Haruki didn't expect things to go so smoothly.
He thought it would take more persuasion.
But upon reflection, it was his mindset from his previous life that was the issue.
He had attended history classes and deeply understood the importance of the military and the necessity of controlling it.
But the Daimyo didn't.
In his understanding, this was a world that valued bloodlines and status.
He was born a Daimyo and would die a Daimyo, and nothing would change that. No one would jump out and shout, "Kings and generals, are they born?"
Not just him, but the ninjas also seemed to agree.
Take Zabuza and Gato, for instance. An ordinary wealthy man like Gato had an extremely arrogant attitude towards Zabuza.
If it wasn't for his resolve to die, Zabuza wouldn't have killed Gato but endured it.
It was simply ridiculous.
You have to know that Zabuza killed his classmates in the exams and even attempted to assassinate the Mizukage.
With such power, he could have just killed Gato and taken his wealth.
Haruki retracted his thoughts. Thinking with the original story's mindset, he could understand the Daimyo's actions.
He only thought that Haruki would provide weapons and instructors, while the command and control of the army would still belong to the Land of Fire.
But he didn't know the horror of military mutiny, nor the power of new ideas.
Haruki left the theme hotel.
After some time, he would take Minato Namikaze to the capital of the Land of Fire.
The reason he didn't go immediately was that the Daimyo needed time to form an army, and Minato Namikaze also needed time to change.
In addition, Haruki had another idea.
He wanted Minato Namikaze to take Mikoto Uchiha and Kushina Uzumaki with him.
And he informed the people of the Hidden Cloud Village.
According to the current timeline, it was about time for the event where the Hidden Cloud Village abducted Kushina Uzumaki.
In the original story, it was Minato Namikaze who rescued Kushina Uzumaki.
He wanted to add Mikoto to see if she could awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
In terms of age, she was already old enough, seventeen this year.
Haruki vaguely remembered that Itachi Uchiha awakened it around the age of thirteen.
But just being kidnapped wasn't enough stimulus.
Haruki planned to fake her death with Minato.
"Minato."
Haruki knocked on the door and said, "At three in the afternoon, the teacher will treat you to tea."
"Huh?"
Minato poked his head out in confusion. Haruki had never invited him for afternoon tea before.
"Come to my place."
Haruki didn't explain much.
Minato nodded, closed the door, and followed him home.
"Have a taste."
Haruki served a plate of bright-colored pastries and poured him a cup of tea.
"Thank you, teacher."
Minato felt a bit uneasy. It seemed to be the first time he had tea alone with Haruki. Previously, at least Mikoto and Kushina were there.
He picked up a pastry, ate it in a few bites, then picked up the teacup and took a few sips.
"Teacher, if you have something to say, just say it."
Minato couldn't bear the strange atmosphere and quickly asked after wiping his mouth.
"Alright, it's about the Twelve Guardian Ninja and the new army instructors of the Land of Fire."
Haruki explained the details of his deal with the Daimyo and added, "Your current strength is already at the Jonin level, and with the war over, there will be a period of peace, so I hope you can go to the Land of Fire."
If he remembered correctly, there was a buffer of several years between the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, and such an opportunity shouldn't be wasted.
Minato was clearly surprised.
After listening to Haruki's words, he fell into deep thought.
From the description, his task was actually quite heavy.
Turning this new army of the Land of Fire into the Natsu Organization's army was not an easy task.
He had to outwit the Daimyo and the nobles while gradually unifying the new army's ideology.
But Minato wasn't a ninja who feared difficulties.
In the original story, he almost single-handedly changed the outcome of the Third Shinobi World War. In terms of strategy and ability, he was definitely among the top.
Without the knowledge of his past life, Haruki couldn't compare.
After all, he was just an ordinary citizen of a flower-growing country.
All he had learned came from school.
"I can try." Minato scratched his head. "But I can't be sure."
"If you had agreed one hundred percent, I would be more worried."
Haruki looked at him and said with a smile, "If you fail, don't blame yourself. I'm just trying."
"Okay, teacher." Minato breathed a sigh of relief. Since the teacher said so, he had no worries and could give it his all.
"Yes, while we have time, let me tell you about the military. First, the training methods..."
Haruki went through his knowledge, part of which came from his university military training, and part from movies and TV shows he had seen.
Unlike ninja training, the most important thing for an army was to follow orders.
In his opinion, ninjas were like special forces.
Of course, the discipline of ninjas in this world wasn't as good as those in modern armies.
Minato listened to Haruki's strange training methods. If it wasn't for his trust in Haruki, he would have thought the person was crazy.
Could simply lining up and shouting slogans train an army?
He couldn't understand.
But the teacher was probably right.
He had learned the truth through practice.
If he refuted something just because it was different from his understanding, his progress would be limited.
Minato's approach was to learn and try to improve it.
Just like after learning the Flying Thunder God and Rasengan, he started thinking about how to combine them better and develop more moves, oh no, jutsus.
