"Grandpa... were you a ninja before?"
The group leader probed Madara with the question. An old man his age could not possibly have that kind of efficiency, unless he was one of those ninja with chakra.
"Mm."
Madara enjoyed everyone's gazes and admitted it lightly.
"No wonder."
The group leader nodded. Then it was not strange. Not strange at all.
In an instant, the joy on the faces of the workers in Madara's group was obvious. A powerhouse had suddenly dropped into their group to carry their performance. Their wages this month were definitely going to rise.
Workers in groups rated excellent even had different meals from ordinary workers.
They could eat meat!
"Grandpa, do I still have a chance to transfer into your group?"
"Me too, me too. I work fast. I won't hold you back, Grandpa!"
"Get lost, all of you. The groups are already assigned. Grandpa, ignore them. Let's go! To celebrate Grandpa's first day at work, we'll pool some money and buy wine and meat!"
Everyone wanted to hug a strong thigh. Madara, this newly recruited factory workhorse, had produced results that everyone had seen with their own eyes. He had forcibly raised a group that only had a passing rating to an excellent rating.
That was money!
"Then let's go."
The corner of Madara's mouth curved slightly. As expected, no matter what field he was in, he was a strong one!
Madara was thriving in the factory. In the corner, Black Zetsu watched with clenched teeth. If it had not poured so much effort into Madara, Black Zetsu would already want to abandon this lunatic.
Madara, you betrayed the Leaf you helped create, fought Hashirama to the death, endured countless hardships to obtain Hashirama cells, stole Asura's chakra, and spent ten years trying to awaken the Rinnegan.
After doing so much, you returned to the Leaf and ran to a place like this to sell your labor so cheaply?
Had Madara really gone insane?
Black Zetsu did not understand, but it was greatly shocked.
Perhaps it really needed to choose a new executor for the Eye of the Moon.
Black Zetsu was deeply conflicted. This main account felt like it had been ruined. It had to find a way to raise a smaller backup account.
But when exactly had this main account been ruined?
The days passed little by little.
Every day, Haru slacked off at work, regularly found time to guide Jiraiya's Summoning Technique training, sent a clone to spar with Orochimaru, and his main body sparred with Tsunade.
In between, he also found time to send off the Sand Village envoy led by Chiyo, that charming widow, as they left the Leaf.
Over these days, Chiyo and Shikato had already finished discussing the alliance agreement between the Sand Village and the Leaf. Continuing to linger in the Leaf was ultimately inappropriate.
The Leaf only had a good environment, where one could see blue skies, white clouds, and green trees. They could also eat delicacies they had never tasted in the Sand Village, and clean water was available without limit twenty-four hours a day.
Other than that, what else did the Leaf have?
There was nothing worth the Sand Village envoy's nostalgia. Truly, they were not envious at all.
"I hope that one day, the Sand Village can be as prosperous as the Leaf."
Chiyo looked at the Leaf's bustling scenery and made this wish in her heart. Although she felt countless reluctances, the Sand Village was their home. No matter how good this place was, it had nothing to do with them.
"Hokage, these articles..."
"Human Rights Report on the Bloodline Clans of the Mist Village"
"Kill That Kaguya Clansman"
"Twenty Years a Slave"
"Those Things About Mizuto's First Love!"
"Why Does Mizuto Hate Bloodline Clans?"
"..."
Shikato looked at the magazines and newspapers Haru had handed him, and sweat appeared on his forehead.
The internal tearing of the Mist Village, the discord between the Mizukage and the Mist Village's bloodline clans, intelligence like this was basically being sent continuously from the Mist Village every day.
Now Haru had actually written articles like this. Wasn't this putting the Third Mizukage over a fire and roasting him?
"What's the big deal? I'm just truthfully writing out everything Mizuto has done to the bloodline clans."
Haru did not care. To speed up his strength improvement, Haru was trying to do even the tasks that gave ordinary draw counts. The Bloodline Godfather task gave sixty draws at once, so he had to hurry and complete it.
He had to continue stirring up the conflict between the bloodline clans and Mizuto.
Mizuto definitely had some skill. A civilian-born ninja being able to suppress bloodline clans and become Mizukage was proof of that. Mizuto before becoming Mizukage had been at his weakest. Now that Mizuto had already become Mizukage, Haru did not think the Mist Village's bloodline clans could overthrow his rule.
When the two sides fought, the Leaf could take advantage of the chaos.
