Konoha's Development Strategy

Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the document, which was titled "Suggestions" but was actually a very detailed strategic plan, and began reading.🐙💝

After a long while, Hiruzen let out a deep breath and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm getting old. There are a lot of terms in your strategy that I don't really understand, and some are completely unfamiliar to me. How about this: I'll call Shikaku over and have him take a look."

The Shikaku Sarutobi was referring to was the current head of the Nara Clan in Konoha, the elite jonin Shikaku Nara.

The Nara Clan had been a staunch Hokage-aligned family since Konoha's founding, and was renowned throughout the Ninja World for its Shadow techniques and brilliant intellect.

Soon, Shikaku arrived alone at the Hokage Office after receiving the message.

The scene he saw when he entered left him stunned.

"Lord Sarutobi, you called for me. Wait, Fourth Hokage and Kushina, weren't you already..."

"It's been a long time, Shikaku." Minato and Kushina greeted him with smiles.

Shikaku Nara's mind raced through countless possibilities, eliminating them one by one, before voicing his guess.

"Could you have faked your deaths?"

The Third Hokage waved a hand.

"Haha, it's a long story. In short, they really did die, but for some complicated reasons, they came back to life. Let's leave that aside for now. Take a look at this."

"Resurrection? Something like that can really happen?" Shikaku Nara suppressed the turmoil in his heart and carefully read the document.

But the strategic situation analysis at the very beginning of the document already took him by surprise:

It analyzed how the Ninja World would undergo many unknown changes for some reason, including, but not limited to:

Ninjutsu and secret techniques never seen before; all kinds of technology capable of driving change throughout the Ninja World; and, most importantly, the possible return of people who had died!

At this, Shikaku couldn't help glancing at Minato and Kushina. They smiled back, and he continued reading:

Furthermore, formidable figures beyond imagination might appear in the Ninja World, such as shinobi from other villages or powerful people from other worlds!

Other worlds?

The concept deeply shook Shikaku, but unlike the Third Hokage, he was still in the prime of his life and could readily accept new things.

After all, he had already seen the dead come back to life. The idea of visitors from another world didn't seem so hard to accept anymore.

The document went on to lay out, in great detail, specific measures for developing the village. Aside from measures concerning civilians, such as boosting the economy and encouraging people to have more children, it summarized the proposals for shinobi as follows:

One: Refine shinobi management.

Increase efforts to recruit and train shinobi, especially civilian shinobi.

For shinobi without a talent for combat, expand training in research in addition to the Medical Department and logistics.

Gradually weaken the concept of shinobi clans and strengthen the idea of the village as a unified leadership. Break up teams made up of clan shinobi.

Two: Establish a new combat force.

The new force would consist of people without shinobi talent. They would not train in ninjutsu, but would form a new combat system.

Three, and most important of all:

Establish a new department, the "Department of Abnormal Affairs," independent of Konoha's six existing departments—the Anbu, Medical Department, Interrogation Department, Education Department, Police Department, and Administrative Department. It would be led directly by Minato Namikaze, who would also personally select its members.

Its primary responsibility would be to investigate abnormal situations inside and outside the village (in practice, mainly dealing with Reincarnators). It would not be subject to the control of other departments and would have extensive authority, answering only to Minato. As head of the department, Minato would answer only to the Hokage.

After setting the strategy down, Shikaku glanced around. The Third Hokage and Minato and Kushina were all waiting for his response.

He thought for a moment, then said:

"This document was probably proposed by the Fourth Hokage, right? I can see your political philosophy in it."

Without waiting for Minato to reply, Shikaku continued,

"Judging by the fact that you and Lady Kushina came back to life, the changes you describe may well come to the Ninja World. Given that premise, most of the strategic directions and goals in this document are sound.

"But many of these measures will be difficult to implement. Take the first point, for example: weakening the clan shinobi and training civilian shinobi." Shikaku paused, choosing his words carefully.

"I understand that the Fourth Hokage, who came from a civilian background, wants to support civilian shinobi.

"But as things stand in the village—or rather, throughout the entire Ninja World—civilians can only learn common, widely available ninjutsu. The advanced secret techniques are all held by the major clans, not to mention their various Kekkei Genkai.

"Not everyone has your talent, Fourth Hokage.

"Then there's the second point: establishing a new combat force. As far as I know, the only path available to people without shinobi talent is the way of the samurai, which has been superseded by shinobi.

"Of course, I'm sure you had good reason to make this proposal.

