Chapter 473: Strategic Readjustment
Ishiro's smile vanished, and his expression turned serious. "From my first trip to Konoha to instigate the Uchiha clan, up to the great war that just ended," he began.
"For a long period in between, the conflicts between us and the other villages, large and small, never ceased."
"These were all consequences of the last great war not being fought to a decisive conclusion. Therefore, I am officially classifying this entire period of conflict as the Fifth Great Shinobi War."
"After this Fifth Great Shinobi War, the entire world situation has completely changed."
"For us, the biggest change is this: We are now the recognized hegemons of the shinobi world."
"For the entire world, a Sixth Great Shinobi Village is about to be born."
"How we walk the path forward, how we should adjust our foreign policy—I will now share my thoughts."
"First, the previous standoff between two major factions will likely cease to exist."
"Of course, we will not be the ones to break our alliance with Kirigakure and the Akatsuki Organization, but I cannot guarantee that Kiri will continue to maintain their relationship with us."
"I'm not worried about the Akatsuki. I will be attending the ceremony for Yahiko becoming Kage, and I will deepen the bond between our two sides."
"But Kiri is different. If it were just Hoshigaki Kisame, it would be fine. But I cannot see through the thoughts of Kiri's Elder Genshi."
"So, in the future, our policy toward Kiri will be primarily one of appeasement. We will do our best to maintain the alliance, even if it's only an alliance on the surface."
"In addition, we must treat Konoha, Suna, and Kumo differently."
"For Kumo, the farthest from us, we will adopt a laissez-faire policy. A strong Kumo is also a threat to Kiri, which is actually beneficial for maintaining our alliance with them."
"But against Konoha and Suna, we will adopt a policy of suppression. However, the suppression policies for the two must also be different."
"Against Konoha, we will support the Uchiha—openly. We are the hegemons now, the ones who make the rules. We will use the Uchiha to directly interfere in Konoha's internal affairs."
"The goal is to preserve the Uchiha as much as possible and let Konoha continue to bleed. At the very least, we cannot allow Konoha to have the energy to expand its influence."
"Also, we will support Danzō. Strengthen his influence. Once Konoha's leadership solves the Uchiha problem, we'll let Danzō replace them as the Hokage's new headache."
"At a critical moment, we can even help Danzō seize power. Danzō is an extremist. He will do many things that Tsunade, for the sake of the bigger picture, would not dare to do."
"His decisiveness can help us eliminate many people we cannot touch. Especially when the seat of Hokage is right in front of him, his resolve will be firmer than we can imagine."
"Against Suna, suppression. All-out suppression. We will do everything short of direct military force."
"Suna is too close to us. We absolutely cannot allow them a chance to grow strong again."
"Economic sanctions. Steal their missions. Even missions within Sunagakure, if possible, we will get involved."
"Have our Daimyo contact the Land of Wind's Daimyo and cut Suna's funding."
"In short, weaken Suna by any means necessary."
"Finally, for Orochimaru, on the other side of the continent, we will choose to befriend him. We can conduct some appropriate transactions."
"Hasn't Orochimaru established a ninja village? If his village grows stronger, it will inevitably encroach on the interests of Konoha and Kiri. This is only beneficial to us, with no downsides."
"I'm finished. What do you all think?"
Ōnoki analyzed each point internally before speaking. "Maintain a close relationship with the Akatsuki, preserve our ties with Kiri, and uphold our status as the strongest power in the world."
"Openly support the Uchiha and Danzō, interfere in Konoha's internal affairs, and use our hegemonic status to profit and weaken our rivals."
"Suppress Suna, leave Kumo alone, and befriend Orochimaru. All are strategies of 'allying with the distant and attacking the near'."
"These are all excellent ideas. However, the Akatsuki is also very close to us. Will supporting them too much cause problems?"
Ishiro said, "We can't afford to suppress the Akatsuki. A major reason we were able to become the hegemons is that the Akatsuki has no ambition."
"If the Akatsuki had the ambition of Hanzō, then with Nagato's strength, they could have demanded much more. They might not have competed with us for hegemony, but they could have at least made our rule unstable."
"The problem with the Akatsuki is that the other powers don't know their true strength, thinking they are an ordinary village."
"In reality, the Akatsuki is just the fanciful dream of three children. As long as we ensure their dream doesn't shatter, there won't be a problem."
"As long as we occasionally make them feel they are progressing toward their ideals, they won't oppose us."
Ōnoki nodded and said no more.
Bella spoke up. "Regarding Konoha, choosing to directly interfere in their internal affairs... isn't that going too far? Won't it draw condemnation from other countries?"
Ishiro smiled. "Senior Bella, you haven't shifted your mindset yet. We are the top dogs now. It's Konoha who is afraid of us. As long as we don't go too far, as long as we don't cross their bottom line, they won't resist."
