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"What the— the one chasing you down isn't always a lover, sometimes it's Minato's Flying Thunder God," Chiba muttered, shaking his head with an internal sigh.
He'd been in a Root safehouse, deep in a pleasant conversation with Kurotsuchi's future mother. Then Minato had to ruin it, teleporting back and banging on the door, telling him to hurry up.
"Minato, didn't I tell Rasa and the others to wait another hour—"
"Two hours have passed, Chiba! Everyone is waiting for you!"
Without another word, Minato grabbed Chiba's hand. In a flash of the Flying Thunder God Technique, they vanished, reappearing at the camp outside Iwagakure.
…
It had only taken half a day to conquer Iwagakure. But for the three great villages to finish haggling over how to carve up the Rock's assets? That took two and a half full days of endless debate.
"Lord Hokage, the weather's turned chilly. Please, wear this."
As Chiba massaged his temples and stepped out of the conference room, a group of his trusted aides swarmed him. One of them unfolded a long robe and draped it over his shoulders.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. When did you guys even get a Hokage robe ready?!"
Seeing the white robe with flame patterns now on his shoulders, Chiba's eyes widened. He made a show of trying to take it off. "What 'Lord Hokage'? Don't call me that! Are you trying to make me look disloyal and unfilial?"
"Ah, Lord Chiba, what are you saying?" The same perceptive ninja from before stepped forward again, pressing the robe firmly against Chiba's body with surprisingly strong, slender hands. "Who else in Konoha today is worthy of the Hokage's mantle but you?"
"That's right, Chiba. Just wear the robe. The position of Fourth Hokage is yours." Fugaku Uchiha, seeing the commotion, sauntered over with a chuckle, adding fuel to the fire. Several other clan heads stood beside him.
"Sigh… fine, fine. You people are going to be the death of me."
After the classic ritual of thrice refusing and thrice being urged, Chiba—under the "reluctant" pressure of the crowd—finally allowed the robe to settle on his shoulders. A wave of cheers erupted around him. With Chiba ascending, their own status would rise with the tide.
"Ryoka, you performed well during this Iwagakure campaign. When we return to Konoha, you'll serve as my direct aide."
Chiba patted the shoulder of the perceptive ninja beside him, his tone approving.
Yamanaka Ryoka. An ordinary member of the Yamanaka clan's branch family. A nobody. She'd caught Chiba's eye initially because her looks and figure were uncannily similar to Ino Yamanaka's, so he'd kept her close. It seemed now she wasn't just a pretty face; she knew how to get things done.
"Thank you for your promotion, Lord Chiba! I will continue to do my best!" Ryoka's face lit up with delight. The other subordinates shot her envious looks.
Damn it! They hadn't skimped on the flattery either! How did this woman beat them to it? She was definitely going to get "heavily relied upon" by Lord Chiba from now on!
"Alright, everyone. We've achieved a great victory with rich spoils. I'll take twenty percent. The remaining eighty is yours to divide amongst yourselves."
Chiba smiled, clasping his hands in a slight bow to the surrounding clan heads. He then produced a list and handed it to Fugaku Uchiha.
Fugaku's usually stern face broke into a grin so wide he looked like a happy husky. The Uchiha clan had long been sidelined from Konoha's center of power. But with Chiba backing him, who would dare look down on Fugaku Uchiha now?
"Clan Head Fugaku, don't just stand there grinning. Let us see the list too!"
"Exactly! The Nara head is here too. Let him help us plan a fair distribution."
The clan heads crowded around eagerly. When their eyes scanned the densely packed list of assets, their breathing hitched.
Following Hiruzen Sarutobi meant three days of famine out of nine. But following the new Hokage? Finally, they could drink the soup and eat the meat!
The wealth Iwagakure had accumulated over decades… even split between those present, it was a staggering windfall, equivalent to their clans' income for years.
"The Inuzuka and Aburame clan heads… their guts must be twisting with regret by now," the head of the Hyūga clan murmured, a tone of pity in his voice. The others nodded in grim agreement.
Those two clans, for their staunch support of Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been firmly excluded from Chiba's new inner circle. Naturally, they had no part in this feast.
Phew. Good thing I'm adept at reading the wind, unlike those stubborn fools! The Hyūga clan head thought to himself, immensely pleased.
"Timing-wise, Orochimaru and Kakuzu's tasks should be about done too."
