When the time reached around 9:30, Natsuhiko—having completely sorted out his thoughts—headed toward the Konoha conference room together with Nara Shikaku.
Although some meetings could be held on a smaller scale with fewer people, any conference that would determine Konoha's future direction had long been required by Natsuhiko to include every single Jonin.
This time was exactly such a major meeting concerning the future development path of the entire Konoha.
Even though Natsuhiko had already discussed things with Nara Shikaku beforehand, many decisions still needed to be finalized through today's meeting.
That said, while they had communicated, Nara Shikaku wasn't fully informed on many details. He only knew that Natsuhiko planned to take action against the surrounding small nations.
But those were trivial matters. Even without knowing the specifics, it didn't matter.
Indeed, in his eyes, moving against the surrounding small nations was nothing major. After all, Konoha was a village that stood firmly at the pinnacle of the ninja world.
Even though it was still quite weak at the moment, Konoha—which held the real power in the Land of Fire—could ignore many things.
If Natsuhiko wanted to make a move, then he would. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it.
"By the way, Shikaku." While walking, Natsuhiko asked in a low voice, "How are the preparations coming along for those tax-related matters I asked you to handle?"
"I've already had people start investigating this," Nara Shikaku immediately answered softly. "After all, intervening in taxation essentially means completely seizing economic authority. To avoid backlash from the daimyo, we must proceed with caution."
Acting on the tax system was truly a heavy blow against the daimyo. Although Nara Shikaku wasn't particularly concerned about the daimyo's opinion…
No matter what, the daimyo was still nominally the ruler of the Land of Fire, so certain matters required extreme caution.
Natsuhiko was the kind of Hokage willing to follow the rules—yet completely unconcerned with breaking certain ones when necessary.
As for Shikaku, his role was naturally to ensure everything stayed within an acceptable framework. That was what he excelled at.
"Let's investigate first. Besides, we also need to train all kinds of talent, don't we?"
Natsuhiko nodded lightly, then continued with a smile, "This time when we move against the small nations, we won't go through the daimyo. We'll take all the benefits ourselves. Make sure to prepare the documentation."
"I wonder how Hokage-sama plans to go about it." Nara Shikaku shrugged. In truth, he really didn't know what value these small nations held.
However, he was willing to trust Natsuhiko. After all, Natsuhiko had excellent foresight, which was evident from this series of reforms.
"You'll find out soon. Many things that everyone overlooks often have value that isn't low at all."
Natsuhiko replied with a smile and didn't say anything more, as they had already arrived at the entrance of the conference room.
As the Hokage, Natsuhiko understood that in many situations, he couldn't be the one waiting for others; others must wait for him.
This was to give himself time to prepare, and likewise to give the meeting participants time to prepare.
"Hokage-sama!"
When he and Nara Shikaku entered the conference room, all the ninjas who had already arrived immediately stood up and paid their respects
Natsuhiko smiled and nodded to everyone, then walked straight to his seat. Once seated, he spoke directly:
"Everyone, please be seated. Since everyone is already here, let's begin the meeting.
Department Head Shikaku, please start by giving us an update on the current situation of the Jonin. After all, Jonin are the foundation of our Konoha."
Natsuhiko's words immediately brought knowing smiles to everyone's faces. After all, everyone present was a Jonin.
Being praised so highly by the Hokage made them feel both happy and proud.
Moreover, as beneficiaries of the current Jonin reforms in Konoha, they naturally had no complaints.
In fact, as the reforms progressed, they had indeed gained benefits they could hardly have imagined before.
Especially for ordinary Jonin, their current treatment was something truly unimaginable in the past.
Under such circumstances, how could they possibly have any dissatisfaction?
In fact, that was more or less the case. Nara Shikaku quickly stood up and began reporting on the results of the current reforms.
Even Nara Shikaku himself felt there wasn't much to say, because this reform had been incredibly successful—so successful that he could only offer words of praise no matter how he phrased it.
Although the major clans still felt that such welfare improvements were somewhat unnecessary for them, Shikaku understood very well that this was a form of guarantee. It was also the promise they had made in exchange for their support of Natsuhiko.
Of course, after receiving these benefits, some clans had also seen a certain degree of improvement. At the end of the day, those additional resources really did make up for quite a few of their shortcomings in terms of techniques.
After finishing his explanation, Nara Shikaku returned to his seat. At the same time, Natsuhiko stood up and spoke softly.
"It is evident that the implementation of Konoha's Jonin reform plan has been a great success.
