RADG: Chapter 266/268

Chapter 266/267: Overstaffed Ninja Troops, Koyuki Kazahana's New Movie

Shisui spent the whole morning reading two reports.

"Statistical Analysis Report on the Current Size and Organization of Ninja Teams"

"Research on the Total Ninja Population and Functional Adaptability—Analysis of the Current Situation Based on the Imbalance of Supply and Demand in the Labor Market"

One of the reports was written by Nara Shikaku and the other by Senju Tobirama.

But in fact, both of them were talking about the same thing: the world was peaceful, and external threats were basically gone. Although there were still many missions, large-scale wars were unlikely to happen for decades.

What about the ninjas?

The current number of ninjas on the payroll had exceeded 100,000. If the reserve forces at the Jōnin School were included, the number could be even higher.

This was an absolute surplus of labor, and there were simply not enough missions to go around.

It was impossible to retire all the ninjas from other villages except the original Konoha ninjas and send them back to the civilian population.

That would definitely cause social unrest and affect this hard-won stability.

In the reports, Shikaku and Tobirama both put forward some suggestions. In Shisui's opinion, none of them were perfect. They would always sacrifice the interests of one group, leaving hidden concerns.

Both of them were intentionally or unintentionally favoring the former Konoha shinobi, and all the methods they devised leaned toward them.

Shisui could understand, but he could not bring himself to follow through.

Yami had told him that the current Ninja Kingdom was only a country forced to unite under his overwhelming power. If he wanted people to truly forget the nations they once were, it would take the efforts of an entire generation, or even several generations.

To eliminate barriers, the most important thing was fairness. People should not be treated differently.

Otherwise, external conflicts would turn into internal conflicts. More serious struggles would erupt in the future, and the empire would collapse.

So Shisui could not make a decision. He could not find balance.

The only thing he could do was turn to Yami.

Fortunately, Yami never hid his whereabouts while traveling, otherwise Shisui would not be able to find him even if he tried.

The former temple of the Land of Demons.

After listening to Shion's story about the priestess and the monsters, Koyuki became very interested in the thousand-year-old feud, so she simply created a new script based on the real events of the Land of Demons.

Of course, the truth that the priestess and the monster were two sides of the same coin was modified and hidden, changed to lean more toward the priestess.

Shion had no objections. She thought it was a good opportunity to use the movie to promote Shintoism in the Land of Demons and expand its influence.

Yami did not prohibit the spread of faiths in gods and spirits within the ninja world. In fact, there were many such beliefs. Torii shrines dedicated to various deities and monsters appeared endlessly, but they were all illusory existences.

To be precise… they had all been killed by Kaguya.

Before Kaguya came to the ninja world, there were many gods on this planet who relied on natural energy to exist, and even the three holy lands were among them. However, when the God Tree was planted, natural energy was absorbed in huge quantities, and these gods could no longer sit still.

But Kaguya was too strong. She killed every one that appeared. In the end, only a few remained.

Then, during the Sage of Six Paths' era, the surviving gods saw Kaguya being sealed and appeared again, only to encounter an even more ruthless Sage of Six Paths, and were completely destroyed.

Therefore, no matter how devout the believers were, it was basically impossible to receive any response. It was better to let things develop naturally and allow the common people to have some spiritual sustenance, which could also make society more stable.

This time, Koyuki played a priestess who reincarnated repeatedly to fight against monsters. The princess of the Land of Snow looked quite unique when dressed as a priestess.

Especially at night, Koyuki was very playful. She even cosplayed as her good sister Shion, preparing a white wig and colored contact lenses.

It was really exciting.

The relationship here was a bit complicated. It was unclear whether Koyuki was proud of herself or proud of Shion.

Either way, Yami was very happy and ready to try other ways of playing.

After a shoot, Koyuki came over with a blushing face and sat on the recliner next to Yami to rest.

"Yami, if you feel bored, go back to the village first. Hotaru and Ino have been waiting for you for a long time."

"Not boring, not boring at all."

Yami shook his head with a sly smile. "Tonight is very interesting. I haven't had enough fun yet. When you finish filming, we can go back together. Then I'll take them out to play. There's no rush."

Koyuki's pretty face turned red. She glared at Yami in reproach and quickly changed the subject.

She also felt that her behavior was too perverted. If the other sisters knew, she would probably be severely punished.

But since she wanted to keep Yami with her a little longer, she could only think of some more exciting ways.

Suddenly, a ninja dressed as Anbu rushed from a distance, quickly came to Yami's side, knelt on one knee, and respectfully presented a scroll.

"Yami-sama, this is a letter from Shisui to you."

Yami curled his lips, picked up the scroll and glanced at it, then frowned slightly. Koyuki noticed and asked with concern.

"Did something big happen in the village?"

Yami shook his head. "It's just a small problem.

He's just not sure what to do.

He's been acting as Hokage for a year and he's still so indecisive.

It looks like I'll have to pass the throne directly when I return this time.

