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

Chapter 238 The Reform Plan of Kumogakure

Having already decided to use the Uchiha clan to carry out a major operation, Hozuki Shingetsu naturally needed to consult with the other three major ninja villages in the anti-Konoha alliance.

After all, this media frenzy that is about to sweep across the entire ninja world can only be realized with their participation.

Upon receiving Hozuki Shingetsu's handwritten letter and learning of his thoughts, the leaders of the various ninja villages gasped in astonishment, realizing their profound contribution to warming the ninja world, while also managing an uncontrollable smile.

-

"Hiss... Regardless of this bastard's strength, his methods are truly ruthless!"

In Iwagakure, the moment Onoki saw Hozuki Shingetsu's handwritten letter, an idea popped into his mind.

"Luckily, this bastard's target has always been Konoha. Otherwise, if he had set his sights on Iwagakure, it's hard to say whether the village would have been able to stay safe."

After all, Iwagakure is not an impregnable place, and Onoki is well aware of this.

Iwagakure Village is based on collectivism, and while this approach has its advantages, it also inevitably has its disadvantages.

Since the founding of Iwagakure, many people have raised objections to this system that stifles creativity and independence, but these objections have been suppressed by successive Tsuchikage.

However, suppressing the problem doesn't mean there aren't any.

In Iwagakure today, Roshi and Han, two elite Jonin second only to Onoki, are representatives of this dissenting force.

Onoki couldn't imagine the upheaval that would occur within Iwagakure if that bastard Hozuki Shingetsu were to target them and use their identities to set a trap.

After pondering for a while how to defend against this media offensive, Onoki's thoughts turned back to the letter, and he couldn't help but gloat over the impending heavy blow to Konoha Shin.

Although Hozuki Shingetsu's letter ostensibly expressed his disapproval of the Uchiha's situation in Konoha and his support for the Uchiha, everyone knew what Hozuki Shingetsu was really thinking. How could he possibly be kind enough to speak up for the Uchiha?

Originally, the Uchiha's plight was only known in Konoha. Now that it's been publicized, not everyone in the ninja world knows that the Uchiha were being used as a tool to manipulate people and make fools of themselves.

Moreover, Hozuki Shingetsu's "Uchiha Human Rights Report" caused a sensation in the ninja world back then.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi's "Oath of the Hokage Rock," which quelled the Uchiha clan's anger, is well-known to many in the ninja world.

It's just that many years have passed and many people have forgotten about this incident. But now, with Hozuki Shingetsu causing such a commotion, everyone will surely recall these events from many years ago.

At that time, under the influence of public opinion, how would the people in the ninja world know anything about the big picture or the background?

They only know that the Hokage of Konoha, a village of great stature, can swear an oath by pointing at the Hokage Rock and treat it as utter nonsense, so you can imagine what kind of credibility Konoha has.

"Fortunately, our current target is Konoha... the Uchiha clan, haha! I never thought you'd end up like this!"

Back in the day, Onoki personally went to Konoha and was humiliated by the Uchiha along with his own master.

This hatred will not fade with time; instead, it is like aged vinegar, fermenting in the heart over time, filling the heart with sourness.

Furthermore, given the geographical proximity of Konoha and Iwagakure, it was inevitable that Iwagakure would have to target Konoha if it wanted to develop. With this public and private grudge, Onoki was naturally filled with glee at the misfortune that befell both the Uchiha and Konoha.

Upon realizing this, Onoki immediately flew to his attendant's side and gave the order:

"Quickly, spread the word! Have our people publicize the Uchiha's ordeal in Konoha, especially mentioning that we will convene the 'Uchiha International Arbitration Case' at the Iron Country Ninja International Alliance to seek justice for the Uchiha!"

-

"Using their own weapon against them—that brat Hozuki Shingetsu's method, whether it's old or not, his aim is truly sharp!"

In Kumogakure, the Third Raikage saw the letter from Kirigakure in his hand, shook his head involuntarily, and sighed.

Hozuki Shingetsu's methods this time are actually not new when broken down and analyzed; they can be seen as a replica of the "Uchiha Human Rights Report" from back then.

The target is the same Konoha, the tool is the same Uchiha clan's situation, and the method is to incite public opinion to exert pressure.

