Konoha Notes

Chapter 252 Proposal
The number of people sent by Sunagakure this year is larger than in previous years.

It wasn't to cooperate with Konoha's tournament arrangements; it was purely to use the pretext of "participation" to, within the tacit approval of Konoha, stuff as many people as possible into the country so that they could carry more goods and sell them while passing through the Land of Rivers.

In the past two years, this has at most been the individual actions of the lower-ranking ninjas.

This year, having just lost, Sunagakure is restricted from entering the Land of Rivers. Trading as a "participating team member" has become an excellent option.

They just need to slow down along the way. The ninjas are fast, so even if they are delayed to deliver the goods, they can catch up with the competition schedule by speeding up later.

As for the goods not being sold... Sunagakure's reputation hasn't been ruined yet. Even though they just entered the Land of Rivers on a large scale, they didn't do anything to the ordinary people. Even when they purchased food in a relatively forceful way, they used gold.

Anyway, it won't take much time to sell the goods to large merchants after a day or two of retail sales.

Konoha didn't impose many restrictions on these petty actions. Even their planned purchases after entering the venue outside the village were, as usual, met with a blind eye.

After repeatedly emphasizing the maximum personal purchase limit allowed this year to his young genin subordinates, Maki turned to a Konoha chunin standing guard nearby and submitted his application to enter the main village of Konoha.

The process was quick, and after entering the village, Maki wasted no time, heading straight for the Hokage Building with a clear objective.

In the reception room, he saw Shuji again.

“March, please have a seat.”

Xiu Si did not get up, and Maki obediently sat down as instructed.

"First, it was a suggestion from Kumogakure." Shuji relayed what Samui had told him about inviting Sunagakure to join the joint Konoha and Kumogakure tournament.

"...That's roughly it. Konoha also believes that expanding the scope of exchanges is beneficial to consolidating the alliance."

"The specific details can be discussed within Sunagakure and then jointly agreed upon by all three parties."

This is a good thing for Sunagakure.

Even if they cannot participate in the profit sharing of next year's activities, as long as they can be included in this system, it means that Sunagakure has another legitimate channel to leave the Land of Wind, pass through the Land of Rivers, and enter the Land of Fire.

Especially now, with Konoha's frontline outposts on the border of the Land of Wind still in place, such exchanges are particularly important to them.

Therefore, Maki immediately replied: "Sunagakure is willing to participate!"

Shuji wasn't surprised by the answer. He simply made a note of it on a file on his desktop.

In the reception room, there was a brief silence. Shuji didn't speak, and Maki just sat there.

“Sunagakure,” Shuji spoke again, but the question he posed stunned Maki, “Have you considered redeveloping the land of the Land of Wind?”

Land reclamation?
In the Land of Wind?

That land, which is almost entirely composed of endless seas of sand?
"Mr. Shuji, what do you mean?" Maki asked cautiously, trying to understand the intentions behind the man in front of him.

"literal meaning."

Maki opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

"Maki, have you ever heard of the Ninja Clan?"

The Sand Village Jonin cautiously replied, "Legend has it that it was established by the Sage of Six Paths and is the origin of ninjas."

“Initially, the purpose of the Ninja Clan was to help the Sage of Six Paths restore the wounded land,” Shuji stated calmly. “Due to the need for survival and competition, the Ninja Clan disappeared and evolved into the Ninja Clan, which later coalesced into the Ninja Village.”

"So, has Sunagakure considered going back to the beginning and reshaping a piece of land?" Maki opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

The Sand Village was established after the founding of Konoha, by ninjas from the Land of Wind in order to gain a competitive edge.

They could try trade, exchanging existing goods and specialties, but land reclamation...

How much time, manpower, and resources will this require? When will we see a return?

“This…” Maki organized his thoughts, “Mr. Shuji, even during the Ninja Clan era, the Land of Wind’s environment did not become a fertile land.”

"To transform this land... even relying on the power of ninjas... this requires time and technology..."

“The Sand Village is struggling to survive, so they probably don’t have the resources to spare.”

Shuji did not show any displeasure at his denial.

“The Sand Village alone really can’t do it, especially with the daimyo of the country being able to provide less and less funding.”

"But on one point, has Sunagakure considered why the support from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind is decreasing?"

Maki's face showed bitterness: "Our country's oases are constantly being eroded by the yellow sand, but in peacetime, the number of Sand Village ninjas is increasing rather than decreasing..."

"And the benefits that Sunagakure brought back from the war..." Shuji smiled, "Not a single grain of food brought back from the Land of Rivers this year will be handed over to the Land of Wind, will it?"

“So,” Shuji relaxed his posture a little, “why doesn’t Sunagakure consider doing something truly for the people of the Land of Wind?”

"Of course, as far as Sunagakure is concerned, I, a Konoha ninja, am just making sarcastic remarks."

"But when the Fourth Kazekage died, I told him that this was not a personal matter. At the same time, I also made a promise to Sunagakure—I would provide some private assistance to Sunagakure."

Maki's heart skipped a beat. He looked up and stared intently at Xiu Si.

assistance?

After inflicting heavy damage on Sunagakure?
What exactly does this person want to do?
“There’s no need to make that face,” Shuji said calmly. “If Sunagakure could focus more on improving the Land of Wind, it would be a relief for Konoha. After all, land reclamation is not something that can be accomplished overnight.”

"It's hard to say how many significant results we'll see in ten, twenty, or even longer years."

Maki said helplessly, "Mr. Shuji, this prospect is not helpful in gaining support."

“I’m just stating a fact,” Shuji said. “And another fact I want to make… is that the future Sunagakure will no longer be able to acquire an inch of land from the outside through war.”

The Sand Village Jonin lowered his head; the person in front of him was only seventeen years old.

"The private assistance you're referring to is..."

"I have cultivated some plant seeds with good vitality, and I will continue to do similar cultivation in the future."

"As for the land reclamation plan, if Sunagakure is truly willing to invest in it."

"As I just said, this is a good thing for Konoha to stabilize the border, and Konoha is happy to provide the corresponding technical support."

After all, no matter how much the desert region is transformed, it can only make life in Sunagakure a little more comfortable. In terms of potential, it is completely inferior to Konoha, which has the Land of Fire.

"If more and more stable oases could appear within our country, I'm sure the daimyo of the Wind Kingdom would be willing to grit his teeth and invest funds to support them, no matter how difficult their finances are."

(End of this chapter)