After Mabui confirmed Jiraiya's death the next day, Chad felt much more at ease for some reason. The seals placed on the man weren't just for precaution—there was also one specifically embedded in his heart which, with considerable mockery, he had named Hi no Ishi Fūin (Seal of the Will of Fire). He could detonate it with a single hand sign at any time, from anywhere.
And there was definitely fire in that seal.
Maybe he had been a bit hasty in activating it (he would never be sure), but at least he made sure to include a beeping sound that accelerated as the seal activated over a few seconds. That should have given the interrogators time to evacuate before the big explosion.
As for the charred body, there wasn't much they could recover, and the head hadn't remained intact either, so no further information could be obtained. As a result, Jiraiya's remains were incinerated and casually discarded.
"One down, two to go," he thought.
Hibui and Kiyui took the pregnancy news better than he expected, but they only let him go after each of them left the room with an extra ring on their ring finger.
Chad now had a double wedding scheduled for a month later. Apparently, both kunoichi believed that if they joined forces on the wedding night, they could dominate him.
How adorable of them to think that, truly.
They hadn't managed it the last times they teamed up—how were they going to do it when Chad actually got serious?
Maybe they had some ace up their sleeves?
"At least I'll be fully recovered by then," he clenched his fist as he examined himself. The worst had already passed, but he still needed a few more days to be back at full capacity.
What should his next step be after the wedding?
"Wait… why wait?" he realized. "I should start executing the plan to replace the Lightning Daimyo. If I want him to start expressing a desire to expand the Land of Lightning, I can't do it overnight."
Well, he could, but not if he wanted to properly mobilize the Land of Lightning's resources.
"But where to begin?"
The Land of Lightning was in a rather peculiar position on the map—almost tucked into a corner.
A bit to the west, past the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Sound, lay the Land of Iron, where the samurai still existed, right next to the Land of Medicine.
Both were among the few truly neutral territories, and no one wanted to be the first to push them into the opposing side.
Heading south led directly to the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Water, but places like the Land of Forests, the Land of the Moon, or the Land of Tea weren't viable without the سقوط of Kirigakure, and it would also be necessary to eliminate the Water Daimyo.
Achieving that would allow the Land of Lightning—and by extension Kumo—to "bite into" the entire eastern side of the map beyond the Land of Fire.
It wouldn't be a huge territorial gain, since the islands barely matched the Land of Lightning in size, but strategically it would be invaluable—Konoha would no longer have a small, manageable border to monitor if they wanted to act.
As for the east…
"Besides the Land of Fangs and the Land of Bamboo, there's the Land of Keys."
He could use Zetsu's move and make a push into that territory "reasonable" by claiming they hadn't provided a satisfactory explanation. As for Kiri's reaction—who undoubtedly had forces deployed there—that would be a headache for later.
"But we can't leave our own position unattended. If I could block the border with the Land of Frost for a few weeks, by the time people like the Fire Daimyo and the Hokage try to react, it would already be too late."
Still, he considered it wise to finalize the plan with Black Zetsu. That mind, which had manipulated so many events behind the scenes, could surely help him chart a better course of action.
"I still need to speak with the Raikage about these matters and coordinate with the fake Lightning Daimyo," Chad reflected. "But I can't forget about the Akatsuki either. Even though the Land of Rain is at the far west of the Land of Fire and shouldn't care about our moves, they might set their sights on Yugito or Killer B."
Nagato—and especially Obito—were unstable variables. Though thinking about it, with Obito's hatred for Kirigakure, he might be able to get Black Zetsu to suggest a plan to "use" Kumo to destroy the village.
With Obito's mental instability, he might even help!
As for Utakata's fate, if Zetsu wanted to use him as a "stealth reward" for Akatsuki, what did Chad care?
If the Six-Tails jinchūriki was the price to keep Nagato quiet for a couple more years and let Obito indulge in his revenge while Kumo grew stronger, it would be worth it!
…
"You're oversimplifying it," Black Zetsu denied after meeting with him a week later.
"In what way?"
"From a ninja perspective, that might be all there is to it—but the reaction of the other daimyos won't be small, especially those near the 'new border' of the Land of Lightning. They'll fear being next to be absorbed, and it could lead to an alliance of interests," the dark, amorphous mass explained. "The upside, however, is that such alliances can be dismantled through those same interests…" he concluded with a chilling smile.
"I'm listening."
"First of all, I need to know what you plan to do with Kiri," Black Zetsu said. "Don't think that just because their Seven Ninja Swordsmen are incomplete and they've ended the 'Bloody Mist' era that their overall level has dropped significantly. Yes, they're fewer, but every ninja and kunoichi who survived that period has real capability."
Chad recalled the Demon Brothers who ambushed Team Seven during their mission with Tazuna—a perfectly placed puddle in the middle of the road.
They hadn't seemed particularly impressive…
"Not to mention their new Mizukage, Mei Terumi, has become their beacon of hope—and her strength is no small matter. She's reached a point where even the clans don't dare send her marriage proposals," Black Zetsu added. "While tricking Obito into helping destroy Kiri would be easy for me, and using Utakata as an excuse makes it more viable—we might even convince some Akatsuki members to act—we still won't be able to deal with the Mizukage easily."
"What if I made the Mizukage herself switch sides and help us destroy her own village?" Chad asked with a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Black Zetsu looked at him, puzzled.
"That won't work," he refuted without hesitation. "Terumi is fiercely loyal to her village. She even led the others to overthrow the previous Mizukage who was controlled by Obito. I don't think there's any bribe or threat that could influence her to do that."
"I'll handle that," a scarlet eye opened on Chad's cheek, its fused tomoe slowly spinning. "Hypothetically speaking, if I made her change sides somehow… how could we pull it off?"