Meanwhile, the Hidden Leaf Village also attached great importance to Bunpuku's upcoming visit.Fumori Masaki held several high-level meetings to discuss the benefits of this event for the Hidden Leaf Village, for the alliance, and for the future of the ninja world. This was an important activity to maintain the friendship between the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand villages, and must not be taken lightly or neglected.
At the same time, the Hidden Leaf Village needed to show its best side to the Hidden Sand shinobi. It wasn't about being subservient, but about showcasing the superiority of the Hidden Leaf Village's system, the vitality of its people, and the beauty of their lives to the Hidden Sand shinobi, making them yearn for the Hidden Leaf Village's way of life.
"Although from a national standpoint, they cannot betray their own country, we need to make the other side long for the ideological path we are pursuing. We need to draw in ninja villages and countries with unclear paths towards us. Only with a shared worldview and values can we work together and advance or retreat as one,"Fumori Masaki solemnly told the high-ranking shinobi attending the meeting.
The high-ranking officials chuckled knowingly at Fumori Masaki's statement about making the backward regions yearn for their side. It had to be said that the Hidden Leaf Village was a step ahead of other ninja villages in terms of lifestyle. The main systems of the current ninja villages were all established by the Hidden Leaf Village, with other villages merely imitating them.
And after Fumori Masaki took office, he used a series of tactics to elevate the Hidden Leaf Village to an even higher level, while other ninja villages were unable to fully catch up. Now, the Hidden Leaf Village was thriving. The losses from the war had not damaged the vitality of the Hidden Leaf shinobi; on the contrary, the victory in the war proved the correctness of the Hidden Leaf Village's system, its path, and its ideology, making the populace feel a stronger sense of identification with the village.
After punishing the derelict nobles, the Hidden Leaf Village and other nobles divided the lands of those nobles. Now, the Hidden Leaf Village's territory had expanded once again, and it was time for construction—they were in urgent need of labor. People from other parts of the Land of Fire, as long as they were able, were willing to work in the Hidden Leaf Village because the Hidden Leaf Village could provide both jobs and wages.
Life in the Hidden Leaf Village was a cut above other parts of the Land of Fire. If not for the restrictions on noble territories, even more people would flock to the Hidden Leaf Village. The situation in other countries was also far behind the Hidden Leaf Village.Fumori Masaki's words were still quite polite; within the Hidden Leaf's high command, combining some new terms from books written by Fumori Masaki, they referred to the areas where those ninja villages were located as backward regions, and their own as civilized regions, implying that backward places should yearn for civilization.
As the defeated party, many Hidden Leaf shinobi felt a psychological superiority towards the Hidden Sand Village. However, under strict orders, they were not allowed to display any arrogant behavior in front of the Hidden Sand shinobi, as it would only make them appear arrogant and easily provoke antagonistic sentiments within the Hidden Sand Village.Fumori Masaki did not want such behavior to disrupt his policies.
Fortunately, shinobi were very good at obeying orders. No matter how dissatisfied, few Hidden Leaf shinobi dared to defy commands. This discipline was one of the better aspects of shinobi.Fumori Masaki understood the importance of discipline. Luckily, the Land of Fire did not have the traditional "gekokujo" (overthrowing the superior by the inferior) or rogue actions of his previous life's country.
"In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Propaganda must exert more effort. When receiving the Hidden Sand shinobi foreign guests, you must devise appropriate reception plans,"Fumori Masaki looked at the shinobi from the relevant departments.
During the First and Second Hokage's eras, while the Hidden Leaf Village had individuals responsible for diplomatic work, there were no established organizational departments. These were formally established after Fumori Masaki took office, with Mitokado Homura, who had previously handled diplomatic affairs, serving as the minister. The Ministry of Propaganda, however, was entirely a new creation byFumori Masaki himself, its purpose evident from its name.
Moreover, due to the unique nature of the shinobi profession, these two departments, in addition to their superficial duties, fully integrated some shinobi skills. Traditional Five-Element Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu represented a shinobi's combat abilities, but if that were all, they couldn't be fully called shinobi. The true hallmark of a shinobi lay in other abilities, such as deceiving others, gathering intelligence, and instigating defection.
In the traditional standards of shinobi, evaluating a shinobi's strength, besides their combat prowess, also included their non-combat abilities. If a problem could be solved without fighting, it should be. Top intelligence shinobi in the Warring States period could obtain crucial information without shedding blood, and could even turn key figures from one faction to their own. Among combat shinobi, there was also the achievement of "eliminating the assassination target and retreating unscathed without harming anyone else."
