They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 233 The Breakdown of the Alliance

The road-building team of four genin here is just a microcosm of the current state of construction in the Land of Water. Such scenes are common throughout the Land of Water.

Not only in road construction, but also in railway construction, housing construction, and even agricultural cultivation and harvesting, the genin squads of Kirigakure have played a huge role.

In the field of agricultural production, not to mention anything else, even without using any ninjutsu, the physical strength of a mere genin is enough to cultivate dozens of acres of land.

In agricultural processes such as sowing, irrigation, and harvesting, ninjas' own ninjutsu provided even more possibilities for these processes.

For example, the simplest C-rank ninjutsu, "Wind Release: Technique," is far more efficient at harvesting than ordinary people. Its harvesting speed per unit area is comparable to the large agricultural machinery of Hozuki Shingetsu's previous life.

For this reason, Kirigakure established the Kirigakure Agricultural Company to handle agricultural affairs within the Land of Water.

However, the main members of this Kirigakure agricultural company are not official ninjas of Kirigakure, but students from the Kirigakure Ninja Academy.

This kind of farm work isn't like fighting a war. With the physical abilities of the ninja academy students and the ninjutsu they learned during their time at the academy, they are more than capable of handling this level of task.

Moreover, this not only maximizes the use of this cheap labor force, but more importantly, it improves the physical fitness of these students.

When it comes to farm work, the first image that flashes through Hozuki Shingetsu's mind is the early Dragon Ball series, where Goku and Krillin, along with Master Roshi, carry dozens of kilograms of turtle shells to deliver milk and do farm work.

So Hozuki Shingetsu simply borrowed the idea, using contribution points as bait to make the students do agricultural work while carrying heavy loads, euphemistically calling it extracurricular practical assignments.

The students, brainwashed by Hozuki Shingetsu, naturally had no objections and, at the cost of contributing a few points, became temporary workers for the Kirigakure Agricultural Company.

In addition to agriculture, Hozuki Shingetsu also ordered Kirigakure to establish the Kirigakure Real Estate Development and Construction Company in the field of housing construction.

This company is affiliated with the Village Assets Committee of Kirigakure. Due to its Kirigakure background, this company is mainly responsible for real estate development within the Land of Water.

For ordinary housing, it's very simple; it's just like any other normal housing.

Earth Release and Water Release ninjutsu were used in succession to lay foundations, transport building materials, and bond materials. In essence, it was no different from road construction; it was just civil engineering work.

For wealthy individuals or homebuyers with specific needs, the Kirigakure Real Estate Development and Construction Company naturally has its own corresponding construction methods.

Moreover, the development method is very simple and has a strong ninja characteristic—that is, to use "Earth Release: Useful Transformation" for real estate development.

This ninjutsu is essentially a summoning jutsu. Before using it, the terrain or building that has been prepared in advance needs to be sealed in a sealed map. When using it, it is similar to a summoning jutsu. The user bites their finger and can then summon the pre-built house from another dimension.

This ninjutsu was originally held by Fudo, one of the twelve guardian ninjas of the Fire Country's daimyo.

In the original story, this guy, together with the other members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, launched a surprise attack on Konoha, and used this move to surround Yamato's team during the raid.

However, since Hozuki Shingetsu needs it, given the current strength of Kirigakure, even if the ninja named Fudo is unwilling, he has no choice but to obediently hand over the training method of this ninjutsu with the cooperation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Due to the convenience of this ninjutsu, Hozuki Shingetsu even planned to transform the Kirigakure real estate development and construction company into a ninja engineering team during wartime. In other words, he would take advantage of the ease with which "Earth Release: Useful Transformation" could summon buildings and prepare a large number of war fortresses or sturdy civil engineering projects to be sealed into the sealed map in advance.

When war breaks out, whenever ninjas are needed to seize a certain place or snipe the enemy in a certain location, this ninja engineering team will be dispatched to quickly construct a defensive fortification using ninjutsu.

The only drawback of this ninja engineering team at present is perhaps the number of Earth Release ninjas.

Kirigakure may be close to the sea, and the ninjas there generally possess both wind and water chakra natures, but there is a widespread lack of ninjas with fire and lightning chakra natures.

