Imperial City.
As the sounds of the Fifth Great Ninja War outside grew louder, people still within the Land of Fire were anxious and uneasy.
People were moving everywhere, wanting to get away from the Land of Fire, this place of trouble. There were also those who turned to banditry, stopping those who were moving and making a fortune.
Outside was full of chaos, but inside the city, it was bustling with excitement.
Recently, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites had combined efforts to construct a massive building within the Imperial Palace. The building was so towering that it could be seen even from the streets and alleys of the outer city.
Besides this building, decorations and food from all over were being transported into the Imperial Palace in batches, as if they cost nothing. Shisui named it the Tower of Celebration.
The common people and ninjas were all very curious.
"What is this for?"
"Are they finally starting to prepare for war?"
"That's not right. Why does it look to me like they are celebrating something?"
Before everyone's confusion had even lasted a day, they were shocked by the announcements posted at every city gate.
"Announcing the founding of the nation... Uchiha Empire..."
"To actually officially establish a nation at this time..."
"At a time like this, isn't this a slap in the face to the Allied Shinobi Forces?"
"This is urging the Allied Shinobi Forces to hurry up and attack."
Apart from helplessness, the common people and ninjas were all very worried.
What if they couldn't win?
What if they lost?
What if...
Countless "what ifs" caused panic within the city.
But a giant made of molten lava, comparable in size to a Tailed Beast, erupted from the Imperial Palace. Its terrifying presence, god-like and emotionless, ravaged the entire city and spread outward. Within a radius of several kilometers, there was silence, only terror and dread.
Everyone feared that their words from just moments ago had angered that tyrant. All unease and questioning ceased the moment it appeared.
Someone gulped and, as if apologizing, said cautiously, "Great... that's great, the nation is finally established..."
"Yeah... yeah..."
"Hooray..."
"We finally have a home..."
They looked toward the palace cautiously.
Seeing the lava giant disappear, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
A second later, sounds of excitement erupted.
"Long live the Uchiha Empire!"
"Then today is the first year of the Uchiha Empire!"
"It's truly great to be a member of the Uchiha Empire!"
The cheering was awkward but with some people blindly following the trend, the awkwardness was immediately dispelled, leaving only excitement.
For a while, joy spread throughout the entire imperial capital.
No one knew what they were really thinking, but everyone wore a brilliant smile. After all, one had to be politically correct.
—
The Imperial Palace.
At the request of Shisui, Hiromi had used his Molten God Form near the new building to intimidate the disobedient citizens and ninjas in the city, before returning to his Hall of Contemplation.
Before entering, he sensed someone inside, the Chakra was very familiar. Hiromi's pace did not change as he walked in without a word. He glanced at Orochimaru standing there, sat on the main seat, and started drinking tea.
"Hehehe, Hiromi-kun, we meet again." Orochimaru showed no respect toward Hiromi.
But apart from that sentence, he made no other moves. Clearly, he was testing Hiromi.
"Do not challenge my patience." Hiromi said calmly.
In his previous residence, if Orochimaru had dared to enter without permission, Hiromi would certainly have wanted to kill him. But now, he was alone in the Hall of Contemplation, and he didn't care who came in. If they annoyed him, he would just kill them.
As for Orochimaru's resurrection, it was simple. He could even resurrect after being sealed by the Shinigami. Even if his soul were extracted, he could borrow a body to resurrect through one of the cursed seal bearers among the Otogakure Five. It was just that cursed seal bearers were hard to find. Ordinary people would die as soon as the seal was applied, and if he borrowed a body from such a cursed seal, it would just mean dying again. Only the Otogakure Five could support him for that long.
Upon hearing Hiromi's words, Orochimaru seemed to relax quite a bit. He chuckled with a hoarse "hehehe" and said, "I want to join you."
"Very well."
Orochimaru had not expected Hiromi to agree so quickly, and the smile on his face became even brighter.
"From today on, you are the Minister of the Ministry of Trials, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue. As for test subjects, go see the Ministry of Justice."
"Yes."
Orochimaru bowed slightly with a smile and left, looking very happy.
Hiromi's arrangement for Orochimaru was just a simple sentence. But establishing a department was very troublesome.
First, the Ministry of Personnel needed to know the department's positioning and authority.
Second, the Ministry of Revenue had to determine the location, monthly budget, and recoverable costs.
Third, the Ministry of Works had to construct it and specify the equipment.
Finally, the Ministry of Justice needed to determine the authority of the Ministry of Trials, specifically whether it could unconditionally requisition death row inmates or serious criminals.
Although it seemed to require the cooperation of these four departments, the experiments conducted by the Ministry of Trials could be used in education or the military, so both the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War also needed to curry favor with the Ministry of Trials.
Therefore, they all had to save some face and help out a little to get familiar.
Orochimaru watched as they built a laboratory for him with great fanfare, smiling happily.
"This is much more legitimate than Konoha." He said with a smile.
Shikaku stood by the side. As the Prime Minister, all the Ministers were under his jurisdiction, so he naturally had to come when a new department was established.
However, he was biased against Orochimaru due to his past human experiments. Therefore, his words carried a hint of warning.
"No one can betray Hiromi. Please pay attention to make Hiromi the core of your experiments."
"Hehehe, thank you, Shikaku-sama." Orochimaru didn't seem to take it to heart.
Shikaku wasn't worried either. After all, if something went wrong, Hiromi would handle it.
He soon left.
Orochimaru's return led to Anko from the Ministry of War being transferred over.
"Hmph!"
The twenty-four-year-old Anko was very happy in her heart to see Orochimaru return again. For her, this was the best ending. But because of what Orochimaru had done in the past and how he had abandoned her, she felt that being too happy made her seem too much of a sycophant. So, she snorted coldly and turned her head to stand aside.
Orochimaru chuckled "hehehe" and rubbed Anko's head.
Anko shook her head, not wanting to let Orochimaru touch her.
This went on for several days.
Orochimaru was neither annoyed nor angry, as if he were playing a head-patting and head-shaking game with Anko.
That was until she saw a red-haired girl wearing glasses.
"Karin is here too."
"Orochimaru-sama, why didn't you come to see me when you didn't die? They grabbed me so painfully just now." Karin ran in front of Orochimaru, complaining about the violence of the Ministry of War.
Orochimaru smiled, patting Karin's head. He didn't say anything, but he looked very doting toward Karin.
This made Anko, who was standing nearby, very dissatisfied. She quietly gritted her teeth at Gaara, who had violently grabbed Karin, and said, "Next time, break her arm."
Temari: "..."
Gaara ignored her.
The two of them left after delivering Karin but they met again before long.