Chapter 264

Kushina opened the door and was immediately taken aback by the scene in the bedroom.

She stomped over angrily, snatching the videotape from Yoichi's hand, and with a restrained voice, she said, "If you're going to visit, don't go snooping through other people's things. It's common courtesy."

"Sorry, Kushina. It just looked familiar. I thought you would've destroyed it by now. Why keep it?" Yoichi replied, unable to suppress the grin creeping up on his face as he looked at Kushina.

The tape she had grabbed was the one Yoichi always gave her.

"I just forgot to destroy it. What are you smiling at? Do you really think I'd watch something so filthy?!"

In her moment of flustered anger, Kushina grabbed Yoichi by the collar, her fiery temperament showing as she intended to warn him. However, before she could finish her warning, Yoichi silenced her with a kiss.

"Mmph... Don't... Naruto is still in the house… Mmph..."

"Naruto is taking a nap right now. I can sense him."

With Yoichi's strength, Kushina had no hope of breaking free unless she activated her Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, but doing so would make too much noise. Reluctantly, her resistance turned into a reluctant embrace as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Before long, Yoichi skillfully undid her green dress, followed by her white shirt and undergarments.

With Kushina now fully exposed, Yoichi used chakra to bind her wrists and ankles before getting off the bed and moving toward the TV and VCR in the room.

These were items he had left at Kushina's place, and though she hadn't dared to throw them away at first, she now seemed reluctant to part with them entirely.

"You... what are you doing... you jerk!"

Seeing Yoichi insert the tape into the VCR, Kushina struggled in a panic, rolling around on the bed, but the chakra restraints on her wrists and ankles were far too strong for her to break.

Embarrassment and anger filled her heart. This jerk only ever found new ways to humiliate her.

"Naruto is still asleep. Let me release the barrier!"

"Don't... don't do this... release the barrier... please, Anata... Anata, please!"

Kushina suddenly gasped as Yoichi made a sudden move, nearly making her cry out. At the same time, the TV lit up with the video, increasing her fear that Naruto might overhear what was happening in the room. In desperation, she softened her tone.

The term she once reserved only for Minato now escaped her lips, directed at someone she detested.

"Put up the barrier, quick!"

"Don't worry, Kushina. But I want to hear you call me that again later. Otherwise, the barrier might not hold..."

With that, Yoichi activated a soundproof barrier, and Kushina sighed in relief.

She wanted to scold him again, but the words turned into something more like a playful complaint.

More than two hours later, Yoichi relaxed a bit and shifted the conversation to something more serious.

"Kushina, give me some of the Nine-Tails' chakra."

The exhausted Kushina couldn't help but lash out, "You jerk! So all of this was just to get some chakra? What a bastard! This village never should have made you Hokage!"

"But you can't deny that ever since I became Hokage, the village has improved. Think back to when you were a kid, and then look at Konoha now. Whose efforts do you think made that happen? Wasn't it your husband's doing?"

"What does this have to do with Minato...?! And those names I called earlier don't count! You forced me to say them!"

Kushina was furious, momentarily attempting to rise from the bed and punch Yoichi, but her legs gave out and she collapsed back down. Her body was sore from all the intense movements she had been subjected to, leaving her too weak to even move for a few minutes.

"And do you think I'm asking for the Nine-Tails' chakra for myself? You, as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, have been targeted. I need to create a substitute Jinchūriki to divert Uchiha Madara's attention. Otherwise, even within the village, you're at risk of being captured."

Yoichi explained, feeding her a glass of water as she lay there, and continued, "Remember what happened with Yugito? Even the Two-Tails was targeted. How could you, as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, possibly escape that fate?"

"Unlike Yugito, you can't reconcile with the Nine-Tails, and there's no way for you to access the higher level of Tailed Beast Sage Mode. I'm only looking out for your safety, yet all I get in return is suspicion and insults."

Kushina's thoughts drifted back to Yugito's experience, and she felt a pang of guilt. But her sympathy quickly vanished when she realized Yoichi's hands were wandering again.

"You really are a jerk! No matter how much you talk, that doesn't change anything! Take your chakra and go! Naruto will wake up soon."

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving."

Yoichi gathered a substantial amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra from Kushina's abdomen. The sealing technique on her body had changed, reinforced by the Yin-Yang Release he had applied earlier.

Now, Kushina could freely access the Nine-Tails' chakra without worrying about it breaking free. No Tailed Beast could resist a Six Paths-level Yin-Yang Release, and the Nine-Tails had essentially become a convenient power source for her.

With the chakra in hand, Yoichi used Hiraishin no Jutsu to leave Kushina's bedroom.

Once alone, Kushina sighed deeply. As she regained some strength, she couldn't help but slap her own cheeks.

Seeing the red marks on her face, Kushina muttered to herself, "I was coerced... yes, that's it. My husband is Minato, and it can only ever be Minato!"

Once her strength returned, Kushina got out of bed, tidied up the room, and replaced the bed linens. She then walked over to the VCR, her face flushing red as she removed the tape. She hesitated for a moment, thinking about smashing it to pieces.

"No, it must be destroyed... But I'll wait until I've gathered all the tapes. Then I'll destroy them all at once!"

She placed the tape in a box, stashing it in a hidden spot in the room. After finishing her task, she left the room to wake Naruto, who had been napping for over two hours.

