Chapter 187: The Importance of the PR High Ground. Tobirama's Faked Death Becomes Highly Logical? Soragakure Attacks!
Become a Literary Titan?
Konoha's Chief PR Copywriter?
Jiraiya's optical sensors involuntarily flared with maximum luminance at those two specific corporate titles. He nodded aggressively.
Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Hiruko were exclusively operating on the 'Scientific R&D' career track. In that sector, his metrics were fundamentally deficient. Different tech stacks meant forced integration was unviable.
However, regarding the Humanities and Social Sciences portfolio, he was undeniably the market leader!
'Chief PR Architect' benchmarked against 'Chief Scientist'—equivalent executive status in disparate sectors!
With this new title, he finally possessed viable data points to leverage during casual off-hours networking (drinking sessions)!
However, Jiraiya's initial literary startup phase had not been optimized.
Originally, Jiraiya aimed to launch a 'Serious Literature' brand, intending to capture market share by showcasing a protagonist's unyielding willpower and resilience.
This led to the compilation of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, featuring 'Naruto'.
Unfortunately, the market reception was catastrophic. Aside from the juvenile Minato, who consumed the data with high engagement, the self-published volume generated zero revenue. Bookstores utilized the unsold inventory as structural shims for wobbly tables.
"Sensei, do my analytics truly support this?"
Jiraiya shifted awkwardly. "Other operatives might flag my output as premium, but I possess the internal logs. This success was entirely driven by the core architectural outline and macro-level plot points you provided..."
"I merely executed the granular coding based on your framework."
Hiruzen Sarutobi retrieved Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi from his desk, executing a casual scan of the pages. He nodded approvingly.
The syntax flow was highly optimized, and the core emotional algorithms were perfectly calibrated.
"Your raw linguistic processing power is unequivocally premium. The failure of your previous launch was entirely a product-market fit error."
Hiruzen cleared his throat. "I have also reviewed your Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. The narrative data is incredibly authentic: a low-tier operative struggling to survive in the brutal shinobi market, ultimately refusing to abandon the mission even when facing inevitable termination."
Jiraiya's facial rendering displayed shock.
Sensei had actually audited his failed publication?
Hiruzen had indeed scanned it.
Following the explosive ROI of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi rebrand, the Hokage began running simulations: could he leverage Jiraiya's rapidly scaling brand presence within the shinobi cultural sector for a macro-level objective?
The royalty dividends were a secondary benefit. The primary diagnostic was whether Jiraiya possessed the linguistic bandwidth to serve as the lead PR ambassador for the Will of Fire.
"Affirmative, that was my intended output." Jiraiya scratched his head. "But the user engagement metrics were abysmal."
"Have you run diagnostics to determine the root cause?"
Hiruzen exhaled a cloud of smoke. "The narrative logic is authentic, but the UX (User Experience) is fundamentally flawed."
"Execute a random sample of any hidden village workforce. I won't claim a 100% correlation, but at least 80% of operatives, bound by the 'Shinobi Code', execute daily operations virtually identical to your protagonist."
"As you should now comprehend, shinobi are not hardware tools. They are sentient, biological entities with a rational, baseline requirement for an optimized quality of life."
"The daily operational stress in the shinobi market is already at critical levels. Why would they expend their highly limited offline cycles consuming your literature, only to re-simulate their miserable existence as corporate tools?"
Jiraiya paused, his processors slowly authenticating the data. He felt his algorithms aligning with a new logic path.
"Your analytics are sound, Sensei."
Jiraiya processed deeply. "I was running parallel diagnostics. The narrative arc of 'Naruen' is actually quite streamlined: from suffering a catastrophic PR smear (broken engagement), to a three-year incubation phase where he boots up the legacy 'Senju Yao Lao' AI, culminating in a kinetic raid on the Yunlan faction..."
"It represents explosive kinetic scaling following prolonged systemic suppression. Fundamentally, it's an algorithm of rebellion against an unfair market architecture!"
"Therefore, it mathematically resonates with the suppressed, subconscious grievances of operatives in rival subsidiaries?"
Hiruzen pointed his pipe at Jiraiya, outputting a smiling audio track. "Excellent processing speed, kid. Highly trainable!"
Since Jiraiya had successfully decrypted this logic, realizing that the shinobi workforce consumed literature to execute localized stress-relief protocols, Hiruzen calculated that even without further mentorship, this unit would inevitably generate premium deliverables.
However, the specific genre of his future success remained an unquantifiable variable.
"Logically, acquiring initial market share in the 'Serious Literature' sector is mathematically difficult."
"Because even if the core logic contains premium data points, the inherently oppressive and severe narrative architecture will trigger subconscious rejection protocols in the shinobi user base."
