Two days later, in the royal capital of Re-Estize.
For a city that called itself a capital, Re-Estize was… underwhelming. Aside from the one main boulevard, crowded and barely respectable, most streets were nothing but rutted dirt and half-rotten cobblestones. Low, aging buildings slumped on either side, silent witnesses to the kingdom's long decline—like shadows at sunset, stretched thin and tired.
Uchiha Rai moved through alleys and rooftops alike, absorbing everything with a mixture of curiosity and cold disdain.
What impressed him most was the kingdom's most infamous underworld syndicate:
Eight Fingers.
Narcotics.
Slave trafficking.
Private "security."
Assassination.
Theft.
Finance.
Gambling.
Smuggling.
A full eight "departments," each attached to one profitable vice.
From that list alone, Rai could picture how deeply Eight Fingers' roots had burrowed into this kingdom. Industrialized crime, scaled up and neatly partitioned—like a corporation built entirely on human misery.
A syndicate like this could never have grown to such monstrous size without protection from above. If the rulers had any will or spine, the group would've been purged long ago.
So the conclusion was obvious:
Eight Fingers belonged to the noble factions feeding on the kingdom.
(Just like the old era's daimyō sucking blood off the villages.)
(These so-called nobles—and their pet crime syndicates—are doing the same thing to this kingdom.)
(I honestly can't understand this king's restraint. If it were the Supreme Leader… all this trash would've been buried in one night.)
Rai stood atop a rooftop, looking toward the center of the city.
There, on a low hill, rose the kingdom's royal citadel: Rolent Castle.
More than twenty round towers were linked by ring walls, forming a double-layered fortress—a shell wrapped around a palace that still gleamed with gold beneath layers of age and grime.
A shadow flickered behind him.
"Lord Rai, all armed forces in the capital have been secured. Only the royal family remains—the king and three princes and princesses."
Rai didn't so much as twitch.
"Sweep the filth in the dark first," he said quietly. "We won't have the Supreme Leader stepping into a reeking sewer."
"As for the royal family… let them at least die understanding why. Their final judgment will be the Supreme Leader's."
With the kingdom's fate sealed in a single sentence, Rai was already on the move again, heading for the next major city.
These last few days, he'd been doing nothing but killing—or moving from one killing ground to the next. The accumulated blood had lit a banked fire in his chest. His Sharingan gleamed scarlet, its tomoe spinning with cold, eager light.
Eight Fingers, it turned out, were about to serve as his personal stress relief.
"Let's see if this Eight Fingers, so feared and 'merciless,' can actually entertain me."
His low chuckle drifted away on the wind high above the rooftops.
That afternoon, in the Supreme Leader's office in Konoha, Soren Uchiha glanced at the stately woman sipping tea across from him.
Then he lowered his gaze to the document she'd brought:
"Appointment Report for the Garrison of the Nine Major Cities
in the Re-Estize Kingdom (Otherworld)"
"The appointments are mostly fine," he said, closing the file with a soft thump. "We can make them official this afternoon."
The report requested a large deployment of combat shinobi, plus a smaller number of support-focused "civil" shinobi to manage logistics and order. It was a heavy draw on manpower, but with Konoha now literally governing the ninja world, it wasn't crippling.
What did make Soren's eye twitch was something else entirely.
He let his gaze slide back to Mito Uzumaki, who sat perfectly poised, serene as always.
"However…" he drawled. "Lady Mito, don't you think your 'allocation plan' for the Uchiha clan might be… a bit much?"
"Fifty Uchiha jōnin."*
"Two hundred Uchiha chūnin."*
"On top of the Uchiha already stationed in the other world."
He exhaled.
"You're basically hollowing out the clan."
Ever since Soren became Supreme Leader of the Shinobi World, there was no longer any distinction between "village shinobi" and "clan shinobi." Everyone was under the General Staff.
Konoha's combat force had now passed 4,000 trained battle-nin.
