The Land of Waves was an island nation, though it was more accurate to call it a small island. It was a place of economic hardship, where the people lived in poverty.
More importantly, the Land of Waves was a country without Ninjas. Although it had its own Daimyo, it was effectively ruled by a merchant named Gato.
And this Gato was incredibly wealthy, said to be one of the richest men in the world. Even if Naruto had looted the warehouses of the four great Ninja Clans of Konoha, Gato's wealth would likely still surpass his.
After all, warehouses of major Ninja Clans usually contained things like Ninjutsu Scrolls and secret techniques. Naruto had even found the Scroll of Seals in the Sarutobi Clan's warehouse, and it was still sitting in his sealed space.
After all, Ninja Clans generally placed more importance on tradition and inheritance, while merchants were often driven by profit.
This was also why Naruto had chosen to settle in the Land of Waves. It complemented the resources he already had.
It was almost October, but the weather was still hot. The waves, accompanied by the sea breeze, carried the salty, fishy scent of the ocean and a refreshing coolness.
This was Neji's first time seeing the sea, and he found it somewhat underwhelming, as it's not as awe-inspiring as he had imagined. However, at the entrance of a village, he saw someone he never expected to see.
When Uchiha Sasuke woke up from his unconscious state, he was still muttering things like 'I'll kill you' and 'I'll definitely kill you.'
But as he stepped out of the room, he saw his mother and a blonde woman comforting a group of children. Sasuke could no longer hold back and rushed into his mother, Uchiha Mikoto's arms.
In the end, Mikoto had to comfort her tearful youngest son first.
After a good cry, Sasuke quickly regained control of his emotions. His young face now carried a hint of mature rationality. He told his mother to go comfort the other children while he wandered around on his own.
"Sasuke?"
Neji instinctively called out his name. For a moment, seeing Sasuke made him feel like he was still in Konoha.
Hearing the voice, Sasuke immediately turned around. When he saw the two figures, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Naruto!"
"This guy!" Neji's mouth couldn't help but twitch, 'Even though I was the one who called out, Sasuke's first reaction was to Naruto. Wasn't that a bit too dismissive?'
"Looks like you're recovering quickly, Sasuke."
Naruto also greeted Sasuke, feeling a sense of amusement, 'This feeling of fate intertwining was truly peculiar.'
Sasuke quickly ran over, stopping in front of Naruto, and asked curiously: "Why are you guys here too?"
"I was brought here by Naruto."
Neji pointed at Naruto.
"And you were brought here by me."
Naruto smiled and pointed at Sasuke.
Sasuke looked skeptical and said, "But my mom said it was the Yondaime Hokage who brought us here."
"Yondaime Hokage?" Neji blinked his eyes, his little head was full of doubts, 'Hadn't the Yondaime Hokage died years ago?'
"I asked the Fourth Hokage to bring you here."
Naruto smiled, about to give a simple explanation, when he heard another voice from nearby.
"Naruto-kun, you've finally arrived."
The three of them looked over, and Sasuke saw that it was the blonde woman from earlier.
Nono felt a sense of relief upon seeing Naruto. For some reason, even though Naruto was just a child, he exuded a strong sense of security.
A few months ago, she had suddenly been left in the Land of Waves, which had left her feeling lost and uncertain for a while.
"Nono-san, the Uchiha Clan's people should have been settled by now, right?"
"Yes, with the power you displayed, Naruto-kun, along with the Yondaime Hokage and Mikoto-sama, the Uchiha have been very cooperative."
Nono couldn't help but smile. She had always heard about how the Uchiha were known for their extreme and arrogant personalities, their coldness and stubbornness.
But today, after arriving at the village, they had all been very well-behaved.
Naruto nodded in satisfaction. Since the Uchiha were being so cooperative, he had no intention of making an example out of anyone.
"In that case, go inform the Uchiha Clan and have them select a few representatives to come and hold a meeting."
"Understood."
