Konoha.
Hokage Building.
A stack of documents lay before Hiruzen. Their format was similar to the briefs Hi-kun prepared for Madara, requiring little more than a simple approval or rejection.
Most could be answered with a simple "Approved" or "Rejected."
Only the occasional matter that actually warranted discussion required him to think for a while and leave specific instructions.
However, ever since Hiruzen had become Shōgun of two nations, and the nobles of the Land of Wind had quickly embraced the extraordinary medical benefits of the Sage Region Pills following Sunagakure's defeat...
The nobles and bureaucrats were always finding excuses to bother him.
'Have you eaten yet? I've sent you some crabs from the Land of Water...'
'It's raining in the Land of Rain. Hokage-sama, please take care of yourself!'
'Hiruzen, what do you think of how I've been doing lately? Tax revenues have gone up again. I miss you so much!'
It was always empty pleasantries like these.
At Hiruzen's direction, the Administrative Department already handled most of the replies for him. But some of these nobles and bureaucrats not only spent a great deal of money, they also worked exceptionally hard...
So every now and then, Hiruzen still had to personally write a line or two in his own hand.
For example:
'My dear brother, I miss you here in Konoha too. Come visit when you have the time!'
'Understood.'
'Mm.'
Or sometimes he would simply draw a circle or a vertical line to indicate that he had read it.
Yet even something like that was treasured by the nobles and bureaucrats, leaving them thoroughly satisfied.
In a sense, Hiruzen was practically selling his calligraphy in exchange for money and labor...
"The way we transmit information is still far too primitive..."
"Relying on letters like this means our administrative costs are no different from a hundred years ago. It also can't properly accommodate Konoha's ever-expanding territory..."
The speed at which information could be transmitted often determined both the radius and stability of effective governance.
In the past, Konoha had merely been one hidden village within the Land of Fire.
Now, however, it controlled half the shinobi world, including detached territories such as the Land of Water...
It wasn't that Hiruzen distrusted the Land of Water system he had personally built from the ground up.
But maintaining the status quo solely through his personal prestige would inevitably cause problems over time. Internal friction had to be addressed at its source.
Hiruzen believed in the good within human nature.
But the fundamental logic of governance did not bend to human will.
"Information technology is the future..."
"Lower administrative costs, stronger cohesion among the various regions..."
If Konoha possessed a comprehensive information network right now, then even if its current territory expanded threefold, its present administrative apparatus would still be capable of governing it effectively.
With information transmitted at extreme speed and efficiency, the problem of information asymmetry could be eliminated entirely...
Local powers in subordinate territories could deceive both those above and those below them, exploiting the information gap.
Without large-scale data verification, and with the physical limitations imposed by slow communication, once generation after generation grew up under such conditions, sooner or later those local powers would manage to incite at least some of the population.
But an information network could close that gap, allowing civilians and shinobi at every level to directly access Konoha's information and institutions.
Hiruzen continued thinking.
The technological tree of this world might have developed in strange directions, but its overall trajectory bore some resemblance to the one he remembered.
Because of the constant warfare, military applications had always consumed the overwhelming majority of resources, leaving civilian technology with little more than scraps.
Even so, after the one-nation-one-village system was established and the Warring States Period came to an end, technologies familiar to Hiruzen had begun developing at astonishing speed...
Computers and medical analyzers, for example, were already widely used for civilian purposes.
With technology having reached this point—and with chakra as an all-purpose tool—it was about time for something resembling the internet and smartphones to appear.
And now that Konoha effectively controlled when wars began and ended, it finally had the breathing room to integrate the technological resources of the shinobi world and develop information technology to meet the new needs of the Hokage and the village...
Hiruzen exhaled a plume of smoke.
His thoughts went even further.
"For spreading Konoha's ideals and the Will of Fire, a large-scale information platform would be a decisive weapon—a Kinjutsu in its own right..."
"Against Iwagakure and Kumogakure, it could eventually let us subdue them without even fighting..."
"And internally, it would be an excellent catalyst as well."
In the past, spreading the Will of Fire had actually been relatively difficult because each hidden village maintained its own barriers to information.
Whether Konoha was truly a good place or not, people in other hidden villages had no way to see what it was really like.
Every Kage would interfere with the information reaching their village, while the old ways of thinking ingrained in shinobi often led them to fill in the blanks themselves, producing all kinds of bizarre conclusions.
The Third Mizukage was an excellent example.
