"Then we'll depart. Kiyo, Kimimaro, Kurenai, Kabuto, and Shizune, the village is in your hands."
Before leaving, Tsunade solemnly entrusted the village's affairs to her subordinates. The names she mentioned covered the administrative division, Root, ANBU, the guard, and logistics. Together, these individuals controlled roughly eighty percent of the village's power.
Those accompanying her were either her faction or neutral parties. Any ninja clans that could potentially obstruct the merger of Konoha and the Sand Federation had been drafted to the frontlines.
No one would die, but they would be detained for a while. If they were cooperative and joined the unified Konoha-Federation, they could avoid laboring in the mines and return home sooner. Stubborn resistance, however, would mean a lifetime of dealing with mineral veins.
Even on this planet, many areas remained untapped. Even if the entire ninja world worked together, it would be impossible to exhaust all resources.
"Understood, Hokage-sama," the named subordinates answered in unison, aware of their mission: maintain control of the village and prevent remaining clans from causing trouble.
The Sarutobi clan, for instance, was tightly managed. Tsunade had ordered 150 Sarutobi ninja to join, yet their true numbers were unknown. Even during the Third Hokage's era, neither ANBU nor Root could accurately gauge the Sarutobi clan's strength.
Before leaving, Tsunade glanced at Kiyo Hyuga, noticing the ring on her hand, and let out a small laugh.
Kiyo caught the smile and quickly hid her hand behind her back, her face reddening as she averted her gaze. It was all for peace; she had no choice that night. Hyuga Mirai's strength was overwhelming.
"All right, let's go," Tsunade announced, dismissing the group.
After leaving the Hokage building, Kurenai hurried toward Kiyo. "Wait for me, Kiyo!"
Kiyo, aware of Kurenai's intentions, quickened her pace and eventually used Body Flicker Technique to reach the guard headquarters. Kurenai smiled to herself; Kiyo was still so shy.
Once away, Kiyo soon regained her usual cold and commanding demeanor. She intended to inform the guard and the heads of the other two families about Tsunade, but first, she needed to return to the clan lands.
The Hyuga clan had more than doubled its strength. Former branch elite ninja, after mastering secret techniques like Kaiten and Kuusho, had greatly increased their combat abilities. Without these techniques, branch elite ninja were merely skilled Taijutsu specialists. Now, they possessed absolute defense and strong ranged attacks.
Kiyo also restructured the clan, abolishing the main and branch distinctions. The Hyuga ninja were reorganized into four battalions totaling over 600 members. Including 120 from the guard, the clan now had 700 ninja—a testament to a near-thousand-year lineage.
After receiving the clan leader's orders, nearly twenty Hyuga members gathered at Kiyo's residence. All were at least squad leaders, carefully chosen for strength and management skills.
"Clan Leader, everyone is here," one member reported. Kiyo had summoned both internal battalion captains and the elders managing clan business, signaling serious matters.
"Now that everyone is here, heed my instructions carefully. Once this meeting ends, immediately carry them out," Kiyo said gravely. The clan members straightened, fully alert.
"From now on, all clan members enter a defensive state. Non-ninja members stay home. Squad leaders, collect military supplies. Tokuma, Hiromon, and Irubo, monitor the movements of these ninja clans starting now."
Kiyo handed a list to Yuu, who passed it to Hyuga Tokuma. The first target was the Sarutobi clan, followed by allied clans. During Hiruzen Sarutobi's tenure as Hokage, many clans were Sarutobi vassals, including civilian ninja. These were Tokuma's monitoring focus, followed later by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
"These three clans are clever. Although previously friendly with the Sarutobi, they now appear aligned with the Hokage. Vigilance is still required," Kiyo added.
"Clan Leader, this…" Tokuma was surprised. Was Kiyo planning a conflict with these clans?
"This cannot be hidden, but outside this room, no one is to speak of it," Kiyo warned. "Konoha plans to merge with the Sand Federation. Tsunade has already negotiated with their leadership. The frontlines aim to quickly eliminate the main forces and Kage of the other three nations, while preventing internal opposition from speaking."
"What?" The Hyuga members were stunned. Konoha merging with the Sand Federation? Led by Tsunade?
The clan's Byakugan, the bloodline heir of Wood Release, and Tsunade—renowned as the true heir of the Will of Fire and last publicly known Senju—would guide the merger.
Even Hyuga elders were shocked. One almost broke their folding fan. If Kiyo hadn't spoken, they would have thought it false or insane. Seeing the pale purple diamond mark on her forehead, however, silenced their doubts.
"Do not overthink. This is inevitable. The ninja world will ultimately unify peacefully. No one can change that."
Kiyo touched her ring. "The Hyuga can only prosper by joining now. Resistance will only lead to obscurity."
Her tone grew strict. No one dared question her further. "Yes, Clan Leader."
The mere news was shocking. Everyone dispersed to prepare.
A Konoha-Suna merger meant the Land of Fire would cease to exist, with Konoha becoming part of a federated military-political state. For the ninja, this could be advantageous: the Federation was ninja-led, no daimyo or Land of Fire administration above them.
After others left, Kiyo consulted with Zosuke Hyuga about the remaining rings.
"Grandfather, I need to meet other clan leaders. Please oversee the Hyuga's military supplies with the three elders." She left, leaving Zosuke deep in thought.
On the way to the guard headquarters, Kiyo arranged for Shibi Aburame and Shin Inuzuka—parents and uncles of her students—to join. Their combined influence, along with Root and Tsunade's orders, would stabilize Konoha.
Sand Federation
Training Ground Three, a remote area near Hyuga Mirai's residence, was usually empty except for Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke. Today, two mother-child pairs coincidentally arrived, so Kushina let them train while she and Mikoto rested under a tree.
Naruto was angry—his mother had pulled him out to train, yet Mikoto sent him away. Sasuke was also frustrated—he had finally expected one-on-one training with his mother, only for Mikoto to intervene.
They could not confront their elders and vented at each other.
After Sasuke's Sharingan evolved to three tomoe, Naruto was no longer a Taijutsu match. Three-tomoe dynamic vision and Genjutsu made close combat frustrating—he could not read Sasuke's gaze, and his moves were fully anticipated. Only Shadow Clone and Wind-style close combat could help, yet even then, he posed little threat.
As they trained, a black hole appeared between them. Hyuga Mirai emerged.
"Uncle Mirai!?" Naruto shouted mid-movement, though it was unnecessary. Mirai simply grabbed him midair and set him down.
From under a distant tree, the two mothers felt uneasy. Kushina muttered, "He's so unpredictable—thankfully he didn't appear behind us."
They had just been discussing Mirai; if he had appeared behind them, overheard conversation would have been awkward.
Uchiha Mikoto felt similarly guilty and resolved never to discuss such matters outside. As for Mirai, he likely would not enter their rooms without permission.
(End of Chapter)