Chapter 155: Commander of the Fire Army Stationed Abroad
Chapter 155: Commander of the Fire Army Stationed Abroad
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"What do we do after that?" Black Zetsu asked.
"Keep a close eye on the dynamics here. Just notify me of any actions they take," Uchiha Douhuan finished speaking and directly dispelled the clone on the spot.
Two weeks later, Miura Kazuo and Fugaku, representing the Land of Fire and Konoha on a diplomatic mission to the Land of Rice Paddies and the Land of Hot Water, also returned. On the Land of Rice Paddies side, Otogakure, established by Orochimaru, under Uchiha Douhuan's instruction, readily signed the alliance treaty. The Land of Hot Water, having no ninja village, saw their Daimyo also sign his name on the treaty after a round of persuasion from Miura Kazuo.
After they returned, Uchiha Douhuan summoned Inuzuka Tsume and Aburame Shibi.
Ever since Uchiha Douhuan took office, their two clans had completely replaced the former positions of the Utatane and Mitokado clans within the village. Just the inheritance left behind by these two clans was enough to fill their bellies.
And after the Land of Fire relocated its capital to Konoha, the Aburame clan, finding their original clan lands too noisy for bug cultivation due to the large influx of people from the Land of Fire, proactively proposed relocating to a more remote place. Uchiha Douhuan naturally did not treat them unfairly; demolition compensation was issued according to the highest standards. Furthermore, around their new clan lands, Uchiha Douhuan also specially designated a piece of land for them under the name of a nature reserve, to assist them in the research and development of new insect species.
As for the Inuzuka clan, with the large influx of Land of Fire nobles into Konoha, their clan truly struck it rich.
As everyone knew, the pets of Konoha's nobles had always been an important source of D-rank missions for the village's Genin. After these nobles entered Konoha, a little inquiry revealed that Konoha's Inuzuka clan was very skilled in raising dogs. And under Uchiha Douhuan's guidance, the Inuzuka clan, while continuing to breed ninja hounds, also began to vigorously cultivate some puppies with insufficient aptitude to become ninja hounds towards becoming pet dogs. They also opened a pet boarding business in the village, allowing the old, young, women, and children within their clan who lacked ninja talent to earn money.
Furthermore, Inuzuka Tsume also actively responded to Uchiha Douhuan's factory construction policy, investing in a dog food factory on the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire. Because the formula was improved from the diet used to cultivate ninja hounds, its quality far surpassed similar products on the market. Moreover, due to the Inuzuka clan's reputation, everyone greatly trusted the quality of the dog food they produced. Thus, they easily captured almost the entire dog food market in the Land of Fire, making a hefty profit.
For their two families to have achieved what they had today, Inuzuka Tsume and Aburame Shibi were naturally extremely grateful to Uchiha Douhuan in their hearts. So when Uchiha Douhuan summoned them this time, they could be said to have immediately dropped everything and rushed to the Hokage's office at the first opportunity.
Uchiha Douhuan brewed tea for his guests as usual, then said with a pleasant chuckle, "I was away from the village for some time previously. The two advisors must have worked very hard assisting Kakashi with official duties. I haven't had the chance to thank you both yet."
"Lord Hokage, what are you saying? This is what we should do," Inuzuka Tsume replied.
"Lord Hokage, summoning the two of us today, is there something you need to instruct us on?" Aburame Shibi asked.
"Your positions, do you want to rise further?" Uchiha Douhuan asked with a smile.
Hearing this, Inuzuka Tsume and Aburame Shibi were instantly stunned. They were already Hokage Advisors; how could they rise further? Could it be that Big Brother didn't want to be Hokage anymore?
"Hehe, you two should also know that Elder Fugaku recently went on a diplomatic mission with our Land of Fire's Minister of the Left to the Land of Rice Paddies and the Land of Hot Water," Uchiha Douhuan chuckled. "We signed an alliance agreement with those two countries. According to the content of the agreement, our Konoha will garrison troops in these two countries in the direction facing the Land of Lightning, helping them defend their territory."
"And these two garrisons, I plan to entrust to you two to command," Uchiha Douhuan stated.
"Us?" Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume heard what Uchiha Douhuan said, exchanged a glance, then spoke with some astonishment.
"Correct," Uchiha Douhuan nodded. "I will assign each of you a ninja force of about 800 from within the village. Adding the current garrisons stationed on our borders with those two countries, each of you will probably be able to command a ninja army of about 2000," Uchiha Douhuan explained. "At the garrison's station, you will be equivalent to the Hokage of that army. During peacetime, you can decide all matters with a single word."
Hearing this, both showed expressions of shock. Uchiha Douhuan was directly entrusting them with a ninja army of 2000 men just like that? One must know, even some leaders of small ninja villages didn't have 2000 ninjas under their command. The number of ninjas they were taking out was nearly thirty percent of the village's current active ninja force.
