Land of Fire — Fire Capital — The Daimyō's Residence
Inside the Fire Capital's daimyō residence, Daimyō Fire Toku sat across from Kazu with a posture so respectful it bordered on fearful.
"Your Excellency Hokage," the daimyō said quickly, "I fully understand what you mean. There will be no problem from me whatsoever. I will support Konoha with everything I have!"
Kazu's proposal passed almost absurdly easily.
Because the gates of the Fire Capital had also been smashed.
Kazu didn't even need to argue. He simply showed strength—just enough to make the point unmistakable.
In this era, a Kage-level shinobi's power exceeded the samurai's by an overwhelming margin. And once someone could summon a calamity like True Thousand Hands, even an army of a hundred thousand became little more than a number written on paper.
The Fire Daimyō understood one thing very clearly:
Kazu was not someone you could resist.
Still, Kazu left him face.
The Fire Capital would remain the Fire Daimyō's "seat."The Land of Fire would still be called the Land of Fire.The daimyō would still wear the crown of "legitimacy."
Symbols mattered. Even in a world ruled by chakra.
In the end, it would be like a future "Emperor"—a figurehead that soothed the masses while real power moved elsewhere.
Konoha — The Agreement Returns
Kazu returned to Konoha carrying the Fire Daimyō's personal signed agreement:
The Fourth Hokage, Kazu, held full authority over Konoha's war deployments.The Land of Fire would fully support Konoha's decisions.
With that, the last political excuse collapsed.
And now… it was time for the purge.
The "peace faction" leaders Kazu had arrested were interrogated immediately. ANBU moved like knives in the dark, quick and silent.
And with Sunagakure already forced to submit, new evidence poured in.
Under the combined investigation of Sakumo Hatake and Minato Namikaze, it became painfully clear:
Many of the "peace" leaders had private dealings with Sunagakure.
That was why they shouted about peace so passionately.
If there was no war, they could keep drawing profits from both sides—maintaining their family status, their networks, their gray-market trade.
They wanted Konoha to stay "stable"…
because stability kept their pockets full.
Unfortunately for them, they had met a Hokage like Kazu.
One who didn't negotiate with rot.
He removed it.
Just like the Shimura, the Dormitory, and the Mito clans before them—those families had already been shattered and sent to the front lines.
This time, Kazu didn't even need to personally lift a finger.
ANBU handled it.
Overnight, the top families of Konoha changed again.
First it had been thirty-eight major clans.Then three fell—leaving thirty-five.
Now, in a single night, five more were crushed.
A clean message.
A warning carved into the village's spine.
Don't mistake the new Hokage's youth for softness.
The Next Morning — The Square
At dawn, hundreds were tied and lined up in the square.
They were all members of the five fallen families.
And early that morning, Konoha's villagers received something new:
A Hokage-approved newspaper, distributed across the village.
It listed the five families' crimes in detail.
At the top, in bold, undeniable ink:
COLLUSION.
In a shinobi village, loyalty was everything.Even one confirmed charge like that was enough to bury a clan forever.
Villagers gathered with newspapers in hand, pointing, shouting.
"So that's it! The ones who kept talking about 'peace' were traitors all along!"
"No wonder they opposed Hokage-sama's war plans—turns out they were getting paid!"
"Kill them!"
"Kill the village thieves!"
The crowd became a roaring wave.
At the front, Hemp-Rope Clan Patriarch was white as paper, trembling so badly his ropes creaked.
"Hokage-sama! I've been framed!"
He regretted everything.
If he could go back, he would never have challenged Kazu. Not once.
He had thought the moral high ground would protect him. He had thought Kazu would hesitate to touch "important families."
Then Kazu returned, reversed the entire battlefield, forced Sunagakure to submit, and even bent the Wind Daimyō to sign.
And Sunagakure—spineless in the face of power—handed over evidence like a frightened merchant handing over coin.
Now the rope was around their necks.
Still, the patriarch didn't give up.
"Hokage-sama! We were only pretending to cooperate with Sunagakure! We were testing their intentions for Konoha's sake! Everything we did was for Konoha!"
The other leaders echoed him immediately.
Sacrifice. Loyalty. "All for the village."
Some villagers hesitated.
It sounded… almost reasonable.
Kazu didn't answer.
He simply lifted his hand.
ANBU stepped forward and began unloading boxes onto the square.
Boxes of gold bricks.Stacks of cash.Crates of precious treasures.
Then Kazu still didn't speak.
The five families' leaders went even paler—because they recognized every piece.
These weren't rumors.
This was a raid.
This was their stolen wealth, dragged into the sunlight.
An interrogation chief beside Kazu finally spoke, voice sharp with disgust.
"You dare to call this 'for Konoha'?"
"If it was for Konoha, why did you smuggle all of this out of the village and into your private stores?"
"The illegal wealth seized from these five families exceeds one hundred million ryō."
The square exploded.
"One hundred million?!"
Konoha's official income in a year was roughly that number.
And these families had hoarded it for themselves.
The villagers' hesitation vanished.
"Kill them!"
"Kill—!"
The Hemp-Rope patriarch screamed again, desperate.
"I didn't know! I'm innocent!"
Kazu finally spoke, voice calm and cold.
