Chapter 275: This Isn't War, It's Poverty Alleviation
The box of ultimate bliss wasn't even fully charged.
The Grass Ninja Village simply had no other means to counter a Tailed Beast.
Without any surprises, the Grass Ninja Village surrendered.
After Naruto used Sealing Technique to Seal the Chakra of all the Grass Ninja Village's Ninja, he threw them into the Village's prison.
Trembling all over, Karin placed the blood-stained Kunai on the table in front of Naruto.
The office of the Grass Ninja Village leader now had a new owner.
The furniture and decorations that once belonged to the Beast-headed Elders, carrying an old and decaying aura, had been cleared to a corner. The windows were thrown wide open in an attempt to dispel the lingering scent of conspiracy and decay in the air.
Sunlight streamed through the latticed windows, falling on piles of scrolls and files stacked like mountains.
Uzumaki Naruto was bent over the desk, working rapidly, sorting through the Grass Ninja Village's accumulated task records, inventory lists, copies of secret communications with other Villages, and scattered research notes on the box of ultimate bliss from over the years.
He needed to maintain the stability of the Grass Ninja Village before Hidden Leaf Village's main force arrived, and he also had to secure the household registries and various account books first.
"You're back?"
Naruto smiled at Karin, stood up, and walked over to her.
"How does revenge feel?"
"I... I don't know..."
In the past, Karin would have felt exhilarated, but after actually killing a few people, the exhilaration in her heart vanished.
After she finished killing the people she hated most in her memories, only numbness remained in her heart.
Because the thing that had been sustaining her was gone.
This hatred that had supported her for years had suddenly been vented.
The pleasure of revenge was like strong liquor, intoxicating yet fleeting. Once the drunkenness wore off, what remained was a sense of loss with nowhere to land.
She looked at Naruto walking towards her, at the calm, seemingly all-encompassing azure in his eyes, and felt at a loss.
She didn't know what expression to wear at this moment, what to say, or even how to position her arms and legs.
Right now, she was completely at a loss.
At that moment, Naruto moved.
He didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he took out a handkerchief he had prepared in advance from the inner pocket of his jacket.
He raised his hand, his movements natural and gentle, and carefully wiped away the bloodstains on Karin's cheeks with that handkerchief.
His actions were patient and focused, as if he were polishing a precious piece of porcelain.
His warm fingertips occasionally brushed against her skin through the thin handkerchief, bringing a reassuring touch.
The bloodstains were slowly wiped away, revealing Karin's originally fair skin.
After finishing, Naruto withdrew his hand and casually folded the bloodstained handkerchief, placing it aside.
He continued to look into Karin's eyes, his voice soft.
"Haven't figured it out yet? Then rest well and think about it first.
Don't worry, I'll be with you all the way."
Karin stared blankly at Naruto. Behind her glasses, a watery sheen gradually misted in her red eyes.
Her tense body, stiffened from the killing and intense emotions, seemed to soften bit by bit under these gentle words and gaze.
At that moment, outside the office door in the corridor, Uchiha Hikari leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
After Karin entered earlier, she had only pulled the door to, leaving a crack.
Naturally, she could clearly hear what was said inside.
Hearing Naruto's final words, "I'll be with you all the way," a barely perceptible pout appeared on Hikari's always expressionless, exquisite face. A flicker of an elusive emotion passed through her black eyes—something like helplessness, or perhaps a subtle... dismissiveness.
But she said nothing. Instead, she stretched out her foot and lightly hooked the door with her toe.
Click.
A soft sound, and the crack in the door was completely closed.
Leaving the space inside the office entirely to Naruto and the red-haired girl who had just completed her bloody revenge and perhaps needed this peace and acceptance the most.
The corridor returned to silence, with only Hikari leaning against the wall by herself, gazing out the window at the ruined scenery of the Grass Ninja Village, lost in thought.
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The Grass Ninja Village leader's office had now been converted into the Konoha Station Office in the Grass Ninja Village.
The atmosphere inside at this moment was completely different from when Karin had returned earlier.
The sunlight was bright, yet it couldn't dispel the heavy tension lingering in the air.
