Naruto: IHCS Ch. 129

Voting ended.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the supervisory team led by Kojiro opened the ballot boxes on the spot. They poured out the slips from each box, reading aloud the votes one by one while counting.

Genraku swiftly recorded everything on paper.

"Mediation post, Ichiro Yamamoto, one hundred and twelve votes!"

"Livelihood post, Haruna Watanabe, one hundred and fifty-five votes!"

"Sanitation post, Ritsuya Kobayashi, one hundred and ten votes!"

Each time a number was announced, cheers or encouraging applause broke out from the crowd.

At last, the winners for each post were decided.

The elected candidates were so moved that their eyes brimmed with tears. Facing the crowd at Aomine, they waved toward them under the morning glow. For these ordinary people, this was one of the few shining moments of their lives.

The election was over.

The crowd cheered loudly:

"Long live the workers!"

The roar of their voices was like a tidal wave, rushing up to the sky.

That sound proclaimed the end of an old system and the true beginning of a new era in which workers ruled for themselves, firmly established on this land that had suffered so much.

The sun shone brightly, and all life flourished.

The meeting concluded.

Shiratori sat on the tatami. Beside him sat Yahiko and the others. In front of him sat Kojiro and his people.

He would not stay at Aomine forever. He had more important things to do. That was earning emotion points. The emotions gathered here were too positive. He also needed to collect negative emotions. And since Aomine was so close to the Land of Grass, and the Land of Grass was currently at war, Shiratori had already decided to make it his battlefield for harvesting emotion points.

Battlefields were always the best places to gather negative emotions.

Before leaving Aomine, he had to make proper arrangements for its future.

Since he had started this, he would take responsibility.

But taking responsibility didn't mean he had to remain as Aomine's leader forever.

After all, what leader micromanages everything personally?

The right thing to do was to make a proper plan, assign the tasks, and let the people under him carry them out.

Shiratori handed Kojiro a plan document.

Kojiro received it blankly. "What is this?"

He opened it, and on the very first page, a bold title was written, "General Plan for Building the Revolutionary Base at Aomine."

"..."

He stared at Shiratori in shock. He simply couldn't believe it.

How could a boy come up with such mature ideas? And even compile them into a full plan?

Shiratori's gaze swept across Kojiro, Muramasa, and Genraku, and he said earnestly, "If we want to realize our ideals, we must begin with concrete steps, starting with the construction of our base. To build this base, we must unswervingly follow the line of armed resistance."

He wanted to go big.

To directly accelerate the development of the shinobi world and overthrow the feudal system.

"We must tightly combine ninja struggle, people's revolution, and base construction, taking Aomine as the center, expanding outward in waves, until we ultimately form a consolidated revolutionary fortress."

"Our highest goal is to overthrow the oppressive rule of feudal lords and establish a new government in which ninjas, samurai, and the common people are the true masters, achieving equality for all and peace in the shinobi world."

Shiratori's words were overwhelming to everyone present.

"I know our strength is still far too weak right now, but I believe we'll only grow stronger and stronger."

Kojiro couldn't help but smile. "Of course I believe that too. It's precisely because I believe in the power you have that I chose to follow you."

Muramasa and Genraku both nodded. During this time together, they had already witnessed his talent.

Perhaps he really could bring about great change to the shinobi world.

"Thank you for being willing to believe in me!"

He smiled and continued, "To develop and build Aomine, we must uphold Akatsuki's leadership in all work. Remember to mobilize the masses, don't fight alone. Every policy must start from Aomine's actual circumstances, and be applied flexibly."

"Even though we won't start wars or engage in needless conflicts, we must never neglect the construction of armed forces."

He stressed firmly.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan looked completely lost, they couldn't understand what he was talking about at all.

"We will reorganize the existing ninjas and samurai into the Aomine Revolutionary Army."

"It will be jointly led by all of you who have joined Akatsuki."

"We must strengthen the military training of ninjas and samurai, while also conducting discipline education."

"All actions must follow commands, don't take a needle or thread from the people, all spoils of war must be turned over to the collective. Speak politely, trade fairly, return what you borrow, compensate for any damages, don't hit or curse people, don't ruin crops, don't harass women, don't abuse captives."

"Of course, the premise of this is to give ninjas and samurai high rewards for their missions."

The experience of countless predecessors flowed smoothly from his mouth.

Kojiro and the others nodded.

If ninjas and samurai could earn high commissions through missions, they would scorn plundering from others and would have no desire for rebellion.

Compared to being dependent on wealthy patrons in the past, ninjas and samurai preferred the life of relying on their own strength to complete missions and earn rewards.

"In addition, there's economic development, cultural propaganda, democratic construction, and many other matters. I've laid out detailed plans for all of these in the proposal. But there is one even more important matter I must emphasize."

"That is talent development."

Kojiro, Muramasa, and Genraku all knew how crucial this was.

"We must not only establish ninja schools, but also schools for the education of ordinary people, and even schools for continuing education for adults!"

"We must strive to spread our ideals to more people," he said this to Kojiro and the others.

In short, it was literacy.

As they listened, Kojiro and the others suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Why did this sound like he was giving final instructions before leaving?

"I will leave my crows in Aomine. You can use them to contact me. Yahiko and the others already know what to do."

As soon as his words fell, Kojiro and the rest immediately realized their uneasy premonition had come true.

"Where are you going?"

