Chapter 196

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Kyomu was unstoppable.

As he wandered casually through the Cloud Village with Shisui, every ten kilometers, the Cloud Ninjas had to send someone to spar with Shisui. The price of this sparring was death.

Could they kill Shisui? Of course. But standing behind Shisui was Kyomu. Even if they could kill Shisui, what could they do to stop the ensuing wrath of Kyomu?

Humiliation seeped into the hearts of the Cloud Ninjas with every step Kyomu and Shisui took. Their pride was shattered, piece by piece, as Kyomu's presence grew into a nightmare for this and future generations of Cloud Ninjas.

Unless they could kill Kyomu, the "Kyomu-phobia" among the Cloud Ninjas would never be cured.

"Madara's plan has a flaw," remarked the half-black, half-white figure of Zetsu, who had been watching Kyomu. Thanks to the Mayfly Technique, Zetsu could remain completely undetected unless by Rinnegan or exceptionally advanced sensory techniques.

"Madara was too arrogant," Black Zetsu agreed.

"Aren't you Madara's will?" White Zetsu was surprised. "Isn't saying that a bit inappropriate?"

"I am his will, not him," Black Zetsu's explanation wasn't perfect, but White Zetsu, with his limited intelligence, didn't notice any inconsistencies.

"Black Zetsu, we need to find a way to get this plan back on track."

"Indeed, we need a plan," Black Zetsu's expression darkened. "But I suspect Nagato isn't a match for Kyomu."

"Not necessarily," White Zetsu argued. "Nagato is quite adept at using Madara's Rinnegan now. Even if he can't unleash its full power, dealing with Kyomu shouldn't be too hard."

"But why oppose him?" Black Zetsu proposed a different angle. "Kyomu aims to unify the ninja world under a ninja supremacy system. Although his motives differ, in the mid-term, Nagato's and Kyomu's goals don't conflict."

They didn't conflict at all. Nagato wanted the world to feel pain, with the Five Great Nations being the primary targets, seen as the source of all wars. Nagato's forces were scant, so to make the Five Great Nations feel the pain of war and thus yearn for peace, gaining more power was logical.

Thus, with a little manipulation from Black and White Zetsu, collecting the tailed beasts to revive the Ten-Tails, gaining power strong enough to threaten the entire ninja world, seemed logical to Nagato.

Nagato already had this idea, so before sealing Matatabi, there wasn't much conflict between him and Kyomu.

"But Nagato might not agree," White Zetsu was unsure. "His temperament has changed a lot."

"We need to find a way to make him agree," Black Zetsu said confidently. "And I believe that even if Kyomu won't accept Nagato and his group, he will choose to cooperate with them.

"After all, Kyomu has just established his position and cannot expose many things. Nagato is a good option."

"But what's the point?" White Zetsu still wasn't optimistic. "Kyomu values Yugito highly."

"Yugito is not the first Matatabi Jinchuriki," Black Zetsu sneered. "As long as we find the previous Jinchuriki's soul from the Pure Land, we can temporarily compensate for the lack of Matatabi's chakra in the Gedo Mazo."

"I get it," White Zetsu finally understood. "You plan to use Orochimaru's Edo Tensei."

"You're not as dumb as you look," Black Zetsu urged White Zetsu to leave. "Leave a spore clone to keep watching. We need to find Orochimaru's location and then inform Nagato.

"Everything should fall into place naturally."

With that, Black and White Zetsu disappeared into the ground, heading to find Orochimaru.

Kyomu was unaware of Black Zetsu's schemes. But even if he knew, he wouldn't care. Sometimes, no amount of plotting could surpass sheer power.

Like now.

Kyomu sat in the Raikage's office, his demeanor overbearing.

"Fourth Raikage, is this your sincerity?"

"Kyomu, don't push us too far!" The Fourth Raikage pounded the desk and stood up, glaring at Kyomu.

"This isn't pushing too far; it's just that the strong set the rules and the weak follow," Kyomu tossed the document to the floor. "I'm stronger than you, so my rules are the rules. Just say yes or no, anything else is pointless."

Meeting the Fourth Raikage's eyes, Kyomu insulted him directly. "Compared to your father, you're much weaker.

I admired the Third Raikage's will. Even though he died by my hand, he was the strongest Kage in the ninja world to me. But you... you don't dare to fight or negotiate properly. You hesitate like a pussy."

A white-haired, dark-skinned Mabui pulled out a kunai in anger, ready to fight to the death.

But Kyomu didn't move. Shisui blocked the attack with his blade.

"It seems you don't want to talk," Kyomu tapped the small table beside him. "Then come at me together. Let's see how many of you have inherited the Third Raikage's will."

"Mabui, stand down!" The Fourth Raikage shouted. Mabui, humiliated, put away her kunai and retreated to the corner of the office.

Turning to Kyomu, the Fourth Raikage finally conceded, "I agree to your terms."

"That's better," Kyomu smiled, pointing at the Raikage. "I'm strong, you're weak, and you don't dare to fight. We should have sat down to talk long ago. As for the next ten years, what happens in the Cloud Village and the Land of Lightning is not my concern."

