Chapter 516: Development Plan for the Land of Flame
"Sasori probably has some unresolved issues, but there's nothing I can do about it."
Kenichi sat in a restaurant chair, waiting for his food.
He was thinking about Sasori.
Kenichi had seen the dream Sasori had fabricated earlier, and he knew the reason behind it.
Sasori had likely seen Chiyo and the puppets she had created to represent his parents, which caused him to break down emotionally. That was probably why he had left the capital of the Land of Flame and come here to become an ordinary shop owner.
His business was not doing well, which was normal.
A puppet shop that only sold small dolls was clearly aimed at children, so it was perfectly normal for business to be poor.
Although the Shinobi World had been unified because of Kenichi, it was still not very prosperous.
People were poor.
Very poor.
Because of that, people prioritized spending their money on food to fill their stomachs rather than on expensive dolls.
So Kenichi figured Sasori would not have any business for a long time.
However, Kenichi had no objections to Sasori's actions.
He had indeed killed Chiyo back then.
Although Kenichi had not intended to do so, in the circumstances of war, people could not hold back.
This was one of the cruel reasons for war.
Kenichi sighed.
It seemed there was no hope of relying on Sasori to help or develop more powerful Gundams in the future.
Sasori's spirit was broken.
In such a state, Sasori would not be able to do anything in the short term.
However, Kenichi did not plan to make Sasori do anything.
While Sasori's strength was good, it was useless against a formidable enemy like Jigen.
To deal with Jigen, only Kage-level experts could act.
Kenichi had only wanted to find Sasori and explain, but Sasori clearly had his own ideas, so Kenichi said nothing more.
"Here's your order, sir."
A waitress approached, placing three bowls on the table.
Two contained dishes, one meat and one vegetable, and the third held rice.
Kenichi glanced at them.
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a strange meat dish stir-fried with unknown vegetables.
Probably just a simple stir-fry.
Kenichi nodded, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat.
As he ate, he pondered.
Amegakure City was considered a large city in this area, surrounded by smaller towns and villages.
Yet even in this large city's restaurant, the food offered was mediocre, and not many seasonings were used.
It seemed to be just as he had thought.
The Land of Rain was relatively poorer.
In the Land of Fire, even street food would have rich seasonings, but the food here in the Land of Rain was blander.
People here seemed reluctant to use much salt, so all the dishes tasted mild.
However, this was the reality for most small countries.
Even though the Shinobi World was now unified, and the entire Shinobi World was one country, regional differences were still very apparent.
The Five Great Nations were the wealthiest, followed by these smaller countries.
Naturally, people's lives would not be too good.
Kenichi was deep in thought.
Such a society was unbalanced.
Too great a wealth gap would create a siphon effect.
People from small cities would be drawn to large cities, and those from small towns would be drawn to cities, forming a vicious cycle.
In the end, villages and towns might be abandoned, with only elderly people unable to leave their homeland remaining behind, while the adults had all gone to big cities to work.
This would not do.
The Shinobi World's productivity was insufficient to support such a situation.
Villages and towns needed people to farm, and the Land of Flame also needed ample food reserves.
Although Kenichi had already developed some high-yield crops, those were from a long time ago.
Kenichi had not focused on this area recently, and he also needed to find a way to solve this problem.
Otherwise, it would eventually become a major headache.
After all, some countries in his previous life had already proven that this situation would definitely occur.
The siphon effect of large cities was very strong, and Kenichi did not want the future governors of these villages and towns to all lose their jobs.
Therefore, a method had to be found to balance the Shinobi World's financial system, allowing small cities and towns to also have their own development directions and plans.
With this in mind, Kenichi continued eating while formulating a plan.
Firstly, ordinary people were very practical.
They valued profit.
Telling them that big cities were not that great and that they should not go was useless.
People would always make judgments based on their own understanding, and then they would be siphoned into big cities.
After all, there were more opportunities in big cities, and more people.
More people meant more chances to meet others, and perhaps even more opportunities.
Small towns were different.
So, if Kenichi wanted to prevent people from small cities from being siphoned into big cities, what he needed to do was ensure that small cities also had their own points of interest.
Something that would make people willing to stay.
Of course, a household registration system would also be needed.
It would be very inconvenient for people from small cities to go to big cities and not get a household registration, which would further limit the siphon effect of cities.
However, the most important thing was still profit.
As long as there was profit, people in small cities would naturally be willing to stay.
However, this task was clearly not easy.
Kenichi thought about it and decided to bring this matter to the conference room in the capital, letting those guys discuss it.
Furthermore, regarding existing benefits, it would also require the support of the Ministry of Finance.
After all, a country's finances were limited.
Even if he was Kenichi, the founder of this country, if there was no money in the national treasury, he could not conjure it from thin air.
Randomly printing money would lead to the collapse of the financial system, turning the world's currency into Zimbabwean dollars.
Kenichi did not want to see such a thing happen, so how to solve this problem needed extensive discussion and decisions based on the situation.
If the Ministry of Finance did not have enough budget, then it naturally could not be solved.
However, Kenichi thought the problem should not be too big.
Because with the war and the confiscation of the Daimyo's wealth, the Ministry of Finance was currently flush with cash.
Kenichi felt that infrastructure construction should also be put on the agenda.
The saying "to get rich, build roads first" was not just idle talk.
The road conditions in the Shinobi World were too poor to allow for rapid commercial development.
Kenichi could only say that the current Land of Flame still had many problems.
