Chapter 477 Ch477. Goals Reached
A few months passed and the world as usual moved on, the events and the initial fear caused by both Iwa and Kumo being conquered wore off after nothing really changed in the lives of most people.
Some trouble did indeed spring up in both Iwa and Kumo but neither Pakura nor Ringo were people that would tolerate being walked over by someone and after a particularly bloody response, everything calmed down once again.
The two conquered villages didn't really have any figure to rally behind since A, Onoki, and B still enjoyed the hospitality of the Village on the Other Side, B even enjoying being in contact with Yagura and Yugito.
The last Rei heard of him, the big and tanned rapper jinchuuriki was acting as the babysitter for their newest child. trying to teach the baby the glory of Rap no Jutsu.
With all five major ninja villages under Rei's influence, some things did indeed change on a worldwide scale and it was starting to become obvious even to the various Daimyos.
The hostilities between the villages ceased for the most part. There was still some infighting, especially when two teams found themselves on different sides because of a mission, but Rei could with satisfaction proclaim that most of 'his' ninjas no longer went out of their way to kill the ninjas from the other villages.
Considering their primary way to keep ninja villages in check was to pit them against each other, this change brought a lot of concern from nobles and Daimyos.
Naturally, Rei didn't care at all.
He didn't conquer the villages so they would continue being over-glorified mercenaries for whoever had the deeper pockets. Chakra had so many more uses and the fact its users were just simple superpowered mercenaries was honestly shameful, in Rei's opinion.
While this couldn't be changed instantly, Rei did start a small change by setting up proper research centers in each village that would gather bright minds. He knew best that humans, if given proper opportunities and conditions, could technologically advance by leaps and bounds.
Fortunately, the Wind and Fire Daimyo knew this would happen sooner or later and when they noticed the drastic shift in the political scene, they were the first to come in contact with Rei through his wives.
Much to his surprise, they didn't demand him to bring everything back to how it was but actually deferred to him.
It was nice to deal with smart people. With all ninja villages and the two biggest international companies under Rei's thumb, he could wipe out any Daimyo family he desired without any consequences so the Daimyos really didn't have much ground to stand on.
Nevertheless, Rei didn't expect them to bow their heads to him. He would have been totally fine with ignoring them but since they came up with this themselves...
Rei initially intended to have a very ambiguous no-touch policy when it came to governments. He was just one man and governing the entire continent would be far too much work for it to be worth it.
That's why he was fine with Daimyos staying in their cozy functions as long as they didn't stick their noses into the ninja matters.
But since three of the five major nations wanted to officially come under him, or rather, under the Biri-Biri Company, there was not one good reason to refuse them.
With them working for him, Rei could fully leave the matters of governance in their hands and still have influence over them so why not?
In the end, the Land of Wind, Fire, and Water created an alliance where their respective rulers retained their territories but also formed a sort of council that would decide the big decisions.
It was all still in the middle of formation so nothing was set in stone yet but the foundation for future peaceful cooperation was already finished.
Instead of being ninja villages of different nations, Konoha, Kiri, and Suna simply became three different military divisions of the newly formed Elemental Alliance, each completely independent and with their own leader at the helm.
Rei was satisfied with how things developed. Peace was not really his end goal. He could care less about 'world peace' but it had to be done. Because only in peacetime could all the resources be dedicated to advancement.
And there was no better way to create a semblance of peace than to bring everyone under one banner.
The Lands of Earth and Lightning were not very excited by this new development but there was nothing they could do. They were outnumbered in all aspects by this new Alliance and their ninja villages were 'theirs' only on paper.
The pressure on the rulers of those nations was immense and when other small nations started petitioning for joining the Elemental Alliance, even the last ember of their hopes was extinguished.
Their joining was just a question of time.
...
Rei and Konan were standing in a vast expanse of rocky barren land on the moon, the only sign of human intervention in the surroundings was the sealing circle carved into the rocky surface for several kilometers in radius.
"We are finally finished." Konan sighed in relief, fed up with carving seal after seal, every day of the week. Honestly, at this point, she would take paperwork over this any day.
Just the thought that Rei loved doing this kind of stuff was making her dizzy.
"Mhm. It took a while." Rei nonchalantly answered.
Unlike Konan, he mostly felt satisfaction and slight weariness at the repetitive work, rather than annoyance.
"A while? It took us months!" Konan indignantly exclaimed.
When she agreed to help Rei with his new project, she didn't think she would be spending most of her time for the next few months carving into a rock with kunai.
Hell, they couldn't even use Jutsus for this because apparently, this was really delicate work.
Stupid Rei and his excuses for why she couldn't blast this all to hell...
Rei gave the indignant Konan a gentle smile and said, "Thank you."
It served to calm her down a bit as she couldn't stay angry at him when he showed his gratitude. Konan huffed and looked away, but after a few moments of silence, she glanced at Rei and reluctantly spoke.
"Are you going to start it?"
Rei blinked... and pointed at the center of the sealing formation near him.
Konan saw the gem containing Isshiki's soul there, already melded to the sealing formation which meant...
"Wait, that's it?" Konan incredulously asked, "I haven't even felt it starting!"
She was flabbergasted. Shouldn't a seal capable of hiding an entire planet be... she didn't know. Grander, perhaps? More oppressive?
"That's kinda the point." Rei shrugged and put his arm around Konan, "Don't worry. It's working properly."
The whole sealing formation was a bit exposed but that was unfortunately necessary. It wouldn't have worked if it was hidden on the moon, instead of being on its surface. Rei made sure there were many seals safeguarding it and this was the best he could do anyway.
With this sealing marvel that used all of his vast sealing knowledge, he reached his ultimate goal and the planet was finally hidden from the Otsutsuki.
He could finally live in peace and have his much-deserved worry-less vacation.
"So... what now?" Konan asked, raising her head to look Rei in the eyes.
She was perhaps one of the very few people who knew how much effort he put into this project. Now that it was done... she was interested if he had something else planned.
"Now?" Rei chuckled and pulled her into a loose embrace, "I guess now I can finally fulfill the desire you girls have in your hearts."
Rei's words came like lightning from the clear sky for Konan whose eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock.
It took her a few moments but eventually, she managed to recollect her wits and she quietly asked, a twinge of hope in her tone, "You mean...?"
Rei sweetly smiled at her and put his forehead against her, "Yes. I think it's finally time to make a proper family with you."