Chapter 287: Kirigakure Merges
After Uchiha Akira left, instantly vanishing with the defeated Mizukage's body, the ruins of the Mizukage Building fell into a long, heavy silence.
Elder Gensui, the leader of the resistance, sighed deeply, his voice filled with endless fatigue and crushing desolation.
An era had completely ended.
Kirigakure, a Village that had been passed down for decades and stood as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, would become history starting today. Its sovereignty was extinguished.
Mei Terumī, the newly appointed Mizukage, stood up straight. Her new ceremonial robes were still pristine, a sharp contrast to the rubble surrounding her.
She looked around at the Hidden Mist higher-ups who were either kneeling or sitting, their eyes vacant with shock.
"Everyone, get up!"
Mei Terumī's voice, sharp and commanding, rang in everyone's ears.
"As Ninja of Hidden Mist, what kind of decorum is this! Your shame does not save the Village!"
Kirishima Jin, Suiren Kenji, and the others, the former hardline Jōnin who had supported the old regime, trembled. They instinctively wanted to stand up, but found that their legs had long gone soft from fear, unable to exert any strength.
A hint of contempt flashed in Mei Terumī's eyes, but she quickly hid it. Her focus was on control.
"Elder Gensui."
"Yes, Mizukage... no, Division Head-sama." The Elder, utterly defeated and broken, subconsciously corrected himself, accepting the new reality instantly.
Mei Terumī didn't mind the corrected title and continued, her tone brisk.
"Pass on my immediate orders."
"First: Immediately organize manpower to rescue and comfort the villagers, tally the casualties, and secure remaining resources."
"Second: Convey Lord Hokage's order exactly as it is. In the next few weeks, the entire Village—all ninja, all civilians—will migrate to the Land of Fire."
Mei Terumī's voice turned cold, final. "Anyone with objections to the merger or the migration will be executed without mercy! No dissent will be tolerated."
The Elder nodded slowly, his movements stiff. "I understand, Lady Mizukage."
[At such a time, only the most iron-blooded methods can suppress the potential chaos in the Village,] Gensui thought grimly. [She has learned the Uchiha's lesson well.]
Mei Terumī turned, her gaze sweeping over Kirishima Jin and Suiren Kenji and the other former hardliners.
"As for you fools..."
Her voice was laced with cold authority. "Considering that you have shed blood for the Village in the past, your lives will be spared today."
"However, while the death penalty can be avoided, the living punishment cannot."
"From today onwards, all your official positions will be stripped. Furthermore, half of your families' liquid assets will be handed over to fund the reconstruction."
"Do any of you have objections?"
Upon hearing this, Kirishima Jin, Suiren Kenji, and the others were not angry; instead, they felt as if they had received a huge pardon.
"N-no objections, Division Head-sama!"
"Thank you, Division Head-sama, for sparing our lives!"
They bowed repeatedly, their foreheads almost touching the stone floor.
After dealing with these broken men, Mei Terumī's gaze once again turned to the distance, towards the Land of Fire.
"Konoha... Uchiha Akira..."
She murmured to herself. [He is a tyrant, a conqueror. But he is a tyrant who provides order and survival.]
"Perhaps, for Hidden Mist, which has struggled pointlessly in the Blood Mist for too long, being ruled by such an absolutely powerful existence was not necessarily a curse. It is simply a liberation from ourselves."
"Go, Elder Gensui," Mei Terumī waved her hand, the movement firm.
"Get everyone moving. The clock is ticking."
"A new era has begun. An era of subservience, but also one of stability."
Konoha Village, Hokage Office.
Buzz.
Space rippled violently. Uchiha Akira's figure materialized out of thin air, his black robes pristine, showing no sign of the world-changing events he had just orchestrated.
Just then. Knock knock.
The office door was knocked.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and Tsunade walked in, carrying a stack of disorganized documents.
She saw Uchiha Akira and was stunned for a moment, her stride faltering.
"You're back already? That was fast."
"Mm." Uchiha Akira responded casually, walking past his desk.
"Kirigakure has agreed to merge into Konoha. They will become the 'Kirigakure Division' under Konoha's central command."
Tsunade completely froze.
It had only been a few days—a mere handful of days! Had the Hidden Mist, the famed Village of the Bloody Mist, been annexed already?
Tsunade was so shocked that the stack of documents in her hands slipped, scattering across the wooden floor.
"Kirigakure... merged into Konoha?"
Even though it had been greatly weakened by the Blood Mist policy in recent years, Kirigakure was still one of the Five Great Villages. Its maritime strength and internal military structure were still formidable.
Now, it was annexed so casually, so swiftly?
