Tsunade's gaze, sharp as a surgeon's knife, swept back and forth across Shun and Shikaku's faces. She was all too familiar with this trick, Shun was a little pervert.
As the saying goes, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'. Shun's eagerness surely hid ulterior motives.
"Shun, are you trying to use this as an opportunity to take a wife and concubines, and that's why you're making Advisor Shikaku be the scapegoat?"
Tsunade deliberately emphasized the words "take a wife and concubines."
Although Tsunade had hit the nail on the head, Shun had already prepared an excuse.
He suddenly showed a shy smile, his voice taking on the awkwardness of a young man. "Tsunade-sama, you're joking. I'm only seventeen. Even if I wanted to... you know... that would have to wait until next year, after I turn eighteen."
He lowered his eyelashes, casting small shadows on his cheeks, looking exactly like an innocent youth who had been wronged.
Tsunade's nails dug deep into her palms, the pain unable to suppress the surging anger in her heart.
This little pervert... He must be eyeing some woman again and she's probably a widowed woman.
The newly appointed Head of Finance, Senju Natsuki, suddenly spoke, "Shun-sama makes a good point. For the future of the village, we really need to be flexible."
"I've also heard that many women who lost their partners after the war have become depressed." Unkai also chimed in.
Tetsu pulled out a roll of promotional posters and said, "Recently, our Propaganda Department has also produced some posters encouraging childbirth, featuring heartwarming families."
"Enough!"
Tsunade slammed her hand on the table, her voice echoing through the room.
She saw the fleeting curve at the corner of Shun's lips. That was the expression of someone whose scheme had succeeded.
The meeting room fell into a dead silence.
Tsunade looked around at the men's feigned serious faces and suddenly realized she was standing in a carefully woven net.
She took a deep breath, squeezing out words through gritted teeth. "The proposal is approved but with restrictions. First, the woman must consent voluntarily. Second..."
Shikaku quickly recorded, as if granted a great pardon, his pen scratching on the paper, like a pre-planned rain.
Shun watched Tsunade's outburst, wanting to immediately change the subject.
"Advisor Shikaku, could you please calculate how much money Iwagakure and Kumogakure spent attacking the Land of Fire during the Third Great Ninja War?"
Shikaku lightly tapped his forehead, pondering for a moment and said, "War materials, medicine, wages, casualty compensation... conservatively estimated at over 100 billion ryo."
Shun showed a meaningful smile and said, "Which means, even the Five Great Nations, if they don't have the support of the Daimyo, don't have the ability to wage war externally, because the village's finances simply cannot sustain a war."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room, finally returning to Tsunade.
"Advisor Shikaku, please calculate again. Before the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha had 24,163 ninjas. With these ninjas, how many ordinary soldiers could we defeat?"
Shikaku unconsciously tapped the table and said, "That's hard to calculate, but a ninja's Chakra is limited. I estimate we could defeat over 1 million ordinary soldiers."
Shun leaned his hands on the conference table, his voice carrying a sense of pressure. "So, have any of you ever considered who was the mastermind behind the Third Great Ninja War?"
Low murmurs filled the room, and even the usually calm Shikaku frowned.
Shun didn't give them much time to think. "Suppose you are the Daimyo of various countries, and there are over a million soldiers within your country that you don't control. How would you deal with them? The answer is to weaken and eliminate them."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room gasped.
"How to reasonably weaken and eliminate them? That is to instigate war, letting the enemy's forces eliminate and weaken this power. So this is the truth of the Third Great Ninja War. The Daimyo of the Five Great Nations used money to instigate the war, making the Great Ninja villages fight and deplete each other, thereby achieving their goals."
The conference room erupted in an uproar, and Hiashi and Shikaku exchanged a meaningful glance. Even Tsunade showed a shocked expression.
Shun continued, "Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura, Danzo, and others governed for 32 years and saw through the hidden secrets. So, during the Third Great Ninja War, they allowed their clansmen to slack off if they could, and do nothing if they could. Only people like us were seriously fighting, being depleted, being killed."
Tsunade's fist slammed on the table again. "Shun, don't you dare say another word!"
Shun did not back down. "I am merely stating facts. If the number of ninjas increases too much, they will be suspected by the Daimyo. Kirigakure's Blood Mist Policy, where graduates must kill a classmate, isn't that controlling the number of ninjas? And there's Sunagakure's elite policy."
Unkai spoke with rare seriousness in his voice, "Shun, what should we do then? Continue to be the Daimyo's sword, waiting to be used again?"
The meeting room fell silent once more.
The wind outside suddenly picked up, making the windows rattle, as if foretelling an impending storm.
Shun suddenly said, "The vast land of the Land of Fire was conquered by our ancestors led by the First Hokage, Hashirama. Now, we, their descendants, have become the Daimyo's targets for liquidation. He has now recruited over 5,000 ninjas, and there will only be more in the future. Konoha will be liquidated sooner or later. So..."
He deliberately paused for a moment, letting everyone clear their minds.
"If there are no good suggestions, everyone should go back and think carefully. Note: Do not leak the content discussed just now. The meeting is adjourned."
Tsunade suddenly stood up, her right fist clenched. "Shun, are you trying to rebel against the Daimyo? I am the Hokage. I haven't even adjourned the meeting, why are you stealing my lines?"
Facing Tsunade's wrath, Shun elegantly bowed and made a 'please' gesture. "I invite our Fifth Hokage, Princess Tsunade, to speak."
"Meeting adjourned..."