There was no way the Land of Grass could join the war, it had just been rebuilt and was too weak to spare any forces. "Absolutely not!" Ayaka, the cold white-haired woman, was quick to reject the idea, shaking her head firmly. "Rebuilding the Land of Grass has to be our top priority. We simply don't have the manpower to send into battle."
"Exactly!"
"Let Konoha handle their own problems! They've betrayed us before. This time, we should side with Iwagakure instead."
"Right! Iwagakure is doing pretty well these days."
"..."
The others began chatting shamelessly, their voices full of pride despite their fence-sitting stance. They showed no embarrassment at all.
Kusagakure's survival motto was simple: switch sides to whoever looked stronger. Charlie's expression darkened.
Sure, playing both sides was part of their tradition, they were weak in every way, but they didn't have to be so obvious about it! Besides, relying on that forever was just lazy.
This old way of thinking needed to change. Education was the key, and he had to set it up quickly. He glanced at his system. [Voltage Mission].
As the name suggested, this was a system, were you completed missions and earned rewards. Originally, it was just a mobile game, but somehow he had brought it along with him.
Too bad it doesn't include his saved data. If only he had it, he still remembered all his characters. Not even Six Paths Madara would stand a chance against him!
But this system was glitching; it even listed characters who hadn't been born yet!
'Probably just a cheap copy,' he guessed. Of course, Charlie didn't mind, as long as it helped him get stronger.
Just as Charlie was studying the system, Mujie spoke up. "I think we should agree. Compared to Iwagakure, Konoha isn't so bad! At least they won't start a war on their own," he said, shaking his head but smiling.
"Kusagakure is rebuilding and needs time. No point in angering Konoha. We can offer labor instead of troops.
We can cooperate with Konoha on one front and also talk to the Land of Rain's leader. I'm sure they don't want more villages joining the battlefield, even if it's a small one."
Charlie was silent for a moment. 'No wonder Mujie had maxed out Kusagakure's specialty, diplomacy. He could say such shameless things with a straight face! Playing both sides? Brilliant.'
At that moment, Mujie pulled out a stack of documents and handed them over. "Also, about the 'Steal the Sky and Change the Sun' plan… the target the leader mentioned has already been located!"
After taking office, the very first big policy under the "Prosperity of the Land of Grass" plan was boldly straightforward: to steal anything that could help the village grow, people, bloodlines, talented individuals, Tailed Beasts, even jutsu. In other words, if it could boost the Land of Grass, it was fair game.
This strategy wasn't invented by Kusagakure itself; it was borrowed from Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Despite Kusagakure's reputation for copying jutsu, playing both sides, selling intelligence, and misleading enemies, at its core, it was still a fundamentally decent shinobi village, because being outright bad just wouldn't work, especially when none of their neighbors could really defeat them.
Take tKumogakure, for instance. Recently, it came to light that they had infiltrated Konoha to steal jinchūriki, and after the Nine-Tails incident, a Kumogakure shinobi who tried to kidnap Hinata was killed.
There's even talk that a Kumogakure shinobi with Magnet Release, a technique signature to Sunagakure, might have been taken from there. When it comes to stealing people and techniques, Kumogakure is basically the master.
Maybe that's why, after the Fourth Great shinobi War, they almost surpassed Konoha as the strongest shinobi village, if not for two prodigies still in Konoha, the title might have gone to Kumogakure.
Of course, when it comes to national development, you can't just admit to "stealing." It's all about "mutual development," they say. Listening to Mujie's sneaky plan, Charlie couldn't help but admire his survival skills. If Charlie hadn't intervened, Mujie was even planning to tell Iwagakure about Konoha's situation, hoping to drag them into battle, effectively declaring war on Konoha.
Meanwhile, Kusagakure would play both sides, quietly benefiting and gaining support from the other Grass shinobi. Clearly, some of these guys thought peace in the Land of Grass was too boring and wanted to pull the village into the chaos of war.
When Iwagakure hears about this, they'll be excited. Under the guise of big brother looking out for little brother, they'll pull Kusagakure into declaring war on Konoha, using the Land of Grass as the front line and saying, "Hey, let's make some profit together from this war!"
So, it's better not to get too clever with these plans. Remember, the last time the Land of Grass was wiped out was because they tried to play both sides too skillfully during the First Great shinobi War.
Charlie wiped the cold sweat from his brow and announced that Mujie would be sent to negotiate with Konoha and the Land of Rain. Then, he shifted the conversation to Kusagakure's development plans.
Clearly, education was their top priority. They needed to rebuild the Land of Grass's confidence and integrity. Being weak shouldn't be taken lightly, they had to work hard instead of relying on playing both sides or sneaking through cracks between the big nations.
The second plan was to build a medical system for Kusagakure. Recently, Princess Tsunade of Konoha proposed improving and expanding Konoha's medical system.
The war had some positive effects, significantly cutting down Konoha's casualty rates and giving them a bit of breathing room under the pressure of conflict. Charlie glanced at Kana standing beside him, and she returned his look with a gentle smile.
Even after the Third Great shinobi War started, Kusagakure still depended on Kana and her mother's small medicine kits! Yet, the Grass shinobi behaved arrogantly, acting like that help was something they deserved. They even fought among themselves when things got tough. It just goes to show how important proper education really is.
Charlie felt a little uneasy. Sure, Kusagakure had their own medical shinobi, but their skills were limited and their tempers were terrible. Meanwhile, the Ryoshi clan had a decent number of medical shinobi.
Though not as advanced as those from the Five Great shinobi Villages, they possessed secret techniques like the "Life-Transference Technique." A forbidden jutsu where they sacrificed their own life force to fully share vitality with others, a technique comparable to the "One's Own Life Reincarnation"(Kisho Tensei) created by Chiyo of Sunagakure.
As for everything else, the Land of Grass's defense, infrastructure, and livelihood issues, they all needed attention. "I can feel it, the Second Great shinobi War is coming to an end soon! After that, we'll have a long period of peace!"
"But who knows when the next war will break out?" Charlie stared seriously at everyone gathered.
"If we don't want Kusagakure to be trampled again, we need to grow stronger, and fast! True strength comes from mastering ninjutsu, and real honor lies in being sharper than a kunai's edge!"
He raised a clenched fist.
"For the next five years, we hold the line and rebuild our foundation from the ground up! Need ryo? Come to me! No matter how much money it takes, if it's essential, I'll cover it. All you need to do is focus on the mission!"