Chapter 9 So how did it happen?
One afternoon, a family that had been living in poverty suddenly saw the man of the house return from work with a large sack of rice, weighing several kilograms, and some wild vegetables. That evening, the family enjoyed two hearty meals. The best part was that these good times were not just a one-off.
The next day, the man returned from work again—this time with half a roasted chicken. The day after that, he brought home another few kilograms of rice. And so it continued.
Before long, everyone noticed this remarkable improvement in the family's life.
It begged the question: "Why isn't my family doing the same?"
Upon inquiring, the villagers discovered that the man had been working at the Wetland Bridge construction site, where laborers were hired and paid daily. The harder you worked, the more you earned.
For the ordinary people of Konoha, such an opportunity was rare. In the past, only the ninjas received jobs of this scale, while common folk were left to work the fields—or worse, idle in despair because no other jobs were available. They often wished for a ninja in their family, knowing that while the life of a shinobi was dangerous, it guaranteed food on the table.
But now, for the first time, ordinary people had a chance to improve their lives. Every day, more and more people gathered at the Wetland Bridge, watching the construction. The commotion eventually caught the attention of Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.
---
During a meal one evening, Hashirama couldn't resist his curiosity any longer.
"How did you manage to do it?" he asked Yuya.
"Do what?" Yuya asked, unsure of what Hashirama meant.
"I'm talking about the Wetland Bridge," Hashirama clarified. "How did you manage to improve the lives of so many ordinary people? I looked into it and found that at least a thousand people's livelihoods have improved because of the bridge's construction."
Hashirama leaned in closer. "I want to know, did you plan this from the start? Or was it just a lucky accident that so many people became better off with such little investment?"
Yuya finally understood what Hashirama was asking.
To these ninjas, who had no formal understanding of economics, concepts like this were difficult to grasp—almost elementary from Yuya's perspective.
After thinking for a moment, Yuya picked up his cup, a plate, and two pairs of chopsticks. "Master, look at this," he said, lifting the cup. "Let's say there's a bowl of rice in this cup. Now, if I divide the rice between this plate and this cup, the total amount of rice stays the same, right?"
Hashirama nodded, confused but following along.
Yuya continued, "If I keep dividing the rice between more and more cups and plates, what happens? Does the amount of rice increase or decrease?"
"The more you divide it, the less there will be," Hashirama replied.
Yuya nodded again. "Exactly. That's true under the theory of distribution. But there's something you're missing, Master."
Hashirama blinked, unsure where Yuya was going with this.
"In the process of dividing the rice, we aren't just distributing it—we're also creating value."
A flash of realization crossed Hashirama's face, but it quickly disappeared. He furrowed his brows. "Creating value?"
Yuya nodded. "Yes. For example, when a worker spends a day building the bridge, he gets paid a wage. That does reduce the amount of money in circulation, but in return, part of the bridge gets built. That's the value he creates."
Yuya continued, "Now, if that same worker uses his wages to buy clothes from a shop, the money moves from his hands to the shopkeeper's. But the worker also gets a piece of clothing in exchange—again, value is created."
"When the shopkeeper makes and sells more clothes, he too is creating value and profits from it. Then, the shopkeeper uses his earnings to buy food or raw materials for more clothes. The money keeps moving, creating value at every stage."
Yuya paused and asked, "Now, Master, how much did all of that cost?"
Hashirama sat in stunned silence, unable to grasp the full scope of the explanation.
Uzumaki Mito, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh. She handed Yuya a chicken leg. "Alright, alright. Your master doesn't understand any of this. What's the point of trying to explain it to him?"
Yuya tilted his head in agreement. "I guess so."
Hashirama, feeling a bit embarrassed, angrily ate two large bowls of rice in silence.
---
Later that night, as Mito was about to fall asleep, she heard Hashirama muttering to himself. "The wages are so little... so why can they afford so much food, clothing, and still build a bridge?"
Mito, now fully awake, glared at him.
"Hashirama, do you know why?" he asked, looking desperate for an answer.
Mito, her face completely emotionless, responded, "I don't know, and I don't care. All I know is that I'm tired, and if you don't stop talking, you're sleeping outside tonight."
Hashirama fell silent.
---
The next day, at the Hokage's office:
"...So, Tobirama, do you get it?" Hashirama asked, looking seriously at his brother. "The wages for these workers are so small, yet they're creating so much more wealth than we gave them."
Tobirama, his face expressionless, responded, "You didn't come up with that on your own. You're not that smart."
Hashirama scratched his head sheepishly. "Oh, you caught me."
Tobirama snorted and went back to his paperwork.
But Hashirama, still not satisfied, leaned closer and asked, "So, Tobirama, do you know why the value keeps increasing even though we're only spending the same amount of money?"
Tobirama glanced at him, annoyed. "Of course I know, but I'm busy right now. I don't have time for your nonsense."
Hashirama pouted, feeling bored. "You're no fun."
As Hashirama left the room, Tobirama frowned, deep in thought. "Indeed... the money is circulating in the same amount, but the value being created is growing."
Theoretically, this process could loop indefinitely.
Tobirama felt a shiver run down his spine. His nephew, Yuya...
Though Yuya might be a bit slow when it came to ninjutsu, his unconventional way of thinking could bring great benefit to Konoha.
At the very least, if he could apply this same principle to the village's economy, Tobirama might finally achieve his goal of governing with minimal spending while creating maximum value.
But the real question was...
How did Yuya manage to do it?
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