Chapter 343: Initial Discussion on Candidates

When the two representatives from the Rain Country hurriedly arrived at the Uchiha clan's territory, they were taken to the living room before they had time to catch their breath. Yeshan and Uchiha Keiji were already waiting here after breakfast.

"It is an honor for Konoha to have you two come from afar. Please take a seat." Ye Shan greeted them.

The two middle-aged men looked at each other, and the words in their minds became confused and unintelligible when they came to their lips.

“We don’t work hard.”

Ye Shan smiled, coughed lightly and said, "The New Rain Country and the Rain Country are closely connected by blood. The two sides have been one family since ancient times. In recent years, due to some special reasons, some conflicts have arisen between them, but fortunately, the leader of your country is a person who listens to advice and did not further expand the conflict."

"Your presence at the five-year election meeting represents the wishes of millions of people in the Rain Country, the determination of your leaders to pursue peaceful development, and the further improvement of relations between the two countries."

After the polite words, it was someone's turn to say bad things. Uchiha Keiji said with a straight face: "Just now, Lord Hokage pointed out the great significance and influence of your participation in the conference, but I think that countries get along like brothers, and some accounts still need to be settled."

The representatives of the Rain Country kept their heads down and said nothing. They had no idea what was being settled because they were just ordinary ninjas in the village and had no access to any secrets.

"Last year, merchants from your country gathered in New Rain Country to cause trouble, smashing, looting, and burning a market. In February of this year, ninjas from your country openly kidnapped hostages and demanded money in New Rain Country. In April, they raped women. In May, they monopolized the market. In June, they attacked the customs."

"Go back and tell Pein that when friends come, Konoha has wine, and when jackals come, Konoha has sticks! Lord Hokage may forgive you for the sake of the millions of people suffering from poverty, but if you do it again, my hundreds of thousands of ninjas will not be vegetarians!"

These words were very harsh, making the two Rain Country representatives sweat profusely. They really took it seriously. Not to mention the distant past, there were five major countries in the ninja world back then, but now there are only four! How glorious the Water Country was back then, but it still surrendered obediently in the hands of Konoha. Compared with the Water Country, the Rain Country after the split is nothing. The new Rain Country garrison can destroy itself.

Ye Shan nodded with satisfaction: "You can withdraw, just follow the Nara clan in this vote."

"..."

The two representatives kept their heads down and walked away grumbling. Uchiha Keiji chuckled, his smile full of contempt.

"A country with incomplete sovereignty actually wants to develop exchanges with Konoha on an equal footing. Has that guy named Pein always been so naive?"

Ye Shan waved his hand and said, "You can't say that. We still have to fight for the Rain Country. At this stage, we have to unite all the forces that can be united and divide the ninja world into two distinct parts. What follows is a conflict between ideologies."

Uchiha Keiji frowned. He was a ninja who advocated the use of force. In his worldview, Konoha, which had incorporated and annexed the Water Country, already had the strength to unify the ninja world by force. Instead of slowly boiling a frog in warm water, it would be better to be ruthless and annex by force.

This is also the idea of ​​most radical ninjas. Most of them are young and strong, and are at the age when they do things without considering the consequences.

Ye Shan sighed in his heart. He also wanted to unify the ninja world by force, but if he did so, many people would die, and reforms through violence would not succeed. Only reforms that were recognized by the people from the bottom of their hearts and consciously maintained by the ruling class could last.

The current Konoha or Fire Country looks like a flourishing country, but in fact it is full of crises. In Yeshan's opinion, the most important thing at the moment is to solve the problem of lifetime appointment of senior officials. The starting point of Konoha Ninja Village is full of limitations. It was established for the purpose of a military fortress, that is, a purely violent force agency. Its leader is called Hokage, who serves for life after being appointed by the Daimyo. At least the first three generations of Hokage did not give up their power until they died.

This is what Ye Shan is worried about. If all leadership positions in Konoha or even the Land of Fire are lifelong positions, it will be fine in the first few decades because there are many new positions and few talents, so the path to promotion will not be blocked. But after a few decades, as ninjas no longer participate in brutal wars, and living conditions and medical standards improve, life expectancy will reach a terrifying number, which will inevitably lead to a lack of fresh blood and the entire system will be filled with decadence.