...

"Edo Tensei!"

Four coffins appeared—those of Kinkaku, Ginkaku, the previous Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, and the previous Two-Tails Jinchūriki—all summoned by Yoichi's Kamui clone.

The clone then inserted control tags into the four Edo Tensei bodies. Once that was done, Yoichi sealed both the Nine-Tails and Two-Tails chakra into the resurrected bodies.

"That should do it. Now all I need to do is parade these Edo Tensei bodies in front of Madara or Black Zetsu."

Before that, however, Yoichi hoped that Madara would first create chaos in Kumogakure, just as he had done in Kirigakure, causing them to lose at least a thousand shinobi.

The shinobi world needed a villain to instill fear—only then could he play the role of the hero.

"It's up to you now. Find Uchiha Madara and unleash the Edo Tensei. It feels strange giving orders to myself," Yoichi mused.

Without a word, the Kamui clone stored the three Edo Tensei bodies in the Kamui dimension and departed. It intended to first hand over the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki's body to the Uchiha Corporation to increase their manpower.

As the clone disappeared into the Kamui space, Yoichi received a surge of chakra and memories, understanding what had occurred.

He used Hiraishin no Jutsu to return to the Hokage's office.

Upon his arrival, Rumi stepped forward and said, "Yoichi-sensei, the intel from Sunagakure has arrived. It's on your desk."

"I see, thank you, Rumi."

Yoichi quickly scanned the report. The war had ended earlier that morning, and by noon, Tobirama had compiled the battle results.

Konoha had suffered 135 casualties, with 24 fatalities—a result Yoichi could accept, considering the much heavier losses on Rasa's side.

Sunagakure had been pacified. Tobirama carefully screened the surrendered shinobi, identifying the hardliners and sealing their chakra, while the remaining shinobi were divided into ten teams for further management.

Sunagakure shinobi with families were allowed to return home. The family bonds would reduce the likelihood of future uprisings, as few would risk their lives and those of their loved ones.

"4,132 Sunagakure shinobi, plus Pakura's 1,080... Over 5,000 shinobi. I think we need to streamline this. Rumi, how many graduates from the special talent class, particularly in administration, do we have?"

"We currently have only one class of graduates, and in administration, there are only thirty people, Yoichi-sensei."

"That's far too few. Oh well, we'll start with Sunagakure... No, I don't like that name anymore. Let's change it to 'Sate Oasis District.'"

Yoichi finished writing his orders and handed the document to Rumi to rewrite and send to Tobirama.

The plan was to establish a new oasis town, incorporating the two existing settlements and Sunagakure. Nearly 100,000 civilians and shinobi from Sunagakure would be divided into four regions.

Yoichi also ordered the delivery of Konoha forehead protectors to the newly assimilated shinobi and civilians, and a census to be conducted. Those with clean records would be allowed to join Konoha, shedding their Sunagakure affiliations.

The Uchiha Corporation was tasked with dispatching construction teams to the Land of Wind. Once the oasis towns were built, the people of Sunagakure would become fully dependent on Konoha, as they would recognize who had truly improved their lives.

Once the civilians aligned with Konoha, the shinobi families would follow. With the right policies in place, the risk of rebellion would be greatly reduced.

Only a handful of people clung to blind faith.

Yoichi spent a great deal of time handling the affairs of Sunagakure, even summoning Sakumo and promoting him to Konoha advisor, despite his reluctance.

Though Sakumo initially wanted to refuse, Yoichi overruled him in the name of the village, and Sakumo began fulfilling his new duties.

Across the Land of Wind, every town had its own mayor or overseer, none of whom had ever been shinobi. But Yoichi intended for Konoha to take control of everything, meaning he would have to establish a new governmental department.

That would take time, even though they had already begun emergency training for some personnel. For now, the former town mayors would continue to manage affairs, while Konoha would take over security and tax collection.

Those who resisted would be considered enemies of Konoha. Many towns in the shinobi world were run by local landowning families. While these towns were technically part of the Land of Wind, the families had absolute control.

Yoichi had no intention of letting that continue. The shinobi world would have only one authority. Those who wanted power would have to be prepared to sacrifice their lives, and they could take their families to the afterlife to rebuild their little towns in the Pure Land.

As the sun set, Yoichi finished his day—not his whole day's work, just half—and prepared to head home.

He had already begun thinking about his successor. The process of annexing the Land of Wind was troublesome enough, and there was still the Land of Rain, the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Water to deal with.

He would need a few candidates to help him.

"Shisui would be one. Nawaki, maybe. And Kakashi... but I doubt Kakashi would want to be Hokage."

Yoichi considered Kakashi's personality. Although he had moved past his issues with Obito, Kakashi's laziness hadn't changed.

"Rumi, do you want to be Hokage?" Yoichi suddenly asked, considering Hyūga Rimi as a candidate.

Rumi would be a good fit, better than Kakashi. She was hardworking, knowledgeable in administration, and strong enough to be a serious candidate. She would have to compete with Shisui and Nawaki, but she had the potential.

"Hokage?" Rumi pondered for a moment before asking, "Yoichi-sensei, if I became the Sixth Hokage, could I make you my secretary?"

"???"

(End of Chapter)

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