Konoha.
Hokage's Office.
Senju Tobirama was studying the intelligence report in his hands.
Currently...
Konoha's information was also incomplete. They only knew that the ninja squad dispatched by Iwagakure had suffered heavy losses, and that Mū, the junior ninja in whom the First Tsuchikage had placed high hopes, was severely injured. It wasn't the "fallen" that the garbage newspapers had exaggerated... But such confidential information, which should have been sealed, was now suddenly being spread widely throughout the ninja world.
It couldn't be ruled out that Iwagakure, unable to stomach this, was deliberately doing this to find a justifiable pretext to make a move against Kirigakure.
But this method was all too familiar to Senju Tobirama.
Although there was no evidence yet...
Senju Tobirama almost subconsciously suspected Uchiha Makoto.
After some deep thought, trusting his intuition and the familiar method, Senju Tobirama ultimately concluded that Uchiha Makoto was involved in this matter.
It was even highly likely that Uchiha Makoto was the mastermind behind it all.
Originally, Senju Tobirama thought that after making several big moves, Uchiha Makoto would rest for a few years to digest his gains. He never expected... that a moment of inattention would lead him to lose the chance to stop Uchiha Makoto's actions once again!
Senju Tobirama immediately clutched his liver. From working day and night recently, running back and forth between the Hokage's office and his laboratory, constantly overworking himself, his already faintly aching liver seemed to hurt even more.
Right now, Senju Tobirama wished he could tear the report in his hands to shreds.
But he held back.
"Uchiha Makoto, what the hell are you trying to do!"
"Can't you just stop for a while?"
"Keep a close watch on the progress of this matter, and closely monitor Akatsuki Village's movements!"
"Also, contact Uchiha Makoto for me... I can't let him act so recklessly anymore!"
...........
Iwagakure.
The First Tsuchikage looked at the report before him, his brow furrowed.
Although the current public opinion in the ninja world was somewhat favorable to Iwagakure, and the ninjas in the village were in high spirits with a strong will to fight, willing to follow his command to launch a retaliatory action against Kirigakure at a moment's notice.
However...
The leak of information had made the whole ninja world aware of the situation, stirring up public sentiment within the village and directly putting him in a tight spot.
Uchiha Makoto's previous actions had set a precedent. Akatsuki Village had launched a northern expedition against Kumogakure for a mere two Chunin, ultimately returning in great victory.
Now, even though the First Tsuchikage did intend to avenge Mū and make a move against Kirigakure, as long as his stance towards Kirigakure wasn't strong enough, and he didn't achieve the same results as Uchiha Makoto, he would inevitably attract criticism, ultimately lowering his prestige in the village.
This made the First Tsuchikage feel like he had been set up.
He knew very well that war was no child's play.
What's more...
Iwagakure was simply too far from Kirigakure, with a sea in between. Just solving the logistical needs for the war would be enough to exhaust all the resources Iwagakure had accumulated over the years. Such a long-distance campaign might not even yield sufficient results.
To launch such a full-scale war against Kirigakure out of a moment of anger.
Such a thought was extremely foolish.
"Ah... really... which bastard deliberately set this up..."
"Wait a minute... could it be..."
Just as the First Tsuchikage was contemplating countermeasures and the mastermind behind the incident, a flash of inspiration struck his mind—could it be the Lord Light Shadow?
This suspicion was not without reason.
If Iwagakure hadn't suddenly intervened in the war between Akatsuki Village and Kumogakure, Uchiha Makoto would have successfully captured the third line of defense and gained more benefits at the negotiating table. Iwagakure's actions had severely offended Akatsuki Village during the Kumogakure war.
And the First Tsuchikage also found this method very familiar.
It was only logical for Uchiha Makoto to seize the opportunity to embarrass Iwagakure.
But the First Tsuchikage was still unclear whether Uchiha Makoto's actions were merely for revenge, to deliberately mess with Iwagakure, or if there was another reason.
"Forget it, I'll contact Uchiha Makoto myself... No matter his reasons, if I can gain Akatsuki Village's support for a small price, this matter should be easier to resolve."
The First Tsuchikage thought to himself.
He was already prepared to humble himself before Uchiha Makoto and speak nicely.
In the face of the village's interests, personal face was truly nothing.
..........
The First Mizukage painfully opened his wise eyes.
His gaze fell upon Hozuki Gengetsu before him.
Hozuki Gengetsu was powerful, but his personality was eccentric and unruly. This time, he had gone out and caused trouble for Kirigakure.