"But your current market positioning is different, Jiraiya. Leveraging the success of your latest release, you have accumulated massive brand equity. Your pen name alone guarantees a baseline conversion rate."
Hiruzen stated slowly. "You indicated a desire to compile 'Serious Literature', correct? Your launch window is now open."
"But what about the current serialization?"
Jiraiya scratched his head. "I just finalized the arc where he extracts from the Yunlan faction. Executing a hard stop mid-narrative is highly suboptimal. Sensei, could you generate another architectural outline? I'll push out a 10,000-word daily sprint and force a rapid V1.0 release..."
"Your operational grit is commendable."
Hiruzen nodded. "But the critical bug is... I haven't generated the subsequent plot architecture. That outline was merely a fragmented data packet I simulated in my youth."
Hiruzen exhaled another cloud of smoke. "You surely don't expect me to suspend my executive duties and PvP training to compile a multi-million-word macro-outline for your project, do you?"
"However, you can execute a 'Gentleman's SLA' (Service Level Agreement). Post a public memo guaranteeing that once global peace is achieved, you will push the final update. After all, your brand identity and base coordinates are public knowledge. You cannot execute a stealth extraction."
Jiraiya's facial rendering turned pitch black.
He could already simulate his brand loyalists mailing him kinetic hardware (blades).
And it wouldn't just be standard blades. Given that 'Naruen' heavily utilized Fire Release protocols, a massive demographic of Uchiha operatives were subscribed to the series. He could foresee encountering glowing red optical sensors ambushing him during nocturnal patrols.
"Sensei, if a catastrophic PR incident occurs, you must deploy as my firewall!"
Jiraiya's threat sensors spiked.
"If we actually reach the 'Global Peace' milestone, we can allocate joint R&D bandwidth to compile a sequel. We could even push out a V2.0, V3.0, up to V5.0 release."
Hiruzen shrugged. "But if peace is achieved and you default on the update, my administrative privilege cannot save you. Users expended capital to access your data; if you fail to deliver the finalized build, absorbing negative reviews is a mandatory operating cost."
Jiraiya frantically waved his manipulators. "I will execute the final build! Absolutely guaranteed!"
"Ensure you log that commitment, Jiraiya."
Hiruzen smiled, shifting to a severe executive tone. "Since you have accepted this portfolio, your primary directive is comprehending the core objective. You must recognize the strategic dominance of the PR high ground."
"The fundamental architectural divergence between the Will of Fire and rival subsidiaries is this: the vast majority of our workforce has transitioned from 'violence-enforced mandatory compliance' to 'conscious, localized brand loyalty'."
"This milestone was achieved because Konoha's regulatory frameworks and protocols are optimized for the baseline benefit of the majority workforce. But here is the critical logic error: do operatives in rival subsidiaries possess this data?"
"They have zero access."
Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe, his expression rendering deep reflection. "Whether it is Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, or any other faction, their operatives are partitioned from Konoha by multiple layers of sensory barriers and Anbu firewalls."
"In their internal databases, Konoha is not necessarily flagged as a 'peace-oriented' subsidiary. Their perception of our brand is entirely bottlenecked by the heavily filtered PR campaigns executed by their respective Kages and CEOs."
"For example, regarding the legacy iteration of Kirigakure, they likely run analytics suggesting Konoha is a subsidiary that compromises its core values to appease unreasonable demands—a faction that has permanently deprecated its required aggressive posture in a desperate bid for peace."
During the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha, despite achieving a statistical victory, executed a highly expedited peace settlement without demanding war reparations from Sunagakure or Amegakure.
This triggered significant internal PR friction at the time, and was one of the historical system bugs Hiruzen had been forced to patch.
Currently, the logs had been fully sanitized. The recent corporate merger with Amegakure was even being retrospectively audited by some operatives as a 'visionary, macro-level strategic masterstroke'.
It simply proved the market theorem: as long as a corporation's overall trajectory remains bullish, historical errors are frequently re-contextualized as 'calculated strategic investments'.
However, querying Kirigakure generated significant regret algorithms within Hiruzen.
The Third Mizukage, having implemented the 'Blood Mist Village' architecture without the requisite administrative bandwidth to manage it, was mathematically guaranteed to trigger severe internal systemic contradictions. This pressure inevitably demanded an external vent.
Warfare was objectively the most optimal exhaust valve, perfectly aligning with the historical operating procedures of both the Blood Mist policy and Kirigakure.
Hiruzen was loath to proactively initiate a kinetic conflict.
But if hostile assets breached his perimeter, he would absolutely not throttle his kinetic output, nor would he default to the legacy protocol of signing meaningless paper SLAs to temporarily defuse the threat.