Even without the Kinjutsu known as 'Madara's World,' his first reaction to Hiruzen's series of reforms in Konoha had been to assume that something had gone wrong at the grassroots level.
"Infiltrating Kirigakure the old way was far too much trouble. We even had to send Nakamaro and the others there as exchange students. It took too long, and the results were unreliable..."
Hiruzen's eyes lit up.
When it came to building identification with Konoha and overwhelming others through culture, Konoha now possessed absolute superiority in soft power over every other hidden village and their shinobi.
It could influence everyone through more advanced ideas and ways of life.
Information technology could broadcast Konoha's advantages throughout the shinobi world around the clock, at virtually zero cost, and through every available opening, gradually planting the Will of Fire in the minds of every shinobi.
'Nakamaro of Kirigakure' would no longer be an isolated case.
Internally, information technology would also provide fertile ground for explosions of creativity and inspiration.
It would become much easier for people's ideas to collide and build upon one another, which should greatly accelerate the development and refinement of techniques.
"Let me sort through this a little more..."
Hiruzen didn't immediately summon Orochimaru. Instead, a dusty-white cube appeared above his palm, and he began unconsciously turning it between both hands as he thought.
This had become his newest pastime over the past year.
It allowed him to practice Dust Release, increase his proficiency with Kekkei Tōta, and train his chakra control at the same time.
The Dust Release cube turned between Hiruzen's hands. By all rights, it should have been giving off astonishing chakra fluctuations, yet it remained exceptionally docile in the Hokage's grasp, without even the slightest trace of chakra leaking out...
A short while later.
As though the two of them were somehow of one mind, Orochimaru arrived before the Hokage could even call for him.
The head of Konoha's Research Department came strolling in with a smile, a stack of documents in hand, and leisurely knocked on the office door.
"I was just about to call for you..."
Hiruzen smiled and tilted his chin toward a seat.
"Here we go..."
Orochimaru set the documents on the desk, then familiarly picked up the Hokage's teapot and poured a cup for himself and another for his teacher.
He glanced at the dusty-white cube in Hiruzen's hand with mild surprise. There wasn't the slightest chakra fluctuation coming from it.
'When did you start playing with puzzle cubes? That's quite an unusual design...'
Puzzle cubes were currently popular little brain teasers among the village's children...
Orochimaru didn't think much of it and continued with a smile.
"Sensei, the Research Department's two major projects have finally reached completion. One is the generalized application of Hashirama-sama's cells, and the other is the further enhancement of the cursed seal."
Hiruzen nodded approvingly and praised him.
"Excellent! You've worked hard, Orochimaru..."
For several years, these two projects had been among the village's highest priorities.
At last, through the continuous efforts of Orochimaru, Hiruko, Tsunade, Tobirama, Tomie, Shio, and Mito, they had succeeded.
They had brought together resources and breakthroughs from the 'Sage Village,' 'Tobirama's Legacy,' 'Mount Myōboku's Support,' 'Mangekyō Guidance,' and numerous other sources.
It had been anything but easy.
"What do you think our next step should be? We can't leave the Research Department sitting idle..."
"We all have our own research topics, of course, but without your sense of direction, it still feels like we're missing something..." Orochimaru said sincerely as he drank his tea.
Tomie's unreasonable Mangekyō ability had earned the recognition of every shinobi in the Research Department. It could practically conjure up viable ideas for turning technology into reality out of thin air.
But when it came to deciding which direction they should pursue, every shinobi in Konoha trusted and relied on Hiruzen.
In that respect, he was even more formidable than Tomie's Mangekyō...
Hiruzen smiled. Orochimaru's words were quite pleasant to hear.
Who didn't enjoy being praised?
And when it came to praising their teacher, Orochimaru considered himself fundamentally different from Hiruko and Hizashi.
True, every time he saw his teacher, he showered him with praise more aggressively than anyone else...
But his praise was rooted in rational analysis and objective facts!
Those two were the type who would agree with their teacher no matter what he did...
That was completely different!
"By the way, Sensei, I've mastered Sage Mode..."
"Mount Myōboku's approach helped me a great deal. Their system is much more mature. I also borrowed a few methods from Shikkotsu Forest. In any case, Ryūchi Cave's approach is far too crude!"
Seeing Hiruzen apparently deep in thought, Orochimaru smiled slightly and told his teacher about his recent progress.
The Three Great Sage Regions had already become some of Konoha's most loyal allies.
