384. The Great Reform of the Land of Fire 3

Of course, to accommodate the sentiments of some traditional shinobi within the village, the reforms to the Ministry of Military Affairs would not be implemented across the board immediately.

Instead, a pilot program would be launched first.

Danzo planned to designate a large area on the outskirts of the village as the First Military District.

From there, approximately two thousand young shinobi would be selected to become the first batch of officially registered shinobi, enjoying formal benefits.

This meant that the higher-ups would provide them with salaries and various supplies, even helping to resolve their daily life issues.


These shinobi would no longer need to waste time on missions; their sole focus would be on training and improving their strength.

Over time, these registered shinobi would significantly outpace ordinary shinobi in terms of strength, making it much easier to fully integrate them into the Ministry of Military Affairs later on...

Additionally, the higher-ups had already decided on the leadership for the five key departments: the Ministry of Education, Root, ANBU, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Military Affairs.

The most important position, representing "military power," the head of the Ministry of Military Affairs, would naturally be held by Minato, the Hokage.


As the leader of the nation, Minato needed to have real military authority.

Danzo did not want the Land of Fire to experience a separation of military and political power again in the future...

As for the Ministry of Education and Root, Danzo would personally oversee these two departments.

The former was crucial to the future of the Land of Fire, and Danzo needed to personally ensure that the education system was shaped according to his vision.

Root, responsible for anti-corruption and anti-graft, was even more self-explanatory.

Danzo's infamous reputation across the shinobi world was well-known, and his oversight would keep domestic officials on edge for a long time.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that as long as Danzo lived, these officials would have to at least *pretend* to be honest and capable!

Otherwise, the "Darkness of the Shinobi" would show no mercy.

After all, Danzo had no qualms about killing nobles, let alone ordinary officials.

Meanwhile, ANBU, responsible for intelligence and national security, was entrusted to Minato's student and Danzo's subordinate—Kakashi Hatake.

There was no doubt that Kakashi had made a significant leap forward.

After the reforms, ANBU's authority had greatly expanded, making it one of the most critical departments in the higher-ups.


Given the importance of this department, Danzo chose Kakashi as its head.

As Minato's student, Kakashi's loyalty was unquestionable.

Moreover, with the Five-Tails now sealed within him, his previous chakra limitations had been resolved, significantly boosting his strength.

He was more than capable of serving as the head of ANBU.

Finally, there was the head of the Ministry of Finance.

After much deliberation and Danzo's recommendation, Minato made the bold decision to appoint Kakuzu, an outsider shinobi, to this position.

This appointment left many stunned. Kakuzu's joining of Konoha had always been kept secret, so few in the village even knew of his existence.

His sudden emergence as the head of the Ministry of Finance was a complete surprise.

For those who knew Kakuzu's identity, the news was even more shocking.

"He, the legendary immortal mercenary, becoming the Minister of Finance?" What kind of bizarre plot was this?

Regardless, Minato had placed immense trust in Kakuzu.

When Kakuzu received the appointment, he was initially stunned but then erupted into ecstatic joy.

After all, his greatest passion in life was making money.

For decades, he had tirelessly earned bounties at the underground exchange.

Now, he was being put in charge of the Ministry of Finance? Good heavens!

The wealth of an entire nation was at his fingertips.

Even killing ten Asumas wouldn't compare to a fraction of the Land of Fire's tax revenue!

Thus, Kakuzu naturally accepted the position of Minister of Finance.

As for whether Kakuzu would embezzle funds? Danzo wasn't worried.

After all, in the original story, Kakuzu had handed over all his earnings to the Akatsuki.

It seemed he simply enjoyed making money...

Besides, there was always Root, led by Danzo, to keep an eye on him.

If Kakuzu did embezzle, Danzo could deal with him in an instant.

With that, the personnel changes in Konoha's higher-ups were complete.

From here on out, the entire Land of Fire would embark on a fervent reform movement under the leadership of these new officials!

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The drastic reforms and personnel changes in the Land of Fire naturally caught the attention of other major nations.

For example, Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage of the Land of Earth, who had been struggling with his own domestic nobles, was currently holding a freshly printed copy of the Shinobi World United News with a dark expression.

He slammed the newspaper onto the table and roared in anger, "That damned Danzo! How dare he make such bold moves!"

The newspaper detailed the progress the Land of Fire had made since the reforms. Each item on the list struck a nerve with Ōnoki.

As a seasoned politician and military strategist, Ōnoki knew full well that if Danzo's reforms succeeded, Konoha's power would undergo a seismic transformation!

Just the fact that they had firmly grasped control of their finances was enough to overshadow other nations.

Not to mention the insane military reforms, which completely broke the unspoken agreement among nations since the Warring States Period to confine conflicts to shinobi villages.

In the future, Konoha could recruit soldiers from across the entire nation.

Combined with long-term professional training, Konoha's shinobi would surpass other nations in individual strength, overall quality, and numbers.

In less than twenty years, the shinobi world would likely return to an era of Konoha's dominance!

Now, look at his own Land of Earth.

Their Daimyo was busy slashing military budgets to prevent Iwagakure from becoming too powerful.

Under such circumstances, forget development—Iwagakure would be lucky if its strength didn't regress!

If it weren't for the extra income earned from Konoha, the village's higher-ups might not even be able to pay their salaries!

Moreover, according to reports from Iwagakure's spies in the capital, the Land of Earth's Daimyo had used the military funds saved from Iwagakure to hire numerous rogue shinobi from the underground exchange.

It seemed he was preparing to form his own shinobi force...

At this thought, Ōnoki's expression darkened completely.

A wild idea began to take root in his mind—if the "Darkness of the Shinobi" could do it, why couldn't he, the "Fence-Sitter," do the same?