In Kumogakure, where the mountains tower high, the Third Raikage, Ai, slammed his fist heavily on the table.
"Damn it! That Hanyu Simu has gone too far!"
The female secretary beside him adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses without a word. She had seen this too many times.
The table, the strongest one Kumogakure could build with current technology, cracked under Ai's punch.
The Fourth Raikage, also named Ai, and Killer Bee were present in the Raikage's office too. The recent events were too serious to ignore.
"Konoha actually dares to support those damn Freedom Fighters. Are they trying to go against every noble in the ninja world?"
After settling their own internal issues, Konoha began pushing hard toward science and industrial development. At the same time, they secretly continued to support the Freedom Fighters.
With Konoha's strong backing, revolutionary movements spread—not just in the Land of Fire, but also in the Land of Rain. Years of war had left countless people homeless and grieving.
Under the guidance of the Freedom Fighters, these people easily turned their anger toward the nobles, who still lived in luxury.
As a result, the Freedom Fighters began to appear across both large and small nations throughout the ninja world. Chaos spread like a plague.
Naturally, the worst situation was in the Land of Fire, home base of the Freedom Fighters.
"At this rate, the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of Fire could be completely overthrown within a year, assuming Konoha doesn't get directly involved."
This was the estimate from Kumogakure intelligence unit, reported by the secretary.
Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage Ai couldn't help but complain:
"This is insane. The Freedom Fighters are just a bunch of wandering ninjas and civilians…"
In the eyes of traditional shinobi, civilians were never considered a threat. A single ninjutsu was enough to wipe them out.
No one expected such a group to grow so powerful, causing chaos across nations.
Then, the secretary beside the Third Raikage Ai calmly explained:
"Konoha has developed a large number of new ninja tools. They call them 'Scientific Ninja Tools.'"
"Our intelligence division has identified two main types."
"One type is for ninja use, it converts the user's chakra into Sage Chakra, boosting their defense or the power of their jutsu."
"The other type can be used by ordinary people. These are mostly armor or arm guards. Once they learn how to activate them, they can use ninjutsu even without having chakra."
"On the battlefield in the Land of Fire, this second type poses the greatest threat to the nobles."
"Currently, there are about 5,000 civilians among the Freedom Fighters equipped with these tools."
In other words, the Freedom Fighters now had 5,000 people capable of using ninjutsu through technology.
In addition, there were likely hundreds of trained ninjas using Sage-enhanced gear. With the boost from scientific ninja tools, they could fight with power close to that of a Jōnin.
Five thousand fighters plus hundreds of Jōnin-level combatants, this was already a massive force, one that only the Five Great Ninja Villages could normally muster.
No wonder the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was steadily losing ground and on the verge of collapse.
The Third Raikage Ai spoke coldly:
"Anyway, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning has already allocated funds and ordered us to fully support the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."
"Presumably, the daimyos of the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind won't sit back and watch either. When the nobles prosper, they all benefit. But if one falls, all feel the impact."
While there were often conflicts between the great nations, those wars rarely involved the daimyos directly.
But now, with Konoha and the Freedom Fighters targeting noble rule itself, they were threatening the power of all the daimyos across the ninja world.
The Third Raikage might appear like a reckless brute but that didn't mean he couldn't see the situation clearly.
"I just hope the Land of Fire's daimyo can hold out longe —enough to wear down Konoha and the Freedom Fighters."
Then he paused, his expression turning more serious.
"As for the Land of Water…"
Since Hanyu Simu had gone to Kirigakure alone and killed the Fourth Mizukage, the Mist Village had fallen into chaos.
Some in Kirigakure wanted to obey the Daimyo's command and fight Konoha. But others believed Hanyu Simu's power was too overwhelming, they had no hope of winning and would rather stay out of it.
In that condition, the Land of Water couldn't offer any real help to the Land of Fire.
After a long silence, the Third Raikage finally made a decision.
"Send a delegation to Iwagakure, inform them that I wish to convene a Five Kage Summit."
The secretary's eyes widened slightly, then she quickly left to make the arrangements.
"Father… are you planning to go to war with Konoha?" the Fourth Raikage asked directly.
The Third Raikage Ai spoke with concern:
"I can't let Konoha continue to grow like this…"
He knew well the hostility between the nations of the ninja world. But Simu remained indifferent.
"If they want to fight, then we'll fight."
Two months later, Konoha's military reforms were starting to show results.
The first batch of 4,000 ninjas had officially transitioned from being mercenaries to professional ninjas.
Konoha's influence had expanded significantly. Most notably, Simu had established a military zone.
The area was nearly as large as half of Konoha and was located on the outskirts of the village.
The first 4,000 professional ninjas now lived in this zone, where strict discipline was enforced. No one was allowed to leave without approval from the chief.
The ninjas had everything they needed provided for them. They trained every day with no concerns other than their duties.
There were designated sleeping areas, a special canteen for meals, and no shopping allowed, everything was distributed by Konoha.
Families could live in a designated area within the zone.
Each soldier was allowed four days of leave per month to either rest or go out, but the rest of the time was dedicated to strict training.
The advantage of this system was that the ninjas no longer had to worry about their livelihood.
They didn't waste time on boring tasks. Their days were filled with training, lectures, and occasional missions to suppress bandits or handle similar work.
In just two months, the strength of these professional ninjas had improved significantly. This lifestyle quickly became the envy of many Konoha ninjas.
After all, no one wanted to constantly perform tasks just to make ends meet.
