At the main gate of Konoha in the early morning, a special visitor arrived— a soldier on horseback, who had rushed from the capital, claiming to have an urgent matter to report to the Hokage.
Originally, the scattered rebel factions within the Land of Fire were not much of a threat.
However, for some unknown reason, they had suddenly conquered multiple cities in succession, winning battle after battle, and were now advancing towards the capital with unstoppable momentum!
This unexpected turn of events caught General Oda off guard.
The cities that had fallen were all heavily fortified, and even an elite army would need at least half a month to breach them.
There was no way that a force composed of mere vagrants and rioters should be capable of such feats.
The only possible explanation was that powerful ninja were among the rebels!
Since the war now involved ninja, the ordinary soldiers of the Land of Fire had no real means of resistance.
Their only option was to seek help from Konoha.
After listening to the soldier's report, Makoto merely ordered someone to take the messenger to rest.
Then, he returned home for another round of sleep.
With winter setting in, temperatures were dropping rapidly, and Makoto found himself reluctant to get out of bed in the morning.
This world had neither air conditioning nor central heating.
While he could use vibrations to regulate the temperature around him, doing so would constantly consume his chakra and energy.
He began considering whether the Tower of Solarity could be enhanced with temperature regulation, allowing Konoha to maintain a comfortable climate throughout the year.
It seemed worth a try.
However, he didn't have the time to experiment with it now.
There were already many matters demanding his attention every day— progress in the fields of mechanical and biological sciences, planning for the village's expansion, commercial strategies for the new Konoha city, and countless other administrative affairs…
Besides that, there were also some pressing matters that Makoto planned to initiate in the coming days— such as integrating all the independent ninja factions within the Land of Fire.
Once he got busy, time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and before he knew it, evening had arrived.
Hakumen had returned.
"Lord Hokage, the capital has fallen. The rebels have taken control."
"They moved quite fast," Makoto said, setting down his pen.
He had just visited the Daimyo's funeral yesterday.
"What about the royal family and the generals?"
Hakumen replied, "The royal family was completely wiped out by the rebels. The generals are all dead. As for the ministers and officials, those who were meant to survive are still alive."
Makoto nodded lightly.
He listened to this news— a revelation that could shake the entire nation— without the slightest change in his expression.
"Summon all the Jonin in the village. We're having a meeting!"
Half an hour later, the largest conference room in the Hokage Building was filled with people.
Every active-duty Jonin in the village was present.
At the forefront stood Maruboshi Kosuke, the captain of the Jonin squads, while Kakashi and the other Crown members stood on the opposite side.
The room buzzed with murmured conversations, as everyone was curious about why the Hokage had suddenly called for this meeting.
It wasn't until Makoto entered the room with Hakumen that the chatter ceased, and silence filled the space.
Taking his seat at the head of the table, Makoto swept his gaze over the assembled Jonin.
"You've all heard about the Daimyo's passing, haven't you?"
Many people nodded upon hearing this, and Maruboshi Kosuke responded, "We only just heard about it."
Makoto continued, "Just today, the rebels have taken the capital, slaughtering countless members of the royal family and government officials."
This news left everyone in the conference room stunned.
The capital had fallen... The capital of the Land of Fire…
Why did this sound so absurd?
That was their nation's capital— and yet it had been overrun by a group of rebels made up of mere civilians!
"I've received information that powerful ninja were secretly aiding the rebels from the shadows, which is how they were able to take the capital so quickly."
Someone couldn't help but ask, "What kind of ninja?"
"Still unclear." Makoto slowly shook his head.
"I had previously sympathized with the rebels, believing they had no choice but to revolt because they couldn't even feed themselves. But given the current situation, we can no longer allow them to continue wreaking havoc and harming the country."
"From now on, Konoha must do everything in its power to save the Land of Fire!"
Suppressing the rebellion wasn't as simple as that so-called 'wise prince' suggested—just killing all the rebels.
If things were handled that way, the Land of Fire would be doomed to complete collapse.
Defeating the various rebel forces was easy—ninja had the power to break the will of ordinary people to resist.
But after eliminating the rebel leaders, they still had to deal with the massive number of civilians who would be left as displaced refugees.
The political structure of the major cities in the Land of Fire was in a state of total paralysis—this was far more than just a mess to clean up.
Expecting a group of ninja to take over and govern a country in such a state was an incredibly difficult task.
Makoto laid out a general plan for the pacification process.
First, secure control over the capital.
Second, restore the operation of the major cities.
Third, suppress and integrate all remaining rebel forces.
All of these tasks had to be carried out simultaneously.
The Land of Fire was already in ruins, but no matter how broken it was, Konoha would be the pillar that held it together.
There would be countless difficulties along the way, but the most important thing was to quickly restore hope for survival among the common people—to help them make it through this winter.
On the rooftop of the Hokage Building.
Makoto gazed toward the outskirts of the village.
Due to Konoha's expansion, the surrounding forests had already begun to be cleared.
Expanding from a village the size of a small town into a full-fledged city required a vast amount of land—far more than Konoha originally occupied.
This might be a bit tough on Obito…
Makoto thought to himself.
As night fell and he was about to head home to rest, he suddenly sensed something.
His body shot into the air, soaring out of the village.
His flight speed was astonishing, chakra forming a barrier in front of him to shield against the cold wind.
In no time, he had traveled a thousand miles.
Below him stretched a desolate wilderness.
A lone figure walked slowly across the barren land, destination unknown.
Hovering in the sky, Makoto observed.
The figure below seemed to sense something as well, tilting her head upward to look in his direction.
But the moment she saw Makoto, her expression changed—as if a mouse had spotted a cat.
She immediately turned to flee.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Makoto appeared out of thin air right in front of Anko.
"You… why are you here?" Anko looked at Makoto with a mix of fear and guilt, turning her head away to avoid his gaze.
Makoto simply raised his hand slightly, and in an instant, Anko felt her limbs bound—her chakra stilled into a lifeless pool, completely immobilized.
"What are you doing?!" She struggled fiercely, but it was futile.
"Where is Orochimaru?" Makoto asked.
Anko averted her gaze to the side and let out a cold snort.
"Shouldn't you be calling him 'Lord' Orochimaru? Just because you became Hokage, does that mean you've lost even the basic respect you should have?"
Seeing how stubborn she was, Makoto replied calmly, "If you don't want to talk, that's fine. The interrogation unit in the village is quite skilled—they'll find a way to make you speak."
Anko's expression changed.
She panicked and struggled even more violently. "Hyuga Makoto, you bastard! You pervert! Let me go!"
Makoto stepped closer, closing the distance between them until they were only inches apart.
He reached out, gripping her chin tightly, forcing her to look at him.
His gaze was ice-cold.
"Do you think I'm flirting with you? Tell me where Orochimaru is!"
Anko's mind wavered—she felt a deep fear.
It wasn't the threat of torture that scared her, but rather the chilling attitude Makoto was displaying.
For as long as she could remember, she had been able to act as willful and unruly as she pleased around Makoto.
No matter how blunt or disrespectful she was, he had always tolerated her.
After Orochimaru left, she had unconsciously come to see Makoto as someone close to her.
But now, she realized the distance between them was growing.
With her chin held firmly in his grip, Anko had no choice but to meet Makoto's gaze.
Her eyes trembled slightly as she whispered, "Lord Orochimaru has already died once. Even if he had committed crimes, all grievances should have ended with that. Makoto… I beg you, please let him go."
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