Konoha: Rebuild the glory of the Uchiha

Chapter 104 If life is too bitter to bear, you can choose to sell chakra to Konoha.

The next day

The morning sunlight streamed through the window and shone on Uchiha Nan's face.

Uchiha Nan opened his eyes, rubbed them as usual, then walked to the window and opened it. The cool morning breeze instantly woke him up.

The hot springs in Yugakure truly lived up to their reputation. After soaking in the hot springs, Uchiha Nan felt as if all his fatigue had been washed away, and the hot steam made his skin red. After leaving the hot springs, he felt refreshed and lay lazily on the bed, soon drifting off to sleep.

I slept so well!

Uchiha Nan sighed and walked out of the room. The Five Kage Summit wouldn't start until tomorrow, so today was a good day to explore this small ninja village that could be called a paradise in the ninja world.

The ninja village wasn't very large. Uchiha Nan quickly toured the village, just like when he went on a trip in his previous life. The scenery was somewhat interesting at first glance, but after a while, he found it boring.

The village has a fragile business environment, and all the necessities for survival must be purchased from the outside world. In a village full of hot springs, it is impossible to even cultivate the land.

The villagers' income comes mainly from selling local specialties and small handicrafts, mostly in family workshops with outdated tools and low production efficiency.

Uchiha Nan shook his head; the village's economic potential had not been fully realized.

A one-stop shop for bathing and massage, and for an extra fee you can even open a casino on the second or third floor. Combined with the various entertainment resources at Uchiha Nan's disposal, this place might just become the happiest money pit in the entire ninja world.

However, the local customs are still too simple and honest. Uchiha Nan felt it was a bit of a pity.

Uchiha Nan felt he had seen enough of the sights and was about to return to his residence when, as if by coincidence, he saw a figure walking towards him at the intersection.

"What a coincidence, Hokage-sama!"

Mosa pretended to be pleasantly surprised and said to Uchiha Nan that he had been waiting here for half a day and finally Uchiha Nan had arrived.

In Mosa's view, this Five Shadows meeting was just a lot of empty talk. They would sign some peace agreements in a perfunctory manner, but when it came time to fight, they would be ruthless. It was utterly boring.

However, since Sunagakure is one of the five great ninja villages, we still have to come, even if it's just to save face.

Now that he was here, Mosa felt he should take something back with him, and the Third Hokage in front of him was the best breakthrough point.

According to intelligence, Konoha has become incredibly wealthy recently. During the New Year, the entire village was brightly lit and bustling with activity, supposedly because they made a fortune in business.

Mosa recalled the contents of the intelligence report. The intelligence officer had praised Konoha to the extreme in the report, mentioning several times the various benefits provided by Uchiha Nan. The envy, jealousy, and hatred in the text were practically slapped in Mosa's face. The letter frequently mentioned how amazing the Hokage was, and how Sunagakure was truly captivated by Konoha's dazzling world.

If it weren't for the fact that the families of these intelligence agents all lived in Sunagakure, Masa would have even suspected that these intelligence agents were planning to leave Sunagakure and completely surrender to Konoha.

Lord Masa, please stop contacting me. I'm afraid Konoha will misunderstand.

"So it's the Third Kazekage! Nice to meet you!"

Mosa took the initiative to shake hands with Uchiha Nan, intending to curry favor with Konoha.

During the First Shinobi World War, only the Hidden Cloud Village truly wanted to replace the Hidden Leaf Village's position in the shinobi world, and fought against the Hidden Leaf Village from beginning to end.

Sunagakure was just trying to take advantage of this opportunity to follow Kumogakure and gain some benefits. Their plan was well-conceived, but in practice, it was a complete mess.

Konoha recuperated and grew stronger during the era of Hashirama Senju, and by the time of Tobirama Senju, it was at its peak, easily capable of taking on four opponents at once.

The Sand Village was thoroughly thrashed by the Leaf Village and then behaved themselves. Tobirama Senju, that old devil, was ruthless; he used one punch to ward off a hundred.

Facing the weakest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, they truly gave it their all, instantly intimidating the other villages. Only the savage bastards of Kumogakure were truly reckless, engaging Konoha in a war of attrition that lasted for several years.

People still have to face reality.

Even without Hashirama Senju, Konoha would still be the strongest ninja village in the ninja world. Sunagakure had no intention of replacing Konoha; they had had enough of their miserable lives and needed to find a powerful leader.

It's not shameful for Sunagakure to acknowledge Konoha as their elder brother!

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Mosa warmly invited Uchiha Nan to a restaurant on the street for a meal.

