The Most Important Thing, of Course, Is Money!

Even the Hawk Faction of the Uchiha Clan would not attempt some kind of coup without absolute confidence.

For example, in the original story...

When the Uchiha Clan first decided to stage a coup, it was because the clan had two Mangekyō Sharingan wielders: Fugaku and Shisui.

To stop that coup, Shisui revealed the truth to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

His Kotoamatsukami could alter another person's will.

Which was how Danzo caught him off guard.

In the end, Shisui jumped into the Naka River and took his own life.

And after losing Shisui's combat power, the Uchiha Clan's first coup failed as well.

Based on various reasons, when Kaze blurted out the words "coup,"

even the usually hardline Hawk Faction Elder revealed a troubled expression.

As for the Dove Faction and Neutral Faction within the clan, they found the proposal of a coup even more unacceptable.

Quite a few people thought Kaze had gone mad.

That was why he was saying such nonsense.

After scrutinizing their reactions and attitudes, Kaze had formed his own assessment.

So, he changed his tune.

He said they would stage a coup, but not a military coup relying on force.

It would be a bloodless coup based on political means.

The moment his words fell,

everyone, including the Hawk Faction Elder, let out a breath of relief.

"The Third Shinobi World War has been over for five years now. Every shinobi village needs time to recover and rebuild."

Kaze continued laying out his viewpoint.

"Only Kumogakure still occasionally has conflicts with us, Konoha..."

When he said "us, Konoha," Kaze deliberately raised his voice.

"But as long as the Raikage is willing to Sit down and sign a peace treaty,"

"those conflicts will disappear as well."

"At that point, the Five Great Shinobi Villages will enter a brief Peaceful Era."

"According to my estimate, Konoha will remain stable for at least ten years."

It was worth mentioning that Kaze had indeed made an estimate, though it was not entirely an estimate.

As a Transmigrator, he knew the future situation very well.

When Naruto was Twelve years old, Orochimaru joined forces with the Land of Sand and Launched a war to invade Konoha.

When Naruto was Sixteen years old, Pain Attacked Konoha.

And right now, Naruto was only Five years old.

Not counting Orochimaru's plan to invade Konoha,

Konoha would enjoy at least an Eleven-Year Peace Period.

"Everyone, what do you think is the most important thing in an era of peace?"

Kaze's sharp gaze Scanned every person present as he awaited their answers.

Guided by Kaze's words, the Hawk Faction, Dove Faction, and Neutral Faction all began to ponder.

"It is strength..." Uchiha Kiyoshi's voice came from behind Kaze.

In his view, whether it was a Peaceful Era or wartime, strength was always the most important thing.

However, Shisui did not think so.

He immediately shook his head. "Since it is a Peaceful Era, the important thing is to Treat each other with sincerity."

"Only through mutual understanding and tolerance can we prolong peace."

Then, Kiyoshi and Shisui Looked at each other.

Neither of the Two people agreed with the other's view.

"Both wrong."

But just when the two of them thought their own ideas were the most correct, Kaze Denied them without a second thought.

"Then what is the most important thing?"

Several young Uchiha Said in unison.

"Money."

Kaze Took a deep breath and emphasized it again. "The most important thing, of course, is money."

Fugaku: "???"

Shisui: "???"

Itachi: "???"

Kiyoshi: "???"

The Hawk Faction Elder and the other clansmen: "???"

What the hell was money?!

What ninja would care about that sort of thing?!

Why was Kaze's way of thinking always so bizarre and unconventional?!

He had just talked about staging a coup, and now he was saying money was the most important thing!

"Kaze, what exactly are you trying to say? No, Kaze, what exactly are you talking about?" Fugaku stared at Kaze with a face full of black lines.

He only felt that this brat seemed to have completely let himself go tonight.

"Ah..."

Noticing that no one understood his thoughts, Kaze sighed helplessly.

"Have you ever considered why the Daimyo is the highest-ranking person in the Land of Fire and has the authority to appoint the Hokage?"

Kaze was in no hurry to explain his opinion and instead questioned everyone.

Seeing Fugaku shake his head, Kaze continued, "Nothing more than this: the Daimyo controls the Land of Fire's economy."

"As everyone knows, a ninja's only source of income is completing missions issued by employers and receiving payment in return."

"From D-rank to S-rank, the higher the difficulty, the greater the fee collected."

"Half of that goes to the Konoha leadership, while the rest is the ninja's wages."

"However... once the Peaceful Era begins, missions above A-rank will no longer appear."

"B-rank missions will become rare as well. At that time, D-rank missions will become the norm for ninja."

"I even dare to say that seven years from now, an Elite Jonin will appear in Konoha who spends every day leading Three Genin to pull weeds and look for Lost Pet Cats."

For a moment, quite a few Uchiha clansmen fell silent.

If the entire Shinobi World entered peace, then the income of ninja like them would indeed be drastically reduced.

"Precisely because he understood this principle, the Daimyo has kept money—no, to be precise, the Land of Fire's economy—firmly in his hands."

"The Hokage handles the military, while the Daimyo handles the economy."

"However, a military without economic support is a joke."

"Why has Sunagakure never been able to sustain its Military Expansion?"

"Nothing more than this: it has no money."

"That is why Sunagakure has always been the weakest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages."

Kaze's voice was impassioned.

Even the Hawk Faction Elder and Fugaku felt that Kaze's words made some sense.

"Indeed, if the Daimyo did not control the Land of Fire's economy, he would not hold such a high position..." Fugaku muttered softly. He felt that Kaze's perspective was extremely unusual.

It made no sense at first glance.

Yet behind that apparent nonsense, there seemed to be some truth.

It was just...

How far into the future had Kaze seen?

He had even included a peace period of at least Eleven years in his plans.

"That is the basic situation..."

"Since the one controlling this country is the Daimyo, and he controls it by controlling the economy,"

"then we Uchiha can make money too."

"And to make money, the Uchiha Clan needs to transform."

Seeing quite a few Uchiha clansmen reveal looks of sudden understanding, as though they had grasped something,

Kaze struck while the iron was hot and introduced the reform of the Security Force.

"If we are going to follow this plan, then we should not focus all our attention on a Security Force that is basically useless."

"So I propose reforming the Security Force."

"We will issue an announcement to all of Konoha. This year, the Security Force will use Unified Recruitment to Attract Talent."

"Whether they are from the village's other Great Clans or ordinary civilians, they can all join our Security Force."

The moment those words came out, the entire hall erupted once more.

"Wait, handing the Security Force over to outsiders..." The Hawk Faction Elder immediately began to object.

But before he could continue, Fugaku could not help interrupting him.

"With the Security Force's reputation in Konoha, even if we use this so-called Unified Recruitment, would anyone really want to join?"

Fugaku's question was extremely sharp.

It immediately left the Hawk Faction Elder speechless.

That was right.

The current Security Force stank so badly that its reputation carried for miles. Even children spat behind their backs.

Recruiting people?

How could anyone possibly come?

"That is why it needs to change."

Kaze did not care much about the reputation issue. "The Uchiha's reputation must be turned around."

Fugaku: "???"

Shisui: "???"

Itachi: "???"

What the hell was that supposed to mean?!