Naruto The Thunder Calamity

The first ray of morning sunlight streamed into the Hokage office.

In front of an extended desk, Raijin was intently looking at the documents in his hands.

Honestly, there is a big difference between Senju Tobirama as Hokage and Sarutobi Hiruzen as Hokage.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen were still Hokage, Konohagakure might still be in the middle of the Second Shinobi World War.

In fact, during the Second Shinobi World War, seeds for the Third Shinobi World War might have already been planted.

Sarutobi Hiruzen is simply too weak.

Throughout Sarutobi Hiruzen's time in power, he showcased Konohagakure's weakness for all the other hidden villages to see.

Of course, you can't blame Sarutobi Hiruzen entirely; after all, he really couldn't unify all the forces of Konohagakure.

There's no need to say much about the Senju. Maybe out of respect for Senju Tobirama's last words, they could still support Sarutobi Hiruzen.

But the Uchiha wouldn't be so easy to handle.

When a Senju is Hokage, the Uchiha will accept it. 

After all, they have been rivals for many years.

Each side knows what the other is capable of.

But who is Sarutobi Hiruzen? A year before Konohagakure was founded, it would have been very easy to wipe out your clan.

And now you want to lead me? What do you think you're doing? 

Not only the Uchiha, but even Sarutobi Hiruzen's ally, Shimura Danzo, isn't on the same page as him.

I only spoke a few seconds later than you—why do you get to be Hokage?

Thus, conflict arose, and from the moment Sarutobi Hiruzen took the Hokage seat, Konohagakure completely fell into infighting.

Compared to Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen's biggest flaw is that he doesn't have enough prestige to earn the trust of everyone in Konohagakure.

But Senju Tobirama at this stage is different. First of all, the Senju family is a bit stronger than the Uchiha.

So, the Uchiha clan was somewhat dissatisfied with Senju Tobirama, but they didn't openly oppose some of his orders.

Later, with Raijin and Tsunade's marriage and the cooperation between the Senju and Uchiha clans during the Second Shinobi World War, the Uchiha clan's attitude towards Senju Tobirama changed. 

Now, they couldn't say they had no opinion of him, but they were at least working together.

As a result, the two top families in Konohagakure joined forces. They had strength, reputation, and wealth.

What kind of objections could other ninja clans or ordinary ninjas from Konohagakure possibly raise?

Even if they did voice their concerns, what difference would it make?

Senju Tobirama was genuinely focused on making Konohagakure better and would listen to the voices of other clans or ordinary ninjas.

But at the end of the day, if he chose not to listen, what could they do? The ninja world was ultimately a place where strength mattered most.

During the time Raijin and Tsunade were developing Senjutsu, Senju Tobirama really accomplished a lot thanks to this momentum.

The first major step was the reform of the ninja school. As one of the core and most important institutions in Konohagakure, the existence of the ninja school greatly influenced whether Konohagakure would grow stronger or gradually decline.

Thus, the ninja school became the institution that Senju Tobirama invested in the most.

Perhaps the presence of Might Duy and Hiruko inspired Senju Tobirama to take this step, leading him to implement sweeping reforms at the ninja school.

First, he extended the graduation age from twelve to sixteen.

Under Senju Tobirama's leadership, Konohagakure was already quite wealthy, which was also the fundamental reason why they faced attacks from nearly all ninja clans during the Second Shinobi World War.

Raijin played a significant role in this war, not only shortening its duration but also preserving most of Konohagakure's resources.

Plus, with the compensations from Iwagakure and Sunagakure, honestly, Konohagakure came out of the Second Shinobi World War richer than before.

It's worth noting that aside from Kirigakure Village, which almost vanished, Kumogakure was nearly emptied by Konohagakure.

So, Senju Tobirama had plenty of confidence to elevate the educational standards in Konohagakure.

Let the children stay in school a few more years—it's all set!