The Ministry of Propaganda and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were mostly comprised of shinobi with low talent, primarily in areas other than combat talent. Therefore, these departments gathered a large number of intelligence-type shinobi, as well as individuals who, while not gifted in intelligence, possessed outstanding talent in diplomatic means, document writing, and so on.
These two departments had very close ties with the Intelligence Division and the Anbu. Some of their members held dual identities. When receiving outsiders or conducting propaganda work, personnel from the Anbu and Intelligence Division would also be active.
While receiving foreign guests this time was certainly about letting the other party witness the village's capabilities and thus inspire longing, at the same time, the Hidden Leaf Village could not miss the opportunity to obtain certain key intelligence.
Mitokado Homura nodded slightly, indicating that he understood and would arrange personnel to receive the foreign guests. Shimura Danzo also stated that his intelligence personnel would learn about the internal situation of the Hidden Sand Village from the foreign guests, both to gather intelligence and to make the foreign guests feel favorably towards their side.
After Fumori Masaki assigned some tasks, the meeting concluded. Everyone immediately left and began their missions according to the meeting's directives.
Bunpuku's entourage would enter the Land of Fire directly from the Land of Rain. The Hidden Leaf Village needed to dispatch personnel to meet them, arranging staff according to needs.Fumori Masaki chose to send his student, Hatake Sakumo, to greet them. Although the war had just ended and assassination attempts orchestrated by other nations were unlikely, the Hidden Leaf Village still needed to be prepared just in case.
Fumori Masaki looked at the submitted list of personnel and paused slightly when he saw a certain name. This person's name was "Nagato."
In this timeline, Fusō and Ise were not caught in the war and killed. Therefore, Nagato did not experience the tragic events of the original timeline. Instead, he was born and educated in a peaceful environment. Nagato's family in this timeline lived very happily; Fusō even had a daughter, which made Fumori Masaki, who knew of Nagato's tragedy in the original timeline, feel a bit sentimental.
Because he didn't have the Rinnegan, Nagato's strength would likely not reach the level of the original timeline. But Fumori Masaki felt that Nagato in the original timeline would rather not have that power, wishing instead for his deceased parents and departed best friend to be alive. Thinking this way, Nagato's life in this world might actually be what he would have wished for.
Fusō and Ise were very grateful to the Hidden Leaf Village for accepting them back then, and also appreciative of the immense effort the Hidden Leaf Village put into their former homeland. From a young age, they taught Nagato to repay the village. Therefore, after becoming a shinobi, Nagato diligently carried out missions and tasks, earning excellent evaluations. His selection to greet foreign guests this time demonstrated his capabilities.
Fumori Masaki vaguely remembered hearing before that Fusō's family intended to have their child assist their hometown in the Land of Rain. After the Southern Alliance was established, the Land of Rain was chosen as its headquarters. The Land of Rain, originally a borderland between three countries, saw its status rise daily, leading to large-scale development. Although the heavy rain still hadn't stopped, it was no longer the "rain of tears" but the "rain of hope."
Besides daily construction, it also served as the relevant institution for the Southern Alliance. The Hidden Leaf Village would also dispatch personnel to be stationed there, responsible for liaison. This way, if an organization called Akatsuki were to appear in the Land of Rain again, what might follow would truly be a new dawn.
When Fumori Masaki saw the name, he was momentarily moved, thinking that if Nagato truly intended to go to the Land of Rain, he wondered if he would meet Yahiko and Konan of this world there. If they could meet again, they should have a happy life, right? The Land of Rain now was no longer as it once was, becoming better and better.
At the same time, in a certain residence in the Hidden Leaf Village, a red-haired youth faced a mirror, carefully putting on his uniform. This youth was Nagato. This time, he was fortunate enough to participate in the mission to greet foreign guests and escort them to the Hidden Leaf Village, and he felt a degree of excitement. At the same time, he knew that his parents used to live in the Land of Rain, so he was also very curious about the country he was about to visit.
"Good," Nagato finished dressing, looking at himself in the mirror. He was young and vibrant, his bright red hair seemingly ablaze, brimming with intense vitality, just like Kushina. Although Nagato now was not like his original timeline self, the powerful bloodline capable of bearing the Rinnegan still resided within him.
Although he lacked the Rinnegan and thus couldn't enjoy the innate excellent chakra control of the God's Eyes, Nagato hadn't mastered the five nature transformations of chakra at a young age. However, his talent was still very powerful; it would just take longer for him to grow. And because his personality had become more confident, even if his achievements didn't match Pain's in another timeline, he would still make contributions in other areas.
"Nagato, it's almost time," his mother Fusō's voice came from downstairs.
"I know!" Nagato replied, taking a deep breath, gathering his things, and heading downstairs.