Naruto: Uchiha Youngjo's Konoha Spring

Chapter 196 The Wind Shadow is Assassinated, the Artist Fails the Exam
Neji nodded upon hearing this, and after repeatedly striking the pressure points on Kazeka Nuta's body, completely sealing off the opponent's chakra, he removed the chakra armor from Kazeka Nuta's body.

As Neji disassembled the device, he scanned the circuitry and chakra formulas inside with his Byakugan. Although Neji couldn't build something similar, he spent all his time with Tenten and had a keen eye for such things.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru and the others tied up Fuuka Noto, who was now completely free of threat.

"Didn't you say you were going to give me a quick death?" Feng Hua Nu Tao was naturally resentful at being treated like this, and glared angrily at the group.

"We only said we'd give you a dignified death, not a quick one," Sasuke said with a light laugh. "As for what kind of death would be worthy of your status as a daimyo, it would naturally have to be after your new emperor in the Land of Snow has judged your sins, and then you'd die in the public eye."

Sasuke's words made Fuuka Nutō's eyes widen in fury, and he was about to burst into a tirade, but before he could open his mouth, Shikamaru shoved something into his mouth, silencing him abruptly.

At this moment, inside the Rainbow Glacier, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Feng Hua Xiaoxue personally used a hexagonal crystal to open the seal of the treasure. As the seven-colored rainbow light shone at the entrance, the citizens of the Snow Kingdom who had followed him instantly erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

"Your Highness! You really are a princess!"

"Great! Our Land of Snow is saved!"

However, as the rainbow light slowly dissipated, what was hidden inside the treasure was an instrument that looked like it had been sealed away for a long time.

"This is..." Kazakura Koyuki walked up to the device, wiped away some dust, revealing the label on top. "Geothermal generator? This is what Daddy said could bring happiness to the Land of Snow?"

"Of course, this thing is far more important to your Land of Snow than any other treasure." At this moment, Sasuke and his group carried the ashen-faced Fuuka Nutō into the treasure's interior and said.

"Of course, this only applies if you are a qualified daimyo. For this guy, this thing has no value at all."

"Feng Hua Nu Tao..." Feng Hua Xiao Xue glanced at Feng Hua Nu Tao, who was bound hand and foot, with a complicated expression. However, Feng Hua Nu Tao had no interest in paying attention to his niece. Instead, he stared at the geothermal generator with an incredulous look. He never imagined that the treasure he had scheming for so many years, which had become the source of his inner demons, would turn out to be such a thing. Feng Hua Nu Tao said he could not accept it!
"With this, your Snow Country's agriculture will be able to develop normally. Your father was definitely a very farsighted daimyo." Sasuke said, looking at the geothermal generator. "If this machine had been running normally all these years, the people's livelihood in your Snow Country would not have deteriorated to this extent. After all, your land area is more than enough to support your people."

“But it’s a pity.” Sasuke looked down at the raging storm at his feet, “Your country has produced such a monstrous creature.”

……

With the treasure opened and the geothermal generator restarted, Kazahana Koyuki, amidst the cheers of the entire Snow Kingdom, entered her loyal palace.

Upon receiving the news in Konoha, Uchiha Touko simply handed over the responsibility of formally negotiating with Kazahana Koyuki entirely to Sasuke. Furthermore, he used the communication snake from Ryuchi Cave to send Sasuke a formal dress worn by the young Uchiha clan leader, complete with Hokage short sleeves.

Therefore, Sasuke wore this outfit at Konoha's coronation ceremony, representing Konoha in formal attire. He also gave a speech at the ceremony, emphasizing the friendly relationship between the Land of Fire and the Land of Snow, and highlighting the important contributions made by the Land of Fire in the Land of Snow's efforts to restore order.

After the public trial of Fuuka Naoto concluded successfully, and after Fuuka Naoto, who was sentenced to death in the same manner as Louis XVI by the angry citizens of the Land of Snow, was executed, Sasuke, representing Konoha, officially began negotiations with the Land of Snow.