For Senju Tobirama, this approach not only improves the quality of the Genin in Konohagakure but also fulfills the wishes of his older brother—Senju Hashirama.

The goal of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara in founding Konohagakure was to achieve peace and to spare young children from the battlefield.

Senju Tobirama believes this is the right path, and Konohagakure has indeed accomplished this.

At the very least, Konohagakure's existence has brought peace to the ninja world in the Land of Fire.

So, Senju Tobirama thinks that achieving peace in the ninja world is quite simple: just continue to follow Senju Hashirama's ideas.

When there is only one village, Konohagakure, left in the ninja world, peace will naturally follow.

Of course, Senju Tobirama can't achieve this yet, especially after learning that the Uchiha are secretly plotting something. Therefore, this matter must be set aside for now.

He plans to gather strength while resting, hoping that the next war will be the final battle.

However, before that, he can fulfill another wish of Senju Hashirama: to keep young children off the battlefield.

So, Senju Tobirama decided to extend the graduation age of the ninja school to sixteen.

At sixteen, one is considered an adult in the ninja world, and it is also the peak age for a ninja's physical abilities.

Not only that, but Senju Tobirama also abolished the rule allowing early graduation. In simple terms, no matter how talented you are, you must complete your training at the ninja school until you turn sixteen before graduating.

At the same time, Senju Tobirama also divided the subjects at the ninja school.

After three years of study, students would be sorted into different classes.

Classes include Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, sealing techniques, medical Ninjutsu, and research skills.

Before this, there will be an assessment, taking into account the students' preferences and the teachers' opinions before sorting them.

While this might still overlook some students' talents, it is a significant improvement compared to the earlier, one-size-fits-all approach of the ninja school.

Aside from the ninja school, the Konohagakure Research Center is also one of Senju Tobirama's key investment projects.

Whether it's the permanent Senjutsu developed by Raijin and Tsunade or the ghost technique created by Hiruko, both are enough to increase Senju Tobirama's investment in the Konohagakure Research Center.

Additionally, there are policies regarding childbirth.

Whether preparing for Uchiha Madara or dealing with the large amount of resources from the Land of Thunder and the Land of Water that Konohagakure needed to absorb, Senju Tobirama urgently needed a larger population. 

Only with enough people could they train more ninjas, and with enough ninjas, Konohagakure could take on more tasks. 

To achieve this, Senju Tobirama's approach was straightforward: 

"You have children, and I will pay you."

"If you dare to have kids, I will give you the money!"

The war was over, spring had come, so what else would you do if you didn't have children? 

"Take on missions? What missions? You barely earn anything from missions. Whatever you make, I'll match it, and I'll even give you double."

Don't worry; Konohagakure has plenty of money!

With these simple three policies, Konohagakure blossomed with new life. 

On top of that, Senju Tobirama mobilized nearly all of Konohagakure's resources to help form the Konohagakure Chamber of Commerce, involving almost all the ninja clans.

Now, Konohagakure truly had bread in one hand and kunai in the other.

As of now, the first batch of students from the reformed ninja school in Konohagakure is about to graduate. 

At that time, fresh blood will enter not only the Konohagakure Research Center but also the Anbu, regular ninja squads, and even the Konohagakure police force. 

It's worth noting that because the Uchiha clan suffered significant losses during the Second Shinobi World War, Senju Tobirama deliberately lifted restrictions on the Konohagakure police force. 

In the future, the police force would no longer be exclusive to the Uchiha. 

However, some Uchiha with other talents would also be recruited into different departments.

Currently, Senju Tobirama's wariness towards Konohagakure has dropped to an all-time low. 

Thanks to his trust, the Uchiha clan members, although they said nothing, found things to be a bit easier. 

With the bonds forged in battle and the current union between the Senju and Uchiha, the Uchiha clan is performing better than before. 

Although this group of Genin requested an extension of their study time right before graduation.

However, their quality is also very high.

With this group of students graduating, the overall strength of Konohagakure will take a significant leap forward.

