Should Good People Be Pointed at with Guns?
The Elder retreated step by step, citing various justifications.
As he should have.
In the end, Senju Tobirama could only accept this scalding hot potato with bitterness in his heart. Konoha had no legitimate reason to refuse the mission. Next year's budget still depended heavily on the support of the Land of Fire's great nobles. Moreover, due to the massive reparations extracted from Kumogakure, the Akatsuki Ninja Village's financial reserves would surpass Konoha's by a wide margin in the coming years.
"Then I will await good news from Konoha," the Elder said slowly. "I hope Konoha will not disappoint the Lord of the Land of Fire."
His tone was calm, but the meaning behind his words was heavy, and his expression carried a complexity that could not be concealed.
Akatsuki Ninja Village was no innocent party.
But Konoha was hardly blameless either.
In fact, it could even be said that Konoha was the root cause of this entire situation. This so-called mission was nothing more than a test—an examination of Konoha's obedience conducted by the Land of Fire's ruling class.
Akatsuki Ninja Village had already caused chaos on the front lines.
Now, they needed to test Konoha's stance.
More than failure itself, what the great nobles feared was uncertainty.
The Land of Fire demanded that Konoha suppress Akatsuki Ninja Village and provide an explanation. As long as Akatsuki Ninja Village offered any explanation—no matter how perfunctory—it would be considered a success.
If Konoha succeeded, the outcome was obvious.
The Land of Fire would inject a massive amount of funds and investment into Konoha over the next several years. Even the Lord of the Land of Fire would likely soften his attitude toward Konoha—and toward Senju Hashirama himself.
But if they failed…
Then the future of the Land of Fire would truly become unpredictable.
At its core, the great nobles of the Land of Fire had very few cards left to play—almost none. They relied solely on outdated traditions and their still-dominant economic power to manipulate the Ninja Villages.
But how could something not obtained on the battlefield ever be won at the negotiating table?
You have grain.
I have guns.
You are my granary.
This reality was difficult for the Elder to accept.
The times were changing far too quickly.
So quickly that even someone of his experience found himself unprepared.
How many years had it been?
The power represented by Ninja had expanded to such an extent that the once-untouchable great nobles had lost nearly all effective means of suppressing them.
The Land of Fire wanted to break this awkward balance by establishing a truly national Ninja Village—one that would cultivate a Ninja force loyal to the country itself.
But implementing such a plan was unimaginably difficult.
When Ninja Villages were first established, nearly every Ninja Clan had been drawn in. With the exception of a few far-sighted individuals, most great nobles failed to realize how serious this shift was. They continued to follow old patterns, believing they could maintain the existing order by provoking hatred and wars between Ninja Villages.
Then Uchiha Makoto slapped Kumogakure across the face.
And afterward, he turned around and slapped them as well.
He slapped them awake.
Did they really think that after hitting the Ninja Villages, they themselves would be immune?
Uchiha Makoto wanted everything.
Now, the opportunity was gone.
The remaining Ninja Clans within the Land of Fire were few in number and weak in strength—mostly Chunin and Genin, little more than cannon fodder.
Worse still, every one of them was coveted by the Ninja Villages.
"We gave you the chance to join Akatsuki Ninja Village or Konoha," they said. "A bright and promising future. You refused, choosing instead to fawn over the great nobles. Then be careful during your missions—who knows when a stray shuriken might fly out and kill you?"
Even starting from nothing—
Promoting ordinary people and selecting talented children from among the commoners to train as Ninja—
This, too, was an extraordinarily difficult path.
Could the Land of Fire's government establish Ninja Academies?
They lacked both the systematic training methods and the powerful secret Ninjutsu required.
Ninja Clans valued their secret techniques and bloodline limits more than their own lives. They would rather let them rot than share them with outsiders.
Knowledge is power.
And in the Ninja World, knowledge truly determines destiny.
Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto were classic examples—men whose mastery of core techniques allowed them to stir an entire Ninja World War. Their survival abilities alone were top-tier.
For Ninja Clans, if bloodlines could not compete with Bloodline Limit clans, then secret techniques could.
The Ino–Shika–Chō alliance was the most classic example. Each clan stood firmly on its own, and together they formed a force that even Bloodline Limit clans hesitated to provoke.
Secret techniques were painstakingly developed by generations of Ninja. They were the foundation of a clan's survival—their most precious treasure.
Naturally, no clan wished to share them.
Their ecological niche had merely been temporarily occupied by the great nobles. If given access to economic power, a Ninja version of the Nine-Rank System would inevitably emerge.
