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Chapter 174 - 174: Leader of the Barrier Class

"What an absolute joke!" one council member shouted, his face flushed with indignation.

"This is impossible! Completely and utterly impossible!" another elder declared, slamming his fist on the table for emphasis.

"Why are we rushing into such drastic changes so suddenly?" questioned a family patriarch, his voice filled with concern and confusion.

"This is complete nonsense! Who in their right mind could have possibly come up with these ridiculous plans?" demanded yet another official, his tone dripping with disdain and disbelief.

However, not everyone in the room shared such fierce opposition to the proposals under discussion.

"Actually, that's not entirely accurate," interjected a more moderate voice. "Some of these suggestions do make logical sense. If implementation is truly possible, there would be no harm in giving them a proper trial period."

"These plans represent nothing but sheer nonsense and chaos!" countered one of the more conservative council members. "If we continue down this path, Konoha Village will surely face internal civil unrest and complete social breakdown!"

"What practical use could these proposals possibly serve? They are absolutely ridiculous and completely impractical!" added another critic, shaking his head in dismay.

"Well, actually..." began someone attempting to offer a more balanced perspective.

"I believe we should focus our attention on addressing the fundamental issues that already exist within our village structure," suggested a clan leader thoughtfully. "There's absolutely no need to implement such dramatic and sweeping changes all at once. Such rapid transformation will make it extremely difficult for everyone to adapt properly to the new systems."

"Completely rebuilding the Konoha Police Department? Isn't that approach perhaps a bit too... extreme?" asked another participant, his voice trailing off with obvious uncertainty.

"The logistics department absolutely needs comprehensive reform," declared a supporter firmly. "The logistics division made numerous critical mistakes during the recent war. We must prioritize dealing with these systemic problems immediately."

"Are we really serious about wanting to pursue this course of action?" questioned a skeptical voice from the back of the room.

"Why hasn't the planned split of the medical emergency teams been completed yet? It's been such a long time since that proposal was first introduced," complained another official, clearly frustrated with the pace of existing reforms.

"We're being far too hasty with all of these changes," warned a cautious elder. "Why are we in such a tremendous hurry to modify so many different departments and institutions simultaneously? If we approach these reforms at a more measured pace, our village will remain more stable and we can avoid unexpected complications or disasters."

"I simply cannot support these plans," stated another opponent bluntly. "No one can predict what kind of chaos will result when the time comes to actually implement them."

"Making so many fundamental changes all at once would create far too much disruption and upheaval throughout our entire system," argued yet another concerned voice.

"I must admit that some of the individual suggestions have merit and could prove beneficial," conceded a more diplomatic council member. "However, there are only a few worthwhile proposals among them. We should abandon all the others without further consideration."

"This is simply too much change, far too much to handle responsibly," declared another overwhelmed official.

"Hokage-sama, please reconsider this entire approach very carefully," pleaded one of the elder advisors. "These monumental decisions cannot and should not be made all at once without proper deliberation."

"That's absolutely correct," agreed his colleague enthusiastically. "We still need much more time to think through all the implications carefully. Since everyone holds such different opinions about these matters, perhaps we should..."

"Lord Naraku, please contribute something meaningful to this discussion," demanded one frustrated participant. "How can such important matters be treated so frivolously and carelessly? This entire approach is completely outrageous!"

"Hey! What exactly are you talking about over there?" shouted another voice. "How can you possibly agree to support this madness?!"

"That's complete nonsense! Why shouldn't we support these changes? I believe right now represents the absolute best time for implementing these reforms!" retorted a supporter with equal passion.

"You're an absolute fool! Say another word and see what happens!" threatened the opposition member, his temper flaring dangerously.

However, amid all the heated arguments and personal attacks, some participants managed to focus on the actual substance of the proposals.

"The barrier system protecting our village genuinely needs comprehensive adjustment and modernization," pointed out one practical-minded official. "Both Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi have repeatedly managed to lead infiltration teams into our village completely undetected. This kind of security breach must never be allowed to happen again!"

"I completely agree with that assessment," supported another council member. "Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi possess intimate knowledge of our current passwords and methods for entering and exiting the barrier system. They're also thoroughly familiar with our standard guard procedures and patrol habits throughout the village. This dangerous situation simply cannot continue."

"Based on what we learned from the attack during the Chūnin Exams, it's highly likely that Sunagakure has also acquired these critical security secrets," added a strategic analyst. "Therefore, the adjustment of both our barrier squad operations and our garrison forces must be accelerated significantly."

"The garrison troop reforms should be relatively straightforward to handle," noted a logistics expert. "However, if we want to establish a completely new barrier system, the financial costs will be absolutely enormous."

"What a mess! Why are you people worrying about funding at a time like this?" exploded an exasperated supporter.

"Who exactly are you calling confused, you fool?" shot back the offended official.

Throughout the extended meeting, the top leadership of Konohagakure continued their fierce arguments with one another, while the patriarchs of all the major families also spoke up repeatedly to exchange their vastly different opinions and perspectives.

The vast majority of participants expressed various forms of implicit or explicit resistance to the comprehensive proposals that required discussion and decision at this critical meeting.

Essentially no one present was willing to accept all of the proposed changes without significant modifications or delays.

Even those who were generally aligned with Tsunade and Naraku's political camp showed obvious hesitation about supporting such sweeping reforms all at once.

At this point in the proceedings, none of the council members knew that these controversial proposals had actually originated from Naraku himself. Therefore, they were all directing their persuasive efforts toward Tsunade, assuming that she was simply making an overly ambitious first move as a newly appointed official trying to establish her authority.