From the Second Ninja World War until now, under Senju Tobirama's leadership, Konohagakure is moving forward at an astonishing speed.

What Raijin and Tsunade need to do now is to continue guiding Konohagakure, moving in the established direction while avoiding obstacles ahead and making the village even stronger.

From this perspective, Black Zetsu's plan to weaken the overall strength of the ninja world through war has undoubtedly failed.

But in reality, this isn't necessarily a bad thing for Black Zetsu.

The strength of Konohagakure is an undeniable fact. At that time, whether Black Zetsu ignited the war or not wouldn't make any difference.

In fact, because Black Zetsu triggered the war, Konohagakure's progress was slightly stalled for a while.

If Black Zetsu had delayed the start of the war even longer, he might not have had time to take Uchiha Suisei away.

So from this angle, Black Zetsu can still be considered somewhat successful.

At the very least, Black Zetsu now understands what kind of giant he is up against, so his future actions will undoubtedly be more cautious.

"Ha—"

Slowly exhaling a breath, Raijin leaned back in his chair and turned to Tsunade.

"How about it, Hokage-sama? Do you have any plans next?"

"What are your thoughts?" 

Tsunade didn't answer Raijin's question but instead asked him in return.

"Don't ask. The answer is no." 

Raijin replied lazily with his eyes closed, shaking his head. 

In Raijin's view, things are going well in Konohagakure right now, and there's no need for any changes.

"Stop being so annoying!" 

Seeing Raijin's relaxed demeanor, Tsunade punched him lightly in the chest.

It wasn't hard, and he didn't feel any significant pain.

"I want to gather the top fighters in Konohagakure to form my Hokage Guard." 

Since Raijin wasn't offering any opinions, Tsunade shared her idea with him.

"Are you that afraid of dying, Hokage-sama?" 

Raijin turned his head to tease Tsunade in response.

"You are my Hokage Guard captain and secretary." 

Tsunade snorted and glared at Uchiha Raijin.

She didn't know when Raijin had become so annoying.

The whole thing felt a bit cheap.

"Hmm???"

Raijin paused at this, looking at Tsunade beside him with a confused blink.

He could understand the role of the Hokage's bodyguard captain, but what was a secretary? Did Konohagakure even have that position?

"A secretary is someone who helps me secretly handle written documents."

Tsunade quickly sensed Raijin's thoughts and explained.

"Alright then..."

Raijin pressed his lips together. Although that's what she said, he still felt that the title sounded a bit strange.

"This is the list I've come up with so far; I'll leave it to you next."

After handing Raijin a list, Tsunade put her hands together in a gesture of thanks.

"Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Might Duy, Kurama Kumo?"

Raijin glanced at the list and looked at Tsunade in surprise.

These were some of the strongest ninjas of his generation.

Using these people for the Hokage's bodyguard team seemed a bit extravagant, especially Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru.

Raijin had never interacted with Hatake Sakumo, but he had heard about him. 

Hatake Sakumo made significant contributions during the Second Shinobi World War and was currently doing very well in Anbu.

It was said that the current Anbu leader, Senju Osamu, was even considering handing over the leadership position to Hatake Sakumo.

Could someone like him really join the Hokage's bodyguard team? Raijin had serious doubts.

As for Orochimaru, it went without saying that he was better suited for the Konohagakure Research Center than for the Hokage's bodyguard team.

"I don't think Hatake Sakumo would want to join the Hokage's bodyguard team."

After thinking it over, Raijin said to Tsunade. 

Orochimaru would probably be willing to join since working with the Hokage's bodyguard team wouldn't interfere with his work at the Konohagakure Research Center.

Similarly, even if Orochimaru was working there, Raijin could always pull him in when needed.

"But I think a ninja like Hatake Sakumo would be better off focusing on his training."

Tsunade immediately replied to Raijin. 

This was her idea from the start. 

(End of chapter)

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