Naruto: The Senju After the Age of Gods

Chapter 278: Strategic Plan

By around nine-thirty, Hikaru had fully sorted out his thoughts. At Nara Shikaku’s reminder, the two of them headed for Konoha’s conference room.

Some meetings could be held on a smaller scale, but Hikaru had long since set a rule: any meeting that determined Konoha’s future direction had to be attended by all jōnin.

This meeting was one of them.

It concerned the future development path of the entire village.

Although Hikaru had already discussed parts of it with Shikaku, many resolutions still had to be finalized today.

Even so, Shikaku did not know the full picture. He only knew that Hikaru intended to make a move on the surrounding small nations.

But in his eyes, that was not a major issue.

Konoha stood at the peak of the shinobi world.

Even if it was still recovering, Konoha now controlled the real power of the Land of Fire. There were many things it could afford to ignore.

If Hikaru wanted to make a move, then so be it.

"By the way, Shikaku," Hikaru asked quietly as they walked. "How are the preparations regarding taxation?"

"I’ve already arranged for people to investigate," Shikaku replied just as quietly. "Interfering with taxation means fully seizing economic authority. To avoid provoking the daimyō too strongly, we have to be careful."

Touching taxation was truly striking at the daimyō’s foundation.

Shikaku did not particularly care how the daimyō felt, but nominally, the daimyō was still the ruler of the Land of Fire. Some matters had to be handled with extreme caution.

Hikaru was a Hokage who was willing to follow rules, but he also would not be bound by rules that no longer suited his needs.

Shikaku’s job was to help him act within a workable framework. That was what he was good at.

"Keep investigating for now. We also need to train the right people." Hikaru nodded lightly, then smiled. "As for our move against the small nations this time, we won’t go through the daimyō. We’ll take all the benefits ourselves. Prepare the necessary records."

"That depends on what Lord Hokage plans to do."

Shikaku shrugged. In truth, he still did not understand what value those small nations held.

But he was willing to trust Hikaru.

Hikaru’s vision had already proven itself through this series of reforms.

"You’ll know soon enough. Many things people ignore are not necessarily low in value."

Hikaru smiled and said no more, because they had already reached the conference room doors.

As Hokage, Hikaru had realized that in many situations, he should not be the one waiting for others. Others should wait for him.

It gave him time to prepare, and it also gave the attendees time to compose themselves.

"Lord Hokage!"

The moment Hikaru and Shikaku entered the room, all the shinobi already present stood and saluted.

Hikaru smiled and nodded to everyone before walking straight to his seat.

Once seated, he spoke directly.

"Sit down. Since everyone is here, let the meeting begin.

"Minister Shikaku, start by reporting the current state of the jōnin. After all, jōnin are one of Konoha’s foundations."

His words immediately drew knowing smiles from everyone present.

Everyone here was a jōnin.

Being praised by the Hokage naturally made them happy and proud.

As the beneficiaries of the current jōnin reforms, they had no dissatisfaction at all.

In fact, as the reforms progressed, they had truly received benefits they could never have imagined before.

This was especially true for ordinary jōnin.

Their current treatment was something they would not have dared dream of in the past.

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly complain?

Shikaku soon stood and began his report on the results of the reform.

In truth, even Shikaku felt there was not much to say.

The reform had been too successful.

So successful that most of his report consisted of praise.

Although the major clans still felt that some of the benefits were slightly unnecessary for them, Shikaku understood that these benefits were also a guarantee and a fulfillment of their promise to support Hikaru.

Of course, some clans had improved after receiving those benefits.

After all, the extra resources truly filled many gaps in their ninjutsu reserves.

After finishing his explanation, Shikaku returned to his seat.

At the same time, Hikaru stood and spoke softly.

"From what we can see, Konoha’s jōnin reform plan has been a major success.

"Our jōnin have gained a qualitative leap in strength, livelihood security, and overall support.

"If this continues, I believe Konoha’s jōnin will become the strongest jōnin in the entire shinobi world.

"However, everyone should not become too pleased too soon. Our road is still long, and the jōnin assessment system must be further perfected."

At this point, Hikaru paused slightly.

He could sense that many shinobi present, whether clan shinobi or ordinary jōnin, had become nervous.

By now, everyone understood the effects of the jōnin reforms.

They also understood that such excellent benefits could not possibly be given away forever without requirements.

