"yes."

Dr. Pianqi understands that there are many benefits to putting new weapons into the battlefield of the Kingdom of Rain.

But equally, there are huge risks.

For example, the subsequent rebound of the Fire Nation, where the Kingdom of Time and Rain will go, whether it will affect previous transactions, and what the international situation will be like in the future, all require convening high-level meetings from the military and government to discuss. All aspects are involved.

There are many, so you should not only focus on the fruits you are about to get, but also consider the hidden dangers.

"It seems that I have to trouble the Raikage-sama again... In the next year, I will personally visit Kumogakure Village. Among the ninja world, apart from us, the Kingdom of Demons, only the Kingdom of Thunder is most eager for the decline of the Kingdom of Fire.

At present, the interests of the two countries are completely consistent, so there is room for maneuver."

As the head of the military, the person he visited was Raikage.

As for the name of the country of thunder, it can be negotiated by the government's diplomats.

◎

Konoha.

In the Hokage's home.

With the arrival of the end of the year, Hiruzen was temporarily relieved of his heavy responsibilities and had rare free time to rest at home.

But the house was also very deserted.

His wife, Sarutobi Biwako, delivered the baby for her predecessor, the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki, during the Nine-Tails Rebellion, and unfortunately died.

The eldest son Sarutobi Takashi also died on the battlefield of the Land of Wind, as did his daughter-in-law Sarutobi Uruko.

The second son Sarutobi Asuma did not agree with his ideas, so he moved away from home when he was a teenager and lived alone.

Now, he is the only one left in the family, a lonely old man, and a grandson who is waiting to be fed.

The hired servants have also gone home to prepare for the New Year, and will come to help after the New Year.

Looking at the empty environment, Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh, and soon put his mind away and concentrated on practicing calligraphy at home.

In the afternoon, there was a knock on the door at the entrance.

Hiruzen put down the writing brush he was practicing on and walked to the entrance hall to open the door.

"You're here, Shikaku, you're here faster than I thought."

The one who came to visit him was Nara Shikaku, the jonin squad leader of Konoha.

"After all, it is Hokage-sama who summoned me...although it is very troublesome."

Shikaku scratched his head and said grumblingly.

With the end of the year coming, he rarely had a break, and he also had to review his son Nara Shikamaru's studies and teach him. Therefore, even during the New Year, not much of the burden on him was lifted.

He is the Jonin squad leader of Konoha. Every word and deed represents the face of Konoha, and there cannot be any negligence. Especially when it comes to educating his children, he has undoubtedly devoted all his efforts.

Hiruzen smiled and led Shikaku into his study.

"Then, Hokage-sama, why did you summon me during this break?"

Shikaku asked in confusion.

Speaking of this matter, Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh and said: "I didn't want to trouble you at first, because Tsunade sent me a letter, and I was a little unsure about some of the things she said in the letter, so

, you need to discuss it with me."

"Is that so?"

Lu Jiu nodded, but his mind became active.

At this time, if we can't wait to discuss it with him, it will definitely not be a trivial matter.

"Don't you plan to come back at the end of the year, Tsunade-sama?"

"If she doesn't come back, she has something to do at Shigu Forest."

Hiruzen replied.

"What about Jiraiya-sama?"

"Jiraiya will come back and stay for a few days to exchange information with the village. Not only does he want to investigate Orochimaru, but the information from the Demon Country will also be handed over to him."

Although he knew that Jiraiya was reckless and even stubborn in some aspects, Hiruzen knew that Jiraiya had a strong ability to collect information, so that Konoha would not be blind to the outside world and know nothing.

Jiraiya is by no means a dispensable existence to Konoha. As long as the two Sannin are still alive, they are the sea-fixing needles to Konoha.

"Okay, let's not talk about the two of them. This is a letter written by Tsunade to me. It's a bit long. You read it slowly and I'll make you a cup of tea."

Hiruzen took out Tsunade's letter.

This was no ordinary letter. There were more than a dozen sheets of letter paper, and the content inside was very substantial, which made Lu Jiu interested.

If it is just a simple condolence, half a piece of paper is enough, there is no need to write so much.

A few minutes later, Hiruzen re-entered the study, brought tea in and placed it next to Shikaku.

