"Waaah!"
Accompanied by the loud cry of a newborn, Mahiru Uchiha had successfully given birth to a son of the Uchiha Clan.
Soushu Hyuga, who had been anxiously waiting outside, finally felt his heart settle back in his chest.
The news spread like wildfire across Hakone Prefecture within less than a minute, and everyone rejoiced at hearing it.
"Congratulations, Lord Soushu!"
"What timing! The Shogunate's just been founded, and now a young heir's been born—it's destiny!"
"The Hyūga-Uchiha Alliance is unshakable!" shouted an Uchiha ninja representing Fugaku Uchiha at an emergency meeting.
In short, the arrival of the newborn child eased, to some extent, the gloom brought by recent defeats. In its own way, this event was also seen as a lucky omen for the new Shogunate.
The barrier surrounding the delivery room silently dissipated, followed by the gentle opening of the door. A female Medical Ninja with a warm and graceful face stepped out first. She smiled gently to calm the nervous White Stone.
"Lord Soushu, please rest assured," she softly reassured. "Everything went smoothly, without even the slightest complication."
"Excellent! All the Medical Ninjas shall receive generous rewards!"
After confirming everything with the Medical Ninja, Soushu rushed hurriedly into the delivery room.
As soon as he entered, his gaze fell on Mahiru Uchiha, her face pale and looking unusually tired.
"Darling..."
Mahiru immediately spotted Soushu's flustered face. With support from the Medical Ninja beside her, she began trying to sit up.
"You should lie down and rest for now!"
Soushu quickly moved forward, gently pushing Mahiru back onto the bed, then carefully wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Now the medical ninja finally got it—he'd turned down help on purpose, so they could share that sweet little moment alone.
Nevertheless, Mahiru didn't care about others' opinions, simply basking in the tenderness Soushu showed her.
"See the baby now."
After quite a while of indulging in the warmth between them, Mahiru reminded him softly.
"Oh! Right, right!"
Soushu suddenly appeared to awaken from a daze.
Even though Mahiru knew he was faking it, she still melted inside.
"It's a boy!"
The Medical Ninja immediately picked up the infant from the nearby crib. Soushu took the baby somewhat awkwardly, as if cradling a priceless treasure.
"He looks a bit like you—especially his eyes."
Smiling broadly, Soushu then brought the baby close to Mahiru, gently showing him off.
"Giggle... giggle..."
Unlike ordinary infants, aside from his loud cry at birth, the child now made sounds that seemed more like laughter.
He even stretched out his tiny arms and tightly hugged Soushu's arm.
"His eyes seem to have inherited the Byakugan."
Mahiru examined him briefly and voiced her opinion.
"Maybe he'll awaken the Sharingan as well. If so, he'll be the first to inherit both the Byakugan and Sharingan—the combined power of two legendary dojutsu bloodlines."
Hyuga Soushu's lips curled into an involuntary wide smile, his eyes sparkling with unprecedented anticipation and excitement.
"Perhaps."
Mahiru Uchiha straightened up once more. This time, however, Soushu still had both arms full holding the child, so she couldn't lie back down to rest.
"Let me hold him."
"Just be careful not to tire yourself."
With great care, Hyuga Soushu placed the baby gently into Mahiru Uchiha's arms.
"I may be many things, but at the very least I'm an Uchiha with Three-Commas—my stamina isn't *that* bad yet."
Mahiru gave him a look somewhere between scolding and laughter before gently rocking her arms and humming a lullaby she barely remembered.
"He will be *the* heir."
After a long while, once the infant had slowly closed his eyes in sleep, Hyuga Soushu finally spoke.
"And perhaps even the ruler of the Ninja World."
Mahiru chuckled softly. "It's high time the Uchiha Clan began its own integration process."
"What did you just say!"
Though Soushu's heart pounded with excitement, he maintained a composed exterior.
"Don't pretend! Don't I know you by now!"
Mahiru puckered her lips forward deliberately.
Hyuga Soushu immediately leaned in for a kiss.
"Was I supposed to hear that!"
The Medical Ninja, who had yet to leave, suddenly felt her skin crawl.
The birth of their young prince was hailed by the Hyuga Clan as a historic milestone.
Especially after being formally presented to everyone on the seventh day, both the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans marveled at this pinnacle offspring born from their dual bloodlines.
