And similarly, the Land of Water had no reason to refuse the same strategy. Especially after seeing the Land of Wind sign an agreement with Konoha and reap benefits first, the Land of Water was understandably anxious.
The anxiety was palpable.
Especially with the Second Mizukage, Kito Gengetsu, and the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, on the front lines. Kirigakure, led by families like the Minazuki, was far from the reckless, bloodthirsty ways of Gui Lan Huanyue. These ruling families would undoubtedly prioritize securing benefits first.
Konoha's offer of benefits was too tempting to ignore.
Even the strongest powers couldn't resist it.
Of course, no one would oppose this, since the deal was highly advantageous.
In comparison to the Land of Wind, which had relatively little to offer, the Land of Water could do far more. Its market was much larger, and there were many merchants in the Land of Water.
The potential of the market speaks for itself.
When a market grows large enough, if you don't open it willingly, other nations might use military force to do so. But the Land of Water had never encountered someone like Youya, who laid out all the benefits clearly in the agreement. In short, the Land of Water had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
With the Second Mizukage away at the front lines alongside the Second Tsuchikage, the governing families of Kirigakure handled village affairs. These families were not about to make decisions out of pure loyalty to Kirigakure. They would look after their own first.
Youya laid out a three-step plan for Kirigakure. Step one was to open up the market, which was already accomplished with the cooperation of the ruling families.
Step two involved industrial development. Youya planned to open various factories—canning, ham, and cola plants—though these were supplementary. The priority was factories that could bring in substantial profit and strengthen the nation. These included steel, construction, and chemical plants.
In this world, there didn't seem to be any oil, but had there been, it would likely have been in the Land of Wind (due to the stereotype that deserts and oil go hand in hand, although that's not always true). If there had been oil, the Land of Wind would have thrived.
Alas, that was not the case.
Having no oil meant one less reason for world conflict.
Youya treated Konoha's merchants exceptionally well, offering them generous subsidies—on the condition that they export goods from Konoha. If Konoha's factories could meet the village's needs, then that was all well and good. But Youya knew that markets would develop, and if Konoha didn't claim those markets first, local merchants would take over.
This was unacceptable to Youya.
He had invested heavily in opening up the markets of the two nations, offering substantial benefits in the process. He had even exchanged 50 kilograms of gold on the black market to maintain this initial phase of spending.
Youya didn't dare inform Senju Tobirama about this. If Tobirama knew, he wouldn't necessarily stop Youya, but he would likely insist that a portion of the gold be used to support frontline ninjas.
It's not that Youya didn't want to support the frontlines, but he believed resources needed to be managed carefully. If everything were spent now, what would they do later?
Fortunately, when winter came, the warriors of Kumogakure once again engaged Konoha, leaving Tobirama too busy to handle village affairs.
Tobirama entrusted the village's financial matters to Youya, with Uchiha Kagami assisting. Tobirama then departed for the front lines.
Incidentally, Uchiha Kagami now knew that Youya was the mastermind behind the construction of the Wetland Bridge, a project that had astounded him. The wetland around the bridge now provided Konoha with bountiful resources every autumn, including fruits, herbs, and a variety of animals—all of which served as food.
At this stage, the people of Konoha had enough to eat, but for Youya, it wasn't nearly enough.
For someone who remembered the abundance of his past life's country, this situation was unacceptable.
In his previous life, people ate meat with every meal, and while that may not have been realistic yet, he at least wanted Konoha's citizens to have meat once a month.
Ultimately, Youya's goal was to ensure that everyone in Konoha could eat meat with every meal. However, this was a lofty ambition for now.
Still, Youya had a proactive mindset. If pork, beef, or lamb wasn't readily available, fish could be substituted.
The first shipment of 3,000 kilograms of fish, traded with Kirigakure, had already arrived by sea.
This shipment was enough to feed Konoha's people for a week.
Naturally, the ship from Kirigakure didn't return empty. After the fish were unloaded, the ship's water tanks were emptied, the vessel left to dry for a few days, then coated with tung oil before being filled with goods from Konoha.
The first goods were always Konoha's clothing.
Thanks to trade agreements, the price of Konoha's clothes in Kirigakure was the same as in Konoha. Given the vast difference in quality between Konoha's silk garments and Kirigakure's linen and grass-seed fabrics, merchants naturally preferred to buy from Konoha.
Youya also initiated large-scale silkworm farming in Konoha, moving away from the previous model where individual households raised small quantities of silkworms. Instead, dozens of female workers were employed to farm silkworms collectively. Each worker was assigned a few mulberry trees and would turn in a portion of the harvest, keeping the rest for personal profit.
These workers labored diligently.
Compared to the silk garments produced in Konoha, the linen clothes made in Kirigakure were no match.
Seeing the clear difference in quality and comparable prices, Kirigakure merchants naturally chose Konoha's products.
Youya also opened several distilleries.
Yes, even brewing alcohol could be industrialized.
When Tobirama heard this, he was stunned. Wasn't brewing just a matter of throwing ingredients into a pot and waiting? How could this be turned into a factory?
Not only could it be done, but the output was immense.
Had it not been for concerns over grain shortages, Youya would have expanded production tenfold.
And there were distinct advantages.
Kirigakure's humid environment made silk clothes highly desirable, and the people there also craved strong alcohol to combat the dampness in their bodies. However, Kirigakure's local alcohol was sweet and weak, closer to fruit wine than anything else.
Now that Kirigakure was trading with Konoha, they found that Konoha had everything they wanted.
As a result, Kirigakure's local clothing and alcohol industries began to suffer due to the competition from Konoha. In contrast, Konoha's factories thrived. Kirigakure had even set up a knockoff cola factory, but they branded their drink "Happy Water."
With these moves, Kirigakure's economy visibly improved.
The Second Mizukage, engaged in intense battles with the Second Tsuchikage on the front lines, was pleased with his village's newfound prosperity.
However, he failed to notice that the real beneficiaries were the ninja clans of Kirigakure, while ordinary citizens merely got by.
By the following year, in the spring of Konoha's 18th year, the war had been raging for nearly a year. The conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure had lost some intensity, but the battle between Iwagakure and Kirigakure had only escalated.
More and more ninjas were sent to the front lines.
Until, at the end of that summer, the Second Tsuchikage and Second Mizukage perished in a mutual death.
* * *
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