Naruto's civilian cannon fodder starts with the three-body technique

Chapter 233 Konoha Real Estate

"Lord Hokage, you already know this. I sold all these shipwrecked antiques to a big merchant from the Land of Waves."

Umino Sasuke kept complaining, saying how difficult it was to support his family, and that he had spent all the remaining money on buying real estate and shops from the Senju family.

How could Hiruzen Sarutobi believe that? Everyone keeps some surplus grain in their household.

“Sasuke, I see that you particularly like buying houses and shops. I suppose you are optimistic about the growth trend of real estate in our village.”

Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to persuade him, "Buying a house is not as cost-effective as developing your own property. I'll approve a plot of land for you right now, at half price, no, it'll only cost 30 million taels. That plot of land on Hechuan Street will be yours."

"That piece of land is probably in ruins now, isn't it?"

“You can rebuild after demolishing it. That piece of land is in the heart of Konoha, not much smaller than the Uchiha clan's territory. Thirty million ryo is a bargain for you.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him as if he had gotten a great deal. If it weren't for the reconstruction of Konoha and the fact that it was during the Ninja War and they urgently needed funds, they wouldn't have sold such a good piece of land so cheaply.

"But I heard that ever since the Sky Ninja attacked the village, all the nobles who own property in Konoha have started selling off their properties. Even at half price, no one is buying. It's like a stampede of price reductions. If I develop a real estate project, I'm afraid I won't be able to sell it."

"Sasuke, your Umino clan has more than 300 members, all living in a third-rate clan estate developed by the Senju. Don't you feel crowded?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi then began to earnestly advise, "You can't just look at the present; you have to look to the future. Now that you have awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, your Umino clan is considered a prestigious clan in Konoha. You still need to maintain your dignity. The land in Kagawa Street is perfect for developing into your Umino clan's territory."

Hearing this, Sasuke Umino remained unmoved.

In reality, he had long harbored the idea of ​​buying up Konoha real estate at rock-bottom prices. Konoha, as a major city on par with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, had huge potential for appreciation, even though its housing prices were less than half of those in the Daimyo's city.

Even before the Naruto and Sasuke era, once the Second Shinobi World War ends, Konoha's housing prices will inevitably rebound, at least to the levels before the Sky Shinobi invasion.

Moreover, based on past experience, after each Shinobi World War, the ninja villages of each country would ostensibly reduce their military, but in reality, each country would secretly train a large number of ninjas. As the number of ninjas grew larger and larger, Konoha would inevitably undergo another expansion, and the population would also surge, making it difficult for housing prices to fall.

To acquire a clan-owned property in the heart of Konoha at such a low cost is indeed an extremely rare opportunity. If it weren't for the Sky Ninja's attack on the village, which caused Konoha heavy losses, it would have been very difficult to obtain such a large piece of land.

"Lord Hokage, is the village in dire need of money right now?"

"Of course we're short of money, our funds are almost dried up. Cough cough cough, Sasuke, you're the kind of person who considers the big picture, that's why I'm telling you this. You're not like those nobles, trying to take advantage of our misfortune, are you?"

"I was born a Konoha resident, and I will die a Konoha ghost. How could I do anything to harm Konoha?"

Umino Sasuke feigned insult and anger, then immediately promised, "Since the village is short of money, I will do my part. Hokage-sama, how much land do you have left to sell? Sell it all to me; it will help alleviate our immediate crisis."

Didn't you say you had no money?

“If you don’t have money, you can take out a loan. My Umino clan has business dealings with the Bank of the Land of Waves, so we can get low-interest loans. If it’s just a few million, they’ll treat me like royalty. But if I lend them hundreds of millions, they’ll be afraid I can’t repay it. They’ll definitely treat me like royalty and give my Umino clan’s business a lot of support.”

"What, you want to borrow several hundred million?"

"Lord Hokage, it's just that the village is short of money. If it doesn't cost more than a few hundred million, that's fine too. I'm worried I won't be able to pay it back. I can lend you a little less." "No, no, the village is short of money. The more the better."

Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately changed his tune, becoming extremely polite to Sasuke Umino, as if he had seen a gold nugget and showing him great favor.

He quickly spread out a map of Konoha and began to aggressively acquire land, selling plots of land to Umino Sasuke.

Umino Sasuke accepted everything without hesitation, acting like a fool with too much money.

He did this because he discovered that Hiruzen Sarutobi had become wary and wanted to suppress him, so he found this way to break the deadlock and put himself in a lot of debt.

In this twisted ninja world, the power of money is still very strong. Similarly, a ninja burdened with huge debts is actually safer.

Before the debt is paid off, the creditor will definitely protect the debtor in order to make a profit and prevent the principal from going down the drain.

"Sasuke, what if the Land of Waves Bank comes knocking on your door and you can't pay back the money?"

Looking at the strings of numbers, Hiruzen Sarutobi became worried. In his opinion, the Bank of the Land of Waves must have the support of nobles behind it, otherwise it wouldn't be able to do such a large business.

I've heard that the monopolistic corporation in the Land of Waves has expanded its business to the Land of Earth on the other side of the map, and has gained the support of many local nobles, so its background is quite powerful.

Moreover, even the village of Konoha and the daimyo of the Land of Fire have some shares in a subsidiary of this monopolistic company. This company also frequently comes to Konoha to issue missions such as clearing out pirates and escorting caravans, making it a major financial backer.

The Ninja War will eventually end. If we offend such a big spender, our mission quota will inevitably drop significantly, and it may even affect Konoha's reputation.

Governing a ninja village involves more than just fighting and killing; it also involves human relationships and social interactions.

No matter what, we can't offend the big spender; even ninjas need to eat.

Conversely, if the Sand Village were to receive these mission shares, it would be disastrous.

Now that Umino Sasuke dares to borrow so much money, if he can't repay it, won't he implicate Konoha Village?

"Lord Hokage, I will definitely go, so you don't need to worry."

Sasuke Umino had a strong desire to buy things. After buying the land, he even wanted to buy the flying machines of the Sky Ninja. He even planned to form a joint venture with Teku to build a factory to produce these flying machine blades.

"Let me tell you beforehand, Konoha focuses on elite ninjas and will not order your flying weapons or blades."

Hiruzen Sarutobi claimed he didn't want to lower the quality of Konoha's ninjas, but in reality, it was still a matter of money. Training a ninja costs a few dollars, but equipping ninjas with aerial ninja vehicles would cost enough to train several teams of ninjas. He was clear about this economic calculation, so why would he include aerial ninja vehicles in Konoha's standard military supplies?

Seeing that Umino Sasuke hadn't given up on the joint venture to build a factory, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately started to overthink: "Sasuke, you're not thinking of modifying the aerial ninja vehicles into standard armor and competing with the Uchiha clan for the standard vest business, are you?"

Umino Sasuke:? ? ?
(End of this chapter)