In Hiruzen's analytics, the Kirigakure nobles and operatives pushed to the absolute breaking point by the Third Mizukage possessed significantly higher 'Ninja Way' scaling potential than the Amegakure workforce.
Unfortunately, the market rarely offers such optimal RNG.
If he didn't authorize the Kirigakure 'Foreign Exchange Student' program, preventing them from acquiring zero-day intel on Konoha's superiority and the Will of Fire's premium architecture, establishing a backdoor exploit within Kirigakure's internal servers would be impossible.
But by opening that backdoor, Kirigakure would inevitably acquire verified telemetry on Konoha's actual combat metrics.
After all, Kisame and Mei Terumi, unlike Yuki and Kimimaro, still maintained legacy brand loyalty to their village.
Upon returning to base, they would undoubtedly upload accurate status reports. By the time the Kirigakure board processed the data and experienced buyer's remorse, the deployment window would already be closed.
"Disregard. Operational roadmaps must be executed iteratively, step by step."
"It is mathematically impossible to simultaneously engineer a scenario where Kirigakure's internal factions align with Konoha AND they voluntarily initiate a hostile raid against us. I must continuously run self-diagnostics to avoid the 'Quick Win' logic trap. Iterative progression is the only viable architecture."
Hiruzen ran an internal compliance audit.
He had previously initiated a B2B dialogue with Danzo regarding this exact variable, which elicited a rare audio laugh from the Darkness of the Shinobi:
'Hiruzen, while my analytics consistently rank the baseline intelligence of Kirigakure operatives as catastrophically low, and the Third Mizukage's administrative capability as functionally defective...'
'The Land of Water still maintains active external trade routes. They are not operating in an absolute air-gapped environment. Engineering a scenario where the Third Mizukage completely misdiagnoses Konoha's actual market cap—as you proposed—is beyond my operational bandwidth. Do not assign me impossible KPIs!'
Danzo initially assumed Hiruzen was requisitioning him to deploy a massive, village-wide Genjutsu array to permanently spoof Kirigakure's intelligence network.
The resource overhead for such an operation was astronomical.
In Danzo's calculations, no black-ops executive in shinobi history possessed the server capacity to submerge an entire village in a localized hallucination.
Even if Tobirama-sensei rebooted, he lacked that specific administrative privilege.
After a prolonged processing cycle, Jiraiya slowly nodded. "I authenticate your logic, Sensei."
"It mirrors the initial data structure of Nagato and Yahiko. They were operating under the corrupted dataset that Konoha unilaterally initiated the Second Shinobi World War. Their inbound intel was heavily restricted and manipulated by their Kage; it was catastrophically biased."
Hiruzen nodded in approval.
Although Jiraiya had previously exhibited 'fanatic' subroutines, he was not a lazy asset.
Despite his three-year offline period in Amegakure, analyzing his aggregate KPI output for Konoha, Jiraiya vastly outperformed Orochimaru and Tsunade. He was a verified, high-yield mission grinder.
His global roaming had also populated his database with extensive cross-cultural telemetry. He possessed sufficient contextual bandwidth; he had merely been trapped in a localized 'confirmation bias' loop.
"Sigh, while Konoha benefits from the First-sama's premium brand equity, I have intercepted ambient data regarding the Second-sama's external PR reputation. It is indeed highly detrimental to projecting a consistent 'pro-peace' corporate image."
Jiraiya pinched his chin, outputting the analysis.
Hiruzen's facial rendering instantly turned pitch black. He executed a zero-hesitation, low-yield kinetic strike to Jiraiya's cranial chassis, outputting a severe reprimand: "Monitor your syntax regarding your Grand-Sensei!"
"Tobirama-sensei was the ultimate advocate for global peace. His operational methodologies merely diverged from Hashirama-sama's. If rival subsidiaries output corrupted PR, disregard it. But you must rigorously sanitize your internal logs!"
Jiraiya, his optical sensors leaking coolant, rubbed his cranial chassis. "Why the aggressive physical override? It's a secure, localized channel..."
Hiruzen glared. Jiraiya immediately shuddered, executing a rapid compliance patch. "Acknowledged, Sensei. The Second-sama compiled restricted jutsu exclusively to deploy as a corporate firewall. His peace algorithms actually scaled higher than the First-sama's..."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction. Jiraiya, however, initiated an internal complaint subroutine.
Sensei's brand loyalty to his mentor is statistically absurd!
Deploying physical overrides for a localized audio output... behaving as if external entities possessed a backdoor listener on this channel!
In reality, Jiraiya's analysis perfectly captured the global market's stereotypical perception.
While Tobirama maintained an acceptable PR rating within Konoha's intranet...
