Grinding her hands together, she crushed the shattered carving to dust. Tsunade shook her head.
"I think, compared to us who are alive, the ninjas who died in battle are the true heroes."
"Only they deserve the village's cheers."
"It's as if we're stepping on their corpses, seizing the honor that should be theirs, and enjoying praise that doesn't belong to us…"
Li Anshi gave Tsunade a deep look.
The great filial son, Itachi Uchiha, after being taken to the battlefield by his father at the age of four, began to contemplate the relationship between his clan and the village.
And Tsunade, who went to the battlefield at six, was already pondering the karma between the dead and the living at seven.
One could only say that, limited by their perspective, the thoughts of ninjas were often too one-sided, even extreme in some respects.
But it had to be admitted, the geniuses of the ninja world truly could not be judged by common sense.
Based on what they saw and heard, they distilled their own thoughts about the world, possessing their own independent "views."
These were questions many ninjas had never even considered.
"Tsunade, your view isn't necessarily wrong."
"But, it can't be said to be right either."
Continuing to pick up and grind the wooden carvings, Li Anshi said to her, "It's true that the ninjas who sacrificed themselves on the battlefield are heroes, but you can't deny that the ninjas who survived are also heroes."
"In fact, compared to those who have already died, the contributions of the surviving ninjas are even greater."
"Because they defeated the enemy, allowing Konoha to win the war, which gives more meaning to the sacrifices of the ninjas who died before."
"Think about it carefully. If our Konoha hadn't defeated the other three ninja villages and had become the loser in the war, what meaning would there be in sacrificing so many ninjas?"
"This…"
At Li Anshi's words, Tsunade was rendered speechless.
That's right. For those who had already sacrificed themselves, the victory of the living endowed their deaths with a deeper meaning.
The deaths of the defeated would only become a laughingstock in the ninja world.
Take the Cloud ninjas, for example.
To assassinate Li Anshi, they had mobilized over three thousand ninjas, but in the end, their assassination failed.
As a result, the seven hundred or so ninjas killed by Li Anshi could never be engraved on the memorial stone as village "heroes."
Even in the village records, their cause of death would only be listed as "died in a failed mission."
Unless the Cloud Village succeeded in assassinating Li Anshi in the future, washing away the shame of the previous failure, only then would the reputations of these fallen ninjas be restored, allowing them to become "heroes" of the Cloud Village.
"Of course, it's undeniable that it's precisely because of the sacrifices of these ninjas that Konoha was able to achieve victory in the battles against the other ninja villages."
"So, Konoha must not treat these ninjas who sacrificed themselves for the village unfairly."
"Anyone who dares to touch their pensions will die!"
"Villagers who bully the wives and children of heroes must be severely punished. Only then can their souls rest in peace in the Pure Land."
"I understand!"
Tsunade abruptly stood up and was about to walk out.
"Hey, hey, hey, Tsunade, what do you understand? Why are you leaving all of a sudden?"
Seeing her reaction, Li Anshi quickly called out to her and asked.
"Huh?"
Tsunade turned her head and looked at Li Anshi strangely. "Anshi, aren't you telling me all this because you want me to say it to Master Hiruzen?"
"Do you think you need to be the one to say it?"
Li Anshi smiled faintly. "How could the Third Hokage agree to something that determines the fundamental policies of the village just because of a few words from you?"
"This is a decision that must be made through a meeting, voted on by the village's Jonin before it can be implemented."
"I told you this just to make you feel better."
"Although you, Tsunade, are the granddaughter of the First Hokage, the princess of Konoha."
"But your current status is still just a Genin."
"I will bring these proposals to the Third Hokage during the Jonin meeting."
"As for you, you should first focus on improving your own strength."
"If you want to contribute to the village, you must at least have the strength and status of a Jonin to gain the respect of the other ninjas in the village."
"Otherwise, even if what you say is very reasonable, others will only treat it as the words of a child."
Tsunade's brow furrowed, but she had to admit that what Li Anshi said made a lot of sense.
With a cold snort, she returned to the shop, grabbed a wooden carving, and once again set about destroying it.
With Li Anshi's help, the hundred-plus wooden carvings were crushed into a pile of wood chips by the two of them in less than three minutes.
After gathering all the wood chips into a trash bag, Li Anshi and Tsunade walked towards the Hokage's building.
Tsunade was going home.