The Fourth Raikage's lips turned blue as he shakily sat down again. "We agree to mutual trade and tariffs, but we cannot accept the requirement for our ninjas to pay and surrender their weapons upon entering your territory.

"Without ninja escorts, how can our caravans be safe?"

Kyomu spread his hands. "My Land of Dragons is absolutely safe. No bandits or rogue ninjas. As long as caravans trade normally and pay the tolls, trade, and tariffs, there's no need for your ninjas."

The Fourth Raikage clenched his fists. Kyomu's policy essentially stripped the Cloud Village of its economic power. While the total fees in the Land of Dragons were lower than hiring ninjas, eliminating bandits and rogues made ninja escorts unnecessary, which caravans would prefer.

Merchants didn't care about national interests; they just wanted to make money.

With the Land of Dragons positioned as a key trade hub between three major countries and offering excellent business conditions, it was destined to become a commercial paradise.

In such a scenario, the Land of Dragons would have a stranglehold on the other nations.

Although the Land of Lightning, surrounded by the sea, wouldn't be as severely affected as the Lands of Earth, Wind, and Fire, any expansion by the Land of Dragons could sever the Land of Lightning's land trade routes.

"If the Land of Earth agrees, then the Land of Lightning will too."

The Fourth Raikage finally gave a conditional agreement.

"Sign the document," Kyomu ordered. "The Land of Earth will have no other choice but to agree."

"Hmph!"

The Fourth Raikage snorted, signing the document and handing it to Kyomu.

Kyomu signed his name with a flourish. The treaty, made in duplicate, was officially established.

"Fourth Raikage, don't worry. The Land of Earth will suffer more than you." Kyomu pocketed his copy, stood, and prepared to leave.

"Kyomu, aren't you afraid we'll unite against you?"

"Not at all," Kyomu shook his head. "Whether it's two nations or three, I'm not afraid, and you won't dare.

"And even if you all unite, I've given you plenty of chances, and you've failed. Nearly six months have passed, and you've done nothing. Should I be scared?"

Waving as he left with Shisui, Kyomu's parting words echoed, "You know my intentions, and I understand yours. So stop playing games. I'll wait for you to recover, and you wait for me to be ready.

"Then, we'll see who truly rules the ninja world."

As Kyomu and Shisui's figures faded, the Fourth Raikage's expression remained grim.

"Kyomu is right," the Raikage said flatly. "All nations are wary, still recovering, and unwilling to take risks. A real alliance will only come in ten years."

Mabui, now the Fourth Raikage's secretary and advisor, replacing the deceased one, nodded. "Raikage-sama, we should request additional funding from the Daimyo."

"The Daimyo will do it without our request," the Raikage looked out the window. "Kyomu has upended the entire ninja world. Even if the Daimyos can't unite now, they all share a sense of crisis.

"Order the ninja schools to fully open B-rank and below ninjutsu courses, expand enrollment, and extend training periods.

"Also, expedite research on reverse-engineering the Heavenly Transfer Technique and finding the lost Six Paths Tools. 

Ensure we have a 20,000-strong ninja army in ten years.

No matter how strong Kyomu and his forces are, five nations united will have nearly 100,000 ninjas. What can they do against that?"

Mabui's eyes shone with excitement and anticipation, already envisioning the future battles.

"Kyomu, we Cloud Ninjas will avenge yesterday's and today's humiliation!"

—

Kyomu didn't care about vengeance.

Now, he would take Shisui to meet the Rock Ninjas.

But before that, he returned to the Land of Dragons.

A month passed during the journey.

Back at the Dragon Village, Kyomu immediately chose to spend the coins to acquire the [Guardian of the Homeland] passive skill again.

Infrastructure development in the Land of Dragons still required time.

Just as Kyomu settled in his office, the little girl-like Ichikishimahime burst in, plopping onto his desk, her bare feet swinging happily.

Gulp, gulp.

Ignoring everything, she grabbed Kyomu's tea and drank it in one go, letting out a satisfied "Ah."

"Ichikishimahime, your dragon horns have grown quite a bit."

"You noticed?" Ichikishimahime flicked the bell on her horn. "I was just going to tell you, but you saw it right away. Are they growing that noticeably?"

"Quite noticeably," Kyomu agreed. "It seems they'll soon have a second fork."

"I think so too," Ichikishimahime grinned, hopping off the desk, her short stature just a head taller than it.

"I'll tell my sisters to stop bothering me," Ichikishimahime sighed. "Oh, by the way, I've made it rain in the drought areas of the Land of Dragons."

"Thank you, Ichikishimahime."

"Not a problem," she waved off the thanks, then asked casually, "Kyomu, when are we expanding the Land of Dragons' territory?"

"Have you hit a bottleneck?" Kyomu raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, the growth of my horns has slowed and even stopped."

"Once I deal with the Land of Earth, we can start expanding."

"Should I accompany you?"

"Aren't you busy?"

"Not at all," Ichikishimahime waved her hand. She and Kyomu's relationship was reversing, with her now seeking his favor.

"Would you be willing to be my mount?"

Ichikishimahime's eyes grew cold but quickly softened.

Taking several deep breaths, she patted her chest and nodded.

"For the sake of my dragon transformation, I'll endure."

(End of Chapter)