Chapter 376

The time of revelry always seemed fleeting, and soon, a day had passed.

The five newly appointed leaders, along with their respective teams, departed to take up their posts. Their terms were set for ten years, during which they were tasked with transforming their proposed plans into reality in various parts of the world. They bore the heavy responsibility of reshaping the world.

As for Hui, after setting the direction for the next three-year development plan for Hidden Sage Village, he handed over the responsibilities to Nawaki, Minato, Hiashi Hyuga, and Shikaku Nara head. Hui himself only dealt with major decisions when necessary.

At present, Nawaki had been appointed as the Head of the Public safety department, while Hiashi Hyuga took charge as the Head of the General Affairs Department.

Minato and Shikaku, still young, needed at least two to three more years of cultivation and training before they could shoulder significant responsibilities.

After delegating these tasks to these outstanding young talents, Hui was far from idle. He devoted himself entirely to researching two critical techniques: the spatial teleportation array and the Second World.

And so, time flowed steadily onward.

For the residents of Hidden Sage Village, aside from the village's name change, their daily lives saw little disruption. 

The village's development had always been steady, with meticulous plans laid out in advance. As long as everything followed the established trajectory, nothing would stray off course.

The only noticeable change might be the increasing liveliness. This wasn't just because the dawn of a new era had everyone still brimming with excitement. It was also due to the constant influx of people from all corners of the world into Hidden Sage Village.

Some came to witness the most beautiful place in the world, others sought business opportunities, and yet others arrived for various reasons, ranging from curiosity to commerce to other personal goals. 

The variety was endless.

Of course, among these visitors, there were also those harboring ill intentions, scheming to cause chaos or carry out acts of terrorism.

After all, in a world with so many people, following the backdrop of the annihilation of countless nations and the unification of the world, it was inevitable that some would seek to "restore the old order."

Among these were former nobility whose aristocratic statuses Hui had ordered stripped away, once the ruling class of every nation in the previous era.

Having lost everything, most of these individuals had descended into madness. However, they were too weak to stir up any real trouble in Konoha. Their only "contribution" to the world was serving as subjects for advancements in human scientific research.

Such attacks had already caught Nawaki's attention, along with the other leaders.

In Hui's office, the four young leaders entrusted with major responsibilities were seated, waiting as Hui reviewed the documents they had submitted. 

Hui, understanding the purpose of their collective visit, began to address the issue.

Though the world had been unified, it wasn't truly united.

The last war had been a clash between every nation, every village, and a large number of rogue shinobi and bounty hunters against Hidden Sage Village. While defeating them might have symbolized unifying the world, the reality was more complex.

This world wasn't solely composed of those forces or people. 

There were still shinobi clans, rogue ninjas who hadn't participated in the last war, and countless individuals unaffiliated with any nation or faction, true independents.

While these individuals hadn't explicitly opposed the unification of the world, they also hadn't pledged allegiance to it. To them, no matter how the world changed, they represented only themselves and no one else.

Additionally, there were those who outwardly accepted the unification but secretly worked to undermine it. Such elements remained societal instabilities.

The four leaders had come together to discuss this issue with Hui.

After reading the documents, Hui had already formulated a strategy. However, instead of sharing his thoughts immediately, he asked, "What are your opinions?"

Hearing this, the four exchanged glances before Nawaki spoke first.

"I think we should establish a special task force to deal specifically with these destabilizing elements, either through capture or targeted management."

Hui nodded at Nawaki's suggestion and turned his gaze to Hiashi.

At 21 years old, Hiashi was still relatively young. His appointment as Head of the General Affairs Department was somewhat ambitious. 

However, Hiashi had a unique advantage, he never acted solely on his own.

As the future head of the Hyuga clan, he had the entire clan as his backing. His decisions were often products of a collective effort from a well-established support system.

Hui didn't mind such an arrangement in the slightest.

Hiashi's abilities, while not extraordinary, were solid. With just a bit of guidance and training, he truly had the potential to become an exceptional talent. Whether or not he had a strong support network behind him didn't matter as long as he himself was competent.

"I think we can provide these individuals with an official status, granting them a sense of belonging. This way, their designated areas can manage them accordingly," Hiashi suggested.

Hearing this, Hui nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to Minato and Shikaku. The two also voiced their opinions, which were largely similar to those of Nawaki and Hiashi.

After listening to all four, Hui finally spoke. "Your ideas are good, but they're not thorough. You've restricted your thinking to the individuals in question, rather than broadening your perspective.

"If we're going to do this, let's make it a major initiative, a worldwide population census!"

Hui's words left the four intrigued. Over the years, every time Hui introduced a new term, it heralded a significant development, one that often reshaped the world.

"A population census," Hui began to explain, "is a large-scale effort organized and conducted by the government. It involves setting unified timelines, methods, survey forms, and projects. Then, in strict accordance with these directives, we will systematically investigate and register every person in every household across the nation.

"Since there are still forces, clans, and individuals in this world whose details we do not fully grasp, this census will aim to thoroughly document the entire population, total numbers, gender composition, age distributions, and more.

"During the census, any individual or group refusing to cooperate will be treated as rebels and dealt with accordingly.

"Once we've gathered this data, we can categorize and assign ninja clans to specific regions or villages, establishing their roles within those areas. As for the wandering rogue ninja and samurai scattered throughout the world, we will conduct tracking and registration, keeping a close eye on their movements.

"Furthermore, a specialized department will be established to handle these matters."

Hui's explanation caused the eyes of the four young leaders to light up with understanding.

Compared to simply managing rogue elements, a population census was clearly a much larger and more significant undertaking. They quickly realized that Hui's true aim was to use this census as a means to achieve the most thorough and complete unification of the world.

"All matters related to this initiative…" Hui continued, "…will be entrusted to Minato. Planning the investigation, selecting personnel, handling issues encountered during the process, compiling statistics afterward, the entire population census project will be your responsibility.

"Other departments will provide their full support. Additionally, you should collaborate closely with the five regional leaders. This initiative will greatly benefit them as well."

In the end, Hui assigned the monumental task to Minato.

At just eighteen years old, Minato was still relatively inexperienced. A population census was an exceedingly complex task, but it was the perfect opportunity to challenge him and expedite his growth.

Hui wasn't just cultivating the next Second Sage of Hidden Sage Village; he was also preparing the second generation of five regional leaders. 

Hui had high hopes for Minato, as well as Nawaki, Hiashi, Shikaku, and several other young talents.

However, what Hui anticipated most was the potential of Kakashi's generation.

This generation had been born and raised entirely under Hui's influence, growing up in an era shaped by his reforms and ideals. 

Their education and upbringing set them apart from any previous generation, making them destined to become truly extraordinary.

That said, Kakashi's generation was still only seven or eight years old. It would take at least another twenty years for them to fully mature. Hui could afford to wait.

After delegating the population census to Minato, Hui returned to his work.

Those two techniques, the spatial teleportation array and the Second World, continued to vex him throughout.

join my patreon for 150+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/HyppoTL