"What do you think of the land of ghosts?"

Shikahisa always maintained a relatively indifferent expression on his face, as if he was not very surprised by the question raised by Tsunade.

Or in his opinion, as the Hokage of a village, there is no reason not to study everything in this country.

Politics, Business, Military, Agriculture, Medical, Industrial Technology, Social Welfare...... Including many more things, it can be said that it is a key point for other countries to study.

"Speaking of which, if I'm not mistaken, in the past, when Hokage-sama didn't return to Konoha, he proposed to the three generations of adults in the form of letters that he could follow the example of the Oni Country to carry out institutional and policy reforms, so as to change Konoha's decline in the world."

Shikajiu thought back to it.

About four or five years ago, Tsunade had written a long letter with an informative investigative report.

The content of that investigation report still makes Lu Jiu remember it vividly, and he is in a cold sweat behind his back.

In that investigation report, from a comprehensive level, the countries of the ninja world, including the country of fire where Konoha was located, were compared with the country of ghosts, which was considered a new star at the time.

The rise of the country of ghosts is not entirely dependent on factors such as chance, but more of an inevitable result.

With the passage of time, sooner or later, the country of demons will become a behemoth entrenched in the heads of the countries of the ninja world.

Sooner or later, the country will usher in a new era that will completely destroy the system of equilibrium maintained by the five great powers in the past.

It's a pity that in the conclusion that Tsunade has reached, if Konoha does not carry out similar reforms, there is a chance that it will fall in that new era.

And now, Tsunade's prediction is gradually coming true, and there is no doubt in the slightest.

"You said that, I did write such an investigation report in the past, but it seems that Mr. Ape Fei didn't take it seriously."

Tsunade's tone suddenly looked a little lost.

Yes, it's not that she just started to want to change Konoha now, but since four or five years ago, she has been using the country of ghosts as a template, through a lot of practical investigations, and writing a long investigation report with Konoha as the core interest, so as to attract the attention of Konoha high-level.

Let them understand that this era is always changing, and the only constant result is to be eliminated.

It's a pity that although the investigation report finally fell into the hands of the three generations of Hokage, it was like a mud cow entering the sea, and there was no news after that.

Hearing Tsunade's words, Shikaku shook his head and said:

"No, Hokage-sama, that wasn't the case at the time. After the three generations got your investigation report, they immediately attracted his attention, but for the sake of Hokage-sama's safety at the time, the three generations did not mention it at the high-level meeting, and even the Elder Danzo did not reveal anything. ”

Because Tsunade's investigation report, and the expected reforms, will touch the interests of many groups within Konoha.

Although it is just a suggestion that cannot be put into practice immediately, as long as Tsunade plants this seed for everyone, those groups that huddle together for warmth will inevitably be resistant to Tsunade.

Even Root may use this to attack Tsunade and completely ruin her political career.

With these factors in mind, the three generations of Hokage hid it all. Except for him, the head of the upper ninja squad, he didn't mention it to anyone.

"Is that so?"

Tsunade fell into thought.

Immediately, I realized that my thoughts at that time were a little lacking in consideration.

If her teacher, Sarutobi, had mentioned this directly at the high-level meeting, she would probably have no chance to be in the position of Hokage today. Even the village will be full of all kinds of rumors against her. In this way, things will undoubtedly go badly.

"Yes, the three generations of adults have always been very cautious and cautious in dealing with the affairs of the Oni Country. Although the three generations of adults at that time could not respond to all the expectations of Hokage-sama, they still began to try to show their influence in some areas with weak influence, and vigorously recruited technical talents to improve Konoha's industrial system. ”

In Shikaku's opinion, this is probably the limit of what the third-generation Hokage can do.

There is a threat from the root inside, the checks and balances of the ninja clan, and a hostile force like the country of ghosts outside, if Tsunade's strategy is implemented at that time, Konoha will explode directly from the inside, and whether it can support Tsunade's return is still a question, and there is a high probability that it will be a miserable end without a corpse.

"Teacher Ape Fei is really in a difficult situation."

After listening to Lu Jiu's narration, Tsunade sighed.

In the past, she was difficult to understand, but now that she is in the position of Hokage, she does have a sense of empathy for some of the 'hesitations' of the teacher in the past.

However, she does not intend to use this excuse to numb herself and make her situation a little more relaxed.

"Although I sometimes dislike some of the actions of the three generations of adults, I have to say that he did use his ability to balance the interests of all parties in the village as much as possible."

In recent years, the only particularly big stain is the handling of the Uchiha incident, which was too weak, resulting in a hole in the roots.