Although Kirigakure was far from the mainland, Uchiha Makoto's media offensive had caused panic in the ninja world, as if Iwagakure was about to declare war on Kirigakure at any moment.
Due to Uchiha Makoto's sudden rise, which had poached many ninja clans that originally belonged to Kirigakure, Kirigakure's current strength was much weaker than in the original timeline. If Kirigakure were to fight a major ninja village like Iwagakure, Kirigakure would probably...
"Hozuki Gengetsu, I've long told you not to cause trouble when you're out on missions. Now Iwagakure is going to... once war breaks out..."
"Squinty-eyes, what are you afraid of... it's just Iwagakure. We're separated by a whole sea. Even if they come, it will be in vain."
"That's no reason for you to act willfully and attack Iwagakure ninjas on your own!"
"Squinty-eyes, are you trying to pick a fight with me..."
Evidently.
Hozuki Gengetsu's actions had drawn the dissatisfaction of another squinty-eyed ninja in the room, the future Third Mizukage.
But... Hozuki Gengetsu was Kirigakure's future Second Mizukage.
The two were already rivals, and their personalities clashed. A disagreement quickly escalated into a war of words.
This scene.
Even the First Mizukage found it very difficult.
Hozuki Gengetsu was indeed a junior he favored, strong enough to shoulder the responsibilities of a Kage.
But... his personality was really... not Kage-like.
The future Second Mizukage should be...
"Alright, stop arguing."
"Since it has already happened, we can only do our best to make amends. We'll deal with it as it comes."
"If Iwagakure proposes unacceptable conditions, if they want war, then we will fight!"
The First Mizukage made the final decision.
A ninja who could establish a great ninja village could not possibly be a coward. He was a veteran ninja who had walked out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood from the Warring States period.
If war was unavoidable, then Kirigakure would meet the challenge.
"Lord Mizukage, I'll be taking my leave then."
"Mm."
Then Hozuki Gengetsu glanced at the squinty-eyed man beside him, snorted coldly, and walked out.
The Third Mizukage, squinting, also wanted to leave but was stopped by the First Mizukage. The First Mizukage then walked to his side, patted his shoulder, and said:
"Gengetsu has an eccentric personality. You must work hard!"
.........
Akatsuki Village.
As the main culprit, Uchiha Makoto.
He was currently not focusing his attention on the dispute between Iwagakure and Kirigakure at all.
Because he knew very well that although the public opinion he had stirred up had indeed caused panic in the ninja world.
The final outcome would likely not be too different from the original story's direction.
Uchiha Makoto never believed that Iwagakure and Kirigakure would actually break out into a large-scale war. Public opinion only served to fan the flames; the scale of the war still depended on the actual situation. Akatsuki Village in the Land of Fire was already separated from Kirigakure by a sea, let alone Iwagakure. How could they possibly fight!
In the end, it would just be much ado about nothing.
Uchiha Makoto got involved only to muddy the waters and fish in them—once the matter blew up, he could find an opportunity to participate under the banner of mediating for both sides, upholding justice, and maintaining peace in the ninja world!
And for now.
Uchiha Makoto's focus was still on Akatsuki Village and the internal affairs of the Land of Fire. He only briefly glanced at the latest news from the ANBU before quickly setting the report aside.
He had an extremely important meeting waiting for him today.
Uchiha Makoto had invited several representatives of Arasaka-affiliated wealthy merchants, nobles from the Land of Fire who were privately close to Akatsuki Village, and professionals from the financial world. These were all Uchiha Makoto's supporters.
In the meeting room...
"Is everyone here?"
"Lord Light Shadow, we're still missing one person..."
"Oh~ then let's wait a little longer."
"Why don't we start first? Everyone else is here, just waiting for him... this is really..."
Evidently.
The representatives in the room were very interested in the content of Uchiha Makoto's meeting today and were unwilling to have another participant join.
But Uchiha Makoto didn't speak, just faintly poured himself a cup of tea and drank it alone.
The others were helpless and could only continue to wait.
After a full fifteen minutes, the latecomer finally arrived.
He bowed and apologized to everyone in the room, his head covered in sweat.
The people in the room were also displeased.
"My apologies, everyone, it's my fault... I'm late... traffic jam."
"Have some sense of time... a traffic jam..."
"That's right, a guy like you, I think next time you won't be qualified to participate in such a meeting. Just go home and wait for the results!"
"Ahem, ahem..."