In this Ninja World, advocating open-source ideals was far too advanced.
At present, the Ninja Academies established by the major villages only taught the most basic Three Body Technique, some Taijutsu fundamentals, and rudimentary combat experience.
Even Akatsuki Ninja Village was no exception.
Uchiha Makoto's unprecedented recruitment of large numbers of children from ordinary backgrounds did not provoke strong resistance from the village's Ninja Clans. This was partly because he compensated them generously—but more importantly, because he did not touch their core interests.
Due to the demands of war, he had neither the time nor the energy to train them properly.
Their focus was almost entirely on Taijutsu.
A group of Taijutsu-focused Genin was no threat to the established clans. On the battlefield, they were expendable cannon fodder.
Who would ever complain about having too much cannon fodder?
Uchiha Makoto had indeed intended to use them that way.
Cruel.
But realistic.
The Ninja World had always been cruel and realistic.
That said, Uchiha Makoto could not allow this situation to persist indefinitely.
This was a matter of position.
If he were merely a clan leader, he would oppose the public dissemination of secret techniques without hesitation. But his Uchiha Clan was based in Konoha, and his highest identity was that of the Kage of Akatsuki Ninja Village.
He understood very clearly—
His true foundation was not the Ninja Clans, but the Ninja drawn from ordinary backgrounds.
This would be one of his key strategic priorities in the coming years.
He would continue copying Senju Tobirama.
Implementing the Chunin and Jonin squad-leader system to gradually alter the existing structure.
Taking in promising disciples and teaching them Ninjutsu was a method the clans could accept.
Even large clans liked to invest in talented individuals from common backgrounds. If they could absorb them into the family, it was pure profit. Even if they could not, it was still worthwhile.
And Uchiha Makoto would never give them the chance to interfere.
He would gather these talented commoner Ninja into the ANBU—a force that naturally belonged to the Kage.
No one had the right to object.
Common-background Ninja possessed an overwhelming numerical advantage. With a large enough base, talents would inevitably emerge. Perhaps one day, someone like Minato or Jiraiya would appear.
Over time, this force would gradually erode the clans' control over the village.
In short, promoting commoners into powerful Ninja—even with Akatsuki Ninja Village's strength—was extraordinarily difficult.
For the Land of Fire's great nobles, who barely understood the Ninja World, it was outright impossible.
To build a Ninja Village on the scale of Konoha or Akatsuki using commoners alone would require immense resources, massive funding, and at least ten to fifteen years of accumulation.
It sounded like a way to break the deadlock.
But if asked to pay that price, how many nobles would agree?
Ten years.
Fifteen years.
Why not simply use their wealth to infiltrate Ninja Villages instead?
Merchants could pledge allegiance to Ninja Villages—why couldn't nobles?
If the ship of the Land of Fire sank, they would simply board another.
That was the true thought in their hearts.
They even feared that an enlightened, empowered commoner Ninja force would eventually turn its weapons on them.
Such a rebellion would be even more terrifying than any Ninja Village.
"I understand," Senju Tobirama said calmly.
"Elder, please rest assured."
He looked at the weary man before him, unable to comprehend his exhaustion.
Their thoughts were simply not aligned.
Though Uchiha Makoto's actions were arrogant beyond expectation, they remained within reason.
After all, he was an Uchiha.
Senju Tobirama could swear before the Sage of Six Paths that Konoha harbored no rebellious intentions—not even the ambition to become another Cao Cao.
Konoha was absolutely loyal to the Land of Fire.
The Elder said nothing more.
He departed the Hokage's office and immediately returned to the capital, burdened by countless responsibilities.
After seeing him off, Senju Tobirama summoned ANBU to secretly escort and protect the Elder, then ordered Konoha's elite Ninja to conduct a thorough investigation.
Three days passed.
The results were exactly as Tobirama expected.
Nothing.
The evidence was minimal, and all physical traces pointed toward Takigakure.
Even the bodies were examined.
But the assassin had prepared in advance, destroying the victims' brain nerves completely. Memory-extraction techniques were useless.
As for making the dead speak—
Tobirama had ideas.
War drove innovation.
Inspired by Akatsuki's explosive tags, he envisioned combining them with immortal reanimated corpses—humanoid suicide bombers.
But Edo Tensei was still only a concept.
And the Land of Fire would not give him the time.
Pressure mounted.
Petitions flooded in.
And finally—
In a single day, Senju Tobirama received twelve golden imperial edicts.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)