This has led to a qualitative leap in our Jonin's strength, living guarantees, and so on. I believe that if this continues, Konoha's Jonin will become the strongest Jonin in the entire ninja world.
However, everyone should not get overly excited. Our path is still very long, and the Jonin evaluation system must be further improved."
At this point, Natsuhiko paused slightly. He could sense that many ninjas present—whether clan ninjas or ordinary Jonin—had started to feel nervous.
Everyone knew full well how effective the Jonin reforms had been so far. They also understood that such excellent benefits and treatment could not be taken for free indefinitely.
Even with mental preparation, hearing this news still caused some worry, because once it affected them personally, it wouldn't be good.
However, Natsuhiko wouldn't concern himself with that. If he decided to implement something, he would see it through. He lightly tapped the table and continued:
"Although this matter will affect everyone, and some words may not be pleasant to hear…
What everyone must understand is that simply becoming a Jonin does not mean success. That would only lead to complacency.
Previously, we had never confirmed how many Jonin slots would be adjusted in the final annual assessment.
Today, I think we can discuss this properly. Although it may seem like we are reducing everyone's benefits, from another perspective, it is also protecting everyone's interests.
The number of Jonin must be controlled. Only then can everyone obtain something others desperately desire. This way, the entire Konoha will have more vitality and motivation.
Moreover, even if some of you here unfortunately drop down, wouldn't you have a better chance than others to climb back up again?
Have some confidence in yourselves. Even without considering dropping down, just work hard to ensure you have no issues in the assessments.
Isn't this itself a form of improvement for you?"
Natsuhiko's words carried a strong sense of concept-shifting, but regardless, this was a major trend for Konoha.
If they were unwilling, the rest of Konoha would be even less willing. Monopolizing the cake was never a good thing—it would only make everyone resent you more.
Natsuhiko clearly understood this. That's why he distributed the entire cake. Although he took the largest portion for himself, by sharing the rest with everyone, he gained universal support — because in the end, everyone got a piece of the cake.
Therefore, although no one present was truly willing in their hearts, they still honestly participated in the discussion.
In the end, they reached the conclusion that there would be thirty demotion slots per year, while the total number of Jonin would be appropriately fixed at three hundred.
Ten percent—neither more nor less—was just right. At the same time, Natsuhiko began actively promoting reforms for Chunin and Genin.
No one opposed this either, as it was now an established fact. Since Jonin benefits had been introduced, Chunin and Genin benefits naturally needed to follow.
This would create a reasonable and complete promotion system, which would benefit everyone.
As for the effects of the Chunin reforms, everyone present felt there would be no issues.
They had all seen the welfare improvements—after all, who knew if they might be unlucky and become part of that ten percent, falling from Jonin to Chunin? So they paid close attention.
What relieved them was that although this welfare reform was vastly inferior compared to Jonin benefits, it was still many times better than the current Chunin treatment.
To put it bluntly, it was almost reaching the level of what Jonin used to receive. With these benefits, Chunin would definitely be able to raise their level to that of Jonin.
For those who unfortunately dropped ranks, these resources would ensure their quality of life.
Moreover, having previous Jonin experience, they would naturally hold more advantages than other Chunin, right?
As for the Genin reforms, although they had reached the previous level of Chunin benefits, that wasn't a big deal.
What interested them the most was that in this reform, Natsuhiko and Nara Shikaku had also proposed the 'Special Talent Development Plan.'
The smarter ones immediately understood that this system was on one hand cultivating administrative talents for Konoha, and on the other hand strengthening Konoha's overall power.
In truth, for the vast majority of ninjas, all-round development was unrealistic. In that case, why not focus on cultivating what they were best at?
It could be said that the first half of the meeting went very well, and Natsuhiko decided to move on to the next topic.
This next part was about Konoha's future foreign policy!
These policies were precisely about how to more effectively deal with and make use of the surrounding small nations.
Natsuhiko was quite disdainful of how the current ninja world handled the surrounding small nations. To put it bluntly, there was basically no utilization at all.
In that case, why shouldn't he do it himself?
He had been thinking about how to make use of these surrounding small nations for quite some time.
After all, Konoha currently had sufficient strength and could continuously obtain funds from the Land of Fire's daimyo.
Additionally, with Konoha currently in the midst of revival, taking action against the small nations could not only generate substantial revenue but also expand their influence. For him, the benefits far outweighed the risks.
In fact, he couldn't even think of any real downsides for himself.
Aside from the inevitable bloodshed that would occur while completing these matters, everything was perfect.
But even with bloodshed, Natsuhiko didn't care. At this stage, he truly didn't see anyone as his opponent.