After Nono agreed, she went to notify the others.
Neji and Sasuke were left staring at each other.
Naruto simply patted both of them on the shoulder, gave them an encouraging look, and then left.
"Damn it! So Naruto is this strong?!" Sasuke couldn't help but clenched his teeth, his eyes burning with a competitive fire.
"I need to train even harder!"
Neji, on the other hand, was much calmer than Sasuke. He had seen the ruins of the Sarutobi Clan's territory with his own eyes. To cause that level of destruction, Naruto's strength was far more terrifying than they could imagine.
"Huh?" Neji was still deep in thought when he suddenly felt a sharp gaze. He turned his head and saw Sasuke's one-tomoe Sharingan staring at him.
"Hyuga Neji, I need you to help me train!"
---
In a simple wooden hut, the decor was equally modest.
Naruto sat in the central seat, with other Ninjas sitting on either side of him.
On the right sat Minato and Nono.
On the left sat Shisui, Mikoto, and Inabi.
'The forces were a bit too thin.'
Naruto sighed inwardly. Although they had high-end combat power that even some of the Five Great Ninja Villages couldn't match, they were lacking in versatility.
First of all, the only Medical-nin they had was Nono. For Sensor-Type Ninjas, Neji and Hyuga Natsu were barely usable. As for those with decent brains, it seemed like there were none left...
'It looked like we would need to recruit more people from other villages.'
"Ahem, then, let's start by discussing our future plans."
Naruto spoke with a serious expression, and everyone on both sides straightened up, ready to listen attentively.
"First, I'll talk about our ultimate goal… unifying the Ninja World."
Whoosh--
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room stirred. Even Minato showed a look of surprise. He hadn't expected this.
Inabi, however, revealed a fanatical expression, which surprised Naruto, but he didn't pay too much attention to it and continued, "Although with our current strength, few in the Five Great Ninja Villages could stand against us, making them bow down wouldn't be difficult. But what we want isn't submission… it's unification, a true unification!"
"This... Naruto, what exactly do you mean by unification?"
Minato couldn't help but ask. In his mind, there was no clear concept of unification, as his thinking was still limited by traditional boundaries.
"Uniform writing, standardized measurements, a single nation across the entire Ninja World, politically unified, and economically and ideologically centralized!"
"This..."
Every Ninja in the room was shocked. This was something that had never happened in the history of the Ninja World.
According to Naruto's vision, if the entire Ninja World were to become a single nation, they would inevitably have to deal with the Daimyos of the Five Great Nations. But Ninja Villages had always served the Daimyo, so doing this would mean defying the entire world.
At that point, they would surely be attacked by all Five Great Nations.
Everyone looked at Minato, as this was something he should address.
"Naruto, if that's the case, the Daimyos of the Five Great Nations might..."
Minato, after all, was a traditional Ninja. Even his former position as the Hokage required the approval of the Land of Fire's Daimyo.
"What? Are you really concerned about the opinions of a few insects?"
Ninjas possessed immense power, yet they bowed to a group of useless individuals. In a world of extraordinary abilities, this seemed utterly bizarre.
The Daimyo? A single Great Fireball could wipe out a whole group of them.
"Namikaze Minato, the Ninja Village System is outdated."
"Since the Shodaime Hokage established the Ninja Village System, in just a few decades, the Ninja World has already experienced three great wars."
"Ninjas have died in droves, but the Daimyo's interests have never diminished. This is unreasonable."
"This..." Minato's face showed hesitation, and he continued, "But what if the Five Great Ninja Villages unite against us?"
Naruto gave Minato a strange look and asked back: "Have you already forgotten what happened to Konoha?"
"... Alright, then what should we do first?"
With that, Minato had no more objections, and neither did anyone else. After all, with Naruto's current strength, it seemed there was no one in the Ninja World who could stand against him.
"Although we do not lack unified military forces, we lack talents to maintain that unification."
"First, we need to take over this country."