Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

After the edict was read aloud, Ayano handed it to Keita and then stepped aside.

Qi Tai stood up, raised the imperial edict, and faced the assembled officials.

"Do any of you have any objections?"

At this moment, a civil official jumped out, pointed at their noses, and said, "Your Highness, what are you doing...?"

Before he could finish speaking, a flash of light severed his neck, and blood gushed out.

All the ministers immediately knelt down.

"Lord Keita is the son of the Sun God, and his position as Daimyo is truly well-deserved!"

Keita smiled, turned to look at Ayano, and extended his hand.

Ayano walked over and placed her hand in his palm.

Qi Tai pulled her into his arms, and under the watchful eyes of the courtiers, he used his folding fan to shield their faces before lowering his head and kissing her.

Ayano closed her eyes, a blush rising on her face, not from shyness, but from the thought that it was time to give birth to an offspring for the master.

She quickly sensed something was amiss, but it happened in an instant, so fast that it was almost imperceptible.

Then she returned to normal, leaning on Keita's shoulder like a docile kitten.

"We won," Ayano said softly.

"No—" Keita's lips curled up slightly, a deep, unfathomable light flashing in his eyes, "I won."

Ayano blinked, but at that moment, she was completely captivated by the man's charm.

"That's right, you won!" She gripped tighter and hugged even more tightly, her thoughts becoming clearer.

She absolutely must bear a child!

border.

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, and the Fourth Raikage, A, stood in a desolate canyon, their clothes disheveled, with the corpses of several high-ranking figures lying in the corner.

"You said you found traces of the Two-Tails' resurgence here?" Onoki asked breathlessly, staring at Ai across from him.

He was indeed getting old, and he couldn't even win against the younger generation, sometimes even at a cost. So he had to stop and listen to what the younger man had to say.

But upon inquiring, he discovered that something seemed amiss.

"Yes." Ai was panting, feeling that this trip had been incredibly unlucky.

"A spy informed me that tailed beast chakra fluctuations have been detected in this area. The Two-Tails, Matatabi, is about to be resurrected. We've come to retrieve the tailed beast. What's the problem?"

Onoki looked around. A desolate canyon, a dried-up riverbed, withered vegetation. No volcanoes, no flames, not even a trace of heat.

You've been tricked.

"What do you mean?"

Onoki rolled his eyes at him: "As expected, the juniors are unreliable. I really doubt how you became the Raikage. The Two-Tails is fire-elemental; for it to revive, it needs a source of fire. There's neither a volcano here nor a sudden mountain fire; where are the conditions for its revival?"

"Wait, how do you know so much about our tailed beasts? You're not trying to trick me and keep my tailed beasts for yourself, are you?!"

"Idiot, I'll curse your grandma!" Onoki was so angry he wanted to curse.

Just then, an ANBU ninja came running from a distance and knelt down in front of Onoki.

"Lord Tsuchikage, an urgent report from the capital!"

Onoki took the secret letter and unfolded it. His face changed, looking as ugly as if he had eaten shit.

"Very well...very well." He crumpled the letter into pieces. "A few mere merchants dare to play a diversionary tactic against me."

At this moment, the Fourth Raikage realized he had been tricked. Although he was furious, the most important thing right now was to leave as soon as possible. Onoki was about to lose his temper, and he couldn't beat him.

However, Onoki didn't even glance at him, and took to the air, flying swiftly towards the royal capital.

Inside the daimyo's residence, Kaguya Keita sat in the main seat of the main hall, holding a cup of sake in his hand, looking relaxed.

The doors to the main hall were suddenly pushed open, and the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, hovered in the doorway, his small eyes fixed on Keita, who was sitting in the main seat, his expression as if he wanted to devour him.

"I am deeply sorry for not welcoming the Third Tsuchikage properly." Keita put down his wine cup and said to the eunuch beside him, "Go and find a seat for the Tsuchikage."

The eunuch nervously brought over a chair.

Onoki did not sit down. He floated into the main hall and landed on the ground, his gaze never leaving Kaita.

"You, the son of a mere merchant, have the audacity to usurp power."

Keita picked up his glass, took a small sip, and looked up to meet Onoki's gaze.

"So what?"

Onoki clenched his fists, his chakra beginning to surge. The usually arrogant nobles huddled together, too scared to even breathe, and could only sneak towards the door.

Because they knew that some ninjas, when angered, would actually kill.

But soon, Onoki's imposing manner subsided.

Yes, what can Onoki do to him now? If he dares to make a move now, he will be breaking the rules.

At that time, the other daimyo will definitely be uneasy, and the Fourth Shinobi World War will probably break out in an instant, and their Iwagakure will become the target of everyone's attacks.

At this moment, Ryuji Ida walked to the middle with a smile and said, "Oh dear, what's going on here? One of you is the ruler of a country, and the other is the head of a village. Don't ruin the harmony and make yourselves a laughing stock. Third Hokage, we will not reduce Iwagakure's funding by a single penny; in fact, we will give it three times more than usual. What do you think of this?"

Upon hearing that there was money to be made, Onoki's anger instantly subsided by three points.

Although he hated being made fun of, he didn't care who was the big boss; the important thing was that the country's tax revenue was stable and that money was being paid.

Moreover, since the other daimyo recognized his identity, he had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.

"I want four times the amount!" Onoki Shishi demanded, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Okay!" Qi Tai put down his wine glass and readily agreed.

After Onoki left, Ryuji Ida finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're too reckless. Do you know that he's one of the few top ninjas in the world? If we really fight, no one here will survive."

Qi Tai held his wine glass, savoring it slowly: "But he wouldn't dare, would he?"

"However, I am uneasy about Iwagakure still controlling the military of the Land of Earth. Father, perhaps we should find a way to change the masters of Iwagakure."

Upon hearing this, Ryuji Ida was greatly shocked. After a long silence, he said, "This is a huge matter, son. Please allow me to think about it first."

"Father, I know you still have connections within the organization, and this may well be the Lord's intention."

Otherwise, why were the Four-Tails and Five-Tails suddenly released? You once said that the ninja world would eventually be unified, but these five great ninja villages are ultimately an obstacle!

"My son, let me think about it, let me think about it some more."

In reality, the idea of ​​unifying the ninja world was just something Ryuji Ida casually mentioned.

Just conquering half of the Land of Earth had already exhausted him; the gap between reality and ideal was still too great when it came to unifying the ninja world.

Qi Tai noticed his father's hesitation and didn't press him further.

He understood that some forces and powers, if they were to be utilized, must be acquired gradually.