Hey everyone, I couldn't upload yesterday's chapter because I didn't write it.
In short, two days ago I was forcibly removed from my house to do hard labor all day, delaying the chapters of this fic and the other one by a day.
But that's not all I want to say, as I want to reach a consensus with you all, and that's regarding the use of the Replacement Technique. If you think about it, this technique is very overpowered: being able to escape any enemy technique; everyone should be constantly using the technique, but if that's the case, your enemy is practically immortal, since you never actually touch them.
That's why I want to add a logical rule to this, which is that you can only replace yourself with objects that have almost the same dimensions as your body; they have a certain margin of difference or error. That way, you can't always use the Replacement Technique and say, "That doesn't make sense; I could have dodged the attack with a replacement."
I hope you understand my point of view; with that said, let's begin the chapter.
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After that day, I was summoned to the Hokage's office, which was pretty obvious. I had to listen to the old monkey scolding me for being too harsh with the kids.
I simply replied that they were here to be soldiers for a future war that seemed to be drawing ever closer. The incident on the Iwa border was just the beginning.
My goal is that these kids, when they go to the front lines, don't die or have to let their comrades die to complete a mission or simply to survive.
He just sighed after hearing my explanation.
"Ah, just remember they're children." His response didn't satisfy me.
"If you believed that, you wouldn't send children to the front lines; if it happened in the last war, it will happen again in this one, and that decision is entirely yours, no one else's. Danzo might also send children to die, but at least he trains them properly; you just teach them the three basics and send them off to die," he replied.
I'm not defending Danzo, but this is my way of saying that his words were empty and that he didn't really care much about the children.
"I think I'm too old for this," the old monkey said to himself.
I just looked at him for a while to decide to clarify something.
"I don't think you're doing anything wrong; these are necessary decisions for the moment. When soldiers die, it's normal to send civilians to be cannon fodder so that the truly important resources survive. What I'm complaining about is that you're pretending to be worried about something that isn't really the case. You're trying to come across as the good guy, as if it were bad that the Hokage made bad decisions; you're glorifying something that shouldn't be." I made my point clear.
Let's be honest, ninja wars are always against Konoha, and knowing that there are like three or four fronts to protect, it's normal for the Hokage to send anything to slow down the enemy advance.
"So what do you want me to do then?" the Old Monkey asked me.
"First, you should stop making children want a position from a military leader who can't spend time with his family and has to send children to war; to me, it's just a tactic to curry favor with your people. If you have to resort to such cheap tricks instead of something like concrete actions or reforms that could make the civilians and ninjas of your village happy, well, I think there's a problem there." With that said, I left his office, as I honestly didn't want to continue this conversation.
The Hokage didn't say anything to me; he just let me leave in silence.
When I arrived at the Senju residence, many people greeted me and smiled. I just acknowledged them with a wave of my hands. These people knew that I wasn't a benevolent or overly friendly leader, but one who knew how to make decisions to grow the clan, keep their families safe, and, above all, have a range of choices for what they wanted to do.
I don't force anyone to be a ninja, a scientist, or an assistant. They decide what to do with their lives, and I give them the resources to be the best, something they greatly appreciate, and that's how I earn their respect. No brainwashing or dirty tactics. Something I taught Makoto and Daiki, but in different ways.
Speaking of those two, they were both doing quite well in their crusades.
The person who had spoken about me and the brothel was a drunk who had passed by and seen me going in. Daiki and his gang found him and made him disappear. Nobody knows where he is, not to mention they made sure no one from that place said a word.
The excuse: they didn't want to get into trouble with the village's powerful clans yet, and maybe they wanted some help against the other side—and that other side was Makoto's faction.
The truth is, nobody messed with the boss and came out unscathed, period.
Daiki still didn't rule the lawless territory that was rightfully his, since there were still rogue ninja gangs or groups in the shadows that prevented him from achieving his goals.
However, the gang was growing larger and larger, so it was only a matter of time before he could rule the whole area simply by virtue of his numbers.
On the other hand, Makoto's progress was slower but more solid than Daiki's. He's been a bit of a headache for the Uchiha police, according to Kosuke himself, since their ranks are already filled with retired ninjas or those discarded by their families.
And the secrets of each clan were something he had to be wary of; I don't think Makoto's current subordinates have any, but they must know certain things about those secrets, even if they aren't the secrets themselves, like rumors, possibilities, or explanations of how things work.
And as you know, information is power. Especially in these kinds of power games.
