Chapter 304: The Island Annexed and the Division Deploys
Konohagakure, Hokage Office.
Mei Terumī stood before the Hokage's massive desk, her posture respectful, masking the deep weariness from the strenuous relocation effort.
"How is the relocation progressing, Lady Mei?" Uchiha Akira asked, his voice calm, but his eyes expecting absolute efficiency.
"Everything is proceeding smoothly, Hokage-sama." Mei Terumī replied, her voice firm. "We are well ahead of schedule."
"It is expected that the last few batches of Kirigakure clansmen, civilians, and supplies will all arrive in Konoha within two weeks. The Land of Water is now effectively empty of its native population."
Uchiha Akira nodded, seemingly satisfied with the progress. The annexation of the Land of Water (and its shinobi population) was a logistical nightmare, but one that was being handled with military precision.
Akira leaned back in his chair, his fingers intertwined before him.
"Very good. Now that the manpower is gradually in place, the Kirigakure Division should begin to fulfill its duties to its new master."
Mei Terumī's heart tightened instantly. She knew this moment was coming. Konoha had not supported thousands of Hidden Mist Ninja for free. Payment was due.
"I will dispatch the first combat unit from the Kirigakure Division, totaling one thousand ninja."
"They will be led by Ao and Chōjūrō. You will coordinate the strategy, Lady Mei."
"In three days, they will depart for the border to confront the Shinobi Allied Forces of Kumogakure and Iwagakure."
War!
Although she had anticipated it—this was the obvious price of surrender—when the order truly came from Uchiha Akira's mouth, Mei Terumī's body still trembled slightly.
He wanted her people to spearhead the attack for Konoha? To engage in the most brutal fighting against the combined armies of two Great Ninja Villages?
This... Mei Terumī's lips moved, wanting to protest the sheer danger, but the words caught in her throat. She swallowed them back, understanding the political reality.
Could she refuse? No. Kirigakure was the surrendering party. They had no right to bargain, only to obey.
Uchiha Akira, seeing Mei Terumī's conflicted expression, smiled faintly—a thin, cold, reassuring curve of his lips.
"Are you worried I'll make them simply cannon fodder?"
With her precise thoughts exposed by his gaze, Mei Terumī's pupils constricted, but she still braced herself and stated:
"This subordinate would not dare question the Hokage's strategy. However, the Hidden Mist Ninja are new here and unfamiliar with Konoha's complex command system; rashly deploying them to the front lines, I'm afraid the losses might be unacceptable."
Uchiha Akira reassured her, his voice absolute.
"Don't worry, Lady Mei. I am not asking you to fight a decisive battle against them. Not yet."
Uchiha Akira extended two fingers and lightly rubbed them together, emphasizing the scale. "I want you to operate in small, autonomous squads, cooperating with Konoha's veteran forces. Your job is pure destruction: constantly harassing, scouting, ambushing Iwagakure's patrol teams and severing their supply lines."
"Use your most proficient Hidden Mist Jutsu and your specialized Silent Killing techniques to create maximum chaos and fear for the enemy."
"The ninja of the Kirigakure Division, together with the ninja of Konoha, will engage in small-scale, controllable conflicts with the so-called Shinobi Allied Forces along the border."
"This is the crucible," Akira declared. "Let them learn to trust each other through fighting side-by-side. Let them understand that from now on, they only have one identity."
"Konoha Ninja."
Mei Terumī's breathing hitched slightly.
She understood Uchiha Akira's true intention now. This was not merely an act of submission, but a brutal, forced, and highly effective integration.
Though the method was ruthless and shocking, it was undoubtedly the most efficient way to erase old grudges and forge unbreakable loyalties.
More importantly, Uchiha Akira's absolute confidence gave her infinite courage.
The so-called Shinobi Allied Forces sounded formidable, but having witnessed Uchiha Akira's god-like power—a power capable of overturning the entire Ninja World—Mei Terumī didn't believe the Alliance stood a chance.
Kumogakure and Iwagakure were merely two slightly larger ants tied together, facing a deity.
Thinking of this, Mei Terumī's last trace of doubt vanished.
She bowed slightly, her posture respectful, her resolve hardening. "I understand, Hokage-sama."
"The Kirigakure Division is ready to depart at any time."
Uchiha Akira nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Go prepare your commanders."
"Yes."
Mei Terumī turned and slowly exited the Hokage Office. As the office door closed again, she stood in the corridor, looking out at the scene outside the window—a village a hundred times more prosperous than the one she left behind.
A sigh of deep relief escaped her lips. Fortunately, I made the correct, terrible choice back then.
The Land of Water Annexed.
In the following weeks, the complete relocation and annexation of the Land of Water proceeded smoothly and in an orderly fashion, executed with the full assistance of Konoha's massive logistical forces.
