"Damned Sunagakure! Their intentions are nefarious!" Tsume cursed. If not for the incident, Konoha would be completely oblivious to Sunagakure's schemes. It could have resulted in a catastrophe for Konoha if they failed to act appropriately.
Of course, not everyone thought so. The remaining clan leaders and Elders looked at Hiruzen, trying to gauge his reaction. There were some inconsistencies in his story.
Homura thought, 'There is more to this story. It seems like Hiruzen was already aware of Sunagakure building a hideout there. The ninjas we sent after Tanigakure's request only reached a couple of days after the incident. By then, most of the memories would have dissipated.
Not to mention, Tanigakure sent ninjas before us. They would have discovered Sunagakure ninja's bodies before our ninjas reached there. The only way for things to develop this way would be if some Konoha ninjas sneaked into the town right after the attack had taken place.
However, that would only happen if Hiruzen was suspicious and sent someone there beforehand. The squads he sent should have witnessed the attack and likely took advantage of the situation.'
Since Fujin had asked Hiruzen not to expose the fact that he was the one in the Yamakawa town who confronted Sasori, Hiruzen changed the story slightly. However, the experienced ninjas quickly understood how the events had happened. Only the civilians were clueless.
Shikaku added, "To make matters worse, Sunagakure seems to be preparing for something. Their village has been closed off for a few months, making contacting the spies very difficult. Even though we aren't sure, we need to be prepared to deal with any stunts they might try to pull. We have to deal with whatever they throw at us swiftly and with minimal losses. Otherwise, things can become ugly very quickly."
Hiruzen said, "Thankfully, the civil war in Kiri is still at a very high intensity. Kumo won't do anything until that civil war ends. As for Onoki, he won't start a war by himself. Regardless, what Shikaku said is correct. We will need to deal with their schemes quickly.
If possible, we will still need to find a way to maintain our alliance after dealing with their scheme or come to a new agreement after defeating them. We will need to do that before the civil war in Kiri ends."
For the first time, Fujin was surprised. He thought, 'Seeing his attitude, it's no wonder Konoha let Suna off so lightly after the war. While I can understand that Kumo and Iwa are as strong as us, it's not like they don't have any enmity between themselves. Is there a need to be so passive?'
Fujin wasn't on board with staying so passive. After all, what if Sunagakure didn't follow the agreement once a war broke out? If Rasa hadn't died and continued being the Kazekage, he'd definitely take advantage of such a moment.
That said, Fujin didn't speak up despite not agreeing with Hiruzen's methods. After all, it didn't have much to do with him. He already knew the future. He knew that there wouldn't be any war between Konoha and Kumo or Iwa. And he knew that Konoha and Suna would be very strong allies once Gaara took over. Of course, that was assuming Gaara still becomes the Kazekage!
Inoichi asked, "Do you have any speculations about what their scheme might be?"
Shikaku answered, "We have very little information as of now. So it is hard to say anything for sure. I did calculate several actions I could have taken if I were the Kazekage, but I failed to come up with any plans where they would confront us and not end up suffering.
The only instance where they would benefit is if they ally with another major village. However, Kiri is embroiled in civil war while Kumo and Iwa haven't made any movements. Our spies haven't informed us of anything happening in those villages either. So, it is difficult to say.
With that option out of the way, there are only two other strategies through which they could benefit. However, both are extremely risky and not something I would have done.
The first is making a sudden attack on the Land of Fire. Using the element of surprise, they can eliminate our patrol units and capture some of our land. If they succeeded in catching us by surprise, then we would need some time to respond. They could use that time to entice Kumo into making a move against us, forcing us to fight on two fronts.
However, this plan hinges on whether Kumo would respond in time or not. If they don't, then Suna will suffer heavily.
The second strategy is to do something during the Chunin exams. It could be a sudden attack with Elite troops. Or it could also be an attempt on Lord Hokage's life. The only problem is that they would be surrounded by Konoha's ninjas and would have to endure our assault, making it extremely risky unless they were planning on sacrificing their lives. Regardless, we need to be careful when they visit during the Chunin Exams."
Everyone thought for a bit and nodded. No one could think of any other possibility. Even Fujin was impressed as Shikaku had guessed Rasa's strategy despite having so little information. He thought, 'Apart from guessing Orochimaru's involvement, he has guessed everything. I wonder what Rasa would think if he knew, hehe.'
Choza said, "Since they were creating a hideout in Yamakawa town, they could have also tried to do so in other towns that are along our border. We need to check the Land of River properly."
Hiruzen replied, "They haven't. I suspected the same thing and sent Jiraiya to investigate. He didn't find any such hideout in other towns. I have even dispatched several Anbu squads to check whether they created any other hideouts along the border. We didn't discover anything. I believe that Yamakawa town was their first attempt and since it resulted in such losses, they haven't tried it again. Even so, I'll continue investigating."
