Chapter 266 The Strongest Strategist, Tobirama Senju Appears
Uchiha Touko's departing steps faltered, and he turned back to look at Tobirama Senju, smiling,
"Second Hokage, what are you saying? Is there any ninja village in the ninja world that isn't preparing for a possible future war?" Uchiha Touko said.
"Don't try to beat around the bush with me," Tobirama Senju said seriously, "Everything you've done since becoming the Fifth Hokage, whether it's training a large number of medical ninjas, sending large numbers of ninja troops to neighboring small countries under the guise of alliances, or your recent reforms of the ninja system, all of it undoubtedly points to one thing." Tobirama Senju stared intently into Uchiha Touko's eyes, "You are preparing for a war in which Konoha will single-handedly challenge the entire ninja world."
As Tobirama Senju's words fell, Hashirama Senju, who had just received a set of dice from Uchiha Touko and was grinning foolishly, also looked up, staring at Uchiha Touko with disbelief.
"Can I say that you truly live up to the Second Hokage's reputation? You were able to discover this based on just this little bit of record." Seeing this, Uchiha Touko stopped and turned back with a smile.
"More importantly, over the years, you've used various methods to recover a large portion of the tailed beasts that my elder brother distributed to other villages. Tell me, what exactly are your plans?" Senju Tobirama asked.
"Hasn't the Second Hokage already guessed my plans? I am indeed preparing for a war, a war to pacify the entire ninja world and end all conflict in my generation's war," Uchiha Touko said calmly.
As soon as Uchiha Touko finished speaking, Senju Tobirama and Senju Hashirama's gazes simultaneously sharpened.
"Touko, war cannot bring peace," Senju Hashirama said seriously to Uchiha Touko.
Uchiha Touko calmly chuckled, "Is that so? Then, did the First Hokage's actions bring peace?"
Upon hearing this, Senju Hashirama immediately lowered his head. Although he and Uchiha Madara had co-founded the era of the ninja villages and created nearly twenty years of peace, the flames of war in the ninja world reignited immediately after his death. In just a few decades, the ninja world had experienced three Shinobi World Wars.
Furthermore, after entering the ninja village era, the intensity of wars fought at the village and national levels far exceeded the scale of the Warring States period, when various ninja clans engaged in chaotic battles.
"I've heard that the First Hokage's initial intention in establishing the village was to prevent young children from going to the battlefield. However, this was only changed after I came to power, during the previous military reforms, when the conscription age was fixed at 14," Uchiha Touko said. "In the previous Third Shinobi World War, I stepped onto the battlefield at the age of 9. I was lucky; the Uchiha bloodline awakened these eyes, granting me the ability to survive. However, less than 20% of my classmates from the Ninja Academy survived."
Senju Hashirama remained silent, while Senju Tobirama observed Uchiha Touko with great interest.
Seeing his gaze, Uchiha Touko smiled and replied, "What, Second Hokage, is there anything else you want to say? Let me make this clear: if you intend to stop me, then I will have no choice but to undo the Impure World Reincarnation. Rather than facing you two directly in future wars, I don't want you two to become obstacles for me in the rear right now."
"Why should I stop you?" Tobirama Senju unexpectedly asked.
Hearing Tobirama's words, Touko Uchiha raised an eyebrow.
"Don't look at me like that. After the First Shinobi World War, I know my brother's methods won't work," Tobirama said. "The peace my brother brought was a castle in the air built on his strength. The moment he's gone, it collapsed like a bubble."
"Tobirama, you say that too?" Hashirama Senju's aura instantly darkened.
"Madara Uchiha's thinking was similar to yours back then, but you were much more composed. You can see that from your arrangements in Takigawa. Everything you're doing now, besides strengthening your village, is consciously weakening other villages. What you want is a low-intensity, quick victory, achieving your goals while minimizing the war's impact on the shinobi world, right?" Tobirama said.
Uchiha Touko nodded with a smile. Senju Tobirama truly lived up to his reputation as the only strategist among the four Hokage before him. He could discern such things from a mere trace of history that Tobirama had embellished and after a night of investigation. His only deficiency was the limited perspective of someone born in the Warring States period.
"If you were like Uchiha Madara, without any plan, wanting to declare war on the entire ninja world solely based on your strength, then my brother and I would stop you no matter what. However, since you already have a well-developed plan, we have no reason to stop our successor. After all, according to my calculations, your plan has an 80% success rate; Konoha will be the ultimate winner," Senju Tobirama said.
"So, Second Hokage, what are you trying to achieve by telling me all this?" Uchiha Touko asked with a smile.
"Since I'm just idling around anyway, why not arrange a position for me in your staff?" Senju Tobirama chuckled.
"Of course. With you, the Second Hokage, a strategist of the ninja world, here to help me fill in the gaps in the plan, it's something I'd be more than happy to do."
Compared to the Uchiha clan, the two strongest brothers of the previous generation of the Senju clan had clearly abandoned the Senju clan's thousand-year glory during the Warring States period after establishing the village. This is evident from the fact that they abandoned the Senju surname when naming their grandchildren. For them, the village they established was their new spiritual anchor.
"Tobirama, is war really the only way to eliminate it?" Hashirama Senju sighed, looking at his younger brother who had already made up his mind, and then asked.
"First Hokage, you've only just returned to the mortal realm, and you may not yet understand the current state of the ninja world. This war is inevitable, and Konoha was the target of everyone's attacks in the previous three Shinobi World Wars. Therefore, I had no choice but to strike first," Uchiha Touko said. "Moreover, I once heard a saying: 'Dignity resides only on the edge of the sword, and truth lies only within the range of ninjutsu.'"
