Naruto Online: Hyuga Branch Family? Let's go all out!

Chapter 170 The Great Battle Plan

Hiruzen Sarutobi waited for three months.

For the past three months, Sunagakure has not launched any further attacks, but has instead settled down and stabilized the border.

But everyone knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

The Sand Village is probably researching ways to counter Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique. Once they figure out a solution, they will launch an attack immediately.

At this time, Konoha's vanguard and follow-up forces had arrived. Logically, since the opponent had not yet found a way to deal with Minato, it was a good time to launch an offensive.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi sent a letter stating that Konoha should not voluntarily enter the Land of Wind and should not bear the responsibility for invading another country.

Even a child wouldn't believe such nonsense, but Jiraiya, being a pacifist, actually agreed.

Thus, the Konoha army and the Sunagakure forces were locked in a stalemate at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind.

Meanwhile, the results of Danzo's investigation have also come out.

"Not all towns have established militia forces. After investigation, I found that a total of 27 towns have established militia forces!" Danzo sent the investigation results to Hiruzen Sarutobi: "The number of militia in these towns ranges from one or two thousand to seven or eight thousand. They are generally equipped with wooden armor, leather armor, rattan armor, and some are even equipped with iron armor. Their weapons are mostly bows and arrows, as well as spears, machetes, kitchen knives, hoes, and the like."

"So many?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the compiled data. These militiamen totaled nearly 20!

"No rush, take a look at the map first!" Danzo said.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and marked each of the towns on the map.

He didn't know until he marked it; once he did, he discovered it.

"Are they all border cities?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"Yes!" Danzo nodded. "These cities are mainly located in the northern part of the Land of Fire, bordering the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. After investigation, I found that the first city to form a militia was this Red Flower Town."

"Because the Land of Rain is less than 20 miles from Red Flower Town, and scattered ninjas from the Land of Rain often raid Red Flower Town. Fortunately, there are continuous bamboo forests near Red Flower Town, so the residents of Red Flower Town made bows and arrows from bamboo to protect themselves, and the effect was very good. As a result, other towns that suffered from the torment of wandering ninjas followed suit and also formed militia forces."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his chin, "So that's how it is!"

So, were the border militia forces actually created out of necessity due to the problem of wandering ninjas?

Border cities are indeed hotspots for wandering ninjas who commit crimes in the Land of Fire and then simply flee to neighboring countries.

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The current Konoha is not in a situation where one can fight four, has not signed a treaty, and its ninjas cannot easily travel to neighboring countries to carry out missions. While they are not helpless in dealing with these wandering ninjas, the procedures are really troublesome.

We can't station a ninja in every city just to fight off wandering ninjas.

After all, wandering ninjas do communicate with each other. If you station too few of them, they might gather together and kill this ninja.

With more ninjas stationed there, the village will have fewer usable ninjas, which is also a problem.

If each town could form a militia force for self-defense, that would indeed be a viable solution.

However, if that's the case, Hiruzen Sarutobi really wouldn't be able to petition the daimyo to disband these troops.

After all, without the militia, who would fight the wandering ninjas?

But ignoring it won't work. Today it's the border, tomorrow it'll be the inland, and the day after tomorrow, maybe even the villages next to Konoha will be forming militias.

Establish a militia force?

you can!

But these troops need to be restricted and regulated.

For example, there are currently 27 towns with militias, that's all, don't add any more.

In addition, these militia members are not allowed to practice chakra refining techniques, their annual training sessions are limited to no more than two months, and they are not allowed to wear armor.

Every month, Konoha sends ninjas to these 27 towns to patrol and help manage the problem of wandering ninjas. The expenses incurred during this period are borne by these 27 towns.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly wrote down more than ten points of attention, revised his wording, and then handed them to Danzo: "Look, is this method of dealing with the militia feasible?"

Danzo glanced at it briefly, then nodded: "Okay!"

Although the militia might affect the ninjas' income, Danzo didn't really care.

Anyway, the roots don't rely on these things for a living.

He was willing to do his job properly, but it was only for a political exchange with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

If I help you, shouldn't you help me too?

Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned an ANBU ninja: "Send this to Kyoto and give it to the daimyo. Return with a reply!"

"Yes!" The ANBU nodded and left.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo: "Speak, what else is there?"