But the biggest one was the original land of Sunagakure.
Large tracts of land were desert, which was a huge waste.
Kenichi planned to start desertification control once the uranium ore extraction was almost complete, gradually turning that desert into a forest.
After a period of recuperation, that land would become habitable.
As for afforestation, Kenichi was not bragging, but in the current Shinobi World, apart from Madara, who might have some research on Wood Release, no one else could compare to a single hair on him.
The Sage Art: Wood Release that Kenichi mastered could directly plant a large number of trees in that desert.
The only problem was that Water Release ninja would need to water them frequently afterward.
However, as long as the trees were planted and adequately watered, turning the desert into a habitable city would not be a huge problem.
Thinking of this, Kenichi decided what he would do next.
He planned to go directly to the old site of Sunagakure and start a tree-planting experiment, while also relaxing his mind.
He needed to clear his head so that he could think about how to research Six Paths Mode and how to find the origin of chakra.
Otherwise, merely working behind closed doors would be unproductive.
Kenichi continued eating his meal.
The rice was a bit old and not very tasty, but it was the best rice this restaurant offered.
Kenichi chewed slowly, observing the world.
Although there were more smiles on people's faces, most were still busy working, bustling about as they strove for their own livelihoods and their families' livelihoods.
Kenichi was deep in thought.
There was a huge gap between ordinary people and ninja.
Kenichi's plan had once been to make everyone in this world a ninja, to have everyone possess extraordinary strength.
In fact, Kenichi could do such a thing now.
Genetic editing was already a relatively mature science for him.
Even transforming the entire Shinobi World would not be impossible.
But the problem was that after the transformation, productivity would not keep up.
While ninja were powerful, they also ate a lot.
Looking at those eating contests, ninja almost always won.
Even a young girl like Hinata could eat a huge amount.
So, if the entire Shinobi World were to be filled with ninja, productivity had to keep up.
If productivity did not keep up, too many ninja in the Shinobi World would become a disaster.
Kenichi felt that he still needed to ask the Ministry of Agriculture to find ways to increase food production.
The breeding of poultry, pigs, cattle, and sheep also needed to keep pace.
However, this was clearly not a simple task.
Kenichi could not handle it all himself and could only consider it after Shiori recruited experts from across the Shinobi World.
After finishing a not-so-delicious meal, Kenichi paid and left.
The current prices in the Shinobi World were somewhat strange.
Ninja tools were relatively much more expensive, but the price of food was quite normal.
However, Kenichi had eaten so much by himself, yet he did not feel very full.
He could even eat another identical meal.
This showed how astonishing the appetites of ninja were in this strange place called the Shinobi World.
Kenichi scratched his head, realizing that the selection and breeding of food crops, poultry, and livestock needed to be put on the agenda as soon as possible.
He noted this down to give to Shiori later, asking her to arrange for those experts to do this as quickly as possible.
Kenichi needed to see results quickly.
Otherwise, the Shinobi World would not be able to achieve that simple yet grand wish of everyone becoming a ninja.
After eating, Kenichi immediately boarded an airship and flew directly toward Sunagakure.
He intended to try his previous idea and see whether he could use Wood Release ninjutsu to turn the entire desert into an oasis.
The people of Sunagakure had moved out most diligently.
They enthusiastically relocated, and no one was willing to stay.
This led to Sunagakure, once one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages of the Five Great Nations, becoming a deserted ghost town.
And it was truly uninhabited.
When Kenichi arrived, he saw that a large part of Sunagakure had been buried by sand.
Some shorter buildings now only had their rooftops visible.
Kenichi could not help sighing at this sight.
No wonder the ninja of Sunagakure had wanted to fight their way out and live elsewhere.
Their lives were indeed too miserable.
Sunagakure was simply not suitable for living.
Just look at the sandstorms.
If one were to eat on the streets, they would probably get a mouthful of sand with every bite, essentially eating two meals in one.
Kenichi was also glad that he had not forced people to settle in Sunagakure back then.
Otherwise, those who came here would likely have become an unstable factor for the Land of Flame.
"Forget it. Since this place isn't suitable for living, I'll make it suitable!"
Lightning patterns crawled around Kenichi's eyes.
Vast chakra gathered within him, then transformed into Sage Mode chakra.
At the same time, Kenichi felt this sensation.
He needed to make some changes to his ninjutsu and chakra, but this was clearly not an easy task.
This massive use of chakra was also to allow Kenichi to slowly experience the mysteries of chakra transformation firsthand.
If he could find the original chakra through this, it would be a huge gain.
However, the increasingly vast chakra also made it difficult for Kenichi to maintain.
He took a deep breath, then clapped his hands together.
"Sage Art! Wood Release! Deep Forest Emergence!"
Kenichi shouted with a touch of theatricality.
Immediately, in front of him, an endless expanse of trees burst forth from the desert.
They grew rapidly and directly occupied a corner of the vast desert.
Kenichi looked out and could no longer see any trace of the desert.
Only the sand under his feet reminded him that he was indeed standing in the desert.
However, this section of the desert was now filled with Kenichi's Wood Release ninjutsu.
When the ninjutsu dissipated, these forests would remain, but other means would be needed to sustain them.
Thinking of this, Kenichi continued to gather chakra within his body, forming Water Release.
Countless water vapors surged into the sky, and under Kenichi's control, they transformed into dark clouds, covering the entire forest.
Then, a continuous fine rain began to fall, bringing a touch of moisture to this desolate land.
.....
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