Ideas(pt3)

I bowed politely.

- Thank you for your trust, I will do my best to justify it.

- Fine," Daichi stretched like a cat. - So, what do you think? - The people in the audience perked their ears up.

- That Uzushio is a threat is clear by now," the men's faces widened. - Your suspicions are justified. Uzushio can and will grow. You haven't had a chance to read the details of my mission report yet, have you?

- Not in full.

- Did Izamu-san mention who the opponents were?

Daichi started looking through the report and only then latched onto the right words, which I'm sure were there. He looked up puzzled. You could see the seriousness in his eyes, the concentration, the attention to detail.

- Exactly so, Daichi-sama. We were fighting against Senju, Inuzuka, and Sarutobi. The three clans that held Uzumaki prisoners. There's a possibility that the clans are already beginning to cooperate and form alliances. And what our team is facing is just the tip of the iceberg.

- Daichi, you've really found a very bright young man.

- Thank you, Akihiro-dono," we bow.

- Maybe you see some ways out of this situation, Naruto? - Mito's grandmother spoke up.

- I have some ideas, Aoi-dono," we bow.

- Well, then don't drag it out," Daichi smiled.

- We should start by pulling the clans that haven't yet united with us.

- Naruto, but strong clans won't agree to unification so easily. Otherwise, Uzushio won't be able to gain military strength in the short term. We have nothing to offer them," Aya spoke up.

- The strong clans shouldn't be involved at all," the women and Daichi looked at me a little incomprehensively, but Akihiro smiled conspiratorially. - We need to attract the smaller, weaker clans.

- Explain," Aoi asked.

- "It's simple. Uzumaki will patronize the weak and fragmented clans. We'll raise the power of these clan shinobi ourselves. We will give them a home, a place they will want to fight for. By attracting strong clans, we ourselves will create the ground for discord within the village. Slowly, like a child, we will nurture, mentor the young clans, teach them, protect them. "If we transplant seedlings, they may wither, wither, and then disappear. But if we give the tiny seeds mineral-rich soil, water them with pure spring water, protect them from adversity, winds and beasts, and share sunlight with them, our seeds will sprout. They will grow strong, mature, and create a mighty age-old forest that will fence the young shoots on their own," I finished my metaphor, and people were immersed in their own thoughts.

"Nice kid. Daichi, you have a worthy successor! He already reasons like the Kage of the village and looks far ahead," Akihiro muttered mentally. - "If the report from their mission and Izamu's story is true, he's also a fine shinobi."

The women tried to digest my words.

Daichi, on the other hand, winked conspiratorially at his father, and then shot a picture of Mito. Akihiro stretched his face, grinning, and nodded approvingly.

- So you're suggesting that you accept young clansmen.

- It's also, on top of everything else, not so costly and wasteful. The little clans are defenseless. We only have to give them territory and protection.

- That makes sense," Daichi agreed.

- I take it the Senju, Inuzuka, and Sarutobi clans don't fall into that category? - Aoi asked, smiling sweetly.

- I have a suspicion that the head of Senju has already begun to actively involve the clans and form a village," my words had the effect of a bucket of ice water. - But this needs to be confirmed. It's likely that Senju will be dragging all the clans in the Fire Country into the alliance.

- Do you want to stop them? - Akihiro asked. "Clever old man, but not stupid either.

- Outrun them," I corrected. - There are many small, weak clans in Hee no Kuni territory, and not only, that no one would accept into an alliance for nothing. Which means they'll have to give something for patronage. But apart from young kunoichi, they are unlikely to find anything. They have no resources. So the powerful clans will oblige them through marriage and make them dependent on themselves. We can play on that.

- Well, we have nothing to offer but protection," Aya muttered.

- Right now, everyone is trying to build up more strength and survive. We can offer that opportunity to the younger clans. Besides, I have another idea here," I smiled conspiratorially.

- Spit it out," Akihiro echoed me.

"Get it together!" - A thought flashed through everyone around me and Akihiro.

