Naruto: Konoha Spring of the Uchiha Prodigies

“I intend to entrust these two garrisons to you two,” Uchiha Touko said.

"Us?" Aburame Shiki and Inuzuka Gaku exchanged a glance after hearing what Uchiha Touko said, before speaking in surprise.

“That’s right,” Uchiha Touko nodded. “I will assign each of you a ninja unit of about 800 people from within the village. Adding to that the troops currently stationed on our border with those two countries, each of you will be able to command a ninja army of about 2000 people.” Uchiha Touko said, “At the garrison’s base, you will be equivalent to the Hokage of that army. You will be able to make decisions on all matters during peacetime.”

Both men were shocked upon hearing this. Uchiha Touko had just handed over a 2000-man ninja army to them? You know, even some small country ninja village leaders don't have 2000 ninjas under their command. The number of ninjas they took with them was almost 30% of the village's current active ninjas.

"But if we take so many ninjas away, won't the village's finances be under too much pressure?" Shiki Aburame asked. Generally speaking, the village's ninjas, except for those in the ANBU of the Security Department, are paid by the village for their missions. The border guards are paid by the village. Now each of them is taking away 800 people. If these people were in the village, they could complete missions and make money for the village. But after they are taken away, the village has to pay their wages. This back-and-forth financial pressure is not small.

"Don't worry, we won't have to pay a single penny for this military expense," Uchiha Touko laughed. "Don't forget, we're helping others guard the border, so naturally, they'll cover the costs."

“I see. In this way, sending troops will not only not increase the village's financial burden, but will also greatly reduce the military expenditure burden on the two troops currently stationed on the border,” Aburame Shiki said. “But what about the village's mission? With so many ninjas leaving at once, won't the village be short-handed for its mission?”

“Don’t worry about that. The Ninja Academy is about to graduate, and the number of genin will increase again. Besides, I’m planning to gradually reduce the amount of missions the village will be carrying,” Uchiha Touko said.

"Reduce the workload?" The two looked even more puzzled upon hearing this.

You have to understand, during the previous three Shinobi World Wars, the various ninja villages practically fought tooth and nail for that amount of missions, right? But now Uchiha Tokō is saying he wants to voluntarily reduce the number of missions, isn't that just voluntarily reducing the village's income?

“Yes,” Uchiha Touko said, “Given the current state of the ninja world, the mercenary model of ninjas who take money to do things is no longer keeping up with the development of the ninja world. Therefore, I plan to reform the current ninja system soon, and reducing the current number of missions will be the first step.”

Although Aburame Shiki and Inuzuka Jacques did not understand what Uchiha Touko meant, they still nodded. After all, Uchiha Touko had not made a wrong decision so far and had brought their two clans to their current state. Now that Uchiha Touko had a specific plan, they only needed to follow his instructions.

……

Two more weeks passed, and Aburame Shiki and Inuzuka Jacques, after being officially appointed by the Hokage as commanders of the ninja forces stationed in the Land of Fields and the Land of Hot Springs respectively, set off with the ninjas of their villages to their respective garrisons.

Upon their arrival, they were warmly welcomed by the daimyo of both countries. For the daimyo, hiring Konoha's heavenly soldiers to protect them for a small fee was far more cost-effective than investing their own money and effort in developing the ninja village. After all, their countries couldn't produce any decent ninjas anyway, so wouldn't it be better to use the money for building the village for eating, drinking, and having fun? Furthermore, the commercial cooperation between the two countries in the contract would allow them to make real money, and all they needed to pay was a small amount of military expenses—it was incredibly worthwhile.

Meanwhile, A, from the Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning, which borders these two countries, was furious upon learning of this. Although he had never taken these two countries, which had signed an alliance with Konoha, seriously, and considering that the Land of Lightning was separated from the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Hot Springs by the Land of Frost, Konoha's actions were no different from directly deploying troops to the border of the Land of Lightning. After all, the Land of Frost, which had no ninja village, had always employed ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village. In A's eyes, the Land of Frost was no different from his own territory.

