I became Hokage in Tokyo

Chapters 38 and 039: Military Exercises

Yamanashi Prefecture is located west of Tokyo and is a typical inland prefecture with nearly 80% forest coverage. The world-famous Mount Fuji is located in the southern part of the prefecture.

Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures are so fiercely opposed to each other in their struggle for ownership of Mount Fuji that they practically want to tear each other apart.

Mount Fuji, which is one of Japan's national symbols, is home to several Ground Self-Defense Force units stationed in Yamanashi Prefecture to the north and Shizuoka Prefecture to the east. In addition, there are even U.S. military bases there.

Looking at the information he found online, Naruto Uchiha also felt that something was slightly off.

It's only April now, and the Ground Self-Defense Force's exercises are mostly held in the summer and autumn. Moreover, the military exercises on the side of Mount Fuji are mostly in Shizuoka Prefecture rather than Yamanashi Prefecture.

The "Fuji Combined Firepower Exercise," held annually at the Higashi-Fuji Training Area in Shizuoka Prefecture at the foot of Mount Fuji since 1961, is Japan's largest live-fire military exercise.

Most importantly, Naruto Uchiha covered his left eye, and beneath his palm, his Sharingan had been activated.

The crows he sent to monitor the Metropolitan Police Department recently reported that they had discovered unusual troop movements within the department.

One after another, large Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department bomb disposal vehicles drove out of the headquarters, merged with a convoy along the way, and headed east. They have now left Tokyo and entered Yamanashi Prefecture.

"interesting."

Naruto Uchiha muttered to himself, using his mind to control the summoning crow to continue following the Metropolitan Police Department's police car, transmitting the footage it saw to him in real time.

Just then, a voice came from the activity room:

"Uchiha, you may come in."

Upon entering the classroom, I saw that Tanaka Hikaru seemed to have suffered some kind of major mental blow. He was kneeling on the ground with his hands supporting him. Although I couldn't see his face, his expression must have been terrible.

"You failed the interview, Tanaka-kun."

"Uchiha, I'm sorry..."

Tanaka Hikaru raised his ashen face, spoke in a tearful tone, and then darted out through the gap in the opened door.

"What did you say to Tanaka Hikaru? Why does he look like he's in agony?" Uchiha Naruto asked absentmindedly, his attention now focused entirely on the crows following behind the Metropolitan Police Department's convoy.

"I'm just telling the truth."

Matsudaira Chiyo raised her beautiful face, carefully examined Uchiha Naruto for a few moments, and then revealed a bright smile:

"Uchiha, your first day at work must have been tough. How's business at Takasaki Izakaya?"

"It's not very good. Even at its busiest, it was only barely half full."

Naruto Uchiha's masterful swordsmanship did indeed cause a small sensation among the izakaya's customers. Some customers immediately requested sashimi, but the izakaya was out of stock and had to leave disappointed.

Upon hearing this, Matsudaira Chiyo's smile faded, and she frowned thoughtfully.

"Are traditional izakayas like Takasaki Izakaya really not good enough?"

Japan's izakaya (Japanese pub) industry has long been saturated. With the slowdown in economic growth, the overall market has begun to shrink, from a peak of 1.23 trillion yen in the 90s to 1.0 trillion yen in 19.

Across the country, not only are there traditional family-run izakayas, but also a number of catering groups have entered the market. The top four companies in the izakaya industry account for 28.8% of the market share.

Faced with competition from large izakaya chains with advanced business philosophies, standardized operations, and their own upstream and downstream supply chains, which result in lower costs, traditional family-run izakayas are also struggling.

Traditional izakayas cannot survive well on so-called human touch and a lively atmosphere alone.

The Takasaki family's izakaya originally relied on the sashimi of the owner, Takasaki, as its main selling point. After the owner fell ill, he lost one of his most important arms, and the Takasaki sisters alone were indeed not enough.

Matsudaira Chiyo scribbled in a blank notebook, seemingly determined to change the business philosophy of Takasaki Izakaya, adapt to the times, redesign the menu, and then introduce suppliers through her own channels to reduce costs.