To external contractors, an executive who engineers an 'Edo Tensei' protocol to reboot hostile assets, subsequently equipping them with 'Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags' to act as suicide bombers... how could any market analyst authenticate that entity as a successor to Hashirama's peaceful corporate vision?
His operational logic was flagged as excessively extreme!
"Premium product still requires aggressive marketing."
"Your immediate directive is to allow the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi brand to achieve maximum market penetration. Focus on compiling the sequel. This genre of non-partisan literature will not trigger aggressive censorship firewalls from rival Kages."
"Following that release, your R&D focus will pivot."
Hiruzen ran queries through his internal database, retrieving classic literary architectures from his previous lifecycle—specifically those optimized for aggressive shinobi market propaganda.
"For instance, you could compile a manuscript utilizing Yashiro as the protagonist model, titled Saving Jonin Yashiro. Utilizing his POV, you will document the ideological collision between the Shinobi Code and the Will of Fire."
"The cognitive dissonance of legacy operatives, the hesitation of junior assets. You are authorized to transparently log the internal boardroom debates and factional friction."
Hiruzen outputted an amicable chuckle. "If you require specific telemetry on this, schedule a B2B query with Orochimaru. During his tenure as Acting Hokage, he compiled massive volumes of experiential data."
"Alternatively, you could execute a narrative from the Amegakure POV. Utilize unvarnished, authentic syntax to document the massive QoL (Quality of Life) upgrades experienced by the standard Amegakure workforce following the corporate merger with Konoha."
"You could also focus on localized Konoha assets. Profile war orphans who, subsidized by corporate welfare, successfully scaled into elite operatives, deploying their kinetic yield to generate ROI for Konoha."
"A working title: How the Will of Fire Was Forged. I project high market viability."
Hiruzen elaborated with escalating enthusiasm. "Actually, the most optimized prototype would leverage Kirigakure. Based on intel packets submitted by the Anbu and Tenzo, the Kirigakure workforce is suffering catastrophic depreciation under the Blood Mist Village architecture."
"However, because shinobi possess absurdly high endurance metrics, and lack comparative data, they continue to operate. If you could compile a manuscript titled The Life of a Kirigakure Chunin, narrated from the perspective of an innocent operative targeted by the purge protocols... the psychological impact would be devastating."
Simulating this specific vector, Hiruzen felt a minor surge of regret.
Brand reputation and corporate strategy are mutually restrictive. As a subsidiary holding an active peace SLA with Kirigakure, if a kinetic conflict erupted, Konoha might still be required to execute token cooperative gestures.
He possessed at least nine distinct operational roadmaps to execute a hostile takeover of Kirigakure! A full nine!
But the bureaucratic firewall was impassable. Hiruzen recognized this limitation; the Will of Fire was a double-edged sword.
Demanding both the moral high ground AND aggressive territorial expansion was mathematically unviable.
Jiraiya's processors were completely stunned. Every pitch triggered a massive spike in his creative algorithms. He felt a literal surge of 'literary chakra'.
Jiraiya had historically run excessive 'Child of Prophecy' simulation loops, an obsession solidified during his global roaming phase.
He observed that regardless of the subsidiary, the standard shinobi workforce suffered severe operational depreciation.
Since no individual entity possessed the bandwidth to patch the system, wasn't defaulting to the Great Toad Sage's predictive algorithm the most logical fallback?
Subscribing to a mystical RNG mechanic at least provided a stable psychological anchor.
"Sensei, which manuscript should I prioritize?"
Jiraiya felt his manipulators heating up, aggressively desiring to initiate the compilation of his next masterpiece.
He ran a simulation: the loyal readers of Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi frantically purchasing his new release, expecting a kinetic-heavy sequel, only to encounter severe 'Serious Literature'. They would attempt to initiate flame wars, but find their logic circuits bypassed by the narrative depth...
Jiraiya experienced a highly twisted, anomalous surge of satisfaction.
I actively desire negative reviews!
"Deprioritize the Kirigakure prototype for now. They remain an allied subsidiary. Utilizing your Konoha credentials to execute that specific PR campaign is suboptimal."
Hiruzen processed the data, suddenly recalling the 'high-potential asset' Tenzo Hyuga constantly referenced in his logs.
Tenzo stated that Kimimaro Kaguya, having downloaded his iteration of the Will of Fire, had matured into a highly optimized operative boasting the strategic vision of a Hyuga Clan Head. He projected massive future ROI from that asset.
"When the optimal window opens, perhaps we can outsource the compilation of this Kirigakure Chunin Xiangzi to Kimimaro?"
Visualizing this scenario, Hiruzen experienced a minor system error, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
A Kaguya clan operative publishing a literary manuscript!
