Naruto: Starting from Eating the Gold Fruit

Chapter 72 Umino

You Ya deeply understands that while technology is important for economic development, population is even more important.

Especially now, when it is necessary to extract resources and lay a solid industrial foundation.

Putting everything else aside, the most fundamental requirement for any industry is simply a road.

What's the use of having a lot of resources if you can't transport them out?

Do we need manpower for road repairs? Absolutely.

Do other factories need people?

Yes, it's necessary...

You Ya sometimes feels helpless, wondering if he's taking too big a step. With a population of less than a million, he wants to lay the foundation for industry, open factories, and build roads...

We don't have enough people!

That's not enough!

Many factories are now practically fighting to recruit workers.

This is just the factory! Yuya even plans to build a road that runs through the entire Land of Fire!

How much manpower and resources would that take?!

We absolutely can't leave it unrepaired! Without repairs, it'll take almost half a month for supplies to get into Iwagakure! Repairing it will cut that time in half!

Cut it in half!!!

Once the internal strife within the Hidden Cloud Village ends, Yua will definitely seek cooperation with them. The specifics of the cooperation will be discussed later. The Land of Lightning, that great traitor, has its own abundant resources—grasslands, pastures, cattle, and sheep—Yua is always craving them. That road will definitely need to be built then.

Sunagakure Village?

Okay, once I finish repairing these two roads, it'll be your turn. Don't rush, be good and don't rush.

In short, Youya now lacks the manpower to repair the road.

If only I had known, I would have kept the construction team afloat after the roads in Konoha were paved! They couldn't have disbanded them!

As soon as they shut down those factories, they rushed off to recruit people.

It's said that some factory owners even used a honey trap, promising to marry their daughters to three men—three skilled but dim-witted men—and lured them into signing contracts. Then the story came to light. Can you believe how messed up this whole thing was…

Ya-A is so angry!

But there is no way.

We're short-staffed! What do you suggest we do?

If things don't go well internally, then we have to look to external sources.

If refugees come to Konoha, not a single one of them can die!

Those who can overcome countless difficulties to come to Konoha must be in good health; they just need some rest and they'll be ready to use again.

These are all resources!

Therefore, Youya gave the order.

The patrolling ninjas are organized in small teams. If they see a group of refugees, they bring them back safely.

After that, money was given according to age: 10,000 taels for those under ten years old, 20,000 taels for those eleven to nineteen years old, 50,000 taels for those twenty to thirty years old, 30,000 taels for those thirty-one to forty years old, 20,000 taels for those forty-one to fifty years old, and 10,000 taels for those fifty-one years old and above.

I don't believe you ninjas didn't put in the effort.

As it turned out, the announcement of the decree, which Yuya said would be temporarily maintained for one month, caused a stir among some ninjas.

That's all money!

And so, this scene unfolded.

Three ninjas led Musashi Umino and more than a hundred others to the special registration office outside Konoha's outer city.

One of the ninjas stared wide-eyed at the sight: "Holy crap! Kojiro, how many people are there? Dozens, right?! You've struck it rich, kid!"

Kojiro laughed and urged the other party to register quickly.

Registered ninjas also receive a commission, though not as much as Kojiro, but more than one team registers each day.

So he was quite satisfied and quickly registered the names, ages, and disabilities of each refugee before preparing to welcome the next group.

"By the way, are you guys hungry?" Kojiro asked Musashi Umino in a very good mood.

It's no good if he's in a bad mood; Umino Musashi and his group of over a hundred people have at least three million taels of silver in income.

Although the money was intended for the entire squad, Kojiro would still get over a million if split equally.

That's equivalent to more than a month's salary normally.

Kojiro would never do something like giving money to his teammates.

After all, his family wasn't exactly wealthy; he was just an ordinary ninja. He knew he couldn't go too far in his actions, otherwise it would be embarrassing if he couldn't find any teammates when the Hokage's office came up with any proposals in the future.

He knew perfectly well that two ninjas who were usually stingy and always pocketed the benefits had no one willing to team up with them this time, thus missing out on a great opportunity to make money.

There are still twenty-odd days left. If he can get a team like this every day, wouldn't he earn the equivalent of two or three years' worth of money in just one month?

While Kojiro was lost in his fantasies, Musashi Umino was quite surprised. Did the ninjas of Konoha actually get meals? That's really nice.

He rubbed his hands together and said, "This, this is so embarrassing. There are over a hundred of us, more than a hundred mouths to feed."

Kojiro snapped out of his daze and realized that Musashi Umino had misunderstood. He quickly said, "It's not that I invited you. Konoha has soup kitchens specifically for refugees like you. Please come with me."

Just kidding. With over a hundred mouths to feed, if they eat too much, he'll lose a third or even half of what he earned today.

Kojiro led Musashi Umino and his group to a porridge shop.

The porridge shop owner, seeing the huge crowd, was immediately filled with envy: "Kojiro, you son of a bitch, you really got incredibly lucky! Most people bring a few, maybe a dozen, or at most twenty or thirty. You brought over a hundred this time? How much the hell did you make?"

Kojiro wasn't angry when he was scolded, after all, he had indeed made a huge profit.

And he knew the other person: "Hahaha, Uncle Gen, lucky you, lucky you, hahaha~"

The uncle serving the porridge shook his head and sighed, "If only I were a ninja, such a good thing... why doesn't it fall into my lap?"

Kojiro chuckled and said that after delivering the person to the soup kitchen, the rest was no longer his concern.

He planned to take his two team members out on patrol again.

Although it took several hours to bring these hundred-plus people to Konoha, and it's already afternoon, who would want to rest when there's such a good thing? They'd rather sleep outside the village.

This is like the Naruto mobile game developers suddenly going crazy one day and announcing that consuming stamina will reward you with more coins, and the more you consume, the more you will receive, while the price of buying stamina will not increase.

In other words, the more you grind, the more you earn.

Then the event lasted only one day.

Then why are you even sleeping? You're definitely working hard!

Who knows when they'll plan their next crazy scheme after this one's already happened?

As a commoner ninja, without the support of a clan, you have to buy all your ninja tools yourself...

No one is providing subsidies.

So why not seize this opportunity and make a fortune?

Musashi Umino sat in the soup kitchen, holding a bowl of hot porridge, and sighed with emotion.

Actually, let's not talk about anything else.

Upon entering the outer city and looking at the roads made of some unknown material, Musashi Umino could sense the vast, chasm-like gap between Konoha and the Land of Rivers.

The roads in Yunin Village of the River Country are all muddy.

This is the outer city of Konoha!

They've used this stuff to pave the roads in the outer city...

That inner city...

Musashi Umino felt a pang of regret. If only he had come to Konoha with his older brother twenty years ago…

But thinking about it now was useless. Musashi Umino finished his porridge in one gulp and then prepared to go find the guide at the refugee camp.

He can't stay in this refugee camp forever.

Go find the guide first...

See if you can find your older brother, Kenjiro Umino.

(Yes, it's the same Umino as Umino Iruka.)

(End of this chapter)