Settlement

"Did someone come looking for trouble, Sasori?"

Sasori yawned and said boredly, "Just some small fry. They’ve all been dealt with."

After Hyuga Mirai and the others arrived at the gathering point outside Konoha, they saw signs of battle here, along with quite a few Anbu corpses on the ground.

Uchiha Tekka and the others hurried forward to question the clansmen. Learning that Konoha’s Anbu had not harmed them before Sasori slaughtered them, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Their Military Police Force had already suffered enough humiliation tonight. The deaths of over a hundred clansmen were a stain they could never erase. If any more clansmen had been killed, Uchiha Tekka would never have been able to forgive himself.

Uchiha Tekka and the others bowed to Sasori and thanked him, but Sasori did not care about the Uchiha Clan’s gratitude. He had only come because Hyuga Mirai had asked him to.

"It’s a little cramped, but fortunately, it can fit everyone."

Hyuga Mirai arranged everyone inside. The time had been too short; otherwise, he could have designed this Anti-gravity Airship even more perfectly.

However, before they departed, Uchiha Tekka suddenly came over and said awkwardly, "Hyuga, we overlooked someone. He should still be inside Konoha."

"Second Pillar? My Shadow Clone has already gone to bring him over."

Hyuga Mirai had just seen the awakened Uchiha Mikoto pleading with Uchiha Tekka. It was most likely about Sasuke. Uchiha Fugaku, however, seemed to have suffered a severe blow. After waking up, he remained silent and obediently followed alongside the Military Police Force.

Before long, Hyuga Mirai’s Shadow Clone arrived with Second Pillar. After handing the unconscious Second Pillar over to Mikoto, Hyuga Mirai also heard Uchiha Mikoto’s faint words of thanks.

Uchiha Mikoto’s feelings toward Hyuga Mirai were extremely complicated, but she knew that Uchiha Itachi’s actions could not be blamed on him. She could sense the clansmen’s anger. This matter was entirely Itachi’s fault.

Thankfully, Second Pillar was still alive. Otherwise, Uchiha Mikoto truly would have had no hope of continuing to live.

"Sasori, I’ll leave them to you. I’ll take Uzumaki Kushina back first."

After saying that to Sasori, Hyuga Mirai transformed the Nano-Armor into a passenger pod, then had Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Naruto sit inside.

Both mother and son were badly injured and needed treatment as soon as possible. Once Uzumaki Kushina was seated, Hyuga Mirai immediately activated the Tenseigan and flew toward Rōran.

When Uzumaki Kushina had left with Uzumaki Naruto earlier, Mitokado Homura had tried to stop them. But after Hyuga Mirai chopped off one of his arms, he no longer dared make a sound.

Mitokado Homura could only wait for Hiruzen to return and tell him that he had done his best. His ruined arm was the best proof.

The flight back to Rōran did not take long. At Hyuga Mirai’s speed, he arrived in Rōran in less than half a day.

While on the road, he had already notified Uzumaki Ayaka and told her to prepare the treatment room.

Uzumaki Ayaka had been waiting outside after receiving the message. When she saw the figure descending from the sky, she immediately went up to greet him with a smile.

"Lord Mirai, you’re back. Kushina, how did you end up so badly hurt?"

Uzumaki Ayaka had originally wanted to mock Kushina a little, but seeing her miserable state, she lost the urge. She directly brought her and Uzumaki Naruto into the treatment room, and also called Nohara Rin over as her assistant.

Treating the two of them took more than half a day. Kushina was covered in injuries, and after treatment, she was practically wrapped up like a rice dumpling. Uzumaki Naruto was not much better. Uzumaki Ayaka also reinforced the seal Danzo had damaged on Uzumaki Naruto, preventing Nine-Tails Chakra from leaking out any further.

After finishing the operation, Uzumaki Ayaka quietly came to Hyuga Mirai’s side. Seeing that he was not conducting research, she smiled and asked, "Lord Mirai, what happened? It doesn’t look like the injuries on Kushina’s body were caused by you."

Hyuga Mirai gave her an odd look, then shook his head. "How could I have done that? Didn’t you watch the real-time footage from Android 18?"

"That didn’t have the same impact as hearing you tell it, Lord Mirai."

"What kind of impact do you need from a battle?"

Hyuga Mirai shook his head, but still gave her a brief account of what had happened. After Uzumaki Ayaka finished listening, she immediately clapped her hands and shouted, "Good!"

Although Konoha had not personally destroyed Whirlpool Country, it had certainly stood by and watched as other Ninja Villages wiped it out. They had clearly been allies bound by treaty, yet Konoha had been the first to betray that agreement. Seeing Konoha suffer now brought Uzumaki Ayaka immense satisfaction.

It was just a little regrettable that she had not gone with Lord Mirai this time. Otherwise, she could have vented some of her anger on Konoha as well.

"Lord Mirai, once Kushina and Naruto recover, should they be settled in Rōran or the Saudi Federation?"

Without even thinking, Hyuga Mirai replied, "Of course they’ll go to the Saudi Federation. Nearly seventy percent of the Federation is our people now. Once Kushina and the Uchiha join, our voice will carry even more weight. Besides, even Pakura listens to Yasunori’s advice, so there’s no need to keep it hidden any longer."

