Chapter 186: The Style Looks a Bit Familiar
The so-called "General Assembly" that Tsunade mentioned was a ninja assembly she had recently been planning to boost morale and inspire the people.
The main event was to commend the ninja who had performed outstandingly in the Chunin Exams, especially to hold an investiture ceremony for ninja like Haruno Sakura, who had been promoted in rank due to their good performance.
It was a typical political event.
The purpose was to tell the ninja of Konoha that the village had already recovered from the attack during the Chunin Exams, that new strength had filled the losses suffered in the attack, and that the village had once again become strong and prosperous.
In the recent decades of Konoha, this was the first time in history that such an event had been held, so much so that it made people wonder if this was still the style of Konoha's ninja.
—Yes, it was a bit like the style of a state-run news broadcast.
As for how this style had mixed into the world of Naruto... Haruno Sakura said that this was one pot she would not carry!
Really, she had just been sighing with emotion to Tsunade while studying, saying that a ninja's efficiency was really high, and that it was so refreshing not to hold empty, superficial meetings. Then Tsunade had asked a few more questions, like where she had heard the term "superficial," and what it meant... and the rest was Tsunade's own creative flourish.
In short, Konoha under Tsunade's administration had a completely different style from the Sandaime's era.
The Konoha of the Sandaime's era was more conservative and steady. That was the typical style of the Sandaime as an old man entering his twilight years. And the Konoha of Tsunade's era was more vigorous, more spirited, which was inextricably linked to Tsunade's current proactive personality.
Of course, a very important point was that the Sandaime had been the Hokage in Konoha for so many years and had already left his deep imprint on the village. As his successor, if Tsunade wanted to escape the shadow left by the Sandaime and break free from his barriers, she had to "light three fires as a new official," carrying out reforms and adjustments in all parts of Konoha to leave her own aura.
Because she had the support of the Third Hokage behind her, Tsunade's position as Hokage was much more stable than in the original story. At the very least, the two Hokage advisors, whose main duty was to criticize the Hokage, had gradually come to recognize the authority of the Fifth Hokage and would not openly oppose her after she had made a decision.
This kind of event would not have been held in the Sandaime's era. He probably would have thought it was too superficial, too flashy. But Tsunade would do it. The Fifth Hokage, who had gradually gained a firm footing with the help of the Sandaime and had won prestige in Konoha, had decided to do some "superficial" activities.
The timing was chosen very cleverly.
First, at this time, the losses caused by Orochimaru's invasion to Konoha had been basically recovered. The injured ninja had basically all recovered, and a large number of such new-generation ninja had emerged. Konoha could even be said to be stronger than before the Chunin Exams. Tsunade's hard work over the past few months had achieved good results.
So she couldn't wait to show off to everyone—a woman's vanity.
Second, to pull out the ninja who had been seriously injured in the Chunin Exams but had now recovered, to let them show their faces and commend them, the inner meaning she wanted to express was that Princess Tsunade's medical skills were unparalleled in the world. Everyone, you can rest assured and lay down your lives for Konoha. As long as you don't die on the spot, you can be saved, and so on.
Third, in the just-concluded Sasuke rescue operation, Konoha had basically suppressed Orochimaru's restless movements without a single scratch. This was an operation in the field. In sharp contrast, a few months ago, Orochimaru had dared to come to Konoha's heartland to wreak havoc. This fully demonstrated that Konoha had recovered its former deterrent power...
This, in the eyes of the ninja who knew the inside story, was just nonsense. Orochimaru had not been scared off by Konoha, but had been held up by other enemies, which was why he had not appeared on the battlefield.
However, it was enough to fool most of the mid-level ninja who didn't know the truth.
Clever propaganda is just telling part of the truth. In that mission, Konoha had sent many elite ninja, but Orochimaru had not appeared, making his operation all thunder and no rain. He had suffered heavy losses but had come up empty-handed. Why was that?
Everyone, just use your own imagination.
This kind of superficial work was really not a waste of time.
After Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan was launched, Konoha's "tiger skin" had been instantly torn, and its essence of being "strong on the outside but weak on the inside" was completely exposed. Many ninja were in a state of panic, not knowing what to do.
The reason why Haruno Sakura had dealt with so many defection incidents in the Anbu during that period was largely because these people believed that Konoha was about to fall into a complete decline, and so they had started to have crooked ideas.
So for Tsunade to hold such an event, though it was called "superficial," it was actually very pragmatic and had an urgent need.
The purpose was to appease that group of worried mid-level ninja, to tell them that Konoha was still very strong, and that it was full of talented people, with successors to carry on.
The big tree will not fall, so the monkeys don't need to find their own way out. Just stay put. That was probably the meaning.
The last purpose was to mix in all kinds of small, private goods. For example, during the investiture ceremony, to have the ninja who had been promoted during this period perform their "proficient" ninjutsu. And so, Sakura had demonstrated that scary Wind Style: Rasengan Fūma Shuriken of hers...
Of course, it was not the regular-sized Rasengan Fūma Shuriken, let alone that Spiraling Vortex which had almost demolished the Hokage's office before it was even activated.
—To use those two ninjutsu, was she trying to wipe out all of Konoha's ninja again?
However, the small-sized Wind Style meatball was already stunning enough.
Many mid-level Chunin had rarely seen such a gorgeous ninjutsu. The killing power of the small meatball was enough for them to marvel at, drawing a full house of applause. The effect was outstanding.
And the ninja who knew their stuff had more or less seen the details of this move.
The title of "Ice Style Girl" Haruno Sakura had gradually spread among this group of strong and discerning ninja. Ice Style was a fusion of Water Style and Wind Style chakra. Those who knew this were not surprised that Haruno Sakura could use such a powerful Wind Style ninjutsu. After all, she was a genius ninja who had mastered Ice Style not long after graduating. For her to develop such a ninjutsu would only make everyone marvel at her talent, not doubt the origin of her ninjutsu.
Danzo, who was sitting in the high seat, his eyes flickered for a moment and then returned to calm.
The Root's intelligence-gathering mission on Haruno Sakura was already underway in secret. According to the existing intelligence, Haruno Sakura had never used Wind Style in battle... To develop such a ninjutsu, did it mean that she was going to develop in the direction of Wind Style in the future?
Of course, those who understood Haruno Sakura, more or less knew what this move was all about... Kakashi even remembered the feigned-nonchalant expression she had when she had shown off this move to him.
This assembly was already several days after the incident where Haruno Sakura had almost demolished the Hokage's office.
Ninja pursued efficiency, and there was not much red tape.
After formally parading Konoha's new seedlings, powerhouses, and meritorious subjects, Tsunade looked at the morale of the low-and-mid-level ninja, which had been lifted by this show, and knew that her goal had been achieved. She then directly announced the end of the assembly.
Kakashi and Gai had already agreed to hold a joint training session. Taking this opportunity while everyone was gathered, they went to the training ground together after the meeting.