Chapter 32 Yes, yes, you all made money

Compared to the lone, deserted shop in Sunagakure Village, the ten shops in Kirigakure Village are bustling with activity. The Water Country, home to Kirigakure, is surrounded by the sea and abundant in various resources.

Even though the villagers of Kirigakure initially disliked fish, Konoha embraced it. After all, in these times, eating meat—whether fish or beef—was a luxury. If one could eat any kind of meat, it was considered a blessing.

Unfortunately, Yuya doesn't know how to make something like ham sausage, which could simulate the taste of meat by adding some starch. If Yuya did know how to make it, he could have transformed Konoha into a place where everyone could enjoy the "meaty" taste within a year. This isn't an exaggeration— for the ordinary people of Konoha in its 18th year, having meat would be a paradise.

Sadly, Yuya lacked this particular skill. Instead, the ten shops in Kirigakure sold a wide variety of fishery products. Even though Yuya adhered to regulations when buying fish, the village of Kirigakure was making millions in taels from the sale of fish alone.

This was already considered big business, and the demand was consistent— people who ate fish today would likely want more tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Konoha was in an awkward situation. Despite the frequent opening of new factories, the village's population of only a few hundred thousand made it hard to scale operations. Population size plays a crucial role in a country's development.

For Senju Tobirama, too many people might have been troublesome, but Yuya believed the more, the better. There's something called a demographic dividend—while it might not be immediately obvious to an individual, for the country as a whole, a large population drives growth.

Kirigakure's residents were happy watching their profits grow daily, but Yuya was even more satisfied. Why? Because Kirigakure's trade boosted Konoha's own economy. Although Kirigakure was making money, the supplies Yuya imported were sold in Konoha's trade areas.

The trade center Yuya initially thought would take one or two years to develop was completed in less than half a year, thanks to Kirigakure's contributions.

Now, Konoha had a reputation as a place where you could buy specialties from Kirigakure, such as fruit wine, fish products, and rare items like salt and iron. The steel mill in Kirigakure was constructed with Konoha's help, and while one-tenth of the output was reserved for Konoha annually for three years, Kirigakure didn't mind.

At first, some of the influential families in Kirigakure wanted to limit production to reduce Konoha's gains, but they realized that this would also limit their own profits. In the end, they chose not to restrict output.

Still, Yuya didn't place too much emphasis on Kirigakure's steel plant because Konoha would soon expand to ten smelting plants of its own. Iron was essential for everything, from building materials to household items. Attracting new residents, especially skilled laborers, to Konoha was Yuya's long-term goal, and having more young workers was ideal.

Meanwhile, Sunagakure envied Kirigakure's success but couldn't compete. Sunagakure's specialties were things like cactus and desert peppers, but neither could rival fish. Konoha residents weren't going to buy cacti—they weren't camels. Still, Chiyo, a puppet master from Sunagakure, sold a finished puppet to Yuya, making enough money to cover a year's shop rent in Konoha. Other products, like desert peppers, had potential but weren't in high demand just yet.

The daily expenses for Sunagakure's ninjas stationed in Konoha were high, especially since Konoha had many ways to entice spending—massage parlors, jewelry stores, and gambling dens were all part of the mix.

Yuya even thought about introducing internet cafés to the world, but he lacked the technical know-how. Besides, introducing such a distraction could weaken Konoha's next generation of ninjas.

Still, Yuya's cultural influence was spreading, beginning with the idea that "you can buy anything in Konoha." While Konoha now had access to Water and Wind Country resources, Yuya wanted more.

He looked greedily at the Land of Lightning with its high-grade beef and the Land of Earth with its bountiful potatoes. While Sunagakure was resource-poor, Konoha's future wars might open the door to further trade and cooperation.

As Konoha prospered, Yuya opened a high-end clothing store. Despite the expensive prices, the Shimura and Nara families bought a few items, surprising Yuya. The typically low-key Nara clan clearly had deep pockets. Yuya took note of this and secretly set up a Ninja Equipment and Information Technology R&D Department focused on research, as Konoha's wealth needed to be wisely spent.

The first research project was reverse-engineering the puppet Yuya had bought from Sunagakure. While Yuya preferred paper figurines, the craftsmanship of Sunagakure's puppets was impressive, and it made sense to study them for future tactical advantages. Even if the findings weren't immediately useful, having them in reserve was valuable.

As time passed, by the end of Konoha's 18th summer, Yuya's plans for further development were well underway...

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