Inside the private room

After a round of drinks, Mosa began to complain about the hardships of Sunagakure Village. Located in the desert, with sandstorms everywhere, even getting a drink of water was difficult, let alone farming and developing the village.

The Land of Wind is a land that is simply unsuitable for human habitation.

Mosa took a sip of wine and sighed softly.

If I, Masa, possessed the wealth and resources of Konoha, then the mediocre people of the world would be no threat at all.

Time has passed, and I have yet to achieve anything. I, Mosa, can only work as a gold miner in the desert to support the entire Sunagakure village. Can someone like me really achieve great things?

Which Kage wouldn't want to lead their village to dominate the ninja world and make a name for themselves? It's just a pity.

Uchiha Nan took a sip of wine with Masa. Masa's fate was indeed quite tragic. He worked diligently as a gold miner to support the village for many years, but he didn't even have the chance to retire and live a peaceful life. He was ambushed and killed by Sasori, a traitor in the village.

It's bad enough that the person died, but the corpse was also turned into a human puppet.

That was bad enough. Later, Orochimaru even used the Impure World Reincarnation technique to summon the Third Kazekage to fight the traitor Sasori.

Mosa watched helplessly as her soul and body battled. If Mosa knew her future, she would definitely write a huge, tragic word.

"Lord Hokage, Iwagakure and Kumogakure have always been eyeing Konoha with hostility. They're quiet now, but what about the future?"

Mo Sha's eyes gleamed. Even if he were to be someone's lackey, he would still sell himself for a good price, instead of begging and groveling.

"Yes, I'm worried about that too."

Uchiha Nan feigned a deep sigh, looking gloomy and distressed.

It seems Sunagakure is forming an alliance with Konoha. Uchiha Nan should cooperate, after all, Sunagakure is one of the five great ninja villages in the ninja world. Although it is said to be the weakest of them, it is not their fault. With such a weak foundation, even a god cannot turn the tide.

The Sand Ninja are no weaklings in combat; the harsh environment always forges the strongest warriors.

Konoha also needs allies; it's not sustainable to always fight four opponents at once.

I understand your feigned modesty, and you understand my ulterior motives.

The two of them immediately responded to each other.

"Bang!"

Mosa slammed his hand on the table and started trying to get close to Uchiha Nan.

"The Hidden Cloud Village is a scourge of the ninja world. They were responsible for the First Shinobi World War. They even condoned the rebellion and caused the death of Konoha's Second Hokage, that beast."

"Well said, Lord Kazekage!"

"Let's drink a big toast!"

When two people share a common hatred and happily curse each other, they need to find a target to belittle in order to build a closer relationship. Before they know it, they can be placed on the same side.

"Sunagakure has always supported Konoha's peace ideals. For the sake of peace in the ninja world and for justice, Sunagakure will stand with Konoha at this Five Kage Summit!"

"Lord Kazekage, you are truly a man of great wisdom and righteousness!"

Mosa had a forced smile on his face. Everything was going smoothly, and he had said enough pleasantries. It was time to get down to business.

"I've heard that the Hokage is quite adept at making money. It's embarrassing to admit, but Sunagakure is now running a deficit, and even the Daimyo's budget has been cut."

"During the most difficult times, the children in the village could only eat one meal a day, and the simplest thing was water. This was in Sunagakure."

Masa made Sunagakure as miserable as possible, otherwise how could he ask Konoha for money?

Ding-dong! The long-awaited system notification sounded, another new task has been assigned.

[Long-term mission: As the saying goes, "Heaven's movement is ever vigorous; so should a gentleman constantly strive for self-improvement." Humanity is always struggling against the harsh natural environment, trying to change the ecology of a region to make it suitable for human habitation.]

Task Rewards: One chance to win a gold reward lottery ticket.

A long-awaited golden reward mission has been released.

However, this is yet another extremely difficult task. Uchiha Nan read the task requirements and sighed slightly in his heart.

This mission is clearly aimed at the Land of Wind. The only way to transform the desert into a habitable area for humans is to plant trees and gradually change the surface environment.

The Land of Wind is a country, and transforming the environment of a country requires a huge amount of manpower and resources, and the amount of money required is astronomical.

Although this world possesses extraordinary powers that can reduce some difficulties, ninjas are ultimately human, not gods; their expertise lies solely in destruction.

Even if Hashirama Senju were to be resurrected, it would be very difficult to achieve.

Hashirama Senju could summon Wood Release from thin air and easily create a forest. However, this forest relied entirely on Hashirama Senju's chakra to survive. Once Hashirama released the ninjutsu, he would immediately revert to his original form and become normal again. He needed a lot of water and nutrients from the soil to survive, but the Land of Wind was all sand, with no water and no soil suitable for plant growth.

