The Land of Rain, Amegakure.
Following Brook's orders, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan had used Asura Path Hanzo to raid Iwagakure's supply lines and seize a huge amount of war materiel.
Not long after, news of Iwagakure's crushing defeat spread through the region, and the three of them were even more excited. With the Stone hidden village already crippled, they no longer needed to worry about immediate retaliation.
With those supplies in hand, Amegakure would be able to recover much of the strength it had lost.
And with the Lord Death standing behind them, all three were filled with ambition. They truly believed they could change the world and bring about real peace.
There were even rumors spreading through the ninja world that the war had nearly exploded only to be forcefully suppressed by a mysterious powerhouse from Konoha, a man named Brook, who had single-handedly subdued three great nations.
That, naturally, made the three of them highly suspicious.
Could that so-called Konoha powerhouse actually be their Lord Death?
Several days passed.
Brook never appeared again, nor did he assign them any new tasks.
With no further orders, the three of them could only continue strengthening themselves.
Yahiko had the least time to train, since he now had to deal with most of Amegakure's internal affairs. As a result, his strength had gradually fallen behind the other two.
Konan continued refining her Paper Release techniques, while Nagato devoted himself to the Uzumaki sealing arts Brook had left behind.
Today, Konan was trying something new.
She was attempting to inscribe explosive tag formulas onto her paper techniques.
If she succeeded, then she would become a walking explosive tag factory, able to make as many as she wanted.
Boom!
"It worked!"
Konan's eyes lit up as she cried out in delight.
"From now on, I'll be the little rich girl Lord Death talked about!"
Not only could she use explosive tags freely herself, she could also sell them for money.
"Not bad at all. Your paper ability really is perfect for making explosive tags."
A voice suddenly sounded from behind her.
Brook had arrived through the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Lord Death!"
Konan cried out in surprise.
Then her eyes suddenly widened.
His eyes...
The Rinnegan was gone.
Or rather, it was no longer visible. Brook's eyes now looked ordinary, and that instantly made her uneasy.
"From now on, call me Lord Brook. The Rinnegan is simply sealed for the moment. Anyway, I came here to give you your next mission."
Brook picked up one of Konan's newly made explosive tags, studied it for a moment, and spoke casually.
In the ninja world, the price of explosive tags varied greatly.
It depended on the quality of the sealing formula, the strength of the fire style technique stored inside, and the quality of the chakra paper used to make them.
The cheapest detonating tags sold for only two thousand ryo.
The best ones could cost twelve thousand.
Meanwhile, the reward for the lowest rank D mission was only five thousand to fifty thousand ryo, and that had to be split across an entire squad. For many low-level ninja, a single explosive tag could cost nearly as much as an entire mission payout.
That was why most ninja couldn't afford to use explosive tags in large numbers.
They really were too expensive.
Even an elite jonin or a Kage level expert could only earn a bit over a million ryo from a single S rank mission, and that still wouldn't buy one hundred high-grade explosive tags.
If the mission payout was shared with others, the amount each person got was even lower.
And that was before considering failed attempts, wasted materials, and damaged seals.
To make an explosive tag properly, three things were required.
Chakra paper.
A fire style technique.
And sealing techniques.
Only by combining all three could someone make a usable detonating tag.
Konan's Paper Release bloodline gave her a huge advantage, because she could create the paper herself and avoid spending money on one of the most costly materials.
She already knew a bit of fire style.
So did Nagato and Hirohiko.
And Nagato was especially talented in sealing techniques.
If Konan produced the paper, Nagato inscribed the formulas, and the three of them worked together to seal fire style chakra into the paper, they could manufacture explosive tags in staggering quantities.
"Lord Brook!"
"Lord Brook!"
Nagato and Yahiko quickly sensed his arrival as well. The two of them rushed over and immediately dropped to one knee before him.
"Get up. Konan, once you've mastered making chakra paper, take it one step further and turn it into chakra oil paper. That way, you'll be able to create waterproof explosive tags."
As he spoke, Brook casually released a stream of water style chakra onto one of the tags. The paper instantly softened and became useless.
Even if chakra paper could contain ninjutsu, at the end of the day, it was still paper. Water style remained an obvious weakness.
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Brook."
Konan answered earnestly, though her eyes still couldn't help drifting toward him.
So the Brook who had suppressed the three great nations really was their Lord Brook.
"Lord Brook," Yahiko said carefully, "are you planning to assign us another mission?"
Brook glanced at the three of them.
"Yes. Your next task is to unify the world and end war. I have already taken control of the Land of Fire. Next, the daimyo's residence in the Land of Rain will also be removed. Konan, you will take over the capital of the Land of Rain and become its first queen."
