Chapter 78

Chiyo found herself persuaded by Ryan's rhetoric. The names of the Land of Winds had been announced to be merged into the Land of Fire, making it nonsensical for Sunagakure to continue as an independent village. Despite this, Chiyo still couldn't help but ask Ryan about the future of their Sand Shinobi after merging into Konoha.

Ryan had already thought about this before setting off for Sunagakure. He explained his plan, stating, "For those in Sunagakure who wish to move to Konoha, they are welcome to do so. We will also send ninjas to replace those who want to move and integrate Sand Shinobi into Konoha as soon as possible. Additionally, I will assist in resolving the environmental problems in the Land of Wind."

Having discussed the plan, Ryan extended an invitation to Chiyo and the others to join Konoha personally. He expressed his confidence in Konoha's ability to lead the ninja world to true peace, which left Chiyo and the others looking at each other, realizing they had no reason to resist the merger. With the Land of Wind already merged into the Land of Fire, there was no need for Sunagakure to exist separately.

Elder Chiyo, the current head of Sand Shinobi, discussed the matter with Rasa and Pakura. Finally, they all agreed and approached Ryan. They offered their loyalty to him, and as a result, Sunagakure disappeared from the ninja world, becoming a part of the wind department of Konoha.

Rasa became the head of the wind department, Pakura served as the vice-minister, and Chiyo became the minister's assistant.

The three were impressed by Ryan's trust and generosity in handing over another village to them intact. This move only strengthened their admiration for Ryan and his commitment to bringing peace to the ninja world. They believed that with Ryan at the helm, achieving true peace was possible.

The merger of the Land of Winds and Sunagakure proceeded smoothly, with Rasa and others taking the initiative to relocate more than half of the people to Konoha.

This act signaled their commitment to the merger. Following Ryan's orders, teaching ninjas entered the Land of Wind, propagating and brainwashing the people to accept the integration into Konoha. The Sand Shinobi teams were also reorganized with Konoha Shinobi integrated into each squad to facilitate a smooth assimilation of Sunagakure into Konoha.

Rasa and the others were supportive of Ryan's approach, as it was necessary to make these changes to integrate the village successfully into Konoha.

Not long after the merger of the Land of the Winds and Sunagakure, the news quickly swept the entire ninja world. Onoki, who was leading an army to invade Konoha, saw the information and instantly ordered the Rock Shinobi army to stop the march. He was in shock as he looked at the information in his hand.

"Hurry up!!! CALL ALL HIGH-LEVEL NINJAS AND MINISTERS!!!" he exclaimed, relaying the news to the officers beside him. Onoki returned to the camp with a stunned expression, and the others could tell that something extraordinary had happened. Without delay, they ordered the army to rest and summoned all the high-level officials into Onomu's tent.

With the crowd gathered, Onoki handed over the information to everyone. "Oh, My God?!! Is this impossible?! Is the daimyo of the Land of Winds out of his mind? Also, Sunagakure did not offer any resistance and merged directly into Konoha! Didn't Konoha send troops to attack Sunagakure not long ago?" The Iwagakure executives present also expressed disbelief at the unbelievable things described in the report. The information seemed too ridiculous to be true.

As a daimyo of a country, the Land of Winds' leader merging his own country appeared unthinkable. Sunagakure's choice to merge with Konoha despite the recent attack added to the incredulity. All these factors led everyone to initially think that this might be fake news.

To address their doubts, Onoki assured them in a solemn voice, "There can be no problem with this information. It comes from the capital of the Land of Earth, and the Daiymo Mansion has verified its authenticity. This news is all true."

The revelation left all the senior management in silence, absorbing the gravity of the situation. Onoki then ordered Anbu to bring a map, place it in front of everyone. Onoki pointed to the location of the Wind Country on the map and asked them to observe.

"Now, look at the map, do you find anything?" he inquired.

Initially puzzled, everyone examined the map, but since it was an old version without recent changes marked, they couldn't find any immediate issues. Onoki then sighed and summoned clods of soil, shaping them into fire characters that he placed on the map. The fire characters were added to the Wind Country, the Grass Country, and the Rain Country.

The revelation dawned upon everyone. The Land of Wind had merged into the Land of Fire, and this indicated a significant shift in the power dynamics among the nations.

At this moment, only the people looking at the map could see the situation.

"Oh my god! Konoha is so strong now?!" exclaimed one of the onlookers.

"The territory of the Land of Fire is already so big?!" another person remarked in surprise.

"Our Land of Earth seems to be surrounded," someone else observed with concern.

The Iwagakure executives panicked instantly as they saw the map. Konoha's merger with Sand Shinobi had expanded its territory to encircle Iwagakure. Additionally, several small countries nearby, including the powerful Land of Rain, had also fallen under Konoha's control. The Land of Grass and the Land of Rain shared the same fate.

Only a few countries that bordered the Land of Wind, such as the Land of Birds, the Land of Ghosts, and the Land of Snow, remained temporarily unaffected. On the other side, the country of Taki and the country of Tian were the only ones left.

The implications were evident, and everyone understood the gravity of the situation.

"!! Konoha is playing a big game of chess!" one person commented.

"Do they want to unify the ninja world?!" another speculated.

"Maybe Konoha has this plan!" someone added.

The exchange of opinions created a solemn atmosphere among the crowd, and even Onoki fell into a rare silence.

The Land of Earth was now surrounded by Konoha, and with Sunagakure seamlessly incorporated, Konoha's power had reached an unprecedented level.

"This Fourth Hokage is so ambitious!" Onoki commented, contemplating the situation.

"Order the army to retreat! We can't continue to invade Konoha!" he decided after a moment of reflection.

The Iwagakure army began to withdraw. Orochimaru, in charge of the Rock Shinobi battlefield, saw an opportunity. He ordered his troops to chase after Iwagakure, trying to take advantage of the moment.

Iwagakure could only focus on retreating while Orochimaru's troops tangled with them. Orochimaru pursued relentlessly, leading to Rock Shinobi abandon materials on the road. However, Orochimaru was cautious not to provoke Onoki.

Once the battlefield was cleaned up, Orochimaru knew that further pursuit would be unwise.

Onoki hastily sent Anbu to Cloud Shinobi Village and returned to Iwagakure with the army. He understood that Iwagakure alone was no match for Konoha. Their only retreat route was towards the country of Taki, and their only hope was the Kingdom of Thunder's assistance.

Meanwhile, on the Cloud Shinobi battlefield that had also invaded Konoha, the Third Raikage received information from the Land of Winds. As he read the contents, even his bold demeanor couldn't hide his shock. The information seemed all too real.

"What method did this Konoha use?!" Third Raikage exclaimed.

"Quick! Inform all high-level executives to come to the meeting!!" he urgently ordered.

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