The only difference might be that the formation of this anti-Konoha alliance has a larger presence than before, but in essence, there is no difference.

"But Konoha is really stupid. They already showed you this a few years ago, so why didn't they change their attitude towards the Uchiha? Now they've been caught with such a big weakness."

A surge of resentment rose within the Third Raikage.

This resentment stems from two things: firstly, that the unambitious Konoha could surpass the Hidden Cloud Village and become the strongest ninja in the world; and secondly, that the Uchiha clan had been treated this way for so many years without ever rising up in resistance.

With the strength of the Uchiha clan, if they left Konoha and joined his Kumogakure, he guaranteed that Kumogakure would immediately surpass Konoha and become the number one ninja in the world.

It's such a pity!

This Uchiha clan shows none of the domineering presence of their ancestor, Uchiha Madara, and has been so easily controlled by Konoha for decades.

"However, this also proves one thing: Konoha's current status is undeserved!"

In the Third Raikage's view, the Uchiha clan incident fully exposed the chaotic state of Konoha's internal management at that time.

No other ninja village would treat such a powerful clan as the Uchiha in this way, especially when the village desperately needs the Uchiha's fighting strength, and when Konoha has already suffered a public relations crisis because of this last time.

However, Konoha did exactly that, and did it for decades. This makes one marvel at how rich the legacy Hashirama Senju left for Konoha, allowing it to remain the top ninja in the world under such circumstances.

"Sir, should we also publicize the 'Uchiha International Arbitration Case'?"

Tsuchikage stood with his hands clasped beside the Third Raikage and asked this question.

"Publicity? Of course we need to promote it!"

The Third Raikage casually tossed the letter in his hand onto the table, turned around, and looked out the window at the panoramic view of Kumogakure hidden in the clouds.

"However, we shouldn't focus on this. Just follow Kirigakure's lead in this matter. This kind of thing might make Konoha look bad, but that's about it."

The Third Raikage's eyes gleamed with a wisdom that seemed incongruous with his muscular physique. "Since the beginning of the ninja world, no clan has ever been defeated by words alone."

"Even if Hozuki Shingetsu's timing for capturing him was perfect, as long as Shimura Danzo still had a shred of rationality and took the initiative to send a conciliatory signal to the Uchiha, then Konoha and the Uchiha wouldn't turn against each other at this point."

"The rift between Konoha and the Uchiha clan isn't that big yet, and this matter will eventually return to calm."

The Third Raikage saw things very clearly. Even though Sakumo Hatake is dead, Hiruzen Sarutobi has stepped down, and Tsunade and Jiraiya are away traveling, Konoha is still not a place that the Uchiha clan can shake.

Unless a major disaster strikes Konoha at this time, wiping out 50-60% of the village's elite and leaving only a few top-tier ninjas, and at the same time, another Mangekyou Sharingan user appears in the Uchiha clan.

Otherwise, given the current power balance between Konoha and the Uchiha clan, as long as neither side loses their minds, a split is impossible.

"Compared to this, how are the recent reforms in the village going?"

Nearly three years have passed since Hozuki Shingetsu implemented reforms in Kirigakure. Even though Kumogakure doesn't have a Tsunade-like figure in Kirigakure, the details of Kirigakure's reforms have already reached Kumogakure and have even been documented and placed on the Third Raikage's desk.

As a pragmatic leader who didn't want to leave regrets for the next generation and dreamed of having Kumogakure defeat Konoha under his leadership, the Third Raikage immediately realized the changes this document would bring to the village after reading it.

As the undisputed power holders of Kumogakure, the Yotsuki clan naturally held the reins of power in the village.

However, this is a good thing for the Yoruzuki clan, but not necessarily for the Hidden Cloud Village.

By monopolizing power in Kumogakure with the power of one clan, it inevitably led to the fact that key positions, welfare benefits, and high-ranking ninjas in the village were all held by members of the Yotsuki clan.

It can even be said without any hesitation that the Hidden Cloud Village was almost entirely composed of the Yotsuki clan fighting against the Leaf Village.

This situation, while bringing great glory to the Yoruzuki clan, also severely limited the development of other ninja clans and ninjas.

As a leader who constantly thought about how to defeat Konoha, the Third Raikage was naturally dissatisfied with the status quo of Kumogakure, but he couldn't find any way to change it before. However, the reforms of Kirigakure pointed him in the right direction—starting with the commoner ninjas.