Taking advantage of this Shinobi World War, the Saudi Federation would show the Ninja World some of its true strength—the power Hyuga Mirai had developed over the years.

Hyuga Mirai then had Android 18 inform Pakura and the Federation’s higher-ups, through Elder Yasunori, that they had brought back the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

There was also the Uchiha Clan. Though not many Uchiha Ninja remained, what was valuable was their enormous number of clansmen. If they were properly settled, then in another decade or so, the Saudi Federation would gain a new batch of Uchiha Ninja.

Encountering a Three-Tomoe Sharingan on the battlefield was troublesome, but having an Uchiha as an ally made people feel secure because of their strength.

After receiving Android 18’s orders, Elder Yasunori convened a meeting of the Federation’s higher-ups in his capacity as an Elder.

Unfortunately, Pakura had just led her troops to the front line. Otherwise, she would definitely have handled such an important matter personally.

"More than five hundred people? And twenty-seven Ninja?"

After hearing this, one Federation higher-up could not help shouting in surprise.

Furthermore, according to Elder Yasunori, the weakest among those twenty-seven Uchiha Ninja had awakened a Two-Tomoe Sharingan. Eighteen possessed Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and there were even two pairs of Mangekyo.

Such formidable strength could greatly make up for the Federation’s shortage of high-level Ninja.

"Is the Uchiha Clan sincerely defecting to us?"

Another person immediately retorted, "More than a hundred of their Ninja were killed by Konoha, leaving only twenty-something alive. If this is an act by spies, then I can only admire Konoha and the Uchiha Clan for their decisiveness."

After hearing that, quite a few people in the meeting room laughed. Indeed, as the man said, the Uchiha had paid such a heavy price and even brought their elderly and children to seek refuge with them. No matter how one looked at it, they could not be spies.

As for whether members of the Uchiha Clan might seize power after joining the Federation, no one in the Federation cared about that now. Even if the Uchiha did not take it, they would voluntarily hand over a portion of it.

The Saudi Federation’s military-political integration left them buried under endless government affairs every day. Even Pakura had forcibly made Yasunori Sakai help her. There was no need to mention how busy everyone beneath her was.

Moreover, the Saudi Federation had recently been planning to move against the Land of Wind. Once they conquered that territory, they would need even more people to manage its affairs, station troops, guard it, and so on.

The department training grassroots administrators was nearly worked to death. If the Yasunori Trading Company had not frequently introduced people to them, they would have been hounded to death by people from every region.

Elder Yasunori said, "Everyone, besides the Uchiha Clan, I have also sent people to contact many capable Ninja in the Ninja World. For example, Sasori of the Red Sand from the former Sunagakure, Hyuga Mirai, who escorted the Uchiha Clan this time, and Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Many people are still being approached, and I will do my best to persuade them to join the Federation."

Elder Yasunori said this because it was also Hyuga Mirai’s intention. For the time being, he did not want to join the Saudi Federation and become occupied with those trivial matters. In any case, all those joining were his subordinates, so it did not matter if he joined later. Staying in Rōran would let him conduct more research.

"They even brought back the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Elder Yasunori, is that true?"

Upon hearing this news, the Federation’s higher-ups were overjoyed. If they had truly lured the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki over, then even if the Federation had to go to war with Konoha at full strength, they would keep him. This was the strongest of the nine Tailed Beasts.

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will indeed join the Saudi Federation. We have Konoha’s Root to thank for that."

Elder Yasunori then slowly explained Danzo’s actions. After hearing him out, the higher-ups could only click their tongues and fall silent.

"Danzo, he…"

They did not know what to say about such behavior. Although Rasa had done something similar, that was because Sunagakure’s Sealing Technique was inadequate. Rasa’s proposal had also been intended to allow Gaara to gain control of Shukaku’s power more quickly.

Konoha had the most complete Sealing Techniques of all Ninja Villages, yet they still pulled something like this. They could only say there was something wrong with their heads. No wonder they had driven the previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki into leaving Konoha while carrying her son. This truly was not their fault.

"Elder Yasunori, leave this matter to you—the settlement of the Uchiha Clan and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"That’s right. The authority over the Federation’s Military Police Force should also be temporarily handed to Elder Yasunori. Right now, only Elder Yasunori can properly handle so many people within the Federation."

"It’s a pity that Lord Sakai…"

The man had not even finished blurting out those words before someone beside him kicked him to stop him. He quickly apologized to Elder Yasunori, saying that he had spoken too frankly and said the wrong thing. Elder Yasunori did not mind and merely waved his hand, letting the matter pass.

The loose-tongued man also breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Lord Kazekage was not here. Otherwise, hearing those words would surely have made her angry enough to make things difficult for him.

During this period, anyone mentioning Yasunori Sakai’s name was only rubbing salt in Pakura’s wounds. Several people who had opposed Pakura declaring war on Konoha had even been stripped of all their positions by her in the name of the Kazekage.

Afterward, they finalized a few more details at the meeting before dispersing.

They definitely needed to inform Pakura about these matters, but before she returned, Elder Yasunori still held the greatest authority in the Federation. Though he was not a Ninja, his prestige had long surpassed that of every Ninja other than Pakura.

Second, there will be more later. Brothers who can’t wait should get some sleep first.