Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 373 Beichen Small Meeting

During the two days leading up to his inauguration ceremony, Naruto didn't sit idle. It had been a while since he had personally visited Hokushin in his true form, so it was necessary to go back and make his presence felt.

The difference in chakra between the main body and the clone was like heaven and earth. The Senju who stayed behind knew almost immediately that their leader had returned, and they spread the news quickly, which greatly boosted everyone's enthusiasm for work.

However, the first to dominate the leadership role are still the older generation. Compared to the stability of a few years ago, the ninja world is not so peaceful now.

"Our intelligence agents monitoring Akatsuki have discovered that the immortal duo has left the Land of Lightning and is currently crossing the Land of Fire." Izuna first revealed what seemed to be the most important piece of information. All members of Akatsuki were under close surveillance by the intelligence department, and any unusual activity would be reported.

Naruto frowned. He had no recollection of the ninja world before the Fourth Shinobi World War, his perspective too narrowly limited to his own. But he wouldn't forget that Akatsuki's plan was about to begin, and he immediately became alert. "Are they after the Chunin Exams?"

Tobirama frowned in thought. "Very likely. But isn't Akatsuki's current strategy to lie low and accumulate strength? Are they planning to attack Konoha directly?"

"The martial law during the Chunin Exams is at its highest level. Given the lessons learned from the last invasion, they will basically recall their strongest fighting force. They... although they are called 'immortal,' they are not truly immortal, are they?" Izuna couldn't understand why anyone would want to get involved in the Chunin Exams. Even if they were confident in their strength, they wouldn't stand a chance against the steady and methodical Konoha.

"This is this year's list of examinees. Maybe we can spot something wrong." Naruto decisively pulled out the information he had copied in the middle of the night. Although he was no longer in charge of specific duties, he had done a lot of Hokage work, so getting a list was a piece of cake.

While everyone's attention was focused on the booklet, Fugaku took the opportunity to talk about his current predicament, "Speaking of which, the Land of Lightning has come to us again, and this time they're asking for an exorbitant price increase of seventy percent."

Izuna's Sharingan glared out. "I think they're asking for it!"

"Land of Lightning already had large swathes of land covered in snow and ice, and the situation became even more severe after the snow disaster. The damage hasn't been fully repaired yet. Moreover, their spring planting this year was also affected by the heavy snow, which delayed it for a long time. Unexpectedly, summer came so early this year, and with the torrential rains, a reduction in grain production is a foregone conclusion." This time, it was actually Hashirama who calmly analyzed the situation.

"...Big brother, you actually studied this in such detail?"

"I'm in charge of farming, how could I not know which land is difficult to cultivate?"

Izuna understood the whole story and said sarcastically, "So, it's another case of internal conflicts erupting, and they're looking for an external enemy to shirk their responsibility. Ha, their intelligence department intercepted a lot of rumors that were unfavorable to 'Dongfeng.' Fortunately, our image is already deeply ingrained in people's minds, so they have no way to get to us."

"However, this situation is temporary. There are always some fools who cannot withstand long-term brainwashing. The more time we give them, the more passive we become."

"Last time they stole our stuff, we cut in half of the route through the Land of Lightning and changed our route to the Land of Mist. What can we cut this time? The route on the icy plains?" Tobirama never cared about the lives of his enemies; he went straight for their vitals.

“No, we have a monopoly on the Icefield Line. Cutting it off rashly would affect the livelihoods of the local people.” Naruto decisively rejected the idea. He had also walked through that barren land and was deeply impressed by the people who survived there.

"Then we can't just do nothing." Izuna, who had the worst temper, was already sharpening his knife.

“That’s natural. We not only have to do it, but we have to do it openly and honestly.” Naruto, who looked like a golden wheel, smiled with a hint of coldness. Whenever this smile appeared, it meant that someone was about to suffer. “Reply to the Land of Lightning that their unpredictable policies have no credibility. We only recognize contracts in black and white. If they are unwilling to sign, then we will not cooperate after that.”

Fugaku was taken aback and said, "The politicians in the Land of Lightning are quite powerful. Isn't this inappropriate?"

"Your department isn't the only one involved in this action. The government's decree to increase tariffs has been widely publicized by the propaganda department, while in the corner they've written that we intend to sign an agreement with the Land of Lightning to determine tariffs for at least five years in order to stabilize the prices of everyday goods."

"Do you think they're not afraid of a rebellion from below? They're in such a hurry for money just to quell public discontent, aren't they? They'll definitely sign it, and we can even negotiate a lower price later."

Before anything can be accomplished, you must first create momentum. This is an experience learned from those big names. Hui's system is already quite mature. They have their own newspapers and radio media in various countries. In the five major countries, they have even officially opened newspapers and recruited many reporters to cover the front lines.

Apart from the early "Tomorrow's News," which wrote some rather inappropriate content and was banned in many places, other newspapers wrote more subtly, mostly appearing as normal media outlets, only discreetly inserting their own agendas when needed. Moreover, many countries have intelligence agents embedded in the public sphere, and a full-scale effort to spread gossip favorable to them is quite powerful.

However, none of these suggestions were particularly brilliant, because Hikaru would eventually follow through with them. What was truly misleading was Naruto's second half of his statement.

"After the agreement is signed, the prices of luxury goods at the top of the supply chain will be raised to include tariffs on all goods, while the prices of daily necessities will remain unchanged."

"Let's not make more money off them. Let them pay for the tariffs themselves. Let's stop taking advantage of people who are barely able to afford food."

The eyes of everyone at the table lit up immediately. Being a ninja for too long really makes you less sharp-minded. How come they didn't think of this?

Isn't the purpose of imposing tariffs to undermine market competitiveness by increasing their costs? However, Dongfeng has a vast array of products, many of which are exclusive, one-of-a-kind items with limited availability and purchase restrictions, requiring even high-ranking officials to scramble for them. Don't think they're unaware that some of their products even appear in regional auctions; they simply disdain making money from that, not that they don't know how.

"Great idea, let's do it!"

Hashirama grinned and gave a thumbs up, and the others also expressed their support. The specific operational plan was left to Fugaku, the person in charge of Dongfeng, to write and implement.

With one matter settled, the next topic immediately moved on. By the time all the important proposals that had piled up over the past few days had been discussed, Naruto had unknowingly finished all three meals in the conference room, and could see the lonely moon hanging high in the sky when he opened the door.

"I've figured it out. You guys still prefer to discuss my real body. What's the difference between me and my clones?" Naruto remarked as the meeting adjourned.

Unlike the awkward Uchiha, Hashirama Senju readily admitted it.

"Now that you mention it, it's true... Haha, maybe it's because you're completely different in my perception. I always feel more at ease with your real self."

"And what about you guys? I didn't see you activate your Sharingan during the discussion."

Izuna pretended not to hear and refused to answer, while Uncle Fugaku thought about it seriously for a while.

"It might be a different aura. I can't explain it, it's just different."

Naruto expressed his confusion but respect. The only difference between him and the Shadow Clones is the amount of chakra, right? Their thought processes are the same, aren't they? Oh, there's one more difference.

The clone has no soul.