Ninja World Government, Flower Chamber.
The Flower Chamber was a garden-style room in the rear hall of the Ninja World Government, eternally like spring, filled with the fragrance of flowers.
Makoto sat on a soft couch nestled among the flowers, sighing contentedly.
Watching Hinata bobbing up and down beneath him, her fair face slightly flushed with nervousness…
Makoto couldn't help but reach out and pinch her.
"Ah!"
Hinata let out a soft cry, her body trembling slightly, shrinking like a startled small animal.
Realizing her reaction, Hinata quickly looked up, her white eyes misty, cheeks crimson.
"I'm sorry, Makoto... Did I hurt you?" Her voice carried a hint of panic, like a child who had done something wrong.
"It's fine."
Makoto smiled slightly and pinched again.
"Hinata, how big are they?"
Feeling the tingling sensation, Hinata's face turned as red as a boiling kettle, steam practically rising from her head. She lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "1... 101..."
Makoto's eyes lit up.
He had thought before that in the original work, Hinata had developed to that size even without adequate nutrition.
Now that he had transmigrated, having had plenty of food during her two crucial development years, she would definitely surpass her original self. She would definitely take off.
But he didn't expect such a dramatic takeoff.
'In the original work, Hinata was 91, right? Now, it had actually skyrocketed to 101!'
Makoto immediately understood why so many people liked playing raising sim games. That sense of accomplishment was no less satisfying than grinding to level up.
"Come on, Hinata, help me... sandwich them."
Makoto began instructing Hinata on new knowledge.
Hinata's face turned even redder, but she didn't refuse. She lowered her head and slowly complied.
…
Meanwhile.
Amegakure.
Obito stood at the highest point of the leader's tower. Below him were dozens of Edo Tensei powerhouses and the core members of Akatsuki.
His Rinnegan swept over everyone present, and then he declared:
"The Fifth Great Ninja War officially commences."
"Against Iwagakure, go to war!"
"Against Sunagakure, go to war!"
"Against Kirigakure, go to war!"
"Against Konoha, go to war!"
He paused for a second.
Then, he spoke the final and heaviest sentence:
"Against the Ninja World Government, go to war!!!"
…
Flower Chamber.
Hinata lay on the soft couch, her cheeks flushed, her breathing not yet fully settled.
Makoto stood up and dressed, leaned down to gently kiss Hinata's forehead, and pulled a thin blanket over her.
Hinata nodded obediently, her voice as light as smoke, "Mm... Makoto, you go ahead."
Makoto walked out of the Flower Chamber, passed through the long corridor, and returned to the rear garden.
In the rear garden, Utaha, Miku, and the others were sitting in a pavilion drinking tea.
Chika bounced over, hugged Makoto's arm, and looked up, saying, "Makoto, big trouble!"
Makoto was pulled onto a stone stool in the pavilion. Chika leaned close to his ear and relayed the contents of the [Fifth Great Ninja War Declaration] that their intelligence department had just gathered.
After listening, Makoto was completely speechless.
'What the heck is that guy playing at?'
"Chika, send out the notice. Formally convene the Ninja World Government meeting. Summon Kirigakure's Terumi Mei, Sunagakure's Gaara, Iwagakure's Kitsuchi... all of them."
Chika nodded and ran off in a flash.
To be honest, convening these people for a meeting was just a formality.
To give the member states some respect, to let them feel they were participating in the decision-making.
In reality, Makoto could simply close his doors and discuss how to deal with Obito with his own people.
But with so many subordinates now, he still needed to maintain appearances.
…
Two days later.
Ninja World Government, Grand Council Chamber.
The round table was filled with people.
Makoto sat in the main seat, glanced around at everyone present, and said, "Ultimately, this is a battle for the Tailed Beasts."
Makoto raised a finger.
"There's only one focus of discussion: do we hide the Tailed Beasts deep in the rear, or do we deploy them as combatants in the war?"
The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.
Temari was the first to speak.
"I think we should hide them in the rear."
"The Tailed Beasts are our most important strategic resources. If we send them to the battlefield and Akatsuki captures them, they could be turned against us as weapons."
This flower of Sunagakure had already had relations with Makoto but wasn't officially a 'Mrs. Nishikawa'.
After all, Sunagakure was still recovering and needed her, 'The Flower of Sunagakure', to stay and handle village affairs.
Makoto didn't mind... he wasn't opposed to a physical relationship without attaching it to daily life.
"I disagree."
Gaara spoke.
His voice was calm and low, a far cry from the 'Gaara of the Sand Funeral' during the Chunin Exams years ago.
"Akatsuki has infiltration experts capable of sneaking into Konoha Village and stealing corpses. So even if Naruto, myself, and the Tailed Beasts hide deep in the rear, we will definitely be found."
"Rather than hide and be picked off one by one, it's better to enter the battlefield from the start."
Silence fell in the meeting room for a moment.
Makoto looked around, and seeing no objections, nodded.
"That's settled then. The Tailed Beasts will join the main battlefield as combat forces."
He turned to look at Tsunade.
"Senpai, how many troops do we have in total?"
Tsunade said, "Thirty thousand."
Makoto's expression inexplicably fell.
He recalled that the total number of the Allied Shinobi Forces in the original Fourth Great Ninja War was eighty thousand, while the number of White Zetsu was one hundred thousand.
'Thirty thousand against one hundred thousand?'
'Wow, that's quite a reduction.'
But thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
The recent unification war of the Ninja World Government had already killed many people.
Iwagakure, though not destroyed, had also lost many of its elites.
The armies of several small countries had also been more or less depleted while participating in the punitive war alongside the government coalition forces.
Furthermore, the largest contingent of the Allied Shinobi Forces in the original work was from Kumogakure. With the flapping of Makoto's butterfly wings, it had been erased from the map.
Thirty thousand was still quite a lot.
However, calming down a bit, Makoto wasn't too worried about this issue.
After all, the Fourth Great Ninja War was called a Ninja War in name only... in reality, it was just a bunch of gods brawling.
That's why each of the first three Great Ninja Wars took years to determine a victor, while the Fourth Great Ninja War ended in just three days.
Because 99% of the people were just extras, having no real impact on the outcome.
The key to victory came down to a few Six Paths-level gods.
Although the current coalition's numbers were reduced by a full fifty thousand compared to the original, in terms of overall combat power, the Ninja World Government was only stronger.
Leaving aside Makoto himself…
Even Yu alone could match fifty thousand.
Not to mention women like Alice, Saeko, Hinata, and others whose strength definitely reached the Kage-level.
'It's fine. Thirty thousand against one hundred thousand. Advantage is mine!'