They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 215 Building the Ninja Academy in the Village!

He was praised without being named, entered the court without bowing, wore a sword and shoes in the palace, and was granted the title of Prince.

The crowd below was initially shocked by this reward, but after a moment's thought, they understood.

The fact that Hozuki Shingetsu was bestowed with such a high level of reward proves one thing: that in the previous incident, Hozuki Shingetsu was on the side of Mizuto Fumi.

It was precisely because Hozuki Shingetsu sided with Mizutofu that they ended up in this situation.

Therefore, under such thinking, although the nobles and officials were indignant that a peasant like Hozuki Shingetsu had climbed above them, they could only accept it helplessly under the "prestige" of Shuidu Fu.

Of course, Hozuki Shingetsu's status as Sui Keita's "adopted son" somewhat eased the tension between them.

Standing at the first position on the left, Hozuki Shingetsu was secretly observing the expressions of everyone present with great interest.

Since his battle with Kakuzu a week ago, he has been secretly dispatching forces to gather information about the Land of Water with the help of Kusaka Masato.

Because Hozuki Shingetsu helped him avenge his great enemy, Kusaka Masato can now be said to be Hozuki Shingetsu's loyal henchman.

However, out of caution, he still had Blood Pond Ryoma cast an illusion on Kusaka Masato's mind.

With the help of Kusaka Masato, a favorite of Mizuki Keita, and under the guise of the Water Capital, Hozuki Shingetsu gained a basic understanding of the general situation of the entire Land of Water within a week.

Yes, the situation is pretty much as Hozuki Shingetsu had predicted.

The entire Land of Water is on the verge of collapse after decades of rule by Mizuki Taira.

It was only because of the existence of ninjas, a military force possessing extraordinary powers, that no rebellious army emerged.

Most importantly, the Land of Water's food production is declining year by year. As a result, the number of people in the Land of Water who become bandits continues to increase each year.

Therefore, given the above circumstances, Hozuki Shingetsu finally had Mizuto Tomioka issue his first order after taking office as daimyo.

"When I was a prince, I often traveled incognito to observe the lives of the people. The hardships they endured were truly painful to witness!"

Shui Dufu's first words almost made everyone present burst out laughing, after all, everyone knew very well what kind of person he was before.

It's possible that he went on an incognito tour, but his purpose was definitely not to understand the people's conditions; it's more likely that he would abduct women.

However, everyone present was professionally trained, and given Shui Dufu's notorious reputation, naturally no one was foolish enough to expose the matter.

"...Through my research, I have discovered that the Water Kingdom currently faces two problems that urgently need to be addressed."

Shui Dufu held up two fingers and said with a serious expression, "Firstly, the food production of the Water Kingdom is declining day by day. Secondly, the country is rife with bandits."

"After much thought, I have come up with a solution to these two points."

Everyone present pricked up their ears to listen carefully to Shui Dufu's words, wanting to see what his first order after taking office would be.

"That means expanding the number of low-level ninjas!"

"If all the farmers could learn how to use chakra, wouldn't they be able to cultivate more land and complete their farm work more efficiently?"

"If we had enough low-level ninjas, we could send people to wipe out those mountain bandits!"

"So I've decided to establish a ninja academy in every village to teach some of the villagers how to use chakra!"

Shui Du Fu Zhi announced with great pride.

"..."

When the people present heard Shui Dufu say this, they thought about it for a moment and realized that this method was indeed quite good.

Most importantly, the power to collect taxes is in their own hands. The more grain the farmers produce after learning chakra, the more their harvest will be!

And if the farmers learn how to use chakra, doesn't that mean they can work for longer periods of time?

Doesn't this also mean that their wealth has increased far more than before?

Upon realizing this, everyone present thought it was a good idea, but just before they agreed, a trembling voice rang out.

"Your Highness, you know that some unruly people like to oppose the imperial court. What if they gain control of this chakra and plot against us?"

Upon hearing this, the many nobles present broke out in a cold sweat.

As fellow nobles, they naturally understood the man's underlying meaning—what if those peasants learned chakra and couldn't stand their exploitation, and then killed them in the dark of night?

After all, those ninjas are best at this. What if they learn something real from the ninja academy and use it on themselves?

Everyone present stared at Shui Dufu, wanting to see how he would respond.

"My sworn brother gave me advice on this."

Shui Du Fu smiled at Hozuki Shingetsu, "The teachers at the Ninja Academy are from Kirigakure, and they only teach how to use chakra, not specific ninjutsu or ninja tool throwing techniques."

"If some of those children have exceptional ninja talent, they can be sent to Kirigakure for further ninja training upon the recommendation of their teachers."

"In this way, although those farmers learned chakra, they could only use it to improve their physical fitness and had no combat ability."

"The best part is that this also increases the number of low-level ninjas, which can be used to wipe out mountain bandits."

After careful consideration, the nobles found that there were no immediate disadvantages to this approach, and that it was actually beneficial to them, so they all agreed to the proposal.

As Shui Dufu's first suggestion, as long as it doesn't involve confiscating their property, everyone will probably give him face.

Moreover, this proposal seems to be in their favor.

"A short-sighted person."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at everyone present and felt a wave of disdain in his heart.

As his first order after seizing power in the Land of Water, this order was naturally more complex than Water City Tofu had described.

Hozuki Shingetsu's primary purpose in establishing ninja academies in various villages was, of course, to recruit children with ninja talent from across the Land of Water through these ninja academies.

There are geniuses among ordinary people; that is beyond doubt.

However, the probability is too small.

Therefore, Hozuki Shingetsu's goal is to expand the number of people selected as much as possible, relying on the Land of Water to search for geniuses among the common people through these ninja academies.

The selection process is simple: it depends on the amount of chakra and the speed of chakra extraction, with physical fitness as an additional factor.

Although these people are limited by their daily lack of food, their talents may not necessarily be apparent in these areas.

However, as long as each school selects the most outstanding child of the same age from its own village each year and sends him to Kirigakure, Hozuki Shingetsu believes that Kirigakure's core strength will be incredibly abundant in a few years.

Besides selecting geniuses from the common people, the most important function of this ninja academy is... to help Hozuki Shingetsu control the grassroots administrative districts of the Land of Water.

Hozuki Shingetsu understood perfectly that the key to truly controlling the Land of Water lay not in subduing the nobles, but in truly controlling the grassroots units of the Land of Water.

Once he has these things under control, those nobles and the imperial court will be completely at his disposal.

For someone with a ninja background, this would normally be impossible, but the fact that the ninja academy was located in the village solved these problems.

This move is modeled after the old soldiers of the early Han Dynasty who retired and returned to serve as village chiefs and pavilion heads. They first sent their own people to these positions, and then used the opportunity of teaching the extraordinary power of chakra to subtly influence and control these villages.

Hozuki Shingetsu plans to send all the disabled or underdeveloped genin from the village to be teachers at this ninja academy.

The villages in the Land of Water have at most a few hundred people, and the Hidden Mist Village can still boast a few hundred disabled and retired genin.

(End of this chapter)