Nara Shikaku was currently pinching the edge of a thick scroll, his fingertips slightly white from the pressure.
And his complexion was as grim as the scorched earth outside the window that had been swept by the Tailed Beast Ball's shockwave.
His usual composure and calmness had long vanished. His brows were tightly furrowed into a deep 'river' character, and his eyes behind his glasses were fixed on the numbers on the report as if trying to burn a hole through it.
Uzumaki Naruto sat behind the desk, his posture still steady, idly playing with an old coin engraved with strange symbols that he had found in the Grass Ninja Village's warehouse, seemingly lost in thought.
Uchiha Hikari leaned against the window, eyes closed, as if indifferent to the dispute before her.
Karin had changed into clean clothes and was sitting quietly on a chair in the corner, silently pouring tea. Her gaze was somewhat vacant, as if she hadn't fully recovered from her earlier emotions.
Finally, Shikaku let out a long, heavy sigh and slammed the latest comprehensive assessment report on the Grass Ninja Village's assets and liabilities onto the desk in front of Naruto with a loud smack.
He looked up at Naruto, his voice dry from suppression, even carrying a rare, almost anguished tone of accusation:
"Naruto... We can't keep doing this."
Naruto raised his eyes to look at Shikaku, signaling him to continue.
Shikaku picked up the report, forcefully tapping a few key lines of data with his finger, his speech speeding up:
"Look, just look at these numbers."
He flipped to another page, his tone growing more agitated: "And this is only what's on the surface!
The Grass Ninja Village has severe internal deficits. Apart from some old grains and low-quality Ninja tools, there are pitifully few valuable strategic supplies in their warehouses!
They also have a mountain of external debts—owed to underground banks, to merchant caravans from some minor countries, and there are even a few unsettled bad debts from unpaid war reparations!"
Shikaku forcefully rubbed his temples as if trying to suppress a headache: "And that's not all. Since we've occupied this place and nominally taken over the governance of the Grass Ninja Village, according to your 'unifying the Ninja World' blueprint, the subsequent investments will be the real bottomless pit!"
He counted off on his fingers: "First, stabilizing the people and restoring basic order.
We need to send administrative personnel, maintain public security, distribute the most basic rations to prevent famine and riots... All of this requires money! And people!"
"Second, and a key point in your plan.
Building standardized railway tracks!"
Shikaku's voice suddenly rose, "Do you have any idea how much that costs? Surveying the terrain, requisitioning land, purchasing rails and sleepers, hiring workers, subsequent maintenance... It's a monster that devours funds.
The preliminary budget alone is astronomical.
The ten billion ryo the Daimyo of the Land of Fire gave us will barely be enough to plug this huge hole of the Grass Ninja Village, let alone cover other expenses later on."
He slammed the report on the table again, delivering his concluding statement with a tone of near absurd accusation:
"Naruto, this isn't war at all! It's not conquest! It's not expanding territory and profiting!"
Shikaku looked at Naruto and voiced the conclusion that made him utterly frustrated:
"We're alleviating poverty!"
"We've taken down a dirt-poor, debt-ridden, infrastructure-backward, demoralized mess, and now we have to dig into our own pockets, pouring massive resources into building it up, feeding it, dragging it out of the mud."
"This doesn't follow the logic of war, nor does it serve the Village's interests.
Supporting one Grass Ninja Village is manageable, but if we keep conquering like this long-term, Hidden Leaf Village will be dragged down!
Even with the Daimyo's support, the finances can't sustain your rapid pace of expansion."
It only took a day to take down the Grass Ninja Village. Don't be fooled just because it's a small Village; Naruto didn't even use his full strength!
Naruto waved his hand dismissively.
"Why should Hidden Leaf Village repay the debts the Grass Ninja Village borrowed?
If anyone dares to demand repayment from Hidden Leaf Village, I'll put a noose around their neck and hang them from a lamppost."
"If we run out of money, we'll go ask the Daimyo of the Land of Grass for it. The Land of Grass belongs to the Land of Fire now.
I only promised the Daimyo I wouldn't kill other daimyos; I didn't say I wouldn't ask them for money.
And you guys never promised not to kill daimyos either!"
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