"Uchiha, if there's nothing else, you can go back to the classroom first. Don't forget to report to the club on Friday."

Matsudaira Chiyo waved her hand without looking up, about to send Uchiha Naruto away.

"OK!"

Naruto Uchiha waved his hand and walked out of the activity room, leaving Chiyo Matsudaira behind, who continued to bite the tip of her pen, frowning and deep in thought.

After lunch break, back in the classroom, Uchiha Naruto's mind was no longer on the lesson.

He propped his forehead up with one hand, half of his face covered by his palm. Beneath his closed eyelids, his Sharingan vision had already connected with the psychic crow a thousand miles away.

…………

Yamanashi Prefecture, in the Okuchichibu Mountains in the northeastern part of the prefecture.

Before the lush mountains, rows of armored vehicles and wheeled combat vehicles stood ready, poised for battle.

"Oh, oh, oh, it's finally here!"

As a heavy truck, escorted by Metropolitan Police Department riot police cars, appeared at the end of the road, a slightly overweight officer with a protruding belly, dressed in Self-Defense Force uniform, lowered his binoculars.

After being checked by heavily armed Self-Defense Force personnel, the cordon was broken, and the Metropolitan Police Department's convoy slowly pulled up to the side of the road. A dark-skinned, stern-faced middle-aged man got out of the first police car and walked up to the officer.

"I am Section Chief Mori from the Fifth Division of the Public Security Bureau, and I am in charge of escorting this target."

"Yes, I am the commander of this military exercise, Muto Masafusa."

After being emasculated by its American "daddy," the Self-Defense Forces are no longer officially a military force, but this does not mean that the military rank system has been abolished. Although the Self-Defense Forces are all civil servants, they still have their own set of ranks. The general rank in the Self-Defense Forces is equivalent to the major general rank in other countries.

After a few brief pleasantries, Muto Masahiro, whose round cheeks gave him a rather auspicious appearance, turned his curious gaze to the heavy-duty truck.

"Is this the main focus of this military exercise?"

The heavily loaded truck slowly drove towards the designated open space, with its side facing the forests of the Okuchichibu Mountains. Thickened, specially made steel panels were lowered.

Inside the steel bars of the truck, a huge, red-haired bear-like monster lay listlessly.

Although this monster looks like a bear, no bear species has a tail that is two meters long and covered with bone spurs.

"No matter how many times I see a monster, it's always shocking! Is it really necessary to use such a valuable live specimen as the target of an exercise?"

Muto looked at the red-haired bear monster with great interest for a few moments and asked.

"Now is the time to demonstrate the Self-Defense Forces' military strength. The purpose of this exercise is to stabilize morale and deter troublemakers. Anyway, this Type A doesn't have any special abilities. After undergoing multiple live experiments, it's almost broken. The higher-ups decided to make use of it," Section Chief Mori said casually.

The exercise was also conducted in Yamanashi Prefecture because it is close to Tokyo. In the event of an accident in Tokyo, the Self-Defense Forces can deploy armed forces to the city immediately.

The red-haired bear monster had many areas where its fur had been shaved off, revealing pale skin, and there were also many stitches.

"Please step back a few paces, Muto Masamune. I'm about to open the cage. The anesthetic I gave this Type A is almost worn off."

Muto and Section Chief Mori retreated behind the armored vehicle, the armored vehicle's guns were aimed at the truck, and the Self-Defense Force members, armed with bullets, stood guard.

Pressing the button, the iron cage door slowly opened. The listless red-haired bear looked at the forest outside, let out a few heavy breaths of excitement, and tentatively reached its paw out of the iron cage. Finding that it was not being electrocuted as before, the red-haired bear rushed off the truck in one go.

Looking back at the Self-Defense Force's tanks and members, the red-haired bear monster's only remaining eye revealed a deep-seated hatred, but even more so, fear!

Without much hesitation, the red-haired bear monster rushed into the Ochichibu Mountains and disappeared in no time.

(End of this chapter)