In this situation, the number of ninjas who can use Earth Release is not small, but it is definitely not large either.

The ninjutsu "Earth Release: Active Transformation" is neither particularly difficult nor easy, but it is ultimately not something a normal genin can master.

Therefore, this has become an important factor limiting the size of the ninja engineering team.

However, once the ninja academies of the Eastern Continent gradually open in a few years, and a large number of outstanding ninja students from the Eastern Continent come to Kirigakure, this constraint may be easily resolved.

Since it is currently peacetime, the main responsibility of this construction team is still to build houses and generate profits for the village.

-

The Land of Water, in the newly built port city of Rikuzenjo in the west, is the place where the Kirigakure Village real estate development and construction company can make its mark.

Since Hozuki Shingetsu secretly controls the major political affairs of the Land of Water, and Kirigakure has already completed industrialization, the Land of Water naturally needs to vigorously develop commerce and open more ports and trading areas.

Although Kirigakure has now become the largest commercial and trade hub in the Land of Water, it also has military attributes and cannot endlessly expand its trade volume.

Therefore, under the orders of Hozuki Shingetsu (√), the Land of Water selected several port cities as important nodes for the Land of Water to further develop its foreign trade network.

Luqian Port was chosen as the port city for expansion under this background.

With the help of dozens of Kirigakure ninja, wide streets and standardized houses are now rising rapidly in Rikuzen Port, and the port, which is a key construction project, is being built from scratch at a visible speed.

"Good heavens... I didn't know ninjas could do this kind of work?"

The officials sent here by Shui Dufu were astonished by what they saw.

As a high-ranking official of the Land of Water, he had naturally employed ninjas from Kirigakure before, but his purpose in employing ninjas was to value their martial prowess.

But what he saw before him made him realize that while ninjas excelled in martial arts, they were also quite adept at construction.

"Yes, it seems like a waste to have always used these peasants as thugs. Now it looks like these guys are better suited for this kind of work!"

The local nobles of Luqian Port couldn't help but sigh at the scene before them.

boom!

Just then, a rumbling sound came from afar. On an open space not far from the port, a ninja was standing there biting his thumb.

As the ninjutsu was performed, a vast and imposing building rose from the ground; it was the official residence of the management officials of Luqian Port.

This scene, which seemed like a "miracle" to ordinary people, not only shocked them beyond measure, but also greatly increased the reputation of Kirigakure.

As this land port was chosen by the Land of Water as an important node for expanding trade, the events that happened here were constantly being spread to the Ninja World continent by the merchants who came and went.

As the reputation of the Kirigakure construction company soared and it received numerous foreign orders, the changes taking place in the Land of Water inevitably reached the ears of other countries and ninja villages.

When the daimyo of the four great nations of Fire, Lightning, Wind, and Earth heard about this, they were only surprised by the role the ninjas played in the field of production, and did not react much beyond using it as a topic of casual conversation.

However, the four ninja villages of Konoha, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure are quite interested in the new uses for ninjas developed by Kirigakure.

After all, for these four ninja villages that had just recovered from the Second Shinobi World War, funds were undoubtedly the biggest temptation.

Moreover, the essence of ninjas accepting commissions is actually exchanging force for funds. In fact, the purpose of establishing ninja villages is to sell their own strength in exchange for the country's military funds to sustain themselves.

In essence, the relationship between ninja villages and nations is nothing more than a transaction.

Therefore, these four ninja villages were naturally envious of Kirigakure's establishment of a construction company, which made a fortune by contracting major national construction projects.

After all, the most profitable projects since ancient times have been contracting national projects, and the "good" relationship between Kirigakure and the Land of Water officials means there's no need to worry about not getting the final payment back.

Therefore, the funds earned by Kirigakure in the Land of Water's "First Five-Year Plan" were predictable, and such a huge sum of money would naturally make the other ninja villages envious.

Naturally, the other ninja villages set up their own construction companies, hoping to gain a foothold in this field.

Unfortunately, different countries are not the same, and not all governments are willing to undertake such infrastructure projects.

After all, such large-scale infrastructure projects with high investment and slow returns are inevitably led by the state, which means that they will consume a lot of national funds.

