Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 269 Institutional Reform
Just as Konoha was making headlines with the great victory in the Land of Rivers, Sasuke Umino, far away on the front lines in the Land of Rivers, finally stopped hiding himself and began a sweeping reform of the ninja system.

Riding the momentum of his crushing defeat of the Sand Village ninja, and with the tacit approval, or even support, of Commander-in-Chief Akimichi Torifu, he used the successful experience of his frontline mobile support units as a blueprint to carry out sweeping reforms on nearly two thousand Konoha ninja throughout the Land of Rivers war zone.

The news caused an immediate sensation and spread throughout the entire front lines of the Land of Rivers.

Apart from some ninja clan members, which ninja in the Land of Rivers war zone didn't covet the generous treatment of the front-line mobile support unit? They had tried many connections to join the unit, but unfortunately, they had never been able to.

Now, they can receive the same generous treatment without joining this unit, how could they not be excited?
"Have you heard? Lord Ironwall is going to extend the policies of the frontline mobile support forces to the entire theater of operations."

"You know too, haha, low-interest loans to buy ninjutsu, improve your strength first, then pay off the loan. If you sacrifice yourself, the loan is wiped out. This policy is really great!"

"Furthermore, I've also heard that if it's a combination ninjutsu for the legion, it's only half price. In fact, combination ninjutsu like Water Chaos Wave, Rock Shield Stacking Formation, and Flame Burning City have very low merit points, which is practically free."

"I am a water attribute user, so I will definitely buy the free Water Chaos Wave. I plan to use the remaining merit points to exchange for the C-rank Water Release: Water Clone Technique and Water Prison Technique."

"I plan to exchange for the Shadow Clone Technique to enhance my intelligence gathering and survivability."

"Shadow Clone Technique? I've heard that many newly promoted Special Jonin are planning to exchange for the Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique, which, when combined with explosive tags, is incredibly powerful."

"It's true. My cousin was just promoted to Jonin and received guidance from Lord Iron Wall. He said that his chakra reserves were good and suggested that he exchange for the Wind Demon Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique. Its power is even greater than the Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique."

"Inoshita Maru, I really envy you. Your family has produced a Jonin. It seems your family is going to become a ninja clan. From now on, I'll have to call you the young master of the ninja clan."

"Iwama, you don't need to be envious. I heard that you have a cousin who is quite talented. He joined Lord Iron Wall's direct puppet unit and even received personal guidance from Lord Iron Wall. When he gets there, he can exchange for the Puppet Technique: Dual-Machine Manipulation, control two puppets, and double his combat power. If he also exchanges for two Sand Village Jonin standard puppets, becoming a Jonin is not impossible..."

The frontline ninjas became increasingly excited as they talked, their respect and admiration for Umino Sasuke reaching an almost unparalleled level.

This new reform policy is a golden path for the vast majority of ninjas from commoner or small clan backgrounds to acquire intermediate and advanced ninjutsu.

The various reform policies introduced by Sasuke Umino undoubtedly opened a door for them to reach a higher level of strength. In the past, they had to fight constantly and rely on luck to survive in order to have a chance to advance further. This painful process was full of blood and tears.

Now, they can take out loans to improve their strength first, then do missions, and finally pay off their debts. Although it's just a small change in the order of events, it saves these ordinary ninjas without a foundation from the painful process of initial accumulation, preventing them from collapsing before dawn.

Of course, such a policy that benefits ordinary ninjas is not without its challenges and objections.

Unfortunately, Akimichi Torifu used the excuse of recuperating from his injuries to hand over all the frontline affairs to Unno Sasuke.

At this time, Sasuke Umino held great power, and his strength and prestige were enough to suppress all kinds of voices on the front line. With the momentum of defeating the Sand Ninja, he had all the advantages of timing, location, and popular support. Those clowns who wanted to oppose him were just trying to stop a chariot with their bare hands.

He even wrote to Shimura Danzo, hoping that his old leader would send a team of Root ninjas to come and earn some credit. Since Root had gained merit in battle, they should at least do something practical. Besides, it was Shimura Danzo who introduced the frontline reform policy, so how could Root ninjas not help?

As a result, some of the ninja clan members who had voiced their objections became extremely obedient after being invited for tea by the Root ninjas.

Moreover, with the Mitokado clan serving as a cautionary tale, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio choosing to acquiesce, and even the Uchiha clan offering no objections, who could possibly stop this trend?

Nara Shikaku, who was in charge of assisting with the reform policy, was quite cautious and refused to participate no matter what, so the task fell to Secretary-General Uchiha Mikoto.