Having handled the critical matters in Iwa, Chiba left the remaining trivial matters to his future advisors, Ryoka and Shikaku Nara. He activated the Flying Thunder God and vanished from the Land of Earth.
…
Somewhere in the Land of Rice, Chiba materialized beside Orochimaru in a flash of yellow light, a questioning look in his eyes.
"Chiba-kun. Mission accomplished." Orochimaru understood, producing a sealed scroll from his robes with a smile. "The Two-Tails' chakra, as requested."
"Excellent work. Let's head back to Konoha."
Chiba took and stored the scroll, placing a hand on Orochimaru's shoulder. They teleported directly back to the Root laboratory in Konoha.
Poof!
Seeing his original body return, Orochimaru's shadow clone dispersed in a puff of smoke, its memories flowing back to him.
"Oh? Impressive, Lord Tobirama. To make such progress in my absence." Absorbing the clone's memories, Orochimaru's eyes widened with genuine surprise and admiration.
"Hmph. Naturally." Tobirama Senju gave a proud, haughty snort. He was a genius, after all. It was just that his foolish older brother had no vision. He'd invented so many brilliant jutsu specifically to counter the Uchiha, and his brother had just tossed them all into storage to gather dust.
"However, time was short. This is the best I could manage." Tobirama shook his head. "If we use the high-quality sacrificial vessels Chiba brought back for the reanimation, my power might approach my peak state. But my brother… he'd retain at most half of the strength he had in life."
"Is that so." Chiba fell into thought.
Even Madara Uchiha might not return to his full power. I can already fight him on my own. Add the Senju brothers to the mix… it should be more than enough.
…
Leaving the lab to Tobirama and Orochimaru with encouragement to keep pushing, Chiba teleported to his pre-arranged meeting spot with Kakuzu.
Thud.
Kakuzu had clearly been waiting. Upon seeing Chiba, he wordlessly tossed an unconscious middle-aged man at Chiba's feet.
Damn. I asked for the Seven-Tails' chakra, and he just brings me the whole jinchūriki? That's Kakuzu for you. Chiba was secretly impressed. A true professional. The job was done thoroughly.
"…"
Chiba prepared to leave with the Seven-Tails jinchūriki, but noticed Kakuzu hadn't turned to go. The man's beady, turtle-like eyes were fixed on him, staring darkly.
Chiba understood immediately. Kakuzu was waiting for his payment for this "job."
"Kakuzu. You've heard, I assume. I've taken Iwagakure. Acquired considerable funds." Chiba paused, then began crafting the vision. "I plan to use those resources to establish an organization independent of Konoha. It will be called 'Akatsuki.' You will manage all of Akatsuki's finances."
"Understood… Leader." Kakuzu was visibly satisfied. Chief Financial Officer of the Akatsuki? Now that sounded like a lucrative position.
I wonder what Kakuzu will think when he finds out the Akatsuki is full of kids. Watching Kakuzu's retreating back, Chiba mused silently.
…
With the two-month deadline nearly up, Chiba gathered the remaining Tailed Beast power and headed for the underground palace to avoid arousing Madara's suspicion.
"Senior Madara. As promised, I've obtained the power of the last three Tailed Beasts. We can begin your treatment."
Chiba hadn't brought the Seven-Tails jinchūriki. Instead, he held up three sealed scrolls, a smile on his face.
"Good! Chiba! I knew I wasn't wrong about you!" Madara Uchiha was overjoyed, rising directly from his stone throne. After decades… he had finally reached this day!
Chiba was equally full of anticipation.
Though aged and frail now, Madara's essence had already touched the power of the Creation of All Things, bringing him to the threshold of the Sage of Six Paths' level. Successfully healing him… the reward would surely match Madara's formidable strength.
"Senior Madara, no time to waste. Shall we begin?"
"Yes!"
Two equally impatient men reached an instant agreement. Madara formed a hand seal. Behind him, the inert form of the Gedo Statue began to stir slowly.
"Release the seals, Chiba," Madara's voice held a trace of strain.
Even without the Rinnegan, traces of the power of the Creation of All Things lingered in his body. Simple control of the Gedo Statue to seal a small amount of Tailed Beast chakra was still within his capabilities.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Chiba took the six scrolls offered by Black Zetsu. Lining up all nine scrolls in a row, he released the seals one by one. A berserk energy instantly flooded the entire underground chamber.
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