Since then, many ninja have become endangered. Because the high-level broke the bottom line that the ninjas could endure, in order to protect themselves, some of these ninjas began to huddle together for warmth, and some began to infiltrate various departments in the village...... In any case, it is expressing a meaning, that is, the high-level wants to attack them like they did with the Uchiha clan, and they also have to weigh what the result of the action is.

In the face of such life and death, no ninja clan can sit still, even the Hyuga clan, who are usually honest and dutiful, have started their own small actions, and it is conceivable what kind of psychological shadow the Uchiha clan exterminated and gave them.

Compared with the negligence of the Uchiha clan, the rest of the faults of the three generations of Hokage are not worth mentioning at all.

"Is it balanced? That's what Sarutobi-sensei does, but I don't want to continue to implement this strategy during my tenure. Now Konoha needs to be injected with something new. Lujiu, you should understand. ”

Understanding is understanding, but Tsunade does not intend to follow his teacher's balancing strategy, and build on the old foundation, to be a sleek and helpless balancing hand.

"Hokage-sama's ambitions, I can probably see it."

Lu Jiu didn't lie.

When Tsunade returned to the village, the first thing he did when he announced to his high-level advisers that he wanted to strengthen the power of the Shadows and expand the power of the Shadows, he predicted this outcome.

And he also happened to find that in the dark part of the Tsunade organization, most of the new members are innocent and believe in the will of fire, and they happen to be not deeply involved with the ninja forces of the upper ninja or middle ninja.

Although some of these new members are slightly less capable, it is only a matter of time before Tsunade opens up Konoha's ninjutsu vault to them and secretly uses his own private vault to tilt some resources towards them.

Later, with lightning speed, he intervened in the medical department, promoted Asami Masumi, a former student, and installed his followers to mute, infiltrating the middle and low levels of Konoha Hospital...... Today's medical department, at least half of the power, is under Tsunade's control. And the level of penetration into the medical sector is still moving fast.

The dark department, the medical department, the prestige of the people, the old subordinates, the old friends of the thousand-handed family, the legacy of the grandfather...... Even Lu Jiu had to sigh that Tsunade's series of operations seemed to be unintentional, but every move was very calm, and he gave full play to his advantages to the extreme, so fast that the rest of the people couldn't react, so he let himself gather such a huge force.

Well, it's all too coincidental.

This made Shikaku deeply realize that compared to the original water gate, Tsunade's strength was too strong.

And before he became the Hokage, he had his own very perfect plan in advance, and he didn't work with enthusiasm and momentum, and he gave full play to his advantages.

This kind of judgment, action, and decisiveness, even Orochimaru, one of the three shinobi who once ran away from Konoha, may not be better than Tsunade.

Even Tsunade, who has been away from the world over the years, has formed a cause and effect with many businessmen, and these businessmen from all over the world may sometimes be regarded as an invisible force behind Tsunade, becoming a big help to Tsunade.

Such a person with both internal and external influence, once he becomes the Hokage, what will he do next, Lu Jiu does not know.

But he knew that Tsunade was not willing to be lonely and wanted to do something different from the previous Hokage.

At least it is impossible to be a balancer like the three Hokage.

She exists to upset the balance and rebuild the balance she desires.

"I knew that this kind of thing couldn't be hidden from your eyes."

Tsunade looked at Shikaku with appreciative eyes.

"When you have a certain level of information, it's not hard to understand these things. If I'm not mistaken, what you're going to do has something in common with the original second-generation adults. ”

"How so?"

"The direction of the wind has changed recently. I think the reclusive Akimichi Oro has quietly stood on your side. ”

"I kind of understand why Watergate and Ape Fei have more trust in you. You know, there are some things that not every shinobi squad leader can know. ”

After hearing this, Tsunade smiled and sighed, completely impressed by Lu Jiu.

"It's just a coincidence, I've visited Akido in the past, he is a student of the second generation of adults, and I learned a lot about the second generation of adults from him...... It was not so easy to get his support. ”

At least according to Shikahisa's observations, during the tenure of the three generations of Hokage, he never received the support of Akimichi Katsuki.

They may be comrades-in-arms and can tide over difficulties together in the face of danger, but in the decision-making of the village, they have never been comrades-in-arms of a group, and they can even be said to be political enemies.

During the tenure of the second Hokage, the various strategies implemented by the Hokage had only one core purpose, which was to weaken the ninja clan, elevate the commoners, and finally centralize power in the Hokage, controlling all the light and darkness in the village until the bad atmosphere left over from the Sengoku period was completely destroyed.

Even this is an impossible institutional template, and there are now answers to the problem. That's the land of ghosts.

And the answer given is more extreme and centralized than the second Hokage. The second Hokage is only weakened, but the country of ghosts has dug the foundation of the ninja clan, and is also preparing to dig the ancestral graves of the great nobles.

In Shikaku's opinion, even Konoha under the rule of the second Hokage is like a harmless sheep compared to the current Oni Country.