"The Akatsuki has grown to nearly 50,000 members and has already occupied almost one-fifth of the towns in the Land of Rain!" Danzo said. "I've also persuaded Hanzo, so I'll be taking Root out on a trip. However, our opponents are quite powerful, so we'll need your help!"

This version of Akatsuki has been significantly strengthened, and Root, which hasn't kept up with the updates, is naturally not enough.

"Fifty thousand?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was astonished by this number and asked curiously, "How did they expand so quickly?"

"Food provided, and wages paid!" Danzo said.

"What do you mean?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, taken aback.

"In short, it means the core members of Akatsuki receive one meal a day, and the Akatsuki also pays each core member a salary." Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's somewhat confused look, Danzo had to add, "It's a ninja allowance!"

"Ninja allowance?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was dumbfounded: "Everyone gets it?"

"Yes!" Danzo nodded.

"How is this possible!" Hiruzen Sarutobi jumped to his feet in shock. "That's 50,000 people! How can a mere Akatsuki organization afford that? Even Konoha wouldn't dare do that!"

"Can't you afford it?" Danzo asked rhetorically.

"Huh?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback for a moment, then sat down again.

If 50,000 people receive a monthly subsidy of 30,000 taels, that's only 15 billion taels a month.

In reality, not that many can be issued; the number is definitely based on ability.

There are 50,000 Jonin, 30,000 Chunin, 10,000 Genin, and about 5,000 for ordinary people.

The number of ninjas was far less; most were ordinary people.

On average, each person earns less than six thousand.

Fifty thousand people would amount to 3 million taels.

The Akatsuki organization occupied one-fifth of the towns in the Land of Rain, and simply spent 3 million ryo every month.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was calculated according to Konoha's standards.

Konoha also provides subsidies for ninjas, but not all ninjas. Instead, it applies to clerical staff working in the Hokage's office building, medical ninjas in Konoha Hospital, ninjas in the intelligence department, and all other ninjas working in Konoha.

Since they couldn't go out to carry out missions, and it wasn't convenient to record office work or medical treatment as missions, they simply changed their salary to be paid in the form of ninja allowances.

In total, fewer than 2000 ninjas in Konoha received subsidies, and the monthly expenditure was 2000 billion ryo.

Konoha is, after all, a great nation, unlike the Akatsuki, whose standard for each person is 10 ryo.

If this subsidy were extended to all ninjas, the monthly expenditure would be 100 billion ryo.

In reality, that much isn't needed. After all, Konoha has more genin than jonin, so two or three billion yen a month might be enough.

The Land of Fire provides Konoha with a subsidy of 500 billion ryo per year, averaging 41 billion ryo per month. If the subsidy were distributed to all ninjas, the funds would be more than enough.

However, Konoha simply couldn't afford to pay that amount.

why?

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo exchanged a glance and tacitly skipped over the question.

"The Akatsuki organization is truly evil. They actually give money to ninjas, which is corrupting their will!!" Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fist on the table, defining the Akatsuki organization.

Such an organization must be eliminated. Otherwise, once the news of Akatsuki comes out, people will stop talking about the selfless dedication of the Will of Fire and start asking me for wages instead.

Danzo nodded in agreement. Before he understood the Akatsuki, he was instinctively wary, but after he learned about them, the Akatsuki became his mortal enemy.

"How many people do you need?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"At least thirty Jonin!" Danzo immediately spoke up: "My Root has less than ten Jonin, while the Akatsuki has at least three thousand combat-ready ninjas. This is no less than fighting a war. Although the Amegakure will take care of the lower and middle-level ninjas, we will have to provide the high-level combat power!"

"Thirty men? I guarantee I can take down the Akatsuki!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Thirty isn't enough, I'll give you sixty!"

"Sixty?" Danzo was taken aback, then immediately began to calculate.

There are a total of 150 Jonin in Konoha, including 16 Anbu, 120 Jonin squads, and 14 others distributed among various other departments.

The term "Jonin" here refers to a Jonin, while "Special Jonin" does not count as a Jonin.

In the war against Sunagakure, Hiruzen Sarutobi selected 80 Jonin to participate in the war, plus 30 people from the Anbu and other departments, for a total of 110 people!

There are only 40 Jonin left at most, so where did the 60 come from?