He spoke as though he were discussing something utterly ordinary.
"From now on, the entire ninja world will gradually be brought into the Allied Shinobi Nations. The royal family will belong only to the Brook clan."
The three of them froze.
Konan's eyes widened.
Yahiko frowned at once.
Nagato caught onto the important part immediately.
"Lord Brook... are you from the Brook clan?"
Brook gave him a faint smile.
"Yes. I'm Brook, and right now, I am the only one left in the Brook clan. Konan will be the second. Even the Land of Fire doesn't yet have a queen."
"Lord Brook, if we do this, won't it trigger even more war?" Yahiko asked in a tense voice. "Wouldn't that just create even more casualties?"
Brook looked at him calmly.
"Yahiko, believe me. A short pain is better than a long one. If rotten flesh isn't cut away, the wound will never heal. Only by breaking the old world quickly can peace come faster."
That answer left Yahiko silent, though his expression remained complicated.
Konan, meanwhile, was completely stunned.
"The... second member of the Brook clan? And the first queen of the Land of Rain?"
Her face flushed red almost instantly, and she began fidgeting awkwardly.
It was obvious she had started thinking in a direction Brook had not bothered explaining.
"Enough. We're leaving right now."
Brook did not waste any more time. He immediately took the three of them straight to the daimyo's residence of the Land of Rain.
What followed was swift and merciless.
With Brook acting personally, the daimyo's family of the Land of Rain had no ability to resist at all.
The entire daimyo clan was wiped out.
Every last one.
No future trouble was left behind.
Afterward, Brook subdued the ministers and remaining officials, then left Konan in charge of the new regime. He also left behind Asura Path Hanzo and ten Otsutsuki puppets to help her stabilize the situation as quickly as possible.
At the same time, Brook used the Illusory Body Technique to contact Orochimaru and have a public announcement issued:
The Land of Fire had officially joined the Allied Shinobi Nations.
The Land of Rain would now do the same.
Even then, Brook offered almost no explanation.
He only left them with one simple sentence.
"Peace is coming. My power is enough to force the world into submission."
Nagato and Konan, anxious though they were, chose to believe him.
Yahiko, on the other hand, could only bury his discomfort over the slaughter at the daimyo's residence and continue moving forward in the name of peace.
After giving Konan a few final instructions, Brook left the Land of Rain and its new Rain Capital behind.
His next target was already waiting.
Another tailed beast.
-------------
The Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Pakura of the Scorch Release had just returned from a reconnaissance mission in Iwagakure, exhausted to the bone.
Still, the intelligence she brought back was enough to lift anyone's spirits.
Iwagakure had indeed been crushed by Konoha. The Land of Earth was now in complete disorder, with no strength left to continue harassing the already weakened Sunagakure.
"Teacher! Train with me!"
Her student, Maki, ran over excitedly the moment she saw Pakura return, her eyes full of expectation.
"Alright."
Though she was tired, Pakura still did not refuse.
She immediately began guiding the girl who was preparing for the Chunin Exams.
The next day, Pakura was once again assigned a secret mission by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
This time, however, it was not an ordinary mission.
It was a political transaction between great powers.
Even a weakened Sunagakure could still beat a broken Iwagakure while it was down. So, following the principle of allying with distant powers to strike nearby enemies, Rasa secretly forged an alliance with Genji of Kirigakure to jointly pressure Iwagakure.
Kirigakure had suffered heavy losses as well, so on the surface, the two villages were in a position to cooperate as equals.
But Genji had not expected Rasa to offer Pakura as a sign of "sincerity."
After all, during the Third Shinobi World War, Pakura had killed one of Genji's direct juniors.
The old fox understood the truth almost instantly.
It turned out that Pakura, the hero of Sunagakure, had already grown too famous and too powerful. In terms of prestige and strength, she had become a threat to the Fourth Kazekage's authority.
So Rasa chose to get rid of her through an "alliance."
It was no different from the way Danzo had used public opinion to destroy Konoha's White Fang.
Sakumo Hatake, one of Konoha's brightest candidates for Hokage, had once been a legend, only to be driven into ruin in the ugliest possible way.
Genji, naturally, had no reason to refuse.
With one move, he could avenge an old grievance and help Sunagakure eliminate one of its strongest fighters.
Thus, on the surface, Kirigakure and Sunagakure seemed to be at odds, while behind the scenes, their upper echelons had already reached an agreement. Later, they could even use that false hostility to mislead Iwagakure and launch a joint operation against it.
As for Sunagakure's internal explanation, Rasa told a completely different story.
He claimed that Genji had made the demand first. If Sunagakure wanted an alliance, then it had to hand over Pakura.