After careful consideration, the Third Raikage immediately decided to learn from Kirigakure.

Unlike Iwagakure and Sunagakure, which lacked funds for reform, Kumogakure was relatively well-off.

As the Raikage of Kumogakure and head of the Yotsuki clan, the Third Raikage's order for this reform was destined to avoid the resistance from numerous ninja clans that Konoha faced.

Therefore, under the command of the Third Raikage, the reforms of Kumogakure were launched in a vigorous manner.

"Many reforms are now on track. The restructuring and training of the Ninja Academy, as well as the construction of the mission point system, are proceeding in an orderly manner. However... recently, people in the clan, especially some elders, have a lot of opinions about you."

After hesitating for a while, Tsuchida finally told the Third Raikage the truth.

The Third Raikage was not surprised that some members of his clan had objections.

After all, this is a way of weakening the power of the Night Moon Clan. It's normal for some people to have opinions. As long as it doesn't affect the reform plan, let them say what they want!

"So, regarding the matter of establishing ninja academies throughout the Land of Lightning, which we discussed with the Daimyo, does the Daimyo have any objections?"

Since the Third Raikage intended to learn from Hozuki Shingetsu's reforms, he would naturally be aware of a major policy previously issued by the Daimyo of the Land of Water—the construction of ninja academies in various villages of the Land of Water.

Of course, his main concern was not how many people the ninja academy could teach to use chakra, thereby increasing food production.

As the leader of the ninja village, he naturally focused on the fact that Kirigakure could obtain a group of exceptionally talented students from various parts of the Land of Water every year.

Since the Third Raikage embarked on the path of vigorously cultivating civilian ninjas, he naturally knew that the essence of this path was to achieve victory through sheer numbers. The key to the success of this policy lay in whether it could select as many geniuses as possible from among the civilians.

If the Hidden Cloud Village could select talented ninjas from the common people of a country, just like the Hidden Mist Village, wouldn't the Hidden Cloud Village, with its size, have enough core strength to fight a tough battle against the Hidden Leaf Village in just a few years?

Facing the expectant gaze of the Third Raikage, Tsuchida couldn't help but look away and whispered the truth.

"What? The daimyo rejected our offer?"

The Third Raikage couldn't understand why the Daimyo would refuse such a policy that would benefit both the country and the ninja village.

"Actually, it's not the daimyo who's refusing, but the nobles within the country..."

After Tsuchikage's detailed explanation, the Third Raikage finally learned the story behind it.

While ninja academies are of great benefit to the country, they are a different story for the nobles.

This ninja academy, commissioned by the daimyo and established by the Hidden Cloud Village, has only one teacher, but it is still a ninja that possesses martial power.

The fact that every village has a ninja academy makes it hard not to speculate whether the daimyo is using these academies to monitor the various nobles.

As a feudal state, the nobles of the Land of Lightning were naturally extremely sensitive to this move. Therefore, under their "reasonable arguments," the daimyo of the Land of Lightning, who had no such idea to begin with, naturally did not insist on this policy.

Hozuki Shingetsu had foreseen this situation, which is why he didn't propose this plan during Mizuki Keita's time by relying on "praise and flattery".

Instead, he chose to carry out this policy only after a palace coup in the Land of Water, using illusion magic to gain control of the Water Capital.

It was precisely because of Mizuto Fu's tough stance and the infamy of massacring the royal family, coupled with the fact that this was Mizuto Fu's first order upon becoming the daimyo, that the nobles of the Land of Water agreed to the proposal. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the "ninja academy to be built in the village".

Moreover, not only the "Ninja Academy" policy, but all of Hozuki Shingetsu's reform policies were based on the actual situation of Kirigakure.

The most important thing is to develop military, political, and economic policies simultaneously; this is the core of the reform in Kirigakure.

However, the Third Raikage neglected the economic and political implications, focusing only on military reforms, which doomed the reforms in Kumogakure to be like a tree without roots or duckweed without water.

In the short term, the Hidden Cloud Village may show signs of prosperity because of this reform, but in the future, the Hidden Cloud Village, with its unstable foundation, will inevitably be devoured by this policy.

(End of this chapter)