There is one thing that Shikaku has always been very aware of, that is, among all the countries and ninja villages today, there is no one who can surpass the country of Oni in terms of organization and mobilization ability!

"So, are you Nara Shikaku, or are you a Shikaku of the Nara clan?"

At this moment, Tsunade decided to be honest with Shikaku.

Such a shrewd and capable shinobi squad leader, she doesn't want to give up.

Because what she can do is basically done, and if it is not for the support of Shikaku, the leader of the upper ninja squad, her actions will be extremely difficult.

It can even be said that it is struggling.

At present, although her actions are fast, the places she occupies are places where the ninja and advisors and even the roots have not penetrated thoroughly, so she can have the time and space to manipulate and accumulate her own political capital.

But not next, her next policy is likely to touch some sensitive interests, with Lu Jiu's assistance, she can save a lot of trouble and make her pace much easier.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, I don't know the answer to this question."

Lu Jiu said very dryly.

Without waiting for Tsunade to speak, he continued, "I can only give my current decision, but I can't make a decision for my future self. Until the very end, I had no way of knowing which side I would be on. ”

As the leader of the upper shinobi squad, he should be on the side of the Hokage.

But the position of the head of the shinobi squad was won for him by the Nara clan, not by his own ability.

If it was by virtue of ability, he didn't think that at his age, he could get such a high position, and it was an airborne landing without the slightest warning.

Otherwise, just accumulating merits, you will have to go for a long time.

Although he made some beautiful decisions during the Third World War, the impact was quite small, and that bit of merit could not be called far-reaching at all.

Even the long-deceased Uchiha Fugaku, during the three wars, made contributions to Konoha above him.

His surname is Nara, so he is the leader of the Shangnin squad, not because he is Nara Shikaku.

Like Uchiha Fugaku, because his surname is Uchiha, he can't be in the inner circle and can only be excluded from the top. Even the Uchiha clan disappeared from the history of Konoha because of such a surname.

This is the reality.

Therefore, when Tsunade asked him this question, he was unable to give an accurate answer.

Whether he is Nara Shikahisa or Nara Shikaku of the Nara clan, and at the last moment, he doesn't know if he is fighting for the village or for the family.

Only on this point, he didn't want to deceive Tsunade.

In his heart, he also faintly longed for a Hokage like Tsunade to appear.

At least, that's what he fantasized about when he was young - to break free from the shackles of his family, not to carry the reputation of the Nara clan, but to fight as the Konoha ninja Nara Shikaku.

"Really? Sure enough, it's still too hard for you. ”

Tsunade sighed helplessly.

"It's okay, the two Hokages in front of you have also asked me about this kind of thing."

"In that case, then you should be ready, I will win you over."

Seeing that Tsunade had become confident again, Lu Jiu was a little moved by the other party's true temperament, so he revealed some things to Tsunade:

"I know Hokage-sama, maybe with the same ambitions as the second generation-sama, maybe even above this, I had similar fantasies in the past, and I can understand the desire of Hokage-sama's heart...... But I also had to pour cold water on the village and not be too optimistic about the village today. According to my estimate, the envoy of the Daimyo Mansion will soon come to visit you, Hokage-sama. ”

Lu Jiu mentioned something that had nothing to do with the present.

Tsunade was slightly stunned.

"Daimyo's Mansion?"

"Yes, if it is not bad as expected, the daimyo wants to invite you to the daimyo's mansion to discuss military matters with you."

Counseling on the military?

Tsunade's brow furrowed, even more confused.

Generally when it comes to the military, it is basically a transfer with the army...... Even war-related matters.

I don't know why, Tsunade suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.

◎

...... for the construction of mental health departments This is Konoha's first attempt.

Moreover, this project was drawn up by the Hokage himself, and the order of the first level was issued, so you can imagine how busy the medical department will be next.

Konoha's medical department is just a general term, with Konoha Hospital as the core, and then supplemented by several other small departments related to the medical field, covering the medical system to all levels of Konoha.

Theoretically, the vice president of Konoha Hospital is also equivalent to the position of deputy minister of the medical department. In terms of position, it is equivalent to the deputy minister of the dark department.

Under the premise that the director of Konoha Hospital doesn't care about anything, this department is her hall. Qualified to speak directly with the Hokage.

is a high-level cadre who has really become the core of Konoha and has a high position.

As long as she kills the director of Konoha Hospital who is crawling above her, her position can be changed at any time.

However, this does not mean that she can abuse her power at will and behave indiscriminately within the department.

She can only do some small actions of her own within the rules.

Medical Charm Project, Mental Health Project...... These are all areas where there is room to operate.

After all, there will always be a lot of trial and error costs in research before it is possible to research the finished product.