Otherwise, Shisui will keep staring at me and I won't be able to move freely."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 268: Hard to Say, Chūnin Exam

Half a month later, Yami returned to Konoha with Koyuki Kazahana, who had finished filming.

Shisui, who was nearly driven crazy by the redundancy problem, endured it for one day. The next day, he rushed to the door and respectfully invited Yami to the Hokage's office.

When the two of them sat down, Shisui immediately complained. "Yami-sama, what should we do now? Tens of thousands of ninjas have nothing to do. I am worried about assigning them all to various bases.

This is too complicated. I really can't manage it. I can only wait for your advice."

Yami leaned back in his chair, completely unmotivated. "Shisui, you've been with me for more than ten years. Why are you still so easily swayed by emotions?

It's just a small matter, you can handle it however you want. Even if you don't do well at the beginning, you can correct it slowly in the future. Can it really be so bad that it will trigger a new ninja world war?"

"It's hard to say."

Yami could not hold it in anymore. "Hard to say? What is that supposed to mean?"

Yami pointed at Shisui, who kept turning his head in hesitation, and said helplessly. "I'll help you this last time. After this, we will hold the succession ceremony."

Shisui looked up in disbelief.

A few days later, the news spread.

Konoha was going to reform the ninja system. It involved everyone, whether they were former Konoha shinobi or ninjas from other villages. As long as they still wanted to make a living in this field, they had to take the assessment.

In the past, Konoha actually only had three clear ranks: Genin, Chūnin, and Jōnin.

Jōnin were essentially Chūnin, but it was an honorific title given to those who had reached the level of Jōnin in certain aspects. It was a recognition from the village.

The title Elite Jōnin was even more vague. Generally, those who had stayed at the Jōnin rank for a long time and had successfully completed more than five S-rank missions were considered Elite Jōnin.

As for Hokage?

Hokage was not really a ninja rank at all. In the past, only the leaders of major nations could be called Kage.

Such a grading system was clearly no longer suitable now, especially with the number of Kage-level masters. Including those from other villages and Konoha's own, their total already exceeded twenty. They could not all be treated as ordinary Jōnin.

Therefore, this reform clarified the organization system into: Kage, Elite Jōnin, Jōnin, Special Jōnin, Chūnin, and Genin.

There was no limit to the number of Kage-level masters. As long as you could earn Kakuzu's recognition or fight with Deidara, you were considered to have stepped into the threshold of Kage-level.

It was worth mentioning that the application fee for each exam was 5 million ryō. Yami took 50%, and the rest went to Kakuzu and Deidara. It was said that, in order to monopolize profits, Kakuzu…

There was no specific strength requirement for Elite Jōnin.

It was just a refinement of the previous rules.

If you completed more than five S-rank missions and thirty A-rank missions, you could become an Elite Jōnin.

The total number was capped at 200.

If you wanted to become an Elite Jōnin after the cap was reached, you had to challenge an existing Elite Jōnin.

Only by defeating them could you take their place.

There were 2,000 Jōnin spots available. You could not obtain a Jōnin seat through duels, only through missions or special assessments.

The rest were distributed as 10,000 Special Jōnin and 30,000 Chūnin.

In other words, the numbers Yami gave reduced the total number of ninjas to almost a quarter of the original.

As for Genin, there was no limit on the number, but there was a maximum service time. If you failed to become a Chūnin within three years, you would automatically be removed from the ninja corps.

This assessment was to reclassify ninjas and also serve as a basic test.

Of course, the unsuccessful ninjas and those who wanted to retire were not abandoned completely.

They could choose to join civilian organizations or enter the World Government's security department to regain their jobs.

After hearing the news, Sasuke, who was chasing the remnants of the Samurai clan outside, rushed back to the village almost without rest.

God knew how long he and Naruto had been waiting for this day.

They had remained Genin for four full years, while most of their classmates, not to mention elites like Shikamaru and Hyūga Neji who had already been promoted to Jōnin, had at least become Chūnin.

Fortunately, the three-year Genin service rule would only be applied after this assessment.

Otherwise, if they delayed any further, Yami would have forced them to retire.

However, as soon as they returned to the village, reality struck them like a bucket of cold water.

Kakashi, who now had two Kamui Sharingan, smiled at Sasuke and Naruto as they came to register, and said lightly. "Have you forgotten basic common sense? If you want to register for the Chūnin exam, you need to be in a group.

There are only two of you now. Where is your third member?"

Naruto and Sasuke both froze. They had completely forgotten about that rule. After all, since their first exam, their team had basically acted independently.

"Got it!"

Naruto's little brain spun quickly, and he immediately thought of a solution. "Why don't we go find Hinata to team up with us? She's already our teammate!"

Sasuke also nodded. It was rare for Naruto to sound reliable, and he agreed.

"What a pity…" Kakashi laughed even more happily, then told them something that left them both stunned. "Hinata was promoted to Jōnin two years ago. She'll be taking the Elite Jōnin assessment this time, so she can't team up with you."

(To be continued.)