"But, if we take away so many ninjas, will the village's financial pressure be too great?" Aburame Shibi asked at this point. Generally speaking, ninjas in the village, apart from those enlisted in the Security Department and Anbu, usually earned their wages from missions. Border defense ninjas, however, were paid by the village. If each of them now took 800 men, these individuals, if they were in the village, could complete missions and earn money for the village. But once taken away by them, the village would have to pay their wages. This back-and-forth financial pressure was not insignificant.
"Rest assured, we don't need to pay a single cent for these military expenses," Uchiha Douhuan chuckled. "Don't forget, we are helping others defend their borders; these military expenses will naturally be covered by them."
"I see. This way, sending troops not only won't increase the village's financial pressure, but on the contrary, the military expense pressure of the two forces currently stationed on the border can be greatly reduced," Aburame Shibi said. "But, what about the village's missions? With so many ninjas leaving at once, will the village be short-handed for missions?"
"Don't worry about that. The Ninja Academy is about to reach its graduation season, and the number of Genin will increase by another batch. Besides, recently, I also plan to gradually reduce the village's mission volume," Uchiha Douhuan said.
"Reduce mission volume?" Hearing this, the two looked even more puzzled.
One must know, during the previous three Great Ninja Wars, the various ninja villages practically bashed each other's brains out, all for that bit of mission volume. Yet Uchiha Douhuan now said he wanted to proactively reduce the mission volume. Wasn't this proactively reducing the village's income?
"Yes," Uchiha Douhuan said. "Given the current state of the ninja world, the mercenary model of ninjas doing work for money is already unable to keep up with the current development of the ninja world. Therefore, before long, I plan to reform the current ninja system. And reducing the current mission quota is the first step."
Although Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume didn't understand Uchiha Douhuan's meaning, they still nodded. After all, up to now, Uchiha Douhuan hadn't made a wrong decision and had already brought their two clans to their current state. And now that Uchiha Douhuan already had a concrete plan, they only needed to follow his intentions.
...
Another two weeks passed. Aburame Shibi and Inuzuka Tsume, after being formally appointed by the Hokage as Commanders of the Land of Fire Ninja Forces stationed in the Land of Rice Paddies and the Land of Hot Water respectively, led the ninjas from the village and departed for their respective garrison locations.
Upon their arrival, they were warmly welcomed by the Daimyos of both countries. For the Daimyos of these two nations, being able to hire Konoha's 'Sky Soldiers' to protect them by spending a little money was far more cost-effective than spending their own money and effort to develop a ninja village. Anyway, their countries couldn't cultivate any decent ninjas. Wouldn't the money for building a ninja village be better spent on food, drink, and entertainment? Furthermore, the commercial cooperation between the two countries stipulated in the treaty would also allow them to earn tangible money. And for all this, they only needed to pay a little military expense. This was too good a deal.
As for the neighboring Land of Lightning, when A of Kumogakure learned of this matter, he was furious. Although he had never regarded these two countries that signed an alliance with Konoha highly, and between their Land of Lightning and the Land of Rice Paddies and Land of Hot Water, there was still the Land of Frost, Konoha's actions were no different from directly stationing troops on their Land of Lightning's border. After all, the Land of Frost, having no ninja village, had always hired their Kumogakure ninjas. In A's eyes, the Land of Frost was no different from his own territory.
Thus, A also planned to follow suit, intending to transfer their Land of Lightning's border troops to garrison the Land of Frost's border, confronting Konoha's forces head-on.
However, his secretary Shee dissuaded him at the critical moment.
"Lord Raikage, I do not advise transferring our ninja forces to the Land of Frost," Shee said during Kumogakure's high-level meeting after hearing the Raikage's plan.
"Why?" A asked, his face grim.
"Because we are not yet prepared for a direct war with Konoha," Shee replied. "These years, although the village's strength has been steadily developing, if it's just our nation alone, we don't have the confidence to defeat Konoha in a short time. And once the war becomes a protracted one, with the Land of Fire's abundant resources, they can easily drag us down."
"Unless, like in the previous Great Ninja Wars, we launch an attack on Konoha simultaneously with the Land of Earth and the Land of Water," Shee analyzed. "But now Kirigakure can barely fend for itself. As for Iwagakure, based on my understanding of this Tsuchikage, if we go to war with Konoha, he will only sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, then reap the fisherman's profit."
Hearing this, A could only grit his teeth, slam the table, and abandon the plan to also garrison troops in the Land of Frost. He was reckless, but not stupid. Shee was right. If they started a war with Konoha now, perhaps they could gain an advantage in the short term, but completely annihilating Konoha's effective strength in a short time was absolutely impossible. Once the war became a protracted one, Konoha's resources could sustain it, but their Land of Lightning, this barren place, absolutely couldn't fight a war of attrition.
(End of Chapter)
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