Uchiha Gen let his Susanoo dissolve. The towering figure collapsed into shimmering fragments, fading into the sunlight as he stepped onto his white cloud and drifted slowly back down.
"I refuse!" Uchiha Sasuke shot to his feet, lifting his right hand high. His face was flushed with excitement.
Naruto almost followed, his hand twitching upward, but something in his chest whispered that something felt off. He hesitated, unsure, caught between instinct and the momentum around him.
Sasuke's shout broke the tension. At once, the Uchiha clan snapped out of their stunned silence. Faces red, muscles tight, they raised their fists and roared, "We refuse!" Their voices rolled like thunder, shaking the rooftops.
Once someone takes the lead, the rest follow easily.
Bloodline Limit clans with ancient, prestigious histories called out next, then the secret arts clans, and finally the ordinary ninja.
"I refuse!"
"I refuse!"
"I refuse!"
The plaza roared with layered voices, the sound rising like a storm tide. Even the civilians, swept up by the energy and reassured by Gen's earlier declaration that they were not lowly, threw their voices in as well. For them, nobles had ruled over commoners for more than a thousand years. Changing who stood above them didn't change their daily reality much. Maybe, if they were lucky, it could even lead to something better.
As civilians joined in, the atmosphere surged to a fever pitch. With Sasuke and Sakura shouting at his side, Naruto finally lost the internal tug-of-war and yelled too.
On the rooftop, Jiraiya watched Gen's back with a complicated gaze. Was this right? It was too audacious, too overwhelming. It made the heart uneasy.
But it was the direction the world was already tilting toward. Every person around him had raised their hand in support. He hesitated, then raised his own.
Forget it. Nobles really weren't innocent. They had done too many things in the shadows. Cleaning them out wasn't necessarily bad.
The danger was what came after. If ninja replaced nobles and then themselves rotted from within, that would be far worse than the old system. He would need to advise Gen carefully, rein things in where he could. Maybe they couldn't stop all ninja from falling, but preventing most from slipping would be crucial.
As Jiraiya firmed his resolve, Gen touched down on the edge of the rooftop and lifted his hands, pressing slowly downward.
The roaring crowd quieted like a tide drawing back.
"Very good. It seems you all still have spirit and judgment."
His voice rolled across the plaza.
"Nobles are one mountain we must overturn. The other mountain is war."
"Only by removing both can we prevent the tragedies of this world from repeating. Only then can ninja truly find happiness."
"How do we overturn them?"
"My method is unification."
"Only one ninja village in this world: Konoha. Only one nation: a new country built with Konoha as its core."
"This country will be the world."
"If everyone belongs to one family, there will no longer be wars, only disagreements between relatives."
"For this, I and the village leadership have already taken certain steps."
"Bring them forward."
At his command, Pakura, wearing the Kazekage hat and robes, strode up first and stood at Gen's side with a bright, sincere smile.
From the stairway emerged Raikage A, Tsuchikage Onoki, and Mizukage Yagura, each wearing their village's formal hat and robes. Their smiles were stiff, strained at the edges.
They truly didn't want to be paraded out like this, but one bows under another's roof, especially when Gen had offered them benefits they couldn't afford to lose. If they refused, their villages would receive nothing in the upcoming new era. A tiny price to pay for future influence.
Gen smiled. "Please state your positions."
Pakura declared clearly, "I am the Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand. On behalf of the Hidden Sand, I announce that we will integrate into Konoha, with Konoha as the main body. From this moment, we are not allies. We are one family."
Raikage A, smile tight, raised his voice. "I am the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure. On behalf of Kumogakure, I announce that Kumogakure surrenders to Konoha and will follow the direction of Konoha's leadership."
Tsuchikage Onoki echoed him. "I am the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure. On behalf of Iwagakure, I announce that we surrender to Konoha and follow the direction of Konoha's leadership."
Then Mizukage Yagura spoke. "I am the Fourth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist. On behalf of the Hidden Mist, I announce that we surrender to Konoha and will follow the direction of Konoha's leadership."
Silence spread across the plaza. Eyes widened. Minds struggled to process what they had just heard.
Then, after a long heartbeat, the entire square erupted. Cheers exploded like fireworks, people shouting wildly, faces red, hands waving as they babbled to one another in disbelief and excitement.
Gen let them vent, smiling faintly.
"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!"
Uchiha Itachi, abandoning his usual calm, raised his hand high. His eyes shone with heat, his face flushed, veins standing out on his neck as he yelled.
He remembered vividly the day Gen had told him and Shisui about the Uchiha clan's history, the rot in the world, and his dreams. And now that dream was no longer just an ideal. Gen had quietly achieved the impossible.
With Itachi leading, the Uchiha clan shouted next, and soon ninja from every clan joined in. Ordinary ninja, then civilians followed.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Hokage-sama!"
The roar stabilized into a single, thunderous chant that shook the sky.
Gen didn't suppress it. He closed his eyes, spread his arms wide, and breathed in the adoration, letting their voices flow over him like a rising tide.
After a few breaths, he opened his eyes and lowered his arms. The crowd instantly fell silent again.
At this point, his authority overshadowed the combined legacy of every Hokage before him.
"Everyone."
"I and the village leadership have already broken the three hardest bones. The rest is up to you."
"I will assign commanders to lead you in sweeping through the remaining small villages and the aristocratic forces of every nation."
"You will not be fighting alone. You will stand with comrades from all four major ninja villages."
"As for enemies, my preferred approach is to make them surrender."
"When you reach a target, explain the situation clearly and let them choose."
"Those who subdue the enemy without fighting will receive the highest military merit. The team will share in that merit."
"Those who refuse and resist, except for infants too young to remember, shall be killed without mercy."
"But remember this: do not torture. Give the enemy a quick death whenever possible."
"If the enemy is defeated and surrenders, you will accept the old, the weak, women, and children. All remaining adult men shall be executed."
"The flower of peace cannot bloom without being watered with blood. Only then can it deter the ambitious."
"Do you understand?"
"Understood!" thousands of voices answered together.
"This is the last war."
"Your chance to earn honor and bring glory to your ancestors is now. Do not disappoint me."
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The three thunderous shouts shot into the sky, their killing intent sweeping across the entire village and beyond.
The handful of aristocratic spies hidden among the civilians trembled violently. In that instant, every one of them decided to abandon their old masters and flee toward the winning side.