As the head of the Research Department, Orochimaru could draw upon resources from all sides, giving him access to a vast amount of firsthand information concerning Sage Mode and natural energy.
On top of that, after throwing a thoroughly unwilling Jiraiya onto an examination table, Orochimaru had analyzed his physical data while he gathered natural energy, quantifying the shortcomings in Orochimaru's previous approach...
And he had reached a conclusion!
The reason he had failed to master Sage Mode before wasn't because he lacked talent.
Ryūchi Cave was simply terrible at teaching it!
Mount Myōboku had an entire system...
From sensing natural energy, to integrating it, to supervised practice, everything progressed step by step, establishing the fundamentals before moving on to more advanced stages.
Ryūchi Cave, on the other hand, had never shed its savage ways.
The White Snake Sage bit you. If you succeeded, you succeeded. If you failed, you died.
That had practically nothing to do with teaching...
It was entirely a test of one's innate physical aptitude!
And Orochimaru himself had once been bitten by the White Snake Sage, failed to master Sage Mode, and somehow survived without being killed.
He was the first such person in Ryūchi Cave's history...
Proof enough of the legendary king of refusing to die.
"Oh? You've mastered Sage Mode?"
"What enviable talent you have, Orochimaru..."
Hearing that his disciple had grown stronger, Hiruzen smiled from the bottom of his heart and sighed.
"At my age, it's difficult to adapt to new things."
"All I can do is stay within my comfort zone of ordinary ninjutsu. I still have trouble sensing natural energy, and the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal makes it difficult for me to rely on outside assistance like cursed seals."
"You all keep training hard!"
"The more of you who master Senjutsu, the better. That's what it means for each generation of Konoha shinobi to surpass the last..."
Orochimaru nodded thoughtfully.
If this were the Kage of another village, and all the shinobi under him had mastered something as powerful as Sage Mode while he himself couldn't use it, he would probably feel at least a little uncomfortable about it.
But Sensei really did see the bigger picture!
He didn't care about such things at all. As Hokage, he eliminated meaningless internal friction at the source.
Part of that was because Hiruzen genuinely possessed that kind of perspective.
But there was another reason as well. Just as Uzumaki Ashina had analyzed, Hiruzen simply didn't have the time to divert his attention toward training in Sage Mode.
The Sage Stone Tablet and the advanced construction of the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal consumed an enormous amount of his energy.
Hiruzen, however, had always liked keeping a few cards hidden.
Compared to the past, when he had been practically incapable of sensing natural energy at all...
Hiruzen could now occasionally sense it spontaneously—the power that existed throughout heaven and earth, distinct from chakra...
He simply didn't know whether this was because more and more Konoha shinobi had learned to use it, causing him to somehow pick it up as well...
Or whether the palace-like chakra network already constructed inside his body was gradually changing his physique as it continued to strengthen.
But Hokage-sama didn't care...
All he needed to know was that if things continued developing as they were, one day he would be able to master natural energy.
After all, if it was natural energy, then naturally he ought to master it...
A faint blue-white glow appeared around Hiruzen's hand. Without the slightest change in expression, he closed his hand around the Dust Release cube and erased it.
Only then did a trace of chakra fluctuation appear.
Orochimaru's eyes widened. He had sensed the astonishing quality of the chakra contained within that cube...
"Sensei, what was that?" Orochimaru asked inquisitively.
"Traditional ninjutsu. Nothing worth mentioning..." Hiruzen waved dismissively. "Just Dust Release."
Orochimaru's expression froze.
Wait...
Orochimaru had reasonable grounds to suspect that Sensei had deliberately kept quiet about this earlier as revenge for him showing off his Sage Mode!
He wanted to take back all that praise!
"You mean not only can you use Dust Release, but you can do it without producing any chakra fluctuations—and you can erase Dust Release with your bare hand?"
Orochimaru felt a headache coming on. Why did Sensei always insist on secretly training behind everyone's backs?!
Did being Hokage mean he had the right to skip filing reports?
Oh.
Apparently it did.
Never mind, then...
Orochimaru had heard about it, of course.
When Hiruzen fought Gengetsu and Mū in Kirigakure, he had apparently developed some understanding of Dust Release. But no one had heard anything about Sensei using it in the year or so since then...
Orochimaru had assumed he'd simply set it aside!
Instead, he'd apparently been sitting in his office every day, twisting Dust Release around like a puzzle cube...
And doing it without producing any chakra fluctuations...
"That's right."
