[Oto no Kami, Kamui Marecage, Otogakure]
"Again", Danzo spoke mercilessly.
Roku's skin was battered, his lips bleeding. His brother, Juuni, fared no better, his skin riddled in purple marks, traces of toxins enhanced by the collaborative byproducts of Oto and Suna's research laboratories. The result was evident, Roku's fangs becoming increasingly more lethal as he grew. Although they were still young, the intensive training had made them on par with chunins already.
Hyaku observed from a distance, his mastery lying in seals, rather than direct combat mastery, a talent that Danzo did not consider inferior in any way.
Before they could go through another round, a jonin interrupted Danzo's father-and-sons time.
"Sir, the clans have finished compiling their monthly number. Do you want to take a look before the meeting?", Aiko Hebikaze spoke
Aiko Hebikaze. She was one of his three students. As the Otokage, Danzo needed to build a legacy, and selected three students from the academy. Choosing Shimura only would have been the right decision to make, but he had been bewitched by his wife to choose Aiko, the current Hebikaze Patriarch Toru's daughter.
Choosing a Hebikaze as a disciple and no Kaonashi or Kinzoku but only Shimura would have caused jealousy to arise. In the end, he chose Pongo Kaonashi and Arashi Kinzoku, niece of the Kaonashi's matriarch and son of the patriarch Hiroto Kinzoku respectively.
Just like his sons, under his personal training, they had been recently promoted to chunin rank, or higher. Arashi showed tremendous potential. Unlike the others, he was a true genius. Not a fake genius, like the Shimura clansmen whose potential was forcefully stimulated through gene enhancement.
Arashi had created his own fighting style and jutsu. He was a scientist like Danzo, inheriting his knowledge, absorbing his methodologies like a true genius would. His dream, as he called it, was to become the Second Otokage and make Danzo acknowledge him. Loyalty, strength, intellect, Arashi possessed them all despite his young age. In a few years, Danzo could tell that the trio would become the backbone of Otogakure, like the Sanins who had begun training under Hiruzen as he recalled a report.
[Otogakure Overview Report
Population: 20,250 (3,750 Shimura clansmen, 2,250 Hebikaze clansmen, 750 Kaonashi clansmen, 1,250 Kinzoku clansmen, 12,250 Otogakure residents)
Total Force: 2300 → 3,877 Shinobi
Shimura Wind Corps: 1 Semi-kage level (Itoru), 6 Elite Jonins, 31 Jonins, 63 Chunins, 125 Elite Genins, 250 Genins
Shimura Support Corps: 2 Semi-kage level (Byakuro, Eiji), 6 Elite Jonins, 13 Jonins, 38 Chunins, 63 Elite Genins, 125 Genins
Shimura Kenjutsu Corps: 3 Semi-kage level (Yukiko, Himaru, Boku), 13 Elite Jonins, 63 Jonins, 100 Chunins, 125 Elite Genins, 250 Genins
Hebikaze Assassination Corps: 1 Mid-Kage (Harumi), 6 Elite Jonins (Toru), 38 Jonins, 38 Chunins, 125 Elite Genins, 250 Genins
Kaonashi Encryption Corps: 1 Low-Kage level (Kaonashi Rin), 3 Elite Jonins, 13 Jonins, 25 Chunins, 50 Elite Genins, 100 Genins
Kinzoku Genjutsu Corps: 1 Semi-kage level (Kinzoku), 2 Elite Jonins, 19 Jonins, 32 Chunins, 63 Elite Genins, 125 Genins
Otogakure General Corps: 2 Elite Jonin (Tofu, Pinzen), 6 Jonins, 13 Chunins, 250 Elite Genins, 800 Genins
Six Surface Shinobi Clans (Fuma, Hagamoro, Engetsu, Yashiro, Supaida, Sori): 8 Elite Jonins, 28 Jonins, 100 Chunins, 200 Elite Genins, 300 Genins
Treasure goods: Ether Gas [S], Shimura Cell Enhancement Shot [S], Royal Rice [A], Body Refinement Elixir [A], Chakra Injection Supplements [B], Black Mantle Locust Venom [B], Vitality Emergency Shot [C], Sound Vibration Seal [C], Waterfall Healing Honey [D]...]
Otogakure's population had more than doubled. Its shinobi population had grown significantly too, the Ether Gas produced by burning the three-tails flesh underground showing effects after just two years.
Seeing those numbers, Danzo's eyes shined with satisfaction. Although it paled compared to the average of 8000 shinobi owned by other hidden villages, Danzo believed that the quality of his shinobi surpassed the standards. His system of missions also showed very few losses, causing the reputation of Otogakure to spread.
With Takigakure's fall, 862 jutsu from D-rank to S-rank had been successfully stolen, alongside a couple of innovative seals that took Byakuro's full attention. The spoils of war distributed for all shinobi, clans and civilians alike in the great Otogakure Library, also raised the standards of strength in the village. High-level jutsu could only be accessed against high-level jutsu or contribution of similar scale, under the form of 'knowledge points'. This allowed shinobi to work hard and be rewarded with a varying amount of knowledge point from missions.
Everything in Otogakure was a system, the data compiled and adjusted by the higher-ups. Some would call it dystopian. Danzo called it efficient.
"Otokage-sama, the elders have summoned you", Pinzen, the commander of Otogakure General Corps, appeared from a shadow, her voluptuous body emerging from a tree.
"Fine. I will come. What is it about?"
Pinzen revealed a bitter smile, not knowing whether to trust anyone here, but seeing Danzo nod, she muttered: "Harumi spotted a foreign shinobi in the vacinity of the fog and captured him...But it is quite a legendary figure"
"Is she fine?", Danzo muttered, not expecting an enemy to attack Otogakure after the dispositives he had set in place
"Yes, Otokage-sama. Harumi-sama has successfully killed Hanzo, the Salamander"