Therefore, Ai also planned to follow suit and transfer their border troops from the Land of Lightning to the border of the Land of Frost to confront the army of Konoha.

However, his secretary, hope, dissuaded him at a crucial moment.

"Lord Raikage, I do not recommend transferring our ninja forces to the Land of Frost." At the Cloud Village's high-level meeting, Hii ​​spoke after hearing the Raikage's plan.

"Why?" Ai asked with a stern face.

"Because we are not ready to go to war directly with Konoha," hope said. "In recent years, although the village's strength has been steadily developing, if it is just our country, we are not confident that we can defeat Konoha in a short period of time. And once the war becomes a stalemate, the Land of Fire's rich resources can easily wear us down."

“Unless we launch an attack on Konoha simultaneously with the Land of Earth and the Land of Water, as we did in the previous Shinobi World Wars,” Xi analyzed. “But right now, Kirigakure is too busy to take care of itself. As for Iwagakure, based on my understanding of the Tsuchikage, if we go to war with Konoha, he will just sit back and watch the two fight, and then reap the benefits.”

Upon hearing this, Ai could only grit his teeth and slam his fist on the table, abandoning his plan to also station troops in the Land of Frost. He was reckless, but he wasn't stupid. Xi was right. If they went to war with Konoha now, they might gain an advantage in the short term, but it was absolutely impossible to wipe out Konoha's fighting force in a short time. Once the war became a stalemate, Konoha could afford to exhaust its resources, but their barren Land of Lightning was definitely not capable of fighting a protracted war.

Chapter 158 Takigakure's Choice and Iwagakure's Reaction

After learning that the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Rice Fields had signed a treaty and that Konoha's ninja army had been stationed on the border between the two countries to help them resist the threat from the Land of Lightning, Iwata Sawaki's negotiations with the Daimyo of the Land of Waterfall also came to a conclusion.

"So, if we rely solely on Takigakure, the possibility of our Land of Taki being able to withstand the threat from the Land of Earth is zero, right?" The Daimyo of Takigakure looked at the map of the "Konoha Pact Plan" brought back by Iwata Sawaki and said with a long sigh.

“Yes, given the current situation, our tailed beasts will be unable to fight for at least five years.” Iwata Zeki said with a helpless expression, “Without the tailed beasts, we Takigakure are no different from ants in front of the ninja villages of major powers.”

"Furthermore, even if we could use the power of the Seven-Tails now, it would only make the Iwagakure, which has two tailed beasts, slightly wary of us," Iwata Zeki said helplessly. "After all, the tailed beasts are our only reliance, but the other side also has that power."

"So, the only way to truly protect the safety of Takigakure is through the power of Konoha, right?" the Daimyo of Takigakure said with a bitter expression.

"Your Highness, I am incompetent," Iwata Sawaki said, kneeling on one knee.

"Well, it's not your fault. It's too difficult for a small country like ours to produce a strong enough ninja," the Daimyo of Takigakure sighed. "Since the establishment of the ninja village system, in all these years, only the Land of Rain has produced one Hanzo." The Daimyo of Takigakure helped Iwata Sawamoto up and said.

“However, once this contract is signed, the Land of Waterfall will never be able to escape the control of the Land of Fire again,” said the daimyo of the Land of Waterfall.

"Is it that serious?" Iwata Sawaki asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Iwata, you’ve been trained as a ninja since childhood, so you don’t understand what this contract truly represents. The part about joint economic development seems to offer many favorable conditions to small countries like ours from Konoha, but once this contract is signed, our country’s future will forever be that of a raw material base for the Land of Fire. Furthermore, the money we earn from selling raw materials will ultimately be earned back by them in various forms. It’s a slow poison,” the Daimyo of the Land of Waterfall sighed.

