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When Lady Chiyo's eyes fell upon Kakashi, her expression stiffened for a fleeting second.
The two parties followed protocol, exchanging names and ranks, while the Sand's retinue submitted to the standard security sweeps conducted by Kakashi and his team. Once cleared, the procession began its march toward the heart of Konoha.
Along the way, Chiyo took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Kakashi. The topic, almost as if by magnetic attraction, drifted toward the old stories of the Rain Village during the previous Great Ninja War.
If one looked closely, the two sides shared a subtle, jagged history. Take Hanzo of the Salamander, for instance. Though merely the leader of the small Hidden Rain, he was a genuine monster. Before Pain came into his own, Hanzo had once hounded the young Nagato and his peers into a corner—though Danzō's meddling certainly played a role in that tragedy.
During the Second Ninja War, Chiyo had clashed with Hanzo multiple times. In terms of raw power, Hanzo held the upper hand. However, Chiyo was the one who successfully deconstructed his legendary poisons and identified his physical weaknesses. This feat had infuriated Hanzo to no end, leading to a long-standing feud where the two traded venomous barbs and petty nicknames like bitter rivals.
Even the title of "White Fang of the Leaf," held by Sakumo Hatake, was intertwined with Hanzo's era. Back then, when Konoha and the Rain were at each other's throats, the Rain was strategically defeated. Although Hanzo himself was never captured, the war was decided. That eccentric man had a habit of distributing spoils to young ninja and retreating so swiftly it looked as if he were the victor. Both sides ended up loathing him, grumbling curses in unison until Jiraiya eventually arrived on the scene to settle the chaos.
Kakashi knew exactly what Chiyo was doing. She was fishing for common ground, intentionally trying to foster a sense of closeness with Konoha. It was a delicate dance; after all, Kakashi's father was the man who had personally slain Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law. But those were ghosts of the past. If peace could be bought through a signature rather than a blade, Kakashi was all for it. He had never been fond of battle, and he loathed the cycle of slaughter. Had there been no war, perhaps his father would never have taken his own life in a fit of grief and resentment.
As the group moved past the outer perimeter and deeper into the village, Chiyo was struck by a unique aura—a palpable, surging vitality. If she had to describe it, it was like a young sprout that had just burst through the soil, radiating a "ten thousand things competing for growth" energy.
The Hidden Sand, drained by years of constant mobilization, was economically derelict. To keep the lights on, the Sand had been forced to lower their mission standards, taking on dangerous, disreputable jobs just to survive. Under such crushing pressure, the Sand was perpetually shrouded in a metaphorical gray fog. Whenever a real sandstorm hit, the people looked as dim and lifeless as the dust itself.
Konoha was far stronger than the Sand, but it had also borne deeper scars from the war. Chiyo had expected a somber, quiet atmosphere, even with the rumors of Hiruko's knack for amassing wealth. Instead, she found a village transformed. Despite the clouds of war still looming on the horizon, the eyes of the commoners were filled with hope—a genuine longing for the future.
This wasn't something achieved by a simple injection of cash. Curious, Chiyo asked Kakashi for the cause. Following Hiruko's instructions, Kakashi was an open book. He kept the core secrets locked away but shared enough to paint the picture. It was impossible to hide Konoha's massive movements from a woman who had spent a lifetime in intelligence, anyway.
Kakashi pointed toward the sprawling construction sites in the distance. "According to Lord Hiruko's blueprint, Konoha is being partitioned into new sectors. One is a dedicated Commercial District, and the other is a High-Tech Industrial Zone."
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"I'm not entirely sure what the 'High-Tech' part entails yet—it's mostly wasteland and blueprints for now," Kakashi admitted. "Currently, the focus is the Commercial District. They've built worker housing right next to it—dorms for the laborers. I don't grasp the specifics, but that's the gist."
He gestured toward a cement structure rising four or five stories high. Though only partially finished, Hiruko's plan called for it to reach eight stories. The floor plans were incredibly spacious—large enough for a family with three children to live comfortably.
Hiruko wanted the entire world to see that a commoner in Konoha lived better than a minor landlord in any other nation.
For Chiyo, a veteran of a thousand battles and a member of the old guard, understanding these modern concepts was like an elderly person trying to navigate a smartphone. After being bombarded with Kakashi's strange terminology, she only caught the broad strokes.
"Why does everyone seem so... happy?" she asked. "Is it simply because they have work?"
From her perspective, massive construction projects usually drained a nation's strength. Even the elite were struggling to stay afloat; the "little people" at the bottom should have been drowning. In the past, Konoha would have chosen a policy of "rest and recuperation." The Third Hokage was a man of stability; he believed that as long as the fighting stopped, things would naturally mend over time.
But Hiruko didn't think like a feudal farmer waiting for the harvest. As long as he had capital, he was going to pave a capitalist road. He was pushing the village toward trade—specifically, letting the Research Division spearhead commercial ventures. He wanted the people to break free from the shackles of landed feudalism and enter a market society.
Konoha was vast—less a "village" and more a burgeoning metropolitan hub, far larger than it appeared in simplistic scrolls. However, its commerce had never flourished because previous Hokages possessed a "war-only" mindset. To them, being a soldier was the only righteous path; focusing on trade felt almost criminal. Business in Konoha had been a ragtag collection of clever individuals satisfying internal needs, never dreaming of external expansion.
The blue moon had risen, and Hiruko was the one who brought it. He was merely utilizing the mechanics of a free market for now, but in the future...
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed. Claim early access on Patreon: [email protected]/c/wildsparkstudios
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews ignite 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.