Especially for first-time research projects, the cost of trial and error is even greater, and it is difficult to distinguish between right and wrong research routes.

She's just going to expand the cost of trial and error a little bit now.

As for what strange things will eventually be studied, it is not for her to predict.

But there are also a lot of doorways in this, and there are a lot of professionals in Konoha, and not all of them don't understand their majors, how to deceive these people, and then make them feel that this is the right research direction, and it is also a profound knowledge.

In short, the core goal is to use professional knowledge that looks correct and can withstand theoretical scrutiny to make Konoha spend more money, and then smash a bottomless black hole in the research projects of the medical department, which will drag down the funding of other important departments, affect the development of these departments, and then affect the overall development of Konoha.

"What a tricky job......

Asami Masumi's face looked a little impatient.

"That is to say, we still have to start with relevant talent training, and I don't know when we will see results. After all, the proportion of medical ninjas who study psychology is too small. ”

The deputy beside her said the same.

Asami Masumi nodded sympathetically.

It is necessary to increase the cost of trial and error in medical projects, widen the financial loopholes of Konoha as a whole, and make people not see the problem and take it for granted that it is a failure...... It's a challenging job.

"Anyway, let's gather medical ninjas who specialize in psychological research. As for training...... We'll talk about it when the funds are disbursed. Also, how is the medical charm project progressing now? ”

Asami Masumi remembered something and looked at the deputy.

"There are several core researchers involved in the research, and it seems that there are some problems that have been taken away by the shadows for investigation. There is also one who is always clumsy in simple processes, always gets the order wrong, and seriously suspects that he wants to come over to mix the performance, and he was arranged into the project team through the back door. ”

When the deputy mentioned this, he couldn't help but frown in distress.

For a medical talisman project, the research progress is so difficult, and from time to time it has to face the risk of being targeted by the shadows, assisting in the investigation, which makes many people panic. It is said that during the research, some researchers were discouraged because of these things and wasted a lot of expensive materials, which means that all the research funds during this period were wasted.

Now that there is another training program for mental health personnel of the same scale, it is not difficult for the deputy to imagine that once the project team of this project is established, it is likely to make a lot of trouble.

"In that case, I'll go back to Hokage-sama and discuss increasing funding for the medical department."

Asami Masumi pondered for a while, and decided that after a while, she would go to Tsunade again to ask for research funds.

"The rest of the departments won't have any objections."

The deputy was worried.

The more money you spend on the health sector, the less money you spend on the rest of the sector.

Maybe the staff in the medical department are happy, but in this way, it will inevitably arouse the hostility of the rest of the department and reduce their daily expenses.

When the time comes, the dark department will come to the medical department to arrest people and investigate, and it may be more diligent and frequent.

"This is for the health and safety of the Konoha ninja and the people, and I think they will understand the difficulties of the medical department."

"Thank you so much."

The deputy can imagine how the managers of the rest of the departments will bury and squeeze out Asami Masumi.

Compared to the previous vice president who did nothing, he was too dedicated, and he had the professional ethics of a medical ninja.

Gaining the respect of the deputy, Asami Masumi did not continue.

More than enough is too much.

This deputy is the eyeliner of the rest of the people, and there is no way to develop into his own person, so he can keep such a distance.

Next, there should be almost a move on the side of the Daimyo's Mansion, and what choice will the five generations of Hokage make at that time? And the time I stayed in Konoha ...... Asami Masumi turned her head to look out the window, all kinds of questions came to mind, and her thoughts drifted into the distance, and she didn't come back to her senses for a long time.

◎

Foggy.

March 2, the Daimyo Mansion of the Land of Fire.

On the secret letter, only this short message was left.

The time and place are given separately.

After reading it, Yakura gathered the chakra in his palm with an expressionless face, and wrapped the letter in a stream of water, forming a palm-sized balloon.

With a bang, the paper disappeared into the air with the water ball, turning into moist water vapor.

"Full Moon."

Yakura's voice rang out.

"Huh?"

The ghost lantern full moon, who was replenishing water with a water cup on the side, heard Yakura call his name, and looked at it with a puzzled look.

"The news from the daimyo's side has come, you go and call the underworld, it's almost time to act."

"Hey, why am I running errands again, Ming Mingqing is also here."

Full Moon pointed to the upper ninja on the other side dissatisfied.

"Just let you go, don't talk so much nonsense."

"Cut."

The full moon snorted, took a big sip of water with a straw, and walked out of the office with a reluctant look.

After Full Moon left, Aoi glanced at Yakura, who was sitting in a chair.

"Mizukage-sama, is the Fourth Ninja World War coming?"

Yakura shook his head.

"No, not to that extent, it seems to me to be just an excuse to use in the future...... Well, an excuse to fight back. ”