Speaking of which, the daimyo of the Land of Waterfall is quite an anomaly among the daimyo of the ninja world. As the illegitimate son of the previous daimyo, he was not originally qualified to inherit the position. Therefore, he started to get involved in business at a very young age, hoping to make a name for himself in this field. However, coincidentally, his elder brother, the crown prince, was too reckless. Despite not having the talent, he insisted on learning ninjutsu. Not only did he learn ninjutsu, but he also secretly learned it by himself. In the end, he died due to the ridiculous reason of his chakra going out of control. As a result, he became the daimyo of the Land of Waterfall by a twist of fate.

His experiences as a teenager made him far more mature than most of the daimyo in the ninja world who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun. Therefore, he could clearly see the malice hidden beneath Uchiha Tokō's seemingly sincere contract.

"This..." Iwata Zeki was also startled. He finally understood why, even though he had been back from Konoha for a whole month, the Daimyo had not yet made up his mind to form an alliance with Konoha.

"Then we won't sign?" Iwata Sawaki hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Do we have a choice?" The daimyo of Takigakure said with a wry smile. "I heard that the mission quota for Takigakure has been reduced again this month, right? And the number of Iwagakure ninjas on our border with the Land of Earth has almost doubled, right?"

"Yes," Iwata Sawaki said helplessly.

"This Minister of State of the Land of Fire is using an open strategy," the Daimyo of the Land of Waterfall said with a wry smile. "After the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Rice Fields signed this treaty, no matter what we choose, Onoki will regard us as potential enemies, unless we completely side with the Land of Earth. But, as you know, the Land of Earth is in a difficult situation right now. Onoki is already too old, and the huge Hidden Stone Village cannot find anyone to replace him. But Uchiha Touko is not even 20 years old this year. By conventional standards, he still has at least 20 years of peak performance left, not to mention that he is an Uchiha ninja."

“Yes, we have no other choice.” At this moment, Iwata Sawaki’s face also showed a bitter expression. The king and his minister of Takinokuni looked at each other, and neither of them spoke.

This is the tragedy of small countries situated between powerful nations. Unless they can immediately produce a strong individual comparable to Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, they can only serve as pawns in the power struggles between these great powers.

"Sign it." After a long while, the daimyo of Takinokuni sighed, took out a pen, and heavily signed his name on the document.

After affixing his daimyo's seal, he said with a self-deprecating tone, "With this signature, at least I can still peacefully serve as the daimyo of the Land of Waterfall. The Land of Fire looks down on our barren land, which has nothing but a little mineral resources."

"Iwata, go to Konoha again and bring back the garrison as soon as possible. Onoki and Uesugi Hideyoshi won't give us much time," the Daimyo of Takigakure instructed.

"Yes!" Iwata Sawaki nodded through gritted teeth.

However, just as Iwata Sawaki left the palace of the daimyo of Takino-kuni with the signed and stamped agreement, the Land of Earth's spy, who was lurking in the shadows, transmitted the information back to the Land of Earth as quickly as possible.

So, just as Iwata Sawaki returned to Takigakure and hadn't even had time to prepare his carriage for the journey to Konoha, an envoy from Iwagakure arrived first.

Iwata Sawaki reluctantly received the envoy from Iwagakure. The envoy's first words were a direct question: Did Iwata Sawaki intend to join the Konoha Pact and bring Konoha's troops to their border?

Iwata Zeki could only deny it, but the messenger from Iwagakure continued to press on with the message that Onoki had sent him.

If Takigakure intends to join the Konoha Pact, Iwagakure will regard it as a declaration of war by the Land of Waterfall against the Land of Earth and will take direct military action.

Faced with Onoki's warning, Iwata Sawaki was practically grinding his teeth to powder, but the situation was beyond his control. Iwata Sawaki could only say that Takigakure had never intended to do so, and politely saw off the envoy from Iwagakure.

After the messenger from Iwagakure left, Iwata Sawamoto had no choice but to return to the capital of Taki no Kuni and find the daimyo.