"Sigh... It seems that Madara might have been right back then," Senju Hashirama sighed.
"Brother, please don't confuse this kid with Uchiha Madara," Senju Tobirama reminded him at this moment. "This little guy is much stronger than Uchiha Madara, who only relies on brute force. Besides, if I hadn't seen his plans, I wouldn't have agreed to his actions."
"Hehe, Second Hokage, you flatter me. Compared to Lord Madara, I'm still far behind," Uchiha Touko chuckled humbly. "However, there's one thing the Second Hokage said earlier that I must correct."
"Hmm?" Senju Tobirama frowned at Uchiha Touko.
"My plan has a 100% success rate," Uchiha Touko said confidently.
From that day on, Senju Tobirama disguised himself and entered Uchiha Touko's staff. After reviewing all of Uchiha Touko's past actions in the ninja world, except for his dealings with White Zetsu, he couldn't help but sigh. It was fortunate that this guy was born into the Uchiha clan and became the Hokage of Konoha. If he had been born in another ninja village, and these methods had been used on Konoha, which was already riddled with internal conflicts, Konoha would probably have exploded by now.
After examining some of the truly hidden secrets of the past few years, Tobirama Senju came to the conclusion that the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan was probably the least noteworthy aspect of Uchiha Touko's abilities.
...
"The Hidden Cloud Village has been making significant moves lately. The reparations you agreed to after defeating them seem to have backfired." Some time later, in the Hokage's office, Tobirama Senju and Uchiha Touko reviewed the intelligence reports sent back by Konoha spies throughout the ninja world. Tobirama picked up a separate report, his brow furrowed.
Uchiha Touko had already seen this intelligence report, so he calmly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled, "I really didn't expect that the Hidden Cloud Village would actually let that black guy find the only way to break the deadlock."
Now, with Donald having lost the Fifth Hokage's Rock before he even began carving it, and A regaining power, the Hidden Cloud Village could be said to have stepped on the gas and headed straight for militarism.
First, after assuming the position of Grand Minister of State, A, to prevent a recurrence of similar events, effectively stripped the daimyo of their power. The daimyo, understanding the situation, relinquished all authority, becoming mere figureheads at court assemblies.
From then on, A held complete control of the military and political power of the Land of Lightning. In fact, his power surpassed that of Uchiha Touko in the Land of Fire. At least Uchiha Touko had to give some respect to the nobles and merchants of the Land of Fire who were willing to cooperate with his reforms, and he still had to help them earn a considerable amount of money each year.
A, however, was even more ruthless in using his influence to manipulate the invisible forces of power.
The civil officials and nobles who had attacked A after the Land of Lightning's defeat were all wiped out by the Cloud Village ninjas according to their clan genealogies after A's triumphant return. All their assets were confiscated, and nearly half of the reparations owed by the Land of Lightning were repaid.
In reality, this money was enough to pay off all the indemnities in one go, but A deliberately withheld a large portion of it, using it to expand military equipment. Furthermore, this huge sum wasn't enough; after taking power, A directly increased the Land of Lightning's tax revenue under the guise of preparing for war.
Moreover, when collecting taxes, he explicitly stated that this was all due to the indemnities owed by the Land of Fire.
Within the Hidden Cloud Village, facing racial tensions, A no longer hesitated. Including Donald, he directly dealt with several leaders of white ninjas who attempted to cause trouble, and then promoted several previously relatively obedient white ninjas, clearly stating that in the future war with Konoha, as long as they could achieve merit, their skin color would absolutely not be an obstacle to their advancement
. This series of actions successfully diverted the internal conflicts within the Land of Lightning, which Uchiha Tomoaki had painstakingly ignited, to other areas.
In the Land of Lightning, even a dog harbors extreme hatred towards the people of the Land of Fire. Those most affected are the Land of Fire merchants with businesses in the Land of Lightning. Gato has reported to Uchiha Touko more than once that his and some of his business allies' businesses in the Land of Lightning have been directly seized by those bandits.
"You don't seem worried at all?" Tobirama Senju asked, looking at Touko's leisurely demeanor. "At the current rate of development of the Land of Lightning's military, it probably won't be long before they catch up with Konoha."
"Since the Land of Lightning has already embarked on such a wicked path, this rate of development is to be expected," Touko handed a cup of tea to Tobirama, speaking unhurriedly. "While their actions may narrow the gap in military strength with Konoha in the short term, the core problem remains unresolved: their Raikage is no match for me."
"Moreover, and more importantly, by doing this, they are essentially handing over the greater good to us," Touko added.
"The Land of Lightning may seem to have suppressed its internal conflicts, but it's like a balloon. All their internal contradictions can be suppressed when facing a formidable enemy like me, but once the war truly begins and their Raikage is defeated by me again, then this suppressed resentment will instantly destroy the entire Land of Lightning's will," Uchiha Touko said.
"Furthermore, compared to the ninjas, their civilians are currently suffering from the real oppression brought about by high taxes," Uchiha Touko said. "With this approach, when we attack the Land of Lightning's territory in the future, we won't have to bear the name of invaders. At that time, we, the ninjas of Konoha, will be the liberators who have come to liberate the mountain that oppresses them!"
"Is the righteous cause you're talking about really that important?" Senju Tobirama was somewhat unable to understand Uchiha Touko's words. According to his ninja thinking, what they should be doing at this time is sending elite squads to sabotage the enemy's military factories.
"Of course, Second Hokage," Uchiha Touko said with a smile. "The reason why the First Hokage was able to successfully establish this village is because most clans in the Warring States period were tired of the endless wars. And that was the great cause of that era."
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(End of Chapter)