In the official publishing house of the Land of Fire, located in Konoha:

"There's no such thing as a poor market, only poor efficiency!"

"Strengthen team building, improve work efficiency!"

"Long-term planning, production comes first!"

"Never stop production, even if it means breaking the rules!"

Such slogans were everywhere, strategically placed by Gojo Kaigetsu. Under his deliberate design, the entire printing factory was filled with similar motivational phrases, creating an environment charged with a spirit of "struggle."

The scent of ink wafted through the air.

The workers' feet were moving so fast on the printing pedals that they seemed to leave afterimages, as page after page of clear, legible text was printed out.

Limited by the current level of technology, the printing output was somewhat low, so they had to resort to such extreme measures to speed up the printing of *Ideology of the Wood*.

Production! Production! It's all about damn production!

To launch an offensive against the four great nations, a massive quantity of ideological magazines was needed to overwhelm them. Gojo Kaigetsu wanted to ensure that the citizens of those nations would open their eyes to see "the Land of Fire" and close their eyes to "advanced civilization," deeply embedding these ideas into the minds of their merchants.

As soon as the workshop supervisor saw Gojo Kaigetsu approaching, he immediately shouted out the prepared slogan: "Thank you for your hard work, Gojo-sama!"

The workers, who were frantically stamping the pedals, also shouted the same slogan in unison.

The atmosphere in the printing factory became even more fervent.

Gojo Kaigetsu had a great reputation among these ordinary workers. In such war-torn times, where else could they find a stable, well-paying job?

Gojo Kaigetsu smiled without speaking, merely raising his hand in the air to quiet the fervent shouts.

The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye, and as Gojo Kaigetsu lay back in his boss's chair, taking a light nap, he slowly opened his eyes.

A strange light flickered deep within his eyes. With his Six Eyes, he could see things that were previously invisible... like the chakra-bearing entity rapidly approaching from afar.

"It seems I need to start wearing protective goggles or a black silk band, or else these eyes... might draw unwanted attention."

Gojo Kaigetsu muttered to himself as he casually opened a drawer and took out a black silk band, tying it over his eyes.

Three seconds later, the twelve-year-old Kakashi Hatake, dressed in an Anbu uniform and wearing a black mask, arrived behind Gojo Kaigetsu.

Kakashi looked at the Anbu's de facto leader before him and noticed that his appearance was somewhat unusual today, but he didn't dare comment, quickly reporting:

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"Gojo-sama, there's been an incident."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Gojo Kaigetsu lazily stretched, knowing that since the system hadn't alerted him to any changes in prosperity, it wasn't anything worth worrying about.

"The funds that the Fourth Hokage was going to approve for you today were intercepted by Danzo-dono. He told me to inform you to meet him at the Root base."

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Kakashi instinctively held his breath, feeling no warmth from the sunset's rays falling on him.

Because of his position behind Gojo Kaigetsu, he couldn't see the expression on his face.

But he could tell... that Gojo-sama's face must not look good right now.

Kakashi quickly lowered his head.

"Intercepting funds approved by the Fourth Hokage is one thing, but summoning me, the deputy commander of Konoha's Special Assassination Tactical Unit, to meet him at the Root base? Isn't he overstepping his bounds?"

"What does he intend to do? Rebel? Is Minato the Fourth Hokage or is Danzo the Fourth Hokage?!"

Gojo Kaigetsu spoke with a blank expression.

He had always known that Minato's position as the Fourth Hokage was not secure.

There weren't many who were absolutely loyal to him and followed his orders. In the eyes of the major clans of Konoha, his authority wasn't absolute. Now, Danzo had essentially shown his hand, telling Gojo Kaigetsu that Konoha's financial allocations were under his control.

After all, Minato was just a commoner, despite being Jiraiya's disciple and considered part of the Hokage's faction; he was still a commoner. Even though his strength, talent, and character were well-suited for the role of Hokage, his background was still too shallow.

The main reason he became Hokage was that he held the "nuclear launch button" of Konoha.

Despite so many unfavorable factors, he was still the Hokage! Recognized by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, he was the Fourth Hokage in the eyes of Konoha's villagers and the nominal leader of Konoha. How could Danzo dare to pull such a stunt?!

Kakashi stood silently behind Gojo Kaigetsu, not daring to say a word. Today, Gojo Kaigetsu's presence felt even more oppressive than usual.

'This level of pressure... can a Chunin really possess this?'

Gojo-sama was officially recorded as a Chunin, no doubt about it. Although his administrative abilities were on par with those of a Kage-level ninja, he was still somewhat lacking as a ninja.

When it came to Konoha's internal power struggles, Kakashi chose to remain silent and play deaf, only wanting to leave this whirlpool quickly and return home to secretly read the *Female Ninja's Descent into Hell* that he had purchased at a high price from the black market.

"In that case, Kakashi..."

"Yes?"

"Go and deliver a message to Danzo for me~," Gojo Kaigetsu said in a calm tone, "Today, if he doesn't come to me and explain this matter clearly, tomorrow I'll take it up with the Fourth Hokage."

"And who knows what unpleasant things might happen then."

"Understood, Gojo-sama."

"Mm, go ahead."

Gojo Kaigetsu waved his hand, then suddenly seemed to remember something and called out to Kakashi, who was about to leave, "While you're at it, go to the Konoha Police Force and let Clan Leader Fugaku know that dinner is set for tonight. Keep it casual. He should still be at work."

Once again, Gojo Kaigetsu was alone in the empty president's office.

He turned his head to look at the setting sun outside the window, feeling a headache coming on.

"The Uchiha problem..."

Despite his continuous efforts to mediate, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha continued to deepen.

Murphy's Law states that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. From the moment the Second Hokage established the Konoha Police Force, the seeds of distrust had already been sown.

The village versus the Uchiha, the Uchiha versus the villagers, and the village versus the villagers...

The hawkish voices within the Uchiha clan were growing louder and harder to ignore, to the point where Gojo Kaigetsu could no longer avoid addressing the issue.

"If the conflict between the Uchiha clan and Konoha ultimately escalates to the point of violence, the village's prosperity will surely crumble."

"Such a thing absolutely cannot happen~"

Gojo Kaigetsu tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, lost in thought. An article suitable for the current situation with the Uchiha clan began to form in his mind.

"In that case... let's start by addressing the most fundamental conflicts."

...