Upon hearing this, the Daimyo of Takigakure could only take a deep breath and grit his teeth, saying, "We can't hesitate any longer. Now, only Konoha can make Iwagakure wary. Go to Konoha immediately, reach an alliance with them, and request them to station troops here as soon as possible. Travel light and be quick!"

"I understand," Iwata Sawaki nodded and accepted the order.

When Iwata Zeki left the daimyo's palace this time, he deliberately used a water clone technique. His clone returned to Takigakure after leaving the palace, while his main body did not dare to stop for a moment and rushed towards Konoha Village overnight.

Just as Iwata Sawaki and the Daimyo of Takigakure were making up their minds, Uchiha Touko received a request from Onoki in Konoha to conduct a television interview.

"After laying the bait for so long, the big fish is finally about to take the bait." Uchiha Touko chuckled, changed into his most formal Hokage robes, put on his Hokage hat, and then connected to the video call with Onoki.

On the other side of the screen, Onoki was also dressed in formal attire. After exchanging a glance across the screen, the two of them took off their straw hats and placed them on the table beside them to show their openness. This was something the First Hokage did before pleading for peace at the first Five Kage Summit, and it has been preserved as a traditional etiquette for meetings between Kage ever since.

"Lord Tsuchikage, how have you been?" Uchiha Touka said with a smile to Onoki on the other side of the screen.

"It's alright, nothing compared to you, Hokage. You've been riding high lately," Onoki said with a forced smile. "Your Konoha Pact has been making quite a stir."

"Your Excellency Tsuchikage is too kind. This is merely an attempt by me, as Hokage, to ensure peace in the ninja world. After all, only with peace can villages and countries have an environment for development," Uchiha Touko said calmly.

"Is this really for peace?" Onoki said with a sneer. "If Takigakure joins your alliance, then your Land of Fire ninjas can be stationed directly on the border of our Land of Earth. The Hokage has certainly made a good plan."

"Hehe, this is just to make our allies feel safe. I hope Your Majesty the Tsuchikage won't overthink it," Uchiha Touko said with a smile. "There is a non-aggression pact between our two countries."

“Yes, our two countries have a non-aggression pact, but Takigakure does not,” Onoki said with a grim face. “I don’t care how Kumogakure views your alliance, but Iwagakure will not stand idly by and watch this happen. If anything bad happens, I hope the Hokage will not blame us.”

Chapter 159 Special Military Operations in the Land of Earth

Upon hearing Onoki's words, Uchiha Touko immediately laughed and reassured him, "What are you saying, Tsuchikage? Since our Land of Fire has already signed a non-aggression pact with you, we will naturally abide by the rules. As for Takigakure, we only want to engage in economic cooperation with the Land of Takigakure; stationing troops is a secondary matter."

"No matter what, as long as your Konoha ninja army appears on the border of our Land of Earth, we will consider it an act of war," Onoki said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Touko's expression also turned cold, and he said, "Is the Tsuchikage threatening me?"

"Whether it's a threat or not, you know it in your heart." Onoki didn't speak too confidently this time. He knew that in front of Uchiha Touko's complete Susanoo, unless the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire launched an attack on Konoha at the same time, leaving Uchiha Touko no time to attend to the battlefields on both sides, Uchiha Touko alone could stop most of Iwagakure's forces.

Uchiha Touko and Onoki were locked in a tense standoff, separated by a screen.

A short while later, a voice rang out from the Tsuchikage's office on the other side of the screen: "Tsuchikage-sama, urgent report!"

Upon hearing this, Onoki turned around abruptly, while on Uchiha Touko's side, Uchiha Inahashi appeared in front of his desk and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Hehe, Tsuchikage, I'll have to excuse myself then. I have guests to entertain." After Uchiha Inahisa left, Uchiha Touko smiled lightly, said a few words, and then hung up the video call.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Onoki slammed his fist on the table in anger after the phone was hung up on. The intelligence he had just received was that their spy, who had infiltrated the Land of Waterfall, had seen Iwata Sawaki crossing the border towards Konoha. Judging by the time, Iwata Sawaki should have arrived in Konoha by now.