If that data leaked to the global shinobi market, it would trigger a catastrophic, universal paradigm shift.
However, with Tenzo acting as the lead editor, it wasn't mathematically impossible!
"The primary architectural constraint remains the promotion of Konoha's Will of Fire."
Hiruzen stated with severe executive authority. "However, you must strictly adhere to verified telemetry, Jiraiya. Do not artificially inflate the metrics for dramatic effect. The data must survive aggressive auditing by future generations."
Currently, stating that Konoha was the undisputed 'Market Leader' was not an exaggeration.
Given this massive infrastructural advantage...
If Jiraiya compiled absurd propaganda—like 'Konoha cafeteria protocols mandate washing plates thirteen times,' or 'Konoha Genin mix two 50-degree cups of water to generate 100-degree boiling water'...
That would guarantee a catastrophic PR boomerang effect in future fiscal cycles.
Just stick to authentic, verifiable data. The market will organically authenticate Konoha's superiority.
Jiraiya nodded with absolute seriousness, confirming receipt of the directive.
This was not analogous to his casual, low-stakes interactions with female operatives. This required rigorous, disciplined syntax.
"I possess a few localized insights. You may utilize them as optional parameters."
Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe, exhaling a sigh. "If you intend to document the suffering of the shinobi workforce, you cannot merely describe physical hardship."
"You must log the chilling reality of a comrade's headband going cold after they terminate to complete a mission. The betrayal generated by internal boardroom friction over executive power."
"The horizontal scratch on a rogue ninja's headband. The veteran operative entirely deprecated and forgotten by the corporation after losing combat viability."
"You must document operatives who dedicated their entire lifecycle to the village, yet whose ROI was never acknowledged by the board. You must emphasize that shinobi are fundamentally biological entities, not hardware tools. Achieving a systemic patch to their environment is the only viable beacon of hope in an otherwise infinite sea of depreciation."
Jiraiya stared blankly at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Sensei... might actually be a god-tier literary architect tragically misallocated to the Hokage role!
Auditing Jiraiya's optical feed, Hiruzen casually waved his hand, generally decrypting his veteran disciple's internal logic.
Did he truly possess such profound literary chakra?
He had merely leveraged the architectural frameworks of premium literature from a previous lifecycle.
Furthermore, the macro-environment of the shinobi market dictated that the workforce, having minimal exposure to high-tier literary constructs, would not enforce rigorous QA (Quality Assurance) standards.
This granted Jiraiya a massive sandbox for creative execution.
The error margin was incredibly forgiving.
The Humanities and Social Sciences sector was historically a blind spot for shinobi operatives. It was the ultimate Blue Ocean market.
Operatives like Izuna, who possessed even a rudimentary comprehension of gender psychology, were already classified as industry elites.
"Ensure you compile an optimized endgame scenario (ending)."
Hiruzen stated softly. "Whether they are Konoha assets or external contractors, the workforce has already absorbed massive volumes of psychological trauma (knives). Do not release a finalized build that denies them even the bandwidth to simulate a hopeful outcome."
Jiraiya stated with absolute corporate severity: "Rest assured, Sensei! You can outsource this entirely to my directory!"
Simulating his future operational cycle: post-Sage Mode PvP training, functioning as Orochimaru's localized experimental asset, and utilizing all remaining offline cycles to aggressively compile his manuscripts. Jiraiya couldn't suppress a massive audio laugh.
His market valuation to Konoha was astronomical!
Sensei desperately required his bandwidth!
Conversely, Jiraiya authenticated an even deeper comprehension of his Sensei's executive patronage.
Allocating such a massive PR campaign... Sensei refused to append his own signature or outsource it to a third party. He granted Jiraiya exclusive monopoly rights!
It was the pure, unadulterated protective algorithm of a parental unit!
"I will absolutely not default on Sensei's investment," Jiraiya resolved internally, executing a formal, masculine oath protocol.
Several hours later.
Outside the perimeter of the Land of Fire.
High Altitude Sector.
Mu and Gengetsu Hozuki were docked on the flight deck of the Soragakure fortress.
For this operation, meticulously orchestrated by Madara Uchiha, the Soragakure subsidiary had aggressively liquidated its entire reserve inventory, deploying 100% of its kinetic assets on a direct vector toward Konoha.
Standard corporate logic dictated this was a catastrophic strategic error. A functional Kage must always retain a reserve cluster (seed capital) to mitigate the liability of a total operational wipe.
But Madara Uchiha's algorithms operated outside standard compliance.
In his analytics, if Konoha possessed the bandwidth to mitigate this massive Soragakure raid and subsequently optimize the post-conflict logistics...
