When Hyuga Soushu returned to the Hakone Prefecture city and saw Mahiru Uchiha once again, all his attention was drawn toward that slight, yet distinct curve.
Though there appeared to be no obvious change, Soushu still pressed his ear gently against Mahiru's abdomen, closing his eyes to carefully sense the rhythm of life within.
The feeling was indescribably wonderful—even with Soushu's rare experience of living two lifetimes, he could find no suitable words to express it.
Mahiru merely wore a gentle smile on her lips while gently stroking Sōshu's head as he leaned contentedly against her belly. Her eyes shimmered with endless affection, brimming with tenderness and devotion.
Back in Konoha's thirty-sixth year, when she responded to the village's call to arms, the two of them had journeyed through phases of unfamiliarity, wariness, initial acquaintance, mutual understanding, love, and finally marriage—a path not especially arduous, yet one deeply etched into Mahiru's heart.
After all, no matter how ruthless she might have been on the battlefield, in the end, before Soushu she was simply a woman longing to be loved.
Even after their wedding, they remained as inseparable as ever. Soushu never missed any opportunity for intimacy, yet Mahiru's belly showed no signs of change.
This brought her immense, unspoken pressure.
Even among the mighty Uchiha Clan, kunoichi were still expected to bear offspring—an essential duty for members of a ninja clan.
At first, Mahiru thought it was due to some natural discord between their bloodlines; although both the Hyūga and Uchiha were prestigious Dojutsu Clans, there had been no recorded marriages between them in the past thousand years.
But all doubts and anxieties vanished one morning.
Mahiru had at first assumed her nausea was just caused by missing Soushu, so she hadn't taken it seriously. However, as the vomiting became more frequent, she summoned a medical ninja for a check-up.
Thus, Mahiru had never anticipated such a sudden surprise.
Soushu felt the same way.
Although he had often imagined what his child would look like, planning out their future and joking with Mahiru about seizing the entire Ninja World as a gift for their heir,
whether those words had been jokes or heartfelt wishes didn't matter anymore—now, Soushu truly wished to give the entire world to this unborn child.
And to her!
Slowly lifting his head, Soushu kissed Mahiru softly on the forehead.
Meanwhile, Mahiru's gaze had turned so tender it felt like it would melt.
"Uhh… you're not up for much, are you?"
Soushu understood exactly what Mahiru-chan meant, though he still hesitated slightly.
It wasn't about anything else—he was just worried that getting too rough might harm the unborn child.
"Then how about you take the lead then?"
Mahiru Uchiha gently licked her lips, each breath growing more ragged. Her bright eyes shimmered with springtime tenderness, like gentle waves trembling on the verge of spilling over, brimming with emotions too deep to speak.
This feeling was simply too wonderful!
Hyuga Soushu then lay back, allowing Mahiru, increasingly unable to resist desire, to eagerly tear away all the inconvenient layers of clothing.
After an intense yet delicate love-making session, the two embraced and gazed into each other's eyes — each seeing their own reflection within the other's gaze.
Yet within Mahiru's vision burned an unstoppable ambition.
"What are you planning to do?"
Mahiru asked.
Even by the radical standards of the Uchiha clan, Hyuga Soushu's actions were extraordinary beyond imagination.
Even someone as intimately connected with him as Mahiru often struggled to grasp his seemingly absurd behaviors and arrangements — actions that would later prove essential in ways no one could have predicted.
But time and again, history had confirmed it: every step taken by Soushu had been insightful, every decision perfectly appropriate.
It was as if those beautiful eyes of his, filled with hints of sapphire blue, could see into the future itself.
Mahiru stared, entranced.
"You mean…"
Hyuga Soushu asked.
"The Land of Water, and everything else."
Mahiru whispered like a dreamer. "I'm afraid I might not be able to keep up with you someday."
"Don't worry. The string of the kite will always stay in your hands — tethering me to you forever."
Hyuga Soushu took Mahiru's hand, interlacing their fingers together before placing them over her fertile abdomen.
"The future of the Ninja World belongs to us — and our child's future will be his to claim."
