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"Don't tell me you all haven't had your fill of the losses from the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars?"
"…"
Well, damn...
That's our Uchiha Kazuki for you—bold enough to say anything!
Everyone was secretly shocked, and instinctively turned their gazes toward the Third Hokage and Homura.
After all, these two had been the central figures of the village during the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. The vast majority of the village's decisions had been made under their leadership.
In other words, the massive losses the Hidden Leaf suffered in those wars were inextricably tied to these two men.
"…"
The Third Hokage's old face darkened.
Homura gave an awkward laugh and lowered his head, saying nothing.
"The village's economy is taking a hit. The lives of the millions of ordinary villagers in a village as large as the Hidden Leaf will also be greatly affected. I'm sure this isn't something any of you want to see, right?"
Under normal circumstances, it might not be a big deal. But during wartime, if the villagers' resentment grew too strong, problems would arise.
The best example was when the Third Hokage was forced to step down and Namikaze Minato was pushed into the Hokage position.
The Third couldn't bear the pressure anymore, so Minato was brought forward as a way to appease the villagers.
Back then, the Hidden Leaf was truly in dire straits—both militarily and economically.
Kazuki tapped his finger on the table and continued, "The losses we suffered in the past—we must guard against them rigorously. We can't let time heal the scars only for us to forget the pain. This batch of minerals is especially crucial for the village. It will drive the operation of numerous jobs, increase the income of many villagers, and in turn stimulate other industries. This way, we won't face the same situation as before, where the outbreak of war caused the economy to grind to a complete halt. Even if the war does reach us, it won't erupt overnight. Before that happens, selling off a portion of our war-preparedness materials won't impact the village's ability to fight. That's all I have to say. If anyone has any thoughts, feel free to speak up now."
Seeing the Third Hokage open his mouth as if to speak but hesitate, Kazuki immediately added, "As for the Hidden Mist Village's opinions—save it. We're both among the Five Great Ninja Villages. Since when does the Mist get to point fingers at the Leaf? If we're being honest, we still haven't settled the score with them for inexplicably declaring war on the village during the Third Great Ninja War! Who we sell to and what we sell is the Hidden Leaf's freedom. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Mist Village."
What we sell is our business. You don't get to butt in, and you don't have the right.
The Hidden Leaf's stance was just that simple.
With one sentence, Kazuki shut the Third Hokage down completely.
The Third had been about to say that selling war materials might provoke a backlash from the Mist Village. Well, now there was no need.
The attitude was rock-solid: what the Hidden Leaf does is none of the Mist Village's business. If they had time to come pick a fight with the Leaf, they'd be better off hurrying up and moving their troops.
The Hidden Sand Village was already fully prepared for war, yet the Mist was still dragging its feet.
Compared to the speed at which other villages mobilized for war, the Mist was indeed dawdling—not because they wanted to, but because their geographical position was simply too inconvenient.
Getting to the Wind Country quickly was impossible.
The Hidden Leaf and Hidden Rock Villages wouldn't allow them to pass through their territories, and routing through the numerous small countries would mean getting choked by the Leaf and Rock anyway.
Left with no choice, the Mist Village had to opt for a naval assault. The speed of sea transportation… well, anyone who understood knew it was agonizingly slow.
And so, despite all the war cries, only a small number of Anbu operatives had infiltrated the Wind Country so far, tangling with the Sand's Anbu.
As for the main forces… it would still take considerable time before they set foot on Wind Country soil.
To put it bluntly, by the time the Mist Village's envoy delegation reached the Hidden Leaf, their main army might not even have landed in the Wind Country yet.
Without steel warships or massive transport vessels, relying solely on the Water Country's wooden warships to move troops and supplies…
You couldn't even catch a hot meal before it went cold.
And to make matters worse, the Hidden Cloud Village had already begun carving out territory on the seas.
That was classic Cloud Village behavior—striking while the iron was hot and the enemy was tied up.
Whether the accusations stuck or not didn't matter; they'd secure the gains first.
In the past, the Mist Village would have retaliated without hesitation. But now, they couldn't spare the attention for the Cloud—their eyes were fixed solely on the Sand.
Kazuki's speech concluded. The Third Hokage and Homura had nothing to say, and some things they didn't dare voice, because speaking up would only draw hatred.
At that moment, the two old men saw it clearly: eight or nine out of ten people in the conference room looked at them with displeasure.
They couldn't even rally a handful of allies—how could they risk saying anything that would offend the room?
Following Kazuki, others gradually voiced their opinions and raised some suggestions, though most were bland and repetitive, circling the same points.
It seemed the meeting was wrapping up.
Just as Tsunade was about to declare it over, Kazuki stood up.
Seeing this, Tsunade instinctively lowered the hand she had raised.
"Right here, I'd like to assign a very important task to the Third Hokage and Elder Homura. I wonder if the two elders are willing to share the village's burdens?"
"What task?"
The Third Hokage was stunned.
He genuinely hadn't expected a task to land on his plate.
Wasn't this guy usually dead set on keeping him confined at home, retired and untouchable?
It couldn't be some offensive or troublesome mission, could it?
Ever since Koharu Utatane's incident, Homura had been worried he'd be next. For years, he'd kept an extremely low profile and avoided contacting the Third Hokage, fearful of drawing Kazuki's attention.
Now, out of the blue, Kazuki was tossing a task their way—and specifically naming the Third to handle it. Homura immediately grew tense.
He feared Kazuki was setting them up with a mission designed to bury them, or worse, one that could cost them their lives.
Once such a task was in hand, unless you completed it flawlessly, the fallout would be immense—you'd dig your own grave.
"Purchasing grain."
Kazuki stated clearly, "Although the Hidden Leaf isn't short on food, we need to stockpile as much as possible now, while grain prices and other daily necessities haven't yet skyrocketed. The Finance Department happens to have a surplus of funds at the moment. I hope the two of you can make a trip to the daimyo and buy as much as you can."
"Why?" The Third Hokage didn't quite understand. "Kazuki, the village isn't lacking in food or daily supplies. If we hoard on a large scale…"
"Even if we're not lacking, we still need to prepare—to guard against sudden price surges."
Kazuki cut the Third Hokage off.