diff --git a/.bumpversion.cfg b/.bumpversion.cfg
index 557ae0ce341..70a34a3ed9e 100644
--- a/.bumpversion.cfg
+++ b/.bumpversion.cfg
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 [bumpversion]
-current_version = 69.5.1
+current_version = 70.0.0
 commit = True
 tag = True
 
diff --git a/NEWS.rst b/NEWS.rst
index 73a8148d9ca..06da16714be 100644
--- a/NEWS.rst
+++ b/NEWS.rst
@@ -1,3 +1,59 @@
+v70.0.0
+=======
+
+Features
+--------
+
+- Emit a warning when ``[tools.setuptools]`` is present in ``pyproject.toml`` and will be ignored. -- by :user:`SnoopJ` (#4150)
+- Improved `AttributeError` error message if ``pkg_resources.EntryPoint.require`` is called without extras or distribution
+  Gracefully "do nothing" when trying to activate a ``pkg_resources.Distribution`` with a `None` location, rather than raising a `TypeError`
+  -- by :user:`Avasam` (#4262)
+- Typed the dynamically defined variables from `pkg_resources` -- by :user:`Avasam` (#4267)
+- Modernized and refactored VCS handling in package_index. (#4332)
+
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- In install command, use super to call the superclass methods. Avoids race conditions when monkeypatching from _distutils_system_mod occurs late. (#4136)
+- Fix finder template for lenient editable installs of implicit nested namespaces
+  constructed by using ``package_dir`` to reorganise directory structure. (#4278)
+- Fix an error with `UnicodeDecodeError` handling in ``pkg_resources`` when trying to read files in UTF-8 with a fallback -- by :user:`Avasam` (#4348)
+
+
+Improved Documentation
+----------------------
+
+- Uses RST substitution to put badges in 1 line. (#4312)
+
+
+Deprecations and Removals
+-------------------------
+
+- Further adoption of UTF-8 in ``setuptools``.
+  This change regards mostly files produced and consumed during the build process
+  (e.g. metadata files, script wrappers, automatically updated config files, etc..)
+  Although precautions were taken to minimize disruptions, some edge cases might
+  be subject to backwards incompatibility.
+
+  Support for ``"locale"`` encoding is now **deprecated**. (#4309)
+- Remove ``setuptools.convert_path`` after long deprecation period.
+  This function was never defined by ``setuptools`` itself, but rather a
+  side-effect of an import for internal usage. (#4322)
+- Remove fallback for customisations of ``distutils``' ``build.sub_command`` after long
+  deprecated period.
+  Users are advised to import ``build`` directly from ``setuptools.command.build``. (#4322)
+- Removed ``typing_extensions`` from vendored dependencies -- by :user:`Avasam` (#4324)
+- Remove deprecated ``setuptools.dep_util``.
+  The provided alternative is ``setuptools.modified``. (#4360)
+
+
+Misc
+----
+
+- #4255, #4280, #4282, #4308, #4348
+
+
 v69.5.1
 =======
 
