Two days later.
Inside the Hokage Office of Konoha.
Sunlight streamed through the window. Arashi sat leisurely with his legs crossed, holding the urgent battle report that had just arrived.
The paper rustled softly between his fingers.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"Suna has surrendered."
"Kazekage Rasa confirmed dead."
"The Wind Daimyo has submitted a letter of surrender and is willing to be reduced to an affiliated prefecture under the Land of Fire."
Every line was steeped in blood and carried an intoxicating sense of power.
Arashi tossed the report onto the desk and leaned back in his chair.
Comfortable.
This was how transmigration was supposed to be.
Bang.
The office door was suddenly pushed open. Tsunade walked in with a dark expression, clutching a document in her hand. Hiruzen followed behind her, his face full of worry.
Tsunade stepped forward and slammed the document onto the desk in front of Arashi.
He glanced at it. A casualty report.
"Are you happy?" Tsunade asked, her voice barely holding back her anger.
Arashi looked at her calmly. "We won the war and expanded our territory. Should I be crying instead?"
"Look at this," Tsunade snapped, pointing at the list. "More than seven hundred dead. This is the price you paid."
"Over six hundred died on the Iwa front, and dozens more on the Wind side."
"When you include the seriously injured and permanently disabled, the total exceeds two thousand," she said, leaning forward with both hands on the desk, staring straight at him. "Two thousand people. Not two thousand numbers."
"Just a few days ago, they were alive. They were laughing. Their families were waiting for them at home."
"Now they are all gone, all because of your ambition to annex other countries."
The office fell into silence, the air heavy and oppressive.
Hiruzen stepped forward, trying to ease the tension.
Before he could speak, Arashi's smile faded. He stood up slowly, walked around the desk, and stopped in front of Tsunade.
"Ambition?" His tone was calm. "Do you really think I want to rule the world for myself?"
"Isn't that exactly what this is?" Tsunade shot back.
"You could say that," Arashi replied, then shook his head. "But that is not my true goal."
He turned and walked toward the floor to ceiling window, looking out over Konoha.
"Tsunade, you have lived longer than I have. You have seen more than I have."
"How many years has it been since the First Hokage founded the village?"
"Forty seven years," Tsunade replied quietly.
"Has there ever been real peace during those decades?" Arashi suddenly turned around, his voice rising. "Three Great Shinobi Wars."
"When you include civilians, how many people died? Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands."
He looked straight at her. "Why do wars keep happening?"
Tsunade fell silent. Sarutobi spoke instead. "Because the other villages covet our land."
"Exactly," Arashi said, pointing at Sarutobi. "They have always coveted it."
"People are greedy. First they want to survive. Then they want to live better. Simply beating them is not enough."
"Because there are five voices in the shinobi world. Five great villages. Five Daimyo."
"Everyone needs resources. Everyone wants a larger share. As long as this structure exists, war will never end."
He tapped the desk lightly, the sound sharp and clear. "Is seven hundred deaths a lot?"
"But if I do not fight this war, if I do nothing, then in a few years it will not be hundreds dying. It will be tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands."
A fanatical light flickered in Arashi's eyes.
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the entire world. "Only through unification, only when one nation rules the entire shinobi world, can war truly end and real peace begin."
"Then who would be left to fight?"
"What I am doing is performing a complete surgery on a rotten world."
"Bleeding is unavoidable."
Tsunade opened her mouth.
She wanted to argue, to call it twisted logic. But images flashed through her mind.
Senju Tobirama sacrificing himself to cover their retreat.
Nawaki.
Dan.
If there truly were only one nation in the shinobi world, would those tragedies have happened?
After a long silence, Tsunade finally steadied herself. She leaned against the desk, her voice hoarse. "You are a madman."
"A madman?" Arashi sneered and turned his gaze to Hiruzen. "Third Hokage, let me ask you something."
"Please speak," Hiruzen replied.
"You have a grandson, correct? Konohamaru."
"Yes."
"Do you want him to go to war in the future?"
Hiruzen shook his head. "No. I only wish for him to live safely."
"And what about his children?" Arashi pressed. "Do you want them to go to war?"
Hiruzen shook his head again. "No."
"That is why I started this war," Arashi said coldly. "And why I broke my word and annexed the Land of Wind."
He slammed his hand on the desk. "If future generations are to live in a stable and peaceful world, then our generation must fight every war there is to fight."
"Bloodshed and sacrifice are inevitable."
"As long as the future can live in peace, even hundreds of thousands or millions of deaths would be worth it."
Tsunade and Hiruzen fell silent. The sheer scale of his vision shook them to the core.
After a long while, Tsunade rubbed her temples and sighed. "Even so, are we not moving too fast?"
"Now that we have swallowed the Land of Wind, the other three countries will not stay idle. Everyone understands what happens when the lips are gone and the teeth are exposed."
"If Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri join forces…"
"Join forces?" Arashi laughed. "With them?"
"Do you know why the Land of Wind surrendered so quickly after Suna was destroyed?"
"Let us talk about the villages," he continued, sitting back down. "Have you noticed that these recent wars always involve several nations targeting one?"
"The grudges between them run deep. Even if they unite, how much sincerity will there really be?"
"Besides, Iwa has already been crippled, Kumo exists in name only, and Kiri is still trapped in civil strife."
"Looking at the entire shinobi world, the current Land of Fire is unmatched."
Hearing this, Hiruzen had to admit that Arashi's planning was terrifyingly thorough. He had anticipated every possible reaction.
"Very well," Tsunade said at last, picking up the casualty report. "Since you have thought it through, we will follow your plan."
"But the compensation for the fallen must be sufficient. I will personally oversee it."
"Do not worry," Arashi replied calmly. "Money is not an issue."
He pulled another document from the drawer and tossed it over. "Take a look at the next set of arrangements."
Tsunade skimmed it, her brow furrowing again. "You want to station forces permanently in Suna?"
"How many people will that require?"
Even Konoha could not sustain that kind of long term burden. Fully absorbing a large country required an enormous amount of manpower.
"I already have plans for governing the Land of Wind," Arashi said lightly.
"Konoha will only be responsible for military affairs."
He tapped the desk with his finger. "Konoha has many shinobi clans. Add in the Wind Country clans who have sworn allegiance, and that will be enough."
"Summon all the clan members, especially from the major clans. Do not always send only the young ones to the front lines. They should contribute as well."
(To be continued.)
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