The first to ask was Yahiko, sitting beside him. He stared blankly at Shiratori, his eyes carrying a trace of helplessness.

Why...

Why was he suddenly going to leave?

Clearly, everything was moving in a good direction. They had achieved accomplishments that they once wouldn't have even conceived of.

The people of Aomine loved them, and the cancers had been removed. Aomine was like new sprouts after a storm, full of vitality and about to grow strong.

And at this moment... He said he wanted to leave. He wanted to leave Aomine.

Was this some kind of joke?

It was precisely because of him that Aomine had come this far, and yet, at such a critical time, he wanted to leave.

How could Yahiko accept this?

He couldn't.

Why did Shiratori always have to leave them?

Why did he always treat other things as more important than them?

His voice trembled, eyes already red.

"Why do you have to leave again..."

Konan's eyes were filled with deep fear and unease.

Why had it come to this again?

Seeing this scene, Kojiro and the others tacitly remained silent.

Their gazes shifted back and forth between Shiratori and the other three.

Kojiro and the rest had always been able to see the unusual closeness between these four youths.

But they hadn't expected their bond to be this deep.

With one leaving, the other three were like people who had lost part of their own body.

Especially since Shiratori seemed to be the very heart of the group.

His departure, for the three remaining, was like losing their heart altogether.

Only Nagato said nothing. He quietly watched Shiratori, waiting for an explanation.

Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato's reactions were all within Shiratori's expectations.

He looked at Yahiko and Konan, then said, "Because I have something more important to do."

"What could be more important than realizing our ideals!" Yahiko shouted angrily.

Shiratori smiled, his eyes burning as he looked at Yahiko: "Nothing is more important than realizing our ideals. What I have to do is realizing our ideals!"

Yahiko froze.

Konan sniffled, staring blankly at him.

"Although the war in the Land of Rain has stopped, the wars in the shinobi world continue."

As soon as Shiratori said this, Yahiko impatiently retorted, "But we don't yet have the strength to stop the wars in the shinobi world! Weren't you the one who said it? That we first need to build up strength, to gain the power to stop wars!"

He was now using Shiratori's own words against him.

"Yes, right now we really don't have the power to stop wars. But I can't just coldly turn away from other people's suffering." Shiratori lowered his head, speaking quietly, "When I saw the refugees in Aomine, I thought, there must be even more people within the Land of Grass who need help!"

"I want to help them! Maybe I can't stop the war... But I can at least heal their wounds! At the very least, I can protect them!"

He slowly raised his head.

After sweeping his gaze over everyone, he said seriously, "And by helping others, I can also spread our ideals so that more people will join us."

"What about Aomine then?"

Yahiko looked at him.

He didn't want Shiratori to leave.

"Yahiko, Konan, Nagato," he called their names one by one, then looked at Kojiro and the other two. "And Kojiro, Genraku, Muramasa, I entrust Aomine to you all. I feel reassured. You will lead Aomine to grow strong, won't you?"

He looked at them, his eyes full of hope.

Kojiro let out a helpless sigh. "I always thought you were the most mature among them, but it seems I was wrong. You actually want to head to the Land of Grass, such boldness! That place is the battlefield between Iwa and Konoha! If you get caught up in the war, you could really die!"

There was worry in his eyes.

"I know."

Shiratori nodded, a gentle smile on his face.

"It's not as if I've never experienced the battlefield. And precisely because I know how terrifying it is, I want to go to the Land of Grass to save more people. Knowing that there are still people in this world suffering in misery, yet doing nothing, that's too difficult for me."

Deep compassion showed in his eyes.

"Now that we've finally resolved the situation in Aomine, I can let go. At last, I can go to the Land of Grass."

There was a sense of release on his face.

"I'll go with you."

The long-silent Nagato suddenly spoke up.

Yahiko and Konan looked at him in shock.

"No, Nagato. The battlefield is too dangerous," Shiratori immediately refused.

"I won't be a burden to you."

Nagato fixed his eyes firmly on him.

"You wouldn't be a burden. I just don't want you to put yourself in danger."

He shook his head firmly.

If Nagato followed him, it would be hard to gather negative emotion points, his whole character setting might collapse.

"If Nagato's going, then I'm going too!"

Yahiko, as if not hearing the rejection, quickly spoke up.

"Then I'll go too!"

Konan, afraid of being left behind, hurried to add.

"..."

Do you all think the battlefield is some kind of amusement park?

Even Shiratori himself had to be cautious and grow in secret on the battlefield between Iwa and Konoha.

And Yahiko and Konan? Not even close.

At least Nagato barely had the strength to protect himself.

"You all must stay here and look after Aomine for me. Only if I entrust Aomine to you can I feel at ease."

Shiratori looked at both Kojiro's group and Yahiko's group as he spoke.

"But... we're so afraid..."

Konan sniffled.

The battlefield was terrifying. They were afraid he would never return.

Or that some terrible news would come instead.

"Konan."

Shiratori took her hand.

"I promise you, I'll come back safely. Our dream has only just begun. How could I possibly leave you?"

Konan sniffled again.

"We'll stay here in Aomine... but you must remember to come back often to see us!"

She looked at him.

Shiratori let out a sigh of relief.

With her saying this, it seemed they had finally given up on following him to the Land of Grass.

"Alright!"

"I promise you!"

"I'll definitely come back often to see you!"