After all, who doesn't like money?
Once Hiruko completed his first wave of capital accumulation, he didn't squander the wealth on mindless hedonism. Instead, he began aggressively expanding his factories. Minato Namikaze, acting with strategic fairness, distributed the remaining funds among Konoha's various clans—large and small alike. Even the commoner shinobi received a slice of the cake.
With this as the catalyst, Hiruko's reputation in Konoha skyrocketed. Everyone knew the village now had a massive benefactor. After several days and nights of intense bickering, the clan heads finally finished dividing the salt profits and left with satisfied smiles. Shortly after, they paid visits to Hiruko to show their respect.
By nature, Kakashi was a practical, field-oriented shinobi. But by now, it was clear to everyone that both Hiruko and Minato held him in high regard. Though Kakashi was firmly in Minato's camp, his origin from a small clan and his steadfast sense of justice earned him the innate trust of the village's lesser-known families. These smaller groups often lacked a direct line to the Hokage, so they frequently hoped to use Kakashi as a bridge.
This time, Kakashi came prepared. When he arrived at Hiruko's residence, Hiruko was in the middle of a meal.
"Pardon the intrusion, Lord Hiruko," Kakashi said, bowing his head slightly.
"Come, sit and eat," Hiruko gestured.
At that moment, Nohara Rin was eating alone in another room; once finished, she would go to feed Pakura. Hiruko carefully kept her hidden, ensuring Kakashi wouldn't stumble upon her.
"What's on your mind?" Hiruko asked.
"Some friends were curious... in the distribution among the clans, why was the Uchiha's share so low?"
"The Uchiha didn't participate in the salt operations at all this time. It's only natural they receive less, isn't it?" Hiruko said earnestly, blinking innocently.
In truth, both knew the Hyuga clan had done the heavy lifting. While they hadn't provided direct funding, their diplomatic finesse in negotiating with every household without causing resentment was a skill only the "nice guys" of the Hyuga could pull off. As for the small clans who had bled and suffered through the wars until they were on the brink of collapse, no one begrudged them a larger piece of the pie.
If the Uchiha had been given a high percentage for doing nothing, it would have sparked an immediate outcry from the smaller families. While people expect great clans to hold more resources, localized resentment eventually hits a boiling point. Thus, Hiruko had suggested a low share for the Uchiha in his proposal to Minato.
Of course, this was all pre-negotiated between Minato and the Uchiha leadership. What the rank-and-file Uchiha thought didn't particularly matter; their treasury was already deep, and Minato had compensated them with techniques to enhance their ocular power. They had no grounds for complaint.
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Kakashi straightened his posture. "My sensei, the Fourth Hokage, wishes to understand your long-term plans in more detail."
Hiruko thought for a moment, then pulled a small notebook from a chest. "This is my preliminary blueprint. You're not an outsider, Kakashi—feel free to take a look."
Kakashi took the notebook and began to read. In his previous life, Hiruko had been an ordinary person; his talent for statecraft was average at best. However, he knew how to borrow from history. Besides, Konoha had a deep-rooted military tradition—if a problem arose, they could simply push through it with authority.
The Vision: We must have a grand, lofty objective. 2. The Structure: To achieve this, we need a hierarchy that is strict yet approachable. 3. The Persona: While advancing toward the goal, we must maintain healthy, bright smiles. 4. The Image: We need unified, stylish uniforms.
The current Konoha flak jackets were, in Hiruko's opinion, hideously outdated. On the next page, Kakashi saw a design reminiscent of a sleek, double-breasted military greatcoat—an outfit that made the wearer look sharp and commanding. Kakashi stared at the illustration for a moment, then kept flipping.
Hiruko had divided the plan into four sectors: Technology, Military, Economy, and Culture.
Technology: This was non-negotiable—they had to strike first. By the era of Boruto, the world would have chakra cannons and carrier strike groups. Reversing the timeline, Hiruko knew the information revolution had to start now, during the Third War era. The Great Nations had an industrial base but hadn't realized the importance of information technology. Hiruko intended to seize that high ground immediately.Military: No concerns here. Konoha had the expertise; Hiruko just needed to provide the funding for the shinobi to go wild with advanced tools and jutsu.Economy: Hiruko planned to mimic a global reserve currency system, aggressively harvesting the wealth of the entire shinobi world to sustain Konoha. Once the village reached a certain peak, they would move for total unification and swallow the world whole. Ideally, the army would lead the conquest, followed by a "South India Company" providing tech support and dumping Konoha products everywhere.
Frankly, the current mode of warfare between the Five Great Nations was primitive and stupid. They fought like rival tribes for centuries with no overarching logic. Even a capitalist would weep at the inefficiency. In this era, if a ninja fought, they should gain a profit. If they couldn't sign unequal treaties, they should at least secure reciprocal trade deals—or at the very least, bring back "hostages" to build railroads.
Culture: This was the easy part. Through movies, TV dramas, and novels, they would export Konoha's ideology. Hiruko planned to recruit about thirty of the most attractive shinobi to work exclusively in this field.
The message: Konoha shinobi are all beautiful, and they fight strictly for peace and to save the world. After all, Konoha and the Land of Fire were already the strongest. Now, they just needed to look the part.
"Of course," Hiruko added, "my methods also involve..."
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