Konoha.
Hokage Building, conference room.
Chiba's gaze swept over the Scrolls submitted by Rasa and the others.
Yet there was not much expression on his face.
Because to Chiba, these were merely bricks and tiles for perfecting the foundations of the Empire.
He tapped the table.
Tap.
The soft sound made the scalps of the four governors below tingle.
"Orochimaru's Scientific Research Department will be responsible for sorting through these Scrolls."
"Once the sorting is complete."
"All C-Rank Ninjutsu and below will be incorporated into the Empire's basic curriculum and made freely available to everyone."
The moment he finished speaking.
The conference room fell deathly silent.
"Made freely available?"
Ōnoki abruptly raised his head, his aged face twitching violently.
He failed to control his voice, and it came out sharp enough to grate on the ears.
Chiba ignored his loss of composure and continued.
"All B-Rank and A-Rank Ninjutsu will be added to the Empire's Merit Point exchange catalog."
"S-Rank forbidden techniques will either be assigned extremely high exchange thresholds depending on the circumstances, or sealed away outright."
Ōnoki slumped back into his chair.
Rasa's mouth hung open, and he could not close it for a long time.
Mei Terumi's prized composure shattered completely in that instant.
A's tightly clenched fists went slack, his palms drenched in cold sweat.
They finally understood.
What Chiba wanted was not spoils of war at all.
He wanted to dig out the roots of the Four Great Ninja Villages!
The reason ninja villages were ninja villages was their monopoly over knowledge.
If Civilian Ninjas wanted to grow stronger, they had to sell their lives to the upper ranks and beg for a few Ninjutsu techniques as rewards.
That was also the core of how Kage like them ruled their villages.
But now.
Chiba had