But at this moment, Lu Jiu obviously had no intention of drinking tea. He stared at the letter paper, reading the letter word by word without skipping any content.

After a few more minutes, Lu Jiu finished reading all the contents of the letter, took a deep breath, and the expression on his face became serious.

The content of the letter written by Tsunade was very simple. It was not a simple greeting to the village, but an investigation report.

Compare the various countries in the ninja world, including the Land of Fire, with the newly rising Demon Kingdom.

Comparative aspects include but are not limited to national tax system, industry, economy, industry, agriculture, armaments, national system, etc.

It pointedly pointed out various problems existing in most countries in the ninja world, and led to the only result: the rise of the Demon Country, which was not accidental, but inevitable.

And it gave a fairly certain prediction that in the next ten years or so, the Kingdom of Fire will not be a match for the Kingdom of Ghosts at all.

In the new era opened by the Kingdom of Ghosts, the decline of the Fire Kingdom and Konoha is obvious.

This decline is not due to the weak military strength of ninjas, but to the overall level. Even in terms of military, the Kingdom of Oni will become extremely terrifying as the overall national strength increases, and Konoha cannot compare with it.

Regardless of the combat power of the top ninjas, the backbone and the bottom will be completely outclassed by the Kingdom of Demons.

The Kingdom of Demons will become a behemoth that towers over all the countries in the ninja world.

These sharp insights made Lu Jiu feel the same way.

Because, when he and Hiruzen went to Daming Mansion last time, he also felt the horror of the Kingdom of Ghosts.

But Tsunade's current revelation allowed him to see the core part of it.

Although it was part of it, not all of it, it also caused extremely intense turmoil in Lu Jiu's heart.

He knew that what Tsunade said was true. The Fire Country and Konoha were indeed in decline. This was an undisputed fact.

A few years ago, he could barely fight with Kumogakure, and both sides would win or lose.

But if we were to engage in an all-out war with Kumogakure now, we would probably lose more than we win.

The Kingdom of Thunder has been vigorously developing ninja troops for decades, and is constantly expanding its armaments regardless of war or peace. On the other hand, Konoha does not have this desire, or it is addicted to the glory of the past and forgets that Kumogakure Village is not the past.

Yunyin Village.

Now the apparent number of ninjas in Kumogakure Village has exceeded that of Konoha Village, and Kumogakure has not stopped and is still expanding its troops.

Because the Kingdom of Thunder is eager to compete for the number one country, Kumogakure Village is also eager to defeat Konoha and become the number one ninja village.

The power of the daimyo and the Raikage were concentrated and unified to the outside world, forming a harmonious situation in which the military and government of the Demon Country were completely unified.

This is a very terrible thing.

The relationship between the Daimyo of the Land of Thunder and Raikage is harmonious, even better than the relationship between the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and Naruto.

Not to mention a country like the Ghost Country where the government and military are completely unified.

Even if it does not have an advantage over the Fire Nation in terms of population and land, it will be a matter of time before it catches up. Maybe it has already surpassed the Fire Nation.

"How about it, Shikaku, what do you think?"

Hiruzen asked.

"If my guess is not wrong, Tsunade-sama... wants to carry out reforms based on the internal environment of Konoha."

Shikaku gave this answer.

Hiruzen nodded, he had the same idea.

Among his three disciples, Jiraiya has the most honest character, Orochimaru is the most radical, and Tsunade is about the same, but because she has a kind heart, she will not take the unscrupulous path like Orochimaru.

Hiruzen also didn't know what kind of changes Tsunade's radical attitude would bring to Konoha if he served as the fifth Hokage in the future.

Whether it's good or bad, I don't know at all.

This was a very difficult place in his heart.

"If we follow what Tsunade said, the one-country-one-village system that the first generation of lords worked so hard to establish will probably fall apart, and a terrible civil war will break out in the great country. Neither we nor the daimyo want such a thing to happen."

The one-country-one-village system maintains balance because daimyo and shinobi villages check and balance each other.

According to Tsunade's approach, the one-country-one-village system will be completely unbalanced and lead to a major civil war.

Because this would not only violate the interests of the daimyo and nobles, but also the interests of the ninja clan within the ninja village.
To be continued...