The moment the number five thousand combat shinobi was announced, Genji immediately began calculating.
According to Kirigakure's current structure, the total number of combat shinobi was less than three thousand. Given ten years, surpassing five thousand would not be difficult.
But the situation could not be evaluated so simply.
At first glance, it seemed as if Kirigakure was losing out.
Yet after thinking it through, Genji realized the transformation of Kirigakure into the Water Capital carried obvious benefits.
It meant shifting from a regional private enterprise to something akin to a central state enterprise.
Behind them now stood an enormous backing.
From now on, when facing enemies whose strength could not be countered through numbers alone, they would have a powerful protector to rely on.
They would also no longer need to worry about waking up one day to find Konoha's shinobi army already surrounding the village—
With their own subordinates offering their heads as gifts to welcome the conquering forces.
When the strongest subordinate village beneath Konoha chose to accept the reform quietly, the leaders of the remaining ninja villages quickly abandoned further deliberation.
Konoha's development over the past years had already completely erased any thought of resistance.
Even if dissatisfaction with Konoha's dominance existed within their villages, those individuals had already been removed from leadership.
Soon afterward—
They disappeared.
Whether they were alive or dead, only heaven and earth knew.
No one in the current leadership wished to be reported to Konoha.
Those Uchiha shinobi, fierce like wolves and tigers, had long been eager for action.
Before the discovery of the Magic Continent, they had gone years without earning major military merits.
They had nearly grown bored enough to lie flat and do nothing.
But over the past few years, the Uchiha had enthusiastically carried out patrol operations across the shinobi world, suppressing any "voices of unrest."
The result—
Peace and stability across the land.
As the economy of the shinobi world rapidly expanded, darkness had inevitably grown as well.
Numerous criminal organizations operating in remote areas were destroyed by Uchiha patrol squads formed voluntarily.
With the Sharingan's terrifying intelligence-gathering ability, they tracked criminals one by one.
Many corrupt leaders within ninja villages were purged.
Ironically, because the Uchiha disdained bullying the weak and valued their reputation, they gained genuine prestige among the people.
Villages and towns across the continent even began enshrining the Uchiha fan crest.
Seeing this, many other places followed suit.
Large and small Uchiha shrines sprang up across the shinobi world like bamboo shoots after rain.
This only fueled the enthusiasm of the Uchiha patrol teams further.
To them, the entire shinobi continent had become their own backyard.
Every parasite had only one possible fate—
Death.
Ignorance could bring fearlessness.
But once people understood the true strength of the Uchiha, anyone still attempting to abuse power risked being reported.
And once that happened—
Those stubborn Uchiha enforcers would arrive.
They followed a very simple principle.
Debts must be repaid.
Murder must be answered with death.
It was perfectly justified.
Because of this, every shinobi now sitting in the conference room was clean of corruption.
Each was a capable figure who fulfilled their duty faithfully.
Seeing that no one raised further objections, Uchiha Soren nodded in satisfaction.
"Since there are no more questions," he said calmly,
"Let us move on to the next matter."
"Of course, your villages will not completely disappear."
"They will continue to exist in another form within the shinobi world."
"Within your respective provinces, you will be allowed to establish your own ninja academies."
"At the same time, within Konoha, you may also establish academies to spread the ideology of your villages."
The moment these words were spoken—
Rōshi suddenly lifted his head.
His eyes burned with hope.
As long as a ninja academy could still be established, the Will of Stone passed down through generations of Iwagakure could continue to exist.
In that case, he would not have failed the previous Tsuchikage.
He was not the only one thinking this.
The leaders of other ninja villages shared the same realization.
However—
Hanzō of the Salamander still frowned slightly.
"Supreme Leader," he thought silently,
"Aren't you worried that allowing these traditions to continue will eventually lead to complicated internal factions?"
After all, he did not believe future shinobi would always behave obediently.
Yet when he raised his head and saw the nearly twenty Uchiha shinobi seated nearby—
All carrying the fan crest on their backs.
All possessing at least Morning Star-level strength.
Every doubt vanished instantly.
Overwhelming power solved everything.
Hanzō could even imagine the future scene.
When someone tried to promote the Will of Rain or the Will of Wind—
There would almost certainly be someone nearby promoting the Will of Fire.
And besides—
Konoha's Ministry of Education was not decoration.
The reform allowed other villages to establish ninja academies.
But it did not mean those academies would operate outside Konoha's authority.
As long as a few Uchiha with awakened Sharingan were stationed there—
Any conspiracy would be nothing more than a joke.
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