Money is important.
With money, you can procure vast amounts of military equipment and nurture numerous Shinobi.
But money can only make a village powerful for a time, not forever… unless you remain wealthy indefinitely.
In contrast, a well-developed and advanced training system forms the foundation for strengthening a force. It could be said to be even more important than the Mechanical City itself.
The Mechanical City might protect Sunagakure's strength for centuries, but it cannot ensure perpetual strength. A well-developed and advanced training system, however, can.
Moreover, there are many ways to make money. But opportunities to learn from Konoha are exceedingly rare.
No money? Then the Mechanical City's construction will just be slower.
But the chance to learn from Konoha... If they miss this one, who knows when the next opportunity will arise.
"It's not just the system. The teaching standards of our Sunagakure's instructors, the skill levels of our doctors and Medical-nin… all need improvement. I suggest sending a delegation to study abroad." Ryuji concisely explained the stakes.
Without a concrete understanding, one cannot grasp the magnitude of the gap. Although Ryuji said this, the Third Kazekage remained somewhat hesitant. "Our Sunagakure's education system was also modeled after Konoha's. Even if there's a gap, it shouldn't make much difference, right?"
"And as for Medical-nin... I've heard Konoha requires every team capable of undertaking external missions to have a Medical-nin assigned. But wouldn't that lower the team's combat effectiveness?"
"I can confirm to you that the gap between our education and Konoha's is as vast as the difference in strength between our two villages."
"If that's the case, then there's no problem, right? Although there is a gap between us and Konoha, it's not that large, is it?"
'Do you even have any self-awareness, goddammit?'
Ryuji couldn't help but curse inwardly.
In the previous meeting, seeing the Third Kazekage sigh in relief upon hearing they wouldn't have to fight Konoha, and saying things like Konoha was the strongest in the Shinobi World and it was best to avoid conflict if possible... Ryuji had thought then that the Third Kazekage had a good understanding of Konoha's strength.
But it turns out, he only had a vague notion.
That is, he believed Konoha was strong, but not that much stronger than themselves.
But is that really the case?
Setting aside the reincarnated cheaters, Asura and Indra, Konoha's overall strength in this era is the strongest across all generations, surpassing even the generation of the Konoha 12.
The older generation led by the Third Hokage is at its peak, entering middle age. The generation represented by the Sannin has become the village's mainstay. The younger generation led by Minato has grown up.
Moreover, the even younger generation led by Kakashi is about to officially step onto the stage.
The peaks of four generations… old, middle-aged, young, and teenage are all converging in this era. Even with his own cheats, Ryuji wasn't 100% confident of leading Sunagakure to victory over Konoha in a one-on-one fight.
Ryuji exhausted his breath explaining Konoha's strength to the Third Kazekage, his throat aching before he finally convinced him.
However,
From the Sea of Consciousness, seeing the Third Kazekage's dazed expression, as if he'd been thoroughly bamboozled, Ryuji couldn't help but sigh.
Subconsciously, this guy still didn't believe the gap between Konoha and Sunagakure was that large.
But it wasn't entirely his fault, because Sunagakure was still quite strong at this time.
Having not participated in the First Shinobi World War, under the Second Kazekage's policies, Sunagakure developed puppeteers and Magnet Release.
Not only did this compensate for the overall strength gap, it also created a large number of powerful individuals.
During the Second Shinobi World War, they were once considered the strongest Shinobi Village, consistently suppressing Konoha in their conflict.
Their eventual loss was due to insufficient staying power.
Konoha's rising stars emerged one after another like bamboo shoots after spring rain. Sunagakure also had talents, but the difference was significant.
They ultimately lost the war.
But in that war, Sunagakure didn't suffer many losses and preserved most of its strength.
Furthermore, with this generation's rise of new stars like Rasa, Ryuji, and Pakura, the Third Kazekage felt that apart from a slight gap in overall strength, other aspects, even if lagging behind Konoha, wouldn't be far behind, and were slightly stronger than Iwagakure and Kirigakure.
But after listening to Ryuji's explanation, he was completely dumbfounded.
It turns out Konoha could handle them with ease right now.
"Haven't you considered why, in the Second Shinobi World War, the other village's rising stars emerged like bamboo shoots after spring rain, while our own only had a pitiful few?"
Hearing Ryuji's question, the Third Kazekage instinctively replied, "Isn't it because Sunagakure has a smaller population, so the probability of producing talents is also smaller?"
"Then why haven't other Shinobi Villages produced as many talents as Konoha?"
'Yes, why haven't other villages produced as many talents?'
The Third Kazekage paused briefly, then quickly realized.
'The difference lies in Shinobi Training.'
Thinking of the answer, he couldn't help but take a sharp breath. "I never imagined the gap was this large."
"Perhaps it's not that large, but even the smallest gap, tested by time, will widen." Ryuji also felt somewhat emotional.
Konoha's education system and Medical-nin system are truly formidable.
He remembered the original work mentioned that the Nine-Tails Rampage was the greatest disaster and loss Konoha had ever experienced.
In other words, Konoha's combined losses in the Third Shinobi World War were less than those from the Nine-Tails Attack.
If Obito's incident hadn't occurred, the later Uchiha Massacre might not have happened either. Konoha would have grown stronger and stronger, surpassing all others, leaving no opportunity for the Akatsuki to emerge later.
"Alright, you've convinced me regarding the education system. But what about Medical-nin?" The Third Kazekage continued questioning. "Becoming a Medical-nin is very difficult. Nurturing Medical-nin requires several times the effort and money compared to ordinary Shinobi, and they lack combat power. Are Medical-nin that important?"
Shinobi often get injured while on missions; the Third Kazekage knew this.
For minor injuries, Shinobi can handle it themselves. For severe injuries, they often don't survive long enough to return for treatment.
If assigned to a team for a mission, they would drag down the team's combat effectiveness.
Missions that could be completed might end in team annihilation, lowering mission success rates and causing more casualties.
Therefore, the entire Shinobi World knows Medical-nin can save lives, but never considers them of great value.
To the leaders of various villages, rather than spending several times the effort and money to nurture Medical-nin, it's better to spend more money training regular Shinobi to compensate for casualties.
"Thinking Medical-nin lower team combat effectiveness shows you've already fallen into a misunderstanding." Ryuji gently shook his head.
"Oh?"
"Indeed, the presence of a Medical-nin does lower a team's combat power, but it doesn't lower mission success rates, nor does it cause more casualties."
"On the contrary, the inclusion of a Medical-nin increases mission success rates and reduces casualties."
"...Why?" The Third Kazekage frowned slightly. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't understand. If combat power is lowered, why wouldn't the mission success rate drop?