"There's also the last point: establishing the Department of Abnormal Affairs, independent of the six existing departments. If you, Lord Minato, lead it, I have complete faith in you and support the idea. After all, I once fought alongside the Fourth Hokage.

"But have you considered how the other senior officials and the heads of the major clans in the village will react when they find out? They certainly won't let a department with so much authority exist unchecked.

"This has nothing to do with whether establishing the department would benefit or harm the village, or who would lead it. Their identities and positions naturally determine where they stand. On this matter, they're bound to oppose you.

"If you simply bypass them, where will you recruit people for this department?

"But if you compromise with them and let the clans and other forces of the Ninja World control the department, then there'd be little point in establishing it at all.

"So this is a dead end. With my limited abilities, I can't think of any way out.

"Lord Minato, you seem so confident. I assume you have a solution.

"That's all. These are just a few humble thoughts from an objective point of view. I'm not targeting anyone."

Although Shikaku spoke earnestly, and every point he made was reasonable, he had practically refuted the entire strategy from beginning to end. He might as well have leaned close to Minato's ear and said:

The ideal was beautiful, but reality was harsh!

Someone else might have gotten angry at such an assessment, but people shouldn't forget who had proposed the strategy: Minato Namikaze.

"Shikaku, you're still as calm and clear-headed as ever. If I didn't know you, I might have thought you were deliberately trying to put me on the spot."

Minato teased Shikaku, making it clear he didn't mind the criticism.

"Actions speak louder than words. I'll show you something first."

Minato took out a scroll and gestured for Shikaku and the Third Hokage to open it.

Basic Training Methods for Haki

Haki is a form of energy latent in everyone's body, a combination of the power of the mind and the power of the body. To make it easier to understand, it can be thought of as a blend of physical energy and spiritual power, or the intersection of the two.

If someone has a strong body but only average spiritual power, their Armament Haki will be stronger. Conversely, their Observation Haki will be stronger if their spiritual power is greater.

Everyone's spiritual power is unique. It can be understood as a soul wavelength, a spiritual frequency, or something similar. This depends on the supernatural system of the world you come from.

A very small number of people have unusual spiritual power that can incorporate emotion and willpower. This special trait manifests as Conqueror's Haki, also known as the "qualities of a king" among the people of the Star Sea.

So, in essence, Conqueror's Haki is a manifestation that is closer to spiritual power. It cannot be acquired later through training: either you have it or you don't.

Once you possess supernatural power, you must learn how to use it—in other words, the techniques. Only by uniting mind, body, and technique can one truly begin to transcend the ordinary.

It's worth noting that the two forces needed to cultivate Haki—the power of the mind and the power of the body—require only the most basic levels of physical energy and spiritual power. Everyone has them, which makes Haki highly accessible.

That's also why Haki training methods cost more than Chakra extraction methods.

Although both are a combination of the power of the mind and the power of the body, Chakra requires certain qualities in both body and mind, much like screening for spiritual roots in cultivation. Of course, it's not quite that advanced.

So, what's widespread isn't necessarily the strongest. In fact, what's widespread is generally not the strongest. But if the goal is to spread a system and build up a force, then it's definitely best to choose one suited to the general public.

That's why Minato chose Haki as the basis for training the combat force. Of course, Minato didn't yet know that the threshold for cultivating Haki wasn't actually that low. Otherwise, given the physical constitution of the people in the Star Sea World, everyone would have become a Haki master by now.

Across the myriad worlds, there were many supernatural systems more powerful than Haki, or more widely accessible. But Minato had no way to contact them. If he simply redeemed one, he would still have to cultivate it himself, which would be pointless.

In fact, the power of the mind and the power of the body were basic abilities possessed by every intelligent life-form. They could manifest in many different ways:

The power of the mind could appear as spiritual power, conviction, or willpower. The power of the body could take the form of cellular energy, physical toughness, strength, or constitution.

The basic laws differed from world to world across the myriad worlds, giving rise to countless supernatural systems:

Some focused on developing the mind and cultivating spiritual power. Others focused on developing the body and cultivated Dou Qi, internal energy, blood energy, and the like. Some used technology to strengthen the body and induce mutations, or to enhance the mind and gain superpowers. And more advanced practitioners combined both forces with the elemental energy of the world and followed the path of immortal cultivation...

In short, the way a world's laws operated determined the focus of its supernatural systems.

As Reincarnators, those in the Main God Space were fortunate enough to transcend their own worlds and experience the countless possibilities across the myriad worlds. They could see different supernatural systems collide and witness the wonders of different worlds. That was precisely the appeal of the Main God Space.