The Uchiha clan, which was wiped out entirely, lacked vision.

Chapter 227 No Need to Run Faster Than a Bear

Chapter 227 No Need to Run Faster Than a Bear

"Sigh, politics!" Jiraiya sighed deeply, feeling a strong aversion to the word.

After hesitating for a long time, he asked tentatively, "Is there really no other way to get the funds to rebuild the village besides this method?"

"Can't all the families in the village work together, pooling their wisdom and resources, contributing whatever they can, brick by brick, to rebuild the village?"

Nara Shikasuke's heart skipped a beat, fearing that Jiraiya would resort to the same old tricks again, forcing all the ninja clans to sacrifice themselves. He quickly changed the subject, saying, "Of course, there are other methods as well."

"Actually, compared to the major ninja clans, the nobles are much wealthier!"

"The Third Lord knew this, which is why he sought the support of the Daimyo."

"The envoy from the daimyo was not actually invited by the ninja clan; he was originally sent by the daimyo to transport supplies."

"Of course, the conditions promised by the three generations of lords must be fulfilled, otherwise the nobles who provided the supplies will not agree."

"Even a daimyo needs a reason to appease those nobles."

"What?!" Jiraiya immediately exploded. "You really intend to abolish the position of Hokage?"

"Um—" Faced with Jiraiya's overwhelming aura, Nara Shikasuke felt his breath catch in his throat and hurriedly waved his hand to explain, "This was all planned by the Third Hokage a long time ago."

"Whether or not this title exists, it does not affect the three generations of leaders' control over village affairs."

"But who would have thought that the Third Hokage would be assassinated by the enemy!"

"Now, on your side, Jiraiya-sama, your relationship with the ninja clan has become a bit strained—"

Nara Shikasuke had said enough; Jiraiya understood everything.

"Ah—" Jiraiya covered his head, speechless.

He knew perfectly well how adept his teacher was at political maneuvering, and he was completely confident that under his control, those ninja villages would obediently comply and wouldn't dare utter a single word.

But all of this came to naught after Hiruzen Sarutobi died.

What was originally a small problem has now become a big trouble for him.

Seeing that Jiraiya was getting agitated, Nara Shikasuke advised, "It is precisely because of this problem that I advised the Hokage to take action against these disobedient ninja clans."

"On the one hand, we'll make an example of them to warn the others and teach these ninja clans a lesson so they'll obey your orders from now on, Hokage."

"On the other hand, after acquiring a large amount of gold and silver resources, the village will not rely too much on the support of the daimyo and nobles, which will allow the ninja village to retain more autonomy."

"In fact, if the Hokage were to be a little more ruthless, he could easily raise the necessary resources himself and send the support back to the nobles."

"When the village has money, it stands tall and doesn't need to pay attention to the clamor from the nobles. The conditions promised by the three generations of officials will naturally be invalid."

After hearing this, Jiraiya sat down cross-legged, placed his hands on his knees, and stared intently at the ground in front of him, lost in thought, unsure of how to handle the situation for a moment.

Nara Shikasuke knew Jiraiya's personality, so he didn't disturb him while he was thinking. He simply waited quietly by his side for Jiraiya to make a decision.

On the other side of the village, a group of Jonin from the ninja clan who had been betrayed gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

A Jonin sat at the head of the table to preside over the meeting and took the lead in initiating the discussion.

"We've been tricked this time and made such a big mistake. I'm afraid the village won't let us off easily and will probably force us to bleed a lot of money. Let's all talk about what we can do."

"What are you still discussing? Do you dare to rebel?" A Jonin, his face grim, pointed at the Jonin presiding over the meeting and shouted angrily.

"I said before that the Nara family is untrustworthy and full of tricks. But you said that the Nara family also suffered great losses, so they must also disapprove of the new Hokage's actions and insist on being their pawns."

"How are things now?"

"Regret it now?"

The Jonin who was scolded looked annoyed, but still couldn't help explaining, "Jonin Mito, this isn't entirely my fault!"

"We agreed that one of us would play the 'good cop' and the other the 'bad cop.' We'd take a hard line, and they'd take a soft one; a combination of both would be more effective!"

"Who would have thought they'd betray us?"

"Everyone agreed on this, so how can you blame me alone?"

The Jonin who chaired the meeting was clearly quite prestigious among the group. As soon as he opened his mouth, people around him immediately stepped in to smooth things over and speak on his behalf.

"It all comes down to those bastards from the Nara family causing trouble, no wonder it's the Jonin Utatane's fault."

"Yes, they're all scoundrels from the Nara family. We were all fooled by them."

"We were too kind and easily believed what others said, which led to today's crisis."

"To this day, I still don't understand what benefit the Nara family would gain from betraying us?"

"Could it be that they really are acting out of selfless dedication and want to use their personal wealth to revitalize the village?"

"Even if they wanted to, they could have used their own money. Why would they want to cheat us?"

After a long, noisy discussion, someone finally slapped their thigh and exclaimed in sudden realization, "I understand!"

"The amount of gold and silver needed to revive the village must be limited. If we contribute more, their families will naturally contribute less!"

Everyone in the room was shrewd, and upon hearing his words, they immediately understood.

"Ah, that must be it!"

"I knew it! The Nara clan has absolutely no sense of public duty!"

"They're clearly pushing us down so their family can climb out on top of us!"

"Those bastards, they're so heartless!"

These words immediately resonated with many people, who angrily cursed the Nara family as bastards.

In an instant, the room was filled with profanities, all sorts of insults directed at Nara's family and their ancestors.

After a long while, someone sighed and brought the conversation back to the present.

"Now that things have happened, yelling won't solve anything. Let's discuss a strategy!"

"Hmph, what kind of strategy can we possibly have?" Jonin Mito said dejectedly.

"We've lost our reputation for righteousness, been betrayed by our ninja allies, and lost the battle. What other options do we have?"

"We can only accept the punishment, what else can we do?"

"Now I can only hope that the new Hokage isn't so heartless as to be merciful and let us off the hook."

But his wishful thinking was quickly dispelled by those around him.

"Hehe, don't worry, even if Jiraiya-sama is kind-hearted, he still has the ruthless Nara Shikasuke by his side."

'

"That bastard will definitely remind Lord Jiraiya!"

His words only fueled everyone's hatred for the Nara clan.

After another round of angry curses, the Jonin Mito sincerely prayed, "I pray that Lord Jiraiya can leave some foundation for our clan, at least giving us a chance to make a comeback."

His disheartening words immediately caused everyone to sigh and groan.