Recruitment

"Greetings, villagers of Konoha! My name is Kamigane Yuya! As you can all see, I am eleven years old, and I am an ordinary ninja of Konoha.

I have just returned from the battlefield, having temporarily withdrawn after an attack by Kirigakure.

But while lying in the medical tent, I kept thinking: now that I have lost my ability to fight, can I still be of help to Konoha?"

Yuya raised his hand and clenched his fist as he spoke: "I realized that I can!

People of Konoha! I have come here today because I took the initiative to propose to the Hokage that I want to contribute to those of you fighting on the front lines!

Therefore, I hope that you might be willing to sell me some grain, or perhaps give us any clothing you no longer need..."

As he spoke, Yuya flipped open a crate behind him, revealing a collection of books, pots and pans, and a few scattered pearl necklaces and trinkets.

"This is all I own. When we were at the front, because supplies were so scarce, we had to peel the bark off fruit trees and boil it in hot water just to stave off hunger.

You wouldn't want to know what that tastes like.

These are the most valuable things in my home. I want to trade them for a little grain and ask for any spare clothing you might have, so I can send them to the front lines for my comrades who are still fighting."

Yuya's Megaphone attracted the attention of many.

After hearing Yuya's words and looking at the items behind him—which were worth little more than a few bags of grain at current prices, with the only things of real value perhaps being those few books—the crowd grew quiet.

Unfortunately, people were already struggling just to survive; who had the time to learn to read?

A middle-aged man spoke up with a hesitant expression: "The, the Land of Water's Kirigakure has launched an attack on us too?!"

Yuya nodded and revealed his arm, which bore a cut that had already healed to the point where the scar was barely visible.

"Yes, they sent fifty elite Kirigakure strike teams to attack the Hokage's command post. Although the Hokage repelled the enemy, we suffered heavy casualties; over a thousand ninjas have already died."

Upon hearing this, the man's face changed instantly. He muttered under his breath: "No, I have to run. I have to get to the Land of Wind; that's the safest place..."

As the man continued to mutter to himself, an old woman suddenly slammed her cane against the ground: "Shameless!"

The old woman stepped forward with red-rimmed eyes: "Where is there any safe place? You were born late and haven't suffered much. I am over fifty years old, and I followed the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and watched Konoha be built from nothing.

You didn't live through that era, so you don't understand. It was a time when human life was as cheap as grass, when no one treated you like a person, and everyone lived day to day, willing to kill an entire family just for a mouthful of rice.

If the Land of Water attacks, we run to the Land of Wind? What if the Land of Wind also starts a war?!

Do we just keep running?!

I spent the first half of my life desperately running away. The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, gave me a home—a village where I could finally settle down. I don't want to keep running. Even if it costs me everything I have, I will support the ninjas on the front lines."

As she spoke, the old woman shakily pulled a wad of crumpled bills from her pocket.

The onlookers watched in silence.

Yuya stepped forward at the right moment, took the money from the old woman, and then pushed it back toward her: "We don't want money, only things that can help the ninjas on the front lines eat their fill and stay warm."

With someone taking the lead, a young girl nearby seemed moved as well; she took off her own coat and walked to the stage to hand it to Yuya.

Then came the second, the third...

Yuya wore a deeply moved expression, then picked up the Megaphone to continue his impassioned speech: "I once had an elder tell me that he had a dream. He dreamed of a Konoha where everyone could live in peace and contentment, where everyone could eat their fill and wear warm clothes, where children could play happily every day without fear...

Where adults could spend quality time with their children after work.

Where the elderly could live with their families instead of being abandoned as burdens like they were during the war.

He wanted to see ninjas and ordinary people living in harmony in Konoha; he wanted to see Konoha truly become one big family, a true collective.

And now, I believe that this has become a reality."

When Yuya pulled cart after cart filled with supplies for Senju Tobirama to sign off on, Tobirama's first reaction was: "Did you rob the small villages in the vicinity, kid?"

Yuya shook his head and explained the sequence of events.

Senju Tobirama sighed. A single speech and two plants, and he had managed to secure such a bountiful harvest...

Why hadn't he thought of that?

Yuya: "Many people wanted to give all their money and supplies, but I refused. I left them with half; otherwise, there would have been even more."

"It's good, it's plenty." Senju Tobirama was very satisfied.

When had such a thing ever happened before?

In truth, what Yuya was doing relied on two premises. First, the people in Konoha had a basic concept of the village and identified with it as a whole, unlike the family-centric mindset of the war era.

Senju Hashirama had spent his whole life achieving this, so that was one thing he didn't need to worry about.

Regardless of whether it was due to Senju Hashirama's sheer power, you couldn't deny that Konoha had been built.

Second, it required someone to take the lead. It wasn't enough for villagers to identify with the village to be willing to sacrifice; people are inherently selfish. Who would be content to keep giving without return? What if they donated everything they owned, and Konoha still lost the war? Wouldn't that be a total loss?

So, Yuya went straight into his speech, manipulating their hearts by suggesting that if Konoha lost this time, they would still be plagued by war no matter which village they fled to.

In reality, this was nonsense. Whether it was the ninja-clan-dominated war era or the current era of the "One Country, One Village" system, while ordinary people might not be treated as treasures by ninja leaders or feudal lords, they were generally welcomed by any nation they chose to join.

After all, you couldn't expect ninjas to go out and farm the fields every day, could you?

So, what Yuya was actually playing was a game of shifting concepts and exploiting information asymmetry.

Though it was shameless, it was undeniably effective.

It's just... there is another issue.

Yuya watched Senju Tobirama, who was sitting at his desk reviewing battle reports from various regions, and spoke with a calm expression: "The collection of supplies from the common villagers went very smoothly this time, but as for the ninja clans... the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan took the initiative to send me a cart of food and a cart of ninja tools, however..."

Senju Tobirama's previously decent mood vanished without a trace at Yuya's words.

"However what? Speak plainly." Senju Tobirama looked at Yuya calmly.

Yuya did not hesitate and spoke directly: "However, the Sarutobi, Akimichi, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans only sent people to offer symbolic greetings. The Sarutobi Clan sent one hundred kilograms of grain, while the other clans gave nothing at all."