Four hundred of those were jōnin—roughly equivalent to four hundred Hero-tier combatants by this world's standards, with more than twenty in the Deviationist (Kage) bracket.
And the Uchiha skew in that Kage-tier pool was absurd—nearly half.
Uchiha Shihō, the Uchiha Trio, two additional lava-style Kage-levels, Uchiha Hikari, Minori, Kaori—Uchiha Kaori now in all but name—and of course Soren himself. That made ten already, not counting Uchiha-controlled tailed beasts.
"The greater the power, the greater the responsibility."
Mito set her elegant teacup down and gave him a cool, sidelong look.
"Isn't that Your Excellency's favorite line?"
"And you praise the Uchiha as a clan forged in blood and fire. Without real battles, how are they supposed to keep growing?"
"It's not that you're wrong," Soren muttered. "It's just a lot."
He had a bad habit of treating his people like a rare card collection or a warehouse of precious resources. The thought of sending most of his clan into a distant, foreign power struggle made him reluctant.
"I was going to have them focus on making babies. Push another wave of Uchiha baby boom."
"Babies? What are Uchiha women, breeding stock?"
Now it was Mito's turn to glare.
"In three years, your clan's population has doubled."
"The Senju, meanwhile, are still half-dead."
"Well, whose fault is that?" Soren said dryly. "Maybe if Tobirama hadn't thrown all your prime-age shinobi into that death match with Cloud…"
He shrugged, utterly unsympathetic to Senju misfortune.
"And you aren't in much of a position to lecture Uchiha, Lady Mito."
"The Uzumaki birth rate is every bit as outrageous."
Right now, the entire shinobi world was in a baby fever.
With a whole new continent to conquer and a unified shinobi world behind it, everyone knew resources and land were no longer the bottleneck.
Manpower was.
The logic was simple enough:
Right now, no one could see the gap.
But ten or fifteen years from now, when one clan had seven or eight shinobi children per household and another had only one or two…
Who would control more land? More resources? More seats at the table?
Raw talent mattered, but headcount decided how often that talent appeared.
More people meant more power.
More power meant more territory and resources.
More resources meant more children, and the cycle fed itself.
If this continued, Konoha's clans could each grow into something on the scale of the Sarutobi clan at its peak: three thousand shinobi strong.
At this point, a man taking two or three wives was considered completely normal.
Many even justified it proudly:
"We're just following the example of the Supreme Leader."
That part, Soren found both funny and… personally exhausting.
His three wives—and two unofficial "wildflowers"—had already punished him with repeated "juice extraction" sessions. Blissful, yes. Painful, also yes.
"Uzumaki are Uzumaki. Senju are Senju. Don't lump us together," Mito sniffed.
Of course she knew how well Uzushio was doing. It made her secretly happy… and quietly sad.
"Tch. Who in the shinobi world doesn't know Senju and Uzumaki are one family?"
Soren leaned back, his eyes drifting—very intentionally—between Mito and Minako.
"Naturally, the Uchiha clan is eager to form even closer ties with Senju and Uzumaki…"
"The question is whether Lady Mito and Lady Minako…"
"Ahem!"
"No indecent nonsense in the office!" Kaori snapped, rapping the table.
Her eyes, bright as blood-red jewels, flashed in warning. In their depths, Soren almost saw a vision of his own corpse.
"Fine, I'll stop." He muttered.
Then his smile returned.
"In any case, looks like our house will be getting busier this month."
"Minori's expecting one."
"Kaori too."
"And Hikari as well. If we get a set of twins, that'd be perfect."
"D-Don't say such things at work!"
Kaori covered half her face with a folder, but the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her.
"Then I'll offer my congratulations in advance," Mito said, rubbing her forehead.
Her tone was polite. The faint shadow in it—less so.
"We'll have to throw a proper celebration," Soren said cheerfully.
His gaze slid, just for a heartbeat, toward Minako.