Giant ships, laden with former Hidden Mist villagers, shinobi, and supplies, shuttled relentlessly between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.
The entire Kirigakure was being emptied at an unprecedented speed.
The last batches of villagers boarded the ships, looking back at the homeland where they had lived for generations, their eyes filled with complex, painful emotions—grief for the past, and faint, uncertain hope for the future.
However, a new life awaited them. Konoha, the most prosperous and powerful Village in the Ninja World, would be their new, enforced home.
Meanwhile, another silent, parallel operation unfolded in the core political region of the Land of Water.
Land of Water, Daimyō's Residence.
The night was as dark as ink, cloaking the final political takeover.
Uchiha Shunichi, a trusted Uchiha elite, clad in a black combat suit, stood silently on the highest rooftop of the Daimyō's Residence.
Behind him were over a hundred of Konoha's infiltration elites, forming a vast, silent net that had already been cast around the capital.
"Shunichi-sama." A subordinate, masked and silent, appeared beside him.
"The Land of Fire's personal guard unit has arrived at the designated position. All routes are sealed."
Uchiha Shunichi nodded, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning beneath the shadow of his hood.
"The time has come."
He raised his hand and brought it down sharply. "Act!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Over a hundred black figures, like ghosts, swooped down from the rooftop, silently infiltrating the brightly lit Daimyō's Residence.
The samurai guards protecting the residence couldn't even let out a single alarm before they were silently dealt with by an endless stream of Genjutsu and the rapid Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu).
In less than ten minutes.
The plump, terrified Daimyō of the Land of Water was pulled violently from his bed in his sleep and thrown onto the cold stone floor of his own audience chamber.
"You... who are you people! Traitors!" The Daimyō shrieked in terror, his body trembling like a sieve.
Uchiha Shunichi slowly walked up to him, looking down with cold disdain.
The three tomoe in his Sharingan slowly rotated, absorbing the man's fear.
"By order of the Fifth Hokage of Konoha," Shunichi announced, his voice devoid of emotion.
"We have come to take over the Land of Water."
The Daimyō was completely bewildered. Take over the Land of Water? What did that mean?
Just then, outside the Daimyō's Residence, a rhythmic and heavy sound of marching footsteps echoed, the sign of a massive, organized force.
The main gate was thrown open by Konoha shinobi.
An army, clad in the standardized armor of the Land of Fire's military, led by a high-ranking general, poured into the courtyard.
The leading general, holding a scroll sealed with gold edges, walked up to the trembling Daimyō of the Land of Water and declared in a loud, official voice,
"The Daimyō of the Land of Water is deemed incompetent and is no longer capable of governing his territory."
"From this day forward, the Land of Water!"
"All its territories, population, and resources shall be fully incorporated into the Land of Fire's domain. It shall henceforth be renamed the Eastern Province of the Land of Fire!"
The Daimyō of the Land of Water collapsed to the ground, his face instantly turning ashen gray.
It was gone. Everything was gone.
The legacy that had been passed down for hundreds of years was lost in his hands, just like that, extinguished by political maneuver and military threat.
After a moment of immense fear and despair, a surge of furious rage boiled up in his head!
"Bastard!"
The Daimyō suddenly scrambled to his feet, looking utterly deranged, and began to curse wildly at the general who read the scroll and Uchiha Shunichi.
"You despicable invaders! Thieves! You cannot do this!"
"Do you think you can conquer everything with force?! The people of the Land of Water will not yield! They will hate you forever!"
The Daimyō shrieked, spitting saliva, exhausting all his strength to vent his malice and frustration.
Uchiha Shunichi listened silently, his expression unchanged, his posture perfect.
Only when the Daimyō's voice grew hoarse and he was panting desperately, did Shunichi slowly speak.
"Are you done, Lord Daimyō?"
The Daimyō froze.
In Uchiha Shunichi's eyes, the three tomoe slowly rotated, assessing the man's imminent death.
"Noisy."
Before he finished speaking.
Pfft!
A cold gleam flashed. A simple, ordinary kunai, precisely thrown from Uchiha Shunichi's hand, instantly pierced the Daimyō of the Land of Water's throat.
The Daimyō's curses abruptly stopped.
He widened his eyes, looking at Uchiha Shunichi in profound disbelief, his hands desperately clutching his neck. Blood gushed wildly from between his fingers.
"Hoh... hoh..."
The Daimyō of the Land of Water wanted to say something, anything, but could only produce a gurgling, leaking sound.
His body swayed violently, then collapsed heavily into a pool of his own blood, his life quickly extinguished.
Uchiha Shunichi withdrew his hand, his movement economical, as if he had only performed a trivial chore.
His cold gaze swept over all the silent attendants and the Land of Fire's general, who had watched the murder.
"The will of the Hokage-sama brooks no defiance," Shunichi stated clearly.
"Those who defy... die."
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