"The detailed measures for the first reform of the Shinobi World will be announced by the Secretariat in seven days."
Uchiha Soren's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's. His tone carried unquestionable authority.
"Now, the second matter is the division of the territories of the Magic Continent."
Finally, it was their turn.
Jircniv secretly rejoiced.
The Shinobi World was clearly not a completely unified block, and that gave him a sliver of hope.
However, the Supreme Leader's overwhelming authority also sent a chill through his heart.
The oppressive atmosphere below—where no one dared oppose a single word—forced him to raise his vigilance to the highest level.
He prepared himself for the storm to come.
"The Re-Estize Kingdom will be renamed the Heaven Province.
Its capital will be the Heaven Capital, located at the former royal capital."
"The Baharuth Empire will be renamed the Earth Province.
Its capital will be the Earth Capital, located at the former imperial capital."
"The Slane Theocracy, founded by the Six Great Gods, will be renamed the Mystic Province.
Its capital will be the Mystic Capital, located at the former holy capital."
"The Argland Council State will be renamed the Yellow Province.
Its capital will be the Yellow Capital, located at the former capital city."
After assigning names to the four conquered nations, Soren looked at the silent atmosphere below.
He knew exactly what everyone wanted.
Land.
Population.
With those two things, the foundation of future warlords could easily be formed.
But Soren, deeply influenced by the concept of a unified empire from his previous life, had nothing but disdain for feudal partition systems.
With teleportation arrays available, there was no such thing as territories too far away for Konoha to control.
Every piece of land.
Every citizen.
All belonged to him.
Still—
If you expected horses to run but refused to feed them grass, your subordinates would inevitably slack off.
The Sharingan could certainly force absolute loyalty.
But relying on the Sharingan for everything would make him a rather pathetic ruler.
"All officials required by provinces, cities, and counties will be selected from shinobi who earned military merit during the conquest."
"For Provincial Governors, the minimum strength requirement will be Blazing Sun level."
"For City Governors, the minimum requirement will be Bright Moon level."
"For County Governors, the minimum requirement will be Morning Star level."
"If one's strength does not meet the requirement, they may participate in elections for deputy positions."
"Deputy positions may have a rank requirement two levels lower than the main position."
Strength was the face of authority.
Soren had no desire to someday hear absurd news like a governor being assassinated.
However, the current strength of the shinobi world could not even fully staff the five provinces of the Shinobi Continent.
But he firmly believed that in the future—
Morning Stars would be as common as dogs.
Bright Moons would fill the streets.
When those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall immediately heated up.
Everyone present was sharp enough to understand the message.
The fertile lands themselves were not something they should dream about controlling.
But official positions and authority—
Those were prizes they could fight for.
Becoming a Provincial Governor was essentially equivalent to being both a daimyō and a village leader in the old system.
Although various laws would limit their authority, within those limits—and through the subtle art of human relationships—
It would be more than enough to raise an entire family clan to prominence.
Genji immediately began reconsidering his plans.
He had originally intended to keep Yagura Karatachi within the Water Province.
But now he changed his mind.
With the current strength of the Water Capital, they could develop both the Shinobi Continent and the Magic Continent simultaneously.
He himself would remain behind to govern the Water Province.
Meanwhile, Yagura could compete for governorship in the four provinces of the Magic Continent.
In fact—
The resistance he would face might be far lower than Genji initially expected.
Even becoming a Deputy Governor would be acceptable.
After all, aside from a few major figures from Konoha personally stepping in, every provincial governor seat was currently vacant.
Right now, it was a situation of more meat than wolves.
If they didn't seize opportunities everywhere and instead stayed where they were—
That would be pure stupidity.
"A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity… what a pity."
Hanzō of the Salamander looked troubled.
After calculating the strength of his forces, he could only sigh and focus on governing his own Rain Capital and Rain Province.
Rōshi held similar thoughts.
The Earth Capital could not afford instability right now.
As for Chiyo of the Wind Capital—
After carefully considering her brother Ebizo, the One-Tail Jinchūriki Bunpuku, and their shinobi forces—
She ultimately chose to give up as well.
The world was vast.
As long as they became stronger, there would always be opportunities in the future.
After giving everyone a moment to think, Soren continued.
"At the same time, each province will establish a Security Bureau."
"The Director of each bureau will be appointed directly by the Konoha Security Bureau."
"I hope all of you will obey the law and avoid crossing the line."
As long as people were never given the chance to commit wrongdoing—
They would never do it.
Understanding this perfectly, Soren had effectively placed a sharp sword above everyone's heads.
The external Security Bureau directors would all be Uchiha with awakened Sharingan.
These stubborn Uchiha were impossible to sway through normal methods.
Unless someone used physical force to destroy them, their beliefs would never change.
No one found this arrangement surprising.
In fact, from Genji's perspective—
The presence of checks and balances actually made him feel more reassured.
At the very least, it proved that Soren was not simply playing a cruel game before eventually eliminating them all.
Furthermore—
A large forest always produced all kinds of birds.
A governor could control his own subordinates.
But he could not necessarily control the relatives of those subordinates.
If some spoiled idiot committed atrocities somewhere down the chain of authority—
The Security Bureau would be able to detect and punish it early.
Otherwise, pulling up a single carrot might expose the entire patch of soil—
Dragging the upper officials down as well.
Genji's reasoning was not unusual.
Anyone lacking intelligence would never have made it into this conference room.
Even if some had not thought this far yet, none of them were foolish enough to publicly disagree with Soren.
"The desert city south of Heaven Province, the Holy Kingdom to the southwest by the sea, and the Dragon Kingdom and Elf Kingdom to the east of Mystic Province…"
"Heaven Province and Mystic Province will take responsibility for contacting them."
"If they are willing to submit, that is naturally best."
"If not—"
"Then we will resolve the matter by force."
The cold words caused the entire hall to fall silent.
Remembering Rōshi's previous experiences, Genji immediately decided to prevent Yagura from becoming Deputy Governor of either of those provinces.
It was not that he refused to serve the Supreme Leader.
But resources were limited.
Genji already struggled to develop two provinces with the manpower he had.
His personal interests also told him it was foolish to sacrifice forces for benefits he might never obtain.
Soren's gaze swept across the hall.
"Among those present," he asked calmly,
"who is willing to take the positions of Governor of Heaven Province and Governor of Mystic Province?"
The moment he finished speaking—
Several Uchiha shinobi immediately stood up.
Yuki Haku stepped forward without hesitation.
One group followed the philosophy of dancing on blades and singing amid flames.
The other wished to conquer lands for Soren and suppress all opposition.
Faced with such competition, the other shinobi who had considered stepping forward quietly withdrew.
There was no need to embarrass themselves.
Then—
Soren's gaze shifted toward the back of the conference hall.
Two young women slowly stood.
One was Antilene, from the former Slane Theocracy—now the Mystic Capital.
The other was Renner, from the former Re-Estize Kingdom—now the Heaven Capital.
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