Hozuki Shingetsu

That's right, Hozuki Shingetsu is a transmigrator.

Before he transmigrated, his greatest hobby was reading novels. It could be said that from the sixth grade onwards, novels accompanied his life; beyond that, anime was his other primary means of whiling away the time. However, he never imagined he would actually transmigrate into the world of Naruto, and furthermore, become the young clan head of the Hozuki Clan in Kirigakure, the weakest of the five great shinobi villages.

When he first arrived, he was resistant. After all, while his previous life wasn't exactly perfect, his family was harmonious, there was no mortgage pressure, and he had secured a stable government job; his daily life was quite pleasant. Moreover, the timing of his transmigration was off. He had arrived too early; Naruto and Sasuke's parents were still children, and girls like Hinata and Ino were nowhere near appearing. The gears of this world's plot hadn't even begun to turn.

But since he was already here, he had to do something.

Partly out of the inexplicable confidence that a transmigrator must possess extraordinary qualities, and partly out of the regrets he felt while watching Naruto in his past life, he—a fan of Cao Cao—decided to accomplish three things after accepting reality.

Immortality, beauties, and total unification.

As a shinobi world where supernatural powers truly exist, and with the Otsutsuki Clan serving as a precedent for longevity, the ambition for eternal life naturally filled Hozuki Shingetsu's heart.

And as someone who idolized Cao Cao, he naturally wanted to emulate his predecessor: to whip his horse fiercely and gallop across the land. After all, in his past life, he had played plenty of games like Naruto's Vacation or Female Ninja Trainer; he naturally wanted to approach the famous female kunoichi of the anime with the mindset of a pilgrim.

As it happened, being a transmigrator, Hozuki Shingetsu naturally possessed his own Golden Finger: the ability to link with others' Chakra, communicate minds, and transmit his own emotions.

This ability, similar to the Ninshu created by the Sage of Six Paths, had been developed into various other applications through Hozuki Shingetsu's constant experimentation. And this was the source of Hozuki Shingetsu's confidence.

Beyond immortality and beauties, the final goal was naturally the desire for total unification, which was carved into the very bones of Hozuki Shingetsu.

As a transmigrator from a country with over two thousand years of centralized power, he naturally couldn't stand the current "one country, one village" political system of the shinobi world.

"The great affairs of a state are sacrifice and warfare." That the highest armed force of a nation was actually a mercenary group—wasn't that laughable?

Oh?

Wait, I am that mercenary group. Then it's fine.

Then I can only execute the wayless and purge the court of those who lead the ruler astray.

These three things, especially the last one, were certainly unacceptable to the current generation of shinobi, even his own father. After all, for Hozuki Zangetsu, the position of Mizukage was likely his highest pursuit.

If he were to aim higher, perhaps defeating Konoha and becoming the number one village?

As for merging military power and unifying the Land of Water? Why would anyone do something so troublesome?

And this was why Hozuki Shingetsu hadn't laid his cards on the table for his father, Hozuki Zangetsu, and had to make his own arrangements in secret. Building a reputation through various channels, selecting promising seedlings in the Ninja Academy to become his confidants, improving his own strength, and striving for the position of Ninja Academy principal—all of this was for that purpose.

That was the Ninja Academy!

The only military educational institution in a shinobi village; every civilian had to undergo education at the Ninja Academy to become a shinobi. What would this be equivalent to in his past life?

It was the Imperial Academy, the National University, the Central Party School, and a combination of all military academies like the National Defense University and the National University of Defense Technology.

And what kind of position was the principal of the Ninja Academy? What kind of people held it in his past life?

However, here, due to the monopoly of ninjutsu by Kekkei Genkai shinobi over civilian shinobi and the crushing superiority of Kekkei Genkai, the Ninja Academy—which only produced cannon fodder at this stage—was merely headed by a Jonin from the Kaguya Clan and was not given much importance.

It was only out of a superficial show of valuing civilian shinobi that the position was set to require at least a non-senior Jonin, which could be considered a "low-ranking position for high-ranking personnel" in a sense.

By the later stages, as the number of civilian shinobi increased, geniuses emerged, and the intensity of war escalated, the Ninja Academy would receive further attention, often headed by the Kage of each village personally.

Therefore, for Hozuki Shingetsu, who aspired to the position of Mizukage, the Ninja Academy was a key piece on the board that he had to secure.

It just so happened that the Kaguya Clan Jonin had resigned from the position of principal due to the Kekkei Genkai Disease, which led to Hozuki Shingetsu's previous actions.

However, this wasn't actually Hozuki Shingetsu's ultimate goal, at least not his goal at this moment.

"Father, as for my strength, I don't think you need to worry. After all, I have Shadow Clones to handle these trivial matters, so it won't affect my cultivation at all. Furthermore, I have thought of a way to rapidly increase my strength; once the timing is right, I will be able to significantly enhance my power."

Hozuki Zangetsu looked at his son with some surprise. To be honest, even he couldn't quite gauge his son's true strength, but there was no doubt that being able to slay a standard Konoha squad without sustaining injury meant that even if he hadn't reached the standard of an Elite Jonin, he wasn't far off. Was there really a way to rapidly improve strength under such circumstances?

However, Hozuki Shingetsu had no intention of clarifying things for his old father, shifting the topic to his considerations regarding his official position.

"Father, if we want to surpass Ren without tearing off the mask of civility, we must find a way to compete with him for the right to speak for the village."

"Win over all forces that can be won over, occupy the high ground of public opinion, clip his wings, make our friends numerous and our enemies few. Once that is done, even if Ren is the Mizukage, he will be nothing but a hollow shell."

Hozuki Zangetsu tapped his fingers on the desk, noncommittally signaling for his son to continue.

"And this first step must begin with this struggle for the position."

"I certainly know that Ren won't let me obtain this position easily." Hozuki Shingetsu first affirmed this point completely.

After all, the man was a Mizukage; even if he couldn't accomplish things, he could certainly ruin them.

"However, my merits are laid out here, and the current situation is far from the point of tearing off the mask, plus the influence of public opinion. No matter what, Ren will have to place me in a high position, even if it is a nominal one. But from the perspective of sabotage, this position will certainly not be the principal of the Ninja Academy."

"Aside from the Ninja Academy principal, with your merits, there don't seem to be any other positions available... All major departments are full, and given your age, it's impossible to make you an advisor. Could it be that they would create a new, marginal department just for you?"

Hozuki Zangetsu was somewhat confused, but he immediately dismissed the topic himself.

The sensitivity of creating a new department far exceeded that of Hozuki Shingetsu's appointment; it involved personnel changes, budget allocations, and the various clans would fight until they were at each other's throats. Although Ren could force it through by the power of the Mizukage, the gains would not outweigh the losses. If he were really going to do that, he might as well let Hozuki Shingetsu be the Ninja Academy principal!

"Of course, there is one more department. Have you forgotten it?"

Under Hozuki Shingetsu's prompt, Hozuki Zangetsu finally remembered that department which had always been ignored by Kirigakure.

"You mean, the Foreign Affairs Department?"