Since Jiraiya was involved, no one suspected the information. Only Fujin thought, 'Ugh! I hope Hiruzen doesn't send them to investigate deeper into the Land of Rain. Though the Anbu ninjas won't be able to detect it due to my seals, Jiraiya will immediately feel something off if he gets close enough. Though even if he does find it, I doubt he'd attack them. However, he'll report it to Hiruzen, which would make it difficult for me to move...'
Seeing that no one had anything else to say, Hiruzen said, "We will maintain our high alertness. Since we have been maintaining it since the attack, it won't raise any suspicions and won't show Suna that we are aware of their schemes. We will keep it that way and catch them off guard.
Start increasing the preparedness of your respective clans. Everyone will need to act immediately if Suna dares to make a move. Our counterattack has to be swift and deadly. The losses we inflict on them have to deter anyone else from having similar thoughts.
If they dare to invade our territories, then we will dispatch an army within hours and will attack them within 24 hours. Even before any other village thinks of moving, we will force Suna to retreat not only from the Land of Fire but also from the Land of Rivers.
If they make a move during the Chunin exams, I'll kill Rasa myself. You guys will ensure that no Suna ninja inside Konoha is able to leave in one piece!"
Despite being veterans of several wars and quite old, Hiruzen's words raised the morale of everyone in the room. Even Fujin was slightly impressed and thought, 'Now that's more like it. Almost makes me wish that they invade the Land of Fire. It's been a while since I have fought unrestrained…'
Hiruzen looked around the room and asked, "Does anyone have anything else to discuss?"
He wasn't expecting anyone to reply as the village had been peaceful. To his surprise, Fujin took the initiative to speak for once! Even Shikaku was surprised as Fujin said, "I have a proposal that will be helpful for our village. Considering what you said, it might probably be the best time to implement this."
Fujin activated the storage seal on his bracer and withdrew a few files. Looking at more than a dozen files in front of Fujin, Shikaku wondered, 'Since when did this troublemaker start working?'
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Everyone looked at the files Fujin had placed on the desk with curiosity. Fujin said, "Some time ago, Katsuhiro had come to me with a proposal. Even though his proposal had a lot of flaws, it pointed out an important flaw in our current system and also gave quite an ingenious solution."
Shikaku squinted his eyes and thought, 'Katsuhiro? That Elite Jounin who has been frequently visiting his office?'
Others in the council knew about his visits to Fujin's office as well. It wasn't something that could be hidden. Besides, Fujin didn't particularly care about it. One of the civilian members thought, 'Katsuhiro was working with him on a proposal? Why did he keep dropping hints that he wanted Fujin's seat if that's what he was doing?'
Fujin continued, "The issue he pointed out was that ninjas who belong to ninja clans get guided by their seniors. Considering the varying specialities of everyone, they can get help in any area they want to.
However, civilian ninjas don't have the same opportunity. Even though the jutsus are available in the library, without a proper teacher, learning the jutsus isn't easy. When one tries by himself, then mistakes can occur and injuries can happen.
Even though everyone is assigned a sensei while graduating from the academy, a majority of the senseis are just ordinary Chunins who aren't that knowledgeable. Even if a Jounin is assigned as the sensei, he or she won't know everything. Not to mention, once their sensei dies in battle, they no longer have anyone they could ask for guidance."
Everyone in the room subconsciously nodded. What Fujin said was true. Even so, most of the clan leaders raised their guards slightly. They still remembered the changes Fujin had recommended for the academy. Hiruzen had started implementing some of Fujin's recommendations. And now, Fujin was proposing something that would reduce the difference between clan ninjas and civilian ninjas even further.
Though Fujin noticed it, he ignored it and continued, "Katsuhiro came up with an ingenious solution to solve this issue. He suggested that we make a Guidance Hall in the center of the village.
The basic idea is that civilian ninjas can put up requests in the Guidance Hall for the jutsus or techniques for which they need guidance. For instance, if someone wants to practice Fire Dragon Flame Bullet jutsu, he or she can put up the request in the Guidance Hall. If a veteran civilian ninja who has mastered that jutsu wants to teach it to that ninja, then he can do so.
Of course, doing it on a one-by-one basis will not be feasible. So, the Guidance Hall will be responsible for gathering all the requests and collating them. That way, a veteran can guide multiple youngsters at the same time. If it is implemented properly, then we could help a large number of Chunins become Jounins."
Hiruzen was surprised. He immediately thought, 'Hmm, not a bad idea. I had been thinking about this issue for some time as well. Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with anything. That said, there are some major flaws.'
As Hiruzen expected, Hiashi said, "While it sounds good on paper, creating a Guidance Hall in the center of the village is unfeasible. The cost that will be required to move the shops and other buildings currently there would be enormous."