The look said, clearly as words: you, too—give me a cute baby.
Minako's cheeks warmed, and she quickly diverted into official business.
"Since His Excellency is personally contributing so aggressively to Konoha's birthrate," she said sweetly, "I'll share the latest figures from the Civil Affairs Bureau."
She opened a slim folder.
"Two months ago, Konoha recorded 1,500 newborns."
"Last month, that number rose to 1,600."
"This month, even working from conservative estimates, we'll have at least 1,400."
"Our total population is rapidly approaching 800,000."
"With ongoing qualified immigration, we expect Konoha to hit one million by the end of Year One of the Shinobi Era."
"Once Outer Districts One through Three are complete, we'll have to immediately begin planning for a Fourth Outer District capable of housing another hundred thousand residents."
Mito's eyes widened.
"Population growth… that fast?"
She'd known Konoha was booming. She saw it every day. But hearing the numbers laid out so plainly was… something else.
Her mind involuntarily conjured memories of the village under Hashirama and Tobirama. Compared to now…
It was another world entirely.
"And that's just population," Kaori added.
Her voice held a quiet pride as she put down her own report.
"Economically, Konoha's total output now rivals the entire former Land of Fire."
"Commerce and agriculture are both fully self-sufficient."
"As more civil shinobi push the frontiers outward, our economic growth rate is compounding every year."
"With spatial transport arrays, we can easily support a population of two million without strain."
"Rapid growth is good," Mito said. "But more people means more work for you."
She gave Soren a dry look that said, very clearly: thank you, Captain Obvious.
He stroked his chin, glancing between Kaori and Minako.
They were both going to be pregnant. Their workloads would have to be adjusted.
On top of that, the otherworld front was just getting started.
"If the Finance Bureau or Civil Affairs Bureau is understaffed, then expand them," he said. "Double their headcount if needed."
Kaori and Minako both nodded.
Minako raised another point.
"The Civil Affairs Bureau is under heavy pressure right now, Your Excellency."
"Urban planning alone consumes most of our hours."
"Staff are working overtime almost every day. Once we begin planning Fourth Outer District, the burden will increase again."
She paused, then laid out her proposal.
"We can ease the pressure short-term by adding staff…"
"But in the long run, I believe we should spin off urban planning into its own bureau."
"A specialized Construction and Planning Department to handle architecture and city layout professionally. Specialization will improve both efficiency and quality."
"That's fine." Soren nodded. "You'll oversee it as well, Minako."
"Let Hyūga Ashisa serve as the bureau chief. Byakugan's 360-degree vision is perfect for visualizing full structural layouts."
"Understood, Your Excellency."
He took a moment, thinking, then added:
"Also, Minako—do a thorough breakdown of Civil Affairs functions. List out each specialized task. We'll see which ones deserve their own subdivisions."
"Same for you, Kaori. As the population grows, we need finer division of labor and long-term talent pipelines ready."
Mito tapped her fingers lightly on the arm of her chair, thoughtful.
"Then the General Staff will need new positions as well."
"Go ahead," Soren said. He had a guess where this was going.
"We may have spatial arrays linking the continents now," she said, "but there is still an ocean between us—and hostile powers surrounding the Re-Estize Kingdom."
"We should grant local garrisons authority to respond at their own discretion."
"That authority should cover engagement, defense, suppression, and even expansionary operations."
Kaori's brows knit at once.
"So much power in the hands of local commanders… you're not worried they'll run wild?"
She'd seen more than enough of shinobi misbehavior from the paperwork alone. Not everyone was a future saint like Naruto; most were more like Sasuke—sharp, emotional, and dangerous. The rest were the steady Shikamaru types… or pathetic opportunists like Mizuki.
Power might be necessary, but it was also temptation.
"We can't build a system on the assumption that human nature is unbreakable," she pressed. "The safest way is to never give people the chance to be tested in the first place."