And by then, who knew who was responsible? It wouldn't necessarily be traced back to him.
Of course, even if all these troubles were pinned on him, he wouldn't mind.
Because this was for the sake of the village—even for the sake of the Land of Fire.
When it came to major future strategies, even if there was some bloodshed, Natsuhiko wouldn't care. Although Konoha was currently on the right track in every aspect, it was still far from enough when considering the future.
For a force, village, or even a nation to develop, the awareness of being vigilant in times of peace and planning ahead was absolutely essential.
"Everyone, what are your thoughts on the small nations surrounding our Land of Fire?"
Natsuhiko looked around at everyone present and asked slowly. Of course, he already knew their answers would be vastly different from what he had in mind.
"Surrounding nations?"
Even though Nara Shikaku had already received some information beforehand, he still thought seriously for a moment before replying.
"They provide us with a large number of missions and allow our merchants to sell quite a few goods. That's pretty much it, right?"
Hearing this — especially coming from Nara Shikaku — Natsuhiko couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
As expected, in their eyes, the value of these small nations was extremely limited.
Or rather, while there were many ways to utilize them, the people here simply didn't know how.
The reason these surrounding small nations struggled to develop wasn't just because they were suppressed by the major powers. The bigger issue was that they lacked both sufficient influence and the funds needed to grow.
Suppression by major villages was one thing, but it didn't mean they had no talent. Wasn't Hanzo of the Salamander, the so called demigod, from the Land of Rain?
Hanzo had even established Hidden Rain Village, and no major ninja village had interfered with that.
In the end, he had declared war on Konoha over territory, and his tragic outcome needed no further mention.
The core reason these small nations couldn't develop was ultimately the lack of money.
Without sufficient funds, they couldn't properly train ninjas. With only a handful of geniuses and no truly powerful shinobi to support them, how could their villages earn real trust? Their own citizens would rather entrust important missions to the major ninja villages.
No trust meant no missions. No missions meant no income. And without income, the daimyos would only tighten their purse strings even further. It was a vicious cycle.
As a result, these small nations could only exist as vassals to the great powers. The major villages, for their part, had little interest in helping them grow. They simply extracted whatever resources they could, while even using the small nations' territories as battlegrounds whenever war broke out.
This was the tragic fate of the weak.
Of course, Natsuhiko was truly grateful for this kind of thinking.
In his view, these were natural proxy warriors, raw material collection centers, and commodity dumping grounds!
Natsuhiko could completely drive their economies through investments like building roads and bridges. After all, in his previous life, there was a saying: "If you want to get rich, build roads first."
Once roads were built, people would come—whether for tourism or trade, it would be extremely convenient.
And once these small nations had money, Natsuhiko could use all kinds of methods to earn a fortune from them.
For example, the Land of Hot Water, a nation that Natsuhiko had just occupied in its entirety, could be completely used as an experimental ground for him.
Their ninja village wanted to develop but suffered from a lack of funds. Konoha could support them with some missions, allowing them to earn money.
But what if they had missions but not enough ninjas?
Simple—send some Jonin over to properly teach them useful knowledge.
They also lacked a complete medical system? No problem. Konoha had a full medical system that could be directly shared with them.
With missions, ninjas, and a medical system to protect lives, they would naturally be able to earn even more.
However, these were small profits. The real money came from major missions and merchant caravan protection.
The Land of Hot Water lacked sufficient infrastructure and roads, so Konoha could dispatch engineering teams of ninjas.
In this way, wouldn't the small nation's ninja village finally be able to develop?
Moreover, if they were careful, the dispatched Jonin could take on private work and promote Konoha's various advantages, further winning over these ninjas.
After completing this process—perfecting the construction of a ninja village, helping it gain enough economy to train the next generation, and subtly promoting Konoha—the time to talk about money would come.
The newly developed Village Hidden in Hot Water wouldn't have much money to repay Konoha.
No problem—they could use a loan model and repay slowly.
If they really couldn't repay, that was fine too. The Land of Hot Water had many mines, especially near the Land of Iron.
Mining rights, shares, and the like were all things Konoha could accept.
Developing the mines could also bring more money to another group of people—the common civilians—which in turn would generate even more revenue!
Once civilians had money, they could stimulate the economy, leading to more missions appearing.
In addition, tariffs and such could also be utilized. Natsuhiko certainly wouldn't mind controlling a country's tariffs.
Finally, they must not forget to protect the existing results.
They might have ninja, but strategic supplies were not something that could be established in a single step.
