Chiyu once again activated his three-tomoe Rinnegan technique—

Takamagahara!

The Divine-Kingdom Domain spread out anew. Within it he opened another spatial corridor, and in a single breath he, Ōnoki, and Darui slipped through.

When they re-appeared, they were already on the battlefield against Sunagakure.

Here the Sand forces were facing the Uchiha clan led by Uchiha Fugaku and the Police Corps.

Among the five great villages, Suna's overall strength had long ranked last. Much of the blame, in Chiyu's eyes, lay with Kazekage Rasa.

After the Third Kazekage disappeared, Rasa had indeed rallied the village and fended off Kumo's invasion—he was hailed a hero. Yet once he became Kazekage, his sequence of foolish decisions was incomprehensible:

To end the war with Kirigakure he traded away their hero, Pakura, and let her be torture to death.

He sealed Shukaku into his own son Gaara—fine—but because the Jinchūriki was unstable he repeatedly sent Anbu to assassinate that very son, treating him as a living test subject.

Worse, he colluded with Orochimaru in the Konoha Crush plan. When the dust settled, both Konoha and Orochimaru suffered losses, but Suna was bled white: Rasa himself was killed and the village became Konoha's puppet.

With a Kazekage like Rasa, how could Sunagakure not decline?

On today's field Rasa was absent, and even Granny Chiyo—the village's mightiest—had not come out.

Command had fallen to Baki, with only a handful of ordinary jōnin such as Mukade, Yura, Satetsu, and Otokaze at her side.

Pitting that level of power against the Uchiha was hopeless. Of all the fronts, this was the one Chiyu felt least worried about.

Ōnoki and Darui arrived and stated their positions, announcing that the anti-Chiyu alliance was broken, Kazekage Rasa had died, and two great villages had already submitted.

Baki was terrified and, after only a brief hesitation, chose to surrender.

Iwa had strong elites; Kumo's military might was the greatest, and bore a blood-feud with Chiyu—so they could waver.

But Suna? No strength, no resources, and no will to fight to the death—grass before the wind.

Hearing that Chiyu had slain several Kage, multiple jinchūriki, and even sealed the God of Shinobi Hashirama, Fugaku and his clansmen were shocked and overjoyed.

Cries of "Banzai!" shook the heavens.

Who could have imagined the Uchiha clan would enjoy such glory again?

All of it was the change Chiyu had brought—the true savior.

…

Chiyu repeated the same method, taking Baki along as he blinked to the battlefield with Kirigakure.

Here, Kakashi Hatake led an Anbu unit; Might Guy and others had rushed in as reinforcements.

Though Mist had wallowed in the Bloody Mist tyranny and was often mocked with Suna as the shame of the Five, it still possessed talent: Terumi Mei, Hōzuki Mangetsu, Ao, Gonbee, Chūkichi, and more.

The Six-Tails jinchūriki Utakata, however, was not on the field, nor were Hoshigaki Kisame or Samehada's previous wielder, Suikazan Fuguki. Chiyu deduced Kisame had likely killed Fuguki, taken Samehada, and fled to join "Uchiha Madara."

Very quickly Ōnoki and the others proclaimed the alliance's collapse; the headless, scattered Mist forces offered almost no resistance before surrendering.

Thus—Chiyu had, in the truest sense, unified the ninja world.

…

The war ended as abruptly as it had begun, thanks to Chiyu's overwhelming power and his top-down strategy.

He wanted the leaderships of each great village to submit; a few warning slaughters were enough. Overall battlefield casualties were actually modest.

At his order, all four armies withdrew.

Their senior leaders—now vassals—remained behind for a new Five-Kage Summit.

From Konoha, beside Chiyu sat the Clan Heads, Kakashi, Might Guy, and others.

The other four villages sent only representatives:

Iwagakure: Ōnoki, flanked by Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi.

Sunagakure: Baki, with Mukade and Yura behind him.

Kirigakure: Terumi Mei, with Hōzuki Mangetsu and Ao.

Kumogakure: Darui, with Mabui and C.

Chiyu sat at the head; as his gaze swept down, the four representatives unconsciously lowered their heads.

"Your so-called alliance is finished.