- Like I said, we'll have to educate and care for the welfare of the "freeloaders" ourselves until they're stronger. We'll educate them. We can create a Shinobi Academy, where all children who wish to become shinobi will study. Part of the training would consist of general courses: gen, nin, tai, basic fuin, kenjutsu, basic kekkai ninjutsu, and bukijutsu (weapon techniques). And already at a later stage clan children will learn hidenu (secret or clan techniques). Or, if the children want to become iryonin, a special department will be formed at the hospital to teach them," my monologue again stumped those present.

"No wonder they're reacting this way. It completely changes the way things are now. It's almost the same as a revolution."

- Interesting. But such an operation requires a lot of money. We're certainly not a poor village, but our finances won't suffice," Daichi muttered. - We need... Hmm. Naruto, if we set up a service in Teiko (the port town in front of the village mentioned earlier) that would constantly receive and pass on work orders from the common people in Uzushio, we could provide a steady income for the village.

- Right. Then a rank classification of assignments will be necessary, so as not to send youngsters to their deaths. In addition, it would be worthwhile to establish trade links with the entire continent, as well as the Water Country far to the north, the Hot Springs Country, the Bear Country, and so on. We must cover all the surrounding countries in this matter...

- And what are you going to sell?

- I'm going to mess with the Sarutobi clan," I stretched. And pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the seal, with a special tobacco that only this clan grew.

- Cigarettes? - Aya asked.

- No, Aya-chan. Tobacco, that's what we're talking about," Akihiro's old man blurted out in a satisfied smile again. - Naruto, can I have some?

- Yes, of course," I tossed the whole pack to Akihiro. - I've got a warehouse full of them," the old man almost choked on his own drool. He smoked so fast that his wife didn't have time to stop him, because she hated the smell of tobacco. However, the unpleasant smell did not follow. A soft, light scent of incense spread through the study.

- Interesting," Aoi said. - Incense...

- Exactly, Aoi-dono. It purifies the lungs, strengthens the tiny chakro-channels in and around the lungs, clears the throat, and regenerates the mucous membranes. There are many variations of incense.

- What kind of tobacco? - Aya spoke up.

- Akai Kamome ("Red Seagull"). Excuse me, Aya-dono, Aoi-dono, are you iryonins? - The women nodded in unison. I continued with a smile: - Do you know what this is? - I took a 10*10 centimeter bag of some dried herb out of the seal. The thought of "let's puff" went a little taboo in my head.

The women took a long look at the herb and sniffed and tasted it.

- I don't know this grass," Aya admitted. - There is almost no smell. It tastes like chocolate and hazelnut.

- YEAH! - Aoi almost jumped up and down. - Naruto... Isn't that... isn't that Ryouketsu Yuri ("Bloody Lily")?

- That's right," I smiled.

- Amazing! - Aoi leaned back in her chair.

- What kind of weed is that, exactly? - Akihiro was already stoned, and with the obvious intention to smoke this one too.

- It is used in medicine, but due to the fact that it is VERY rare and IMPOSSIBLY expensive, it is replaced with more practical components, which are easy to obtain and are cheaper. However, they are all times inferior to Ryuketsu Yuri. This herb speeds up the regeneration of the body's cells many times over. One grain of sand," she picked up a tiny leaf, "might be enough to make a jar of a solution that could be used to create drugs later on.

- How expensive is this plant? - Daichi asked his mother.

- Well. For a sachet like this... I think you could buy about 50 slaves.

- WHAT?! - Daichi, Aya and Akihiro jumped up.

The trio settled down. People were trying to wiggle their wrists and figure out where I got this stuff.

- Naruto, where did you get it from? - Aya spoke up.

- Who cares? The important thing is that I have the seeds and a list of the necessary ingredients for fertilizer.

"Thank you, Sakura and Shizune. I didn't think I could need your knowledge!"

- So is tobacco., you suggest growing and selling this weed.

- Well, and not just this one, I have a lot in store. I've tried growing before. I couldn't do it-I'm not an Irishman, after all. I think you can do it," the women looked at each other, nodded at each other, and then at me. - That's good. Besides, I think you should use fuinjutsu to earn money.

- Meaning? - Aya asked.

- I mean, it's a closed village, so we could set up a few shops in Teiko that would be willing to put seals on clothing for anyone who wants it.