Even if they had mentally prepared themselves, hearing this still made them uneasy.

After all, if such a matter fell on their own heads, it would not be pleasant.

But Hikaru did not care about that.

Since he intended to push the reform forward, he would continue to do so.

He lightly tapped the table and continued.

"This will affect everyone, and some words may not be pleasant to hear.

"But everyone must understand one thing.

"Becoming a jōnin does not mean you have succeeded forever. If we think that way, it will only make everyone slack off.

"Previously, we had not confirmed how many jōnin positions would be adjusted during the final annual assessment.

"Today, I believe we should discuss it properly.

"On the surface, this may seem like it weakens everyone’s interests.

"But from another angle, it is also protecting everyone’s interests.

"The number of jōnin must be controlled.

"Only then can everyone continue receiving what others desire so desperately.

"Only then can all of Konoha remain energetic and motivated.

"And even if any of you here unfortunately fall from the jōnin rank, do you not have more opportunities than others to climb back up?

"Have some confidence in yourselves.

"Even if you do not think about falling, work hard and make sure there are no problems during your assessments.

"Is that not also a way of improving yourselves?"

...

Hikaru’s words contained a strong element of reframing.

But no matter what, this was now one of Konoha’s major trends.

If the people here refused, the rest of Konoha would be even more unwilling to accept their privilege.

Exclusively enjoying the cake had never been a good thing.

It would only make everyone else resent you.

Hikaru clearly understood this.

That was why he had divided the cake.

Even though he himself had eaten the largest share, he had distributed what needed to be distributed.

Because everyone had received a portion, what he received in return was support.

Therefore, although the people present were internally unwilling to accept Hikaru’s proposal, they still obediently participated in the discussion.

In the end, the conclusion was that there would be thirty demotion slots each year.

At the same time, the total number of jōnin would be kept at around three hundred.

Ten percent was neither too much nor too little.

It was just right.

At the same time, Hikaru began actively pushing reforms for chūnin and genin.

No one opposed this either.

After all, this was already an established fact.

Since jōnin benefits had been reformed, chūnin and genin benefits would naturally follow.

Only then could there be a reasonable and complete promotion system.

Only then would it benefit everyone.

As for whether the chūnin reform would work, everyone present felt there would not be much of a problem.

They had all seen the improved benefits.

After all, who knew whether they might be unlucky enough to fall into the ten percent and be demoted from jōnin to chūnin?

Naturally, they cared about such things.

What relieved them was that although the chūnin benefits were far below jōnin benefits, they were still vastly better than the current chūnin benefits.

To put it bluntly, they were close to what jōnin had received in the past.

With such benefits, chūnin would absolutely be able to raise their strength toward the jōnin level.

And for those unfortunate enough to be demoted, these resources would allow them to maintain their lives.

Moreover, having already experienced life as jōnin, they would naturally have more advantages than other chūnin.

As for genin reforms, although their benefits would rise to roughly the level of previous chūnin, that was not a major issue.

What interested everyone most was the "Special Talent Training Plan" proposed by Hikaru and Shikaku.

Smart people immediately understood that this system had two purposes.

One was to cultivate administrative talent for Konoha.

The other was to strengthen Konoha’s overall power.

For most shinobi, all-round development was simply not realistic.

If that was the case, why not focus on cultivating what they were best at?

The first half of the meeting went very smoothly.

Hikaru then decided to move on to the next topic.

This topic concerned Konoha’s future foreign policy.

In practical terms, it was about how to better and more efficiently act against the surrounding small nations and make use of them.

Hikaru truly looked down on the current shinobi world’s use of small neighboring countries.

To put it plainly, there was almost no real use at all.

If that was the case, why should he not do it himself?

He had been thinking about how to use the surrounding small nations for some time.

Konoha was strong enough now.

It could also continuously draw money from the Land of Fire’s daimyō.

In addition, Konoha was undergoing revival.

Moving against small nations would not only earn money, but also expand Konoha’s influence.

For Hikaru, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.

In fact, he could not think of any actual drawbacks.

Aside from the inevitable bloodshed required to complete these matters, everything was perfect.

But even if there was bloodshed, Hikaru did not care.

At this stage, he truly did not think anyone was his opponent.

And by then, who would even know who had done what?

Even if someone wanted to settle accounts, those accounts might not fall on his head.

Of course, even if they did, Hikaru would not care.