You're really ruthless, Hiruzen Sarutobi!

We have so much funding in the Root organization every year, and I've been recruiting geniuses everywhere, yet we've only managed to train 16 Jonin over the years. And you just casually pull out 60 without making a sound?

Just how much did you embezzle?

You didn't lie to me about the amount of money the Land of Fire sends to Konoha every year?

Danzo cursed inwardly, but his face showed no anger whatsoever.

You should be angry when you need to be, but now is not the time to be angry.

First, take down these sixty people, then mark them one by one with the seal of "the root of all trouble."

What? You're asking me if I dare?

With 78 Jonin under my command, do you think I dare to challenge you?

"By the way, although these sixty Jonin are being handed over to you, they will only fight for you and will not be responsible for anything else!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Of course!" Danzo nodded. Once it's in my hands, you won't have a choice!

"Therefore, I will also send Shinnosuke to lead this unit!"

"What?" Danzo's eyes widened immediately. "You don't trust me?"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's strength is not strong, but that's relative to the Sannin and Konoha's White Fang. In reality, his combat strength is also in the first tier below the Hokage, the Sannin, and Konoha's White Fang, at the level of elite Jonin.

Defeating Danzo was not easy, but Danzo also had no way to control him.

With him as the summoner, those sixty Jonin are out of the question.

"Of course I trust you!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said softly, "We've been partners for over ten years, but these sixty people are all from my Sarutobi clan, so it's best if they're led by a ninja from my Sarutobi clan. What do you think?"

"You, Hiruzen Sarutobi, actually took the funds the daimyo gave you and spent them on your clan?" Danzo's eyes widened in surprise.

Damn it, I thought I was shameless enough for me to embezzle funds to develop the root, but the root is still the root of the village.

You actually used it to develop your own family?

That's despicable! That's shameless!

How come I didn't think of that!

Yes, no matter how good the root is, can it be as good as the Shimura clan?

No, I'll do that when I get back from the Land of Rain.

Wait a minute, since he's a member of the Sarutobi clan, why would he send him to the battlefield?

Danzo's eyes darted around, and he immediately understood.

That's right. The leaders of Akatsuki are all underage kids. No matter how talented they are, they can only be elite Jonin at best.

The Akatsuki organization's figures of 3,000 ninjas and 50,000 members are indeed accurate.

So the merit of suppressing the Akatsuki organization is equivalent to destroying a country!

This is an incredible achievement!

Looking at the numbers alone, the Akatsuki organization has indeed reached the size of a major power, but it lacks the strength of one!

It's like a balloon that's all bark and no bite; it'll burst if you poke it with a needle.

This is equivalent to getting the credit for destroying a country for free!

Who wouldn't want the credit for conquering a country for free?

Not only is the merit of destroying a country a freebie, but you can also gain the merit of uniting with the Rain Country, turning a former enemy country into a friend, which is also a great achievement!

The combination of these two powers was something Danzo couldn't even imagine how much prestige it would bring!

If Sarutobi Shinnosuke gets involved, wouldn't that be enough to qualify him for Hokage?

"You bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi, so that's what you were planning!" Danzo, having figured everything out, was furious. "I was the one who found the opportunity, and you still have to interfere?"

No, we can't let Sarutobi Shinnosuke get the lion's share of the credit.

However, I only have 16 Jonin, and even if I send them all out, I still can't beat the opponent who has 60 Jonin!

"It seems I'll have to ask my clan for some support!" Danzo thought to himself.

The Sarutobi clan could easily field 60 Jonin, but the Shimura clan would likely suffer serious damage even with 40 Jonin.

But it doesn't matter. The casualties in this battle will definitely not be too great. On the contrary, the gains after the victory will be great, and convincing the family will not be a problem.

That's it!

Having figured everything out, Danzo nodded decisively: "Alright, we'll do it your way!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, wondering what Danzo was thinking.

However, he figured that with sixty Jonin under his command, as long as he maintained proper isolation and kept his camp separate from the Root ninjas, nothing should go wrong.

Hmm, just to be on the safe side, let's send another twenty Jonin, disguised as Chunin, to accompany us. That way, even if Danzo tries to cause trouble, I'll have a backup plan!

Thus, a major battle was decided rather casually by the two of them in the time it took to finish a cigarette.

(End of this chapter)