Since Tsunade had assumed office, she had already led Konoha to victory in two separate foreign wars. With such an impressive track record of success and such obvious political power behind her, it was extremely difficult for ordinary council members to express direct opposition to her initiatives.

Therefore, everyone could only voice their concerns and objections through the structured discussion format of the official meeting. If they could somehow manage to change Tsunade's mind through reasoned debate, that would represent the best possible outcome for those who opposed the reforms.

The situation became particularly encouraging for the opposition when they observed that Tsunade did not appear to be stubbornly committed to her position in the face of widespread criticism. Everyone became increasingly enthusiastic about presenting counterarguments and alternative approaches.

Of course, it was impossible for every single person to oppose every proposal. When truly appropriate and well-reasoned suggestions were presented, some council members would eventually agree to support them after thorough debate and consideration.

What none of the participants realized was that the entire scene unfolding before them represented exactly what Naraku and Tsunade had hoped to achieve through their carefully planned strategy.

Since there were so many different proposals that required detailed discussion and complex negotiation during this session, it took a full two days of intensive debate before everyone finally reached decisions about these critical matters.

To Naraku's genuine surprise, he had originally estimated that it would be a remarkable success if even one-third of his proposals managed to gain approval from the conservative council. However, the final results showed that more than half of his suggested reforms had actually been accepted.

After reflecting on these unexpected results later, Naraku concluded that this favorable outcome might represent the inevitable consequence of Konoha's recent victories in two major foreign conflicts.

Tsunade had thoroughly proven that even though she had just assumed office and immediately faced a sudden war crisis, she could handle such challenges with remarkable skill and effectiveness.

Naraku had personally led the military forces to victory in the conflict against the Land of Lightning, which served as a powerful deterrent to potential enemies and demonstrated Konoha's continued strength.

The older generation of ninja leaders suddenly discovered that Konohagakure could apparently develop and prosper quite well even without their direct participation in every decision, which made them feel deeply uncomfortable and somewhat irrelevant.

This realization was precisely why they lacked both the political positioning and the personal confidence necessary to mount effective opposition to the proposed changes.

They wanted to oppose the reforms, but they didn't dare to reject them completely given the current political climate and recent military successes.

Therefore, after two full days of heated and passionate debate, some of Naraku's proposed plans were temporarily rejected for further study, while a significantly larger number were officially confirmed and approved for implementation.

[Ding! Host has become the leader of the Konohagakure barrier class!]

[Congratulations to Host for earning two additional draws! Current total draws available: six!]

[Friendly reminder: Drawing ten times in succession increases the probability of obtaining magical items!]

After several of Shihouin Naraku's key proposals successfully passed through the approval process, Tsunade directly appointed him to serve as the leader of the barrier team, making him responsible for designing and constructing an entirely new barrier system to protect Konoha Village.

The moment he officially received this important appointment, the familiar sound of system notifications rang clearly in Naraku's ears, confirming his advancement.

He had qualified for two additional draws from the mysterious system!

The coveted ten-draw sequence was getting closer and closer to reality!

"Just as I expected," Naraku thought to himself with satisfaction.

"If I create entirely new positions that Konoha doesn't currently have, or restore positions that have disappeared over time, I can still receive system rewards. This discovery makes my long-term strategy significantly easier to implement."

As long as he could continue obtaining new positions and responsibilities within the village hierarchy, Naraku would be able to break through the existing limitations of his personal strength and reach entirely new levels of power. This represented the fundamental foundation for his continued success and influence in the ninja world.

After officially becoming the leader of the barrier class, Naraku temporarily focused most of his energy and attention on this crucial new responsibility.

The daily operations of the medical department had long since become routine and familiar to all the staff members. As long as no unexpected emergencies arose, the capable subordinates that Naraku had promoted and trained over the years were more than sufficient to handle all regular administrative duties and patient care responsibilities.

Additionally, many members of the Shihouin clan were currently employed within the medical department at various levels, which meant that Naraku rarely needed to pay close attention to matters occurring in that division.

The current deputy director of the medical department was Shihouin Chunyuan, one of Naraku's most trusted relatives.

Although Uncle Chunyuan lacked advanced skills in medical ninjutsu techniques, his role as deputy director didn't require him to personally treat patients or perform complex medical procedures. As long as he could effectively manage the administrative aspects and bureaucratic functions of the medical department, there would be no significant problems with daily operations.

Therefore, Naraku felt no need to worry excessively about potential issues within the medical department, and he had even begun developing plans to gradually step away from that position entirely.

After all, Shihouin Naraku currently served not only as the director of the medical department, but also as a high-level consultant to the village leadership. If he simultaneously held the position of barrier class leader, it would become difficult for even Tsunade to justify showing him additional favoritism without facing criticism from other officials.

There were numerous important positions throughout Konohagakure's government structure, and it would appear ridiculous and inappropriate for Naraku to monopolize all of them by himself.

Considering Naraku's long-term strategic needs, there was no compelling reason to maintain his grip on the Director of Medical Department position indefinitely. Even if he voluntarily stepped down from that role, any new director who replaced him wouldn't dare to cause significant trouble or reverse his established policies.

His reputation as the strongest ninja in the world still carried tremendous weight and influence—who would be foolish enough to challenge him directly?

Naraku's personal plan was to complete his current mission with the barrier class successfully, and then resign from all of his positions except for his role as Konoha's senior advisor.

This strategic approach would allow Tsunade to consider transferring him to entirely different departments in the future, enabling Naraku to acquire new positions and continue qualifying for additional system lottery rewards.

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