Chapter 199: The Key to a Year
Very early on, when he had first examined the situation in the Land of Rain, he had already worked through more than half of the underlying reasoning behind why Hanzo had never managed the Land of Rain well despite clearly having the ability to do so.
He had ultimately attributed the answer to the simple truth that everyone had different ambitions. Different thinking, different personalities, different experiences, and different backgrounds naturally produced different priorities.
He had never considered the internal conflict in the Land of Rain to be a problem in itself. What he valued was the Land of Rain’s resources, not its people.
In truth, the figure he was actually more wary of was not Hanzo at all. But he temporarily set those concerns aside without mentioning them.
He also did not share with Chiyo and the others the words about his broader dreams that he had spoken to Shimizu and Sasori on the sand dune. He wanted to reshape the ninja world, a small selfish ambition of his own. Shimizu and Sasori were his closest confidants and could more or less understand. But if Chiyo and the others knew about it, their reaction would likely be quite different.
From their perspective, as Kazekage, he was expected to consider things from the village’s standpoint first. That was his responsibility.
In truth, compared to his initial plan when he first arrived in this world, he had only wanted to change the Sand Village. Although he had always harbored the desire to do something about the broader ninja world, he had never been certain he had the ability to act on that desire.
Perhaps before he could even change the village, he would have died on a mission or on the battlefield. Only after reaching this point, with genuine strength and resources behind him, had his thinking become more flexible and his gaze capable of looking further into the future.
Of course, his dream and plan were all built upon the Sand Village as their foundation. He wanted to see whether he, a person who had come from another world, could reach something approaching the level of the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama.
Not merely in terms of maintaining personal strength, but in terms of bringing about change in the ninja world and elevating it to a different level entirely. In terms of the lasting influence and achievements a single figure could have on the world around them.
In a more precise sense, this was a challenge he had set for himself. Even if he failed in the end, there would be no room for regret.
"Therefore, making the most of this year before the great war fully ends is extremely important for the Sand Village," he said, resuming his role leading the meeting.
"First, we need to see if each of the village’s new systems can mature through actual operation within this year, achieving a stable and self-sustaining cycle before we go to war with the Land of Rain."
"Next, while expanding the ninja count, we need to simultaneously strengthen our talent development capabilities."
"Over the coming year, I will also find ways to strengthen the village’s key combat forces and most talented individuals."
"We need to stockpile sufficient resources to sustain this war. We cannot allow ourselves to be dragged into a prolonged quagmire by the Land of Rain."
"Leave the matter of military strengthening to me. I will handle it."
The usually quiet Rasa spoke up suddenly.
"Good," Yuji nodded.
Rasa had always been the top candidate for the village’s military command.
"Sasori, you will be responsible for upgrading the Puppet Master soldiers and diversifying their combat methods. If necessary..."
"You could share some of your works that you do not currently use with promising Puppet Masters, so they can also experience the benefit of higher quality tools."
"With their crude techniques, giving them good puppets would only be a waste," Sasori said coldly.
"Do not be so stingy about it. How about this: you and Lady Chiyo, when you have time, study the puppet techniques from the existing lineage and see if there are areas that can be improved. Ideally, develop something that can be popularized among the Puppet Master soldiers."
"If any related research or experimentation is needed, proceed freely. The village will provide full financial support."
He added.
"Deal."
Sasori agreed without the slightest hesitation upon hearing the last part.
Yuji narrowed his eyes slightly watching this.
Sure enough. It always came down to money with Sasori.
"Shimizu and Ebizo, the two of you organize the ninjutsu resources obtained from the other villages and conduct proper screening and analysis. Then have the chakra-attributed practitioners begin their training accordingly. At the same time, the village’s intelligence division will maintain close surveillance on movements within the Land of Rain."
"Understood," Ebizo nodded.
Finally, Yuji’s gaze settled on Shimizu.
"Your task is the simplest, and also the most difficult."
Ebizo took a quiet breath beside him.
Shimizu’s expression became serious upon hearing those words.