Even if Konoha executed a hostile takeover of Soragakure's legacy assets, that merely validated Hiruzen Sarutobi's executive competence!
It was market capitalization rightfully earned by the successor to his youthful vision. He refused to allocate processing power to such trivial delta.
However, Madara Uchiha's psychological parameters had undeniably undergone an encrypted pivot.
His initial objective: 'Deploy warfare to force Hiruzen to authenticate the unbreakable supply chain of hatred.'
This was gradually migrating toward: 'Execute a stress test to verify if Konoha's regulatory framework can survive a legitimate, global-tier market crisis.'
This perfectly mirrored the Second Tsuchikage's hypothesis regarding 'Tobirama Senju's' logic.
Or rather, these two algorithms were functionally synergistic and could hot-swap depending on the specific operational parameters.
"Hey, hey."
"I must log this data: factions possessing native flight capabilities possess a massive, asymmetrical market advantage!"
"If you lacked flight algorithms, I would have successfully liquidated your account ages ago."
Gengetsu Hozuki crossed his arms, idling next to Mu, broadcasting his analysis. "Air superiority is a blatant exploit. It completely bypasses all the standard terrestrial rendering limitations."
Mu shot Gengetsu a side-eye, refusing to initiate a flame war.
He didn't possess flight algorithms?
Why didn't Gengetsu also flag his lack of stealth, cellular division, Dust Release, and sensory capabilities?
Absolute noise!
"The global shinobi market is highly complex. Even micro-subsidiaries can compile anomalous, proprietary tech. Arrogance is the root directory of system failure."
"What is the projected status of Kirigakure..."
Mu maintained radio silence, but Gengetsu Hozuki remained un-bothered, continuing his endless audio loop. "Prior to this cycle, did either of us allocate even a single kilobyte of storage to Soragakure? Back then, we barely possessed the ambient data that this subsidiary existed."
"Yet they have scaled their chakra-based ninja tools to this tier? I hypothesize that if any of the Big Five subsidiaries encountered them randomly, they would experience severe operational friction."
Following prolonged cycles of R&D and incubation, Soragakure had compiled a comprehensive 'Air-Land-Sea Integrated Combat Architecture,' functioning on algorithms that closely mirrored modern, information-age warfare doctrines.
Operating from the massive aerial server, the 'Angkor Thom Fortress', supported by three aircraft carriers capable of deploying rapid-response flight units, they established a multi-dimensional offensive and defensive grid.
Furthermore, their CEO, Shinnō, had experienced a massive RNG windfall during the chaotic multi-faction incursions into Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War. He intercepted a fragmented data packet detailing Tobirama's theoretical R&D on negative-emotion chakra.
Leveraging this data, he engineered the 'Zero-Tails'—a proprietary power core that utilized negative emotional output as its primary fuel source.
Interestingly, while Shinnō was an elite asset regarding ninja tool R&D, his actual passion was the aggressive optimization of his own physical chassis.
He possessed 'Body Revival' and 'Body Regeneration' protocols. By synergizing with the Zero-Tails, he could execute an 'Ultimate Body Revival' state—allegedly authorizing him to boot up the Eight Inner Gates' 'Gate of Death' without triggering the automatic self-destruct sequence.
Unfortunately for Shinnō, his ambition for global market dominance suffered a catastrophic crash the millisecond he encountered Madara Uchiha.
Kirigakure's deficit in sensory operatives was flagged by Gengetsu as a critical bug because Kirigakure was classified as a 'Big Five' conglomerate.
To maintain a Tier-1 market valuation, a subsidiary cannot possess glaring vulnerabilities in any operational sector.
But micro-subsidiaries lacked the capital for full-spectrum optimization. Securing a single, anomalous competitive advantage was already an incredibly lucky RNG roll.
Shinnō intercepted a single glance from Madara's Rinnegan and was instantly reformatted into a compliant Genjutsu puppet, with zero personnel detecting the override.
"Highly problematic. Soragakure's hardware configuration is optimized for BVR (Beyond Visual Range) kinetic strikes."
"Leveraging their flight apparatus, their mobility metrics render them virtually un-targetable by standard terrestrial operatives."
Mu paused, finally replying to Gengetsu's query. "Air superiority is a critical vulnerability across all major subsidiaries. This data point specifically drove my R&D to compile the Light-Weight Rock Jutsu."
"Shinobi execute infinite, lethal PvP over minor territorial grids, refusing to yield a single pixel of ground, yet the entire aerial sector remains an un-monetized Blue Ocean market."
"It is a catastrophic strategic failure."
Gengetsu Hozuki nodded in profound agreement. As expected of his ultimate market rival, his strategic bandwidth was immense.
"If Iwagakure could execute a hostile acquisition of these Soragakure ninja tools..."