For the leaders of these countries, having a few roads is sufficient. As long as the major cities within the country are connected by roads, that is enough. There is no need to build roads in the remaining remote areas.

Moreover, it wasn't just the daimyo who shared this idea; even the nobles within the country held the same view.

The cost of building so many roads is undoubtedly enormous, and all of this money comes from the national treasury. And as everyone knows, the money in the national treasury doesn't belong to the country, but to the nobles. They're trying to squeeze money out of them to fund the country's road construction…

Are you out of your mind?

"Lord Raikage, the Daimyo has rejected our construction company's proposal to contract for road construction within the Land of Lightning."

In the Hidden Cloud Village, at the Raikage Building, the Third Raikage listened to Tsuchida's report while holding a huge dumbbell.

Sweat kept appearing on the Third Raikage's forehead, dripping onto his bronze skin.

boom!

The Third Raikage finally finished his daily training. When he placed the two dumbbells on the ground, the entire Raikage Building could be felt to sway slightly, which showed how heavy the dumbbells were.

"What a short-sighted fool... He thinks he can surpass the Land of Fire and become the strongest ninja nation?"

The Third Raikage wiped his sweat as he complained about the current Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.

Of the five great nations at that time, if we were to discuss which nation's daimyo had the best relationship with the ninja village leaders, it would undoubtedly be the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

Needless to say, the Land of Fire also knows that they can maintain their status as the number one ninja in the world without the help of Konoha. The successive daimyo and Hokage have had a very good relationship.

Even after Shimura Danzo came to power, he maintained a good relationship with the daimyo, despite his arrogant personality.

Besides the Land of Fire, there is also the Land of Lightning.

If the purpose of harmony between the ruler and his ministers in the Land of Fire is to maintain the status of the best ninja in the world, then the purpose of harmony between the ruler and his ministers in the Land of Lightning is to compete for the status of the best ninja in the world.

With this goal in mind, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning actually provides a very large amount of financial support to the Hidden Cloud Village every year.

However, not everyone can clearly realize the importance of a good road network for a country. The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning may want to suppress the Land of Fire, but that does not mean he is willing to invest his money in this bottomless pit with no long-term returns. Therefore, the Third Raikage's wish is destined to fail.

"Lord Raikage, now that Kirigakure has secured the infrastructure project from the Land of Water, it means that for at least the next five years, Kirigakure's funding will no longer be an issue."

Tsuchikage looked at the Third Raikage, hesitated for a moment, and then said:

"If that's the case, it means that our economic suppression of them has failed. In this situation, if we don't go to war, we might as well give up suppressing Kirigakure and instead engage in commercial exchanges with them."

The main reason why the three villages of Kumogakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure formed an alliance was because the four villages fought each other without a result during the Second Shinobi World War.

Since the eldest and second eldest are still locked in a stalemate, in order to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation and to strengthen their own power, the only option is to eliminate the fourth and fifth eldest first, annex them, and then begin the war.

It was under this ideology that the top three of the five great ninja villages formed an alliance, hoping to suppress the development of the fourth and fifth villages as much as possible before the start of the Third Shinobi World War.

Once the three ninja villages have developed sufficiently, we will launch the Third Shinobi World War. We will first join forces to destroy the other two ninja villages to increase our own strength, and then compete for the title of the strongest ninja in the world.

However, with Kirigakure taking on infrastructure projects within the Land of Water, having such a large source of funding, the suppression of Kirigakure has become a joke.

Given the alliance between Kirigakure and Sunagakure and their frequent trade, Sunagakure was not affected and continued to develop steadily.

This would signify the failure of the Three Villages Alliance.

With the two ninja villages facing the threat of national extinction, the three ninja villages might not necessarily be able to withstand their fierce resistance. After all, the three ninja villages also need to maintain a certain military presence within their own borders to guard against their allies.

"So, Raikage-sama, why don't we change our mind and continue targeting Konoha?"

A glint of light flashed in Tsuchikage's single, intact eye. "Since we lost in a three-on-one fight last time, why don't we just bring Kirigakure into it and form an anti-Konoha alliance?"

"If three generations can't beat one, then four against one, surely we can win!"

(End of this chapter)