Seeing that the atmosphere in the meeting room was not right, Uchiha Makoto coughed twice, then picked up the teapot and began to pour tea.
"Everyone, have some tea first."
The arguments in the room immediately ceased.
After finishing a cup of tea, Uchiha Makoto didn't intend to waste any more time and got straight to the point.
"Everyone, thank you for your continued support for me and for Akatsuki Village. We are the pioneers of this era. Those who rely on sucking blood from the rules of the old era and refuse to make progress will sooner or later be eliminated by us..."
"Akatsuki Village is going to issue its own currency. In the future, it will be primarily paper money, and I want it to circulate throughout the Land of Fire, and even become the most common mainstream currency in the entire ninja world."
The expressions of the representatives present became somewhat excited.
In previous years, due to the long years of war, the economy was not very active, and the volume of trade between each other was relatively small. Even if a transaction was necessary, it was done with precious metals.
But now, with the continuous increase in trade, the old form of transaction seemed backward and cumbersome.
With the development of the times.
The Land of Fire was bound to build a complete modern paper currency system. However, due to the chaotic operations of successive Daimyo, the credibility of the domestic paper currency... everyone had suffered for a long time.
But... they could do nothing about it.
To rebuild the monetary system, there must be a force with enough weight to guarantee it and withstand the pressure from forces both inside and outside the Land of Fire. No one had the guts to do so openly.
Now, Akatsuki Village had stepped forward...
What they were doing was beneficial to everyone. Those with money would contribute money, those with strength would contribute strength. If it could really be done... they would naturally all support it.
However.
The representatives discussed in low voices for a while, appearing very hesitant.
The various chaotic operations of the successive Daimyo had ultimately affected the representatives present.
They did not want the family fortunes they had worked so hard to accumulate to be directly harvested by Uchiha Makoto's scythe.
"Everyone, please rest assured, I am not a person without vision. The currency issued by Akatsuki Village will first circulate within Akatsuki Village. Akatsuki Village is a village I have worked hard to build. Once the monetary system has problems, the first to suffer will be my Akatsuki Village. I will not dig my own grave..."
"And I have already stated my goal just now. As Akatsuki Village grows stronger, I want the currency of Akatsuki Village to circulate throughout the entire ninja world."
"This is just the initial goal... I wonder if any of you have heard of monetary tides?"
"Sooner or later, the currency of Akatsuki Village will be like a tide, bringing us a large amount of wealth, and all of you will only need to bend down and pick up this wealth."
"Oh, Lord Light Shadow, please elaborate!"
Uchiha Makoto skillfully began to paint a grand picture. The bait of the monetary tide easily attracted their interest.
So he began to explain the theory of monetary tides in detail.
Sooner or later, the vigorous capital of the Land of Fire would become a complete mess. Then, the central bank of Akatsuki Village could silently release more money, guiding them to other countries... and then raise interest rates at a specific time...
Although the representatives present did not quite understand the principles of economics, they could still grasp the general outline.
After a period of detailed explanation, the representatives present were all satisfied.
They realized that the Lord Light Shadow before them was different from them. Damn... once this strategy was successfully implemented, they could truly destroy a nation between conversation and laughter, easily harvesting the wealth accumulated by a country over several decades.
Of course, the specific implementation of the monetary tide would certainly not be that simple.
The currency of Akatsuki Village also needed to be tied to an anchor, and Uchiha Makoto had already locked onto this anchor—Chakra!
The monetary tide plan and Akatsuki Village's chakra and ninjutsu popularization plan were complementary.
This was also the effect Uchiha Makoto wanted to achieve.
Sooner or later, he would use these means to smash this damn cesspool of a world.
Those who could be invited by Uchiha Makoto into this meeting room at this time were, without exception, people with great vision and who were unwilling to be ordinary. They had also always believed in Uchiha Makoto.
After being fed this grand vision, the representatives no longer hesitated and chose to support Akatsuki Village's next actions.
..........
The meeting ended.
Uchiha Makoto had just breathed a sigh of relief.
Not long after.
He received a cordial greeting from Senju Tobirama.
The content of the letter was simple and unadorned, consisting of curses aimed at Uchiha Makoto covering almost the entire page, with only a time and place added at the end for Uchiha Makoto to go to.
"Ah, Tobirama. His guess was spot on, and his reaction was quick."
"Perfect. If Konoha gets involved too, the effect should be even better!"
"The ninja world needs a police force to uphold justice!"
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