Sakura Haruno Journal Entry 001
April 8th, 1932
This is Sakura Haruno, Genin Third Class, Second Class Field Medic, Konoha Special Forces. And this is a record of my experiences as a genin for the Fire Republic's Special Forces, or ninja. There is a long history of controversy over our modern day language and a great deal of word lineages, particularly with the strange fusion of so many different words that seem to be from entirely different families. It is something that has perplexed scholars all over the continent, and may very well continue to do so. Ninja, however, has a very simple meaning no matter who you ask:
Warrior. It used to specifically mean stealth operatives on assassination-type missions, but as the power and versatility of chakra expanded, so too did the roles under which soldiers performed missions as "ninja". However, not all ninja-based techniques (usually called "spells", though I find the use of such an archaic term inappropriate) are for destructive purposes alone.
Chakra's healing properties and the ability of chakra-sensitive to map out the energy pathways within the human body, and determine how various disruptions in that flow related to various injuries or ailments, has resulted in a medical revolution the continent-over. The ability to change the properties of various materials using chakra, and being able to manipulate and store it in manual ways through the use of seal interfaces has pushed our technology to levels unthinkable even a decade ago. And the concept of chakra-seal-based "computing", creating machines that can perform dozens of calculations per second, has opened up a whole new frontier of possibilities for what we can do with mathematics, physics, chemistry, even aeronautics.
So, I wanted my team to begin recording their experiences and thoughts and impressions in such an exciting time in our history. Not to mention an uncertain one.
You see, almost two decades ago, the Great War was fought. Some have referred to it as Ninja War 3 or even posited that it was the Fourth Grass Country War. But officially according to the Fire Republic's Niin (A/N: "Legislative Body") Library, it is defined as "Continental War 1". The '1' is a bit ominous, as though the Republic Military expects another one.
Right, off topic. Anyway, what happened was that Earth Country had become an unstable nation, and had broken apart into several smaller countries that had once been independent until the rise of Sung the Terrible, an Earth Country dictator who had united over two dozen different nation-states into the present-day Earth Country. Among these countries was Grass Country, which immediately petitioned the Royal Wind Empire for assistance. Given that Grass Country was strategically located between the Fire Republic, Wind and Earth countries, The King of Wind Country agreed. It was expected that a show of force by the Empire would make Earth Country back down. It didn't-Their lord in Tsuchiku, their capital city, needed to show he still had power even with his country crumbling around him. So he launched an assault upon the Wind Empire bases in nearby Bird Country.
Unfortunately, his over-eager troops also struck and sacked Rain Country, which was an ally of Lightening Country's, which brought them into the war too. The Fire Republic attempted to stay out of things, but as we were providing material support to the Wind Kingdom via the sea routes, and Water Country decided to enter the war against Wind in order to have lucrative sea routes under their control thanks to Lightning's support. So, they attacked a Fire Republic Naval Base that was sending supplies to Wind in an unprovoked surprise assault. After two years, it was this that got the Republic into the war, as well as our allies Wave, Bear, Flower, and Snow Countries.
Suffice it to say, we won. Earth and Lightning agreed to an armistice, Grass Country was granted independence, and Water switched sides, causing the Lightning Navy to launch a truly horrific assault upon their shores before the war ended.
After all that, however, every country had more than a small amount of war debts. The Republic tried to counter it by going off the gold standard and using it's own currency with the concept of credit to strengthen the economy and allow nations caught up in the war to rebuild. And this worked for almost a decade... Until the debt apparently caught up.
Earth and Lightning had been allowed to invest in the Republic's economy and had been granted some loans to rebuild from the damage to their infrastructure-The feeling being that they would be less inclined to attack us if we helped them recover from the war. However, Water Country and the Wind Kingdom, among other nations, exacted a heavy toll against Earth Country in the form of war debts, which crushed the fragile economy of Earth and sent them spiraling into a depression. When this happened, much of the loans granted by Fire to Earth couldn't be paid back, and with so much credit debt racked up in the decade following the war, the markets couldn't keep up. It didn't help that Water went through another civil war and the Wind Kingdom's own debt wiped out their currency.