Having been away for over a year, her younger brother, Nawaki Senju, seemed a bit distant. She decided that today, she would deepen his memory of her, so he would never forget her again.
As for Li Anshi, he was going to the Hokage's building to post a mission.
He used to be poor, so he could only go into the forest himself to find suitable wood for carving.
Now, not only was he a Jonin, but he was a Jonin who had retired as a "battlefield commander," with mission rewards approaching ten million Ryo.
With money, how could Li Anshi still go into the woods himself?
Wasn't it better to spend a few thousand Ryo to post a D-rank mission and let those Genin go into the woods?
This would increase the village's GDP and give the Genin more opportunities to train. What was not to like?
"By the way, Anshi, you still haven't answered my question. The reward from one of your missions is more than a year's income from your carving shop. Why do you still want to run it?"
On the way, Tsunade suddenly remembered the question she wanted to ask him.
Previously, Li Anshi ran the shop because he hadn't become a ninja and had no other source of income, forcing him to do other work.
But now, he was a Jonin of the village. His financial situation had greatly improved, and he no longer lacked the small amount of money from running the shop.
Under these circumstances, why did he still insist on running such a small carving shop?
Hearing Tsunade's question, Li Anshi glanced at her.
"Tsunade, are you sure you want to know the answer to this question?"
"Yes."
"I'm a little curious."
Li Anshi pondered for a moment, then finally shook his head.
"Sorry, Tsunade."
"I think the most important thing for you right now is to train and improve your strength."
"The answer to your question… when you become a Jonin, if you still want to know, I will tell you then."
"For now, I'm afraid I can only tell you the most superficial part…"
"And that is…"
"My strength has reached a bottleneck. Hard training is of little use to me, so what I am currently undergoing is a cultivation of the mind."
"I like carving, and I hope that what I carve can be liked by everyone. It's as simple as that."
…
"Hiruzen, after these few years of war, Konoha's ninja losses have not been small."
"Especially the Anbu ninjas. Not even one in ten remains."
In the Hokage's office, Danzo Shimura, wrapped in white bandages, said to Hiruzen Sarutobi in a deep voice, "I believe you have also discovered, Hiruzen, that the role Anbu ninjas can play in war is much greater than that of ordinary ninjas."
"Although Konoha is at peace now, we cannot let our guard down. The recruitment of Anbu ninjas is imperative."
Anbu, the abbreviated name for the Assassination and Tactical Special Unit, was a force established by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Its members were at least Elite Chunin in strength, making it the strongest ninja unit in the village.
Unlike ordinary ninjas who completed missions issued by daimyo, nobles, merchants, and villagers, Anbu ninjas undertook missions related to combat, such as protecting the Hokage, preventing foreign enemies, gathering intelligence, and carrying out infiltration and assassinations.
In the first year after the passing of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, it was because of the existence of many Anbu ninjas that Konoha was able to gather a great deal of intelligence, hold out against the attacks of three ninja villages, and ultimately emerge victorious.
However, to obtain this intelligence, the Anbu ninjas had sacrificed greatly.
When the Second Hokage was in power, there were seventy Anbu ninjas in total.
Now, fewer than twenty remained.
"Replenish the Anbu?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, agreeing with Danzo Shimura's proposal.
The Anbu was a powerful ninja unit directly under the command of the Hokage.
Back then, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and the others had all served as Anbu squad leaders under the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had even served as the Anbu's commander-in-chief.
Compared to the ninjas of the clans, the Anbu was the force the Hokage trusted most.
"Let me see."
"Organize the remaining Anbu into one team. This time, the Anbu needs to be supplemented with three new squads…"
A squad had a captain, a vice-captain, and four teams under its command, with three members per team, making a full complement of seventeen.
In other words, this time, the Anbu needed to recruit fifty-one people.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took out the ninja roster from the side of his desk and pulled out the files of several ninjas.
These were the ninjas he was preparing to recruit into the Anbu.
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi like this, Danzo Shimura was displeased.
He had thought that after he mentioned it, Hiruzen Sarutobi would appoint him as the new Anbu commander-in-chief and entrust him with the task of recruiting Anbu ninjas.
This way, Danzo Shimura could cultivate his own forces within the Anbu.
Although his hesitation at the time had cost him the chance to become the Third Hokage, Danzo Shimura had not given up on his dream of becoming the Fourth Hokage.
As long as he became the Anbu commander-in-chief, when Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped down in the future, the position of Fourth Hokage would be his for the taking.