Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 43 Weak People, Strong Nation

Inside, there was a table laden with food and wine, which looked even more upscale than the banquet from before.

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, Prince Huangren took the initiative to say, "This is something I specially saved for you, because there isn't much of it, and I was afraid that some outsiders would eat it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked puzzled, unable to understand his opponent's actions.

Prince Huang Ren sat cross-legged on the ground and warmly embraced her, saying, "Don't just stand there, let's have a few drinks. You're the Hokage, and I'm the Daimyo's older brother. In terms of status, we're about the same."

Offering unsolicited favors is either a sign of malice or theft.

Prince Huangren deliberately emphasized the relationship between the two to lay the groundwork for the conversation that followed. More importantly, Prince Huangren's politeness was a reminder to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, that he needed Hiruzen's help and hoped Hiruzen would be ungrateful.

A normal ninja might not be able to understand, but Hiruzen Sarutobi, who grew up in the Sarutobi clan, couldn't possibly be confused. Otherwise, the adults in the clan would be too incompetent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood, and taking advantage of the situation, sat down on the ground: "Is that so? Then I really must have a drink, otherwise I would be letting down Prince Huangren's kindness."

Having said that, he picked up an exquisite wine glass, took a sip, and exclaimed, "This is truly fine wine!"

Prince Huang Ren smiled and said, "If you like it, then drink more."

As they toasted and drank, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face gradually flushed, as if he were getting drunk. However, he wasn't truly drunk; rather, he was setting the stage for the conversation that followed. Even if he said something wrong, he could later cover it up with "a slip of the tongue while drunk."

At the same time, Prince Huang Ren did the same thing, deliberately pretending to be drunk, shaking his head and saying, "By the way, Lord Hokage, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

"Yes, you said that."

"I heard that the Yuan Fei clan was once a powerful family in a certain country, is that right?"

With his past exposed, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted, but he remained calm and laughed, "That was a long time ago."

The Yuan Fei family is different from ordinary ninja clans. They were once the daimyo of a small country, but the country was destroyed for some reason, leaving only one person and three ministers.

These three retainers were the ancestors of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Later, these four people gradually built their own family power. Although the Ino-Shika-Cho trio no longer had a retainer relationship with the Yuan Fei family, due to the special relationship of their ancestors, the Yuan Fei family would act as witnesses to give the earrings to promote the bond between the three.

(P.S.: The above is purely my own speculation, since Kishimoto didn't explain why these families are so closely connected.)

Prince Huang Ren drank another cup of wine: "I never thought it would be true. It's only a matter of time before Lord Hiruzen ascends to the Hokage throne and restores the glory of his ancestors."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head: "That's all in the past. Now I just want to be a good Hokage of Konoha..."

Huang Ren nodded in satisfaction. Through this conversation, he understood Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude and continued, "Then the Land of Fire's defense will rely heavily on Konoha from now on."

"That's no problem at all. May I ask how much of the funds will be allocated to Konoha this time?"

Although the current world situation is based on a one-country-one-village system, ninja orders are not absolutely distributed according to one country and one village. For example, the mission orders of the Fire Country Daimyo can also be given to the ninjas of Kirigakure, who will gladly accept them. The more orders, the better.

However, in most cases, because they are relatively close, the mission orders are handed over to the ninjas of their own country.

Besides being the highest leader of the village, the "Kage" is often also a symbol of the highest combat power. Konoha has just lost such a powerful force as the Kage, which will inevitably have an impact on the international community, and orders will inevitably decrease.

Ninjas do not engage in production; their income depends entirely on mission allocations and grants from the daimyo.

The most important thing for Hiruzen Sarutobi, who became Hokage, was to secure sponsorships and solve the problem of food and drink for the village's ninjas.

Da Ming looked troubled, held up one finger, and then said a very tight number.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi pleaded, "This is too little. Could you give me more?"

Prince Huangren sighed, "The farmers' harvest has been poor lately, and Daming Prefecture has no surplus grain..."

"But……"

"Ouch……"

"Your Highness Huang Ren, what's wrong?"

"I think I ate something bad. Wait a minute, I'm going to the bathroom."

Prince Huangren stood up and left, leaving behind a bewildered Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was wondering what the other party was up to when suddenly two scantily clad women entered the room. Upon closer inspection, these two women were none other than the dancers who had been the object of his longing at the banquet earlier.

