"What do you think?" Kagami's voice cut through the silent meeting room, each word imbued with an unquestionable majesty and confidence. "Do you still think I cannot unify the ninja world?"

"Huha... Huha..." The clan leaders gasped for breath, their chests heaving violently as if they had just escaped death itself. They looked at Kagami with a newfound awe and terror. In the illusion space, the strength he had displayed was beyond terrifying. The single, world-slicing slash he had shown them had extinguished any and all desire to resist. They had previously thought his strength was comparable to the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. Now, they realized that he might have already surpassed that level.

In the face of that terrifying Spatial Cleave, the so-called gods of the ninja world were nothing. Not just them, but even the Legendary figures of past will be cut if it hits them. It was only now that they truly understood: Kagami's talk of unifying the ninja world was not an empty boast but a declaration of an achievable, inevitable future. In front of this man, even a resurrected Hashirama and Madara would be powerless.

Without a moment's hesitation, the patriarchs of the great ninja clans fell to one knee.

"Lord Kagami, the Hyuga clan is willing to follow you!"

"The Nara clan is willing to follow you!"

"The Sarutobi clan is willing to follow you!"

"The three clans of the Ino-Shika-Cho are willing to follow you!"

One by one, all the great clans of Konoha swore their fealty. They had no other choice. Kagami's power was so terrifyingly absolute that no one could possibly stop him. Rather than become insignificant corpses at his feet, they chose to follow in his footsteps, to gain a higher status and greater power in the new world he would create.

Seeing their surrender, Kagami nodded with satisfaction. "Very good. Believe me, you will not regret this decision." His voice resonated with a promise of future glory. "As long as you help me unify the ninja world, you will all become the founding fathers of a new era. I promise you, your status and resources will be countless times greater than what you have now."

"Yes, Lord Kagami! We will follow you to the death!" they all declared, their eyes shining with a newfound fervor, as if they could already see the wonderful life that awaited them.

Kagami was pleased. He no longer had to worry about managing these people. Having bound them to him with the promise of shared interests, the possibility of their betrayal was now minimal. Unless an enemy even stronger than him appeared, they would remain loyal. And the chances of that were, in his estimation, zero. He was, after all, a cheater.

At that moment, Shikaku suddenly spoke up. "Lord Kagami, when will we begin to unify the ninja world?" As a member of the Nara clan, renowned for their intelligence, he knew that to gain favor with their new leader, they had to prove their value.

Kagami smiled. "Do not worry. Now is not the right time. Konoha still needs to recuperate. When the time is right, I will naturally lead you to glory. However, before that, you must find a way to control the Fire Daimyo. We need time to recruit troops and obtain more development funds."

He had no trusted confidants yet, and he did not want to unify the ninja world only to hand over power to disloyal underlings. And Konoha's current strength was indeed too weak. He couldn't be expected to fight every battle himself. He was to be the future emperor of the ninja world, not a nanny. Besides, he was still being targeted by the Sage of Six Paths. He wanted to have a few more children, to become completely invincible, before he made his final move. He would use this time to train a new generation of loyal followers.

"Lord Kagami is wise!" The clan heads all breathed a collective sigh of relief. If they were to go to war now, with their senior ninja ranks all but depleted, they would be courting disaster. Now they had time to rebuild, to prepare.

"Okay, you are dismissed," Kagami said, waving his hand to let them leave.

Knock knock...

Just then, a sharp knock came at the door of the conference room.

"Come in," Kagami ordered, his brow furrowed in annoyance.

A Chunin wearing an animal mask entered, immediately dropping to one knee. "Lord Kagami, it's terrible! The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is missing!"

"What?" Before Kagami could react, the clan heads all shot to their feet in astonishment. With Konoha's strength so greatly diminished, the loss of their most powerful weapon was a devastating blow. They all looked to Kagami, waiting for his orders.

Kagami's brow furrowed, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. Naruto had been in a deep, autistic state since his transformation, completely unaware of the outside world. That's why he had thrown him in the hospital. But now, only a few days later, he was gone.

"Did Obito capture him?" he wondered. He suspected the masked man had used Kamui to spirit Naruto away in order to advance his Tailed Beast collection plan. Otherwise, the guards would have noticed something.

Though he had his suspicions, he did not voice them. Instead, he ordered, "Send out a search party immediately. Find the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

He hadn't even had the chance to extract the Ashura chakra from the boy, and now someone had dared to abduct him from his territory. It was unforgivable. If Naruto was killed, how would he awaken his own Rinnegan? But he couldn't be sure it was Obito. He would have to wait for clues before sending a clone to retrieve him.

"Yes!" the Anbu ninja said, then quickly disappeared.

At that moment, Shikaku stood up. "Lord Kagami, I believe the disappearance of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is most likely the work of another ninja village. We must get him back!" The Nine-Tails was their ultimate deterrent. Without it, he feared the other villages might make a comeback.