"Makoto, since you've already decided."
"As allies of Akatsuki Village, our Uzumaki clan will never let you fight alone."
After seeing Uchiha Makoto's staggering, even terrifying, war budget, Uzumaki Shinji made up his mind to join the battle once war broke out. Once the first strike was launched, the situation would be a tailwind.
If he kept hesitating after accepting 3.68 billion ryō of goodwill, how could he live with himself?
The Uzumaki clan would never repay kindness with treachery.
After sending Uzumaki Shinji off,
Uchiha Makoto had Uchiha Setsuna stay behind.
"Setsuna, since Konoha doesn't support my going to war, I have nothing more to say. I only hope that when the time comes, Konoha won't get in my way."
Uchiha Setsuna looked uneasy. Whatever Akatsuki Village's motives, whatever it did, even launching a war, it had always raised an unassailable banner: justice for the two fallen Chunin.
The Uzumaki clan had decided to follow.
But Konoha…
"Makoto, I'm sorry. I can't decide this either. The First Hokage is Lord Hashirama. But don't worry. If war really breaks out and Akatsuki falls behind, our Uchiha clan will support you. Even if Konoha doesn't send troops, Uchiha will dispatch our own."
Setsuna spoke with a hint of shame. Konoha was currently led by the Senju, and the Uchiha were in a weaker position. He couldn't promise that if things escalated to war, Konoha would definitely march to assist.
But if the situation became dire,
the Uchiha would press the Senju regardless, and at worst they would send Uchiha clan ninja to extend a hand to Akatsuki Village.
"With those words, I'm relieved. But the clan likely won't get the chance. This battle is Akatsuki Village's show of force. The ninja world keeps saying Akatsuki is Konoha's errand runner. I've never liked that."
After speaking, Uchiha Makoto waved farewell to Uchiha Setsuna. As he left, he handed him a small slip of paper that read: Beware Senju Tobirama.
The overt and covert diplomatic fencing was over.
Akatsuki Village's final war mobilization began.
At that moment, Uchiha Makoto sat in his office, reading the roster in his hand. It was the list of personnel for the operation, a total of 3,652. That was nearly one third of Akatsuki's ninja emptied out, the absolute limit the village could put on the table right now.
Makoto's prestige wasn't yet enough to send every ninja out in one sweep, and the village itself still needed garrisons to maintain daily security.
Besides,
The first battle is the decisive battle, one strike to decide the realm.
A slogan like that was ill-omened. The quick-victory camp was, in truth, the surrender camp.
"Lord Light Shadow, combat supplies have been issued to every participating ninja. Explosive tags, kunai, shuriken. Also, here's the funding plan for the operation: roughly 21 billion ryō in total."
Kazuma stepped into the office, holding the war budget. That much money could fund a large-scale war even in the great village melees decades later. At this point in time, it was like smashing an enemy with cash until victory fell out. Outrageously extravagant.
In fact,
if the First Raikage of the Cloud Village learned that Uchiha Makoto had set aside 21 billion ryō to fight them, he might quietly write a letter: Lord Light Shadow, I was wrong. This could be settled for 10 billion. Give me the money and I'll make everything happen.
Exaggerated, yes.
But if done for real, there just might be a small chance it would work.
"Forgive my bluntness, Lord Light Shadow. At present, this war is entirely unnecessary for Akatsuki Village, especially these expenditures. Just the explosive tags alone…"
Watching the torrent of money flow out under his pen made Kazuma's heart pound. Being the bankroller felt nice, but this looked like a losing war.
He couldn't help trying again to persuade a retreat. If they stopped now…
"Is there still a chance to stop now?"
Makoto countered. The public campaign had whipped Akatsuki's grassroots ninja into unprecedented fervor. Faced with Cloud's hard-edged statements, there was even a furious sentiment of the enemy not only refusing to surrender, but daring to strike back.
Can't talk it out?
Then fight.
Fight until they surrender and admit defeat.
Long live Akatsuki Village, long live Lord Light Shadow.
All for the Will of Light.
Akatsuki had already cultivated a first crop of love-the-village true believers. They carried banners into the streets to denounce Cloud's statement in the strongest terms.
During this time,
the Anbu supported the protests and plastered the slogans across every alley. The whole village boiled. Citizens saw the stirring words, hearts surging, and joined in.
Employees of village-run enterprises rallied too, working overtime to transport and produce materials for Akatsuki. Their well-being had long been tightly bound to the village. In this ninja world, one prospers, all prosper; one loses, all lose.
Some merchants—some bought off by Uchiha Makoto, others with sharp Nhặtbảo-style business instincts—threw themselves in as well, handing out free water and food to the protesters and, while they were at it, running discount promotions. The ninja loved it. Left foot on right, right on left, spiraling skyward. There was no trace of gloom before war.
Even Akatsuki's economy accelerated. Big traders found sales channels and upped investment in the village. A wave of hot money flowed in to build factories. Orders poured to villagers, drawing more people to Akatsuki because it was easier to find work here.
Development was faster and better than before.
Of course,
Makoto knew there was a precondition for keeping this going.
They had to win.
Ninja, villagers, merchants didn't know the deeper inside story. They believed Konoha and the Uzumaki were Akatsuki's allies, so they believed Akatsuki would win.
As long as they kept winning,
everything else would cease to be a problem.
