Hikarikage's Office.
Uchiha Makoto was discussing the specific details of the Six Kage Summit with Senju Tobirama when an Anbu ninja hurriedly handed an intelligence report to Uchiha Makoto.
Soon...
After flipping through the intelligence submitted by the Anbu, his eyes suddenly lit up, his spirit instantly lifted, and even his tone was wrapped in uncontrollable excitement.
"Hahaha, good! The seeds sown back then have finally taken root and sprouted today, and are about to bloom!"
"These countries are too close to Akatsuki Village and too far from the Sage of Six Paths!"
"They should become our colonies, our backyard resorts. Taking them down will even further expand our strategic depth!"
No one knew better than Uchiha Makoto how much he had paid over the years.
Did you really think giving civilian ninjas a chance to succeed didn't cost money?
Establishing a complete medical security system didn't cost money?
Living subsidies for disabled ninjas, infrastructure supporting re-employment, which of these didn't require money?
Even if ninjas from other villages wanted to work in enterprises to make a living after being disabled, their villages had to have corresponding industries and companies first.
For this, Uchiha Makoto had invested massive funds and resources to realize these (Thanks to the full support of the Land of Fire's nobles!).
Now, initial results were finally showing.
As long as he persisted, in the future, just an Akatsuki Blue Card would probably be enough to bribe some high-level officials of a ninja village!
At that time, with them secretly leaking news, Akatsuki Village only needed to send an Anbu squad for a quiet raid to accurately pluck the leader of a small ninja village from their bed in their sleep, pack them up and bring them back to Akatsuki Village. Then, they could easily let high-level officials close to Akatsuki Village take power.
Finally, suck their blood fiercely!
This was much more cost-effective than mobilizing a large ninja army.
Sitting next to Uchiha Makoto, Senju Tobirama heard these strange terms like "too close to Akatsuki Village, too far from the Sage of Six Paths," "colonies," "backyard resorts," and "strategic depth," and a feeling of uneasiness instantly surged in his heart.
Senju Tobirama's gaze couldn't help but glance at the stack of documents just delivered by the Anbu on Uchiha Makoto's desk.
There was no helping it...
This feeling of uneasiness almost scared Senju Tobirama into PTSD. Every time it appeared, it meant he was going to be pitted by Uchiha Makoto again.
"Um... can I take a look at the documents on the table..."
Anbu documents had always been a ninja village secret.
Facing Senju Tobirama's request, Uchiha Makoto subconsciously rolled his eyes.
"You aren't trying to dig a pit against me again, are you?"
"I'm not distrusting you; I just think at this time, we should unite against the outside. I heard the other four major ninja villages have already met in secret. No matter what, Konoha and Akatsuki are allies..."
Senju Tobirama added a few more sentences uneasily. Subsequently, Uchiha Makoto waved his hand, signaling him to help himself.
This actually wasn't any secret, just an urgent situation explanation.
Anyway, even if Senju Tobirama knew about this matter, he couldn't do anything.
After all, for bottom-level ninjas, what was the purpose of engaging in the ninja profession?
Was it for love and peace, for their own ninja way?
Or was it for the love of their own village!
None of these!
Everyone was an adult who had struggled in the ninja world for so many years... Joke, you love the village, does the village love you?
A comfortable living environment, sufficient salary... these were what they pursued.
Now only Akatsuki Village could give them these!
Akatsuki Village's visa and Blue Card policy was an open conspiracy!
"Tch... take it and look. Anyway, I never like to use conspiracies and tricks; I like to use open conspiracies!"
Senju Tobirama immediately curled his lips.
He knew Uchiha Makoto's character too well; he had a black heart and ruthless hands, capable of using any foul conspiracy.
"Hmph... hmph..."
Subsequently, Senju Tobirama didn't respond to Uchiha Makoto's words. He just snorted coldly a few times, stood up and walked to the desk, picked up the document presented by the Anbu, and quickly scanned it, reading ten lines at a glance.
"This, this, this... Visa... Akatsuki Village Blue Card?"
"I suspected you long ago. Making such a big fuss to hold the Six Kage Summit... so you wanted to do this kind of thing!"
Senju Tobirama couldn't help but widen his eyes, saying this.
He saw at a glance how evil Uchiha Makoto's introduction of the visa and Blue Card system was. This was to suck dry the ninja elites of the ninja world for his own use.
This sharp vision, on the contrary, fueled the anxiety in his heart.
Those ninjas from small ninja forces couldn't wait to join Akatsuki Village now, using a transformation jutsu to directly go to the Akatsuki Village Visa Office to inquire about information. This was really rubbing their own leaders' faces on the ground.