"After talking about the army, there's one more thing."
Haruki hesitated. Planning Kushina's kidnapping naturally made him feel most sorry for her.
He didn't want this cute disciple to suffer such hardships.
However, she needed something special to notice Minato's excellence and feelings.
Actually, she should have sensed it, but she couldn't tell if it was friendship or love.
And another reason was the ridiculous way the Mangekyo Sharingan awakened.
It had to witness the death of a loved one.
Based on Mikoto's character, it had to be her parents, Kushina, Minato, or himself.
But Mikoto knew that Minato and he had the Flying Thunder God technique, which could easily raise doubts.
"This time, when you go to the capital of the Land of Fire, I want Mikoto and Kushina to go with you."
Seeing the joy on his face, Haruki couldn't help but smile, "At the same time, I want you to do something for me."
In Minato's slightly stunned state, he explained his plan.
Actually, it was quite simple.
He would leak Kushina's whereabouts to the Hidden Cloud Village spies.
Based on the performance of the A-B combination last time, they were very interested in Kushina, but she had always been in Konoha.
Now that she was heading to the Land of Fire, there would be many opportunities along the way.
"Don't worry, Kushina won't be harmed, just a little scared."
With the Sage Body and Sage Mode, Haruki had the confidence to say this.
Minato nodded slowly.
He wasn't a stubborn person.
If the final result was as Haruki said, he was naturally willing to cooperate.
"Minato."
Haruki patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "If things go wrong, as a disciple, you have to take more responsibility."
"...?" Minato was stunned.
Passing information without any flaws to the Hidden Cloud Village spy wasn't an easy task.
First, you had to have the ability to find out who the spy was, which was quite difficult.
Second, you couldn't arouse suspicion and make the spy believe they had obtained very important information on their own and pass it on to the higher-ups.
Usually, Haruki might worry about this.
But he found that the disbandment of the Root was a big help.
Now, Danzo Shimura was extremely resentful, and casually leaking Konoha's confidential files was very reasonable.
Haruki sent off the resentful Minato Namikaze.
Thinking about the future double beating he would get from Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha, he finally understood that the role of a disciple was to take the blame for the teacher.
"Minato, come again for tea next time."
Standing at the door, Haruki said slowly.
Minato's body trembled and disappeared directly. After this afternoon, he might have developed a shadow over tea.
Haruki couldn't help but laugh.
It was really interesting.
He looked at the time and sent someone to notify Hira Shinsi.
Haruki sat on the sofa again and reheated the cold tea.
A few minutes later, Hira Shinsi appeared in front of him.
"Sit and have some tea."
Haruki pushed the teacup in front of him.
"Thank you."
Hira Shinsi was slightly stunned, took it, drank a sip, and asked, "Lord Haruki, why did you call me?"
"How is Danzo Shimura now?"
Haruki didn't answer directly and asked about Danzo's situation.
"He has temporarily reined in his wings."
"That's within expectations."
Haruki tapped the teacup. Despite all the evil deeds Danzo had committed, when it came to Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi could firmly suppress him.
After the public spectacle, Danzo's reputation took another hit.
Although it wasn't great to begin with, it wasn't this bad.
Konoha definitely doesn't want to see Danzo causing trouble again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the opportunity to keep him in check.
Otherwise, with Danzo's personality, he would have already started retaliating.
What Haruki did was certainly secretive, but with Danzo's abilities, finding some clues wasn't very difficult.
"The Root should know about the spies within Konoha, right?"
Haruki asked again.
Spies don't necessarily get eliminated.
Playing spy games is quite common.
"Yes." Hira Shinsi nodded, "Although the Root is officially disbanded, it still has lingering connections and hasn't completely disappeared. All the information is well-preserved."
Haruki smiled. In a sense, the ANBU and the Root share the same origins. Without reforms in the ANBU, the Root will continue to survive.
Especially with Danzo Shimura still around, the Root couldn't truly disband.
"I have a task for you: relay information to the spies from the Hidden Cloud Village and ensure it reaches their higher-ups."
"Understood." Hiratsuka responded without hesitation.
"Casually let slip that Kushina Uzumaki will soon be heading to the capital of the Land of Fire on a mission."
"Got it."
Hiratsuka didn't ask why he needed to expose Kushina's whereabouts.
His training in the Root had accustomed him to following orders unconditionally.
Changing that would take time.
But he trusted Haruki.
Not revealing the reason naturally had its purpose.
He didn't stay any longer. After finishing his tea, he left and returned to the Root to find his target.
Haruki pondered for a moment.
Honestly, he shared Minato's concerns.
He couldn't predict what would happen once Mikoto and Kushina found out about this.
But in this world, without strength, you can't move forward.
Especially for Mikoto, who has a lot to shoulder in the future.
A somewhat hesitant Fugaku, two troublesome sons, and a group of proud clansmen.
Without the Mangekyo Sharingan, it would be difficult to participate.