Is That Still a Village? That's a Damn Country!

"Future directions for the clan's development?"

The elders were all taken aback, and even Mito was surprised.

Although Ashina had become a jonin at twelve and earned the title of the Uzumaki Clan's genius, what useful suggestion could a thirteen-year-old possibly make?

The elders were highly skeptical.

"Ashina, tell everyone your proposal again," Ryū said.

"O-Okay!"

Ashina was a little nervous. He instinctively looked at his second brother, and after receiving an encouraging look from Shusen, he took a deep breath.

"As everyone knows, Fire Country is currently divided among powerful factions, with war breaking out everywhere. The Uchiha, Hyuga, Senju Clan, Sarutobi Clan, Kaguya Clan, Kurama Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Aburame Clan, Shimura Clan, Yamanaka Clan, Nara Clan, Akimichi Clan, and countless other ninja clans are all waging war."

"Some ninja clans start wars because they lack resources, while others harbor ambitions of dominating Fire Country. But our Uzumaki Clan does not wish to dominate Fire Country. We only want our clansmen to live good lives."

The elders slowly nodded.

Their Uzumaki Clan truly had no such ambitions, but war was not something they could choose to avoid. Many times, they wanted peace, yet the other ninja clans refused. After years of warfare, the Uzumaki Clan had formed bitter blood feuds with several clans.

Ashina continued, "If the war goes on, not only will our Uzumaki Clan betray its original intentions and fail to give our clansmen good lives, but more and more of them will die. We originally had several thousand people and were unquestionably a major clan, but after these past few years of fighting, we have fewer than a thousand clansmen left."

"There's no helping it." The First Elder shook his head. "War isn't something we can stop just because we say so. If other ninja clans attack us, we must fight back."

"Yes, we must fight back," Ashina said. "But we can't just fight back in the simplest way possible."

The First Elder frowned in confusion, unable to understand what the boy meant.

"The strength of individuals is ultimately limited. We need to grow stronger. If we rely solely on Uzumaki clansmen fighting and killing on the battlefield, there are so many ninja clans in Fire Country that stand against us—we simply can't fight them all!"

"Are you suggesting an alliance?" the Second Elder interrupted. He vaguely understood what Ashina was trying to say. "But haven't we already allied with the Senju Clan?"

"Not just an alliance," Ashina denied.

He glanced at his second brother from the corner of his eye, gritted his teeth, and slammed his hand onto the table.

"We need to build a village!"

The smack startled everyone.

The First Elder said gloomily, "Our Uzumaki territory is already a village. We have over nine hundred people here. What other village do we need to build?"

Ashina replied, "We need to build a large village that contains more than just Uzumaki clansmen. We'll recruit and integrate all the common people of Fire Country into our village!"

The moment those words fell, the elders' expressions turned strange and suspicious. They vaguely felt that something was off as they frowned in thought.

Recruiting all the common people and integrating them into the village... would that still be a village? That was a damn country!

"An alliance with the Senju Clan alone isn't enough."

Ashina organized his thoughts before continuing, "Because sometimes the Senju Clan can't even protect itself. The other ninja clans are too proud for us to recruit, and even if we did recruit them, they definitely wouldn't be willing to remain beneath us. They would rebel and cause unrest. But there's no such risk in recruiting commoners."

"Even great clans like ours have suffered terribly from the endless wars, much less those common people. Fire Country is filled with misery and displaced people everywhere. As long as we spread word that the Uzumaki Clan is willing to provide shelter for those who have lost their homes, and that everyone can work together to build a new homeland, a huge number of commoners will definitely come to us! There's no doubt about that!"

"Don't think commoners are weak and useless. In wartime, population is the most precious resource. Grain by grain becomes a tower, drop by drop becomes a deep pool. Once we have people, we can vigorously develop and build—reclaim wasteland, form an army, conduct trade and commerce, collect taxes... In short, the benefits are countless!"

By this point, several elders were already breathing heavily. Their hearts pounded in their chests, and their blood boiled hot.

The future Ashina envisioned was simply too enticing—and it seemed as though it was within their grasp!

Forming an army, collecting taxes... that was a country!

If that really came to pass, wouldn't every one of us Uzumaki clansmen become imperial relatives??

"Hiss!"

The First Elder sucked in a sharp breath, instantly unable to remain calm.

Ashina continued, "One commoner is weak. Ten commoners are also weak. But if an army is formed from a thousand, or ten thousand, commoners, no ninja clan would dare underestimate it, and no ninja clan would dare attack or provoke us again."

"Father, Sister, Second Brother, Elders, just imagine it. If we truly built such a large village, who would we have to fear? By then, not only would we become the overlords among ninja clans, we could also lead all our clansmen into prosperous lives..."

"Well said!"

One elder could not hold back and let out an excited shout.

"This is the most correct direction for the Uzumaki Clan's future development!"

"Ashina, your proposal is excellent. It is highly feasible!"

"Once that kind of village is built, we'll be invincible and fear no enemy!"

The elders all voiced their agreement, utterly excited. Not one of them remained opposed or skeptical.

"Ashina, I never expected you to come up with such an idea. You're incredible!"

Mito praised him without reservation. She had not expected this elders' meeting to bring such a huge surprise from her little brother.

Ashina was a little embarrassed by his sister's praise and shyly scratched the back of his head.

"Quiet."

Ryū suddenly spoke, suppressing the commotion.

"I have a question." He stared at Ashina. "The Uzumaki Clan does not have much food in reserve right now. If we really spread word that we'll provide shelter to all displaced commoners, what will we feed those who come to join us?"

His words silenced the elders. Some pondered deeply, while others started to speak but stopped themselves.

They had to admit that this was an extremely thorny problem. Since ancient times, food had been the people's first necessity. Their Uzumaki Clan already struggled to feed itself, so how could they afford to support refugees?

If they couldn't support refugees, wouldn't their declaration be nothing but empty words?

"Sell the iron mine," Ashina said.

"We just seized an iron mine from the Kaguya Clan. Sell that mine to the daimyo of Fire Country—he'll definitely be willing to buy it!"

Ashina did not actually know why the daimyo of Fire Country would definitely be willing to buy it. His second brother had told him so, so he repeated it to his father.