In layman's terms, the Republic had gotten the other countries on the continent to try and spend their way out of their war debts, and it backfired horribly on all of them.
Only the ninja villages are thriving, thanks to the fact that we remain independently governed. And while the Fire Republic's economic fall caused us some harm, we're still in far better shape than even a number of larger countries. The Fire Republic has been investing heavily in the Self-Governing Region, and paying for more and more ninja missions of a civilian nature to try and recover from the Depression.
This is why it's such an exciting time, and such an uncertain one. The countries look to various individuals, groups, and even concepts to save them from their economic woes, and in the case of Earth and Lightning, to make sense of their anger and resentment at how they've been treated following the Great War. For the Fire Republic, they've looked to our new President, Urashima Ken, and Konoha for their salvation. The president really is a great man, so inspiring, so brave, telling the people and more than that, acting to restore people's faith in themselves and to invest in the Republic.
Some call him a Collectivist, or perhaps a dictator lurking behind his cheery smiles, but I don't think that. Governmental power is like fire-You have to be careful how you use it. Too much and you burn, too little and you freeze, and how much you use depends on the temperature around you. I mean, this isn't Water Country, where their Daimyo can have you shot just for criticizing the food at his favorite restaurant!
This is Fire Country, or Hi no Kuni in the old language! The Republic! If you think you're being oppressed then by all means, leave. You can leave any time you like. The fact that you don't says quite a bit more, in my opinion!
Speaking of which... I will admit, I am fond of Sasuke. Or was fond. Learning of his sensibilities regarding the Republic, of his black and white view of things has tempered my... Well, "love" is probably too strong a word now. "Affection" is more accurate. But he can be so stubborn and pig-headed!
Really, all over a war fought long before he was born! You think I still hold a grudge against blonde-haired people for being annoying (like a certain someone I shall not name because I am SO a better person than him!)? No!
... Okay, I might hold a grudge against her for other reasons, but it's not because of a war that happened almost a century ago!
Honestly, he paints the Republic in such a bad light! Here's the real story:
The Republic was formed in a relatively uninhabited section of the continent, and we grew and expanded out westwards thanks to land purchases and simply claiming land that wasn't occupied. The West became very independent-minded-Or at least, the various land barons and powerful upper-class families who moved out West to have their own power bases and to exploit the raw materials out there did. They supported a sort of serfdom for lower-class families and people who moved out there, basically letting them lease parts of their lands and paying most of what they made back to their landlord! In many cases if the people couldn't pay they became indentured servants! Slaves by any other definition of the term! There were laws regarding indentured servants, but the landlords managed to find loopholes in them. Heck, numerous ninja clans suffered under systems like this, with powerful ninja clans (LIKE the Uchiha, thank you!) having more than a few "subsidiary" clans.
The Federal government finally grew strong enough to begin building railroads right across the country, and began pushing for more Federal oversight of the Western territories and provinces, in order to establish better conditions for everyone. The West claimed that they could get their technology and conditions up just fine, without government intervention. They argued that after enough time, the economy and technology would improve to the point serfdom would become obsolete. Some also argued that exploitation was not inherently evil-The people may not have been getting what they deserved, but they were better off than they would be otherwise. The provinces in the West had strong representation in the Federal Niin, and supported their practice of serfdom. But eventually, President Takashi Umino was elected, on a strong anti-serfdom platform and Pro-Federal expansion platform. The West retaliated with secession, and the Civil War was on.
Sasuke likes to romanticize his family's history, and I don't blame him in some ways-Madara Uchiha was a brilliant military leader and a surprisingly moral one despite some of the Federal propaganda printed at the time. But you can't just whitewash the past to suit your own purposes!
It is my hope that my journal will portray a more complete picture of this time in history than my teammate's will. One viewpoint shouldn't dominate all other thought. And really, there needs to be more than Naruto's simple "Both sides were assholes, and both sides were awesome" and Sasuke's ranting about the evils of the Federal Government. Honestly! It's like I'm the only one with any sense.
This is Genin Third Class Haruno, April 9th, 1932. Whoever reads this in the future, I hope you have gained something from it.
Shannaro!