"Your concerns are reasonable," Mito replied calmly. "Which is why the General Staff's advisory corps must expand as well."
"Every garrison should have two General Staff advisers."
"One to provide strategic support to the commander."
"The other to serve as an independent inspector."
"And if they collude?" Kaori shot back. "Then the damage could be even worse."
Mito's expression didn't change.
"In that case, we still have the Supreme Leader's Sharingan."
"If something happens that defies common sense, and neither the commander nor the advisers can give a convincing explanation…"
"We call in His Excellency—or Lady Hikari."
"Facing the Mangekyō, even a Kage-level shinobi will tell the truth."
"And what if the problem is a Mangekyō?" Kaori pressed.
Matters of statecraft and war had brought down many a dynasty.
She would not see Soren's world undone by the same mistake.
Mito's brows finally drew together.
Minako stepped in smoothly.
"If we refuse to give local commanders any discretionary authority, can we guarantee they won't grow resentful instead?" she asked. "Or simply give up fighting?"
"I'm also just discussing the issue," Kaori said evenly. "This isn't personal."
"Nor am I," Minako smiled. "If we never reward initiative, commanders will sit on their hands."
"Granting discretion lets them seize fleeting opportunities—and improvise when their lives are on the line."
"It gives them a reason to fight for Konoha's interests, instead of just their own survival."
The air between the two women crackled. Lightning flashed, metaphorically, over Soren's head.
He raised his hands quickly.
"Enough. You're all thinking about Konoha's future. No need to turn this into a duel."
"Then we await Your Excellency's decision," Mito said.
All three pairs of eyes turned to him.
Soren cleared his throat.
"Mito and Minako are right," he said. "And so is Kaori."
Three simultaneous looks told him exactly what they thought of that.
He went on anyway.
"We'll grant local commanders discretionary authority."
Mito and Minako relaxed slightly.
Soren turned to Kaori.
"On top of General Staff oversight, we'll institute rotational postings for both commanders and advisers."
"That makes long-term collusion difficult."
"And it keeps sub-commanders from blindly worshipping one man."
"If anything unusual happens, we'll send people from Konoha to take separate statements from unit leaders, advisers, and the commander."
"With all that in place, they'll have enough power to act—but not enough to tear the sky down."
Kaori still wasn't thrilled. But with him staking his word on it, she nodded.
Worst case, she thought, she'd just push herself harder. Once she hit Six Paths level, any mutiny would end with a single punch.
That, too, was a very Soren-esque solution.
The shinobi in their foreign garrisons, all marked with Hikari's Eight Thousand Spears, wouldn't be flipping any tables easily.
"We'll designate each garrison's territory as a Military District," Soren said. "The commanding officer will be titled District Commander."
"At the northwest fortress city Ye Asenal, bordering the Council State, we station the Northwest Shinobi Army."
"District Commander: Uchiha Naka."
"Initial strength: 500 Konoha combat shinobi, two General Staff advisers."
"At E-Rantel, the southeastern fortress city bordering the Theocracy and the Empire, we station the Southeast Shinobi Army."
"District Commander: Uchiha Baru."
"Initial strength: 500 combat shinobi, two advisers."
"In the Royal Capital, we station the Central Shinobi Army, serving as our primary regional headquarters, ready to reinforce both flanks."
"District Commander: Uchiha Rai."
"Initial strength: 1,000 combat shinobi, four advisers."
Under Mito's steady gaze, Soren shamelessly gave all three top posts to Uchiha.
Then he spread his hands.
"Vice-commanders, adviser positions, and unit leaders can be selected by the General Staff."
"Submit the final roster to the Secretariat for recordkeeping."
"Understood, Your Excellency."
Mito already knew which names she'd put forward.
She'd drag old-man Senju Eijū out of retirement, tap Senju Tōka—now married into Uzumaki and famed for her illusions—and add a powerful Uzumaki elder. The three would be embedded across the three districts.
