You Can't Be Without Me

Senju Tobirama was completely dumbfounded after hearing this news.

Then, he tentatively asked a question: "Inside Sunagakure... are there any rivers?"

The Sunagakure ninja shook his head: "No, does that have anything to do with it?"

Senju Tobirama was speechless. There isn't even a river, so what the hell are you building a water plant for!

The Sunagakure ninja took his leave, looking very disappointed.

After sending the Sunagakure ninja away, Senju Tobirama called Yuya over.

Although Yuya was technically his secretary, the two did not interact like a superior and subordinate at all.

Instead, they behaved more like an elder and a junior.

"Sunagakure actually wants to build a water plant; it's truly laughable."

Yuya, however, did not echo his sentiment. He simply took out a map of the Land of Wind and let out a soft, surprised sound: "Actually, it is possible."

Senju Tobirama paused for a moment, then looked at Yuya suspiciously: "You brat, don't just spout nonsense. Sunagakure doesn't even have a river, how could they build a water plant?"

Yuya pointed to a location in the northeastern part of the Land of Wind and said: "This area borders the Land of Rain. There is a large river within the Land of Rain that flows horizontally across the territory of the Land of Wind."

Senju Tobirama leaned his head in and said: "But that is hundreds of kilometers away from Sunagakure."

Yuya drew a line on the map: "We just need to divert the water from the north to the village in the south. The project is a bit large and might take a few years or even a decade to complete, and the upstream is controlled by both 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."

Senju Tobirama stared at the map, his brows furrowing as he looked.

Diverting water from the river that flows from the Land of Rain through the Land of Wind down to Sunagakure...

Just thinking about it roughly, Senju Tobirama felt it was impossible—absolutely impossible.

But after thinking about it more carefully, Tobirama realized that it actually... seemed feasible!

Senju Tobirama remained silent for a long time, during which Yuya took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep.

Once Senju Tobirama had figured out whether the plan was truly viable, the corners of his mouth curled upward.

He didn't wake Yuya, but instead went to find the Sunagakure ninja himself.

He explained Yuya's proposal to the leader of the Sunagakure ninja team.

The leader's first reaction was also that it was absurd; he even thought this Second Hokage was an idiot.

But after careful consideration, he realized it actually had a certain degree of feasibility!

Why hadn't they thought of this before?!

It must be said that the man was the Second Hokage for a reason; his brain was simply better than theirs.

Suddenly, the lead Sunagakure ninja became excited and thanked him repeatedly.

Senju Tobirama smiled inscrutably and indicated that Sunagakure didn't need to specifically thank Konoha, as the two sides had been friendly for generations (even though both nations had only been founded for a dozen years, so strictly speaking, not even one generation had passed) and should continue to coexist peacefully in the future.

The Sunagakure leader nodded repeatedly and then set off for Sunagakure without a moment's delay.

Konoha had provided the proposal, but the actual implementation would certainly have to be done by Sunagakure itself.

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

When Senju Tobirama returned to his office in high spirits, Yuya, who had finished his nap, looked at him with dead fish eyes.

"Uncle-Master, you must have taken my plan to the people from Sunagakure."

Senju Tobirama smiled slightly: "That's right. And your Uncle-Master provided this plan to Sunagakure free of charge. Are you confused by that?"

Yuya tilted his head: "Why would I be confused? Isn't it just diverting trouble, watching the fire from across the river, and borrowing a knife to kill? What's hard to understand about that?"

Senju Tobirama dropped his expression, returning to his "zombie face" as he looked at Yuya: "Oh? Then can you tell me what my objective is?"

Yuya: "Even if this project succeeds, Sunagakure will only have achieved a feat of diverting water from the north to the south. Perhaps they won't have people dying of thirst anymore.

But it doesn't do anything to improve Sunagakure's combat power.

Furthermore, this will force the Kazekage to focus a massive amount of manpower, resources, and attention on this project. After all, this is a super-project that can truly improve Sunagakure; they cannot afford not to do it, no matter the cost."

This was certain. Whether for the sake of leaving a name in history or for the sake of their descendants and the future of Sunagakure, the current Kazekage would have to do it.

This was an open scheme. By telling Sunagakure about this, Tobirama ensured they wouldn't have to do anything else for the next few years, focusing all their energy on this project alone.

"And the benefit of this is that Sunagakure won't have the energy to pay attention to the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure. Although we have signed a treaty, there's no guarantee they won't decide to ambush us one day if they think Konoha is too wealthy.

But this project is enough to occupy Sunagakure's attention for years, allowing us to focus on Kumogakure without any worries in the rear.

And that's just the current benefit. Even if the project succeeds in the future, whether this extra river channel actually flows and how much water it carries will depend entirely on the whims of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and the rulers of the Land of Rain.

The Kazekage certainly won't offend the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. But as for the Land of Rain..."

Yuya shook his head: "The very rain that causes flooding in one country is the object of desperate longing for another, and these two countries happen to be neighbors. Tsk tsk, this is truly...

Still, Uncle-Master, you really are too wicked.

Sunagakure originally had no reason to attack the Land of Rain. Now, even if just for the security of this river channel, Sunagakure will force the Land of Rain to its knees, otherwise, they will be at the mercy of both sides forever.

When that time comes, we in Konoha can just sit back and watch the show, right?"

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

This scheme of diverting the disaster, borrowing a knife to kill, and watching the fire from across the river—Senju Tobirama had come up with it after thinking for only a short while.

Yuya could only lament that his uncle was truly rotten to the core.

Senju Tobirama, however, did not see it that way; this brat had laid out all of his own thoughts, and even foresaw that Sunagakure and the Land of Rain would inevitably clash over this river—something Tobirama hadn't even considered yet.

Did that mean he, as the uncle, was losing face?!

This brat was truly getting out of hand!

Yuya suddenly looked up and said to Senju Tobirama, "By the way, regardless of anything else, since I was the one who told you this plan and you're using my strategy to carry out your own agenda, shouldn't you give me some kind of reward?"

Senju Tobirama's initial anger instantly dissipated.

Clearing his throat, Senju Tobirama looked at Yuya and asked, "What do you want to learn?"

"Genjutsu! Genjutsu!" Yuya immediately raised his hand.

Senju Tobirama was silent for a moment before shaking his head: "You aren't cut out for it. Your talent for ninjutsu is already unremarkable, and genjutsu requires even more time and energy to master..."

--A quick note here: when Senju Tobirama says "unremarkable," you have to consider who he's comparing him to. This guy spent the war years trailing behind Hashirama, watching a certain God of Shinobi every day, so his internal standards were naturally higher. Strictly speaking, Yuya's talent was actually quite decent; he couldn't compare to a genius, but he was certainly in the category of the excellent--

Furthermore...

Senju Tobirama glanced at Yuya and said calmly, "Instead of wasting time learning genjutsu, you should use that time to think about how to make Konoha develop even better."

"The current Konoha..."

"Can exist without me, but it can no longer exist without you."

Having said that, Senju Tobirama sighed.

Konoha was already on a path of high-speed development, and it was the kind where the accelerator was floored.

Just by letting Yuya have his way for two years, anyone who wasn't blind could see the rapid development of the village.

Therefore, what Senju Tobirama said was indeed the truth.

Tobirama didn't feel the need to dwell on this, because...

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

"Uncle, it's really disgusting when you say things like that."

"...You brat! I have to beat you up today!"