After some negotiations, Koyuki Fuuka and Sasuke each signed their names on the alliance agreement.

In order not to provoke the fragile nerves of Onoki next door at this time, the contract signed by the two countries is not the Konoha Pact reached with the previous Land of Hot Springs and Land of Fields. Therefore, Konoha will not station troops within the territory of the Land of Snow, and will focus more on non-military economic cooperation.

Of course, in addition to the contract, Sasuke also promised on behalf of Konoha that he would help the Land of Snow cultivate a group of ninjas capable of defending their borders based on their chakra armor. In return, the Land of Snow would provide maximum policy benefits to merchants from the Land of Fire who came to invest.

……

"Well done." In the Hokage's office in Konoha, Uchiha Touko looked at the mission report submitted by Sasuke and the results of this negotiation, and nodded with satisfaction. "You did even better than I expected."

"You flatter me, teacher," Sasuke said with a smile after making Uchiha Touko a cup of tea.

"In a while, it will be time to hold the Chunin Exams. This time, Konoha plans to hold a joint Chunin Exam to let the geniuses of your generation show their faces in the ninja world. Are you confident that you can achieve a good result in this exam?"

"Of course, among ninjas of the same age, I don't think there are many who can be our match," Sasuke said with a smile.

Looking at the other's expression, Uchiha Touko's lips twitched slightly. This Indra chakra's Sunny Day gene can't be changed, can it?

The only thing that comforted Uchiha Touko was that Sasuke, though still cheerful, hadn't gone out to get beaten up again. Without the training of powerful opponents during his growth process as in the original timeline, the kid still had a clear understanding of his own strength and wouldn't challenge those far stronger than himself.

"Hehe, since you've put it that way, then I'll set your Chunin promotion standard a bit higher. If you don't win the championship, you'll have to stay a Genin for another year," Uchiha Touko laughed. "Of course, to be fair, Neji and Naruto will also be subject to the same standard."

"So, only one person from our team will become a Chunin?" Sasuke asked.

"It's also possible that none of them will make it," Uchiha Touko calmly reminded him.

"Then you just watch, teacher. This time, the championship is definitely mine," Sasuke said confidently.

……

After Sasuke left, Uchiha Touko also made arrangements for the preparations of the Joint Chunin Exams. The geniuses of Sasuke's generation had grown up, and it was time to show their strength to the ninja world. However, just as Konoha had prepared the invitations for the Joint Chunin Exams and hadn't even had time to send them out, two events that occurred in the ninja world made Uchiha Touko nervous.

First, after years of reckless actions, the Kazekage Rasa finally met with an unexpected turn of events. Gaara, the Jinchuriki of Sunagakure, finally snapped at his own father after facing Rasa's daily attempts to assassinate him. He briefly reached a consensus with Shukaku and killed Rasa.

The economic lifeline of Sunagakure was thus severed. Although Gaara was subsequently taken into custody, Sunagakure really couldn't do anything about him, since they couldn't find a second person who could serve as Shukaku's jinchūriki.

Upon hearing this news, Uchiha Tokō immediately went to Ryūchi Cave and contacted Orochimaru to repeatedly confirm whether he was involved in the matter. He only breathed a sigh of relief after Orochimaru denied it.

That's right. The main purpose of this guy's original plan to destroy Konoha was to send his already decaying teacher off on his way, so that he could leave as a hero. But now Hiruzen Sarutobi has retired and is no longer involved in village affairs. The old man's biggest hobby every day is fishing by the Naka River. Orochimaru himself, after the Akatsuki completely withdrew and relaxed their pursuit of him, has been engrossed in the study of natural energy. He has no time to do these trivial things.

Therefore, in response to Rasa's passing, Uchiha Touko, as Konoha's apparent ally, also sent condolences to Sunagakure on behalf of Konoha.

However, just two days later, news came from the Land of Earth that Deidara, a Chunin from Iwagakure, had offended too many people in the village and was eliminated in the internal vote for promotion to Jonin. In a fit of anger, he ripped off his headband and became a rogue ninja.

