Chapter 17: Every Konoha Villager Is a Bully
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique."
Splash.
The considerate Kisame gave the bridge a thorough cleaning.
By the time he was done, the bridge was spotless.
Seeing this, Tazuna, the so-called "escort target", trembled, completely speechless.
He could still rely on seniority and moral pressure when dealing with the Konoha Village ninjas.
But in front of this group of rogue ninja killers?
That would just be courting death.
"Haku, you and Zabuza know where Gato's base is, right?" Shiromo said after returning.
"Go and take control of it, just in case any of the escaped rogue ninjas or samurai decide to set a trap."
"Yes."
Haku responded immediately and set off toward the other side of the bridge.
He didn't ask for Zabuza's opinion again.
Haku had remained silent throughout Shiromo's earlier conversation, but he had listened carefully and remembered everything.
They wanted to change the status quo of their homeland, the Land of Water.
Zabuza had agreed to join.
If even Zabuza had to follow Shiromo's decisions, then it was only natural for Haku, who considered himself Zabuza's tool, to obey orders without question.
While Haku dealt with the remnants of Gato's forces, Shiromo and the others, led by Tazuna, arrived at the village.
According to Tazuna, the village was so poor that it couldn't even afford a B-rank mission..."poor to the bone," as he put it.
In reality, it wasn't quite that poor.
If it truly were, the bridge wouldn't have been built in the first place, and the villagers wouldn't have survived this long.
Shiromo walked around the village to get a sense of the situation. After he stopped, Tazuna explained that other villages in the Land of Waves were much the same.
"Understood."
"Zabuza," Shiromo said, stroking his chin, "from now on, you'll establish a branch of the Wave Ninja Village here, though the name might sound a little suggestive."
"Establish… a ninja village?" Tazuna's eyes widened. "What exactly do you mean…?"
"You think the reason you're so poor is entirely because of Gato?" Shiromo asked calmly.
"You just told me about the exorbitant protection fees and restrictions on external trade."
"But old man, do you really think building a bridge alone will free you from Gato's monopoly?"
"A bridge can break a physical monopoly, but it can't eliminate the greed in people's hearts. Even if Gato is dead now, without a ninja village to protect you, can you guarantee there won't be another Gato?"
"You've seen Gato's underlings yourself, Kisame could wipe them out with a single jutsu. What if the next one is a jōnin-level rogue ninja who wants to take Gato's place and completely lock down the Land of Waves, like Kirigakure once did?"
"What would ordinary people like you do then? You wouldn't even be able to escape to other villages for help or commission missions."
Shiromo's words struck straight at the heart of the matter.
Tazuna understood immediately, though fear followed just as quickly.
What if they chased away a wolf, only to invite a tiger?
Of course, Shiromo noticed his worry.
To be honest, it didn't really matter.
If Shiromo and his group truly wanted to exploit them, resistance would be impossible anyway.
"Actually, Gato was an idiot," Shiromo continued.
"Even Kakuzu understands that sustainable exploitation brings more profit. Gato just squeezed everything dry. Zabuza, after you establish the ninja village, start recruiting talented children from these villages and teach them ninjutsu."
"As for administration, delegate it to capable civilians, like this old man here. Don't use the outdated ninja village system created by the First and Second Hokage. I've written the details in this scroll."
Shiromo tossed a scroll to Zabuza.
"Huh…?"
Tazuna was stunned.
They were actually planning to make him, an ordinary civilian, an official?
They're even planning to train ninja from among us?
Is there really such a good thing?
"Let me make this clear from the start," Shiromo said coldly.
"We are all ruthless rogue ninjas. If you mistake leniency for weakness and do things no one wants to see, don't blame us for being cruel."
"But if you truly treat the Land of Waves as your home and protect it, then the village, the country, and its people can prosper together."
Shiromo's straightforward carrot-and-stick approach made Tazuna nod furiously.
He promised that within half a day, he could spread the news to every village in the Land of Waves.
"I didn't expect you to be so skilled in internal governance, strategist," Itachi said after glancing at the scroll Zabuza was reading.
Many of the proposed reforms were precise and effective.
If only Shiromo was a Konoha ninja.
In truth, Itachi was overthinking it.
The reason Shiromo had been so blunt with Tazuna earlier was precisely because of Konoha.
Many people believe that the villagers of Konoha bullied Naruto, that he was the son of a hero, yet his identity was concealed, and he was discriminated against and mistreated.
But that's not quite accurate.
Everyone in Konoha is a bully.
They discriminate against and bully whoever they decide to bully.
Obito, Guy, Naruto, even Hinata, the heiress of the Hyūga main family.
Even the son of a wealthy tycoon in the Boruto era.
And Kushina, too.
In Konoha, a childhood without being bullied is practically incomplete.
"I'm not talented," Shiromo replied. "I just know how to change things. Itachi, do you really think it's normal for the Hokage's desk to be buried in trivial paperwork every day, pretending to be busy from morning to night?"
Shiromo didn't accept the praise this time.
He was well aware of his own limitations.
His ability to persuade the entire Akatsuki relied on near-perfect intelligence, careful logic, and a bit of wild imagination.
But internal governance wasn't that simple.
He could propose these reforms only because the existing system was absurdly incompetent.
For example, As Shiromo pointed out, during the eras of the Third and Fifth Hokage, even trivial tasks like catching cats and dogs required the Hokage's personal approval and stamp.
What was the point?
Other than making them look busy, it served no real purpose.
By the time of the Seventh Hokage, Naruto, it became even more ridiculous.
Naruto not only signed documents, he personally carried out these trivial tasks.
Buying groceries for old ladies. Finding lost pets.
The Hokage, with massive chakra reserves, would exhaust himself using countless shadow clones on meaningless errands.
He couldn't even maintain a single clone long enough to attend his daughter's birthday party without collapsing and dropping the cake.
You've seen Spider-Man act as a friendly neighborhood hero, that makes sense.
But have you ever seen Iron Man or a president personally dealing with street crime every day?
And those weren't even life-or-death missions.
Shiromo had simply corrected these laughably flawed systems.
That was all.
He didn't deserve praise for that.
Otherwise, it would feel like "the entire ninja world's intelligence had dropped by a hundred points while I alone stayed the same."
As for concerns about delegating power?
There was no need to worry.
Being sidelined only happens in a world without superpowers.
In the ninja world, although recognition is required to become a Kage, the position ultimately belongs to the strongest.
Power delegated can always be reclaimed.
Zabuza was more than strong enough to deal with ordinary ninja.
And if something unexpected happened,
The Akatsuki headquarters would be there to support him.
(End of this chapter)