Because this was for the village.

It could even be said to be for the Land of Fire.

When it involved future grand strategy, Hikaru would not care even if things became somewhat bloody.

Konoha might now be on the right track, but thinking about the future required far more than this.

If a force, a village, or even a nation wanted to develop, it could not lack awareness of danger in times of peace or preparation before trouble arrived.

"Everyone, what are your views on the countries surrounding the Land of Fire?"

Hikaru looked at everyone present and asked slowly.

Of course, he knew their answer would be completely different from what he had in mind.

"The surrounding countries?"

Even though Shikaku had already received some information in advance, he still thought seriously for a moment before speaking.

"Those countries can provide us with a huge number of missions. They also allow our merchants to sell many goods. That should be about it."

Hearing this, especially coming from Shikaku, Hikaru could not help shaking his head slightly.

As expected, in their eyes, small nations had little real value.

Or rather, there were many ways to use small nations, but unfortunately, people here did not seem to know them.

The surrounding small nations could not develop not only because they were suppressed by large villages, but mainly because they lacked enough influence and enough money.

Large villages suppressed them, yes, but that did not mean they had no talent.

Hanzo of the Salamander had come from the Land of Rain, and he had been known as a demigod.

He had even established Amegakure.

The appearance of that village had not drawn immediate interference from the major shinobi villages.

In the end, it was Hanzo himself who declared war on Konoha for territory.

Of course, his ending had been miserable, so there was no need to elaborate.

The most important reason small nations could not develop was still transportation.

And beyond that, money.

Without money, they could not even train shinobi properly.

There were only so many geniuses.

Without powerful shinobi to anchor them, how could their villages gain enough trust?

Even their own citizens would likely prefer to entrust major missions to major shinobi villages.

Without trust, there were no missions.

Without missions, there was no funding.

The daimyō of small nations would tighten their purses as well.

This was a vicious cycle.

As a result, they could only become dependents of major nations.

And the major nations did not care about them. They simply seized their resources without considering whether they could develop.

During war, they even directly used those small countries as battlefields.

That made the fate of small nations even more tragic.

Of course, Hikaru actually had to thank this kind of thinking.

Because in his view, these small nations were natural war proxies, raw material collection centers, and markets for dumping goods.

Hikaru could invest in building roads and bridges to stimulate their economies.

After all, in his previous life, there had been a saying: if you want to get rich, build roads first.

Once roads were connected, people would naturally come.

Whether for travel or trade, everything would become much more convenient.

And once those small nations had money, Hikaru could use various methods to earn even more money.

For example, the Land of Hot Water, which had just been fully occupied by Hikaru, could be used as an experiment.

Their shinobi village wanted development but lacked money.

Konoha could support them with some missions and allow them to earn funds.

Once there were missions, what if they lacked enough shinobi?

Even simpler.

Send some jōnin over to teach them useful knowledge.

If they lacked a sufficient medical system, that was also not a problem.

Konoha had a complete medical system that could be shared with them directly.

In this way, they would have missions, shinobi, and a medical system to protect those shinobi’s lives.

Naturally, they would be able to earn more money.

But these were only small profits.

The real money lay in large-scale missions and protecting merchant caravans.

And if the Land of Hot Water lacked enough infrastructure and roads, Konoha could send engineering shinobi teams in.

With all this, would the shinobi village of a small nation not develop?

And as long as Konoha was careful, the jōnin sent over could quietly promote Konoha’s greatness while teaching them.

That would further win over those shinobi.

After the full process, Konoha would have helped build a shinobi village, helped it develop enough income to train the next generation, and subtly promoted Konoha’s image.

Once all that was done, it would be time to talk money.

A newly developed Land of Hot Water shinobi village would naturally not have enough money to repay Konoha.

That was fine.

They could use a loan model and repay slowly.

If they truly could not repay, that was also fine.

There were plenty of mines in the Land of Hot Water, especially near the Land of Iron.

Mining rights, shares, and similar assets were all things Konoha could accept.

Moreover, developing mines could allow another group of people to earn more money.

The common people.

And once commoners had money, they could stimulate the economy, which would create even more missions.

In addition, tariffs could also be brought into the discussion.

Hikaru absolutely did not mind controlling a country’s customs duties.

Finally, one must not forget to protect existing results.

They would have shinobi, but strategic supplies could not be obtained in a single step.

