Hozuki Shingetsu

That's right. Hozuki Shingetsu was a transmigrator.

Before transmigrating, his greatest hobby had been reading novels. You could say that novels had been a part of his life ever since sixth grade. Besides that, he'd also passed the time with anime. But he'd never expected to actually transmigrate into the world of Naruto—and become the young clan head of the Hozuki Clan in Kirigakure, the last of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

At first, he'd been against transmigrating. His life in his previous world hadn't been especially wonderful, but his family had been close, he had no mortgage to worry about, and he'd passed the civil service exam. His everyday life had been comfortable and fulfilling. What was more, the timing of his transmigration was all wrong. He'd arrived too early: Naruto and Sasuke's parents were still children, while Hinata, Ino, and the other girls were still a distant prospect. The gears of the plot in this world hadn't even begun to turn.

But since he'd transmigrated, he had to do something.

Partly because of his inexplicable confidence that transmigrators were bound to be extraordinary, and partly because of the regrets he'd carried from watching Naruto in his previous life, he decided on three goals after accepting reality. As a former Cao Cao fan, he was going to live by the creed: longevity, beautiful women, and unification.

The Shinobi World was a place where supernatural powers truly existed, and the Otsutsuki Clan stood as proof that eternal life was possible. It was only natural that the desire for longevity should fill Hozuki Shingetsu's heart.

As an admirer of Cao Cao, he naturally wanted to follow in his idol's footsteps, crack his whip, and ride hard. After all, he'd spent plenty of time playing games like Naruto's Summer Vacation and Ninja Girl Trainer in his previous life. He'd always wanted to approach the famous kunoichi from the anime with the reverence of a pilgrim.

As it happened, Hozuki Shingetsu also had his own Golden Finger as a transmigrator: by linking his Chakra with other people's, he could connect their minds and transmit his emotions.

It was similar to the ability the Sage of Six Paths had used to create Ninshu. Through all sorts of experimentation, Hozuki Shingetsu had developed other applications for it as well. This was the source of his confidence.

Apart from longevity and beautiful women, his final goal was naturally the desire for unification etched into his very bones.

As someone transmigrated from a country with more than two thousand years of centralized rule, he naturally couldn't stand the Shinobi World's current political system of "one country, one village."

"Matters of state—sacrifices and war." The highest military force in a country was actually a mercenary group. Wasn't that ridiculous?

Oh?

So I'm part of that mercenary group? In that case, never mind.

Then I'll just have to punish the lawless and purge the court of corrupt officials.

The current generation of shinobi would have a hard time accepting these three goals, especially the last one. Even his father would be no exception. After all, for Hozuki Zangetsu, the position of Mizukage was probably the height of his ambitions.

Maybe he'd go a little further and defeat Konoha to become the strongest shinobi village.

But why bother combining military and political power and unifying the Land of Water? That sounded like a lot of trouble.

That was why Hozuki Shingetsu hadn't laid all his cards on the table with his father, Hozuki Zangetsu. He could only make his own arrangements in secret. He intended to make a name for himself through various channels, recruit promising students from the Ninja Academy as trusted subordinates, improve his strength, and secure the position of Ninja Academy principal. It was all for this purpose.

That was the Ninja Academy!

A shinobi village's only military education institution. Every civilian had to receive an education at the Ninja Academy before becoming a shinobi. What would that be in his previous life?

It was the Imperial Academy, the Grand Academy, the Central Party School, and the National Defense University, the National University of Defense Technology, and every other military academy combined.

And what kind of position was the Ninja Academy principal? What sort of person would hold that post in his previous life?

But here, because bloodline shinobi monopolized ninjutsu and utterly outclassed civilian shinobi through their Kekkei Genkai, the Ninja Academy could only produce cannon fodder at this stage. Its principal was merely a Jonin from the Kaguya Clan, and the position wasn't given much importance.

It had only been classified as a position reserved for someone no lower than a senior Jonin to show that civilian shinobi were valued on the surface. In a way, it was a case of a low-ranking position being filled by someone of high rank.

Later on, as the number of civilian shinobi grew, more and more geniuses emerged, and the wars grew increasingly intense, the Ninja Academy would receive much greater attention. Its principal would often be the village's Kage.

So, for Hozuki Shingetsu, who aspired to become Mizukage, taking control of the Ninja Academy was a crucial move he had to make.

As it happened, the Jonin from the Kaguya Clan had resigned as principal of the Ninja Academy due to Kekkei Genkai Disease. That was what had led to Hozuki Shingetsu's earlier actions.

However, that wasn't actually his goal—not at least for now.

"Father, I don't think you need to worry about my strength. The Shadow Clone can handle these administrative matters, so they won't interfere with my training. Besides, I've thought of a way to quickly increase my strength. When the time comes, it'll greatly enhance my abilities."

Hozuki Zangetsu looked at his son in surprise. To be honest, even he wasn't sure how strong his son had become. Still, there was no doubt that killing a standard Konoha squad without getting injured put him close to the level of an Elite Jonin, if he hadn't already reached it. And he could still increase his strength quickly under these circumstances? Was there really such a method?

But Hozuki Shingetsu had no intention of explaining anything to his old man. He changed the subject and began talking about his plans for the position.

"Father, if we want to beat Ren without falling out with him, we'll have to find a way to contest his influence over the village."

"We need to win over everyone we can, seize the high ground in public opinion, clip his wings, make as many friends as possible, and as few enemies as we can. Once we've done that, even if Ren is the Mizukage, he'll be nothing more than a figurehead."

Hozuki Zangetsu tapped his fingers lightly on the table, noncommittally prompting his son to continue.

"The first step is to start with this contest for the position."

"Of course I know Ren won't let me have the post easily." Hozuki Shingetsu affirmed this point without hesitation.

After all, Ren was the Mizukage. Even if he couldn't get things done, he could certainly make trouble.

"But my achievements speak for themselves. And the situation hasn't reached the point where we have to fall out, not to mention the influence of public opinion. No matter what, Ren will have to give me a high-ranking position, even if it's an empty one. But if he wants to make things difficult for me, that position definitely won't be Ninja Academy principal."

"Apart from principal of the Ninja Academy, what position could you get with your achievements? There aren't any openings in the major departments, and you're too young to become an adviser. Are they going to create a marginal department just for you?"

Hozuki Zangetsu was puzzled, but then he dismissed the idea himself.

Creating a new department would be far more sensitive than appointing Hozuki Shingetsu. It would involve shifting positions and reallocating funds, and the various clans would be at each other's throats. Although Ren could force it through with the authority of the Mizukage, it wouldn't be worth the trouble. If he were going to do that, he might as well make Hozuki Shingetsu principal of the Ninja Academy!

"There's another department, isn't there? Have you forgotten?"

At Hozuki Shingetsu's prompting, Hozuki Zangetsu finally remembered the department that Kirigakure had always overlooked.

"You mean the Foreign Affairs Department?"