In the military camp, they were provided with food and clothing, and they could focus on improving their strength.
As a result, Simu's reform faced little resistance. On the contrary, many ninjas eagerly wanted to join the military camp.
However, Konoha's finances didn't allow for the training of tens of thousands of professional ninjas at once.
Only those with experience or high potential were selected, while younger or less promising candidates were excluded.
As Simu put it, "Do you want to go to the battlefield before you've even matured?"
Since Simu took power, he had truly embraced the will of fire, ensuring that Konoha's young ninjas wouldn't enter the battlefield too soon.
In his view, sending them out before they were fully developed wasn't training them, it was damaging their hearts and minds.
If an eight or nine-year-old child was sent to war, experiencing the horrors of the battlefield before their mind had fully matured, it could cause lasting psychological damage.
Uchiha Itachi was a prime example of this. How else could he commit such atrocities as the massacre?
While high-ranking officials like Danzo might have influenced him, experiencing battlefield cruelty too soon was a major factor.
And this problem was likely common among many ninjas today.
That's why Simu was committed to strengthening psychological education in Konoha.
Ninja schools introduced psychological courses, and Konoha Hospital also began offering mental health services.
Simu also focused on helping ninjas with psychological issues and those confused about life. While the psychiatrists were still developing their expertise, they had at least made a strong start.
Meanwhile, the culture of Konoha was thriving. The old low buildings had been replaced by tall ones, and Simu established a dedicated industrial zone.
New power plants and military factories ran around the clock, all part of Simu's work. The entire area of Konoha had expanded, doubling in size.
Under Simu's leadership, ordinary villagers who once made handicrafts at home now worked in factories, becoming proud members of the workforce.
Agricultural equipment had also improved, greatly boosting farmer productivity and easing their workload.
However, the full benefits of these changes in agriculture wouldn't be seen until next year.
This year, Konoha's finances still relied on support from the nobles.
As the Freedom Fighters took over more territories, they seized the property and food stockpiled by the nobles, which was then transported to Konoha to fuel the industrialization of the Land of Fire.
The development of Konoha was incredibly fast, thanks not only to Simu's regular flow of new plans but also to the hard work of the ninjas.
Tasks that once required many laborers, like mining ore, could now be completed with Earth Style ninjutsu.
Roads that would take months to dig were now done in days with Wind Style ninjutsu. Watering vast farmlands was made easy with Water Style ninjutsu.
In this world, ninjutsu and technology are the driving forces behind progress.
Behind Konoha's rapid development is Shikaku, whose hair grows whiter by the day. He and Minato spend nearly 16 hours a day in the office.
At this rate, neither of them is married yet otherwise, they'd probably be getting scolded to death by their wives.
"When will this ever end?"
Minato sighed, his face showing exhaustion. He looked like a beggar, his hair a mess.
Shikaku shook his head. "This is just how it is. Konoha is growing too quickly, and we have to handle everything that comes with it."
Minato grumbled, "Simu should deal with some of this himself and stop dumping it all on us."
Shikaku smiled wryly. "There's no choice. Who told him to study so many things?"
Looking out at the tall buildings rising in the distance, Shikaku's eyes gleamed.
"Minato, maybe we really are witnessing the dawn of a new era under Simu leadership."
Minato raised his head, understanding exactly what Shikaku meant.
Thanks to the efforts of the Freedom Fighters, most of the nobles in the Fire Nation were eradicated.
The benefit of this was that ordinary people finally had enough to eat. With the help of Simu's new machines, next year is expected to be a year of good harvests.
"Finally, I don't have to see the ordinary people go hungry anymore," Shikaku sighed.
He had spent a long time working in Shinjuku, where it was unimaginable for the people to have enough food.
Some could only eat half a bowl of rice every few days, and those who couldn't eat at all simply starved to death.
While Minato and Shikaku were reflecting on this, Simu, in the research institute, grinned excitedly.
"I did it. It finally worked."
Simu looked at the test tube in front of him, his powerful mental energy emanating from him. Inside the large test tube, two bodies floated in a green liquid.
As Simu's mental power surged, Uchiha Madara's eyes slowly opened. His scarlet eyes focused on the white walls of the research institute.
"Just as I expected," Madara said, his voice faint as air bubbles rose from his mouth.
Simu, standing outside the test tube, coughed violently in response.
After a moment, Uchiha Madara slowly adjusted his body, pressing his feet against the test tube's wall and walking out. Indeed, Simu was controlling Madara's body with his powerful psychic ability.
It's not exactly accurate to say that Simu is controlling Uchiha Madara's body. Rather, Simu's soul has fused with Madara's body.
This is a new ability Simu gained by imitating the concept of the "Avatar" from a different world's Vegapunk.
In that world, Vegapunk loads his emotions into a clone. Simu views this avatar as another extension of himself.
He can manipulate everything in Madara's body, including using his abilities.
The Brain Fruit has significantly enhanced Simu's mind. After several hours of adjustment, Simu is now able to control two bodies at once.
This means that in future battles, facing Simu won't just mean fighting his main body it could mean facing up to six clones!
"Unfortunately, this body is still too old," Simu thought, carefully examining Madara's form.
"If it was Madara when he was younger..."
"It still needs remodeling," Simu muttered.
With the blood factor information he now possesses, making Madara's body younger is not too difficult for him.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
_________________
Noted : if you guys want read advance chapter, you can check at my P@treon : patreon.com/MoonEater18