Konoha was one of the major shinobi villages and possessed many strategic supplies, including weapons, medical drugs, and more.

Whenever Konoha upgraded its equipment, before the old supplies were completely discarded, it could sell them directly to these shinobi villages.

This would reduce Konoha’s losses while earning another large sum.

This was a guaranteed profitable deal.

It would also give Konoha a large number of younger brothers.

With that in mind, Hikaru simply explained everything he was thinking.

His words immediately stunned everyone present.

At first, when they heard that Hikaru intended to provide so much support, their expressions darkened.

Was this not simply throwing money away?

They almost wondered whether their Hokage intended to follow the First Hokage’s old path.

But when they heard how Hikaru planned to make money later, their eyes all lit up.

Was this making money?

No.

This was robbing money.

Everyone present, aside from Hikaru, had gone through the complete jōnin examination.

Their rich knowledge reserves immediately allowed them to understand the benefits of this plan.

Aside from the relatively large initial investment and the lower short-term returns, the long-term benefits would be unimaginable.

If this went far enough, completely controlling that country would not be impossible.

Seizing a nation’s wealth without bloodshed was simply unimaginable.

And Hikaru’s plan could absolutely allow them to do it.

Of course, "without bloodshed" did not mean no one would die.

For the plan to proceed smoothly, some people would inevitably have to "pay the price."

Aside from wealth, once that village was properly supported and possessed enough combat power, Konoha would have gained another force.

Even if that combat power did not belong directly to Konoha, it would still have an inseparable relationship with Konoha.

Naturally, it would stand with Konoha.

No matter what happened, it would support Konoha unconditionally.

"What a brilliant idea. As expected of Lord Hokage!"

"I never imagined these small nations had such value. If one Land of Hot Water alone can be used like this, then if we have enough ability..."

"Lord Hokage, if this is the plan, we will absolutely support you!"

After a long silence, the shinobi attending the meeting began to speak.

Without exception, their answers were all in support.

This was not beyond Hikaru’s expectations, but it still showed just how high his prestige was, and how tempting this proposal truly was.

Thinking of this, Hikaru could not help sighing quietly in his heart.

He had to thank the country he had lived in before transmigrating.

That beautiful country had allowed him to learn too many precious things.

It had allowed him to see too many things clearly.

After all, it was a nation and civilization that had faced floods alongside the Egyptians five thousand years ago, cast bronze alongside the ancient Babylonians four thousand years ago, pondered philosophy alongside the ancient Greeks three thousand years ago, fought bravely like the Romans two thousand years ago, and enjoyed prosperity like the Arabs one thousand years ago.

And now, it was competing with America in every field.

That nation and civilization truly filled Hikaru with pride.

Even in ancient foreign wars, that country’s behavior had been completely different from other historical nations.

When other nations expanded their territory, the people of newly acquired lands were not treated as citizens, but as slaves.

But his country rarely relied only on force.

Even when force was used, governance was placed first.

"After all, we prefer integration over simple conquest."

Hikaru could no longer remember when the saying "a warlike nation is doomed to perish" had first appeared.

But those words seemed to have been engraved in everyone’s heart.

At least Hikaru had known them since childhood.

Even the Xiongnu, who had troubled the Han Dynasty for so long, had eventually provoked Emperor Wu of Han into launching a pursuit across thousands of miles.

They had been mortal enemies.

Yet those who sincerely surrendered were still treated with courtesy by the Han Dynasty and even given funds to settle down.

In other countries, they would have built a mound of heads long ago.

Who would give them money?

Because of this characteristic, Hikaru’s homeland had never feared foreign cultures.

Foreign cultures often became nourishment for itself.

For five thousand years, that country had always remained seated at the world’s card table, watching one opponent after another rise and fall.

Even when it had played the wrong cards and suffered terribly, once given time and opportunity, it could always stand again and return to the table.

"Quiet down."

Hikaru lightly tapped the table.

The moment the sound rang out, the entire conference room fell silent within moments.

Hikaru nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze toward Shikaku.

"Minister Shikaku, what do you think?"

"I fully support Lord Hokage’s proposal."

Shikaku gave his answer without the slightest hesitation.

But unlike those who only offered blind support, he had his own thoughts as well.

"There are just some details I believe we should discuss more thoroughly.

"For example, how do we make those villages accept our investment?