Mikoto Uchiha cared deeply for Konoha and was very supportive of this reform policy, handling the matter with utmost dedication.

Those ninja clans that still had objections, seeing that the Uchiha clan supported the reform policy and that the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had chosen to acquiesce, had no way to appeal and could only silently endure it. At the same time, they sent messages back to the village by carrier pigeon.

Unfortunately, this is on the front lines of the Land of Rivers. By the time the Konoha leadership voices their opposition, the frontline reform policies will likely have already been finalized.

How long does it take to exchange a loan for ninjutsu? It's just a matter of a bookkeeping secretary.

Compared to the slow progress of the reform policies at the front lines, the establishment of the first organized puppet army in Konoha's history, with the support of Akimichi Torifu, had an immediate and significant impact on Sasuke Unno's influence.

Through numerous battles, Konoha captured mountains of various Sand Village-style puppets, including many high-quality ones used by Jonin.

If it weren't for Umino Sasuke's rigorous selection process, which eliminated a large number of those who didn't meet the talent requirements, the number of puppets captured and the enthusiasm of the Konoha ninjas would have made it easy to reach a scale of over a thousand.

The three hundred newly recruited puppeteers, selected through rigorous screening, became the most dazzling achievement and beneficiaries of this reform. Many of them were originally just ordinary junior ninja, but through hard work and talent, they were not only able to equip themselves with excellent puppets seized from the Sand Village, but also to cultivate Sand Village secret techniques such as dual-machine manipulation.

Even in Sunagakure, most Jonin-level puppeteers are not qualified to learn secret techniques like the Dual Machine Manipulation. However, in Konoha's Puppet Squad, as long as the training conditions are met, even a lowly Chunin can learn this Sunagakure secret technique at half price.

This is not their biggest benefit. Because there are not enough puppeteers, but there are enough high-quality puppets captured, they can also obtain puppets that are far superior to their own level.

Some Chunin who have mastered dual-machine manipulation can even control two Sand Village Jonin-level standard puppets. Their actual combat strength is not much weaker than that of a regular Jonin, and at the very least, they can be used as a special Jonin.

It can only be said that these puppeteers were lucky to be born at the right time; puppeteers who join later may not have this benefit.

The establishment of the Konoha Puppet Squad signifies that Sasuke Umino has once again gained control of a powerful ninja force.

Although this puppet unit has not yet been appointed by the Konoha leadership and is not yet considered his direct subordinate unit, no one can replace his position in the puppet unit.

Just like Tsunade's position in Konoha's medical unit, no one can replace her.

In fact, Sasuke Umino went even further than Tsunade. The ninjas in the puppet army were basically his students and grand-students. He provided all of Konoha's puppet techniques, and the first batch of puppeteers were also taught by his shadow clones.

The puppet troops on the front lines of the Land of Rivers are developing quite well, but Sasuke Umino's mecha puppets are in dire straits.

During the last pursuit of Ebizo and the great battle with Monk Bunfuku, the mecha puppet almost exhausted all the energy it had accumulated over the past few months.

The chakra-infused leeks in the Angkor Fortress prison cells were still insufficient to support the high-intensity battles of the mecha puppets.

The mecha puppet is indeed incredibly powerful, but without energy, it can only be used as a taijutsu jonin.

Fortunately, as the deputy commander of the Konoha front, he held considerable power and found a new batch of chakra recruits. In the temporary underground prison of the Konoha camp on the front lines of the Land of Rivers.

"The White Blood Demon!"

"That devil, he's here again!"

"Help me..."

The Sand Ninja prisoners were terrified. Upon seeing Umino Sasuke, some of the genin prisoners even began to sob in fear.

Ever since Sasuke Umino single-handedly wiped out two thousand Sand Ninja soldiers, his terrifying legend has been deeply imprinted in their minds.

Although they were saved by Konoha's medical ninjas, the wounds from the explosive tags remained on their bodies, and many of the Sand Village prisoners even had broken arms and legs.

After being captured, he was tortured by the white blood demon every day. Seeing the white blood demon meant that his chakra was being drained. Once the chakra was no longer suppressed, the old injuries hidden in his body would flare up like an old farmer's rheumatism, causing him unbearable pain.

If you choose to surrender to Konoha, you can receive treatment from Konoha's medical ninjas. However, if you insist on surrendering, you will receive special treatment and your chakra will be completely drained.