Hiruzen nodded as naturally as could be.
"You know my situation. I've made some more progress with the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal recently. Sealing techniques no longer require deliberate activation for me, so I can suppress chakra fluctuations through contact alone."
"As for erasing Dust Release, that's actually the combined effect of my Spirit Release and sealing techniques."
"If I touched it with nothing but my physical body, I'd still be disintegrated..."
Hiruzen teased Orochimaru.
"Look at you. You're staring at me like I'm some kind of monster, when you're obviously the monster here! Didn't you train in something called the Eight Branches Technique...?"
The corner of Orochimaru's mouth twitched.
All of a sudden, he felt a profound sense of sympathy for the person in the village who annoyed him most...
Danzō, currently on the front lines!
Danzō had spent his entire life using Sensei as his goal. Orochimaru suddenly realized just how hard the man's life must have been.
The fact that he hadn't gone insane yet was proof of remarkable mental fortitude...
Anyone else would have either given up long ago or completely lost their mind...
Only Danzō could keep reassuring himself that he still had a chance of winning while simultaneously working himself to the bone and constantly picking fights with Sensei...
The Darkness of the Shinobi really was something else!
"Enough about Dust Release..."
Hiruzen waved a hand.
"Speaking of research, I do have a new idea. But I want you to judge whether it can actually be implemented based on the Research Department's current capabilities."
Hiruzen gave Orochimaru a general explanation of information technology and the concept of the internet.
Orochimaru and Hiruko understood this field better than he did, so Hiruzen wasn't telling Orochimaru how to build it. He merely described the results he wanted to achieve.
The two of them weren't limited to the biological sciences; they were also highly capable when it came to industry.
And wherever their expertise fell short, they still had Tomie, who could forcibly 'create something out of nothing'...
As long as they had a direction, they could move forward!
Konoha's research team really was absurdly stacked...
"That's an excellent idea, Sensei! Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating!" The more Orochimaru listened, the more intrigued he became.
He could feel the winds of a new era beginning to blow once again.
This was a truly disruptive concept!
"Strategically, we're the ones holding the initiative."
"Militarily, we have an overwhelming advantage, and economically, even more so. Once Iwagakure and Kumogakure are defeated, I'll require them to fully open commercial trade between their nobles and Konoha..."
"Konoha's products are generations ahead of those in other regions, whether in civilian life or military applications."
"If we create a platform, then if their economies want to remain connected to the mainstream of the shinobi world, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure—every hidden village will have no choice but to follow the path we establish."
"That kind of integration would bind them to us many times more tightly than any agreement written on paper. The same applies to the other regions currently under our effective control."
Hiruzen lit a cigarette as he spoke.
Doing business was certainly profitable...
But owning the platform itself?
There was no better business in the entire shinobi world!
"I think this can be done..."
Orochimaru considered it for a moment.
"The Earth Grudge Communicator could actually be considered an alternative evolutionary path toward something similar. We also have sufficient reserves of chakra metal, and the mineral deposits in the Land of Water only require preliminary processing to meet our needs."
"For the platform's core components, either the Ryūmyaku or Tailed Beast chakra would work. Once the Box of Ultimate Bliss has been dealt with by Seisui, that would also be a good option."
"As for the techniques embedded within it, a combination of genjutsu and Fūinjutsu should make it possible."
Hiruzen nodded.
Chakra really was absurdly versatile.
Techniques derived from this extraordinary power were like clay that could be molded into virtually any form depending on what was needed.
"I understand, Sensei. This will be the Research Department's highest priority going forward."
Orochimaru spoke seriously.
"With Seisui and Tomie, along with the Kurama Clan's genjutsu that can make illusions real, we should be able to accomplish a great deal. I'll also consult Mito-sama about the structural aspects, and the Uchiha Clan should be able to help as well."
"For information security, I'll bring Minato, Shio, and Kushina into the project."
"And we'll have Tomie put in a little more work by using her Mangekyō in reverse to identify weaknesses in the platform and improve its security."
Hiruzen gave Orochimaru an approving look and praised him.
"Good! When I say other people have the mindset of a Hokage, sometimes I'm just being polite. But you really have developed it..."
For a researcher like Orochimaru, whose approach had always tended toward the aggressive, being able to stop before developing something and first consider the supporting issues of safety and stability represented tremendous progress.
Preserving what already existed and pursuing innovation were both fundamental qualities a Hokage needed.
Neither could be neglected.
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