- But that's clan machinery!

- No, no, no, wait, Daichi-sama. Let's say a shinobi doesn't have the wind element, and it's already rare, would want his katana to cut better. Then we'll put a seal on his blade that will improve the sharpness and allow the blade to blunt less quickly. All reinforcing seals have several levels. We will put the very first one, trivial and simple. Only Uzumaki would be able to figure out the structure of such a seal.

- It's a worthwhile endeavor. If you flip the seal upside down and put it that way, or just rearrange the irrelevant parts of the seal in places, it will be extremely difficult to make sense of it. And no one can improve it, because second and third order reinforcement seals can only be put on top of the standard first order seal, and then change it so no one can make sense of it," Aoi remarked.

By now everyone was silent. "Plans, plans, plans..." We sat in silence. I had another idea, but I hesitated to voice it. Now Akihiro and I were enjoying our cigarettes, Daichi had been taking notes during the whole conversation and was now studying the whole list. The women were whispering quietly about something and shooting their eyes at me. "Should I suggest him?"

- Daichi-sama... well, well... I have another idea...

- Spit it out," Daichi broke away from the scroll of notes.

- Tell me about the ranks of the shinobi in Uzushio.

- Hmm? - The kage arched an eyebrow. - Well, once apprentices are placed with a jonin teacher, they are actually called "apprentice" until they receive the rank of jonin. The very capable ones get lats, and that puts them above the regular jounin, sort of like a jounin captain. And last is the Kage of the village.

- Then I already have two suggestions," I smiled.

- Well, who would doubt it," Daichi exhaled tiredly and reached for his writing utensils.

- About the titles. The people who will be studying at the Academy will wear the title "Academy Apprentice", they can be sent on missions within the village, by the way, as useful practice. An eight-year-old might well catch a runaway cat or help his grandmother carry a shopping basket from the store to home," I got three synchronized nods, Daichi busy - writing. "I feel like I'm Kage here!" - Next, after the final exam at the Academy, the children receive the ranks of "genin" and jonin mentor. After a special exam, people will be able to raise their rank to "genin" and then to "jonin. An intermediate rank between "chunin" and "jonin" can be distinguished: "tokubetsu jonin" or "tokujo" for short. Tokujo has the level, knowledge and abilities of a jounin, but is specialized in only one area, such as genjutsu or iryoninjutsu.

- That's not a bad idea," Akihiro interjected. - That way we can properly distribute classified tasks according to each shinobi's level and the abilities of the team as a whole. Very clever.

- Thank you, Akihiro-dono.

- And the second suggestion, Naruto-kun? - Aoi turned to me.

- I suggest you start a special ninja squad," I hovered again.

"Danzo's been bugging me all my life, and he's been just as successful in sticking me in the gears. I don't think I should suggest such a thing. Although if I don't, someone will... "I'll let Danzo rot in his coffin.

- Naruto-kun... Naruto-kun," Aoi called me again.

- I'm sorry, Aoi-dono, I was wondering. Anyway. This special unit, Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai ("Special Tactics and Killing Team") or abbreviation - ANBU ("Dark Side") - is a ninja unit under the direct control of Kage, that is you, Daichi-sama. Members of the ANBU will protect the village leader as well as the village itself from exceptional threats and conduct various kinds of high-risk missions, whether tracking someone down or killing an enemy, including overseas. In the event of a fatal wound, members of the ANBU will self-destruct their bodies so that the enemy will not learn any information about them. They should be the highest-ranked shinobi, with outstanding abilities, knowledge, intelligence, and knowledge of human anatomy, to effectively eliminate the enemy or take them out of combat. And among the ANBU themselves, it is necessary to make a separate unit - "Oinin" ("Ninja Stalker"). Their task will be, first of all, to catch nukenins, and then to completely destroy their bodies, to prove the mission, leaving only the enemy's head, which is destroyed at a later date. Also, if the nukenin, before leaving his village, took the secrets of his homeland with him, then the main task of the oynin is first to extract the information stolen from his village, and then to kill the traitor.

- And you are the innocence itself, Naruto," Daichi said quietly.