The Shinobi Armies would not be allowed to become a pure Uchiha chorus.
(It's better for him that way, too.)
On the other side of the desk, Kaori was just as pleased—for opposite reasons.
Three Uchiha as district commanders meant martial authority was heavily centralized.
They might be loyal to Soren, but they weren't Soren.
Her family plan was simple: send her four personal guard units, one each, into all three districts to quietly gather daily intel.
Trust was good. Verification was better.
That line of thought led her briefly to her own father, the former daimyo of the Land of Fire.
After the reforms, the Source clan had wisely shifted into the role of royal in-laws—"outer kin" officials. No more absolute power, no more posturing.
But with their old wealth and connections, they'd quickly become major commercial powerhouses, living in comfort and stability. Continuing to assign Uchiha personal guards to watch them was… a waste of resources.
Better to move those eyes to the real frontier.
"As for bandits, monsters, and non-human groups inside the kingdom…" Soren added, "we'll turn them into missions."
"Let free-roaming shinobi handle them. The kingdom's Adventurer Guild can provide guides and cannon fodder. Their strength is low, but still useful."
Mito nodded.
"Once the districts are staffed and on-site, should I or Shihō take turns overseeing the other world personally?" she asked.
The idea had merit—having the General Staff Minister herself appear would boost morale and stabilize local command.
It also risked suppressing district commanders' initiative entirely.
Soren thought it through.
"Not for now."
"The kingdom itself is weak. Three military districts are more than enough to handle neighboring states."
"If we send someone too high-level, I'm more worried about unexpected reactions."
The three women traded puzzled looks.
Soren told them what the Great Toad Sage had revealed.
Their reactions were immediate.
"Even the Sage of Six Paths and his brother couldn't handle the Dragon Emperor?!"
"Then conquering the other world might be… impossible."
Mito's heart, which had just begun to lean toward committing more Senju and Uzumaki power, faltered.
"Darling… maybe we should just control the kingdom from the shadows," Kaori said quickly. "No large-scale deployments. We can accept smaller profits if it keeps everyone safe."
With nearly eighty percent of Uchiha elites in the other world, a disaster there would cripple the clan for decades.
"You're all far too tense." Soren chuckled.
"You think the Dragon Emperor came out of that fight untouched?"
"Under an assault from two peak Six Paths beings, even a monster can't walk away without something broken."
He remembered the original story clearly enough.
That same Dragon Emperor had once summoned "players" from another reality. The future Eight Greed Kings used world-level artifacts to warp magic itself, stealing primordial spells from the dragons and breaking their rule over the continent.
Only a handful of true Dragon Lords remained, powerful but cautious.
Facing a shinobi expedition with no clear Six Paths-level threat, it was very unlikely any of them would risk their own hides.
"At most, they'll send subordinates to test us," Soren said.
"As long as no genuine Six Paths-level power shows up, any Dragon Lord who wants to keep initiative will stay hidden."
"And with spatial arrays in every district, and my Flying Thunder God kunai on each commander, the moment they try to bully the weak…"
He smiled thinly.
"That's when I cut a dragon down."
His calm confidence filled the office.
The tension in the air eased.
"Still," he added, "let's not rely purely on optimism."
"I'd like to ask you, Mito, plus Minako and Lord Ashina, to research a new sealing formation."
He steepled his fingers.
"A danger-sense teleport seal."
"If a shinobi faces a threat beyond their ability, the Flying Thunder God kunai on their person auto-triggers and pulls them to safety."
"Is something like that possible?"
Mito and Minako shared a long look, both falling silent.
She spoke first.
"No guarantees," Mito said finally. "But we'll do everything we can."
"If you hit any walls with spatial theory, ask me," Soren said. "We'll figure it out together."
Outside, the sun dipped slowly toward the horizon.
The dust over the Re-Estize Kingdom was settling.
Over the shinobi world, it was only just beginning to rise.
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