Moreover, once their chakra was gone, genjutsu and torture followed in quick succession, and sometimes they were even forced to read minds. Many Sand Ninja prisoners have already been turned into idiots by them.

"Sunagakure ninja, how's your decision today? Just write a short essay, and I promise I'll let you go."

"You think I'd slander the Daimyo and Lord Kazekage? Dream on!"

As expected of a Sand Village ninja, their willpower is remarkably strong. They deeply detest the fabricated stories about the Daimyo of the Land of Wind being a fat pig with an impotent penis, the Third Kazekage murdering Shamon to rise to power, and having an affair with Elder Chiyo. They vehemently condemned the White Blood Demon's despicable and shameless behavior.

Umino Sasuke ignored the curses and swung Samehada, slamming it onto a Sand Ninja.

Samehada: Chakra Absorption!

Samehada shimmered with blue light, its barbs protruding and piercing into the flesh of the Sand Village Jonin.

"White Blood Demon, if you have the guts, just kill me!"

"Damn demon!"

The chosen Sand Ninja let out a shrill scream, trying to resist, but was bound to the iron frame by the Water Cane Seal and was unable to break free.

Samehada greedily devoured the chakra, its sharp barbs easily piercing the skin of the Sand Ninja and embedding themselves deep into the muscles. Accompanied by the Sand Ninja's heart-wrenching screams, the chakra they had painstakingly refined was frantically devoured and absorbed by Samehada like a flood bursting its banks.

A visible stream of chakra flowed down Samehada's body and into Umino Sasuke's body, where it was then injected into the chakra energy storage engine of the mecha puppet next to him.

After the fierce battle between these mecha puppets and Monk Fenfu, although the mirrored armor on their surface had been repaired, the chakra energy storage engine inside was almost completely depleted.

The chakra leeks in the Angkor Fortress dungeon were barely enough to fill two mecha puppets.

At this moment, Samehada's chakra transmission caused the mecha puppet's dim chakra storage engine to light up again with a red glow and emit a faint humming sound.

"White Blood Demon! You will die a horrible death!"

"The demons of Konoha, the Third Kazekage will avenge us!"

"Kill me! Kill me quickly!"

Unno Sasuke ignored these curses.

His gaze remained calm and unwavering, as if he were performing an ordinary task. Only when the mecha puppet's chakra storage engine, with the injection of chakra, lit up again with a stable red light symbolizing abundant energy and emitted a deep hum, would he show a slight sense of relaxation.

"That's it for today."

Sasuke Umino put away Samehada and gestured to Midoriya Yamashiro, who was already waiting beside him, saying, "The rest is up to you."

"Yes, my lord!"

Yamashiro Midori's eyes gleamed with excitement and confidence. He knew that these prisoners, whose chakra had been repeatedly drained, who were physically and mentally exhausted, and whose fear had seeped into their very bones, were the best material to fill his intelligence database.

He led a professional interrogation team forward, using illusions, mental pressure, fatigue interrogation, and even medical ninjutsu to provide precise pain stimulation. They employed a variety of methods, including bringing out the terrifying illusion of himself leading the White Blood Demon to exert maximum mental intimidation, which greatly reduced the difficulty of the interrogation.

The daily torture, the dual torment of body and mind, coupled with witnessing their comrades being tortured to the point of mental breakdown and even becoming idiots, finally began to break the will of some Sand Ninja prisoners.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you! There's a small loophole in the defensive barrier on the east side of the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Wind. It's a backdoor that the ninja responsible for maintaining it secretly left behind!"

"I surrender, I'm willing to serve Konoha, and I'm willing to write a short essay!"

"The Third Kazekage, he did indeed have a close relationship with Elder Chiyo. There are rumors that they were responsible for Lord Shamon's death. The Daimyo of the Land of Wind is a fat pig, impotent... No, I can't say that! Ah—"

Fear and torture gradually crushed their will. More and more prisoners chose to speak in order to escape the endless chakra extraction and torture. More importantly, Yamashiro Green Leaf could always find evidence of their crimes of confiscating property and exterminating clans.

The terrifying nature of the intelligence database is finally beginning to show. Even the secrets within Sunagakure and the hidden scandals of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind are flowing into the intelligence database that Yamashiro Midori has carefully constructed, like a trickle of water.

This intelligence provided valuable information support for Konoha's possible subsequent operations to penetrate deeper into the Land of Wind.

Under the iron-fisted governance and reforms of Umino Sasuke, the situation on the front lines of the Land of Rivers is showing an unprecedentedly positive outlook.

(End of this chapter)