I Can't Do Without You

Senju Tobirama was stunned when he saw the message.

Then he cautiously asked, "Sunagakure... has rivers running through it?"

The Sunagakure ninja shook his head. "No. Why does that matter?"

Senju Tobirama was speechless. If they didn't even have a river, what the hell were they going to build a water plant for?

The Sunagakure ninja left, looking disappointed.

After seeing him off, Senju Tobirama called Yuya over.

In terms of rank, Yuya was his secretary, but the two of them didn't interact like a superior and subordinate.

They treated each other like an elder and a younger.

"Sunagakure actually wants to build a water plant. What a joke."

Yuya didn't agree. He simply took out a map of the Land of Wind, then gave a small, surprised exclamation. "Actually, it could work."

Senju Tobirama froze for a moment, then looked at Yuya suspiciously. "You little brat, don't just run your mouth. Sunagakure doesn't even have a river. How could they build a water plant?"

Yuya pointed to a spot in the northeastern part of the Land of Wind. "This area borders the Land of Rain. There's a major river in the Land of Rain that runs horizontally through the Land of Wind."

Senju Tobirama leaned in to look. "But this place is hundreds of kilometers from Sunagakure."

Yuya drew a line on the map. "They could divert water from the north to the villages in the south. It'd be a massive undertaking, and it might take several years or even a decade to finish. The upper reaches are also controlled by the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain. But it's still better than the current situation, where people die of thirst every year because of the water shortage."

Senju Tobirama stared at the map. The longer he looked, the more his brow furrowed.

Diverting water from the river that flowed south through the Land of Wind from the Land of Rain, all the way to Sunagakure...

At first glance, Senju Tobirama thought it was impossible. Absolutely impossible.

But the more he considered it, the more he realized... it might actually work?!

Senju Tobirama fell silent for a long while. Meanwhile, Yuya took the opportunity to catch up on his sleep.

Once Senju Tobirama had figured out whether the plan was feasible, the corners of his mouth lifted.

He didn't wake Yuya. Instead, he went to find the Sunagakure ninja.

He explained Yuya's idea to the leader of the Sunagakure delegation.

The leader's first reaction was to think it absurd. He even thought the Second Hokage was an idiot.

But after thinking it through, he realized it might actually be feasible?!

Why hadn't they thought of this before?!

Well, it was no wonder he was the Second Hokage. The man was clearly smarter than them.

The Sunagakure ninja leader grew visibly excited and thanked him repeatedly.

Senju Tobirama smiled mysteriously, then said there was no need for Sunagakure to thank Konoha in particular. The two villages had been friendly for generations (although both had only been founded a little over a decade ago, so strictly speaking, not even one generation had passed), and they should continue to coexist peacefully.

The Sunagakure leader nodded again and again, then hurried straight back to Sunagakure.

Konoha had given them the proposal. Sunagakure would have to handle the actual implementation themselves.

So the sooner the leader returned, the sooner this massive project could be completed, and the sooner Sunagakure could enjoy a better life—or so he believed.

By the time Senju Tobirama returned to his office in high spirits, Yuya had finished his nap and was looking at him with dead-fish eyes.

"Uncle, you must've taken my plan to the Sunagakure people, didn't you?"

Senju Tobirama smiled faintly. "That's right. And your uncle here gave Sunagakure the plan for free. Are you wondering why?"

Yuya tilted his head. "Why would I wonder? It's just shifting the trouble elsewhere, watching from the sidelines, and killing with a borrowed knife. What's so hard to understand?"

Senju Tobirama's expression hardened. His face returned to its usual corpse-like blankness as he looked at Yuya. "Oh? Then tell me, what was my goal?"

Yuya said, "Even if the project succeeds, all Sunagakure will have to show for it is the achievement of diverting water from north to south. They might stop having people die of thirst, but it won't do anything to improve their military strength.

"It'll also keep the Kazekage focused on this project, consuming huge amounts of manpower, resources, and attention. It's a massive undertaking that could truly improve Sunagakure, so they can't just ignore it. They'll have to do it, no matter the cost."

That was certain. Whether it was to make a name for himself in history or to secure a future for his descendants and Sunagakure, the current Kazekage had no choice but to see it through.

It was a calculated move. Once Tobirama told Sunagakure about it, they'd spend the next several years doing nothing but pouring their efforts into the project.

"The benefit is that Sunagakure won't have the time to concern themselves with the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure. We've signed an agreement, but there's no guarantee Sunagakure won't decide one day that Konoha is too wealthy and sneak over to raid us.

"But this project will hold their attention for years. We can focus on fighting Kumogakure without worrying about them.

"And that's only the short-term benefit. Even if the project succeeds, whether this new waterway actually flows and how much water it carries will depend entirely on the whims of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and the person in power in the Land of Rain.

"The Daimyo of the Land of Wind and the Kazekage won't want to offend each other. But the Land of Rain..."

Yuya shook his head. "The rain that floods their own country is something another country desperately wants, and the two countries share a border. Tsk, that's quite a situation...

"But Uncle, you really are too devious.

"Sunagakure had no reason to attack the Land of Rain before. Now, even if it's just to protect the waterway, Sunagakure will force the Land of Rain to kneel. Otherwise, they'll be at the mercy of both sides forever.

"And then Konoha gets to sit back and watch the show, right?"

As he spoke, Yuya gave Senju Tobirama a thumbs-up.

Senju Tobirama had come up with this devious plan to redirect the trouble, kill with a borrowed knife, and watch from the sidelines after only a little thought.

Yuya could only marvel at how rotten his uncle was.

Senju Tobirama didn't see it that way. This brat had laid out all his thoughts—and even anticipated the conflict that Senju Tobirama himself hadn't considered, the one that Sunagakure and the Land of Rain would inevitably have over the river.

Didn't that make him, as the uncle, look a little inadequate?!

This brat had gotten way too full of himself!

Yuya suddenly looked up and said, "By the way, no matter what, I'm the one who told you about this plan. You used my idea to carry out your own plan. Shouldn't I get something in return?"

Senju Tobirama's anger vanished at once.

He cleared his throat and looked at Yuya. "What do you want to learn?"

"Genjutsu! Genjutsu!" Yuya raised his hand at once.

Senju Tobirama was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "You're not cut out for it. Your talent for ninjutsu isn't particularly outstanding, and genjutsu requires a lot of time and effort to learn..."

—A word on that: when Senju Tobirama said Yuya's talent wasn't outstanding, he was comparing him to the wrong person. During the war, Tobirama had followed Hashirama around every day, watching the God of Shinobi. Naturally, his standards were high. Strictly speaking, Yuya was quite talented. He might not be a genius, but he was still among the exceptional ones.—

Besides...

Senju Tobirama glanced at Yuya and said calmly, "Instead of wasting time learning genjutsu, you'd be better off using it to think about how to help Konoha develop further.

"As for Konoha now...

"It can get by without me, but it can't do without you anymore."

At that, Senju Tobirama sighed.

Konoha had already embarked on a path of breakneck development, with the accelerator pressed to the floor.

Yuya had only been given free rein for two years, yet anyone who wasn't blind could see how rapidly the village was changing.

So Tobirama was simply stating a fact.

He didn't think there was anything worth dwelling on. After all...

As long as it was for the village, Senju Tobirama was willing to do anything.

"Uncle, that was really creepy of you to say."

"...You little brat! I'm going to beat you up today!"