If he could pry over one ninja clan, then one ninja clan it was.
As for how the Third Mizukage would feel after seeing these magazines and newspapers, that was not something Haru needed to consider. Mizuto could not possibly start a war against the Leaf over this matter. Right now, he could not even sit steadily on the Mizukage's seat. If he wanted to start a war, he first had to deal with the bloodline clans in his village that were ready to rebel at any moment.
"Hokage, are you sure Mizuto hates bloodline clans because his first love was stolen away by someone from the Hozuki clan?"
"Cough, cough. That one is for sales."
"Information warfare also costs a lot of money. These little stories are quite attractive. We can sell them along the way!"
"Only when the sources are mixed with truth and lies can people be dazzled."
Haru chuckled. Half-true, half-false stories were the most attractive. He had only made a little artistic adjustment.
The Mist Village was quite sealed off anyway. He could treat it as giving them a little entertainment and gossip.
"Then these suggestive magazines, little films, and video tapes?"
"Sell them along the way, sell them along the way. You know, the Leaf has shares in these film companies through technological investment. Don't underestimate them. In terms of profit rate, among the industries the Leaf is currently involved in, few surpass them."
Haru's handsome face reddened slightly. He had already placed these things at the very bottom.
Suggestive content was the source of humanity's drive for development.
He would just treat it as sending benefits to the Mist Village villagers!
"All right, Hokage."
Shikato had nothing to say. The dividends from the suggestive entertainment industry last year had already reached an astronomical number. The sudden rise of color films had placed that industry on a rocket. Countless single men in the ninja world would rather skip two meals than buy the newly released little films.
The manuscript fees from Jiraiya's trashy borderline novels were already enough for Jiraiya to live without worrying about food or clothing. As for the profits of real little films...
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Terrifying.
And movies in this world were not even censored.
"The intelligence department is not as simple as collecting intelligence. It must also constantly write essays, split the inside of ninja villages, and intensify their internal conflicts. Right now, they are all poor. As the saying goes, poverty makes everything miserable for a married couple. When distribution is unequal, stirring up emotions is very easy. Sometimes, you don't even need to fabricate stories. Telling the truth is enough."
Learned it. Learned it.
Shikato nodded repeatedly. By staying at Haru's side, he could always learn new things. If these methods were used, it would be difficult for the other ninja villages to recover their strength.
"Of course, intensifying conflicts and provoking opposition are only the basics. The most important thing is to elevate yourself, meaning the Leaf. Every ninja village needs targeted little essays. For example, the Sand Village."
"Do you know how they should be written?"
Haru felt that Shikato blindly nodding looked exactly like himself in his previous life, when he had zoned out in class for a long time and then pretended to nod as if he had understood.
"Uh, I don't."
Shikato shook his head. The Hokage's thinking was still too jumpy. In the past, ninja fought with kunai, shuriken, and ninjutsu, along with sneak attacks, poison, kidnapping, and methods like those.
Haru's underhanded...
Cough, cough.
Genius-level methods were not something ninja like them, who only knew how to cut people down, had used before.
"The Sand Village currently lacks materials and suffers from hunger and poverty. Targeting that, it's very easy to make up a little story about the Leaf."
"The Leaf is a wealthy, kind, and loving ninja village."
"I have a friend who came back from the Leaf. In the Leaf, if children quarrel with their parents and run away from home, if they get hungry, they can go to any shop or restaurant and receive a delicious meal, including cake, sushi, and ice cream."
"It is precisely because the Leaf's villagers are so loving and kind, and because they uphold the Third Hokage's Will of Fire, that they can live such beautiful and happy lives."
"..."
"My friend who came back from the Leaf also said that in order to let every villager afford food, the Leaf launched a ten-ryo rice ball set meal. For ten ryo, you can eat rice balls until you are full."
"Little stories in this style can be made up casually. Hm, it's missing a certain flavor. I remembered. At the end, remember to add some reflection."
"What a united, loving, harmonious, and kind ninja village this is. The Leaf's strength is not without reason. Where exactly does our Sand Village fall short? We cannot help but reflect..."
"Now it has the right flavor."
Haru recited two modified versions of certain little stories with great emotion.
In his previous life, those kinds of stories had spread widely among primary and middle school students in the rabbit country.
One-dollar fried chicken, toilet water that was drinkable, and squid being the greatest. Stories like these could continue to shine in the ninja world.
"Hokage, this... is all fake."
