With the joint Chunin Exams confirmed, Konoha Village, as the host, began serious preparations. The joint Chunin Exams held significant importance, and everyone, from the Hokage down to ordinary ninjas, was striving for its success.
From the outset, the desire was for the joint Chunin Exams to be widely known. Not only the capital, but also towns of all sizes, spread the news through traveling merchants. Those capable of traveling flocked to Konoha Village, hoping to witness this grand event jointly held by the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Konoha Village took this very seriously. Not to mention the nobles, even ordinary citizens could not afford any accidents, as it would be a major blow to Konoha Village's reputation. Consequently, the Uchiha Police Force's responsibility became extremely heavy, and the ANBU's as well.
Tobirama held a high-level meeting every day to inquire about various situations within the village. If any problems arose, everyone would discuss solutions on the spot and resolve them. If the results were unsatisfactory, they would discuss again—the current Konoha high-level leadership was basically composed of the younger generation. Only Tobirama belonged to the older generation of ninjas; the rest had either died in ninja wars or, like the former Hyuga main family, had retired and no longer concerned themselves with worldly affairs.
With all the high-ranking officials being young, they possessed ample vitality but also a lack of composure, leading to impulsive decisions during discussions. Fortunately, under Tobirama's guidance, most problems were resolved. The main issue now centered on the increasing number of outsiders pouring into Konoha Village. Just investigating spies and those with ill intentions was extremely draining, not to mention other matters.
"The current situation is all thanks to those merchants. If they hadn't spread the news everywhere, there wouldn't be so many people coming to the village," Shimu Danzo said indignantly.
"That's true," everyone else nodded. However, acknowledging the fact didn't help solve the problem. Could prohibiting merchants alleviate the current situation? Of course not, so Shimu Danzo was just complaining, as being a member of the ANBU meant he had to deal with these outsiders daily.
Moreover, even if Shimu Danzo did propose to prohibit merchants from entering, others would not agree, because the profits brought by merchants were truly too substantial, far exceeding the income from agricultural land rent. Under the cooperation between Konoha Village's official channels and merchants, the village's financial situation greatly improved, and funding for important departments saw a significant increase.
Over the years, due to the large influx of funds, many departments have made significant progress. For example, new medicines developed by the Medical Department can even be sold externally. Their medicinal ingredients are provided with the Nara family's unique secret formula, making it very difficult for others to imitate. As the Hidden Cloud Village has inquired, Konoha Village plans to open hospitals in some important towns to further expand its revenue streams.
This was just the achievement of the Medical Department alone, not to mention other departments. Although their achievements were not as brilliant as the Medical Department's—the Medical Department's research results were mainly due to merchants valuing Konoha's advanced medical technology, so more funds were invested, as people inevitably get sick—their prospects were all very promising, not something Shimu Danzo could shake.
Tobirama was very satisfied with this result, but Fumori Masaki knew that this was just the beginning. Although merchants had invested over the years, Konoha Village was ultimately just a small village with a population of only a few thousand, and its investment was limited. When the population gradually became abundant, breaking through tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions, Konoha Village would then truly become a national commercial hub, and the immense profits it would bring were unimaginable now—however, at that time, Konoha Village would probably no longer be called a village, but a nascent organization that could easily overthrow the entire Land of Fire.
And now, Konoha Village already showed that trend. The number of civilians proactively heading to Konoha Village far exceeded past figures. Although limited by road conditions, the number of people who could come was restricted. However, when Konoha Village had the capacity to improve transportation, the flow of people would not be so difficult. This situation was inevitable, and Fumori Masaki knew perfectly well what a good transportation environment could bring.
"Alright, alright, no more complaining. Let's think about how to solve this," Sarutobi Hiruzen said to his good friend.
Shimu Danzo was indeed just complaining. He had long felt that allowing merchants to easily travel to and from Konoha Village was a bad thing. However, at that time, the proposal was made by Tobirama, and facing his teacher, Shimu Danzo naturally had no intention of opposing it. Now, with Konoha Village's families all involved and his Shimu family also enjoying the benefits, it was even harder to object.
"Hmph, Hiruzen, if you have the guts, switch places with me, then you'll know how troublesome it is," Shimu Danzo snorted, always looking for an opportunity to pick a fight with this person who was both a friend and a rival.
"Don't say that, I'm very busy too," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a wry smile. The Research Department he was in charge of was also not an easy place.
Due to a significant increase in Konoha Village's funds and the Medical Department's achievements in studying the Earth Grudge Fear, which could save countless lives through improved medical technology, Tobirama and Fumori Masaki had long ago decided to establish the Research Department at this time.
