Chad looked directly at an uneasy Terumi, trying to understand how the plan had gone off course.
The Mizukage had put on a display of power with an entrance worthy of an Oscar. Just when he thought Terumi would stab Kirigakure in the back to open the way for him and let Kumogakure's ninja in, she appeared instead to "negotiate" their surrender.
This was not what Chad had planned.
His plan was: distract, spread paranoia, kill the Water Daimyo, crush Kirigakure, loot everything, and return to see how his wives were doing alongside his newest addition.
Of course, there would be casualties among Kumogakure's ninja despite his presence and B, but what war doesn't have losses?
Now, however, he had the entire village of Kirigakure ready to surrender, dissolve, and be absorbed into Kumogakure—at least partially, mostly, and under certain conditions.
As for those who slipped away during the negotiations, Orochimaru would handle them. They were not a real threat, and they hadn't taken anything worth regretting.
Once again, this was not what he had planned—it was better.
Far from being able to simply close the matter, as the leader of the assault force he had to establish communication with the Raikage and let him hold a long discussion with the Mizukage in front of everyone.
And man—Terumi could act!
She secured just enough that the people of Kirigakure felt surrendering was worth it and that they could preserve their strength, but not as much as they had demanded. The Raikage knew exactly when it was worth conceding because it didn't hurt him much, or when to firmly refuse.
Once negotiations concluded, Kirigakure had officially fallen.
The village soon became a ghost town, and to ensure there would be no issues, Chad asked B to launch another Bijūdama to make sure they wouldn't regret their decision halfway through.
Of course, they could use the already-built village as a fortress and main forward base in the Land of Water, but in Chad's opinion—and that of those who knew better—its location was terrible.
The founders had simply chosen a convenient spot on the map; they had not thought long-term.
It would be better to build a new settlement from scratch in a location of their choosing, closer to the northern coastline.
Now, with everything that had happened, displaced people and bandits flourished across the country—but that was no concern of Chad's. The Land of Water had fallen, and all administrative matters no longer concerned him.
From now on, the entire western map of the elemental nations was unified, because he didn't believe Darui and the others would have any trouble handling the smaller surrounding territories.
As for further expansion—forget it.
It would take decades to unify and properly defend the newly expanded Land of Lightning.
The return journey with the "hostages" was tense, but only one incident occurred.
"What are Uchiha doing here?" he asked the bound ninja kneeling in front of him. "With Hyūga, of all possibilities."
Although Zetsu had warned him that the Fire Daimyo might send reinforcements to the Water Daimyo, at this point he had thought no one would come—or if they did, they would retreat upon realizing there was nothing left to save or reinforce.
Kakui Uchiha kept his mouth shut and his gaze stubbornly fixed forward.
He was the jōnin leader of four squads—two from his clan and two from the Hyūga branch family—sent to investigate the situation. A team designed primarily to gather intelligence and report back, with enough combat ability and small enough numbers to avoid detection.
But Kirigakure's fall had been too fast, and they had been unable to gather much information.
Damn it—there was nothing left to gather in the crater that once was Kirigakure!
Given that, he decided to follow the Kumogakure ninja and observe the situation from a distance. Unfortunately, they somehow attracted the attention of Kumogakure's Dodomeki and were captured before they could send any information back to the village.
The fight only left them injured.
He even tried to use his three-tomoe Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on Chad, taking advantage of how close they were—but the only result was Chad forming a peace sign and pressing his fingers against his eyes until the sound of bursting grapes rang out clearly.
"Aaaagh!"
B grimaced, but not because of the Uchiha's scream of pain.
Come on—that was a perfectly usable pair of three-tomoe Sharingan!
Do you know how rare those are on the black market?
What a waste. What a waste…
"Don't make that face," Chad said to B while wiping his fingers with a clean cloth, turning his gaze toward Terumi. "Here's your opportunity. Finish them. Just leave the bodies for later—disintegrating them would be a complete waste."
Terumi nodded, still maintaining her role as the "obedient hostage Mizukage" as she executed the people from Konoha in front of her own people.
With both Uchiha and Hyūga ninjas delivered at his feet like this, Chad could expand his supply of Uchiha and Hyūga sperm and ova without needing to rely on Kakuzu again. As long as the bodies were preserved properly, he could still hand them to his assistants for maximum extraction.
He didn't know how concentrated the lineage would be, but a simple spectral analysis would allow him to examine their genomes in depth.
"Maybe I should expand the orphanage in the coming years?" he thought.
The former Kirigakure ninja silently sighed as they watched their Mizukage reduced to the role of executioner, but at least there were no outrageous demands.
They understood why this was an "opportunity" for them, even though none of them would ever return to Konoha—and according to the Kumogakure commander, their bodies would still end up in a lab for study. The information would surely be "leaked" so that Konoha would believe the former Kirigakure ninja were responsible.
"This man is terrifying," the former Kirigakure officials thought, mentally noting to warn their clans during the journey.
He had deliberately erased the village so his people would have no place to return to, while now placing them on the opposite side of Konoha to create shared enemies.
The moment interests and benefits align with people, there is no escape.
They could only remain in Kumogakure, protect themselves from their common enemy, and fight for shared interests. Unless they became rogue ninja—but at this point, that wouldn't be profitable. It was better to see what Kumogakure offered first.
On all fronts, it was an open and straightforward plan—but the worst part was that it worked.
Seeing their assimilation already progressing to this level before even reaching Kumogakure's gates made them shudder.
"No, I need to secure as many benefits as possible so my clan can integrate quickly and prosper," many of them began planning in secret.
They tried to recall everything they knew about Kumogakure in order to start anew without losing too much strength, planning how to rebuild their fortunes and expand their influence.
In this regard, the Mizukage had made a brilliant move against the Raikage.
Despite technically being a hostage and prisoner, her prestige remained intact, and she had managed to convince the opposing Kage to also show sincerity.
After all, words are easy to say—and even easier to forget, especially in this profession.
She demanded actions: a way to prove that everything wasn't empty promises.
As a result of a two-hour discussion, Kumogakure's Dodomeki would take the Mizukage as his wife, thereby cementing a stronger commitment to integration on both sides.
Vaguely remembering that the Mizukage already had a fiancé in her heart, they could only swear not to waste her sacrifice.
Mei Terumi was surely broken inside—but she maintained a firm front for them!
Unfortunately, this also meant they could not use the same approach…
The Dodomeki of Kumogakure's status was only barely acceptable for their Mizukage, but at least as his wife (one of them), combined with his own strength, she would have enough influence within Kumogakure to prevent injustices against their people.
If Terumi knew their thoughts, she would wave her hand while rolling her eyes.
"Yes, yes, I'll help you from time to time, I suppose that would be fair, but… it all depends on how you behave at my wedding!"
Because that was what truly mattered!
As long as they brought good wedding gifts and didn't cause trouble, Terumi was willing to devote a small part of her attention to continuing her public role as the "former Mizukage who cares for her people."
As for private matters—maybe it would be a fun roleplay?
Then Terumi realized something.
Wait… does that make me the equivalent of Mito Uzumaki?
Not exactly, but the similarities…
Chad looked warily at Terumi, who had a distracted expression, sensing that her thoughts were drifting somewhere far away.