"Or to put it another way, what kind of person should we choose to cooperate with us?"

Shikaku’s tone was gentle.

But the meaning behind his words was bloody.

After all, they needed to find someone obedient to cooperate with them.

Everyone understood what would happen behind that.

To put it bluntly, if someone was obedient, they would be chosen.

If not, they would be replaced.

And once a new decision-maker was installed, what would that person need to do to stabilize their own power?

Hikaru had already given everyone a very good answer.

Although no one present had seen the corpses of those thousand people, they had seen the black smoke continuously rising from the distant forest.

Even if those supported "agents" could not reach Hikaru’s level, they would absolutely not behave gently.

To show loyalty and to eliminate internal disharmonious voices as quickly as possible, bloodshed would become the most effective method.

There was no alternative.

In any case, Konoha would be backing them.

They did not need to worry.

And Konoha only needed to transplant its own policies.

No matter who the decision-maker was, that person would remain their "agent."

But so what if it was bloody?

Konoha would not be the one doing it.

Who could accuse Konoha of anything?

Besides, if one truly looked at the matter, such bloodshed would affect only a minority.

For the majority, it might not necessarily be bloody at all.

There would certainly be many voices of opposition.

Some seeds of hatred might be planted as well.

But hatred was only one of the tools used by interests to incite war.

As long as such wars could never be incited, what use was hatred?

Of course, it was not that hatred could never inspire resistance.

But once the people received real benefits, how would they resist?

Would there even be a need to resist?

Even if they truly resisted, could they win?

Clearly, that was impossible.

Even if Konoha truly cultivated them, Konoha would not fear them.

After all, based on Konoha’s current development trajectory, the war potential contained in those small villages would never catch up to Konoha in this lifetime.

...

Hikaru’s proposal basically gained everyone’s approval.

However, the details of this matter still needed careful planning.

In addition, they had to find a suitable country as the target.

Such a small nation was not easy to find.

A comprehensive evaluation was required before a result could be reached.

Moreover, after finding one, they still had to judge its attitude toward Konoha.

Only then could they decide whether to keep the current leader and win him over, or cultivate a spokesperson they could trust.

Finally, they would also need to deal with the current decision-maker.

In short, this was not something that could be done overnight.

Of course, they already had a target.

For example, the Land of Hot Water that Hikaru had used as an example had already entered Konoha’s key investigation list.

Compared to other villages, where there were either shinobi from other major villages or no shinobi village at all, the Land of Hot Water’s conditions were much better.

When there was no extreme urgency, starting with the easy before moving to the difficult was often far better than starting with the difficult first.

After the meeting ended, Konoha’s machine began operating once again.

In particular, those jōnin who led teams actively began trying to help Konoha collect information on surrounding villages.

The First Hokage had founded Konoha.

The Second and Third Hokage had, to a certain extent, established Konoha’s values, even if they themselves had not realized it.

And Hikaru was now thoroughly carrying those values forward.

Although he might not be able to create something like a full national consciousness, it would absolutely not be inferior to what those two had built.

Everyone was a member of Konoha.

Only when Konoha prospered could everyone prosper.

This concept was something Hikaru had to plant deep in the heart of every Konoha resident.

At the same time, he needed them to develop pride in being part of Konoha.

This would greatly help Hikaru control the village.

In the following period, Konoha began to grow busy.

Hikaru, however, remained relatively relaxed.

After all, these matters did not require him to personally do much.

He only needed to wait patiently.

As for the resurrection technique, Hidan had clearly not recovered completely yet.

Hatake Sakumo was still undergoing rehabilitation.

Kakashi, meanwhile, was acting as both a collector and helping Hikaru investigate matters related to the path to the moon.

He had no time to come looking for Hikaru.

However, what Hikaru had not expected was that Kakashi, whom he thought would continue working as an information collector, actually came before him with news Hikaru could not refuse.

"We seem to have really found a place similar to what you described," Kakashi said, his expression full of disbelief. "But that place is filled with seals. We cannot fully confirm it."

"Filled with seals?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow and asked seriously, "Is it inside a cave? Is there also a strange pond?"

"It can probably be considered a cave," Kakashi nodded, then shook his head. "But there is no pond or anything like that. It is just a summoning formation filled with seals."

No pond?

Hearing this, Hikaru could not help frowning.

This seemed different from what he remembered...

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