Konoha was one of the great ninja villages of the shinobi world. Internally, it possessed a huge amount of strategic materials, including weapons, medical supplies, and more.
When Konoha upgraded and replaced its own equipment, before those old supplies were completely discarded, they could simply sell them directly to these ninja villages.
This would not only reduce Konoha's losses, but also allow them to make a ruthless profit.
It could be said that this was a business that guaranteed profit without loss, while also bringing Konoha a large group of little brothers.
Thinking of this, Natsuhiko simply voiced everything he had in mind.
His words directly left everyone present dumbfounded. At first, when they heard that Natsuhiko intended to provide so much support, their expressions darkened.
Wasn't this basically handing out money without any disguise?
They really could not understand what their Hokage was thinking. Could it be that he wanted to follow the same old path as the First Hokage?
However, when they heard how Natsuhiko intended to make money afterward, every one of their eyes lit up.
Was this making money? This was outright robbing money.
Among everyone present, aside from Natsuhiko, who had never gone through a complete jōnin assessment, the rest of them had all experienced it.
Because of that, their rich reserves of knowledge immediately allowed them to realize the benefits of doing this.
Aside from the fact that the initial investment might be somewhat large, and that short-term returns would be slightly lower, from a long-term perspective, the results would absolutely be unimaginable.
If this was carried out properly, even completely taking control of that nation would not be a problem.
To seize a country's wealth without shedding blood was absolutely unimaginable, yet Natsuhiko's plan could definitely allow them to achieve it.
Of course, "without shedding blood" did not mean no one would die. After all, for the plan to proceed smoothly, certain people would inevitably have to "contribute."
Aside from wealth, once that village was truly supported and possessed sufficient combat power, Konoha would effectively gain an additional force in the future.
Even if that combat power did not come from Konoha itself, it would definitely have an inseparably close relationship with Konoha.
It would naturally stand together with Konoha. No matter what happened, it would support Konoha unconditionally.
"What a brilliant idea. As expected of Hokage-sama!"
"I never imagined these small nations had this kind of value. Just the Land of Hot Water alone is already like this. If we have the ability, then…"
"Hokage-sama, if this is the plan, we will absolutely support you!"
After a long silence, the shinobi participating in the meeting all began to speak. Without exception, the answer they gave was support.
This could not exactly be considered outside Natsuhiko's expectations, but it did show just how high Natsuhiko's prestige was, as well as how tempting this proposal truly was.
Thinking of this, Natsuhiko could not help sighing faintly in his heart.
He really had to thank the country he had lived in before transmigrating. That beautiful country had taught him far too many precious things, allowing him to see through far too much.
It was, after all, a nation that had faced floods together with the Egyptians five thousand years ago, forged bronze vessels alongside ancient Babylon four thousand years ago, and contemplated philosophy like the ancient Greeks three thousand years ago.
Two thousand years ago, it had fought as bravely as the Romans. One thousand years ago, it had been as incomparably prosperous as the Arabs. And now, it was a nation and people competing with America in all aspects.
That nation and its people truly filled Natsuhiko with incomparable pride. Even in ancient times, when it came to foreign wars and expansion, that country's performance had been completely different from other nations in history.
When other countries expanded their territory, the people on the newly acquired land were not citizens, but slaves. Yet she rarely used force, and even when force was used, governance was placed first.
"After all, we prefer integration, not necessarily conquest."
Natsuhiko could no longer remember when the saying "those who love war will perish" originated, but it seemed to be etched in everyone's hearts. He had known this phrase since childhood.
Even after the Xiongnu troubled the Han Dynasty for so long and provoked Emperor Wu of Han into a thousand-mile pursuit — making them sworn enemies — those who sincerely surrendered were still treated with courtesy and given settlement money by the Han. In other countries, they would have long been piled into a Jingguan (skull pyramid). Would they have given them money?
It was because of such characteristics that Natsuhiko's motherland in his previous life was never afraid of foreign cultures—foreign cultures often became its own nourishment.
Over five thousand years, this country had always remained at the world's table, watching one opponent after another rise and fall.
Even if it was beaten badly due to playing the wrong cards, once given time and opportunity, it would always stand up again and return to the table!
"Everyone, quiet down please."
Natsuhiko lightly tapped the table. With this sound, the entire conference room fell silent in an instant.
Natsuhiko nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to Nara Shikaku.
"Department Head Shikaku, what are your thoughts?"
"I fully support Hokage-sama's proposal."
Nara Shikaku answered without the slightest hesitation. However, unlike those who only blindly supported, he had his own ideas.