"Ahem. Lord Hokage, could you perhaps show the compassion of the First Hokage and offer some assistance?"

Mosa coughed, interrupting Uchiha Nan, who was engrossed in the system task.

Uchiha Nan snapped out of his daze and looked at Masa's longing eyes; it was clear he was there to ask for money.

Damn it, you poor bastard!

"Kazekage, Konoha isn't exactly wealthy either."

"You know, in order to win the First Shinobi World War, Konoha almost had to pawn even its underwear."

Mosa, you wouldn't be so shameless as to try and freeload off Konoha, would you?

In the ninja world, the word "ally" is utterly useless. One second they're best buddies, the next they'll stab you in the back.

Little Mustache even signed a non-aggression pact with Poland. Then watch my blitzkrieg against Poland!

Uchiha Nan hates nothing more than getting something for free!

"Kage, let's be frank. Konoha does need an ally, but it doesn't have to be you."

"Aside from those idiots in Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha can all be won over. If you want to get aid from Konoha, you'll always have to pay a price."

Uchiha Nan tapped the table, making his point clear: the time was right, and continuing with polite formalities would be a waste of time.

This isn't wartime anymore; we don't need Sunagakure to help Konoha relieve pressure on our troop lines. Right now, the advantage is in our hands!

Mosa was somewhat helpless. Konoha now had no shortage of people, resources, geniuses, secret techniques, bloodlines, or tailed beasts. The Sunagakure clan only had sand, so what could Konoha possibly have to offer?

We have absolutely no bargaining chips!

But the village was too poor, so poor that they could pee blood. They couldn't rely on Daming at all; they were practically destitute and had to rely entirely on themselves.

"What does the Hokage want to obtain from Sunagakure?"

Since things had been made so clear, Mosa simply let Uchiha Nan state his terms, since they had nothing to offer anyway, and the only good things they had were not something they could give away.

"I'm very interested in the Kazekage's Magnet Release."

"No!"

Mosa showed a displeased expression. Sunagakure has so few good things. Uchiha Nan, you really dare to ask for that much.

Magnet Release is a closely guarded secret technique of the Kazekage, and it would never be revealed.

"How about One-Tail?"

"If the Hokage does not wish to cooperate with Sunagakure, I can leave immediately."

Mosa couldn't take it anymore and stood up, shouting angrily.

What Uchiha Nan wanted was something that Sunagakure simply couldn't afford, nor could it provide!

"Fine, then. This is all the Sand Village has that Konoha would even consider. You won't give me anything I want. I guess it's because your Sand Village has no intention of cooperating."

Mosa was stuck there, unable to sit or leave; he was in check.

He must have been so angry that he said he was leaving. He hasn't even gotten the aid funds yet; how could he possibly leave empty-handed?

"Lord Hokage, Sunagakure is cooperating with Konoha with good intentions. I misspoke just now."

"But the conditions you proposed, Hokage, are far too harsh. I cannot accept them, and neither can Sunagakure."

Uchiha Nan smiled and didn't bother arguing with Masa.

Uchiha Nan knew very well that Masa would never agree to the request he had just made; it was merely a prelude to his later demands.

The most basic negotiation tactic is to propose one or two outrageously bad conditions that the other party would never accept, and then follow up with some other "terrible" conditions, which will then be much easier for the other party to accept.

This is a well-known negotiation technique, but it really works.

"Alright then, I'll tell you some conditions you can accept."

"I don't want the One-Tailed Beast, I want its chakra, or the chakra of a ninja. The chakra battery invented in Konoha requires a lot of chakra as its energy source."

"Of course, Konoha pays for all of this. We'll discuss the specific costs later. Konoha will give you a very favorable price."

"Konoha can't just give you money directly; everything requires an equivalent exchange from you."

To secure the economy of a ninja village, one must first address the ninja's means of survival. Sunagakure is entirely composed of sand, leaving only a handful of ninjas to scheme against.

Masa pondered Uchiha Nan's conditions; if it was just chakra, it seemed like a condition she could agree to.

Ninjas need chakra to complete missions, which not only wastes time but also sometimes puts their lives at risk. If they could make money simply by extracting chakra, it wouldn't be unacceptable. As long as the price is right, all the ninjas in the village would agree.

"I agree to this condition, regarding the price."

Mosa was still haggling over the price; selling chakra was a business that could be done for a very long time.

For ninjas, as long as their chakra isn't completely drained at once, it won't cause any damage to their bodies.

As long as you eat something and rest for a while afterward, your body can generate chakra again. If you recover quickly, you might be able to generate chakra four or five times a day.

(End of this chapter)