Upon hearing this news, Uchiha Touko felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

What's going on? The Kazekage was assassinated, and now the artist has failed the exam? The Fourth Shinobi World War really seems imminent.

“In that case, it’s time to start pushing this plan forward.” Uchiha Touko said, taking out a prepared plan titled “Ninja Professionalization Reform Plan (Konoha 61 Case)” from his desk.

Over the years, under Uchiha Toko's deliberate reduction, Konoha's mission quota, especially the D-rank missions of finding cats and dogs and picking up trash, has been reduced by almost half compared to the Third Hokage's time. At the same time, the Fire Country's official funding to Konoha has also increased by more than three times under Uchiha Toko's tough policies, accounting for 5% of the Fire Country's annual tax revenue.

In other words, the current ninja ranks in Konoha, apart from the troops stationed on the border and those dispatched abroad, as well as the special ranks of the Anbu and the Security Department, are mostly idle among the Chunin and Jonin who remain in the village. They are supported by Konoha and their daily task is to train and improve their strength.

Uchiha Tokō's plan would allow ninjas to be freed from these tedious tasks and focus on training to improve their strength; in other words, to transform them from mercenaries into professional soldiers.

In this plan, Uchiha Touko divided the reform into three parts.

One is the specialization of the military system.

Uchiha Touko plans to restructure the ninja class ranking system:

The ranking system of lower, middle, and upper ninjas has been abolished, and a new military rank system has been implemented: Ninja Soldier → Ninja Lieutenant → Ninja Sasuke → Ninja General → Kage Commander.

The existing mission hall will serve as a place for those ninjas whose talent is not outstanding and who will not be incorporated into the military system to take on D-rank missions to make a living.

At the same time, Uchiha Touko also plans to separate institutions such as the Ninja Tool Research Institute and the Medical Ninja Academy into independent technical units.

The second part concerns economic security.

Firstly, a certain percentage of the Land of Fire's annual tax revenue must be allocated to military expenditures to maintain the operation of the reformed ninja army. Although no one in the Land of Fire's court dared to use the funds to hinder Konoha because of Uchiha Tokō's position as Minister of State, Uchiha Tokō was a special case. If this money, which would only increase in the future, could not be fully established as a policy, then it is foreseeable that Uchiha Tokō's successor might still face the predicament of having to argue with those noble gentlemen in the court every year over the allocation of funds.

In addition, Uchiha Touko also plans to establish a comprehensive ninja welfare system.

To be honest, even a dog would shake its head at the current welfare system for Konoha ninjas. Because they are mercenaries, there is no retirement guarantee for the ninja profession. It is only because ninjas risk their lives every day that it is difficult for them to live to retirement age, otherwise, this aspect would have been problematic long ago.

Therefore, Uchiha Tokō plans to establish a ninja pension system, where ninjas who have served for twenty years or who have retired from the ninja ranks due to injury will receive a monthly allowance as a means of livelihood.

Finally, there's the system for protecting the rights of ninjas.

The first thing is to limit the age of ninja service. Uchiha Tokō plans to directly abolish the policy of early graduation from the ninja academy and draw a red line on the age of ninja service. People under the age of 12 are prohibited from joining the ninja ranks. Furthermore, after the education years of the ninja academy are increased in the future, this age limit will be further increased.

After all, Uchiha Touko was truly fed up with this morbid practice of sending elementary school students to the battlefield.

As for what to do if the situation becomes urgent in the future, Uchiha Touko said that if Konoha is forced to the point where children under the age of 12 have to go to the battlefield under his command, then his time as Hokage will be over.

Uchiha Tokō planned to complete this project within two years, by which time Konoha should be ready to take on the entire ninja world single-handedly.

However, just as Uchiha Touko was about to present this plan to the court, his spies from the Anbu, who were monitoring the court officials, brought him some unpleasant news.

Some civil officials planned to unite and impeach him, the Grand Minister of State, for abusing his power, in an attempt to force Uchiha Tomitsu to return power to the daimyo.

To be honest, when Uchiha Toko thought he was seeing things when he received the message, how dare these people?

(End of this chapter)