"Almost everything in the village is back on track. There will not be too many urgent or complicated matters to handle going forward."
Yuji cleared his throat.
Shimizu suddenly had a very bad feeling about where this was heading.
"Personally, I have many preparations to make this year. To conserve my energy for what matters most, I will not be able to handle ordinary village affairs. I can only entrust them to you."
A hint of cunning showed in Yuji’s eyes as he smiled.
"From this point forward, you will temporarily take over from me and handle the Kazekage’s administrative duties. Is that acceptable?"
Shimizu fell silent.
To put it plainly, he was not just a figurehead tool this time either.
"Shimizu, you served as Kage Guard under the Third Kazekage. Your experience and qualifications are considerable. The person beside you is irreplaceable in this regard, so you will need to help share some of the pressure."
Even the usually firm Chiyo, uncharacteristically, did not object to Yuji’s intention to step back from day-to-day management.
She even offered her own support for the arrangement. Everyone present understood that compared to the minor internal administrative matters of the village, the coming battle with the Land of Rain was what mattered most.
Furthermore, after two years of Chiyo’s careful management, the workload within the village was not particularly heavy, nor were there any especially critical pending tasks.
"Alright," Shimizu laughed and agreed.
The group then began discussing the general direction and plan for the attack on the Land of Rain a year later. The meeting did not conclude until nightfall. The matter was to remain secret among those present and would not be shared outside this circle.
Afterward, Yuji walked Shimizu back to the office.
"I will leave this to you," Yuji said, gesturing toward the large stack of documents on the desk with a somewhat smug expression.
Shimizu let out a quiet sigh, walked to the desk, sat down, and began working.
Yuji turned and walked away, heading toward the underground research laboratory beneath the village hospital.
This place was the Sand Village’s forbidden zone, an absolutely critical secret that Yuji kept with the utmost care. He passed through the hospital’s internal concealed door, descended the stone steps, and slowly entered the dimly lit underground space.
At this moment, Saori was leading several research staff members in examining a piece of fresh meat and bone tissue immersed in a container of liquid, engaged in quiet discussion. Saori had taken over the hospital director position after Yuji became Kazekage.
"How is it progressing?" Yuji asked.
Hearing the sound, the others fell silent and Saori turned to look.
"Not yet. From the experimental data and sample feedback, to completely suppress the destructive effects of these stem cells on ordinary flesh and blood, the subject must possess even more powerful bodily functions to avoid damage from the activated immune cell response. The only shortcut would be to borrow external chakra power, using a technique to forcibly alter their physical state."
Saori frowned.
"A curse mark?" Yuji said.
"That is one method," Saori continued. "But there is no guarantee of success."
Saori nodded to herself before continuing.
"Setting aside the difficulty of the technique and the chakra requirements, the effect of even a well-crafted curse mark would have very low probability of instantly reversing all the cells in a subject’s body simultaneously. It would require a prolonged and gradual reversal process.
Furthermore, this is a bloodline limit we are dealing with. Even at the cellular level, the bone cells are extraordinarily robust. I followed your original plan and attempted some cell fusion approaches, but they have been completely ineffective so far."
"To achieve fusion, the cell strength of the receiving tissue is the critical factor. I need to reach a comparable level to these bone cells while also ensuring the fusion does not trigger a rejection response."
"You have done well," Yuji said, seeing her troubled expression and offering genuine comfort.
That Saori had been able to advance this experiment to its current state on her own was already an excellent achievement in his estimation. It also meant that the Sand Village’s overall medical research capability had risen by several levels compared to what it had been.
He had not neglected Saori’s training throughout this period. The results here were proof that the changes brought about by the village’s completely new treatment system had been meaningful and significant.
"The curse mark approach did not work, and conventional fusion did not work either," Yuji said, narrowing his eyes slightly in thought.
"Do not rush the conclusion for now. Continue collecting various biological cell samples from different sources."
"Yes," Saori said, hearing this and rubbing her aching neck.
For the moment, this was the only path forward available to them.
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