But large ninja villages... could they be any better off?
Just looking at Akatsuki Village's current prosperity, they were probably already moved.
"Hiss... Konoha... the visa system has been around for a while..."
"How many people within Konoha have obtained an Akatsuki Village visa... or even obtained an Akatsuki Village Blue Card, gaining permanent residency rights."
Thinking of this, Senju Tobirama instantly felt chills all over his body.
Actually, when Akatsuki Village launched the visa policy, he had noticed it long ago. It was just that later Senju Tobirama was busy with Konoha's internal reform and dealing with the political attacks launched by the Uchiha Clan. Uchiha Makoto also pulled big stunts from time to time, so much so that Senju Tobirama almost forgot about this matter.
And all along, the connection between Konoha and Akatsuki Village was the closest. Compared to other ninja villages, Konoha was the first victim.
"Uchiha Makoto, you naturally evil Uchiha brat!"
"How many people in Konoha have taken your Akatsuki Village visa and Blue Card!"
Senju Tobirama, realizing it too late, began his impotent rage.
He found it hard to imagine how much his Konoha had been infiltrated by Uchiha Makoto; the situation was probably more serious than he imagined.
The entire Uchiha Clan might already have Akatsuki Village Blue Cards.
And... what about the high-level officials of Konoha ninja clans?
They probably wouldn't mind getting an Akatsuki Village Blue Card either!
Nowadays, Konoha might be full of spies belonging to Uchiha Makoto everywhere!
"See, impatient again!"
"Just mere visas and Blue Cards. The Blue Card only represents permanent residency rights in Akatsuki Village; it doesn't mean completely joining Akatsuki Village or entering Akatsuki Village citizenship. They are still Konoha's most loyal ninjas!"
"Even people in the Senju Clan have obtained Blue Cards; do you think they will betray you?"
The corners of Uchiha Makoto's mouth curled up, a smile appeared on his face, and he couldn't help but hum lightly.
Indeed, quite a few Konoha ninjas had already obtained Akatsuki Village Blue Cards. Originally, Uchiha Makoto wanted to hide it for a while longer.
Now with the commotion of the Six Kage Summit, it definitely couldn't be hidden anymore.
But it didn't matter; Senju Tobirama couldn't stop this kind of thing anyway.
Currently, Akatsuki Village and Konoha were still in a honeymoon period, and the Kages of the two villages were related by marriage.... Even people in the Senju Clan had taken Akatsuki Village Blue Cards!
"You... evil brat, give me the list of these people..."
"Hmph, do you think that's possible!"
"Besides, what can you do about this kind of thing? Think about the current relationship between Akatsuki Village and Konoha.... Do you want to publicly oppose this policy?"
"Then you might as well think about how to build Konoha well. If you're not convinced, you can also copy Akatsuki Village's policy and launch Konoha visas and Blue Cards to the outside world."
Uchiha Makoto leaned back in his chair leisurely.
His words also made Senju Tobirama regain his calm.
In the current situation, even if Senju Tobirama wanted to do something to hinder Konoha ninjas from applying for visas and Blue Cards, the ninjas in the village would absolutely not buy it.
There was no helping it... the relationship between the two villages was simply too intimate.
Moreover, blocking is worse than channeling. The reason Akatsuki Village Blue Cards made ninjas in the ninja world flock to them was originally because of Akatsuki Village's prosperity. If Konoha could also develop to be as prosperous as Akatsuki Village, the series of problems brought by the Blue Card would disappear, and they could even infiltrate Akatsuki Village in turn.
But Senju Tobirama knew very well that, in the end, he was not the Hokage yet. He simply couldn't unleash his talents freely in the village like Uchiha Makoto.
The Uchiha Clan was already eyeing the position of Hokage covetously, and there were a bunch of opponents blocking the road of Konoha's reform. Moreover, that guy Uchiha Makoto would absolutely not let his path be so smooth.
For Konoha to catch up with Akatsuki Village's development speed—difficult, too difficult, difficult upon difficult!
So Senju Tobirama still rolled his eyes, staring fiercely at Uchiha Makoto with a pair of dead fish eyes.
"Alright, don't stare at me like that.... What you said just now was very correct. At this time, we should unite against the outside. Konoha and Akatsuki are allies... Even if Konoha is really swallowed by me in the future, don't worry, I won't mistreat the Senju Clan. After all, little Tsunade is my daughter-in-law."
"Tch, keep dreaming. As long as I'm alive, you won't succeed."
Senju Tobirama was still stubborn.
Even if the hope of defeating Uchiha Makoto was slim, he would absolutely not admit defeat.
