38, The Machine in Sight

The issues looming before him were myriad, and his own capabilities were visibly insufficient.

Soshi pondered for a moment, quickly deciding to set aside his chaotic thoughts and focus on the matters he could currently manage.

To this end, after returning to Erina's "temporary maintenance workshop," he immediately called over his two teammates, who were still buzzing with discussion about the Coordination Commissioner position, and explained the difficult crux behind this assignment one by one.

With that, the clouds cleared for Erina and Todo, and they put away their previous excitement and joy.

"If that's the case, then this Coordination Commissioner isn't a good job, is it?" Erina puffed out her cheeks. "Then why did Director Nara recommend you for it? Isn't that just setting you up?"

"I wouldn't put it that way. The bloodline secret arts I've mastered are better suited for proactive strikes rather than waiting for an opening, and they aren't ideal for close-quarters skirmishes. If I were to continue with patrol and security work as before, it's hard to guarantee I wouldn't be targeted by those with ill intent... By comparison, while this new position comes with its own set of dilemmas, it is, for me personally, far safer than being on the front lines."

Soshi's goal in sharing his perspective with his teammates was never to criticize Director Nara. Seeing the conversation veering off course, he interjected in time to steer the topic back on track.

"That's true. Even though Uncle Nara looks a bit unreliable most of the time, my dad said that if an emergency arises, he is absolutely the most trustworthy person to turn to." The chubby boy chimed in, affirming Soshi's judgment.

Seeing his two teammates reach a consensus, Erina naturally found it difficult to persist in her own opinion.

"Fine, since even Todo says so..." The young girl nodded silently, then a flash of inspiration struck her as she turned back to Soshi. "How about this? Let's just go ask Director Nara for his opinion in private! Maybe he's already thought of a solution in advance?"

"That is indeed an option. Once the meeting ends, I will certainly consult the Director for his advice." Soshi first affirmed the girl's suggestion, but he hadn't come to discuss this with them just for that result.

The youth changed his tone and spoke again: "However, besides that, I also want to make some attempts of my own. It can be considered doing my part for the Field Hospital construction mission."

"But... what can we do?"

Todo the chubby boy first crossed his arms in thought, but before long, he was scratching his head in confusion.

This was hardly surprising.

A group of children who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy had spent their limited academic lives almost entirely on ninja combat skills and theoretical training.

Now, suddenly being asked to step out of the role of frontline executors and consider problems from the perspective of the decision-making layer, it was inevitable that they would be at a loss for where to start.

But to Soshi, who had lived two lives, the backgrounds of Erina and Todo had actually long since laid a solid foundation for them in this regard.

As long as they reasonably utilized the advantages therein, the descendants of noble clans had a starting point far beyond that of ordinary ninjas!

And now, they just needed a little hint...

"Here is what I'm thinking... War is nothing more than a contest of manpower and supplies.

Thanks to my special experience living and working at Konoha Hospital over the past year, I've managed to build some rapport with several physicians in charge of logistics. If I ask them to facilitate the arrangement of material supplies, perhaps we can skim a portion of the daily consumption from the hospital to solve the supply problem for the Frontline Support Battalion."

"But... isn't doing that just cheating?" Erina hesitated for a long while, adjusting her wording several times before finally asking the question that had been weighing on her heart.

Soshi was naturally prepared for this.

He waved his hand and immediately picked up the thread: "It's not what you think—in fact, to prevent emergencies, the consumables stocked by Konoha Hospital are usually about 50% higher than the actual demand. Since there are no other needs inside or outside Konoha right now, aside from the conflict at the Fire-Wind border, diverting a portion of this inventory to support the front lines can be considered making the best use of everything."

The youth paused briefly, waiting for the other two to accept his point of view: "In extraordinary times, one must use extraordinary measures. The village's current system objectively guarantees fairness and justice in daily operations, but when facing a war that requires squeezing out every bit of productivity, adapting to local conditions for reasonable distribution is actually more cost-effective."

With that said, the despicable act of "pulling strings," which deviated from the traditional values of the Will of Fire, had been preliminarily whitewashed.

But to achieve his ultimate goal, Soshi still had to suppress the guilt of deceiving ignorant youths and add the final, lethal blow!

"Of course, most importantly, this approach doesn't harm anyone in essence—in a way, it's actually a powerful supplement to the current system, and can be considered one of the duties a ninja should fulfill."

"Hmm... that actually sounds reasonable."

By downplaying the severity and substituting concepts, Soshi distorted the potential harm of this act of undermining the Will of Fire, giving Erina and Todo a positive psychological suggestion.

In fact, mobilizing reserve supplies was by no means a trivial matter, and with the meager connections the youth had accumulated, he was nowhere near capable of influencing the allocation of logistical supplies!

However, what the youth had just said wasn't entirely a lie.

With the help of his secret connection to Director Inoue Hisahide, Soshi did indeed have the ability to leverage external aid to facilitate this matter.

More importantly, with Soshi's own demonstration, the subsequent task of persuading Erina and Todo to utilize their family influence naturally became a matter of course...

After some negotiation, the two youngsters, having been completely swayed, foolishly agreed to Soshi's request and, with the help of the Communications Squad, sent letters seeking aid back to the village.

In this way, Soshi, having just taken office as the Coordination Commissioner, had made a significant contribution to the logistical supply problem of the Frontline Support Battalion!

So much so that when the youth participated in a high-level combat meeting for the first time in his new capacity, the gazes of the others toward him had already undergone subtle changes...

Sitting in the center, Nara Motonari rested his chin on one hand, his eyes filled with a smile. His gaze was practically screaming the words, "As expected of you."

And Director Usami on his right had relatively complex feelings...

From the moment he first learned that Yamada Soji had been appointed as the Coordination Commissioner, Hanbei's first reaction was actually to harbor a considerable degree of hostility toward the youth.

After all, the sudden addition of a newcomer to the decision-making layer of the Frontline Support Battalion was equivalent to diluting the voting power that originally belonged to Director Usami, not to mention that he had once considered the position of Coordination Commissioner to be his own.

This emotional gap brought about resentment and indignation, all of which was poured onto Yamada Soji!

However, on the other hand, as a young opinion leader who had ascended to the position of Director at such a young age, Hanbei naturally could not be easily swayed by subjective emotions to do anything out of line.

Not to mention that, theoretically, Soshi and he were both from the hospital's young elite faction, making them natural political allies.

Even if there were some irreconcilable conflict of interest between the two sides, Director Usami could not openly retaliate.

That would be equivalent to handing his own black marks to the conservative faction, while also severely shaking his status as a representative among the young doctors!

Therefore, when he heard that Soshi had made a contribution to logistical adjustments as soon as he took office, Hanbei's mood was particularly complex.

--Of the three, only Director Chosokabe's attitude remained as it had always been.

The old man sat at the head of the table on the left, and from beginning to end, he didn't even glance in Soshi's direction once.