Mu calculated internally. "The aggregate combat metrics of our mid-tier workforce would scale exponentially."
Gengetsu Hozuki's non-existent brow twitched. "Hey, hey. I recommend you authenticate our current operational status: we are heavily encrypted assets controlled by Tobirama Senju!"
"While that bastard intends to leverage a kinetic raid to force a system reboot in Konoha, he absolutely will not authorize a tech transfer to our subsidiaries. His only directive is forcing these micro-factions to execute the strike."
Mu vented a heavy sigh.
Tobirama Senju is truly a natively malicious, defective algorithm!
To engineer the Edo Tensei protocol and synergize it with remote puppet administration...
This entity's ethical compliance, combat output, and psychological paranoia have scaled to an absolutely game-breaking tier.
"Tobirama Senju is executing a ruthlessly optimized strategy."
"Konoha likely possesses zero anti-air infrastructure. While this payload isn't sufficient to execute a total server wipe of Konoha, if they fail to initiate a zero-latency response, the resulting infrastructure damage will be catastrophic."
"Executing high-altitude kinetic strikes synchronized with amphibious infiltration from the coastal sector... this dual-vector assault is a nightmare scenario for any subsidiary."
"He is genuinely a draconian Hokage!"
Having audited Kirigakure's current degraded state, Gengetsu Hozuki no longer classified 'Tobirama Senju' as a psychotic anomaly.
If Gengetsu possessed the same administrative privileges, he would likely execute a highly similar protocol.
At minimum, he would absolutely deploy to liquidate that defective CEO, Kitori!
"I am highly intrigued to audit Konoha's current rendering."
Mu narrowed his optics. "Tobirama Senju commanded us to maintain standby mode. He likely calculates that active PvP engagement might expose our Edo Tensei signatures—which match his own current spoofed chassis—allowing Hiruzen Sarutobi to decrypt the anomaly."
"It is evident he does not want Konoha to verify that a legacy Hokage is actively expressing corporate dissatisfaction."
Thinking of Hiruzen Sarutobi triggered a minor anxiety loop within Mu.
Hiruzen's onboarding process mirrored Onoki's almost identically.
Both were designated cross-generational successors by their respective founding Kages, yet were forced to execute an emergency corporate takeover following the sudden, kinetic termination of the Second Kage, long before their own hardware had fully matured.
Analyzing the objective market conditions, a newly appointed junior executive requires a massive latency period to consolidate administrative privilege and unify corporate morale.
If Hiruzen's performance was sub-optimal, perhaps Onoki had also failed to patch Iwagakure's oppressive, creativity-throttling HR policies...
"Query: What exactly has Tobirama Senju been processing all these fiscal cycles?"
"I interrogated the Hashirama-cell synthetic units; they maintained strict radio silence. However, I audited several global shinobi archives. The public logs indicate Tobirama Senju was terminated during a peace summit with Kumogakure."
"Specifically, liquidated by the Kinkaku and Ginkaku units."
Gengetsu Hozuki scanned the terrain far below.
"Given Tobirama Senju's paranoid architecture, combined with his mastery of the Flying Thunder God..."
"If the logs stated he was liquidated in a massive, frontal kinetic engagement, I could validate the data. The market is saturated with high-tier anomalies. But claiming an entity of his caliber was terminated via a stealth gank during a diplomatic summit? The logic error is comically massive. The narrative is riddled with plot holes."
Mu crossed his arms. "Would Tobirama Senju ever authorize genuine trust in a Kumogakure peace summit? He would mathematically operate at 120% threat readiness. Under standard parameters, I would find this absurd PR narrative highly entertaining."
Gengetsu Hozuki nodded in agreement. "It is objectively hilarious. The fact that subsequent generations of shinobi failed to flag this data as corrupted proves their analytics regarding Tobirama Senju are laughably superficial."
These two legacy executives had, entirely unconsciously, adopted a 'Texas Sharpshooter' logic fallacy, reverse-engineering their analytics based on the spoofed 'fact' that Tobirama Senju was still active.
They failed to run the simulation where Tobirama encountered an astronomically improbable, 1-in-10,000 wartime coup, or the baseline reality that no biological operative operates with zero error logs.
This merely confirmed that the 'First Darkness of the Shinobi' brand reputation was growing increasingly resilient, fueled by massive information asymmetry.
"My hypothesis: he undeniably sustained critical hardware damage from the Kinkaku/Ginkaku units, but executed an extraction protocol instead of routing back to the village."
Mu processed the theory. "Or perhaps he briefly reconnected to the Konoha servers, extracted his proprietary R&D materials, and opted for offline, localized development?"