When I arrived at my office, Junko was already there, unsure of what to do. I have to do something about that unhealthy nervousness of hers.
As soon as I sat down, I heard a knock on the door, and three people entered.
The first was the former leader of the Chinoiken clan; next to him was the former clan commander, if you can even call him that; and finally, there was Hitori.
These three, plus Tsunade and me, formed the clan council. This was the clan's elders and leader; their role was to provide me with vital information and suggestions, but I always made the decisions. I gave Hitori the position of elder because she was my former secretary, granting her a certain status within the clan due to her years of service, not to mention that she's a tremendous woman.
These three were people I could trust, some more than others. Tsunade couldn't be trusted, at least not entirely; she hadn't yet reached the maturity of the Fifth Hokage as depicted in the anime. It took a dose of that rebellious blond ninja who resembled her brother and former lover for her to become someone I could trust; before, she couldn't.
Just in case, Tsunade is an elder by lineage, nothing more; that's prestige, so I couldn't help but list her as such; however, she's earning the right to have her title taken away. I think that's something she wanted, since she had planned to travel the world with Shizune.
"What brings you here?" he asked, already taking the documents Junko had organized by level of importance.
Riku, the one who isn't the former clan leader, took a step forward.
"We've discovered Tsunade-sama's whereabouts," Riku announced. "She's on the border of the Land of Hot Springs at a resort with various board games."
"Send a platoon to find her; while you're at it, take everything from her, leave her with nothing, and don't even dare ask for money from businessmen or wealthy people to indebt the clan. If she's planning to do that, I'll personally expel her from the clan. I'm first and foremost a clan leader, then a ninja, then a woman, and finally a daughter," I explained to Riku, who nodded in agreement and took a step back.
Hitori stepped forward next.
"The negotiations to obtain a monopoly on primary resources are going well; what's next in the plan?" she asked, holding a tablet with data and graphs.
"With the money we'll obtain, we'll use it to manufacture items that will please the nobility of this country; we'll gain a lot of money and, incidentally, connections; the latter is essential to begin expanding across the world. However, we can't do this under the Senju or Chinoiken name; we'll need another name or a brand for this." If we used either of their names, we'd face rejection from some sides or even face plots against us—at least more than we should.
Hitori jotted all this down and took a step back; her job was simply to relay information, nothing more, especially with the limited time she had.
With that, the three nodded and left.
The old man, Hideo, and my mother, Tsunade, were the spokespeople for their respective sides of the clan. Even though they were one, for them to truly unite would take a long time, several generations into the future. That's why these two acted as the clan's communicators to me.
If Hideo didn't say anything, it meant everything was fine, since the civilians only spoke to complain and curse about injustices and that sort of thing.
Once they were gone, I sighed. I don't like the idea of having a council of elders, at least not personally, but I knew it was necessary, since I'm not a supermachine and I'm not going to be so insensitive as to disregard my subordinates or my people.
I saw Junko practically starting to dig a hole in her head from pacing in circles, not knowing what to do.
"Junko, can you make me a latte?" I asked her.
"Y-yes," she said with a start, running towards the kitchen, leaving the office.
The latte thing was mostly to get her to leave; she made me nervous, the way she moved. And if you're wondering, I teach her how to make a latte.
I put the documents aside and grabbed a blank sheet of paper to write on.
Asuma Sarutobi, a high-level genin ninja with high-level ninjutsu, high-level taijutsu, and mid-level shurikenjutsu; everything else is mediocre. His nature element is fire, as reported by his older brother, whom I know and who is an ANBU.
A small monkey, ideal for going forward, tanking, and killing.
Kurenai Yuhi, a low-level genin ninja, with high-level genjutsu, mid-level shurikenjutsu, and mid-level ninjutsu; everything else is mediocre. Her focus on genjutsu, something taught to her by her father, has caused her to neglect everything else, something I have to fix before it's too late.
She's alright for a mage-type character who plays in the background with illusions like in RPGs.
Raido Namiashi, a mid-level genin ninja, with mid-level ninjutsu, mid-level taijutsu, mid-level shurikenjutsu, and mid-level kenjutsu; everything else is mediocre. His kenjutsu skills are quite good, considering his progress was entirely self-directed.
Ideal for finishing off enemies the little monkey can't reach.
My team is focused on elimination and offense. I already have an idea of what to do with these kids; the problem is how many will be willing to accept, not to mention time. The Third Shinobi World War is getting closer, and I want them to be ready when it happens.