"Good!"
Hearing their words, Uchiha Ren's lips curled slightly upward. He nodded in satisfaction and said in a steady voice,
"Very good. Truly excellent. Those who understand the times are wise."
"Kirigakure has made the best possible choice."
"Phew…"
"Fifth Hokage-sama, we've long wanted to submit to you!"
"That's right, Lord Uchiha Ren! Our admiration for you is endless!"
"Especially after seeing you in person, our admiration has only grown stronger!"
Upon hearing Ren's approval, Ao, Chōjūrō, and the other Kirigakure officials finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, one after another, they spoke with obvious excitement.
After all—
now that the Fifth Hokage himself had acknowledged it, Kirigakure's submission to Konoha was basically settled.
"Fifth Mizukage… what about you?"
The next moment, Ren seemed to remember something.
He turned his gaze toward Terumi Mei with a faint smile.
The meaning behind that look was simple:
The final decision rests with you.
"The future of Kirigakure depends on your choice."
"I…"
Feeling Ren's gaze on her, Terumi Mei's expression shifted several times.
Inside, she was practically speechless.
To be honest, she had still wanted to maintain some dignity for a little longer.
But these useless subordinates of hers had already surrendered completely without even trying to resist.
It nearly made her cough up blood from frustration.
If not for her good composure, she might have scolded Ao, Chōjūrō, and the others right there.
But what was done was done.
Terumi Mei no longer hesitated.
She nodded decisively and said,
"The opinion of Kirigakure's leadership… is my opinion as well."
"Therefore, Kirigakure is willing to submit to Konoha."
"Good."
Before she even finished speaking, Uchiha Ren—clearly in an excellent mood—spoke generously.
"As a reward for Kirigakure's submission to Konoha, I'll give you these bottles of Hero Water as a meeting gift."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As soon as he finished speaking—
several streaks of light flashed through the air.
Moments later—
dozens of bottles of Hero Water appeared on Terumi Mei's desk.
Yes.
Not just a few bottles—
dozens.
Silence.
The entire Mizukage office fell completely quiet.
No one had expected the Fifth Hokage to be so generous.
Not only had he handed out so much Hero Water without hesitation—
but these bottles had no side effects.
Everyone present knew about Hero Water.
It was a treasure from Takigakure that could temporarily increase a shinobi's chakra many times over.
But the cost was terrifying.
It devoured the user's life force.
Because of that severe drawback, Hero Water had been sealed away, and the great ninja villages had never shown much interest in it.
But now—
Ren had just casually handed them Hero Water with no side effects.
The more they thought about it, the more shocking it felt.
Suddenly—
Hero Water seemed extremely appealing.
"Fifth Hokage…"
After a long moment, Terumi Mei finally spoke, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.
"These bottles of Hero Water… really have no side effects?"
"Of course not."
Ren raised an eyebrow and shrugged casually.
"As the Fifth Hokage, I have no interest in lying about something so trivial."
"Ah!"
Upon hearing that confirmation, Terumi Mei's eyes lit up instantly.
Like someone who had just discovered a treasure trove, she excitedly gathered the bottles on the desk.
"All of them are ours!"
"These bottles of Hero Water without side effects belong to Kirigakure!"
"Fifth Hokage-sama, you're truly generous!"
"Hahaha! Submitting to Konoha really was the right choice!"
"With this Hero Water, Kirigakure's overall strength will rise to a whole new level!"
"More than one level—it could increase by at least two!"
Seeing this scene, Ao, Chōjūrō, and the other Kirigakure officials couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
They were clearly stunned by Ren's generosity.
Originally, they had submitted to Konoha out of fear of Ren's overwhelming strength.
But now—
after receiving such a generous gift—
Ao and the others were genuinely convinced.
At that moment, they all shared the same thought:
The Fifth Hokage truly was extraordinary.
"Alright."
Ren waved his hand casually and said to Terumi Mei,
"You can now announce the news that will shake the entire shinobi world."
"Understood."
Terumi Mei immediately straightened her expression and nodded firmly.
"Mm."
A sharp light flashed in Ren's eyes as he murmured to himself,
"The unification of the shinobi world… will begin with Kirigakure."
—
The next day—
Without any warning, a piece of news spread across the shinobi world like wildfire.
In an instant, countless shinobi and villages were thrown into shock.
The entire world trembled.
The content of the announcement was simple—
yet earth-shattering.
Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, had officially declared its submission to Konoha.
Even the Fifth Mizukage had publicly expressed her support for the Fifth Hokage.
Boom!
The moment the news broke, the entire shinobi world erupted into chaos.
Shock.
Unbelievable shock.
No one had expected that Kirigakure would submit so decisively to Konoha.
It shattered the expectations of countless shinobi and stunned the entire world.
As a result—
the shinobi world once again fell into a storm of turmoil.
Of course, the villages most shaken by this news were the other three great villages:
Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure.
Sunagakure's reaction was relatively calm.
But Kumogakure and Iwagakure were completely dumbfounded.
After all—
they had only just submitted to Uchiha Madara.
And now—
Kirigakure had suddenly submitted to Konoha.
The timing was almost unbelievable.
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