls of the dead. Then what do you call what you're doing right now?"
Hiruzen answered righteously, "Shisui can't be considered my predecessor. And summoning him back is to protect Konoha."
The coffin lid fell away, revealing Shisui Uchiha!
Orochimaru's expression changed drastically.
"This is bad!"
❊❊❊❊❊
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
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Take a look at the new books I'm translating on my profile, Cyberpunk 2077: A God-Level Skill Every Day and Infinite Worlds: Building the Strongest Harem! They are also on my website for $5 and $1.5, respectively!
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