In particular, the term of office and age of the highest leadership position, Hokage, will directly affect the direction of the entire country and system. Take Sarutobi Hiruzen as an example. At the beginning of his succession, he led Konoha to win the Second Ninja World War, carried forward the system left by Senju Tobirama, and improved the strength and cohesion of the village. He made great contributions and contributions to the village, which no one can deny. However, with the accumulation of his own ruling time and the maturity of his age and personality, there were also considerable problems and contradictions in the later period of his rule. Is it because Sarutobi Hiruzen forgot his duties and mission? Most likely not, the reason is that he is old and conservative in character. He believes that as long as he does not make mistakes, he will win, so Hatake Sakumo, a ninja as sharp as a cone, is not tolerated.

When Hatake Sakumo openly spoke out about the issue of Konoha ninjas' allegiance at the Jonin Conference, his fate was already sealed!

"Keiji, I have decided to retire to the second line and pass the position of Hokage to Minato. What do you think?"

Uchiha Keiji narrowed his eyes and said nothing. This was the second time he had heard this sentence. In fact, he admired the young man in front of him. You know, the most difficult thing to let go of in this world is power. From ancient times to the present, countless influential figures have fallen for this.

Ye Shan glanced at Uchiha Keiji who seemed to be asleep, and said in a dissatisfied tone: "Can you say something?"

"What? I'm retired now. If there's anything important, I'll go discuss it with them two."

"you..."

Uchiha Keiji smiled and said, "You are still young. It is too early to talk about retirement now. Besides, even if you want to retire, the boys under you will not agree."

"Then who do you think would be the right person to take the vacant Deputy Hokage position?"

Uchiha Keiji waved his hands again and again: "I can't say that, and don't embarrass me. I will just grow vegetables and flowers at home, and walk around the streets with a birdcage when I have nothing to do. If you want to have a home-cooked meal, come to my place. If you want to talk about business, turn right and walk 500 meters to Fugaku's house."

Ye Shan held his forehead helplessly, his eyes turned and a crooked idea came to him: "Don't even think about sitting idle, what kind of work do you want to do in the welfare home? This kind of work is not difficult for you, right?"

"And you have to hold a deputy position as a representative, and you have to show up at every important meeting. In a word, don't think you can be an idle person."

"I made a fellow like Jiraiya the Minister of Commerce, and he still did a good job. The village is short of talent now, so you have to take on more work."

Uchiha Keiji lost his composure. Isn't this asking too much?

"Actually, as a member of the village, I have the responsibility to express my own views and opinions on major personnel arrangements."

Ye Shan smiled and said, "Go on."

"I think there are only two choices: one is a Konoha ninja, and the other is a ninja from the Land of Water."

"There are only two candidates for Konoha ninja, one is Hyuga Hiashi and the other is Nara Shikaku. There are also two candidates for the original Water Country ninja, one is Mizunoe Hara and the other is Terumi Mei."

"The vacant deputy hokage is in charge of logistics, welfare and daily law and order maintenance. The workload is small and relatively unimportant. Among the deputy hokage, the overall ranking is low. I personally prefer the original water country ninja."

"Please elaborate on this."

"It has been ten years since the Nine-Tails Rebellion, and nine years since the Water Kingdom was annexed by the Fire Kingdom. During this period, there have been many disturbances. First, there was Zabuza's defection, and then there were the former Kirigakure Anbu ninjas who attempted to revolt and restore the country. It can be said that there has never been any peace."

Uchiha Keiji looked at Ye Shan's expression and continued, "The reason for this is that I think it is the bondage of family and country sentiment over the past few decades that has prevented the Water Country ninjas from truly integrating into the Fire Country family."

"It is unrealistic to integrate them in a short period of time. All we have to do is to eliminate the barriers and conflicts between them as much as possible, give them a sense of security and political status, and let them understand that joining the Fire Nation is not a hasty resignation or a severance of inheritance, but a move towards civilization and advancement."

"To treat everyone equally, we must be willing to spend money to win over people's hearts and minds in politics. Mizunotsuki was originally an important figure in the Hidden Mist Village, and he holds a high status in the eyes of the older generation of ninjas. If he can be appointed as the deputy hokage, it will be of great benefit to the tense and confrontational situation."

"But the problem is that Mizunoe joined Konoha first. It was subjective initiative rather than passive, so the role model she played was not that strong."

Uchiha Keiji tried his best to choose his words carefully. He knew very well what kind of influence his words would have on the village and the country. In fact, if he had not stepped back, he would not have spoken his thoughts openly.