"What we need now is not a false, virtuous image, but tangible benefits."
"Becoming a hegemon isn't about being a nice guy. It's about seeking more benefits."
"We can show our kind and peace-loving face to the smaller nations."
"But against Konoha and Suna, we must be dominant. They are our competitors. We must suck their blood to strengthen ourselves."
"Outwardly, we can be magnanimous. But everyone in this room must be clear: we are not kind. Everything we do is for the benefit of the village."
Bella took a deep breath. "Ishiro, you're right. I understand. I support your policy."
The others looked at each other and said, "We agree as well."
Ishiro smiled. "Very good. From now on, we will act according to this policy. Let's strive to make the village stronger and larger."
"Yes, sir!" everyone, including Ōnoki, replied in unison.
After the meeting, Ishiro first went to the hospital to see Shinya Matsutani and checked on his recovery with Nakata Hajime.
Shinya was living quite comfortably in his hospital room. He and Kohana were each lying on a wide bed, the expressions of man and cat identical: lazy and listless.
Seeing this, Ishiro thought for a moment, then said to the cat, "Kohana, I heard you saved Shinya's life."
Shinya tried to greet Ishiro, but Ishiro ignored him.
"Meow," Kohana replied, opening her eyes slightly upon seeing Ishiro.
Ishiro didn't understand, but it didn't matter.
He continued, "We have you to thank this time. It was not easy for you to save Shinya with your strength. Luckily, Might Guy isn't exceptionally strong."
"But Shinya is getting stronger. He's a Quasi-Kage now. The enemies he faces in the future will all be Kage-level."
"Next time, if a similar situation occurs, can you still save him, Kohana?"
Kohana was visibly stunned. Her eyes, almost lost in her fat face, widened a bit.
As if he hadn't noticed, Ishiro said, "Forget it, we can't count on you. When Shinya goes on missions in the future, just stay behind. Otherwise, he'll have to be distracted taking care of you."
"Meow!" Kohana cried out again. But Ishiro could clearly feel the emotion in this cry was completely different from the last. This one was filled with a bit of grievance and confusion.
Seeing his goal was achieved, Ishiro glanced at Shinya, said not a word to him, and turned to leave.
Ishiro went next door and chatted with Han and Kokuō for a bit. He informed Han that the high command had approved his appointment as an honorary advisor to the village.
Then, Ishiro left the hospital.
Shinya stared mournfully in the direction Ishiro had left for a long time.
After Ishiro was gone, Kohana thought for a long time, then meowed at Shinya. Shinya sighed and nodded.
Kohana then left the room to find her mother, Dango. From this day on, she would also train hard.
After leaving the hospital, Ishiro went to Kitsuchi's house. As expected, Riori Uzumaki, the person he was looking for, was there.
Because she had become a Quasi-Jonin and was in a period of rapid growth, Shiden wasn't on any missions and was recuperating in the village.
These days, Riori had been running wild all over the village, having the time of her life.
When Ishiro arrived at Kitsuchi's, she was in the middle of telling Sōkai, Haku, Kurotsuchi, Neji, and a little red-haired girl about her battle experiences.
The five children sat in a row, watching Riori in the center of the courtyard.
On the other side stood Deidara, feigning an expression of impatience.
Ishiro knew Deidara was already an elite jonin and was currently researching how to develop his Explosion Release.
Ishiro ignored Deidara. He was surprised to see the little red-haired girl.
This girl was of the same clan as Riori. She had caught Ishiro's attention because of her name: Karin Uzumaki.
Ishiro would never let a wild genius like Karin Uzumaki slip through his fingers. Years ago, he had the Anbu keep an eye out for any Uzumaki clan members scattered throughout the world. But they had never found Karin or her mother.
Ishiro had even personally scouted Grass Village but hadn't found them.
But then he occasionally heard that a little baby girl named Karin had appeared among the Uzumaki clan in Iwagakure.
At the time, Ishiro was both surprised and speechless. So Karin's mother was in Iwagakure all along.
However, Ishiro had only observed Karin from a distance and had not disturbed her. The Uzumaki clan had already fully integrated into Iwagakure; he didn't need to do any special brainwashing.
In this life, both of Karin's parents were alive and well, and she was a lively little girl.
Karin, Neji, and Kurotsuchi were all first-year students at the Ninja Academy, in the same class. Karin and Kurotsuchi were good friends, and since she was Riori's clansman, she had tagged along when Riori came to visit Neji.
Karin was actually here to see the handsome Neji, of course, using the excuse of visiting her good friend Kurotsuchi.
As Riori spoke, she created a group of shadow clones, which then split into two sides to conduct a mock battle.
Luckily, she remembered she was at Kitsuchi's house and didn't give them a live demonstration of her Great Fireball Volley.
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