Historical "evaluations" can be glossed over, but historical "truth" is hard to cover up with mere appraisal—evaluation is a subjective thing, but truth consists of cold, hard data. Those who only read, memorize, and repeat without thinking will naturally conclude that "Senju Hashirama was the hero who pacified the chaotic era." However, anyone who looks at the data and thinks for themselves would not see it that way.
And the Ninja order... it was born under the overwhelming strength of the "hero" Senju Hashirama, and its continuation to this day relies more on a kind of mental inertia.
Rather than it being rational.
Dust falls on the ground, and if the broom doesn't reach it, it won't jump into the trash can by itself.
"Mm-hmm..."
Ino gave a very perfunctory "you're right," while Inoichi Yamanaka looked helpless—after all, in terms of ability, he had indeed been defeated by his daughter.
"If it weren't for the fact that our clan has so few people, most of whom work in the intelligence departments and can't be spared, I would have wanted to open a school in the Capital of Fire. Perhaps not to teach Ninjutsu, but to teach people how to do business... As class after class of students graduates, we would sponsor their businesses and provide military protection..."
"Between classmates, a massive network of relationships would gradually form, deeply intertwined. And we would be like the spider on this web; whether it's commercial information or other intelligence, it would all automatically flow to us."
"Through information on the appreciation and depreciation of various national currencies, through changes in the prices of various commodities, through changes in consumption power, through..."
..."What can we see from this information? Mr. Inoichi Yamanaka, as the Head of the Information Analysis Squad, what do you say?"
Inoichi Yamanaka was stunned... He seemed to understand, yet he didn't quite. The Intelligence Analysis Squad dealt with intelligence, but it was always specific intelligence—
Coming from a certain spy or a certain person. Their analysis was also limited to reading and analyzing that specific information.
The kind of intelligence analysis Ino was talking about was too foreign.
Ino gave an example, saying, "For instance, if our merchant caravan learns in the Land of Rivers that their grain prices are very high, but the people's desire to buy grain is very strong, what does that indicate?"
Inoichi Yamanaka:...Heaven knows what that indicates.
Ino said, "This indicates that a grain shortage has occurred locally, and this trend is only the beginning; next, there will be a total depletion of grain. The common people will rebel, and bandits will become frequent. And if we learn this news in advance, what does that mean? It means we can specifically acquire a lot of money, or even..."
Inoichi Yamanaka asked, "Even what?"
Ino said, "Even to the point where, in the blink of an eye, one of our clansmen could become the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers, establishing a Satellite State belonging to the Yamanaka Clan there."
Inoichi Yamanaka was completely stunned—because Ino had just revealed an early secret of the Yamanaka Clan. The Yamanaka Clan really did have a branch that served as the Daimyo of a small country. However, this was the secret of secrets, a plan formulated by the clan head from three generations ago, who sent one of his sons away to become the Daimyo of a small nation.
This was a secret meant to be passed down only orally between the new and old clan heads; it was not found in any written records.
This could be considered the Yamanaka Clan's final fallback plan, and the rules for the two branches were very clear: no contact would be made unless absolutely necessary.
Even—
The Yamanaka Clan in Konoha, including the clan head, was not allowed to know the name of this small country, and the emergency contact method was through indirect code.
The contact signal sent by the Yamanaka Clan was 'Due to certain reasons, there is a massive shortage of flowers, and a large quantity needs to be purchased.' Upon receiving the signal, the other branch of the Yamanaka Clan would send someone to meet them. The meeting code was a mission—they would post a mission in Konoha that required a specific person from the Yamanaka Clan to complete, ensuring as much as possible that the Yamanaka person in charge at Konoha would handle the contact.
If the other branch encountered danger, they would post information through the mission platform... "So... was this purely Ino's idea? My breadth of vision is indeed far inferior to Ino's—"
With the brilliant example of the Yamanaka Clan's head from three generations ago serving as a precedent, Ino's words carried immense weight.
That clan head was truly a formidable person; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the Restoration Leader of the Yamanaka Clan.
Inoichi Yamanaka laughed it off and shifted the topic, asking, "So, no matter how much we invest in this school, we are actually the beneficiaries?"
Ino said, "Yes."
Inoichi Yamanaka said, "But a clan meeting must be held for this, and convincing the others in the clan won't be easy... Well, at least it's harder than convincing me!"
Inoichi Yamanaka was still quite confident in this regard: he was definitely the most clear-headed among this generation of the Yamanaka Clan, with a mindset most suited for a clan head's capacity. He couldn't even understand Ino's words himself—it was only because Ino had stumbled upon the topic of statecraft and gained the 'buff' of the clan head from three generations ago that he believed her.
As for the other clansmen... Ino said, "Papa, that's something you should worry about."
Inoichi Yamanaka... Thus, Inoichi Yamanaka changed the subject again, asking Ino, "You mentioned spies earlier. What do you think should be done about those smaller spies?"
Ino blinked and said, "First of all, they need a role model—where does the fear to betray or the fear to belong originate?"
Ino told Inoichi Yamanaka two words:
Fear.
This fear stems from the cruelty and ruthlessness they have personally witnessed their enemy villages inflict upon spies. This makes them neither dare to be exposed nor dare to betray—betrayal would result in being killed by their handler just the same. Their entire lives are spent in fear.
"A role model?"
"Yes, a role model. A living spy, one who lives in the sunlight, has a wife and children, is settled in Konoha, and faces no discrimination. Furthermore, it must be publicized that this spy didn't actually say anything; he simply... well, simply informed Konoha of his identity as a spy, and then he could live in the sunlight."
"Konoha is beautiful, isn't it? At least it's one of the best places in the entire Ninja World. When they dare to belong here, they will also dare to betray."
Inoichi Yamanaka asked, "Then their intelligence..."
Ino scoffed, "Is that tiny bit of intelligence important? It's just some trivial nonsense. By letting one spy go, Konoha won't even need to guard against spies much in the future. Because spies will choose to live, and choose a better life."
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