Everyone in the room drew a sharp breath after hearing Yuji lay it all out.
The sheer scale of what was being described made their skin crawl just from listening. The mountain ranges capable of blocking major air currents would be extraordinarily wide and massive. Even mobilizing the entire village's ninja force, breaking through them was not something achievable in any short span of time.
And there was certainly more than one such range to deal with. From the Land of Rain's map alone, the areas involved were not small. Setting aside the several other surrounding countries entirely.
And that was only the mountain-breaking component. Planting vegetation was something ordinary people could manage. But redirecting rivers from other countries and reshaping terrain were tasks that unquestionably required specialized ninja to execute, particularly those proficient in Water Release and Earth Release.
Everyone now understood something that had perhaps not been entirely clear before. When the Fourth Kazekage had been trading pharmaceutical resources during the war years, accepting ninjutsu resources from other villages in exchange, part of the purpose had been building up exactly this kind of capability.
The war had also cultivated a substantial number of fighters proficient in various elemental techniques. It turned out those abilities had applications far beyond the battlefield.
"But the development intensity involved here, even relying entirely on the Sand Village's ninja and civilian population, would take many years to complete even stretched out over time. This will require coordination at the national level, not just the village," Chiyo said, her brow furrowing slightly.
The Daimyo's office would certainly cooperate with the Sand Village. But the question was how to get the entire Land of Wind's civilian population involved meaningfully. And the Land of Wind's population was not large to begin with.
"First, the Land of Rain's development side can be handed to Akatsuki. We reach a cooperation arrangement with them, helping with the post-war Land of Rain reconstruction and rebuilding. They will almost certainly be willing to participate, and this solves part of our labor problem."
"On the other side, the village is not lacking in resources right now. The Land of Rain's resources can be used to reach strategic cooperation agreements with the surrounding smaller countries and exchange for financial contributions toward reconstruction. The amount we need to fund from our own treasury directly will not be excessive. Our current pharmaceutical revenue is sufficient to support this."
"As for the domestic portion, the Sand Village and the Daimyo's office will work together on policy. We offer wages to hire citizens to participate in this campaign to transform the Land of Wind.
On one side there is money to be earned, on the other side it is building their own homeland. I believe most civilians will not refuse."
Yuji understood clearly that expecting ordinary people to contribute labor without compensation was never going to work. Only payment would bring results.
"But even so," Rasa, who had been silent throughout, finally spoke up. "If we are paying even a modest wage to every worker, the cumulative total would be an enormous figure. Not to mention we also need to allocate funds for the Land of Rain side. The village's finances would be under serious strain."
The Sand Village's pharmaceutical market share had been cut nearly in half by Konoha's counterfeit medicines. Combined with the general decline in pharmaceutical prices, the village's revenues were nowhere near as abundant as they had been during the height of the Great Ninja War.
"Which is exactly why we urgently need money, and why we need to raise the efficiency of individual labor output," Yuji said, picking up the thread directly.
"The village's new industry is about to go live."
A new industry?
Everyone exchanged glances, not entirely sure what he meant.
Those like Chiyo who had remained in the village throughout had some vague awareness of it. But Rasa and others who had been stationed at the front lines had less of a picture.
"The village has completed research on a gene-modifying injectable medicine that can enhance an individual's physical constitution through injection. At present this is only the first-tier formula, with sufficient safety guarantees. Even ordinary civilians can use it. It will not give them the talent to become ninja, but it will make their bones considerably more durable and raise their baseline physical condition meaningfully."
"For village ninja there is a second formula as well."
"Once these two medicines enter the market, for the entire ninja world they represent a direct means of improving military strength at an individual level. Not just for hidden villages, but potentially enhancing the fighting capacity of an entire nation's general population.
Compared to battlefield-support pharmaceutical resources, this is more direct and more fundamental in its effect. The pricing and the revenue it can bring to the village will be considerably more extraordinary."
Yuji said it plainly.
Everyone in the room narrowed their eyes upon hearing this.
The Kazekage had been quietly preparing another major move?
"Of course, the new industry alone will not be sufficient in the short term. So this time I will personally represent the Sand Village in negotiations with the surrounding smaller nations. We are prepared to offer the construction of pharmaceutical factories in other countries as a condition in exchange for financial contributions.
At the same time, this will allow the Land of Wind and Land of Rain's civilian populations to participate in the industrial production chain and have employment. Their wages will be paid by those other countries."
"What?" Several people stared blankly.
Pharmaceutical factories were the Sand Village's most valuable industrial asset. Why would they move production to other countries?
Helping other nations build pharmaceutical factories would naturally not be refused. Those countries would agree to cooperate for the right price. But would this not effectively undermine the domestic industrial value the Sand Village had spent years building up?
"It would be difficult for me to explain this fully in the time we have right now. But consider the current situation. Konoha's counterfeit medicines have entered the market and are expanding their reach at a pace that is not slow.
The Hidden Stone Village is also consolidating control over raw medicinal ingredient supply. In other words, as the Great Ninja War ends, within a few years our pharmaceutical resources will no longer be exclusively ours. They will gradually shift from being unique products into standardized commodities at stable prices."
"Furthermore, once an industry appears, it always attracts imitators who fragment the market. Konoha was only the first. When I traveled through various smaller nations several years ago, I noticed that a number of them have research capabilities that are not actually weak. Given sufficient time, more and more pharmaceutical companies and organizations will emerge.
At that point, our medicines will be a common product sold everywhere."
"What you need to understand is that the true value the Sand Village holds in this industry has already shifted. It is no longer about monopolizing the research and manufacturing process. It is about the speed of pharmaceutical development and launch.
In theory, to continue generating revenue we should not be relying on any single novel product remaining exclusive. We need to be the ones who, after each new wave of product innovation, get to market first with whatever comes next."
"As long as our research and development speed is fast enough, other organizations can only chase behind us. This is how we guarantee that we are always drinking the first bowl of soup rather than fighting to control the market. We must accept this reality."
"So while our pharmaceutical factories still carry significant value, trading them directly for capital is the optimal approach right now. This way we collect a substantial sum, and the ones who actually get hurt in the process are Konoha."
"After securing a large amount of capital through these factory construction cooperation deals, we can then fully open our existing pharmaceutical research knowledge to the public. Make it no longer secret. Of course this also means selling it commercially. Nations, hidden villages, private organizations, anyone with money can purchase access from us, but all contracts will include binding terms."
"This approach also consolidates the Sand Village's standing in the ninja world and earns us a degree of goodwill and reputation. But more importantly, it earns real money."
"We are essentially harvesting the final profitable crop before the market's shape becomes permanently fixed."
"Because the future is already predictable. If we do not act now, later will be worth even less."
"These two revenue streams, combined with the launch of the gene-modifying medicine industry, should be more than sufficient to support the next phase of national-scale infrastructure projects."
Yuji's thinking was thorough, his plan laid out with absolute clarity. In this moment he looked less like the Kazekage of a hidden village and more like a seasoned and calculating merchant who had been playing this game for decades.
"And the gene-modifying medicine industry will replace our pharmaceutical resource industry as the new engine of revenue generation."
"Opening an entirely new market. Continuing to collect stable returns indefinitely."
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