"Mm, it took a bit of effort," Uchiha Akira said, walking to Tsunade's side.
"There were always a few stubborn old geezers and a Tailed Beast who didn't know their place, so I gave them a little 'education.' Nothing major."
Tsunade asked subconsciously, her voice a low murmur, "You... you weren't injured, were you?"
After asking, she herself found the question slightly amusing. In the current Ninja World, it would be hard to find anyone who could leave a lasting scratch on Uchiha Akira.
"Of course not."
Uchiha Akira gently gathered the scattered documents from the floor and handed the organized stack to Tsunade.
"Tsunade."
Uchiha Akira suddenly spoke, his tone serious.
"Hm?"
"The migration of Kirigakure is a major, immediate event. It involves tens of thousands of people. There will be a massive amount of political and logistical follow-up work to handle."
"Konoha needs to establish a special, high-level department to be fully responsible for receiving and resettling the Ninja and civilians of Hidden Mist, and to conduct the necessary ideological screening and structural reorganization."
Uchiha Akira looked directly into Tsunade's eyes, his expression conveying his complete faith in her.
"I hope you will be in charge of this department."
Tsunade was taken aback. "Me? You trust me with the integration of an entire nation?"
"That's right." Uchiha Akira nodded.
"You are the First Hokage's granddaughter, one of the legendary Sannin, and you possess immense, undisputed prestige throughout the entire Ninja World."
"Your involvement can maximize the appeasement of Hidden Mist's emotions, reassure the public, and reduce unnecessary friction during the merger."
"More importantly..."
Uchiha Akira smiled slightly, the intensity of his gaze softening, becoming intimate.
"I trust your abilities. You are the only one capable of handling the chaos and the political fallout simultaneously."
Tsunade looked at Uchiha Akira's smile, the subtle sense of affirmation washing over her. Her heart fluttered.
Being looked at and affirmed by Uchiha Akira like this—with the trust of a nation's fate—gave Tsunade an unprecedented sense of professional and personal satisfaction.
"I understand, Akira."
Tsunade nodded heavily and took the documents. "Leave this to me. I will handle the merger."
Afterward, Uchiha Akira called for the Anbu.
"Go and get Nara Shikaku."
"Yes!"
A dark shadow flashed and departed.
A moment later.
Nara Shikaku, looking exhausted with prominent dark circles under his eyes and yawning uncontrollably, walked into the office.
"Lord Hokage, you're looking for me so urgently; is there more trouble? I'm barely finished with the blueprints for the Sunagakure relocation camp."
Uchiha Akira smiled faintly. He spread a large map on the table.
"Kirigakure has decided to merge into Konoha."
"Huh?"
Nara Shikaku instantly sobered up. The sleepiness in his eyes vanished, replaced by sheer shock. His jaw dropped slightly.
"Merged... already?"
"From today onwards," Akira confirmed, tapping the Land of Water on the map, "it will be called the Konoha Kirigakure Division."
"Within the next few weeks, all members of Kirigakure will begin to migrate to the Land of Fire."
Akira pointed to the Land of Fire area. "I need you to plan a suitable, massive resettlement area for them. The location shouldn't be too close to Konoha, but also not too remote, and it needs to be easy to manage politically."
"At the same time," Akira continued, listing the demands rapidly, "formulate a detailed reception plan, including personnel registration, strength assessment, ideological review, and a subsequent reorganization plan for their military."
"I want to see the complete plan within three days."
Nara Shikaku listened to Uchiha Akira's orders, the sheer scale of the logistical nightmare making his head spin. His scalp tingled.
"Oh my god..."
He muttered under his breath, leaning heavily on the desk.
"What kind of monster is this Hokage-sama? He went out once, completely conquered one great nation, and annexed a second one before the dust settled on the first?"
After the initial shock, a very real, painful problem was placed before the brilliant strategist.
"Lord Hokage!"
Nara Shikaku bowed slightly, his expression becoming serious, overriding his despair.
"Now, Konoha is going to be impossibly overcrowded."
"The expansion speed of our Village simply cannot keep up with this population growth! We haven't even finished the first phase of the Super Fortress!"
He started counting rapidly on his fingers, his voice strained.
"There are nearly three thousand people from Sunagakure—prisoners and civilians—which has already filled our reserved resettlement area to the absolute brim."
"Now, you add the entire Kirigakure—that's at least tens of thousands of people, Lord Hokage! We don't even have enough temporary housing! Forget managing them! We'll have a refugee crisis and a complete infrastructure failure!"
Nara Shikaku groaned, clutching his aching head. "This is beyond troublesome!"
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