He inherited the mysterious Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan—a gift that allowed him to perceive everything in the world. At the same time, he bore the jet-black hair emblematic of the Uchiha Clan. This perfect blend of traits made him look like a masterpiece born from nature itself—flawless and breathtaking.
Of course, the young prince was still just a babe in arms at this point. His talent and potential along the ninja path would require time to uncover and cultivate. Yet merely possessing the identity of a dual-bloodline inheritor from these two clans was already sufficient proof of his extraordinary significance and profound value.
Following ninja clan customs, Hyuga Soushu wasn't in a rush to give the child his formal name, so they simply referred to him as "Taro (a nickname)" for now, planning to bestow his official name after three months.
In addition, significant effort had to be invested in organizing the newly established Shogunate.
Although the Hokage faction within Konoha, part of the Ruling Four Ninja Clans, certainly did not wish to see Hyuga Soushu grow too powerful or unify the various ninja clans, circumstances dictated otherwise—they had no room for maneuver.
Either relinquish some of the clan's authority and join the Shogunate, or stay within the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation and risk being gradually sidelined by its other members.
After all, no one liked free riders who reaped benefits without bearing responsibilities.
So, after heated debates, Konoha's F4 eventually had no choice but to subtly signal their respective ninja clans to officially align with the Shogunate.
From then on, atop the framework of the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation as an economic entity, a new military organization began to take shape.
The news immediately sent ripples through some dependent forces.
The most direct reaction came from Sanshouo Hanzo of the Land of Rain.
Although the Rain Ninja Village was nominally an independent organization, even while cooperating on the surface with others, the gap and distrust between them were undeniably real.
The Land of Rain benefited greatly from canal excavation projects and water resource distribution, but these gains paled in comparison to the immense wealth of the Ninja Clan Capital Organization.
After all, that Organization was essentially a ninja clan enterprise. Even if Sanshouo Hanzo wished to join it earnestly, he knew very well how impossible that would be.
But the Shogunate meant something entirely different!
The term "Seii" (Conquering Barbarians) clearly pointed toward the two so-called Summoned Beast Holy Places — Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave.
However, viewing it merely as a military group targeting supernatural beings would be overly simplistic.
Once an organization gets powerful, it's natural for it to start consolidating internally, and such processes inevitably bring opportunities for reshuffling power dynamics.
Sanshouo Hanzo wanted to seize this rare opportunity.
After all, he was getting old and no longer wanted to keep fighting endlessly.
Therefore, while sending his congratulations for the official establishment of the Shogunate, Sanshouo Hanzo also formally applied to join the Shogunate system.
Guided by the principles of reciprocity and valuing talent like a precious horse bone, Hyuga Soushu readily approved, welcoming the Rain Ninja Village led by Sanshouo Hanzo into the ranks of the Shogunate.
Following this, the New Mist of the Land of Water also submitted a request to join the Shogunate system.
After all, the current New Mist only held control over part of the islands that once belonged to the former Land of Water, with vast influences of ninja clan corporations across its territory; under such circumstances, dreaming of reviving the Mist Legacy was simply wishful thinking. If they couldn't beat them, then joining them was the obvious move!
Eventually, everyone would become part of the same family; surely they wouldn't try to swallow up New Mist entirely!
Regarding New Mist's application, Hyuga Soushu again opened the gates warmly, accepting yet another new member.
Thus, the Shogunate expanded its sphere of influence beyond the original Ninja Clan Capital Organization framework.
What followed next was the challenge of reorganizing the Shogunate's military strength.
The most straightforward change involved transferring the Standing Ninja Army originally belonging to the Organization directly under the Shogunate's command. Though for the ninja within this force, it was little more than switching identification papers, symbolically it marked a brand-new beginning for the Shogunate's military buildup.
What followed next was the expansion of the Standing Ninja Army.
With the economic strength of the Ninja Clan Capital Organization, maintaining a fully professional ninja army posed no major difficulty; the main concern was carefully determining the number of personnel contributed by each clan.
Even with slight delays, the newly added three thousand positions were quickly allocated within a very short time. The newly joined Rain Ninja Village and New Mist claimed five hundred spots each.
Moreover, as the undisputed ruler of the Shogunate, Hyuga Soushu further assigned the Shinsengumi of the Hyuga Clan as the Shogunate's direct security unit, ensuring the Hyuga Clan's authority within the hierarchy of the Shogunate.