All four villages have submitted; it was the only and the correct choice.

I will forge a reborn world, and you will witness—and follow—my steps into that future."

Ōnoki frowned. "Lord Hokage… what is your true ambition?"

All eyes turned to Chiyu.

"It is simple:

Abolish war and create peace.

Abolish hatred and create good will.

Abolish injustice and create justice.

Abolish darkness and create light."

The Kage exchanged doubtful looks. Could one who used such extreme means really be aiming at such an ideal world?

Chiyu read their thoughts.

"I don't blame your disbelief; your horizons are limited.

Words are weak—only power and action realize will."

Mei asked cautiously, "Then what action, Lord Hokage?"

"Take your Mist, for example. Do you truly believe Yagura is still the real Fourth Mizukage?"

Mei, Mangetsu, and Ao all blanched.

"Before he took office, Yagura worked tirelessly to end the Bloody-Mist era that began under the Second Mizukage.

He even formed a perfect bond with the Three-Tails—the second perfect jinchūriki after Killer Bee.

Yet suddenly he reversed completely, intensifying the massacres of kekkei-genkai clans, turning the village into a living hell.

His chakra is disordered, his policy a total about-face… all pointing to one truth:

He has long been under powerful genjutsu control."

Mei trembled; Ao admitted he had once spied odd chakra fluctuations in Yagura but dared say nothing; Mangetsu recalled Master Genji's secret investigation cut short.

"If you Mist shinobi rely on yourselves, who knows how many years it will take to solve that nightmare.

With my power, it takes no effort. That is what I mean by action."

Everyone shuddered—the Bloody Mist was merely his example, proof of omniscience and omnipotence.

Mei bowed. "Then what should we do, Lord Hokage? Who is the mastermind?"

"A man wearing a mask and calling himself Uchiha Madara."

Kakashi's face changed. "H-him…"

Fugaku was stunned: "That bastard again—the one who unleashed the Nine-Tails and tried to wipe out the Uchiha?!"

The revelation left the Mist trio both horrified and strangely relieved: at last the truth fit together. Mei thanked Chiyu; Ao muttered that Zabuza Momochi might have been right after all; Mangetsu clenched his fist.

Chiyu went on:

"That mask-man has ties to Akatsuki. Their nominal leader Pain seeks to capture the tailed beasts and create a doomsday weapon to force peace—but that is not the mask-man's real aim.

His ultimate scheme is the Eye of the Moon Plan."

Gasps rippled around the table. Chiyu explained: cast Infinite Tsukuyomi on the entire world, trapping everyone in an eternal dream—global extinction in all but name.

"Whatever Akatsuki's or the mask-man's plan, their first step is the same: capture jinchūriki.

Two, Three, Five, and Eight-Tails' hosts are already dead by my hand—the beasts will respawn somewhere, sometime.

Four-Tails Rōshi is likely in Akatsuki's hands, and Seven-Tails Fu of Takigakure is in danger.

Your foremost duty is to protect your remaining jinchūriki, or, if you have none, to seek out revived beasts."

The representatives answered in one voice: "Understood, Lord Hokage!"

With the Mist conspiracy (internal threat) and the Akatsuki/"Madara" menace (external threat) laid bare, the four villages at last felt not only compelled but genuinely willing to rely on Chiyu.

Chiyu kept Ōnoki as Tsuchikage, but appointed new Kage obedient to his will:

Darui – Fifth Raikage

Terumi Mei – Fifth Mizukage

Baki – Fifth Kazekage

He imposed Konoha's statutes, institutions, and regulations on all five great villages and, by extension, the entire shinobi world.

From this moment the other villages' address for him changed from Lord Hokage to—

Sovereign of the Shinobi World.

A new era had begun.

…

Elsewhere…

In a hidden Akatsuki base, Black Zetsu separated from White and stood before the eerie, withered Gedo Statue—the husk of the Ten-Tails, of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

"Mother… My plan was advancing perfectly, yet an unprecedented obstacle appeared—Uchiha Chiyu.

Nagato and Obito can no longer revive you.

It is time. Only his power can oppose Chiyu and put the plan back on track.

First I must… resurrect—Uchiha Madara!"

~~~

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