Inoichi added, "That's right. It might be worth several years of our budget. While the idea is good, such costs aren't something we can afford."
The civilian council members immediately began calculating how they could argue against them. However, to everyone's surprise, Fujin nodded and said, "That's true. In fact, it's not just about the cost. Creating the Guidance Hall there will also cause Konoha to lose an excellent opportunity. It is one of the major flaws that were in Katsuhiro's proposal. Actually…"
Fujin suddenly stopped talking and let out a sigh of exhaustion. Hiruzen's eyes immediately twitched as everyone in the room glanced at him. He cursed, 'This brat! Why is he sighing exactly like I do? I worked hard for decades and my hair turned gray before I began using it! You think you can use it after working on just one proposal?'
"Katsuhiro's proposal had too many flaws. It was too idealistic as well for it to work properly. I had to work hard for weeks to fix all the flaws. I almost gave up a few times but continued remembering how much it would benefit the village." Every single word Fujin spoke showed how exhausted he was! While speaking, his elbows were resting on the table and his shoulders and head drooped to further emphasize his exhaustion!
Thankfully, Katsuhiro wasn't in the council room. If he was, he wouldn't have been able to restrain himself from lashing out. Needless to say, no one bought Fujin's little act. However, no one could speak it out loud either. A few almost wanted to chuckle on seeing how Hiruzen was staring at him but managed to hold themselves back.
Shikaku asked, "What opportunity would we have lost?"
Fujin replied, "I'll come back to it later. One of the major issues in his proposal was that there was no incentive for veteran ninjas to help the young ninjas out. While we can easily say that they should do it out of compassion, what was stopping them from doing that until now? Even though the Guidance Hall will provide a platform, it will still result in very limited involvement from them.
In order to overcome this flaw, I decided to change the nature of the Guidance Hall. Now, while youngsters can go and put in requests for the jutsus they want to learn, we will also allow Veteran ninjas to make an offer about the jutsus they are willing to teach. In order to incentivize them, they'll be allowed to put a price for which they will guide the youngsters.
Another way of looking at this can be that veteran ninjas can treat these like missions while the youngsters will be their clients. Since the main method of earning money is completing missions, it can create a virtuous cycle.
The youngsters will be more motivated to take and complete missions as they can use the money they earn to take their guidance, master new jutsus and strengthen themselves. On the other hand, veteran ninjas who have semi-retired can contribute to the village in a risk-free manner. Guiding youngsters will also help them stay in shape and could reignite the fire in some of them.
Of course, certain checks have to be put in place to ensure that no one misuses the system. Every veteran trainer who wants to teach has to first prove that they can perform the jutsus he or she wants to teach properly and have adequate knowledge of the same. This task can be left to the Anbu to ensure that there is no monkey business.
We will also need to maintain a feedback system where we can ask the youngsters how effective the guidance was. We could go a step further and inspect how well they can perform the jutsu. That could allow us to rate the ninjas who guide the youngsters, allowing them to choose the appropriate guide and will also motivate the veteran ninjas to give their best.
The techniques that they teach will have to be monitored as well. I'm sure we can all agree that secret techniques and Forbidden jutsus shouldn't be taught through the Guidance Hall.
In addition, we will also have to put limits on the amount of money they charge and the number of youngsters they can teach at the same time. This will ensure that no one gets too greedy. After all, the Guidance Hall is for guiding the youngsters and not to make a fortune."
Fujin's words made all the ninjas in the room fall into thought. Some were trying to find any flaws in his idea. After a couple of minutes, everyone in the room was left impressed. There was nothing they could pick out. Unlike Katsuhiro, Fujin's idea was flawless. Of course, that didn't mean that he would have everyone's support.
Hiruzen said, "That is very well thought. I agree with these methods. Continue."
Fujin nodded and said, "The second major flaw is restricting the Guidance Hall to just civilian ninjas. While it is true that currently civilian ninjas don't get much guidance, that's no reason to keep the clan ninjas out.
While the clans represented by the people in this room are relatively well off, there are several clans that are too small due to the losses they took in previous wars. They will benefit from the Guidance Hall as well. Even the larger clans can benefit. For example…'
Fujin gazed towards Hiashi and continued, "I have never met any Hyuga clan ninja who knows any Taijutsu other than Gentle Fist. So if any Hyuga clan youngster wanted to pursue any other form of Taijutsu, then the Guidance Hall would be a great help."
Since Hiashi was the first one to speak, Fujin decided to target him. He continued, "Besides, there could be other things that ninjas in your respective clans don't know. Or even if they know, they might not know it as well as someone who has devoted a long time to mastering that particular technique. So, even the ninjas from your clans can benefit.
That's why, I changed the proposal to make the Guidance Hall open to every Konoha ninja irrespective of their background."
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