Hokage's office.
After accepting their missions, Senju Hashirama brought Uchiha Madara to the Hokage's office to bid farewell to Senju Tobirama and file the routine report.
Ordinarily, once you reach the Hokage's seat, you are basically cut off from mission work.
Hashirama was clearly an exception.
"Big Brother, I knew it. That plan you talked about would only waste Konoha's precious funds."
"But since you refuse to give up, have it your way. Just be extremely careful when you go out on missions. Do not make big headlines across the shinobi world."
"Remember what I said."
Tobirama sat in the chair before the Hokage's desk, speaking earnestly while lifting his eyes to his brother. From the corner of his eye he glanced at Uchiha Madara, who stood beside Hashirama.
Madara stood there without even showing Tobirama his face. He had no desire to exchange a single word with the naturally evil Tobirama. Credit-grubbing trash.
Tobirama felt the same.
If he could help it, he would never have any dealings with the naturally evil Madara. What worried him now was something else.
If Hashirama went alone, Tobirama would not worry at all. But his brother insisted on dragging Madara along.
That worried Tobirama.
Given their strength, even S-rank missions were appetizers to them, so he was not worried about failure hurting Konoha's reputation. What he worried about was those two suddenly starting a fight. If heaven and earth cracked, the mission payment would not cover the damages.
It was not as if Tobirama lacked precedent. On one escort mission, danger struck and his brother failed to control his strength, destroying the entire cargo. They not only lost the commission, they had to pay out of pocket and personally go apologize to the client.
"Tobirama, I know, I know."
"That was ages ago. It only happened because I'd just had a big leap in power and wasn't used to it yet."
Hashirama forced a few laughs and patched up his own case.
"In that case, Madara and I will be off. I'm leaving Konoha in your hands for now."
"And I almost forgot. I still haven't told Mito about this. When you go home tonight, remember to tell her."
Saying this, Hashirama tugged impatiently at Madara, ready to head out of Konoha at once and start their first joint missions.
"Big Brother, you bastard."
"Am I going to get scolded again tonight?"
Watching Hashirama's back disappear, Tobirama fumed. Every time there was an overnight absence, his brother never told sister-in-law. He always left it to Tobirama to explain. And when she lost her temper, those Adamantine Sealing Chains did not distinguish friend from foe.
After a bout of muttering, Tobirama picked up the book on his desk, the latest issue of New Ninja. Ever since he noticed Hashirama's "symptoms" worsening, he had begun collecting every issue.
Backed by Uchiha Makoto's money, he had greased many palms. The print run of New Ninja grew by the day and it had become a hot publication in Konoha. Its contents were nothing special, basically like any periodical, except that New Ninja placed a short essay in the most prominent spot that even Tobirama found unsettling.
The previous essay had already demonstrated its power. Considering that the protagonist was Akatsuki Village, founded by the naturally evil Uchiha Makoto, Tobirama was even more on guard.
"Should I impose controls on New Ninja? On the surface these little stories are ordinary, but they are dangerously persuasive."
He had not decided because New Ninja had not printed anything that violated Konoha's security regulations. If he acted rashly, Akatsuki Village would resist, and he would lack justification.
"Let's see what seductive content they printed this time."
Tobirama opened New Ninja. A short story quickly caught his eye.
"In Akatsuki Village there is a strange ordinance. When new students enter the ninja academy, teachers hand out two coupons. One is a book coupon, redeemable for any book. One is a honey coupon, redeemable for a small jar of Akatsuki-brand honey. Both must be used together. One without the other is invalid."
"No one knew why this ordinance existed, until the day Lord Light Shadow spoke at the academy."
"The young Uchiha Makoto did not wear the Light Shadow's ceremonial robes. He held an old book. He opened the front page and showed everyone a water stain that looked exactly like a drop of honey. Fifty years ago, my grandfather was the poorest genin in the clan. That day, when he was out on a mission, a fire broke out at home. He rushed in and saved only two things: this singed ninjutsu book with curled corners and half a jar of unopened honey. Grandfather said the only thing of true value in the flames was the ninjutsu principles in the book. The honey was only to sweeten the bitterness of those principles for the future."
"Then Uchiha Makoto took out a file from his breast. The cover read Akatsuki Village Research Funding Addendum, and it too was dotted with a drop of honey. From today, for every book coupon used, the Ministry of Finance will automatically allocate 1,790 ryo to the Akatsuki Village Research Fund. This money is reserved for children under twelve to apply for. They can buy books, buy parts, buy a lab wrench. The only condition is that their budget report must include a page from their favorite book."
"The audience was silent at first, then erupted. A parent muttered, Can buying books save money too. Uchiha Makoto smiled. Books are seeds. Research is a tree. The Ministry of Finance is simply discounting the shade of that future tree in advance."
"A few days later, a long line formed outside the academy bookstore. The children took their book coupons and traded them for titles like Three Years to Medical Ninja, Five Years to Medical Master and Introduction to Fire Release Chakra Nature. The shopkeeper set a blackboard by the door. Today's reading hot list. Introduction to Fire Release Chakra Nature now in stock."
"In just two months, Akatsuki Village produced a cohort of students who had mastered the basics of Fire Release. On performance day, they combined their Fire Release to form a line of words in the air. Books are sweet, and so is funding. From then on, a new saying spread through Akatsuki Village. The more you read, the faster the funds flow. The faster the funds flow, the faster ninjutsu is learned."
"A feudal lord in plain clothes listened from the shadows as the children spelled out Books are sweet, and so is funding, and he finally understood. The twin coupons and the 1,790 ryo were sparks personally planted by Lord Light Shadow. He tapped the railing and sighed to his scribe. Do you see. The backbone of Akatsuki Village has never been ninjutsu. It is treating books as seeds and silver as spring water. Each time a child turns a page, the fund pours a ladle. When the tree grows tall, you cut a branch and plant it back in the soil. Do this again and again, and knowledge becomes a forest. One day Akatsuki Village will become the richest and most powerful village in the shinobi world."
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