Shimoku already had a clear plan for how to incorporate the entire Rain Hidden Village.
Although the Rain Hidden Village wasn't large,
when all its people were counted, it still numbered in the thousands.
For such a small hidden village that had constantly been at war and had once been reduced to ruins,
maintaining such a large population was quite impressive.
This clearly showed that Nagato's governance over the years had yielded solid results.
Therefore, with such a substantial population,
there was no way Shimoku could simply absorb them all into the Homura Hidden Village at once as he had previously done with the Hyuga Branch House ninja.
How could just over a thousand people assimilate nearly seven or eight thousand?
They might as well flip the script and say the Rain Hidden Village absorbed the Homura Hidden Village instead...
So Shimoku's approach was simple:
absorb them in batches.
Use time and benefits to gradually integrate the entire Rain Hidden Village.
The first batch would arrive as an envoy and be stationed directly within the Homura Hidden Village.
This group wouldn't number more than 200, but would consist of elite specialists across key shinobi disciplines, allowing him to acquire the advanced technologies of the Rain Hidden Village.
The second batch would mainly consist of children—those showing talent for ninjutsu would enter his Ninja Academy, studying alongside Uchiha children, learning superior techniques together and slowly having their mindset reshaped.
The third batch would primarily include ninja families, who would be permitted to purchase homes and permanently settle inside the Homura Hidden Village, registering under the village household registry and receiving protection from the village...
Later, with the fifth and sixth waves, immigration restrictions would be gradually relaxed.
In this way,
those moving into the Homura Hidden Village would slowly begin changing their identities without realizing it,
gradually viewing themselves as part of the Homura Hidden Village.
After all, in the Ninja World,
nothing matters more than security!
How could a dangerous place located right in the middle of conflict zones—one that had lost both its leader and elite military strength—possibly compare to a peaceful rising power rivaling even the Five Great Hidden Villages, offering safety and excellent benefits?
Following this strategy, it wouldn't take long
before the Homura Hidden Village became every Rain villager's top choice.
The vast majority would rush to join the Homura Hidden Village,
just like during the mass urban migration in Shimoku's past life, when farmers flocked to cities seeking better lives.
Reality has proven:
this method works extremely well.
People who moved to cities soon stopped thinking of themselves as farmers.
Those entering the Homura Hidden Village would follow the same pattern…
Of course, another reason why Shimoku wasn't rushing to annex the Rain Hidden Village
was due to additional concerns.
After all,
during the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars,
the Rain Hidden Village had suffered terribly as a battlefield between greater nations.
Many rain ninja had died by the hands of Konoha's Uchiha clan members.
To put it simply,
to many Rain villagers, the Uchiha Clan still symbolized ferocity, cruelty, savagery, and bloodshed.
Forced integration would surely spark fierce resistance and widespread unrest.
That would only backfire and make things worse…
However, if they just waited a few more months—
until the complete entertainment infrastructure had been successfully set up—
After movies like "This Uchiha Isn't That Cold," "The Redemption of an Uchiha," and "Beauty and the Uchiha" are released,
the entire Ninja World's perception of the Uchiha Clan could quietly shift.
As a result, this would significantly reduce many conflicts after annexing the Rain Hidden Village.
It's a win-win situation—so why wouldn't we do it?
Certainly, the detailed phased immigration policy still required further refinement.
It was difficult for Shimoku to fully explain everything in just a few words.
So he simply summarized a few key points to Konan: staged migration, gentle integration, no coercion...
Hearing this, Konan felt slightly reassured.
Looking at how things stood now,
she'd probably have to stay by this brat's side for the foreseeable future.
And she wouldn't fear him suddenly going back on his word or oppressing the people of the Rain Hidden Village.
Should such a day ever arrive,
even if she couldn't defeat this brat outright,
in specific places and at crucial moments,
when Shimoku let his guard down,
she'd still find ways to make him suffer!
"How much money does the Rain Hidden Village have left?"
Shimoku asked the critical question.
"None,"
Konan said coldly.
Shimoku exclaimed in shock:
"None?"
"How could such a large ninja village possibly run out of funds?"
Konan calmly explained:
"Continuous warfare and constant rain have always left the Rain Hidden Village extremely impoverished. When we were kids, we didn't even have enough to eat…"
"In recent years, Nagato has invested every available resource into developing the village."
"He heavily promoted infrastructure and technological advancements…"
"This resulted in chronic financial deficits!"
"I even diverted part of Akatsuki's funding—it all went in too. There was nothing left…"
Don't be fooled by the Rain Hidden Village's current appearance of prosperity and advancement.
Its internal capital chain is extremely fragile, with massive financial loopholes!
Essentially, it's hanging by a thread financially.
You must realize,
not everyone can use Wood Release to build villages!
Moreover, most structures in the Rain Hidden Village are made from concrete and steel, which cost immense amounts!
Wealth can never just appear out of thin air.
Therefore, developing the Rain Hidden Village to its current state naturally came at a tremendous cost, leaving massive financial shortfalls…
There definitely wasn't any surplus left.
"So you're telling me there isn't even a drop left?"
"That can't be right!"
"What about Akatsuki's funds? Didn't you say you'd diverted quite a bit from Kakuzu?"
Shimoku asked incredulously.
His gut told him that this "dowry" might hide huge problems!
Had he been tricked into this marriage?
Konan responded:
"There's none left either. The rest, besides what was used to cover the village's deficits, I've used it all to buy paper…"
"Buy paper?"
"For using Ninjutsu techniques and manufacturing Explosive Tags…"
As we all know,
purely chakra-based explosive tags barely last long at all.
Buying actual Explosive Tags directly is also very expensive.
While Konan's [Godly Origami Technique] could transform paper into any object; by channeling chakra, it could naturally also turn paper into explosive tags.
Therefore, Konan frequently ordered large quantities of paper.
In fact, with her investment, several specialized and large-scale paper mills were even built in the Rain Hidden Village, continuously supplying her with paper.
Otherwise, how could she accumulate hundreds of billions of explosive tags?
...
Hearing this, Shimoku felt as though the world around him had suddenly turned gray.
He never expected his first "marriage scam" to hit him so hard — and so suddenly!
This wasn't a rich lady at all!
She was clearly a broke beauty drowning in debts — a real 'debt-burdened lady'!
What about his innocent and fragile heart!
Wait!
It wasn't a total loss yet...
He could ask Konan to produce more explosive tags later to sell and recoup some losses!
After all, Konan herself was already a big treasure with the [Godly Origami Technique]!
Her ninjutsu could churn out explosive tags faster than any printing press!
Right! That's exactly what he'd do!
Shimoku immediately turned to look at Konan, eyes burning as if he could devour her entirely!
Even Konan, whose expression was usually icy, couldn't help but feel a slight chill run down her spine, worried that this brat might suddenly lose control...
"Cough cough..."
"Actually, money or not isn't important."
"I accepted you and the entire Rain Hidden Village, certainly not for just a little cash..."
"Anyway, once the Clone Technique finishes off all the White Zetsu,"
"Let's go pick the candidates for the first '[Immigration Mission]' first..."
Shimoku cleared his throat and earnestly suggested.
"Fine!"
Konan nodded without objection.
After all, she too hoped her poor villagers could leave this place sooner.
Because right now, the Rain Hidden Village no longer had the protection of any true powerhouses.
If a great nation truly launched an invasion, they might swallow the whole village in one bite.
It would be safer to integrate into the Homura Hidden Village sooner rather than later.
In this brutal ninja world, the weak rarely had the luxury of choice.
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