So the elders of Sunagakure, seeking Kirigakure's support against Iwagakure, chose to sacrifice their own hero.
Pakura knew none of this.
Full of anticipation, she carried the Kazekage's orders and headed toward the agreed location, believing she was going to help formalize an alliance and launch a pincer attack on Iwagakure.
Instead, the moment she arrived, Kirigakure ninja disguised as allies ambushed her.
Hundreds of kunai pierced her body in an instant, pinning her to the ground.
Only then did Pakura finally realize the truth.
She had been betrayed by Sunagakure's leadership.
"Rasa! You'll die a miserable death!"
Pinned to the earth by countless blades, blood pouring from her mouth and nose, Pakura's eyes blazed with hatred as she cursed the Fourth Kazekage and the elders of Sunagakure with everything she had left.
Yet in the final moments of her fading life, the person who came to mind was not herself.
It was Maki.
Her student.
Tears of blood welled in Pakura's eyes as her life force rapidly drained away.
"Heh. I didn't expect to run into this kind of betrayal. Do you still want to live?"
A figure appeared in the space before her like a mirage.
Brook stood there, crouching slightly as he looked down at her.
Pakura's vision was already blurry, but the will to survive for the sake of vengeance still burned fiercely inside her.
"Save me... I... I'll give... everything..."
"Remember those words."
Brook moved at once.
He pulled every kunai from her body, used the Mystical Palm Technique to heal her wounds, and then poured a large amount of yang chakra into her to restore her vitality.
Half an hour later, Pakura slowly opened her eyes.
She shot to her feet at once and frantically touched her body.
Every wound was gone.
She had really been saved.
She knew how severe those injuries had been. Even Tsunade from Konoha might not have been able to save her in time. Yet this man had done it as casually as if he were patching a torn sleeve.
"Stop groping yourself. If you need help, I can help. Don't worry, there won't be any scars. I'll even erase your old injuries."
Brook floated in the air, gazing at the moon at a forty five degree angle before lowering his eyes toward her.
"Who are you?"
Pakura's voice was hoarse, but there was no suspicion in it, only deep gratitude.
In her most desperate moment, this man had appeared and dragged her back from death.
Now that Sunagakure had abandoned her, the only thing she still cared about was Maki, the orphan she had raised as a student.
"My name is Brook. From today onward, I am your master."
Brook descended and stopped in front of her, calmly sizing up the subordinate he had picked up on a whim.
Her hairstyle was a little old fashioned, but her looks were passable.
"You're Brook?!"
Pakura's eyes widened in shock.
She had never expected that the one who saved her would be the new God of Shinobi, the man who had suppressed three great nations.
No wonder he had been able to save her so easily.
"Hm?"
Brook looked at her with amusement.
"Forgive me, Lord Brook. Your subordinate was rude."
Pakura immediately dropped to one knee.
"From now on, your orders are my life."
"The Land of Wind happens to be lacking a queen. You'll do."
Brook lightly lifted her chin, sounding rather satisfied, then personally removed the Sunagakure forehead protector from her head and tossed it aside.
"You can change your hairstyle later. For now, follow me."
With that, Brook floated forward and continued on.
Pakura's face flushed slightly, but she quickly steadied herself and followed after him without hesitation.
Along the way, Brook told her his plans.
He intended to seize Shukaku, destroy the daimyo's residence of the Land of Wind, raise Pakura to the position of queen of the Wind Capital, and grant her a new name: Brook Pakura.
The more she heard, the more stunned she became.
Destroying the daimyo's residence of an entire country with a single move was even more outrageous than her own desire to take revenge on Rasa.
Still, she did not hesitate.
"I swear to carry out Lord Brook's orders to the death."
Pakura had already thrown everything behind her.
Now that she had submitted, she would not refuse him, no matter how dangerous the order, or even if it involved satisfying his more private desires.
The two of them hurried toward Sunagakure.
If Brook had already left a Flying Thunder God mark there, they could have arrived instantly. Unfortunately, he had not, so this trip still had to be done the hard way.
Even so, Brook had long gotten into the habit of leaving Flying Thunder God formulas everywhere he visited. That way, he would never have to waste time on the same journey twice.
As they passed a huge earthen hill not far from Sunagakure, Brook suddenly paused.
It was as if he had found an interesting toy.
He landed in front of a large cave entrance without the slightest hesitation.
Pakura followed behind him, puzzled.
"Is it Sasori?"
Brook's interest sharpened at once.
He walked deeper into the cave, completely unconcerned by the traps and ambushes that might be waiting within.
After all, if it really was that boy, then perhaps he could still be tamed.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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