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Chapter 288: Alex, Walk With Me in the Land of Rain
Breakfast concluded in a joyful atmosphere. Konan stood up, her gaze resting warmly on Alex. There was a rare softness in her eyes, as if she were recalling some distant memory.
"Alex, take a walk with me through the Land of Rain," she said, her voice as light as rain mist settling over a lake.
"Alright." Alex looked up, met her gaze, and nodded.
He understood her state of mind. The Land of Rain was her home. Amegakure, the village below them, had been entirely wiped out by her own hands—buried alongside all her dark, agonizing memories. But her homeland wasn't just the Hidden Rain Village. It was all the places she had wandered. The eaves she had huddled under to escape the downpours; the limestone cave she had lived in with Yahiko and Nagato as children, and the frog hut by the lake...
They had been too busy lately to dwell on these things. But now, with the shinobi world wiped clean of enemies, and their goals of ascending to Otsutsuki and achieving the Bloodline Encompassing having been met, they suddenly had free time. The memories sealed deep within her mind naturally surged to the surface.
Memories of her childhood. She wanted to go back and see it all again. Just... one last look. She wanted to walk through the places of her youth alongside Alex, the most important person to her.
"Alright." Alex stood up. He didn't say anything else, simply taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Some things didn't need words.
Konan smiled, her mood visibly lifting.
Alex turned to look at the girls around the table. Hinata, Shion, Ryuzetsu, Honoka, Kaguya, Samui, Mei, Ino, Mabui... and Hanabi, who was currently munching on a piece of fruit. They were all looking at him.
"You all stay here with Kameda and start building the Holy City as soon as possible," Alex said calmly. "If you have a preferred architectural style or layout, feel free to design it yourselves. This place is a blank canvas. We can paint it however we wish."
Hinata nodded gently, her pure white eyes filled with earnest determination. "Rest assured, Lord Alex. We will see the Holy City built swiftly."
"Mm-hmm!" Shion nodded vigorously, chiming in happily. "I'm definitely going to design a super pretty building!"
"I will do my best," Ryuzetsu said, brief but resolute.
Honoka and Samui also voiced their agreement immediately, both looking highly motivated.
In truth, they all really wanted to tag along. To go exploring with Lady Konan and Lord Alex. But they all understood that this was a nostalgic journey exclusive to Lady Konan. Aside from the Lord Alex, whom she was closest to, it wasn't their place to intrude.
"Come back soon, Big Sis!" Hanabi called out with a mouthful of fruit.
Konan glanced at her, her smile deepening.
Alex held Konan's hands tightly. Spatial energy coalesced around them, causing the air to distort slightly. In the next instant, the two vanished into thin air like melting ink, leaving only a faint ripple in space that slowly dissipated in the morning breeze.
The deck was quiet for a moment.
Hinata was the first to pull her gaze away, turning to Kameda. "Uncle Kameda, let's begin."
"Yes, ma'am!" Kameda nodded respectfully, his honest face brimming with enthusiasm. He turned and strode toward the edge of the deck.
Hinata, Shion, Ryuzetsu, Honoka, Samui, Mei, Ino, and Mabui followed right behind him. Hanabi skipped along as well, holding Hinata's hand.
Even the typically aloof Kaguya Otsutsuki paused in thought before following them. After they had shared everything with one another last night, there was no need for her to isolate herself anymore. She wanted to go down to the world below, to see and hear more of it, and maybe build a structure she liked. Having been sealed inside the moon for over a millennium, it was high time she stretched her legs and spent time with her new "sisters."
Though they were incredibly young, and she was thousands of years older... time had lost its meaning for immortals like them. When you live for tens or hundreds of thousands of years, what did a mere millennium matter?
The group stood at the edge of the deck, looking down.
Amegakure, once perpetually shrouded in endless rain, was completely gone. In its place was a massive, flat expanse of land. Under the sunlight, you could see it stretch out for miles. The vast, empty expanse, created when Konan leveled Amegakure using the power of the Bloodline Encompassing, looked exactly like a blank sheet of paper draped across the earth, waiting to be written upon.
At the edge of this vast clearing sat row after row of wooden houses. They were uniform and connected, stretching as far as the eye could see. Every single one had been constructed by Alex using Wood Release. They were sturdy, spacious, and perfectly capable of providing shelter from the elements.
These structures housed the millions of villagers relocated from the Five Great Ninja Villages and all the minor ones. They had all been settled here. Between the residential zones were wide roads, drainage channels, and makeshift markets.
Thousands of autonomous puppets, granted sentience by the Tenseigan, along with all the former Sky Ninja, moved through the area, managing the populace and maintaining order.
Every single ninja had their chakra stripped away, reducing them to ordinary civilians. But with millions of people suddenly crammed together, disputes were inevitable. The expressionless puppets patrolled the streets while the Sky Ninja darted back and forth mediating conflicts, keeping everything running smoothly.
As for food and water, they weren't lacking for the moment. All the stockpiled resources from the major hidden villages had been transported here along with the people. There was enough food to last a month. And a month was more than enough time for the other controlled nations and territories to begin shipping a continuous supply of resources.
"Let's go," Kameda said, leaping off the deck.
The girls quickly followed suit. With their Six Paths-level strength, a drop from this height was effortless. Hanabi squealed with delight, held safely in Hinata's arms as she felt the wind whistling past her ears.
The group landed softly. Kameda took a deep breath, his honest face taking on an unprecedented look of sheer solemnity. He reached into his robes and pulled out a Chakra Paper. It radiated a terrifying pulse of energy. Even as a peak Kage-level powerhouse now, Kameda couldn't accurately gauge the sheer volume of chakra stored within the talisman. It felt as boundless and unfathomable as the ocean.
Lord Alex had personally entrusted it to him.
"Everyone, please follow me," Kameda instructed, striding forward. He led the girls through the pristine residential sector until they reached a sprawling, open plaza.
Tens of thousands of people had already gathered there. They were all former shinobi from the major hidden villages. Stripped of their chakra, they were currently no different from ordinary civilians.
. . .
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