"Innocent or not, the interrogations will decide."
"This trial will be reported daily. The administration will publish real-time updates. Every clan in Konoha will read the truth every morning."
At those words, several of the bound prisoners collapsed on the spot, legs giving out like rotten wood.
Kazu continued, eyes sweeping the square.
"This wealth was stolen at Konoha's expense."
"So Konoha will use it for Konoha."
"It will be paid out as compensation for injured shinobi… and as support for Konoha's war orphans."
"These traitors traded our village's safety for private glory."
"They fattened their families while our children bled."
The crowd erupted—not in rage this time, but in thunderous approval.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Long live Hokage-sama!"
"Hokage-sama is mighty!"
The final decision was swift:
The key criminals were sent to prison for judgment.
The core conspirators were exiled to the border lines.
Ordinary clan members were not executed—but their clan status was stripped. They would be broken apart, absorbed into Konoha as common villagers.
A clan could fall.
But the village would not.
Shockwaves Through the Remaining Clans
The destruction of eight families in such a short time hit Konoha like a hammer.
Every remaining clan held emergency meetings behind closed doors.
Because almost all of them had shadows in their closets.
Smuggling. Favor trading. Quiet deals.
The adult world wasn't black and white.
It was gray.
And now that Kazu was shining a blade-bright light into that gray…
They feared becoming the next example.
Kazu's solution was simple and brutal in its practicality:
Hand over your noncompliant profits. Confess the old sins. Pay the village.And Kazu would treat it as settled—so long as it never happened again.
The clans swallowed their pride and offered tribute.
Konoha's treasury swelled.
And Kazu closed his eyes—then opened them.
A warning, not a massacre.
A reset.
The Bad News From the Lightning Country
The village barely finished digesting the purge when another blow landed.
Uchiha Fugaku returned from Kumogakure. Alone.
His escorts were dead.
He was injured—badly.
Only by awakening the Sharingan during a life-or-death pursuit had he managed to kill his hunters and make it back to Konoha.
He dropped to one knee before Kazu, blood still staining his clothes.
"Hokage-sama… I failed to complete your mission."
Kazu didn't blame him.
"It's not your fault. Recover."
Kazu's gaze sharpened, his thoughts colder than before.
He finally understood the mistake.
He had underestimated Kumogakure's spine.
Sunagakure had bent. Kirigakure had hesitated. But Kumogakure…
Even with the Third Raikage crippled, they still refused to kneel.
Kazu tapped the desk once, slowly.
"We'll set this aside for now."
Kumogakure wasn't forgiven.
It was postponed.
Because right now, something more immediate stood in front of him.
Two Days Later — The Wedding
The war could wait.
The world could scream.
Tonight, Kazu would be a husband.
The village, the clans, the ANBU, the enemies—everyone could hold their breath.
Because in two days, Kazu and Kushina would be married.
Konoha — Uzumaki Courtyard — 9:00 AM
The sky was clear. The light was clean. The air smelled like new wood and fresh leaves.
Kazu held Kushina's hand gently.
"Kushina. It's nine. Let's go."
She wore a pure white wedding dress. Her red hair was pinned up, shining like fire under sunlight. Holy, beautiful—almost unreal.
She nodded, smiling as she squeezed his palm softly.
"Kazu… let's go."
A system prompt chimed in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host on marrying Kushina.][After the wedding night, the system will upgrade and grant a super gift pack.][Keep striving, host!]
Kazu blinked.
"System upgrade… from that?"
For a brief moment, he actually looked forward to it.
He pushed open the courtyard gates.
Outside, everyone was waiting—Mikoto, Minato, Sakumo, Fugaku, the Hyūga brothers, Team Seven, and more.
When they saw Kazu in formal attire and Kushina in her dress, the crowd erupted.
"Teacher Kazu is so handsome!"
"Kushina is beautiful!"
They walked forward beneath blessings and cheers, step by step toward the ceremony.
Some girls stared, cheeks burning, half envy and half longing.
The Fourth Hokage had married first.
And the whole village felt it.
After vows and rituals, it was finally time for the feast.
Kazu and Kushina shared ceremonial wine.
Kushina's face was red as she leaned close, heart racing.
From this day on, she was his wife in full view of the village.
The celebration stretched into the night. Toasts. Laughter. Drunken shouting. Shinobi trying to outdrink other shinobi.
Kazu completed a round of courtesy toasts, then took Kushina home.
There were more important things than banquet noise.
In their room, Kushina fell against him like a warm kitten, exhausted and shy.
"Kushina… are you tired?" Kazu asked softly.
She nodded, breath unsteady.
He smiled.
"Then let's rest."
Her hands found his neck, and she whispered a small, trembling sound—half nervous, half certain.
Morning came with sunlight spilling across the sheets.
Kazu opened his eyes.
Kushina was curled in his arms, still asleep.
And the system chimed again.
[Ding! System update complete.]
A status screen appeared.
Kazu stared at it—then narrowed his eyes.
"Mainline selection…?"
He scrolled.
And his mouth twitched.
"…System. You're really not a good person."
Kushina shifted in his arms, murmuring in her sleep, hugging him tighter.
Kazu exhaled—slowly—then closed the system screen for now.
Whatever the world demanded next…
He'd deal with it after.