This was Soushu's promise.
"Erase every possible obstacle."
Mahiru's gaze grew even more hazy, her body instinctively shifting closer, planting kisses upon Soushu's forehead and nose.
Earlier, out of concern for harming the child inside Mahiru, Soushu had let Mahiru-chan take control, allowing her to ride him; although this brought a certain novelty, from the perspective of pure emotional release and satisfaction, it had failed to bring true fulfillment.
"You're at it again," Mahiru murmured, reaching down and capturing Soushu's member, teasing it with slow, sensual strokes.
"Do it now — let me truly be yours!"
Soushu closed his eyes, preparing to play his role once more.
"No!"
Mahiru refused firmly, shaking her head.
"You do it — Soushu!"
"It's your choice!" Soushu, already barely holding back, threw caution aside and immediately flipped over, mounting himself atop her.
With the complete destruction of the Land of Water — from its Daimyo to its Courtiers — the Ninja World witnessed the first full eradication of an entire noble bloodline.
The ferocious White Zetsus transformed the Daimyo's palace into a blood-soaked hell, where even the dead were mercilessly torn apart. Although the Water Daimyo was surrounded by powerful guardian ninja and experienced shinobi hired at great expense from the Land of Rain, their strength could only threaten the weaker White Zetsu clones. When facing Madara Uchiha himself, who was impersonating the Third Mizukage, these guardians were as fragile as blades of grass, utterly crushed without resistance.
It wasn't until the third day after this bloody catastrophe that a terrified samurai barely managed to summon his remaining courage, stepping into the foul-smelling palace ruins. Yet merely glimpsing the horrific scene caused his eyes to roll back as he instantly lost consciousness.
By the fifth day, when vultures and crows swirled above the palace like a dark omen and flies blackened the skies like storm clouds blocking out the sunlight, ordinary citizens from the Daimyo's court finally gathered their courage, arming themselves with crude weapons and tying cloth tightly over their mouths and noses, entering the silent, corrupted palace ruins.
Meanwhile, the incomplete corpses had already been mostly devoured by crows and vultures during those days. Although the swarming flies might overwhelm the few hidden aristocrats still alive, to the common people it was nothing—as long as they didn't lay eyes on the gory corpses themselves!
Soon afterward came rampant looting and chaos, with chests overturned and valuables searched for without restraint.
For Madara Uchiha, aside from his lifelong ambition and his eternal rival, Hashirama Senju, there was nothing in the entire Ninja World worth his attention. As for treasures that others prized, Madara considered them even less valuable than a mindless White Zetsu. Thus, after wiping out the palace, he took not even a single coin with him.
But for the desperately poor commoners, especially those daring enough to overcome inner fears and enter the death-silent palace grounds, there was nothing more precious than those blood-stained jewels and gold!
So the corpses of palace attendants and nobles—who had already been pecked at by birds—were now stripped of whatever dignity remained.
As for the once deeply embedded beliefs in the minds of commoners—that daimyos were born sacred and nobles naturally noble—they melted away rapidly under the increasingly brazen pillaging, vanishing entirely like snow beneath the midday sun.
With various royal items continuously flowing out from the Daimyo's Palace, the tragedy of the Land of Water gradually spread beyond its borders.
And so, a nation already hollowed out, its homes emptied ten to nine, became no more than a name on the map.
Even those fortunate Kinki nobles who survived could only struggle to keep their key retainers and personal guards together, feebly maintaining a strong appearance to intimidate increasingly bold civilians and avoid being besieged.
But no matter what followed, one truth stood clear — one of the Five Great Nations had fallen!
In other words, the new era of peace forged by the legendary Ninja God, Hashirama Senju, had finally begun to crumble!
Upon hearing this news, the warring Mist Ninja Clan shinobi and the Bloodline faction immediately ceased their battles, breaking free from their entanglements and unconsciously retreating toward territories controlled by their respective sides.
However, the Third Mizukage—who was directly responsible for this tragedy—retreated into his residence after returning straight to Mist. No one knew what went through his mind, and no one could predict where the Land of Water and Mist would go from here.
