"Mitsutoshi, Pig Assistant... these are among the more competent talents within the Rain Ninja."
Next are some names of Hidden Rain Jonin. Perhaps because the Scroll couldn't hold much, Hanzo just listed a few names, and then marked a document for Mokgetsu, indicating there was more detailed information there.
Mokgetsu retrieved the document and glanced at it, discovering that Mitsutoshi was the first Rain Ninja to respond after he spoke.
Besides the ninja profiles, Hanzo briefly outlined the condition of the Rain Village on the Scroll.
The Second Ninja World War resulted in great losses for the Rain Village. However, after more than ten years of recuperation, the Rain Ninja regained quite a bit of strength.
Before the emergence of the Ninja Sect, the life in the Rain Village was quite decent.
After the emergence of the Ninja Sect, the Rain Village had to expend efforts to confront the sect, and apart from having missions snatched away, its development suffered somewhat.
But the Ninja Sect is still young, so overall, the Rain Village is still a relatively healthy Ninja Village.
"One thousand six hundred and fifty-two ninjas, plus two hundred from the Ninja Sect, nearly two thousand ninjas available," Mokgetsu thought as he put down the Rain Ninja Village ninja document.
With over eighteen hundred ninjas at hand, Mokgetsu can not only maintain the security of the Land of Rain well but also deploy more forces to promote the Ninja Sect.
As the appointed meeting time approached, Mokgetsu, along with Nagato, went to the largest conference room in the office building.
Inside the conference room, there was only one chair with a backrest, nothing else.
Mokgetsu directly sat on the only chair, waiting for the Hidden Rain Jonin to arrive.
Meanwhile, Nagato stood beside Mokgetsu.
"Lord Sosuke."
"Lord Leader."
As the time drew nearer, the Hidden Rain Jonin arrived one after another, greeting Mokgetsu who sat in the chair.
Once the time came, Mokgetsu cleared his throat twice and said, "The meeting is open."
"First, we need to discuss the matter of Hanzo's funeral."
The Rain Ninja showed an expression of attentiveness; indeed, this was no small matter.
Hanzo was ultimately killed by Sosuke. If Sosuke were to casually ignore Hanzo's funeral, no matter how much favorable impression they had of Sosuke before, they would feel uncomfortable.
"My idea is to conduct it according to the standard protocol—whatever was done for previous Rain Ninja leaders' funerals, do the same for Hanzo."
The Rain Ninja nodded; this indeed made sense.
"However, Hanzo had a notion; he felt that if the Five Great Ninja Villages knew that the Rain Ninja Village was under my control, it would trigger concern. He wanted to use the disparity in information to create the illusion that he was still alive, thereby buying time for the development of the Land of Rain."
Mokgetsu looked toward Nagato as he said this.
Nagato understood instantly, stepped forward with the Scroll, and spread it before the Rain Ninja.
The Rain Ninja could clearly see Hanzo's suggestions to Mokgetsu on the Scroll, while some other content was blocked by slips of paper.
Some of the content was not suitable for everyone to know.
"It's Hanzo-sama's handwriting!"
Seeing the familiar style, one Rain Ninja immediately recognized it as Hanzo's own writing on the Scroll.
Another Rain Ninja saw the sentence "By the time you see this Scroll, I am already dead," and couldn't help but tear up.
After about three minutes passed, Mokgetsu turned to the foremost Rain Ninja on the left and asked:
"Mitsutoshi, what are your thoughts on this?"
Mitsutoshi was taken aback, not expecting Sosuke to suddenly desire his opinion.
Gathering his thoughts, he displayed a serious expression and replied:
"I think Hanzo-sama's idea is very correct. We can ordinarily bury Hanzo-sama and hide the news of his death."
"Konoha has already targeted Sosuke-sama's Ninja Sect. If they knew Sosuke-sama had also become the leader of the Rain Ninja Village, they would undoubtedly be extremely vigilant towards the Land of Rain."
"Furthermore, Sosuke-sama's Ninja Sect originally had a good relationship with Hidden Rock. If Hidden Rock knew about this, their attitude towards the sect might change."
"Hidden Sand has always been very wary of the Rain Ninja Village. Upon learning the news, they might take some actions."