Though none could challenge Hyuga Soushu's dominance for the Shogun title today, the position technically required unanimous support from all ninja clans within the Military Organization. Better safe than sorry.
Beyond the Standing Ninja Force, Hyuga Soushu had also ordered each clan to form its own ninja detachment composed of clan members, with a minimum strength of one hundred ninjas each. The size of each detachment determined its assigned rank within the Shogunate military hierarchy.
These clan-led detachments served as the Seii Taishogun's operational reserve forces.
Even if the Standing Ninja Force had grown beyond six thousand strong, it was still merely an elite mobile unit. In case of large-scale war in the future, second-line clan units would need mobilization. Ordinary ninja outside the Shogunate structure would serve as the third wave of deployment.
In this way, the total number of rapidly deployable forces under the Shogunate easily surpassed ten thousand—fully professionalized and non-agricultural ninja troops!
Regarding the establishment of the Shogunate, Onoki, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, expressed strong concerns.
While he disliked the Holy Places' interference in the Ninja World just as much, objectively speaking, compared to those outsiders, the threat posed by the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation's Shogunate was even greater to what remained of the traditional Hidden Village powers.
Especially after fiefs located far away in the Land of Water began continuously funneling profits back to Iwagakure, Onoki felt increasing anxiety.
The real issue was the long-distance supply routes from the Land of Water fiefs to Iwagakure in the Land of Earth—those routes were entirely out of Iwagakure's control.
If returning fleets from the Land of Water chose an all-sea route, they first must pass inspections by the naval forces of the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation. Then they'd enter the northern waters of the Land of Lightning before finally reaching ports in the Land of Earth. This transportation process not only faced dangers from raging waves but also left them easy targets for interceptors.
Alternatively, taking a land route meant traversing territory completely controlled by the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation—placing them in a clearly subordinate position.
Yet Onoki couldn't simply abandon his holdings in the Land of Water, given the immense benefits flowing back through those territories.
"What if we simply dispatched some of our ninja to enter the Shogunate military structure?" Kitsuchi suggested.
"Are you proposing we place Iwagakure itself under the command of that Byakugan boy from Hyuga?!" Upon hearing this, Onoki immediately flew into a rage.
"That isn't exactly what I meant," Kitsuchi hastily clarified. "Rather, perhaps we could deploy a portion of our ninja under the nominal identity of a Shogunate-affiliated detachment. When necessary, Iwagakure could participate in the Shogunate's anti-rebel campaigns. In this manner, we'd be forming a tactical partnership."
Kitsuchi continued: "And once we formed a genuine military partnership like this, at least until the two Holy Places were destroyed, we wouldn't have to worry about the Shogunate moving against us."
"But even nominally entering such an alliance would reduce our proud Iwagakure lineage to the same level as those Corporate Clans! It's out of the question!"
Onoki remained completely resistant to the idea, which left both Kitsuchi and several Iwa ninja clans interested in joining the Shogunate structure feeling deeply disappointed.
"If it's in the name of a ninja clan?"
Kitsuchi hesitated for a moment before carefully probing further.
"Then they will be deemed rogue ninja, and the Anbu will exterminate them completely!"
Onoki immediately saw through the subtle intentions of his legitimate son and the other Iwagakure ninja clans, decisively rejecting all their thoughts right from the root.
"We understand."
Seeing his stance, everyone knew there was absolutely no hope left. They could only leave discontentedly and discreetly.
After everyone left, Onoki's previously tense expression finally began to relax.
After a long while, he let out a deep sigh, his face full of helplessness.
The ninja clans of Iwagakure were unwilling to remain idle, and his own ambitious yet ineffective legitimate son was equally unwilling to stay quiet.
He knew all too well.
However, the problem lay in the fact that although Iwagakure appeared to be flourishing with unprecedented prosperity on the surface, numerous underlying crises remained difficult to resolve.
To begin with, ever since the heart of the Ninja World had been fully controlled by the Ninja Clan Capital Corporation, Iwagakure, which held only the Land of Earth as its territory, had already begun losing momentum. Both funding from the Daimyo and payments from missions were gradually declining.
Only the extraordinary profits brought in from territories under actual control in the Land of Water masked this issue.
Yet few people could perceive these long-term dangers lurking beneath an outwardly prosperous situation.
This was what haunted Onoki the most.
"A village without unity is impossible to lead."
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