Tobirama's pupils shrank as he looked at Haru with deep wariness, shaken by the sheer scale of Haru's ambition.
He was actually aiming at the Daimyo.
The Daimyo usually stayed hidden behind the scenes, never showing their hand, using money, power, food, and more to win over the ninja of the world.
It had to be remembered that the Daimyo had been currying favor with ninja for a thousand years. The relationship between ninja and Daimyo was tangled beyond separation, impossible to cut cleanly. Touching the Daimyo's rule so rashly might let you gain the upper hand for a time, but in the end, who could say who would win?
That was power accumulated over a thousand years. Trying to overturn the rule of the Daimyo with Konoha alone was simply overestimating himself.
If Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had joined forces, then perhaps there would have been a chance to eliminate the Daimyo outright and crush everything through overwhelming force.
But what then?
Even if the Daimyo were eliminated, ninja still would not know how to govern a nation. Things might end up even worse. It would be better to preserve the current state of affairs, especially since the Fire Daimyo was willing to spend money.
Konoha's ninja were at least managing to survive. At worst, a few more people died. Endure it, and the line would continue.
Ninja, after all, were people meant to endure.
On the contrary, Haru's idea was far too dangerous.
Just as expected of an Uchiha. Their ideas were always world-shaking, ghost-weeping madness. If you were not careful, they would drag Konoha into a gutter where the whole ship could capsize.
Tobirama began explaining the risks to Haru, trying to kill the idea at its source.
"Tobirama, of course I know all that!"
"I'm not stupid enough to just run over and kill those Daimyo. If I did that, the rotten conservatives in Konoha would probably cut ties with me on the spot."
"The branding of ninja as mere tools runs too deep, which is exactly why I'm planning to use a different method."
"I'll start from the bottom and dig out the Daimyo's foundation directly!"
Haru shook his head. A true kindred spirit really was hard to find in this world.
"The Daimyo's military strength is insignificant. The only reason they can stand above ninja is because they rely on an old production structure. They monopolize the sources of ninja survival."
"The Daimyo rule over ordinary people and use the value those ordinary people create to restrain us ninja, while ordinary people view ninja as monsters and disasters."
"But why can't ninja replace the Daimyo and represent the interests of the broadest mass of ordinary people instead? What those common people want is nothing more than enough food and clothing."
"Tobirama, I don't believe you haven't seen starving civilians before. The destructive power of ninja warfare has already severely affected the survival of ordinary people. That only pushes them toward the Daimyo. I intend to change all of that."
Haru tried to shift Tobirama's way of thinking.
He poured a whole pile of theories into Tobirama's head about explosive growth in productive capacity, researching high-yield seeds, combining chakra with technology to improve output, and more.
A strict focus on productivity might be somewhat one-sided, but it could solve many problems. And right now, the key to unlocking that explosion of productivity rested in the hands of research masters like Tobirama.
All kinds of unusual ideas opened Tobirama's mind wider and wider, though for Haru, these were simply old, familiar ideas from his previous life.
As one of the smartest men in the ninja world, Tobirama had simply been blinded by the limits of his current perspective. Once Haru opened the door a little, Tobirama immediately began to understand. At first Haru had been the one speaking, but Tobirama caught on quickly and could even follow Haru's line of thought well enough to improve the weak points in it.
One world was one world, and the ninja world was the ninja world. Some things could not just be copied over blindly. Reality had to be respected.
Two mortal enemies, who should not have been able to coexist under the same sky, ended up discussing these things enthusiastically for quite a while in that gloomy secret chamber, until Haru's throat was almost dry.
"Tobirama, I'm looking at you in a new light."
"You've progressed very fast. You're far more capable than those Konoha ninja who only know how to take missions and collect payment!"
Haru could not help praising Tobirama. Reanimating Tobirama had indeed been the right choice.
"This old man is Konoha's Hokage. How could I be compared to ordinary ninja!"
Tobirama sounded a little annoyed. What was with that elder-sounding tone Haru was using?
"Tobirama, you're starting to acknowledge my ideas a little, aren't you?"
"If everything I said can be realized, then the endless cycle of ninja war can be reduced, and the peace the First Hokage hoped for might really come."
Haru teased him lightly. Tobirama's enthusiastic reaction just now had made Haru very satisfied.
He had to bring out Tobirama's initiative. Haru did not understand research himself. He could force Tobirama to work for him, but if Tobirama only pretended to work and held back where it mattered, there was nothing Haru could do about that.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"You evil Uchiha brat. I simply don't want you dragging Konoha down a road of no return!"
"Konoha is this old man's life's work. I absolutely will not allow you to destroy it!"
Tobirama froze for a moment, then immediately argued back against Haru's nonsense. How could he possibly acknowledge an Uchiha?
Even though what Haru said really was appealing, and even seemed highly feasible.
Konoha had unmatched military power within the Land of Fire. That was the ballast stone. If they slowly hollowed out the Daimyo's foundation bit by bit, the Daimyo would still fear Konoha's military strength and would not dare move rashly. By the time the Daimyo finally could not endure it anymore, Konoha would already hold the initiative.
Of course, making all of this real would still require him.
Tobirama could not help feeling pleased with himself. Increasing productivity sounded simple, but doing it would be anything but easy. All of it would require the greatest researcher in the ninja world, namely him.
As for Haru, he was just someone saying a few words.
Acknowledge Haru?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
"Tch."
Haru waved his hand and could not be bothered to argue with that stubborn old man any longer. His tasks for tonight were basically complete.
Getting Tobirama to spend real effort working for him was already the greatest gain.
Now there was only one final matter left.
At the end of the day, this was still a world where ultimate power belonged to the individual. All the grand talk about changing the whole ninja world was mostly just an excuse.
More than anything, Haru wanted to complete missions and get golden rewards, so his own strength could rise even further.
And besides the roulette, there were other ways to raise his power too.
Hashirama's corpse was still in his possession, and Hashirama's cells were a wonderful thing.
A research master like Tobirama could not just be left standing here. He needed even more weight added to his shoulders.
"Tobirama, now that we more or less share a common goal, there's one more thing I need your help with."
Haru opened the sealing scroll, and Hashirama's corpse instantly appeared in front of Tobirama.
Tobirama's vision went dark.
Reanimation Jutsu only required the target's cells, but Haru had taken the whole package. He had actually dug the corpse straight out of the grave and brought it back whole.
Damn you!
"You evil brat from the Uchiha clan!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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