After settling a significant matter like the Four Kingdoms Alliance, Senju Tobirama confidently left the village affairs in the hands of Yuya and went to the front line.
Before departing, he also took Sarutobi Hiruzen and Uchiha Kagami with him. When Yuya went to see him off, he couldn't shake the feeling that Uchiha Kagami was being unusually polite towards him, even hinting at a sense of respect. What was happening here? Uchiha Kagami was over ten years older than Yuya; he could even be called "uncle."
Despite his bafflement at Uchiha Kagami's demeanor, Yuya remained steadfast in his plans for the Uchiha clan. After the water plant was established, the Uchiha clan would earn several million taels annually from collecting water fees. They would be responsible for collecting the fees themselves, paying a portion to Konoha as taxes while keeping the remainder.
However, the water plant was short-staffed. The Uchiha clan, which once had members wandering about daily, now found that everyone wanted to split into two shadow clones to keep up with demand. This, of course, doubled their fatigue levels. Overexertion could lead to serious consequences, so Yuya decided against pushing them too hard.
With the water plant in place, the news of the income Yuya had promoted among Konoha's businessmen began to spread. Soon, a small ninja family arrived at Konoha, having heard that newcomers would receive land and food. However, the food was not given freely; they were required to pay it back over three to five years. This policy was not very attractive, and typically only those who were genuinely desperate would come.
Unfortunately, there were indeed ninja families in the smaller countries surrounding Konoha that were struggling to survive. With over a hundred people in their clan and only three ninjas—at most equivalent to Konoha's chūnin level—many would become slaves if they remained outside.
In search of survival, this clan made the journey to Konoha, hoping that the village would provide for them as promised. Yuya was naturally pleased by this development. Although he knew the conditions he offered were not appealing to families that could truly survive, the arrival of these new faces signaled a turning point.
With the first family having arrived, Yuya anticipated that more would follow. He was satisfied with the progress.
Moreover, Yuya's announcement served a secondary, darker purpose. Konoha was situated in the heart of the Land of Fire, where the abundant local resources meant that no one should be unable to survive. Although the daimyo's exploitation was harsh, it wasn't dire enough to drive them to desperation. This was why Yuya did not focus on the inhabitants of the Fire Nation; targeting them could lead to conflict with the daimyo, whose land and resources Konoha also relied on.
The families that struggled and made the arduous journey to Konoha likely included many old, weak, sick, and disabled individuals. The exhaustion from the journey had to be considerable; otherwise, they wouldn't have endured such a long trek. Thus, the initial group of over a hundred newcomers consisted mainly of young and middle-aged laborers.
Konoha desperately needed people. While this group was just a drop in the bucket, they were sufficient to fill a steel factory. However, Yuya had to prioritize filling the manpower for his factories and stores. The factories and businesses established by the ninja clans and merchants would be outside of his jurisdiction.
Yuya calculated that even in an era where life was perilous, and ninjas graduated at the age of eight to enter the battlefield at nine, if children were permitted to join the factories at ten, it would take a decade to cultivate a new generation of workers. In ten years, Yuya was determined to eradicate poverty in Konoha and ensure every household had meat on the table. But who would willingly allow their children to enter factories at such a young age?
The small stall he operated had its advantages, but Konoha's size was a significant limitation. No matter how many strategies he employed, if people did not come to Konoha, there was little he could do.
Inducements would likely not work; those who came were primarily motivated by benefits, and Yuya preferred to reserve those benefits for the residents of Konoha rather than for newcomers.
This left only one other option—public opinion.
In the nineteenth year of Konoha, as the front lines faced a fierce war with Kumogakure, various rumors began to circulate throughout the ninja continent. Why was Konoha so affluent? Why could its people eat meat daily? How did Konoha become the strongest village in the ninja world, unrivaled by others?
These were all facts, but what followed were embellished claims. The air in Konoha was sweet, the moon rounder than anywhere else, and those who came could get rich, find wives, and become masters—rumors that spread like wildfire.
Moreover, this communication method differed from previous announcements, targeting only civilians. By the time other villages reacted, a year would have passed.
In the nineteenth year of Konoha, Yuya upgraded various factories, focusing on improving sewage treatment to the highest standards. Konoha, being a small village, had expanded rapidly over the past two years without proper infrastructure, leading to significant sewage issues.
Some factory workers resisted these changes, complaining that their daily earnings would decrease from 100 yuan to 50 yuan after sewage treatment was implemented. This was the first time Yuya instructed his secretary to enforce a policy strictly.
From this moment on, Yuya, once seen merely as Senju Tobirama's mouthpiece, began to shift public perception within Konoha.
At the end of the summer of the nineteenth year of Konoha, when Kumogakure announced a temporary truce to harvest wheat, Senju Tobirama scoffed, "Do you think I would accept that? You're mistaken. I'm not worried about you; I'm more concerned about Iwagakure's gang of Earth-style bastards sneaking up on us!"
Konoha did not retreat as in previous years; instead, they pushed forward, crossing the Kingdom of Iron and invading the Kingdom of Thunder. The Daimyo of the Kingdom of Thunder grew alarmed. The battles had previously occurred within the Kingdom of Fire, which he could ignore, but now Konoha's encroachment threatened the very treasures of his land!
"No, we cannot allow this conflict to continue!"
While marching, Senju Tobirama discovered a spot in the Kingdom of Thunder where he intended to drink and bathe. After taking a bath, he whimsically practiced a Water Release technique, accidentally uncovering golden sand pouring from the riverbed he had disturbed.
Diving down, he realized that although each piece of sand was small, they were undoubtedly gold. The implication of a hidden gold mine beneath the riverbed thrilled him.
Senju Tobirama hurriedly instructed Uchiha Kagami to return to Konoha and bring Yuya back within three days.
Uchiha Kagami obeyed the command, but upon arriving in Konoha, he was bewildered to see a crowd gathered outside the Hokage's office, holding banners and shouting slogans like, "Strongly protest against the closure of the textile factory!" and "XXX is in arrears of wages! Pay back the money!"
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