As soon as Mei Terumi left, Uchiha Hikaru headed straight for the council chamber.
All the clan heads and department leaders of Konoha were already gathered. Even Jiraiya, who normally only busied himself taking care of Naruto, had shown up. Naturally, the person leading this initiative—Kurenai Yuhi—was also present.
Jiraiya yawned and stretched the moment he saw Uchiha Hikaru enter.
"Hikaru, what's so urgent that you had to drag me in too?"
"Let's get this over with—I still need to go home and cook dinner for Naruto."
Orochimaru glanced sideways at Jiraiya's carefree demeanor and shook his head slightly.
Still the same as ever... but maybe that's not a bad thing. It suits him.
Tsunade snorted in annoyance as she looked at Jiraiya.
All that strength, and he wastes it sitting around in the village. He'd be more useful wandering the world like before—at least then he was gathering intelligence.
The others in the room were just as puzzled. None of them understood why Uchiha Hikaru had summoned this meeting immediately after the Mist delegation had left.
Without a word, Hikaru moved the blackboard that had been leaning against the wall to the center of the room.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "Let me just prepare."
He picked up a piece of chalk and began scribbling quickly.
Before long, the entire blackboard was filled with diagrams, numbers, and notes. Hikaru tossed the chalk aside, clapped the dust from his hands, and stepped to the side.
"This is Konoha's upcoming strategy… our new 'war' with Kirigakure."
Jiraiya, who had been slouching casually until then, suddenly shot to his feet and slammed the table.
Bang!
"What!?"
"Hikaru, are you out of your mind?"
"The Mist delegation just left—with a peace agreement, no less!"
"And now you want to declare war on them? Are you crazy!?"
Orochimaru calmly reached out and pressed down on Jiraiya's flailing arm.
"You're as impulsive as ever."
"Why don't you look at the board before yelling?"
"This isn't the kind of war you think it is."
"Have you ever seen a village prepare for war by sending supplies to the enemy?"
Jiraiya froze.
He glanced around. Everyone else was silently studying the blackboard—some frowning, others deep in thought.
He was the only one out of the loop.
Trying to save face, he turned to examine the board, squinting at the detailed writing and diagrams.
After a long pause, he sat back down with a serious expression, pretending to ponder what it meant.
No way I'm embarrassing myself again by saying I don't get it...
Eventually, Nara Shikaku's eyes lit up. He gave Uchiha Hikaru a small nod of understanding.
Hikaru scanned the room, gauging everyone's reactions. The time was right.
He stepped forward.
"As you can see, this isn't a traditional war."
"It's a war without bloodshed. A war fought not with blades or jutsu—but with commerce and ideology."
"I call it a business war—or a cultural invasion war."
Jiraiya perked up at the terms. The novelty caught his attention.
"Business war? Cultural invasion? How do you fight a war with commodities and culture?"
Hikaru turned to face him directly.
"Why can't we?"
"Let me give you a simple example."
"Say Konoha and Kirigakure both produce a batch of Explosive Tags. The price is the same, but Konoha's tags have a stronger blast."
"Which would you buy?"
Jiraiya answered without hesitation. "Konoha's, obviously. If it's better for the same price, why wouldn't I?"
Hikaru nodded.
"Exactly. Now, expand that concept."
"What if all our products—daily necessities, tools, food—were better in quality, design, and performance than Kirigakure's?"
"Jiraiya, if you were a civilian in the Land of Water, would you buy your own country's goods, or ours?"
This time, Jiraiya hesitated.
After a few seconds, he finally responded.
"I'd buy Mist's."
"Even if Konoha's were better, as a Mist civilian, I'd rather support my own village."
That answer earned nods from nearly half the room. Many murmured in agreement.
But Hikaru only sighed and shook his head, visibly disappointed.
Of course… this is still the shinobi world. This kind of answer is to be expected…
"Wrong," he said calmly. "Civilians don't think like shinobi."
"It's not their job to protect the village. That's our job."
"Their priority is using their hard-earned money to buy the best value for themselves and their families."
"They already show loyalty to their village by paying taxes and following the laws."
"Beyond that, they'll spend what's left to improve their lives."
Jiraiya looked confused.
We're all part of the same village… why does it matter? Most people in Konoha aren't exactly starving.
"That's where you're wrong," Hikaru continued. "Take Konoha, for example. How many imported goods do you see in the markets?"
"Just ninja tools from the Land of Craftsmen, right?"
"And that's not just us. Even the other Great Nations buy from them."
"But how many people live in Konoha? Maybe a few hundred thousand?"
"A few hundred thousand isn't enough?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.
He looked ready to argue, but Orochimaru quietly interrupted him.
"Jiraiya… compared to the entire Land of Fire, Konoha's population is minuscule."
"You realize the total population of the Fire Country is in the millions, right? Possibly tens of millions."
Jiraiya blinked.
"Wait... really? That many?"
Tsunade sighed at his clueless expression.
"Jiraiya, how long does it take you to run around the entire village?"
"If I go all out? Maybe an hour."
"And how long would it take you to run around the whole Land of Fire?"
"The whole country?"
"…About a week, I guess."
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