At present, the situation in the Land of Fire can be considered completely stabilized, and it could even be said to be thriving.
The methods Aoba used when he took over the Land of Fire, along with the follow-up handling, could serve as a reference for the other four great ninja villages.
On top of that, with the abilities of the Uchiha clan, they would only need to make slight improvements to Aoba's original plan.
As for the smaller countries, once the affairs of the four great nations are settled, they would naturally be able to make appropriate and rational choices.
After listening to Shizune's arrangements, Mei Terumi, Kurotsuchi, and the others didn't show any extra reactions aside from slightly serious expressions.
Seeing that none of them had any objections to this proposal, Shizune didn't continue speaking and instead looked toward Aoba.
After all, there were only two prepared topics for this meeting.
The remaining matters, whether institutional reform or the construction of ninja villages, would all have to wait until the Five Great Nations were unified and the situation was completely stabilized.
Otherwise, if they tried to reform while coups were happening at the same time, their own side would probably fall into chaos first.
Seeing this, Aoba gave a light cough, drawing everyone's attention.
"Since there are no issues, then today's Five Kage Summit will end here for now."
"Next, take two days to rest, adjust your condition, and make preparations for early mobilization. The operation against the four great nations will officially begin in one week."
"Alright!"
The others had no objections either.
Although taking over countries sounded exaggerated, in this distorted world of ninjas, it really just came down to three steps: host a banquet, behead the leader, and take the rest in as subordinates.
For powerful ninjas, seizing a country was simply too easy.
If done discreetly enough, all they needed to do was silently take control of the upper echelon.
Mobilizing ninjas didn't take long either.
A week was more than enough to prepare.
They could even spend a couple of days having fun in Konoha.
Although Aoba had announced the end of the meeting, no one in the conference room left.
He didn't say anything more and simply stood up.
"Let's go, Gaara. I'll take you to find Temari first. Have her show you around Konoha, and tomorrow I'll send you straight back to Sunagakure."
"Then I'll trouble you, Lord Hokage."
A faint smile appeared on Gaara's poker face.
"..."
Aoba felt a bit helpless at how polite his brother-in-law was being.
It felt too distant.
It wasn't even as natural as when they had first met.
He wasn't some terrible person.
Between them now, there was already a sad, thick barrier.
Aoba didn't say anything more to Gaara and simply brought him to find Temari.
Seeing her two younger brothers after such a long time, Temari was also in a good mood.
And when she heard that Aoba had even given her a day off, she thought for a moment before deciding to take them to stroll around the commercial street.
Under Konoha's guidance, Sunagakure had also built a commercial street, but after all, the environment was different.
The one in Sunagakure could only be described as a much lower-end version.
After showing them Konoha's, they might be able to learn a thing or two to bring back.
No matter what, she had grown up in Sunagakure, so naturally she hoped her hometown would become better.
In short, Temari happily took her younger brothers out to have fun, while Aoba returned to his office.
Break time was over. He had to get back to work.
But someone wasn't happy about that.
Mei Terumi took his seat first, crossing her arms and frowning as she spoke, "You're really planning to work?"
It wasn't just her. Kurotsuchi had followed along as well.
After what had happened yesterday, even with her tsundere personality, Kurotsuchi wanted Aoba to spend more time with her.
As for Samui and Mabui, seeing Mei Terumi and Kurotsuchi come over, they followed too.
There wasn't any special reason.
"Well, what else?"
Aoba asked back with a puzzled expression, "I'm the Hokage and the Daimyo. I've got a lot of work every day, alright?"
"Cut it out. You think we don't know?"
As soon as Mei Terumi heard that, she rolled her eyes at him.
"There are so many secretaries in the Hokage building helping you. How much work could you really have?"
"And I've heard about it too. You often go out on dates with Ino and the others during work hours. Are you sure you're really that busy?"
"..."
Aoba opened his mouth but found himself speechless.
He really wanted to know how she found out about those things.
But after glancing at Shizune, who was covering her mouth and laughing to the side, he immediately understood.
Even after realizing it, he couldn't say anything, because it was the truth.
"We rarely get a free day to come to Konoha, and once we go back there'll be a mountain of things to deal with again. For this last bit of rest time, you're really planning to just leave us aside like this?"
Seeing Aoba unable to respond, Mei Terumi pressed on, hitting right where it hurt.
"Well…"
With things put like that, Aoba felt like he couldn't really refuse.
'But today's work...'
He looked at Shizune, who was still quietly laughing.
"Ahem! Shizune-nee, I'll have to trouble you a bit more."
The smile on Shizune's face gradually disappeared.
In the end, Aoba skipped work yet again and spent half the day wandering around Konoha with Mei Terumi and the others.
Just as Mei Terumi said, the upcoming period would be busy, and this was a rare moment of rest.
Shizune couldn't really stop them and could only watch them leave with a resentful look.
But it was only for this one day.
———
The next morning, Aoba sent them all back to their respective villages.
What followed was the preparation phase for war.
The day after sending them back, Aoba selected a group of Uchiha clan ninjas, along with officials from the Daimyo's residence, and dispatched them to the four great ninja villages as reinforcements.
The Uchiha clan ninjas were there to ensure the successful takeover of the four great nations, while the Daimyo's officials were responsible for assisting with maintaining stability afterward.
Taking over the four great nations was only a matter of timing.
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