diff --git a/newsfragments/4136.bugfix.rst b/newsfragments/4136.bugfix.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index f56346f0c79..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4136.bugfix.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-In install command, use super to call the superclass methods. Avoids race conditions when monkeypatching from _distutils_system_mod occurs late.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/newsfragments/4150.feature.rst b/newsfragments/4150.feature.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 5e536fd755d..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4150.feature.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Emit a warning when ``[tools.setuptools]`` is present in ``pyproject.toml`` and will be ignored. -- by :user:`SnoopJ`
diff --git a/newsfragments/4255.misc.rst b/newsfragments/4255.misc.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 50a0a3d195c..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4255.misc.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Treat ``EncodingWarning``s as errors in tests. -- by :user:`Avasam`
diff --git a/newsfragments/4262.feature.rst b/newsfragments/4262.feature.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 7bbdba87d28..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4262.feature.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-Improved `AttributeError` error message if ``pkg_resources.EntryPoint.require`` is called without extras or distribution
-Gracefully "do nothing" when trying to activate a ``pkg_resources.Distribution`` with a `None` location, rather than raising a `TypeError`
--- by :user:`Avasam`
diff --git a/newsfragments/4267.feature.rst b/newsfragments/4267.feature.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 5a69c23914a..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4267.feature.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Typed the dynamically defined variables from `pkg_resources` -- by :user:`Avasam`
diff --git a/newsfragments/4278.bugfix.rst b/newsfragments/4278.bugfix.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 5e606cced8d..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4278.bugfix.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-Fix finder template for lenient editable installs of implicit nested namespaces
-constructed by using ``package_dir`` to reorganise directory structure.
diff --git a/newsfragments/4280.misc.rst b/newsfragments/4280.misc.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index aff6a7ca1c6..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4280.misc.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Avoid leaking loop variable ``name`` in ``AbstractSandbox`` -- by :user:`Avasam`
diff --git a/newsfragments/4282.misc.rst b/newsfragments/4282.misc.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 841d1b292c0..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4282.misc.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Removed the ``setuptools[testing-integration]`` in favor of ``setuptools[testing]`` -- by :user:`Avasam`
diff --git a/newsfragments/4308.misc.rst b/newsfragments/4308.misc.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 6c43f6338ee..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4308.misc.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-Fix ``setuptools_wheel`` fixture and avoid the recursive creation of
-``build/lib/build/lib/build/...`` directories in the project root during tests.
diff --git a/newsfragments/4309.removal.rst b/newsfragments/4309.removal.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index b69b17d45f7..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4309.removal.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-Further adoption of UTF-8 in ``setuptools``.
-This change regards mostly files produced and consumed during the build process
-(e.g. metadata files, script wrappers, automatically updated config files, etc..)
-Although precautions were taken to minimize disruptions, some edge cases might
-be subject to backwards incompatibility.
-
-Support for ``"locale"`` encoding is now **deprecated**.
diff --git a/newsfragments/4312.doc.rst b/newsfragments/4312.doc.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 7ada9548767..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4312.doc.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Uses RST substitution to put badges in 1 line.
diff --git a/newsfragments/4322.removal.1.rst b/newsfragments/4322.removal.1.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 33360172d59..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4322.removal.1.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-Remove ``setuptools.convert_path`` after long deprecation period.
-This function was never defined by ``setuptools`` itself, but rather a
-side-effect of an import for internal usage.
diff --git a/newsfragments/4322.removal.2.rst b/newsfragments/4322.removal.2.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 88380f4c8d6..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4322.removal.2.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-Remove fallback for customisations of ``distutils``' ``build.sub_command`` after long
-deprecated period.
-Users are advised to import ``build`` directly from ``setuptools.command.build``.
diff --git a/newsfragments/4324.removal.rst b/newsfragments/4324.removal.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 3782a0b81bd..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4324.removal.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Removed ``typing_extensions`` from vendored dependencies -- by :user:`Avasam`
diff --git a/newsfragments/4332.feature.rst b/newsfragments/4332.feature.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 9f46298adc4..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4332.feature.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Modernized and refactored VCS handling in package_index.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/newsfragments/4348.bugfix.rst b/newsfragments/4348.bugfix.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index a8bb79a123e..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4348.bugfix.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Fix an error with `UnicodeDecodeError` handling in ``pkg_resources`` when trying to read files in UTF-8 with a fallback -- by :user:`Avasam`
diff --git a/newsfragments/4348.misc.rst b/newsfragments/4348.misc.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index 989226c4b33..00000000000
--- a/newsfragments/4348.misc.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-Update dynamic module imports in ``pkg_resources`` to private alias static imports. Enabled ``attr-defined`` checks in mypy for ``pkg_resources`` -- by :user:`Avasam`
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 38350cd0c98..e0e74377635 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [metadata]
 name = setuptools
-version = 69.5.1
+version = 70.0.0
 author = Python Packaging Authority
 author_email = distutils-sig@python.org
 description = Easily download, build, install, upgrade, and uninstall Python packages
diff --git a/setuptools/dep_util.py b/setuptools/dep_util.py
deleted file mode 100644
index 998ffa206e4..00000000000
--- a/setuptools/dep_util.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-from ._distutils import _modified
-from .warnings import SetuptoolsDeprecationWarning
-
-
-def __getattr__(name):
-    if name not in ['newer_group', 'newer_pairwise_group']:
-        raise AttributeError(name)
-    SetuptoolsDeprecationWarning.emit(
-        "dep_util is Deprecated. Use functions from setuptools.modified instead.",
-        "Please use `setuptools.modified` instead of `setuptools.dep_util`.",
-        see_url="https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/pull/4069",
-        due_date=(2024, 5, 21),
-        # Warning added in v69.0.0 on 2023/11/20,
-        # See https://github.com/pypa/setuptools/discussions/4128
-    )
-    return getattr(_modified, name)
diff --git a/setuptools/tests/test_editable_install.py b/setuptools/tests/test_editable_install.py
index 300a02cfb9e..24c10a50547 100644
--- a/setuptools/tests/test_editable_install.py
+++ b/setuptools/tests/test_editable_install.py
@@ -396,11 +396,6 @@ def test_namespace_accidental_config_in_lenient_mode(self, venv, tmp_path):
         assert "mypkg.other not defined" in out
 
