Kakashi picked up the document and read it carefully. After putting it down, an incredible expression appeared on his face. His eye was blank for two seconds, and he suddenly smiled.
The Konoha's higher-ups were still the same as ever… they have never changed.
Most of the time, the village's various forces were in balance. Depending on the strength of each Hokage, their relationship with the higher-ups varied.
Compared to the previous Hokages, Kakashi seemed somewhat lacking in both popularity and strength, appearing a bit 'watered down'. As a result, the higher-ups grew more assertive, submitting an increasing number of documents.
That's right… the way these higher-ups fought for power was by submitting documents. Not by slamming tables or turning red with rage, but by submitting files over and over again.
Whether important or trivial, they would dump everything on the Hokage's desk, mixing them all together to maximize the workload.
Those people were experts at judging someone's limits. They wouldn't dare pull such a stunt when Sandaime Hokage was in office. By the time the Godaime Hokage, Tsunade, took over, she simply ignored them.
When the workload piled up, whether something was important or not didn't matter… everything got pushed aside.
'Fine, if you're going to half-heartedly deal with me, I'll half-heartedly deal with you.'
After a few rounds of this, the higher-ups rarely caused trouble anymore.
There was no helping it. Tsunade had solid credentials and a strong background. With a single call, she could rally countless supporters.
Fighting her meant mutual destruction, and history had proven that to be true.
Tsunade voluntarily resigned, taking the remaining old-timers of Konoha's 'F4' with her. She left behind a mess and walked away without a care.
On the other hand, Kakashi appeared weaker and more mild-mannered in his approach. This gave the higher-ups an opening. They had been testing the waters before, and now, they finally saw their chance.
Just as Naruto had predicted, the nobles of the Land of Fire couldn't stand to see Kakashi succeeding so smoothly. They wanted Konoha to serve their interests.
The nobles had power, wealth and status, and all they lacked was a sharp blade. Usually, they hired Shinobi for missions, both public and private.
But a few scattered individuals were nothing compared to Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
It wasn't just the Land of Fire attempting to extend its reach into the Shinobi Villages. The Land of Wind, the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass… which one wasn't trying to exert control over their Shinobi Villages? Was it so hard to understand that nobles wanted some security?
If they didn't control the Shinobi Villages, how could they expand their rule further? Shinobi, to some extent, both helped nobles maintain their rule and hindered them from consolidating it completely.
…
Land of Wind.
"Since those nobles are practically slapping you in the face, why aren't you fighting back?" Naruto looked at Temari with some surprise, "Is Gaara really that patient?"
"Well…" Temari sat sideways on his lap, looking slightly embarrassed as she watched him play with her glove, feeling an inexplicable sense of shame.
"Many of Sunagakure's higher-ups have been… bribed by the nobles." She stammered.
"Bribed? With money?"
"In a way, yes. Shinobi need to make a living too. Even though Sunagakure is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages…" Temari's voice trembled slightly as her eyes followed his movements.
"But the village's financial situation isn't great. While Shinobi earn decently, they're far from wealthy. Ordinary Shinobi can still be satisfied, those high-level people will never be satisfied with just that amount. The nobles in the Land of Wind's capital have all sorts of dealings with the village's higher-ups."
"No one's stopping this? What does Gaara think?" Naruto frowned. He wasn't particularly concerned about the private dealings between nobles and higher-ups.
There was nothing new under the sun. Looking at the history of mankind, none of this was surprising.
Before the Shinobi System existed, the nobles controlled city-states and raised armies to conquer land. Everyone had two arms and one head. When blades flashed and arrows flew, life and death made everyone equal.
But after Shinobi emerged, people made a startling discovery, that Shinobi had transcended the limits of ordinary humans.
They could fly, tunnel through the earth, breathe fire… it was like they had mastered every supernatural ability imaginable.
Cold weapons were ineffective against Shinobi, and some Shinobi were even outright invincible… practically unkillable. Between life and death, there was an enormous gap.
Ordinary people fell into it, while Shinobi leaped over it effortlessly.
Thus, wars began. Large numbers of Shinobi participated in the war, fighting endlessly for land, population, and resources.
Shinobi intensified the competition, and indirectly, they became tools for nobles to maintain their rule.
It wasn't until that man appeared that the Shinobi World experienced a temporary peace.
One could say, 'Had there been no Senju Hashirama, the shinobi world would have remained in eternal darkness.'
If Hashirama had merely demonstrated overwhelming strength that crushed his generation's geniuses, he would only be considered a powerful Shinobi. But Hashirama did more… he created the Shinobi Village System.
He gathered Shinobi Clans who had previously served nobles independently, completely cutting off the nobles' control. Because of that Shinobi would no longer fight and die for others' interests.
With the interests of the Shinobi in the hands of the Shinobi Village, the nobles could only hire Shinobi in the form of commissioned tasks and must follow the rules of the Shinobi Village.
Whether it is the content of the task, commission, or dignity, all the rights and interests of the Shinobi are protected by the village, and an organization akin to a Shinobi Guild was thus established.
Since then, all the powerful Shinobi in the Shinobi World followed suit, establishing their own Shinobi Villages.
As a result, nobles could neither maintain powerful armies of Shinobi nor recklessly wage wars. After all, the strongest Shinobi were now under the Shinobi Villages' control, no longer serving as nobles' lapdogs.
For the Shinobi, this system's advantage was that the village acted as their collective interest, safeguarding their rights, dignity, and social status.
The rise of Shinobi Villages also weakened the nobles' power, making feudal rule unsustainable. They had no choice but to shift into the shadows, exerting influence through wealth and assets.
While they could bribe powerful Shinobi and tempt high-ranking officials, they could never return to their former dominance. History doesn't move backward, and Shinobi weren't fools.
As for the means of threats and inducements, they are naturally very simple. Apart from wealth and status, it was the same old tricks, 'Good boy, here's your reward… an invitation to the orgy!"
"You? No party for you!
"That's really troublesome." Naruto muttered, tossing Temari's glove aside, "If it were up to me, I'd just round them all up. Those nobles are way too bold."
"Find an excuse to squeeze some money out of them, take the nobles' money for ourselves. Or dig up some dirt, let them play their games, and then reel them in when they're in too deep."
"Gaara probably already has a plan… he just isn't telling us. Sigh…" Temari's whole body was tense, her eyes flickering slightly, and her expression was a little unnatural.
"In that case, I'll just ask Gaara directly." Naruto pushed Temari aside without hesitation, picked up her gloves to wipe his hands, and walked off without looking back.
Temari: "????"
A gust of wind blew past as she stood frozen in place, her thoughts in chaos. It felt like a taut string in her mind had suddenly snapped without warning, drifting away in the wind.
'He just… left? Just like that?'
'This was beyond absurd. What was even… Aaahhh!' Temari nearly lost it, her lips trembling as she struggled to find words.
Naruto really did go straight to Gaara, completely disregarding Temari's feelings. But he knew Temari couldn't do anything about it.
What's out of reach is always the most desirable… he'd just sweeten the deal later.