"Danzo? The guy who always only cares about profit is actually against it?"
Orochimaru raised his eyebrows, then smiled, "That guy is also kind of a fighter."
Unlike the old man who accepted his age and turned to desk jobs and politics, Danzo still spent a lot of time improving his own strength. Not to mention Ninjutsu training, he also hoped to use First Hokage cells to regain his youth.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were far inferior to these two. They looked like they were blinded by power, but they forgot that their experience came from fighting on the battlefield back then.
Orochimaru licked his lips, "Two old guys, acting so pathetic for a little bit of profit, it's really..."
"You can't say that. Everyone has their own position."
Beside him, the genie floating in the air rarely spoke up for the two advisor elders, smiling,
"You fight on the battlefield, while they manage the village. The different positions they are in mean they see things differently. In their eyes, Konoha is not just a group of mercenaries, but also a business organization that sells labor, and it needs to be trustworthy."
Orochimaru frowned, "I know that..."
"You don't know it well enough. You stand too high, making the view downwards a bit distorted."
"After all, you are Konoha's Sannin, with extraordinary strength. The biggest problems you've faced since childhood are war taking away loved ones, not being able to know everything, and not being able to live forever."
The genie smiled, "But world peace, knowing everything, and eternal life... these goals are equally difficult for anyone."
"Besides that, the problems you encounter can all be solved with effort, so you 'believe in being strong yourself', thinking that you can solve all problems by improving yourself."
"Improving your own abilities is definitely not a problem, but it's actually a bit one-sided... ordinary ninjas can't do it, and those merchants also have their own choices."
"For example, what if those merchants who originally posted hiring missions in Konoha stop coming and choose other ninja villages? What can you do?"
"Are you going to use illusions to control them, or use violence to threaten them? Kill their whole family if they don't come?"
Orochimaru was silent.
Using illusions to control, using violence to threaten... some people have indeed done these things, but only those small ninja villages that can't be seen in public, or wandering ninjas, would use such methods.
Konoha could never do that. Once they make a mistake and are exposed, it would be a huge scandal.
At that time, not to mention the merchants from their own country, merchants from other countries would never come again.
This would be very troublesome, because hiring missions account for a very large proportion of Konoha's income.
Military force is very intimidating when it is not used, but pure military force has the opposite effect.
Of course, this can also be attributed to not being capable enough.
Controlling one person might cause problems, but it would be fine to control all of them. Threatening one merchant family wouldn't work, but threatening everyone, including those who can protect them, and killing them all if they don't come, could also solve the problem.
This is indeed a direction to work towards.
Orochimaru licked his lips. The genie's evaluation of him was correct. He was very familiar with and liked this method.
Thinking of this, he suddenly understood Uchiha Madara's thinking when he created the 'Eye of the Moon' plan.
--Other people's thoughts are irrelevant to me. They don't listen to me just because I'm not strong enough, or my methods aren't ruthless enough.
That strong man who was as famous as the First Hokage was also absolutely confident, and even more extreme than himself.
But this kind of behavior is definitely the behavior of a psychopath.
"It seems you already understand a bit."
The genie raised his eyebrows. "Also, the idea that 'good wine doesn't need a deep alley' is actually very simple. When doing business, reputation is the most important thing. For example, in my previous world, a certain treasure site, a certain eastern site..."
"Back then, the business of that eastern site was booming, but their boss made some mistakes about his personal life. As a result, he was framed, and then..."
"...The current situation in the ninja world is the same. Konoha is not the only ninja village. Others, like Cloud Village, Rock Village... and even many small ninja villages, are also good choices."
"Why risk choosing a ninja village with a bad reputation?"
"Compared to ability and quality, reputation is sometimes more important, especially when making comparisons."
Orochimaru's face changed for a while, and he couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
No one had ever told him these things, or maybe someone had said them, but he had forgotten them in an instant. He had more important things to do and didn't take them to heart.
But he would listen to the genie's words, and he would also think about them.
And following this line of thought, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura's concerns didn't seem unreasonable.
For Konoha's reputation, it seemed that sacrificing a Hizashi was acceptable, and it wasn't the Hokage's line that was forcing it.
Even if the so-called 'life for a life' greatly damaged the village's prestige, what they were likely considering was that this prestige was enough.
Konoha would not stop being the most powerful ninja village in the ninja world just because they lost an elite Jonin.
"This... is a bit bad."
Orochimaru exhaled a breath of white air, his expression serious, as he understood the key to the problem.
Unlike him, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were considering the interests of the village's lower and middle-level ninjas. They accounted for the largest proportion of ninjas in Konoha, and they completed the vast majority of missions, but they didn't have well-known names like 'Blue Beast' or 'Konoha Sannin'.
If the village's reputation declined, the most severely affected would be them.
And once the ecosystem of the lower and middle-level ninjas obtaining rewards was destroyed, then in the long run, the high-level ninjas, who were based on them, would also collapse.
Perhaps it wouldn't be that severe, but it would also show signs of decline, like Sand Village.
In comparison, the benefits promised in the previous agreement seemed insignificant.
Jiraiya, who was waiting beside him, saw Orochimaru speak and his heart moved. "Do you have a good idea?"
Orochimaru shook his head, his gaze instead looking at the genie in the air. "I always feel like something is wrong. Konoha has so many powerful ninjas, how can they be so restricted?"
Yes, restricted. The two advisor elders were willing to sacrifice the village's prestige in order to protect its reputation, which was the choice they made under the pressure of that invisible restriction.
"Hmm, perhaps this should be blamed on the First Hokage?"
The genie rubbed his chin, slightly raising his eyebrows,
"He created the 'ninja village' model, gathering ninety-nine percent of the ninjas in the country, which completely separated ninjas from ordinary people."
"But whether they are ninjas or ordinary people, they have to eat, and the former eats even more."
"Ninjas don't produce anything, they rely on ordinary people to live. They seem to be superior, but they can't really enslave them, so it's normal for them to be restricted under the surface."
Orochimaru played with the wine glass in his hand, silently digesting what the genie said.
After a while, he asked in his mind, "Then how can we get rid of these restrictions?"
Konoha's ninja group was his foundation. Making this field of leeks grow better and faster was very much in his interest.
Although he hasn't found a suitable way to harvest them yet, he had a feeling that he would soon be able to use these people.
"Actually, it's very simple."
The genie smiled. "As long as those ordinary people are no longer from the Land of Fire, but are civilians belonging to Konoha."
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