The purpose of the Research Department was exactly as its name suggested: primarily responsible for the research, innovation, and improvement of ninjutsu, as well as the study of chakra technology. However, this was destined to be a very capital-intensive department, especially before any results emerged, requiring a very large investment. Unlike the Medical Department, whose medical technology had already been proven, allowing merchants to confidently invest funds, they maintained a skeptical attitude towards the research of ordinary ninjutsu and chakra technology, which had no real form and was only seen in books.
Not to mention merchants, even Konoha ninjas themselves had little interest in the elusive chakra technology. The technology described by Fumori Masaki was seen by everyone as mere fantasy. Perhaps some believed it could be realized, but without any evidence, it clearly wouldn't receive strong support.
In comparison, the research and improvement of ninjutsu were still somewhat motivated. Of course, currently, only ninjutsu publicly owned by the village could be researched and improved. Powerful secret techniques were the core foundation of families and could not be easily leaked. However, in Fumori Masaki's view, those secret techniques were truly valuable, such as the Yamanaka family's mental secret techniques. As long as a medium that could transmit information and amplify effects was found, wireless transmission in another world could be fully realized.
However, the ninja village's scientific research was just beginning, and Fumori Masaki was not in such a hurry. He knew that science also required the accumulation of time, perfecting various theories and knowledge, and there was no need to rush. There was no need to risk forcing ninja families to do it, at least not until civilian ninjas could become the basic foundation of the ninja village.
As for the head of the Research Department, Fumori Masaki directly chose Sarutobi Hiruzen. Sarutobi Hiruzen was known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, and his knowledge in ninjutsu was naturally impeccable. He didn't believe that Orochimaru's future path in scientific research had nothing to do with his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
And indeed, Fumori Masaki's assessment proved correct. Sarutobi Hiruzen, who could learn five chakra natures, had a very deep understanding of ninjutsu. Although the Research Department had not yet produced any outstanding ninjutsu, it had made significant progress in improving conventional ninjutsu, achieving results in both reducing learning difficulty and increasing power.
After Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimu Danzo engaged in their usual bickering in the eyes of others, the young Jonin present continued to discuss solutions. This situation was actually a test for the ANBU and the Police Force. For Konoha Village, whose population might become increasingly abundant in the future, if they couldn't even solve this, they wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility of protecting the village.
Fortunately, after Uchiha Mirror accepted Fumori Masaki's suggestions for the Police Force, he also had some ideas of his own. He had insights into how the Police Force could unify management, register rosters, and investigate personnel. Through experiments, more empirical data could be obtained, which could be used to further reform the Police Force in the future.
After a plan was discussed and approved by Tobirama, the high-ranking officials disbanded and went back to their work. Fumori Masaki's responsibility was not the specific management of any particular matter, but rather the supervision of all work for the joint Chunin Exams, which was also an important task.
Other high-ranking officials had vague suspicions about Fumori Masaki's job assignment. Although Tobirama didn't explicitly state it, his daily actions contained hints. The ninja families paid attention to the movements of this iron-blooded Hokage, and high-ranking officials, as family leaders, also needed considerable discernment.
However, since Tobirama had not directly stated it, other ninja families were only mentally prepared, and their views on Fumori Masaki varied. Those close to him were naturally happy, while those who disliked him were naturally displeased. Fumori Masaki's image was still good; fellow disciples like Uchiha Mirror and Sarutobi Hiruzen felt some regret internally but were still willing to support Fumori Masaki.
Currently, only Fumori Masaki and Tobirama knew that after this joint Chunin Exam, he would receive Tobirama's abdication and become the next Hokage. Precisely because of this, nothing could go wrong during this Chunin Exam; even if something did happen, it had to be resolved effectively so as not to affect his reputation.
This was also a problem he would face after becoming Hokage. Tobirama had truly calculated accurately, assigning Fumori Masaki duties that were simplified versions of what a Hokage needed to face. This was probably Fumori Masaki's busiest work experience in recent years; he could only return home late at night each time.
Arriving at his doorstep, Fumori Masaki heard the voices of Tsunade, Hatake Sakumo, and Hattori Heizo. Years of teacher-student relationship had allowed for family-like interactions. The parents of the Hattori and Hatake families naturally hoped their children would get closer to Fumori Masaki, a powerful high-ranking official in the village. As for Tsunade, it went without saying that she had often visited before.
"It's lively, isn't it?" Fumori Masaki entered the house, smiling.