"Father, what do we do now?" At this moment, Huang Tu came to Onoki and asked with a frown, "Iwata Sawaki has already arrived in Konoha. If Takigakure really joins the Konoha Pact, should we go to war with them?"

Onoki took a deep breath and said with a grim face, "Now, order our troops on the border of Takino Country to attack Takino Country in half an hour."

"Now?" Huang Tu was startled by Onoki's order and quickly asked to confirm.

"Yes, now!" Onoki said through gritted teeth, "We need to occupy the entire territory of Takigawa before that guy Iwata Sawamoto reaches an agreement with Konoha and signs a contract. Then let's see how he can still station troops in Takigawa!"

"Before this, shouldn't we declare war on Takigakure?" Huang Tu said. If they went to war without declaring war, Iwagakure would have already lost its sense of justice.

“We warned Takigakure in advance, but they went their own way. Besides, this isn’t a war,” Onoki said in a deep voice. “This is just a special military operation, understand?”

"Understood," Huang Tu nodded and accepted the order.

……

Inside the Hokage's office, Uchiha Touko, having ended the video call, untied his Hokage formal robe and changed into the more practical Imperial Robe before turning to Uchiha Inahisa and asking, "Where is that guy?"

"After entering the Land of Fire, the leader of Takigakure was stopped by the border ninjas. After he explained his purpose, the Jonin squad leader, Tetsuya Gekko, who is currently on duty at the border, is accompanying the leader of Takigakure on a full-speed journey to the village. They are expected to arrive in the village in two and a half hours," reported Inahisa Uchiha.

“I understand,” Uchiha Touko nodded, then instructed, “Have Elder Fugaku come over and cover for me. If the leader of Takigaku arrives, tell him to wait a while. As for the reason…”

Uchiha Touko thought for a moment before saying, "Just say that there's a small problem with the sealing of the village's Jinchuriki."

“I understand,” Uchiha Inahime nodded.

After making the arrangements, Uchiha Touko chuckled and, carrying his Lightning Blade, walked out of the Hokage Building and headed towards Kakashi's house.

On the way, Uchiha Touko looked up at the evening sunset, a slight smile appearing on his face, and muttered to himself with emotion:

"After all that effort to create this fishing spot, that old bastard Onoki should be biting by now. Once he's hooked, it won't be so easy for him to escape."

While Uchiha Toko was on his way, Naruto and Kakashi were having dinner.

Dinner at the Hatake family's house seemed quite lively. Kakashi was carrying Naruto's treasured limited-edition ramen in one hand and pressing Naruto's head down with the other. Naruto was so anxious that he kept throwing punches, but unfortunately, his arms were too short and he couldn't touch Kakashi at all.

"Kakashi-nii-san! You've gone too far! Those are my precious treasures that I couldn't bear to eat!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Didn't I tell you? As long as you finish all the green peppers, I won't do anything to your treasured collection." Kakashi said, grabbing Naruto's head to keep him from getting closer. "If you don't get back to the table, I'll really burn all of this! My Fire Release techniques are very fast!"

"Damn it!" Naruto stopped struggling after hearing Kakashi's words, and returned to the table in grief and indignation. With a bitter face, he poured half a plate of green peppers into his mouth. While chewing, his whole face was squeezed together. After chewing for a long time with great effort, he finally tilted his head back and swallowed all the green peppers. Then he stuck out his tongue and said, "I've finished eating! Give them back to me."

Kakashi only returned Naruto's ramen to him after seeing that Naruto had obediently finished eating the green peppers. With his precious ramen back in his arms, Naruto instantly showed a relieved expression, then looked up and glared at Kakashi: "You damn Kakashi, don't let me find those books you've collected, or I'll burn them all sooner or later!"