"Simultaneously executing an audit to verify if Konoha could scale without his and Hashirama's executive oversight."
"I received intel from Ishikawa-sama that Tobirama Senju's R&D operations were heavily firewalled by the First Hokage and Mito Uzumaki. I had intercepted ambient rumors myself; allegedly, his jutsu architectures were excessively malicious."
Gengetsu Hozuki nodded. "I received identical data from that old fossil, Byakuren. Correlating these vectors, given his obsessive algorithm regarding restricted jutsu R&D, executing a fake-death extraction is highly logical!"
"Tobirama and Hashirama. Those two siblings are truly a pair of deep-sea sharks. One would execute a groveling protocol at the Five Kage Summit to secure peace; the other runs a decades-long fake-death psy-op!"
"And they claim the Uchiha are extreme? My analytics suggest the Senju are exponentially more psychotic than the Uchiha!"
Mu outputted a curious query. "Define 'deep-sea shark'."
"A biological asset that possesses high kinetic yield but catastrophic intelligence metrics. Slicing it for sashimi yields an acceptable flavor profile." Gengetsu Hozuki smacked his lips.
After a brief latency, Mu narrowed his optics. "We have breached the Land of Fire's internal perimeter."
"Current altitude: approximately 1,500 meters. This is the absolute ceiling for Soragakure's hardware. However, it is functionally sufficient. Unless the Hyuga subsidiary is running a 24/7 Byakugan radar sweep, detecting us is mathematically impossible."
Mu squinted. They were currently operating under the 'Dustless Bewildering Cover' stealth protocol. Within the localized barrier, the Soragakure operatives could not intercept their audio output. They were functionally ghost data.
"The Hyuga will never authorize a 24/7 Byakugan sweep within Konoha's internal servers. I am highly familiar with their corporate arrogance; I maintained a relatively amicable networking link with the Kaguya clan back in the day."
Gengetsu Hozuki chuckled. "Those units are exclusively obsessed with their 'Millennium Legacy' branding. Their brand loyalty to Konoha is notoriously weak. I initially ran simulations to see if the Kaguya could poach a few Hyuga assets for my subsidiary."
"The Byakugan possesses the authorization to audit highly classified internal village data. It inherently generates a recursive loop of suspicion and paranoia. Given the massive density of distinct shinobi clans within Konoha, granting the Hyuga that level of surveillance clearance is a political impossibility."
As a former CEO of a multi-Kekkei Genkai subsidiary, Gengetsu possessed deep analytics on this specific HR friction.
"Verified."
Mu nodded, establishing a telepathic link with the embedded White Zetsu. "Transmit a ping to Tobirama Senju! Our payload is primed. Authorize the amphibious units on the coastline to initiate the assault."
Simulating the telepathic capabilities of these synthetic White Zetsu units generated a wave of system-level disgust within Mu.
"It is highly fortunate that the Sage of Six Paths, when transferring this elite R&D bandwidth to Tobirama Senju, also hardcoded this psychotic, paranoid psychological profile. If his cognitive algorithms were stable, Konoha would have established a global monopoly ages ago."
In Mu's analytics, pursuing 'Permanent Global Peace' was an inherently masochistic objective. The optimal strategy was simply to execute a total market wipe of all rival subsidiaries!
Possessing a massive technological lead designates you a genius. Scaling that lead to infinity designates you an incomprehensible lunatic.
Like a swarm of locusts, the Soragakure operatives piloted their aerial hardware, launching from the coastline on a direct, high-velocity vector toward Konoha.
Simultaneously, within the Angkor Thom Fortress.
Soragakure technicians wielded hammers, utilizing a hybrid of archaic kinetic force and modern chakra injection to actuate the launch catapults, deploying operative after operative equipped with aerial wing-suits.
"Anomaly detected."
"Why has Konoha's server size expanded so massively?"
Gengetsu Hozuki and Mu suddenly stalled. As Konoha's perimeter rendered in their visual feed, their optical sensors widened in profound shock.
The village's infrastructure was absurdly massive!
This visual data possessed absolutely zero correlation with a 'depreciated' or 'failing' corporate entity!
Furthermore.
An incredibly high-decibel, piercing alarm abruptly triggered. The entire Konoha server transitioned into 'Active Combat Status' with zero latency.
But Madara Uchiha merely outputted a cold chuckle.
The village's response algorithms are acceptable.
Idling in the Mountains' Graveyard, Madara executed his remote administrative override. "Initiate maximum kinetic output! Empty the payload bays! Primary target: Konoha's R&D Division!"
The hypnotized Soragakure CEO, Shinnō, entirely subservient to Madara Uchiha's background process—
Broadcasted the command for total, unyielding warfare to all units!
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you