- Well, almost. Maybe a little," I pointed my fingers at the "a little" sign. - It's just that such shinobi will be able to work quickly. We'll put a special control seal on them that will prevent them from divulging information about the village, its kage, techniques, etc. That's why I said they only report to the village's Uzukage. Plus, the seal will act as a beacon for the signal, and the source will be the head of the village himself, so the ANBU fighter will know exactly what the tasks are for him.

- My head hurts already," Daichi exhaled tiredly and relaxed in his chair. Akihiro and I have already finished half a pack of cigarettes.

- A unit like that is serious military reform," Aya remarked. - Can you handle it all by yourself, dear?

- And look at that blond head, with ideas coming out of his ears. And even though he's only been our shinobi for a week... - Daichi covered his eyes with his hand and took hold of his temples.

- Then maybe we should let Naruto take care of creating the ANBU himself. At the same time it would justify his place on the council of elders, since he's here 'off the record'," Aoi remarked.

"Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, interesting girls dancing, four of them in a row. Me for the part of Danzo. I'm going to go wrap my head and arm around... Hee-hee, I'll make you dance..."

- So, let's vote," Aya suggested and raised her hand. - "I'm in favor.

Aoi and Daichi raised their hands as well. "Uzukage is clearly tired from the conversation. First of all, he's been at work all day, and second of all, I'm an 'undone reformer. Akihiro frowned and thought long and hard, even making everyone look in his direction. He seemed to support me all the way through the conversation, and then he hesitated.

I smiled and pulled out a carton of ten packs of cigarettes from the seal. Akihiro raised both of his hands in favor with an extremely satisfied look on his face, which caused a wave of laughter. It didn't take long, though...

- FATHER! - The door to Uzukage's office was kicked the fuck in. Uzumaki was mad as hell on the doorstep. - Oh," she immediately blushed when she saw our honest company.

- Mito-chan," Aoi smiled and gave her only granddaughter a squeeze.

- Grandma, stop it," and it went on for a long time, until Mito hugged Aoi so tightly that the old woman settled back in her chair. "I hope she didn't strangle her." - Naruto? - the girl was surprised, since she couldn't see me-I was sitting in the chair with my back to the door, and she couldn't see me until she went around the table to hug her mother. I was even a little jealous.

- Hello, Mito-chan," I smiled and stood up.

- "Mito, did you want something? - Daichi asked.

- Did you want something? AH, YES! - The girl with the cocksuckers on her head came back bloodily. - DID YOU LOOK AT THE TIME!!! IT'S ALREADY LIGHTENING! - She spoke in an afterlife voice, not very loudly, but very clearly. - And why... did no one inform me that Naruto was back, too? I saw the godfather (Izama) and his team!

- Mito-chan, were you worried about me? - He made the girl blush.

- No way..." she squeaked, eliciting a wave of applause from her parents and grandparents. Aoi nodded approvingly at Aya. "Maaaat, and these are getting together?!" Aya smiled sweetly:

- Daichi, Mito's right, we've been sitting around, it's time to go home," Aya crawled under Daichi's arm.

- Yes. Naruto! - Uzukage barked.

- Hai," I stretched out, which elicited a slight chuckle. - The previous task is on you - you learn fuinjutsu, teach and protect my daughter. In addition, you'll take care of the formation of the squad, which should be done as soon as possible. I'll give you the information, so you'll be in charge of selecting the men, too! I'll have to go to Teiko because of you. And now everyone is free," Daichi finished tiredly. - Here," Daichi tossed me the key after rummaging through my desk for five minutes.

- Daichi-sama?

- What? The key to the house. Or are you, with your status, going to live in a dormitory?

- Thank you," I bowed.

- Okay, let's go now," Aoi cut in. - Naruto-kun, we're on our way, we'll walk you out.

...

"What the... fuck?" The cabin was single-story and built in a traditional style, with everything inside. Bathroom, shower, bathroom, two bedrooms, lounge and kitchen. It was in a park, which pleased me immensely. Three hundred meters from the residence was the Central District, and no one lived here but Kage and his family. "What am I talking about? AH, yes... HOW THE FUCK... is this house across from Daichi's Lodge, where his entire family lives?"