As Mitsutoshi analyzed the pros and cons, many Rain Ninja nodded in agreement; this indeed seemed to be a measure with far more advantages than disadvantages.
After all, they were not refusing to bury Hanzo; it was just not holding a grand funeral—most Rain Ninja could accept this.
During intense warfare, many ninjas couldn't even bring back bodies, only able to hold symbolic funerals.
"Hanzo-sama contributed so much to the Rain Ninja Village. How can we let him die silently!" one Rain Ninja said emotionally.
"At the very least, let the people in the village know."
The atmosphere was suddenly silent.
This was a reasoning difficult to refute.
Hanzo indeed did much for the Rain Ninja Village; without him, perhaps the village would have been an ordinary Ninja Village.
Mokgetsu looked at the emotional Rain Ninja; this was also a ninja mentioned in Hanzo's Scroll—Pig Assistant.
This name seemed odd to him, but in the current world, it's quite a normal name.
Here, a pig refers to a fierce beast.
Mokgetsu surveyed the room and spoke: "I'll share my thoughts."
"The funeral will be held in accordance with the standard leader specifications."
"Lord Sosuke, in that case..." Mitsutoshi couldn't help but want to speak, but he was interrupted by Mokgetsu, unable to finish his sentence.
"However, we won't publicly announce my role as the new Rain Ninja Village leader," Mokgetsu continued.
"Select a ninja to serve as the apparent leader to mislead other forces, and temporarily not change the relationship between the Rain Ninja Village and the Ninja Sect."
"What do you think?"
This was a compromise solution.
The most stable approach would definitely be to spread false information, creating the illusion that Hanzo was not dead.
This would add a top-tier warrior in the eyes of other ninja forces, making them see both Sosuke, a formidable figure, and the Demigod Hanzo in the Land of Rain.
Despite Hanzo's reputation suffering due to Sosuke's defeat of him, it didn't mean the ninjas would underestimate Hanzo's prowess.
Besides being defeated by Sosuke, Hanzo had no other failures.
Stability is indeed crucial, yet Mokgetsu felt it was also essential to consider the feelings of subordinates.
Mokgetsu was an appointed leader of the Rain Ninja Village, making it important for the old subordinates of Hanzo to recognize him.
"Lord Sosuke's idea is better than mine. Though lacking the deterrent power Hanzo-sama had, it allows the neighboring Great Ninja Villages to be more at ease," praised Mitsutoshi.
He was pleased, thinking Hanzo had not wasted his efforts.
Whether Sosuke could lead the Land of Rain to achieve Hanzo's unfulfilled goals remains to be seen.
But Sosuke certainly did not disappoint; despite defeating Hanzo to become the Rain Ninja leader, he still showed enough respect to Hanzo, not merely driven by profit.
"Your idea is good," Pig Assistant briefly expressed agreement.
Initially, when Sosuke mentioned Hanzo's funeral, Pig Assistant was a bit angry.
He thought there was no need for discussion: just an impressive burial. The fact that Sosuke brought this up indicated he had ulterior motives.
Now Pig Assistant felt guilty, realizing he had misunderstood Sosuke, aware he thought too little.
The Rain Ninja did not dissent; everyone agreed.
If Mokgetsu's system could display favorability scores, Mokgetsu felt the Rain Ninja would be fervently increasing his score now.
Besides the topic of Hanzo's funeral, Mokgetsu also mentioned the issue of the Ninja Sect.
The Rain Ninja Village and the Ninja Sect need not merge immediately, but enhancing exchanges is necessary.
Mokgetsu's idea was to have Rain Ninja Village ninjas learn at the Ninja Sect, while ninjas from the sect would come to the Rain Village to perform tasks, allowing clearer mutual understanding and strengthening the sense of recognition between the two parties.
After Mokgetsu dealt with Rain Ninja Village affairs, he opened the system panel.
Shimura Danzo, a high-ranking member of Konoha, indeed had ample influence—his death caused noticeable shifts in the life missions of Obito and Shisui.
Shisui's progress was the most evident, directly surpassing a task settlement node.
Mokgetsu could only conclude that Shimura Danzo was indeed a master of deception; the changes brought about by his death were substantial.