Shikato was shocked by Haru's improvised little story. Anyone who had stayed in the Leaf for even one day could not possibly believe the story Haru had told.
"Who cares whether it's fake or not? Just make them up in this style. Then spend some money in the Sand Village to find people to spread them. Say how good the Leaf is. We're allies with the Sand Village now, right? You should have already taken care of the envoy that came to the Leaf this time. You gave them the red envelopes they deserved, right? They've all seen how prosperous the Leaf is."
"What's wrong with exaggerating the propaganda a little?"
Haru spoke with disappointment.
"Understood, Hokage."
Shikato's horizons were opened once again. He nodded repeatedly at Haru. His own realm was truly far behind the Hokage's.
"You ninja probably aren't very good at making up stories. Go find some writers from the Land of Fire. They should be professionals. Shikato, you'll be responsible for printing them, taking care of the channels inside the Sand Village, and spreading these stories."
Haru was not very confident in Shikato's ability to make up stories. Making up stories and fooling people was the field those writers from the Land of Fire were good at. Forcing ninja to cross fields and steal their jobs was too much for them.
"Yes, Hokage."
Shikato nodded. Writing articles and fake little stories was indeed not something ninja were good at. It was better to outsource it directly. In any case, the Leaf was not short of money now.
"You'll need to pay more attention to the engineering teams, material transport teams, and factory facilities being sent to the Sand Village. The early investment won't be small. Remember to bring Kakuzu along. He understands cost control. Save where you should save and spend where you should spend."
Haru reminded Shikato. Although the Leaf's family business was big and made more money every day, this time they were subsidizing an entire large ninja village. The cost would be huge. Even the small amounts saved here and there would accumulate into a large sum.
"I'll do ideological work with Kakuzu."
Shikato smiled bitterly. Kakuzu was one hundred percent opposed to the trade between the Leaf and the Sand Village. Even after Shikato explained Haru's plan to him, it was useless. A money-losing deal was a money-losing deal. Who could say for sure what would happen in the future?
In the ninja world, cases where everything ended up lost, or where money was thrown away like feeding meat buns to dogs, happened every day.
It was better to hold the money tightly in one's hand.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Shikato nodded. Just as he was about to leave, he heard knocking outside the door, along with a crisp voice.
"Hokage!"
"We're here again!"
Tsunade pushed the door open without the slightest concern that this was the Hokage Building. Over these days, Haru had become fairly familiar with Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya.
With Tsunade's carefree personality and noble identity, entering Haru's office was as smooth as going home.
"Tsunade, you're here."
"Mm-hm."
"Uncle Shikato!"
"Little Tsunade... you're here again. Right, Hokage, if there is nothing else, I'll leave first."
Shikato greeted Tsunade, then saw her circling around Haru.
Hm?
Damn it!
The look Tsunade gave Haru was not right. That kind of admiring gaze was something Shikato had seen too many times.
Although Haru's private life was a little messy, and it was said that he had affairs with girls from both the Uzumaki clan and the Hyuga clan, those rumors spread among the Leaf's higher-ups. Even among the people of the Leaf, everyone knew that Haru had twin maids at home.
But even so, the halo around Haru was simply too dazzling.
A young man this outstanding, bearing the responsibility of Hokage, having two maids at home, what of it?
Was it not normal for young people to have physical desires that needed to be resolved?
Moreover, Haru was the Hokage and bore the duty of protecting the Leaf. What if his body developed problems because those desires were not released?
Having two maids was nothing. Among nobles, wealthy merchants, and ninja clans, this kind of thing did not count as an issue.
The Hokage's actions were completely correct!
Naturally, great scholars would argue on Haru's behalf, listing the necessity of Haru accepting the twin maids from the feudal lord. One, two, three, four, five. Each point was argued clearly.
Haru's official wife still had not been decided. Coupled with the many dazzling halos on Haru's body, every ninja clan had young girls coveting Haru's body.
Young people admired beauty.
Shikato had seen the gazes of young girls admiring Haru many times. He had even seen quite a few from the Nara clan.
But now Tsunade's eyes were showing the same thing.
However, the Hokage did not seem to feel anything.
No matter. It was better for him not to get involved in this kind of thing. He had not seen anything. He had not seen anything.
Shikato felt something was wrong.
If Mito found out that Tsunade felt this way toward the Hokage...
Hiss.
Terrifying!
This place could not be stayed in for long.
(End of Chapter)
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