Chiba's ultimate goal was clear,
To make Kirigakure the village of two perfect Jinchūriki.
Once that goal was achieved, the village's overall strength would naturally soar.
Of course, becoming a perfect Jinchūriki was never something that could be accomplished overnight.
Chiba was in no rush.
Since assuming the position of Godaime Mizukage, he had been steadily dealing with the aftermath of the Bloody Mist era.
With Yagura Karatachi's death,
all policies that had intensified the Bloody Mist were completely abolished.
For the great clans of Kirigakure,
a brand-new dawn had finally arrived.
Chiba encouraged shinobi from every major clan,especially the younger generation,to return to and settle in Kirigakure.
Within the village, clans such as the Hōzuki, Hoshigaki, Karatachi, and others were all recalled and reorganized.
As for those clans scattered across the Land of Water,
Such as the Yuki Clan, the Tsuchigumo Clan, and even the once-hostile Kaguya Clan,
All of them were brought under Chiba's control.
The Kaguya Clan, rumored to be descendants of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki,
Possessed the terrifying Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai, allowing them to manipulate their own bones.
Among them, the most famous was naturally Kaguya Kimimaro.
In the original timeline, the Kaguya Clan had rebelled against Kirigakure and was completely exterminated.
Kimimaro alone survived.
He was later taken in by Orochimaru, brainwashed, cultivated,and ultimately died in battle against Gaara.
Thus, the Kaguya Clan vanished entirely from history.
But in this world,
Because of Chiba's early intervention and the end of the Bloody Mist era,
The Kaguya Clan was preserved.
Kimimaro was never taken by Orochimaru.
Recognizing his extraordinary talent, Chiba personally brought him to Kirigakure for proper training.
When Kimimaro died in the original timeline, he was only fifteen years old.
Just two or three years older than Naruto and the others.
At present, he was roughly the same age as Haku and the rest.
Chiba also reopened Kirigakure's Ninja Academy.
After Zabuza Momochi had slaughtered his classmates, the academy had fallen into stagnation.
As a result, Kirigakure had suffered a severe generational gap in shinobi talent.
Most gifted shinobi were trained privately within their clans,
Such as Hōzuki Mangetsu, Hōzuki Suigetsu, and Yuki Haku.
Now, with the academy restored,
young shinobi from every clan could finally receive systematic training again.
Before long, Kirigakure flourished with renewed vitality.
Even many prodigies who already possessed considerable strength still enrolled in the academy,
Including Yuki Haku, Chōjūrō, Kaguya Kimimaro, Tsuchigumo Hotaru, Hōzuki Suigetsu, and others.
This generation would become Kirigakure's future.
The end of the Bloody Mist,
And the rise of Chiba, the new Godaime Mizukage,
Quickly spread throughout the entire shinobi world.
Unlike Kirigakure's former isolationist policies,
Chiba actively reopened diplomatic and informational exchanges with the outside world.
Isolation led only to stagnation.
That truth was something Chiba understood perfectly.
Under the name of the Godaime Mizukage,
he formally announced Kirigakure's transformation to all the great nations.
At the same time,
he declared his entrance onto the stage of the entire shinobi world.
Under Chiba's leadership,
Kirigakure advanced at a breathtaking pace.
With:
Chiba, an overwhelmingly powerful Godaime Mizukage
Miru, the Sanbi Jinchūriki
Utakata, the Rokubi Jinchūriki
Mei Terumī, Ao, and Bi, forming the elite Anbu Division (Minbu)
Kisame Hoshigaki, leading the Anbu Black Ops
Veteran elders such as Gonbei, Chūjō, and Yagura's former advisor Gen'yō
The newly reformed Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist:
Kisame Hoshigaki, Zabuza Momochi, Hōzuki Mangetsu, Hōzuki Suigetsu, Yuki Haku, Chōjūrō, and Ringo Ameyuri
And the full support of the Hōzuki, Karatachi, Hoshigaki, Yuki, Tsuchigumo, Kaguya, and many other great clans
Kirigakure was unmistakably charging toward a powerful revival.
As for Chiba himself,
After countless battles, his Ice-Ice Devil Fruit had reached an astonishing level of mastery.
It had now surpassed Level Ten.
Every single ice-based ability had undergone a massive increase in power.
In particular,
Ice Age.
At its current level, it was capable of freezing an entire hill,or an entire river,in an instant.
Moreover, through the Deduction System,
Chiba had successfully fused the powers of the Ice-Ice Fruit with Ice Release ninjutsu,
Bringing his combat strength to an entirely new realm.
And with that,
Chiba's name had truly begun to resound across the shinobi world.
He had created numerous new techniques and abilities.
Even among Kage-level powerhouses, his strength could be considered top-tier.
He had even begun to approach the Super-Kage tier without limit.
In the current shinobi world,
Chiba already stood at its very pinnacle.
Just as Chiba, the Godaime Mizukage of Kirigakure, burst onto the stage and made his name known throughout the shinobi world,
Sunagakure also extended a gesture of goodwill.
In truth, prior to this,
Sunagakure and Kirigakure had never been on good terms.
Rather than saying they were unfriendly,
it would be more accurate to say that their grudges ran deep, with conflicts erupting again and again.
However, in the shinobi world,
There were no eternal enemies,
only eternal interests.
With Sunagakure clashing directly with Iwagakure,
the Sand Village found itself unable to face two great powers at the same time.
Thus, it sent a request for reconciliation to Kirigakure.
At the same time,
it attempted to form an alliance with the Mist to jointly oppose Iwagakure.
To make that happen,
Sunagakure was even willing to offer humiliating, sovereignty-shattering concessions.
Among those terms,
Was the willingness to sell out one of Sunagakure's greatest heroes,
A shinobi who had defeated Kirigakure many times in the past:
Pakura of the Scorch Release.
Chiba stared at the confidential letter sent by Yondaime Kazekage Rasa.
He could not help but sigh inwardly.
This Rasa really was a first-rate scumbag…
To his family,
he betrayed his own son.
To his village,
he betrayed his own comrades.
Pakura…
In the original timeline, she had been sold out by Sunagakure just like this,
And died a miserable, unjust death.
But Chiba smiled faintly.
This time,
Everything would be different.