"Then wait until after you die... I am much younger than you."
"You promised me to help me do things at the Six Kage Summit... You don't want the Uchiha Clan to secretly cause trouble while you are not in Konoha, right?"
"Speak, what do you want me to do?"
"No rush... Taking advantage of the heat, launch a wave of public opinion offensive first, letting us occupy the advantage of discourse power in the Six Kage Summit!"
"Someone come, bring me paper and pen!"
With Uchiha Makoto's order, an Anbu ninja walked into the room holding the four treasures of the study.
Subsequently, after brewing for a while, he wrote with the pen flying like dragons and snakes.
[Ninjas Have No Village Borders. Pursuing Happiness is the Right a Ninja Should Have!]
[There is a special ninja in Akatsuki Village of the Land of Fire. Not to disturb his normal life, I will call him by the pseudonym Tatsuhiko here. He enjoys life in Akatsuki Village very much and loves working. To get an Akatsuki Village Blue Card as soon as possible, he works more than eighteen hours a day, equivalent to twice that of other ninjas.]
[Today I want to tell his story. This is a story of pursuing happiness and freedom!]
[Tatsuhiko wasn't an Akatsuki Village ninja at first. He was born in the Land of Grass. As a civilian Genin, his chakra was meager, and his combat talent mediocre. Under the iron law of "strength reigns supreme," he was labeled as "cannon fodder" from birth. In a mission three months ago, to cover the retreat of the village's high-level officials, his left leg was severely injured by ninjutsu, leaving him disabled. The captain only threw him a bottle of inferior wound medicine and said coldly: "If you can't recover, get lost and do menial work; don't waste the village's resources." While recovering from his injury, he witnessed two disabled Genin being dragged to the "R&D Department." Later, he learned from the servants that those useless ninjas would become "human experiment consumables."]
[During those depressing days, he became a regular at the tavern.
"What? So after being injured and unable to do missions, one can still get treatment from medical ninjas..." "The village will also arrange corresponding jobs..." Tatsuhiko once overheard two fellow civilian ninjas whispering. These words split his despair like a beam of light. He couldn't help but step forward to ask and learned they were talking about Akatsuki Village's policy. One of them took out another propaganda flyer. Looking at the content on the poster, Tatsuhiko subconsciously couldn't believe it.
Could there actually be such a ninja village in the ninja world? So he didn't take it to heart at first.
During those depressing days, the tavern became a secret base for the bottom-level people.
"The village's deep-rooted bad habits really make one grow a braid on the back of their head!" A disabled ninja doing odd jobs complained indignantly.
"The upper echelons treat us as tools. One complaint and we get confined."
"Shh! There is no freedom of speech in the village. Let's leave here together and take a gamble in Akatsuki Village."
Several young ninjas lowered their voices, their eyes flashing with longing. "I heard there is no oppression in Akatsuki Village. Everyone can find their value here and contribute to Akatsuki Village!" Tatsuhiko clenched his fists and finally made up his mind—he wanted to escape from here.]
[Under the cover of his companions, Tatsuhiko fled the village under the cover of night, drifting all the way to Akatsuki Village. The moment he stepped into Akatsuki Village territory, he was stunned: the streets were clean and tidy, civilians and ninjas coexisted harmoniously, injured ninjas received detailed treatment in the medical center, and children could enter schools regardless of their origin. "This is just commonplace in Akatsuki Village," the guide leading the way said with a smile.]
[Akatsuki Village's review went smoothly. After learning about his situation, the staff not only arranged free treatment but also recommended him to work in the village affairs department based on his specialty in bookkeeping. Here, he no longer had to worry about being abandoned due to disability, nor endure discrimination and oppression from the village. With a serious and responsible attitude, he soon gained the recognition of his colleagues. In his spare time, he could also go to the ninja academy to learn new knowledge, and his originally dull eyes gradually regained their luster.]
[So to become a formal member of Akatsuki Village and get a Blue Card as soon as possible, he works desperately with gratitude every day.]
[A certain Daimyō who wishes to remain anonymous learned about this and praised: It is precisely because of the courage of people like Tatsuhiko who dare to pursue happiness and freedom, as well as the Hikarikage's broad-mindedness, that Akatsuki Village has become a powerful ninja village that makes the Land of Fire proud. If a village chooses to stifle the ninja's will to pursue happiness and freedom, it is undoubtedly a failed and extremely selfish ninja village.]
[Even, if such a thing happens again, I will not hesitate to stand on Tatsuhiko's side. Encourage him spiritually, and even allow him to use force through the way of a ninja to win the right to pursue freedom and happiness for himself!]