Under this strange atmosphere enveloping everything, the islands of the Land of Water finally experienced a rare glimmer of peace. Although no one knew how long this peace would last, it did not stop people from casting aside restraint and indulging recklessly in both their thoughts and actions.
Undoubtedly, the massacre that occurred at the Daimyo's court in the Land of Water shocked and drew close attention from the lords and noble classes of the four major nations across the Ninja World continent.
Yet they didn't even dare to issue a condemnation, let alone unite in forming a coalition force to attack the Land of Water in hopes of restoring order.
The fragility of these Daimyos and Courtier Nobles—who considered themselves sacred and noble—was fully exposed by this incident; once their halos completely faded, these nobles became terrified, proving themselves utterly worthless.
Nowadays, for ninjas, the only remaining value of these nobles and daimyos was as governance tools for managing the state, providing supplies to ninja villages which were poorly skilled in administration and production.
Nothing else remained beyond that.
But since the emergence of the Ninja Clan Capital Corporations shattered the stereotype that ninjas neither engaged in production nor excelled at business management, the role of daimyos and nobles naturally weakened further, causing panic among the ruling class of the Ninja World continent.
At this critical moment, the Third Hokage took decisive action, personally visiting the Fire Country Daimyo's court to meet with the lord. He pointed out flaws in current policies, clearly outlined potential consequences, and through sheer persuasive skill, convinced the lord to increase military funding again, thereby restoring balance and preventing potential chaos in Fire Country.
Hyuga Soushu naturally refused to be outdone either.
First, he ordered Hyuga Hizashi—who was stationed in the eastern regions of Fire Country—to intercept all tax revenues within his jurisdiction, requisitioning them entirely under the pretext of special military funds for the Land of Water. Then, he dispatched ninja forces to garrison every city in the region.
Moreover, banners bearing the crest of the Hyuga clan now flew over every city wall throughout the eastern territories!
Even more importantly, banners changed simultaneously in both the Northern Border Defense Force-controlled territories and the occupied lands of the Land of Lightning. Additionally, local nobles in Fire Country's north were expelled to the daimyo's court under accusations of colluding with foreign enemies, thus securing full control over the northern regions.
As a result, all lands governed by the Hyuga seamlessly connected together, forming an uninterrupted domain without any neutral zones.
The Uchiha Clan naturally refused to lag behind either.
Inspired by Fugaku Uchiha, the Uchiha chose to expand westward, eventually seizing control of western Fire Country.
However, much like the Western Front Line Defense Forces, while these western territories were vast, they suffered from the harshest poverty and barren land within Fire Country. Therefore, despite the Uchiha officially expanding their controlled landmass by more than double, actual gains remained minimal.
At the same time, as various factions within the former Hidden Leaf accelerated their scramble to carve up the Land of Fire, the Daimyo's available tax revenue continued to shrink drastically. Yet in order to keep funding the Hidden Leaf Village for protection, the Fire Daimyo had no choice but to enforce a widespread tax increase. However, territorial losses severely damaged the credibility of the Land of Fire's paper currency, triggering a massive bank run.
After all, with the complete collapse of the Land of Water, noble families holding vast amounts of its currency found their wealth nearly wiped out overnight. Therefore, their only viable option was to quickly exchange those banknotes—likely to lose circulation value—for stable hard currency: Gold Kans.
In an avalanche, no snowflake feels responsible.
The long-term damage caused by the Daimyos and court nobles carelessly issuing paper money came crashing down in this moment of crisis.
Initially, to stabilize the currency, the Daimyo ordered unlimited exchanges. Unexpectedly, this flooded the system with requests. Within just one day, a full fifteenth of the National Treasury's entire Gold Kan reserves had already been withdrawn!
Faced with this situation, the Daimyo could only swallow his pride and, under the pretext of maintaining order, implemented a scheduled and limited exchange policy to buy time.
But not a single person from top to bottom of the Daimyo's court dared utter a word about halting payments altogether.
After all, these days, Ninja—if angered—really wouldn't hesitate to kill!
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