Year 65 of the Federation.
Since the Federation originated from the Hidden Sand Village in the Land of Wind, it inherited the ninja village calendar, starting from the year the Warring States period ended.
It had been two years since Hyuga Mirai's grand wedding, as counted from the event by the Federation's Minister of Education and head of the Ninja Academy.
In these two years, the only major event in the ninja world was probably the destruction of the Land of Lightning a month ago. This catastrophic event awakened the Federation, which had been quiet for two years.
Fortunately, during these two years, the Federation had repaired all the main roads and railways across its twelve states and thirty-six districts. Even if a major war broke out, the Federation's ninja forces could reach the frontlines quickly.
However, over these two years, the number of miners and construction workers steadily decreased.
It wasn't from overwork—Federation medical care was advanced, and every mining area had at least one medical machine. Mostly, it was the families of former Konoha ninjas and former Hidden Mist prisoners contributing to the Federation's development. Their only condition after contributing was a reduction in the punishment time for imprisoned family members.
The Federation leadership saw this as reasonable. Former prisoners had always had the chance to reduce their sentences through merit. Many petitioners on behalf of prisoners were already considered Federation insiders, including Temari and former leaders who surrendered voluntarily.
Thanks to their efforts, Hidden Mist ninjas received the largest reductions, with over two thousand gradually returning home.
After them were Konoha ninjas. Many administrators from Konoha lived in the Federation's fourth to eighth states. While they avoided illegal activities, they still petitioned on behalf of others, eventually passing requests up to Tsunade, Kiyo Hyuga, and Kurenai Yuhi.
Some Iwa ninjas also had sentence reductions. After the elders of the Hidden Stone Village surrendered, they decisively relocated everyone to the Federation without prior notice.
Border ninjas initially mistook this for a mobilization from the Land of Earth. Upon verification, they were exasperated. If a level-two alert had been issued in error, the border ninjas would have faced serious consequences.
After reporting to the Federation Administration Center, the Iwa ninjas and prisoner families were gradually settled. They caused no trouble, and beyond initially sending a Dust Release training scroll, the Iwa elder handed over all village savings, Earth Release techniques, archived scrolls, and secrets to the Federation. In return, they received civilian ID, housing, and work placements.
The next morning, Naruto Uzumaki received orders from the security force to escort prisoners at the Land of Lightning border, his first time leading a squad. Sasuke had started a month earlier. Excited, Naruto barely slept. He had interned within the Federation for nearly three years and was assigned to the security force upon graduation.
"Mom, I'm heading out!"
"Ah, so early?"
Kushina Uzumaki peeked from the bathroom. Though two years had passed, she still maintained her youthful, elegant charm and playful demeanor, showing no sign of aging.
"I haven't made breakfast yet. Do you want some bread?"
Naruto, putting on his shoes, replied, "No, Mom. I'll get breakfast at the Shirakumo residence—it tastes better there."
He dashed out, ignoring Kushina's angry shout. The mission would last a month; she'd likely forget by then.
Naruto ran into Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame, members of his squad, though the assembly point was supposed to be the central plaza.
"Hey, Sakura, Kiba, why are you here? Shouldn't you be waiting at the plaza?"
Sakura awkwardly explained that she was anxious about tomorrow's mission. Naruto, skilled in reconnaissance, saw through her excuse. "Sasuke isn't here—he left earlier for his mission. This is your first time; I'll let it slide. But next time, follow my orders, or it goes in your mission record."
Sakura quickly apologized, and Naruto waved it off. These were his former classmates and students of Aunt Kiyo.
"Let's go—the train leaves at nine. Huh? Mirai-uncle?"
Hyuga Mirai appeared with a basket of groceries, wearing combat attire and carrying a Byakugan-equipped protective device.
"Heading out on a mission?" he asked.
"Yep, first time leading a squad," Naruto replied with a grin.
Mirai handed them an eel rice ball. Kiba had not eaten, so he accepted gratefully. Sakura and Shino, also skipping breakfast, followed suit.
Mirai's rice ball stock decreased by three. The Shirakumo breakfast was popular, especially the eel rice balls, of which Mirai had bought seven.
Two years ago, Mirai's wedding had made the Ninja Academy principal memorable. With his striking looks and blue eyes, many let him buy rice balls first, even the shop owner.
"Naruto!" a shout made him shiver. He quickly told Mirai and the others, "Let's go—plaza, now!"
Using chakra-enhanced agility, Naruto and his squad quickly ran through the Federation capital. Kushina, in her Blood Pepper mode, chased after him.
"Buying groceries?!"
Seeing Naruto gone, she muttered. He'd dare scorn her cooking—he'd regret it after the mission.
Mirai sighed, recalling Kiyo's demands for nutritious meals. Using space-time ninjutsu for shopping was prohibited in daily life; only emergency situations allowed it.
Kushina teased, wanting Mirai to let her eat without cooking herself, but he refused.
In the meantime, Kiyo and Mirai's family continued their morning routines. With childcare nutrition preparation, Kiyo was meticulous; Mirai delegated tasks to a clone while preparing for research.
The Federation had merged the Konoha security force, dispersing many Hyuga family members. Kiyo had resigned as clan head after six months of marriage, with Iroho acting as interim leader.
Mirai had reduced his research hours, assigning calculations to Android 18, who also managed his education department duties. The time-travel machine in Roran was near completion, capable of trips up to seventy years, though stability beyond that remained uncertain.
He focused on acquiring the body of Isshiki for his quantum time-space experiments. Meanwhile, Sasori tested high-temperature-resistant materials on the moon, though expenses were high.
Mirai planned to call Orochimaru and Tsunade for further support.
Tsunade had resigned as governor of the sixth state three days prior. Mirai located her sixteen kilometers away in an izakaya. She had quietly resigned, telling only Pakura.
"You still found me," she said.
"There's nowhere in the ninja world I can't find you, Tsunade," Mirai replied. He intended to take her to the Land of Earth for the time-travel project.
The time-travel machine required a "guiding light" from the Land of Earth, which the Akatsuki network could identify.
Tsunade, busy with electromagnetic research, protested, but her interest was piqued. Mirai intended to explore the Pure Land afterward, intrigued by reincarnation phenomena.
Meanwhile, in the former Land of Demons, Hinata Hyuga had been visiting the Miroku shrine for two months. She prepared to return after teaching Shion, a fellow prophetess. Their training had strengthened their abilities, surprising Miroku.
Hinata reflected, "If I could go back and study with stronger Onmyoji, I might see more clearly." She regarded prophecies as fluid—they could represent the future or just dreams.
(End of Chapter)
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