Chapter 154: Konoha’s 56th Year’s New Year, Menma And Naruto
The bloody scent at the Shrine of the Land of Demons had not yet dissipated when a earth-shattering piece of news swept through the entire western Ninja World like a storm: the Daimyo of the Land of Demons, Hamatani Shun, and the nobles under his command had been slaughtered entirely by a group of mysterious rebel forces.
And the miko Miroku, this living totem symbolizing the Land of Demons’ thousand-year faith, openly announced that she would lead the entire Land of Demons to join that rebel country, the Land of Stars, which had been established for less than a year yet had already stirred up winds and clouds across the western continent!
Wherever the news reached, it was like pouring boiling oil into an icy lake, splashing up waves across the sky.
In the Demon Capital, that city ravaged by mōryō, the ruins still lingered with the mixed smell of charred remains and blood.
Terrified civilians huddled under dilapidated eaves, blankly watching teams of distinctly different ninjas enter the city.
They wore unified uniforms of deep blue verging on black, moved swiftly, maintained strict discipline, and had sharp eyes without the usual arrogance or indifference ninjas showed toward commoners.
These Star Ninjas quickly took over the remaining city defense systems, setting up checkpoints at collapsed gates and key points on damaged walls, their actions clean and efficient, silently declaring the complete collapse of the old order.
Following closely behind the ninja troops were batches of capable personnel dressed in the Land of Stars’ civil official attire.
Carrying large scrolls, ledgers, and measuring tools, they moved into the luxurious mansions and government offices originally belonging to the daimyo and nobles under the frightened gazes of the surviving officials.
These mansions were mostly damaged or looted in the upheaval, but the civil officials paid no mind, erecting temporary tents beside the ruins, lighting lamps, and beginning work through the night without rest.
Taking stock of household registrations, verifying fields and acreage, registering losses, tallying populations, taking over the remaining supplies in the government treasuries—like a precise and efficient machine, they began forcibly incorporating this traumatized land of the Land of Demons into the Land of Stars’ entirely different operational system.
The Land of Stars, this newborn nation’s territory, swallowed the vast lands of the Land of Demons like a greedy giant beast in an instant.
The Land of Stars’ population also surged rapidly: its original over 2 million people, plus nearly two million subjects from the Land of Demons, brought the total population to over 02 million.
A medium-sized nation impossible to ignore on the Ninja World map had taken shape!
Though still far short of the Five Great Nations’ populations often in the tens of millions, it already stood out like a crane among chickens among the surrounding many small countries.
What made the rulers of neighboring countries even more sleepless with anxiety was the immense influence embodied by the miko Miroku herself.
As the spiritual leader of the Land of Demons, she held nearly divine prestige among many small countries in the western Ninja Continent with similar faiths.
The Land of Stars’ proclaimed ideals of “abolishing noble privilege,” “ninja-commoner equality,” and “concentrating power to end the chaos”—spread like wildfire among the oppressed lower classes and frustrated small ninja clans.
Countless pairs of eyes looked toward that land said to have “no nobles, no harsh taxes,” sowing restless seeds quietly.
The Land of Stars’ ideals and systems, like invisible tides, began silently infiltrating those small countries still firmly controlled by daimyos and noble lords.
The news swept through the surrounding small countries like a hurricane.
The daimyos and nobles of those small countries sandwiched in the crevices of the Five Great Nations, always fearing annexation, discovered in terror that the Land of Stars’ tentacles had not stopped.
Land of Birds, Land of Snow, Land of Vegetables, Land of Swamps…
Time slipped quietly by amid silent expansion and tense preparations.
At the start of Konoha 56’s New Year, thin snow covered the village.
In the evening, cooking smoke rose lazily, mingling with the aroma of meals from various households, diffusing a trace of warmth in the cold air.
Naruto’s home rarely had cooking smoke rising.
Warm yellow light shone through the window, illuminating the abundant dishes on the table: steaming miso soup, golden crispy tempura, tender stewed potatoes and beef, and a large plate piled high with pan-fried dumplings.
“Dinner’s ready, Naruto.” Menma had already removed all of Shura’s attire.
At this moment, he wore an ordinary deep blue high-collared shirt, his black short hair appearing much softer under the light.
“Itadakimasu!” Naruto eagerly grabbed his chopsticks, his azure eyes sparkling, his small face brimming with pure joy.
His cheeks bulged, stuffed full of pan-fried dumplings, mumbling indistinctly, “Brother Menma’s pan-fried dumplings are the best!”
Menma sat across from Naruto, sipping his soup leisurely, watching Naruto’s sunny and cheerful smile; the nerves taut for a whole year seemed to relax a bit.
A genuine curve hooked at the corner of his mouth: “Eat slower, no one’s fighting you for it.”
“Hehe.” Naruto scratched his eye-catching blond hair embarrassedly, his blue eyes sparkling: “Because eating the New Year’s feast with Brother Menma feels extra great! It’s like…”
His excited words cut off abruptly, the smile on Naruto’s face dimming for an instant, but he quickly shook his head vigorously to dispel it, raising a big, somewhat silly grin again: “Ah! Like the feeling of home!”
Before, Naruto could only envy others’ harmonious families, but since meeting Menma, Naruto felt like he’d found family, filled with joy and delight.
Menma quietly watched the pure, almost stubborn yearning in Naruto’s eyes and the faint loneliness hidden beneath his smile.
Deep in Menma’s black eyes, an extremely complex emotion flashed: pity, a determination to protect, and an unshakeable will.
He picked up a cup of clear tea beside him, took a gentle sip, temporarily suppressing the surging thoughts in his heart.
This meal, Naruto ate very happily, devouring the food on the table like a whirlwind, while Menma’s eating manner was much more refined by comparison.
Knock knock knock!
Outside the door, three steady, rhythmic knocks sounded—not too light, not too heavy.
“Coming coming!” Naruto sprang up like a spring, dashing to yank open the door.
Chilly air carrying fine snowflakes surged in.
At the doorway stood an elderly man, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He wore the Hokage robe with white outer and red edges, a thick lining of casual home clothes underneath, a white beard on his chin, holding a gift box carefully wrapped in colored paper, his face bearing the usual kind and amiable smile, with kindly wrinkles stacked at the corners of his eyes.
He looked just like an ordinary old man come to deliver New Year’s gifts to his grandchildren.
“Third Grandpa!” Naruto shouted in delight, enthusiastically stepping aside at the door: “Come in quick, come in! It’s so cold outside!”
“Hehe, Happy New Year, Naruto.” Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as he entered the warm interior, his gaze mildly sweeping the room, finally landing on Menma who had stood up, a fleeting, hard-to-grasp scrutiny flashing deep in his eyes.
This orphan who often played with Naruto—Hiruzen Sarutobi could recite Menma’s intelligence almost from memory.
And precisely because the other was also a Konoha orphan, Hiruzen Sarutobi allowed them to play together.
“Oh, Menma’s here too, Happy New Year.” Hiruzen Sarutobi said amiably.
“Hokage-sama, Happy New Year.” Menma slightly bowed in salute, his movements standard, attitude respectful, without a single flaw.
His lowered eyelids perfectly concealed all emotions.
“Good, good, all good.” Hiruzen Sarutobi handed the gift box in his hand to the eagerly waiting Naruto: “Here, Naruto, your New Year’s gift.”
“Wow! Thanks, Third Grandpa!” Naruto joyfully took the box, hugging it eagerly, his small face full of pure delight.
