"About tens of thousands, I suppose." The Shinobi said, picking up his cup and downing the drink with a bitter expression.
His colleague sitting beside him enthusiastically refilled his cup.
"Only tens of thousands? Isn't that just like us? And they can't support them?" Another Shinobi scoffed, "That's truly hilarious."
"That's just a rumor circulating from who knows where. How many Shinobi there truly are, no one can be sure except for Iwagakure's high-ranking officials."
"It's just like us. On the surface, there are only so many Shinobi registered, but as you know, many Shinobi Clans in the Village have Shinobi who aren't registered."
"What's certain is that if this situation continues, the Second Shinobi World War will arrive very soon!"
It just depends on who makes the first move.
"No way! Senior!"
The young Shinobi hesitated, wanting to speak. Currently, the situation among the Five Great Nations was still peaceful, with no signs of war.
"It will! Very soon!" The senior affirmed decisively.
Then he began his analysis.
"Iwagakure is facing a severe food crisis due to ground subsidence."
"Ground subsidence?" The young Shinobi asked, "Why, Senior?"
"The Land of Earth isn't like our Land of Fire, which has a superior geographical location, abundant farmland, and rich resources."
"How should I put it over there…?" The senior Shinobi pondered for a moment, then remembered and said, "It's a volcanic terrain. Arable land is extremely scarce, and the surface is severely lacking in water but prone to floods."
"Geological disasters are frequent and severely impact agricultural development."
"Because the underground is mostly karst caves and the surface soil is loose, various factors can cause sudden ground deformation, resulting in sinkholes and ground subsidence."
"You could find a random spot to farm, and the first year it might be fine, but the second year, the farmer might get buried while working!"
"Konoha is truly good," the senior sighed with some emotion, saying, "We don't have to worry about such merciless natural disasters."
His colleagues sitting around nodded in agreement.
"Senior, what does war have to do with food?" The young man asked, not understanding.
"People need to eat," the senior said. "If agriculture isn't developed, people need to eat. When Iwagakure is troubled by its surplus human resources, the limited quality land within the country cannot support more people, nor can it generate more economic output. They are forced to wage war to reduce the surplus population."
"Huh? Reduce the population?"
"If you can't solve the food problem, then solve the mouths that eat," the senior said. "When people die, they don't need to eat. Waging war, whether they win or not, can solve the food problem. Ōnoki is the most cunning, treacherous, and ruthless Kage in this Ninja World. It is inevitable that Iwagakure will wage war; they have no choice but to wage war!"
At this point, the senior sighed.
What a cruel world it was.
"We'll just have to see how long Iwagakure can hold out before they can't take it anymore."
"As expected of Senior, truly impressive."
"Pay more attention to things around you, and you can reach this level too."
This was the honest truth, and his colleagues sitting around nodded in agreement.
Analyzing intelligence was a basic skill that these old hands were most adept at.
Years of traveling north and south had given them extensive knowledge.
Although they didn't guess the beginning correctly, they at least hit upon the ending.
Even without precise information from above, they could deduce many things through intelligence exchange.
"Senior, since the Land of Earth is so poor, why don't they move?" The young man found it strange.
Moving to a place where they could farm shouldn't be difficult, right?
"Move where?" Another Shinobi scoffed, "They can't move, there's no way."
"How so, Senior?" The young man was eager to learn.
"Continuing north from the Land of Earth is Land of Snow, located at the border of the Ninja World. It's a small country that many people haven't even heard of. Its natural environment is even harsher than the Land of Earth, with perpetual ice and snow, making life there extremely difficult."
"And moving west is the Land of Wind. Conditions are slightly worse than the Land of Earth. Sunagakure is almost too poor to make ends meet. Fortunately, its population is sparse, unlike the Land of Earth, so at least they can still survive."
"The Land of Earth wouldn't even consider such a place. And moving east, it borders the Land of Lightning. The Land of Lightning's conditions are second only to the Land of Fire, but the people there are warlike and not to be trifled with, behaving savagely and without rules. The Land of Earth cannot break through the Land of Lightning's blockade either."
"To put it bluntly, the Land of Lightning is not easy to bully."
"And moving south is our Land of Fire. Do you think we're easier to bully than Kumogakure?"
The Chunin scoffed, "If they dare to come over, we'll beat their brains out."
"Iwagakure, they simply cannot move."
"I see." The young Shinobi asked, "Aren't there some smaller countries around?"
"Iwagakure wouldn't dare to touch those smaller countries," the Shinobi said. "If it weren't for our Konoha, it's debatable whether these smaller countries would even exist."
"It's truly complicated," the young man said.
"Learn from it." After chugging his drink, the senior said, "If you ask me, these smaller countries should be paying us protection money!"
"I don't know what the Village is thinking."
"War, well, let's fight! It'd be best to annex other countries!"
He grumbled a bit.
"Alright, don't say such nonsensical things. We do as the Village commands," another person quickly said, stopping his dangerous remarks.
"I'm not dissatisfied with the Village!" The Shinobi loudly declared, "Have I ever failed a Village mission!? I've bled for the Village! But the Village can't give me better treatment! It's been three years! My application for Jonin still hasn't been approved! While those Shinobi Clans can easily…"
With a smack, the person next to him quickly gave him a slap.
"Sober up, how much have you had? Are you already drunk?"
The person stared blankly at his childhood friend who had hit him, then chuckled for a while and said, "Sorry, I drank a bit too much."
His childhood friend sighed in relief.
"Come on, come on, let's keep drinking!" One person raised his cup, easing the atmosphere.
At that moment, a cold laugh rang out.
"Heh, when our Clan was bleeding for the Village, you guys were still playing in the mud, weren't you? You commoners!"
People at a nearby table looked over with amusement.
Black hair, an unruly expression, wearing Konoha's green combat vest, with the Police Force emblem on his right shoulder.
The fan symbol at the center of the shuriken pattern was exceptionally eye-catching.
It was a gathering of the Uchiha Clan.
Instantly, the air became silent.
The two groups faced each other in silence.
After a while, one person from their side stepped forward, backing down and saying, "Apologies, our friend drank too much and is talking nonsense."
They were in the wrong for discussing the Village first.
The leading Shinobi showed due respect and bowed.
This matter was settled. They were from the same Village, bound to see each other often.
Endure!
"That's hilarious."
With that, the Uchiha table burst into laughter.
"With that spineless attitude, they want to go to the battlefield?"
"And they want to become Jonin?"
"They probably won't even accumulate enough merits before becoming merits for another country's Shinobi."
"Hahahahaha!"
"You guys!" Immediately, a Shinobi angrily stood up, glaring at the group of Uchiha.
The Uchiha, not to be outdone, all activated their crimson Sharingan.
Some with San Ba (Three Tomoe), some with two tomoe, some with one tomoe, all kinds.
On this side, the civilian Shinobi all stood up in response.
The Uchiha also stood up at the same time, not to be outdone.
Everyone had had a fair bit to drink.
"What are you looking at!"
"What are you looking at, your mom!"
As soon as these two sentences were uttered, chaos ensued.
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