Shikamaru Nara's suggestion was to absorb the unaffiliated ninjas of the Land of Fire. For example, the Fire Temple within the country was home to a considerable number of ninja monks.
"Alright, this mission is yours, Team 10!" Naruto Uzumaki waved at Shikamaru, then noticed Yamato running towards them at high speed. "Looks like there's something important from the Hokage's office. I'll go first!"
"Go on, go on..." Shikamaru waved back impatiently.
Things were a bit unexpected. After Naruto returned to the Hokage's office, he learned the news sent by an agent of Tobirama Senju. He had originally thought the two reanimated Hokage were just out relaxing and gathering some intelligence on the side. He never expected them to want to stir up such big trouble.
But... what does another country's war have to do with Konoha?
Naruto thought that annexing two small countries and dissolving the Sand Village's defense forces was already aggressive enough. After all, he had a just cause for those actions. He didn't expect Tobirama Senju's next move to be even more aggressive.
He actually wants Konoha to mediate the war between the Mist Village and its rogue ninja forces?
To put it nicely, it would mean the Hokage of Konoha is kind-hearted. To put it bluntly, it means the Hokage of Konoha is trying to interfere in the internal affairs of the Land of Water. Even if the ninjas there were beating each other's brains out, it wasn't his place as Hokage to manage it, right? What was the reason? Because we live near the sea, our reach is long?
Naruto looked at the blonde female ninja with a puzzled expression. "Granny Tsunade, during the Second Hokage's time... was he, uh... a bit of a meddler?"
"More than a little," Tsunade's face darkened as she answered. "If Second Grandpa could see it, and if he could reach it, he would intervene. When Great-Grandpa taught me to gamble, he'd scold him for it. That was one thing, since we're family. But back when the Uchiha clan was still around, they had seven clan meetings a week, and Second Grandpa would often offer to help them set a suitable time."
So, Tobirama's reputation within the Uchiha clan was never very good. Of course, the tense relationship wasn't just for that reason; in fact, the Uchiha didn't need a reason to hate Tobirama.
Take Sasuke Uchiha, for example. If he knew Tobirama invented the Flying Thunder God Technique, would he give it up? On the other hand, if Tobirama saw Sasuke's face, he would probably find a way to strip Sasuke of his right to practice the technique and maybe even bury the last Uchiha.
Not probably. Definitely. After all, Sasuke's face looked far too much like Tobirama's sworn enemy. Just because of his appearance, Tobirama would define him as an evil Uchiha.
After Tsunade and Naruto spent a moment denouncing Tobirama, she calmly analyzed the situation. "Although we might be accused of interfering in the Land of Water's internal affairs... what Second Grandpa said in the intelligence report makes a lot of sense. For Konoha, this is still very advantageous."
The Land of Water is geographically too close to the Land of Fire. Konoha used to have the Uchiha clan, a force that specialized in dealing with Mist invasions, but it was annihilated a few years ago. According to Konoha's statistics, the Mist Village had dispatched dozens of invasion forces over the years, even attempting to attack Konoha itself.
This had been happening nonstop since the First Great Ninja War. The general process was always the same: Mist forces invade, encounter Konoha's ninja, the Mist ninjas suffer heavy losses, and then they retreat.
"Hey..." Naruto suddenly glanced at the ninja who delivered the message and asked softly, "Have you gathered any intelligence on the Mist Village's Three-Tails, Isobu, or the Six-Tails jinchuriki?"
"..." The ninja was silent for a moment before nodding. "The Second Lord was worried that the Six-Tails jinchuriki would make the war too tragic, so he is temporarily keeping him for them... As for the Three-Tails Isobu, we have not yet found any trace of its activity in the Land of Water."
The way this person spoke, spouting one political phrase after another, made it obvious he'd been with Tobirama for a long time.
What does "keeping him for them" even mean? Isn't that just political strong-arming?
Naruto waved at Yamato. "Captain Yamato, gather all the guard ninjas. We'll set out for the Land of Water tomorrow morning."
"Hey, brat, you're not actually going to bring back the Six-Tails jinchuriki, are you?" Tsunade asked.
"In order to reduce the war losses for the Land of Water, we can only 'keep him for them.'" The young Hokage learned and applied the phrase on the spot. He waved his hand and added, "Besides, if we don't bring the Six-Tails jinchuriki back, he'll fall into the hands of the Akatsuki sooner or later!"
Tsunade was speechless. What's with this kid? It takes years to learn good habits, but only a moment to pick up bad ones?
However, what Naruto said did make a lot of sense. The Akatsuki was still drooling over the Tailed Beasts. Rather than waiting for the Six-Tails to be captured by them, it would be better for Konoha to protect him.
That evening, Naruto returned home and mentioned the day's events to Kushina. "Sorry, I might be gone for a long time this time... the mission over there isn't something that can be finished quickly."
"It's okay!" Kushina Uzumaki seemed unusually understanding. "Naruto, you and Minato are really alike! Even as Hokage, you still have to run all over the place, looking terribly busy..."
"Huh?" The young Hokage shook his head, not quite agreeing. "I'm different from Dad... I'm seriously changing this ninja world. Dad was purely busy with useless work, and in the end, nothing changed..."
In fact, it was true. During Minato Namikaze's time as Hokage, nothing in Konoha had really changed. He'd accomplished less than Naruto had in just three months.
Kushina was taken aback. This son of mine, has he gotten used to insulting people? He doesn't even hold back when it's his own father? As I expected, he's spent too much time with Lady Tsunade! He's picked up her reckless personality!
Kushina earnestly tried to correct her son's attitude. "Naruto, you should try to be a bit more modest..."
"But I'm telling the truth," Naruto shrugged and said softly. "It probably won't be long before we can see Dad again... At that point, Mom, you can ask him yourself."
"Minato has been reanimated too?" Kushina looked troubled. "Will this disturb his rest too much...? We, the dead, should be living in the Pure Land."
"..." Naruto shook his head and glanced helplessly at his mother. "If I remember correctly, he should be in the Reaper's stomach..."
Yes, Minato Namikaze was still in the Reaper's stomach, keeping the other half of the Nine-Tails company. The environment there had to be much worse than the Pure Land. However, Naruto had already made arrangements.
He was just waiting for Kabuto to pass the message to Orochimaru so that Orochimaru could undo the Reaper Death Seal and reanimate Minato.
Late at night, at the Konoha Orphanage, a knock sounded on the door.
Kabuto Yakushi got up and opened it, noticing a small white snake waiting outside. The director of the orphanage immediately picked up the snake with a smile, took it into his room, and stuffed a scroll into its mouth.
"This intelligence," he murmured, "is definitely what Lord Orochimaru wants."
-----
Bonus:
Orochimaru: I've had enough of this. Do you even remember how many surrender letters you've sent?
Kabuto: ...This time's intelligence is something Lord Orochimaru will definitely want!
Orochimaru: What intelligence?
Kabuto: How to reanimate the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!
Orochimaru: ...
Kabuto: What's wrong?
Orochimaru: What are you, some kind of dream-fulfiller now? I revived Kushina Uzumaki, and now you want me to revive Minato. Am I supposed to be reuniting their family or something?
Kabuto: Well, aren't you?
Orochimaru: ...