"There are some situations I believe we should discuss in more detail, such as how to make those villages accept our investment.
Or rather, what kind of person we should choose to cooperate with us."
Nara Shikaku's words were mild, but what they represented was quite bloody.
After all, they needed to find an obedient person to cooperate with them. Everyone knew what that implied.
In simple terms: if you're obedient, we'll choose you. If not, we'll replace you!
Moreover, after replacing a decision-maker, what would that person do to stabilize their own power?
Natsuhiko had already given everyone a very good answer. Although the people present hadn't seen the more than a thousand corpses, they had seen the black smoke continuously rising from the distant forest.
These "proxies" being supported, even if they couldn't reach Natsuhiko's level, would definitely show no "gentleness."
To demonstrate loyalty and eliminate internal discord as quickly as possible, bloodshed would become the most effective method—bar none!
With Konoha backing them, they wouldn't need to worry.
Konoha only needed to transplant its policies. No matter who the decision-maker was, they would always remain nothing more than their "proxy"!
But so what if it was bloody? After all, it wasn't Konoha doing it. Who could say anything about Konoha?
Moreover, if one really thought about it, this bloodshed was only for a minority, while for the majority, it might not be bloody at all.
Even if there would be many opposing voices and some seeds of hatred planted…
Hatred was always just one of the tools used to incite war for the sake of profit. As long as such wars could never be incited, what use was hatred?
Of course, that didn't mean hatred wouldn't spark resistance.
But once they received tangible benefits, how would they resist, and would there even be a need to?
Even if they did resist, could they win?
Clearly, that was impossible. Even if Konoha truly trained them, Konoha wouldn't fear them.
After all, following Konoha's current development trajectory, these small villages would never catch up to Konoha's war potential in their lifetimes!
Natsuhiko's proposal was basically approved by everyone.
However, this matter required them to carefully plan all the details. In addition, they needed to find a suitable nation as a target.
Such small nations weren't easy to find; it required comprehensive consideration.
Moreover, after finding one, they needed to assess their attitude toward Konoha.
Only then could they decide whether to retain the current leader and win them over, or to cultivate a proxy they could trust.
Finally, they would have to deal with the current decision-maker.
In short, this wasn't something that could be accomplished overnight.
Of course, there were targets. For example, the Land of Hot Water that Natsuhiko had used as an example had already entered Konoha's key observation list.
After all, compared to other villages, which either still had shinobi from the great ninja villages inside them or did not even have a ninja village at all, the conditions of the Land of Hot Water's village were truly far, far better.
When there was no urgent need to act, starting with the easy before moving on to the difficult was often much more effective than starting with the difficult before moving on to the easy.
After this meeting ended, Konoha's machinery once again began to operate.
This was especially true for those mission jōnin who led teams. They even took the initiative to begin helping Konoha collect information on the surrounding villages.
The First Hokage established Konoha. The Second Hokage and Third Hokage, to a certain extent, established Konoha's values, even if they themselves might not have realized it.
And now, Natsuhiko was thoroughly carrying those values forward. Although he might not necessarily be able to create anything like a sense of national identity, he definitely would not be worse than those two.
Everyone was a member of Konoha. Only when Konoha prospered could everyone prosper. This was a concept Natsuhiko had to deeply implant into the hearts of every Konoha resident.
At the same time, he also had to make them develop a sense of "pride" as members of Konoha. This would be greatly beneficial for Natsuhiko's control over the village.
In the following days, Konoha became busy, but Natsuhiko remained relatively free.
After all, these matters really did not require Natsuhiko to personally do anything. He only needed to wait patiently.
As for the resurrection technique, Hidan had clearly not fully recovered yet, while Hatake Sakumo was still undergoing rehabilitation.
As for Kakashi, he was currently acting as a collector on one hand, while also helping Natsuhiko investigate matters related to the passage to the moon on the other. He did not have the time to come looking for him.
However, what Natsuhiko never expected was that Kakashi, who he thought would continue serving as his collector, actually came before him and brought news that Natsuhiko could not possibly ignore.
"We seem to have really found it, a place that resembles what you described," Kakashi said, his expression filled with disbelief. "But that place is full of seals, so we can't confirm it completely."
"Full of seals?" Natsuhiko raised an eyebrow, then asked seriously, "Is it inside a cave, with a very strange pond?"
"It more or less counts as a cave," Kakashi said, nodding at first before shaking his head again. "But there isn't anything like a pond. It's just a summoning formation filled with seals."
No pond?
Hearing this, Natsuhiko couldn't help but frown. This seemed different from what he remembered.
...
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