"You've all had a decent rest these past few days, right?"
Tsunade sat at the head of the table with a warm smile, scanning across the familiar faces before her — all of them refreshed and energetic.
"Not bad. Just wish it were longer."
Jiraiya sat next to Kawaki, speaking casually while lazily letting out a yawn without bothering to hide it.
He had barely managed to secure this short break, and three days really weren't enough for him.
"Come on, Tsunade-sama, at least you got some time off."
"Be grateful!"
Shouta, dark circles clearly visible under his eyes, looked like he was emitting an aura of resentment so thick it nearly turned tangible.
Poor guy—didn't get even one day off.
The exaggerated whine made everyone chuckle even more.
"Hahahaha!"
Everyone around the table burst into laughter.
While three days wasn't exactly a long vacation, it all depends on who you're comparing yourself with.
Compared to Shouta, they were practically living in paradise.
"Not a single one of you is innocent."
Shouta shook his head sadly, then immediately closed his eyes as if emotionally overwhelmed.
Seeing this, everyone laughed even harder.
"All right, all right."
"I'll make it up to you with another three days off."
At Tsunade's words, Shouta suddenly perked right up.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
In that moment, his loyalty was unshakable.
"This kid must've learned a thing or two from me."
Kawaki watched Shouta with the expression of a mentor observing a promising student.
"But now, our rest period ends."
"And the laughing's over too."
"Now let's get down to business."
Tsunade lightly tapped the table a few times. Immediately, everyone grew serious, attentively waiting for her to speak again.
"The war has completely ended."
"But you all know that governing after the battle will be an even greater challenge."
"This is an unprecedented challenge."
"I called you all here today to finalize the management plans for what comes next."
"How can we truly unify the Ninja World into one whole?"
Tsunade laid out the central topic of the meeting. After a brief pause, she continued.
"So, who wants to go first and share their opinion?"
As her gaze slowly swept across them, a subtle pressure filled the conference hall.
"I'll start."
Sakumo, the strong and silent type, spoke first — showing Tsunade deep respect.
"As Anbu Head, I think each ninja village's forces need to be fully controlled by Konoha."
"Even if perfection isn't possible, we absolutely must maintain sufficient authority."
"That's the only way to prevent rebellion after unification."
From the start, Sakumo hit the nail on the head — rebellion would be the biggest threat after unification, no question about it.
"I agree."
"Dissolving the villages entirely wouldn't serve Konoha's interests well."
"Sakumo-sama's words are all spot-on."
"While those words may sound harsh, I still feel I must speak them."
"Right now, the Daimyō maintains excellent relations with Konoha—but can we guarantee the same with the next generation of Daimyōs?"
Sakumo's suggestion quickly found support, though the speaker was already thinking several moves ahead.
"Very well said."
Tsunade nodded approvingly, showing no sign of anger. These views were clearly spoken from Konoha's perspective.
She wasn't foolish enough to drop her guard completely around the Daimyō.
Power was the quickest way to inflate someone's ego.
Even she couldn't be certain the current DaimYō would remain as generous toward Konoha forever.
"The Ninja World is vast, and in the past, there hasn't been close contact between the great nations."
"The biggest issue now is inconvenient transportation."
"Without establishing fast communication channels, the Ninja World will never be unified."
Surprisingly, the Konoha leadership actually had valuable insights to share, and Kawaki found himself nodding along frequently.
"Economic development is also crucial."
"The lifeline of ninja villages shouldn't remain under the constant grip of those in power."
"We must establish our own reliable economic foundations."
"In this regard, Akatsuki's success story offers a model worth emulating."
As he spoke, he glanced at Yahiko and his companions who hadn't spoken yet.
As official defectors, only Yahiko and his group were seated among them, and no one dared to voice any doubts.
Those who knew the truth already understood their identities, while those who didn't were too afraid to ask.
Yahiko and the others simply responded with polite smiles, still giving no indication they'd speak.
As more people shared opinions, disagreements inevitably arose on certain points.
Then arguments broke out, turning the conference hall into chaos.
Fortunately, they didn't come to blows and remained relatively restrained.
"Enough!!!"
Tsunade rubbed her temples. She'd seen this sort of situation countless times before, yet it still gave her a headache.
What could screaming possibly solve?
With a sharp shout, the room instantly fell silent.
"You all have your own perspectives—that's fine."
"But this isn't the place for shouting matches."
"If you have something to say, sit down and speak calmly and rationally."
It was the same old advice Tsunade always gave, yet it still worked remarkably well.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Just moments ago, two sides were arguing furiously, but now they went quiet immediately, without even a trace of hostility left.
"I think you've all said just about enough."
"Now let me say a few words."
This time, Kawaki officially took control of the discussion, drawing everyone's attention.
"I've listened to everything you've said, and many of your ideas are quite good."
"But they're still somewhat scattered."
"I've actually drafted a rather comprehensive plan."
"Feel free to listen casually and share any thoughts you might have."
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Kawaki wore a warm smile, but nobody truly dared to just "listen casually."
"This plan, my goal is to complete it within five years."
"So I'm calling it Konoha's First Five-Year Plan."
"First: abolish the titles of Kage in every ninja village, assign ninjas to work in different regions, and manage governance through a council of elders, with our members filling key roles."
"Second: swiftly finalize transportation plans to kickstart inter-nation trade at the earliest opportunity."
"Third: prioritize industrial inventions; any technology that improves civilian life should be mass-produced."
"I hope that within five years, we'll have vehicles that can cross the entire Ninja World in a single day, and devices that enable instant communication across thousands of miles."
After finishing his speech, Kawaki glanced around at the faces of those present. As expected, many of them had their eyes wide open.
These were old, stubborn fools—deeply shaped by the warped technological development of the Naruto world.
Ignoring their reactions, Kawaki continued speaking.
"Fourth: Establish the Konoha Corporation to build a solid economic system for Konoha."
"Fifth: Expand the Ninja Academy, making Konoha Ninja Academy the ultimate dream school for all future ninjas."
"Sixth..."
He continued listing fifteen points before finally wrapping up his plan, clearly not fully satisfied.
After sitting down, he drank several large gulps of tea—he really had worked up a thirst from all that talking.
"Does anyone have anything else to add?"
Tsunade had already seen this plan before. She didn't think anything had been left out.
As expected, after Kawaki finished speaking, no one proposed any new ideas.
Everything they could think of—and even things they hadn't—had already been covered by him.
This made quite a few people mentally grumble, wondering why Kawaki hadn't brought it up earlier and spared everyone all this discussion time.
But naturally, nobody dared say that out loud.
Of course, Kawaki didn't mind in the least.
He was full of confidence in his Five-Year Plan.
Electric trains, mobile phones, a modernized Naruto world—I'm heading your way.
...
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