While Hiruzen Sarutobi was still in a daze, two dancers had already come to his side and offered him a drink: "Your Highness Huangren has something to attend to for the time being, so it's our turn to serve you from now on..."

With soft warmth and a fragrant scent wafting from him, and two alluring and shameless women pressed close together, Hiruzen Sarutobi was starting to lose control, and then he simply couldn't.

"Hey, why are you taking your clothes off?"

……

……

After leaving the room, Prince Huang Ren did not go to the toilet, but went straight to another room.

Inside the room, a fair-skinned twelve-year-old boy saw Huang Ren and immediately asked, "Father, is the matter resolved?"

Huang Ren smiled slightly: "It's a sure thing."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a clever man; his political acumen would have allowed him to understand what it meant to:

If he doesn't accept it, how dare I allocate money to him?

Huang Ren's son asked, puzzled, "Father, is it really necessary to go to this extent? Wouldn't it have been simpler to just allocate funds directly?"

Huang Ren sighed, "Lan Ren, you don't understand. Ninjas are different from the samurai class of the past. This group is too powerful. Some powerful ninjas can even conquer a country by themselves. The only thing we can control them with is money. Without the financial constraints, the ninjas will become an uncontrollable force and may even endanger the rule of our daimyo."

He was not exaggerating.

He was fortunate, or rather unfortunate, to have encountered such a ninja.

With a single stroke, it leveled several mountains. Before such immense power, money, status, wealth, and so on are utterly useless and meaningless.

Whenever Huang Ren thought of those bloodshot eyes, his body would tremble uncontrollably. He felt like an ant, his life and death entirely dependent on the other person's whim.

However, what made him even more desperate was that there was not only one such person, but also another person stronger than him, and both of them had lived in Konoha in the past.

How could Huang Ren not be on guard against or wary of something that could crush him with a single finger?

Fortunately, those two are now dead, but the village they left behind is extremely powerful. If these ninjas really wanted to overthrow the daimyo, it would be incredibly easy for them.

Therefore, the ninjas in these villages must be controlled, no matter what method is used.

He's certainly not the only one with this idea. People in other countries who secretly control their countries just like him are also wary of their own ninjas and are actively trying to weaken them and recruit them into their ranks.

The "one country, one village" system is something Daimyo doesn't actually want to acknowledge; it's a compromise forced upon them by circumstances.

What they truly desire is for the strength of the ninjas to be entirely under their control, rather than having to allocate a budget every year as they do.

A bunch of peasants dared to dream of being on equal footing with the nobles? What a joke! Now they admit it was just a delaying tactic.

To help his son better understand this principle, Huang Ren had no choice but to continue educating him like mushrooms after rain: "Ranmaru, let me ask you, what makes a country strong?"

Without hesitation, Ranmaru replied, "A strong people make a strong nation, and a weak people make a weak nation."

He thought this statement was definitely true, but his father strongly disagreed with it.

"wrong."

"wrong?"

Huang Ren said firmly, "That's right, and completely wrong."

"???"

Ranmaru remembered that his father had told him this when he was a child, but now it was completely the opposite of what he had said back then.

"Ranmaru, you're older now, and it's time to tell you some things. I didn't tell you when you were little because I was afraid you'd say things carelessly and cause bad influences. Now that you're grown up, you know what it means to eat whatever you want but not to say whatever you want, so I'll just explain it to you clearly now."

The saying, "A strong people make a strong nation, and a weak people make a weak nation," is merely a deception of the lower classes. For a nation to become powerful, its people must contribute. And since it involves contribution, the more the better. However, excessive contribution weakens the people. Therefore, the conclusion is: a strong people make a weak nation, and a weak people make a strong nation. The key to governing a country lies first and foremost in weakening its people.

Ranmaru was completely baffled upon hearing this.

Huang Ren continued his education, saying: "Secondly, it lies in the poor, exhausted, ignorant, humiliated, and abused people."

These words were clearly not pleasant to look at, and even he, who had been born into a noble family, trembled.

While Hiruzen Sarutobi was having an affair with the two dancers, Huang Ren had plenty of time to properly educate his son. He had a very important task to assign to his son, and he needed to explain the underlying logic to him beforehand, as it concerned the future interests of the noble class in the Land of Fire.

P.S.: In the original work, the daimyo is portrayed as stupid as a pig, which is Kishimoto's fault. But in reality, which person in power is an idiot? So I've exaggerated it a bit.

(End of this chapter)