The clans understood this too. Even if they didn't want to rush into war, the arrow was nocked. Makoto would not allow them to retreat. Public opinion would not allow it. Villagers and merchants would not allow it. Their own clan youths were clamoring to teach the Cloud a lesson.
Akatsuki's war machine was fueled to the brim, engines roaring, ready to roll out and crush the enemy.
"This battle is inevitable."
"From the perspective of spending, yes, it's a costly war. But that's not how this ledger is kept."
Makoto spoke,
and laid out Akatsuki's present situation and future plan for Kazuma.
It would burn money, and even in victory the village would lose a lot on paper. But that wasn't the point.
Makoto aimed to seize the narrative.
Seize discourse power.
Seize influence from Konoha.
Seize influence across the whole ninja world.
Even before the first shot, Akatsuki was already tasting the dividends of war. After victory, the rewards would be far greater.
By the timeline,
Boruto-era tech had reached a frightening height. The information revolution was long complete. Backtracking, it began near the end of Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule.
Earlier still, now,
the early village era was a perfect wind-gap. In the next ten or fifteen years, the first and second industrial revolutions would surge.
What a perfect chance for Akatsuki Village to rise quickly, break out, and grow into something like Konoha in the original story, able to take on four at once—or the entire ninja world.
Without a show-of-force war,
how would Akatsuki companies, villagers, and merchants build trusts to siphon the ninja world?
How would they attract elite ninja, merchants, workers, and technicians from everywhere?
How would they export Akatsuki's culture and ideology to the world?
How would they sign most-favored-nation deals with the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, and others?
How would they become a cultural, economic, military, and influence powerhouse far ahead of all others?
On the strength of a couple of coins in the pocket?
Zuosong is very rich.
And what came of it?
Or should they just keep borrowing Konoha's prestige forever?
Impossible.
"Lord Light Shadow, you're… thinking far too long-term."
Kazuma's mind swam as Makoto's questions rolled over him, sweat beading on his brow.
He'd always known Makoto didn't think like ordinary ninja, but this was something else.
While other villages still had their heads down farming their small plots, Makoto was planning how one war could turn Akatsuki into a vampire draining the rest of the world.
"The only way to solve these all at once is war. After we win, ninja, merchants, nobles—they will all argue our case for us."
"Kazuma, you're my deputy. Broaden your view. Throw old ninja thinking in the trash."
After that admonition, Makoto sent Kazuma off. He still had a mountain of work.
Uzumaki Shinji had been back for some time and had written. The Uzumaki were ready to fight at any time, waiting for Makoto's word.
So,
Makoto planned to have the Anbu deliver, overnight, explosive tags worth several hundred million to them.
Cloud was, after all, the great village ruling the Land of Lightning. The war's brutality was predictable. Money could be re-earned; dead men could not be replaced.
The Uzumaki were Akatsuki's allied friends. They had come from afar to help. They might even merge into Akatsuki in the future. He would not let them trade lives with those dark-skinned bruisers from Cloud.
Makoto didn't intend to fight Cloud in suicidal charges anyway. He would wage a money-burning war of attrition. Hit them with a wave of explosive tags, then withdraw. Akatsuki's coffers were more than enough to trade blood with Cloud.
After the war, Akatsuki's ability to recover funds, rebuild, and replenish ninja far outstripped Cloud's.
Beyond the ample funds,
the first cohort of 3,000 ninja academy students was another pillar of Makoto's confidence. After the war, they could quickly fill the slots of fallen Akatsuki ninja.
Many hot-headed students wanted to rush to offer their loyalty to Lord Light Shadow. Some even cut their fingers with shuriken to write petitions in blood. Makoto refused them all. Some would be Chunin or even Jonin in the future. If they went to the front now, they were just fodder to be felled by a single shuriken.
Not one of them went to the battlefield. They remained in school to train. Makoto would not squander the loyal base he had cultivated for over a year.
Loyalty came first.
The war was also a chance to clean house within Akatsuki.
Makoto had written many names in his notebook.
Konoha Year Three.
Summer.
With all preparations complete,
Uchiha Makoto formally declared a state of emergency in Akatsuki Village. In the name of the Light Shadow, he issued a final ultimatum to the Cloud Village.
"Given Cloud's refusal to cooperate and hostile attitude, Akatsuki Village has formed a military negotiation team to demand justice for the two Chunin who died."
Under the night sky,
this would be a sleepless night.
At dawn, the ninja would march.
The Kaguya clan, the Yuki clan, the Kurama clan—every clan in Akatsuki held its own send-off rite in its courtyard.
Bonfires burned the sword guards red.
Every male who could already speak and walk wore his gear. Even five-year-olds were allowed to don a scaled-down cuirass. The clan head stood with a vermilion command standard, bowed deeply to the ancestral shrine. On the altar sat the forebears' blades and the clan crest.
In that moment,
every face was solemn.
Those eager to strike Cloud held down their excitement. Those who disliked war still cursed those blockheads from Cloud for picking a fight with Uchiha for no reason.
When the blessing ended, the clan head turned back.
The women filed out, each with a black-lacquered tea bowl filled with clear sake. They handed the bowls to the departing ninja one by one, speaking only a single line: One meeting, one lifetime.
"War…"
Uchiha Makoto stood at the highest point of Akatsuki Village, Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku at his side, looking out over the scenes below, murmuring to himself.
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