 
-# Moved here from test_develop:
-@pytest.mark.xfail(
-    platform.python_implementation() == 'PyPy',
-    reason="Workaround fails on PyPy (why?)",
-)
 def test_editable_with_prefix(tmp_path, sample_project, editable_opts):
     """
     Editable install to a prefix should be discoverable.
@@ -408,17 +403,19 @@ def test_editable_with_prefix(tmp_path, sample_project, editable_opts):
     prefix = tmp_path / 'prefix'
 
     # figure out where pip will likely install the package
-    site_packages = prefix / next(
-        Path(path).relative_to(sys.prefix)
+    site_packages_all = [
+        prefix / Path(path).relative_to(sys.prefix)
         for path in sys.path
         if 'site-packages' in path and path.startswith(sys.prefix)
-    )
-    site_packages.mkdir(parents=True)
+    ]
+
+    for sp in site_packages_all:
+        sp.mkdir(parents=True)
 
     # install workaround
-    _addsitedir(site_packages)
+    _addsitedirs(site_packages_all)
 
-    env = dict(os.environ, PYTHONPATH=str(site_packages))
+    env = dict(os.environ, PYTHONPATH=os.pathsep.join(map(str, site_packages_all)))
     cmd = [
         sys.executable,
         '-m',
@@ -1250,14 +1247,17 @@ def install_project(name, venv, tmp_path, files, *opts):
     return project, out
 
 
-def _addsitedir(new_dir: Path):
+def _addsitedirs(new_dirs):
     """To use this function, it is necessary to insert new_dir in front of sys.path.
     The Python process will try to import a ``sitecustomize`` module on startup.
     If we manipulate sys.path/PYTHONPATH, we can force it to run our code,
     which invokes ``addsitedir`` and ensure ``.pth`` files are loaded.
     """
-    file = f"import site; site.addsitedir({os.fspath(new_dir)!r})\n"
-    (new_dir / "sitecustomize.py").write_text(file, encoding="utf-8")
+    content = '\n'.join(
+        ("import site",)
+        + tuple(f"site.addsitedir({os.fspath(new_dir)!r})" for new_dir in new_dirs)
+    )
+    (new_dirs[0] / "sitecustomize.py").write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
 
 
 # ---- Assertion Helpers ----
diff --git a/tools/vendored.py b/tools/vendored.py
index 69a538f20c1..41079e1330b 100644
--- a/tools/vendored.py
+++ b/tools/vendored.py
@@ -171,9 +171,11 @@ def yield_top_level(name):
     >>> examples = roots & {"jaraco", "backports", "zipp"}
     >>> list(sorted(examples))
     ['backports', 'jaraco', 'zipp']
+    >>> 'bin' in examples
+    False
     """
     vendor = Path(f"{name}/_vendor")
-    ignore = {"__pycache__", "__init__.py", ".ruff_cache"}
+    ignore = {"__pycache__", "__init__.py", ".ruff_cache", "bin"}
 
     for item in sorted(vendor.iterdir()):
         if item.name in ignore:
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index e6fc063af13..c6d70689070 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@ description = publish the package to PyPI and GitHub
 skip_install = True
 deps =
 	build
+	pyproject-hooks!=1.1 # workaround for pypa/setuptools#4333
 	twine>=3
 	jaraco.develop>=7.1
 pass_env =