The proposal

After Konoha Ninja Village was founded, Tobirama divided the village's ranks into four tiers: Kage, Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. Aside from the Kage, who stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi Village, the Jonin formed its backbone. They could not only participate in high-level decisions but also vote on the appointment of the Hokage, giving them considerable power.

Given the authority Jonin held, Hashirama was extremely cautious about appointing them. He took the influence of clan standing into account while also trying to prevent clans from gaining too much power. Only the heads of certain major clans received the rank of Jonin. The smaller clans were granted, at most, the title of Chunin—they had never had the right to stand on equal footing with the major clans in the first place.

To avoid giving the impression that Hashirama intended to expand his own clan's power, Tobirama was its only Jonin after Hashirama became Hokage. Throughout his tenure, Hashirama regarded himself as the leader of the entire village, not as a representative of the Senju Clan. After stepping down, he relinquished all his posts and appointed Senju Toka as the clan's new Jonin. No second Jonin was appointed.

Those currently entitled to participate in Konoha Ninja Village's decisions were Tobirama, the Second Hokage, and the leaders of the other major clans. Though Kagami Uchiha had not yet attained Jonin rank, his clan's standing should have entitled him to take part. However, because he was too young, and with the incident involving Madara still hanging over them, the other clans had unanimously rejected the Uchiha Clan's participation. Once Kagami Uchiha became a Jonin, he could return to the village's upper ranks.

Though Kazemori Masaki was Tobirama's student, his background was not prestigious enough for him to have received Jonin rank when the village was founded. To attain it now, he had to complete enough missions and secure the approval of half the Jonin. Thus, he was still only a Chunin.

Ordinarily, Kazemori Masaki had no right to submit a proposal directly to the Hokage. That fell within a Jonin's duties. The village maintained a fairly strict hierarchy in matters of administration, and a Chunin could not simply meet with the Hokage whenever he pleased. However, being Tobirama's student gave Kazemori Masaki direct access to him. In the Anbu alone, the squads Tobirama met with most often were those containing his students.

Naturally, Tobirama intended for his students to become the village's key pillars, and he nurtured them both openly and behind the scenes. Why had he chosen Kazemori Masaki and the others to escort him and Hashirama to the Capital last time? The village had no shortage of experienced, powerful squads. The reason was simply to give Kazemori Masaki and the others opportunities, allowing them to become involved in important village affairs while earning the qualifications needed for Jonin rank. When the time came, their promotions would follow naturally.

Kazemori Masaki decided to hand in his proposal the next time he met Tobirama. Since it came from someone who would eventually form part of the village's backbone, Tobirama would certainly read it carefully and consider the validity of its arguments. Even if he was not entirely convinced, his personality would lead him to make preparations.

All Kazemori Masaki needed to do now was write his proposal well, ensuring that its conjectures were sound and supported by evidence so that others would find them credible. He could not simply put information from the manga into it. Fortunately, as an Anbu member, he had access to a considerable amount of intelligence. After several days spent refining his ideas, he was confident he knew what to write.

Once the day's missions were over, Kazemori Masaki sat at his desk and spread a scroll before him. After a moment's thought, he picked up his brush and began to write.

Satomi, who had been getting ready for bed, noticed Kazemori Masaki writing something. She approached and wrapped both arms around his neck from behind, asking curiously, "Masaki, what are you doing?"

"Writing something important," Kazemori Masaki said. "I'm planning to show it to Lord Tobirama later."

Satomi glanced down at the desk. There were no secrets between husband and wife, after all. Kazemori Masaki had already written half of it. After reading some of the opening section, she gasped. "Masaki, do you really think so?"

Kazemori Masaki had told her before that he believed war would break out soon. She had assumed it was merely his pessimism speaking, but now she could see that he was serious.

Kazemori Masaki gave a quiet hum of assent. "Satomi, you should know that the other ninja villages have recently changed leaders. The second generation clearly has a different attitude from their predecessors. They're all taking steps to increase their military strength."

Satomi knew about these developments. Hearing Kazemori Masaki put it that way, she began to wonder whether war really was imminent, though she still felt it was too soon.

"Sometimes things happen sooner than we expect," Kazemori Masaki said, as though he had guessed what Satomi was thinking. "Especially now that the Land of Fire has a new Daimyo. People both at home and abroad will see this as a good opportunity."

If a young ruler wanted to establish his authority, nothing achieved that faster than a victory. Likewise, for other countries, there was no better opportunity to attack than when a new Daimyo had just taken the throne and had yet to gain complete control over his country.

Kazemori Masaki felt that if the old Daimyo had lived a little longer, perhaps war really would have been delayed for a while, as the others expected.

Confusion showed in Satomi's eyes. Though she was intelligent, she had no clear understanding of national affairs, something she had never been exposed to. This was a common failing among ninja. Spending every day honing their combat skills naturally meant neglecting other areas. How many prodigies like Tobirama were there? Even he had limitations imposed by his position.

"Is war really coming?" Satomi tightened her arms slightly around Kazemori Masaki and murmured the question to herself.

Having grown up in a time of peace, Satomi valued that peace all the more and was willing to protect it. Yet reality did not seem likely to unfold as she hoped.

Kazemori Masaki gently patted the back of Satomi's hand. "Satomi, some things can't be avoided. If someone refuses to live in peace, then all we can do is make them understand just how high a price they'll pay for starting a war, until they have no choice but to accept peace!"

Some days later, Tobirama came to check on his students' training as usual. Since becoming the Second Hokage, he had grown increasingly busy. The village was still in a stage of development, and he had to look into every matter. New departments also needed to be established one by one to build a complete administrative system.

After visiting Hiruzen Sarutobi's squad and Mitokado Homura's squad, Tobirama came to Kazemori Masaki's squad. Watching Kazemori Masaki, Kagami Uchiha, and Satomi train, he gave a slight nod. These students were doing well. Even without his personal supervision, they had not forgotten what they ought to be doing.

Perhaps I can assign them other missions now, Tobirama thought.

After exchanging a few words with Senju Toka, Tobirama noticed that Kazemori Masaki wanted to speak with him. He considered it briefly, then went aside with him. He assumed Kazemori Masaki had a question about his training, but instead, Kazemori Masaki produced a scroll. He explained that it contained his recent observations on the situation in the surrounding countries and asked Tobirama to read it.

Tobirama was curious. Though Kazemori Masaki's conduct was somewhat out of line, Tobirama regarded his students as future members of the village's leadership, so it was a good thing that Kazemori Masaki had ideas of his own. He merely gave him a verbal reprimand, telling him to be more mindful of his conduct, but accepted the scroll and opened it to read.

After reading the opening section, Tobirama's expression grew grave. He glanced at Kazemori Masaki and asked, "Do you really think so?"

Kazemori Masaki nodded.

Tobirama pondered for a moment, then rolled up the scroll, saying he would read it when he got back. Seeing that Kazemori Masaki had nothing else to discuss, he turned and left.

After finishing his work that day, Tobirama took out the scroll again and read it word by word. Once he had finished the entire text, he spent a long time deep in thought. Though Kazemori Masaki's views differed from the prevailing opinion in the village, they were surprisingly well reasoned. Some of his insights were also remarkably novel, touching on things even Tobirama had never considered.

"I never expected him to have such insight," Tobirama murmured, his gaze returning to the scroll.

In the scroll, Kazemori Masaki drew on the available intelligence to shift the discussion toward the Land of Lightning, suggesting that it might pose a threat.

"The Land of Lightning?" Tobirama stared at the name, his eyes narrowing slightly.

(End of chapter)