It's normal to get a kaleidoscope as a first deposit of six yuan, right?

"I had no ulterior motives, I just wanted to make money. And the valley you saw was just a trade route that I blasted out using a few tricks."

"Just want to make money, don't you want to do anything else?" Luo Sha was a little skeptical.

Seeing that Luo Sha still didn't believe her, Zhi Xue innocently waved her hands.

He's just a lazy bum who likes to slack off; he doesn't have the ambition or talent of a great man or ambitious person.

After Rasa had fully resumed negotiations for a while, Shiki untied the ropes binding the many Sand Ninja and went to sleep.

By the next morning, the sky was beginning to lighten, and the stars in the sky were gradually obscured by the sunlight.

Early in the morning, Zhixue took the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, for a stroll in the forest.

He patted the sturdy branches of the tree, and then, still somewhat incredulous, tore off a piece of bark. He could see sap oozing green color, and it looked very fresh.

Yes, these trees are still alive; they are truly planted in the desert.

After learning that it was true, Luo Sha's gaze towards Zhi Xue changed.

The Land of Wind is so barren and weak because of its harsh terrain and arid, desert climate. But what if this kind of tree could grow all over the land of the Land of Wind…

"Hey, kid, did you grow this?" Luo Sha asked, looking at Zhi Xue's expression.

"Of course. (Tactical hands on hips)"

"Excuse my limited perspective, but I don't quite believe that trees can grow in the desert unless you demonstrate it to me."

Seeing Rasa's expression, Zhixue realized that this guy probably wanted to test his abilities and see if he could have a deeper exchange with Sunagakure.

After all, the entire Land of Wind is short of trees. If they could grow to cover the land, it would be very useful for greening the desert and transforming the land. Unfortunately, that is impossible. Wood Release can be used to create wood, which can be used in the timber industry, since dead wood is still wood.

However, if the goal is to create greenery, it's essential to ensure that the trees can survive in a water-scarce environment year-round. The Land of Wind's limited water supply isn't even enough for its own people to drink, let alone for watering trees.

Chapter 156, Obito Arrives

"Hmm, this is still too small. Let's build it bigger. As for the materials, we can use our local wood and sand bricks. You guys take care of drawing up the blueprints, and I'll build it myself."

"Huh? Isn't this a bit too extravagant?" The old mayor pondered for a while, looking at the architectural draft in his hand. Although they were considered a source of wood here, it was something only the wealthy in the Land of Wind could afford.

"Don't be so rigid. There are plenty of trees; cut down as many as you want."

After chatting with the old village chief, Zhi Xue lay down on a nearby folding chair, took a sip of an iced drink, and began her life of slacking off.

Luo Sha, who came from the village, shook his head as he looked at Zhi Xue lying flat. Based on his observations over the past few days, there shouldn't be any threat. Moreover, it would greatly reduce transportation costs, which would be a good thing for the Wind Kingdom. However, it's probably not that simple to blast a road through a hundred-mile-long mountain range without making a sound. He would need to find a few people to keep a close eye on it.

"Lord Kazekage, an urgent report from Sunagakure!" Just as Rasa was looking at Shiseido, a Sunagakure ninja ran over and handed Rasa an envelope.

"An urgent report from Sunagakure?" Rasa took the envelope, his expression turning grim after seeing the tailed beast rampaging inside Gaara.

"They can't even have a moment of peace. If a Jinchuriki can't control the power of a Tailed Beast with willpower, what military value does he/she have?"

"What is this? Let me see?" Zhi Xue suddenly appeared behind Luo Sha and looked at the contents of the envelope with curiosity.

"I'm sorry, this is a military matter of our Land of Wind, and it's not convenient to disclose it. However, since we've checked that there's no danger here, we'll take our leave now. We wish you prosperous business. If you want to expand your cooperation in the future, the gates of Sunagakure are always open." Seeing Shiyu approaching, Rasa put away the envelope, then bid farewell to Shiyu and used the Body Flicker Technique to disappear from the spot with the Sunagakure ninja.

"It seems Shukaku is having a great time in Sunagakure. Poor Sawa, though." Zhixue sighed, recalling what she had secretly glimpsed. However, she had no intention of rescuing him. Everyone has their own path, and there are countless strangers in the world who have experienced hardship. As long as she doesn't encounter it herself, she'll just let things take their course.

After Luo Sha left, the ring on Zhi Xue's hand lit up.

"Hmm? Payne is calling."

Zhi Xue returned to the folding chair, straightened the edge of the umbrella that was blocking the sunlight, then lay down comfortably, closed her eyes, and channeled her chakra into the ring.

At the Akatsuki gathering, there were Pain, Konan, Sasori, Kakuzu, Juzo Biwa, Zetsu, and a new member wearing only half a robe.

When Zhixue's Illusionary God projection appeared, the new member was clearly stunned for a moment.

"Hey, boss, why did you recruit this guy too?" Hidan, carrying a large scythe on his shoulder, pointed at Shiyuki in surprise.

"Well, it's Hidan. I didn't expect to see you again after several months." Shiyuki said with a smile as she looked in Hidan's direction.

As Hidan looked at Shiki's gentle smile, it was as if a wound had been torn open in the shadows in his heart. The experience of being repaid by Shiki in the past seemed to have happened just yesterday and surfaced in his mind.

Although he wasn't afraid of death, he didn't say he wasn't afraid of pain, did he?

"You two know each other?" Payne looked somewhat surprised.

"I guess so. I got a stone from a new member and sold it for a good price."

Upon hearing the word "money," Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. He had a strange feeling that he had missed something, yet he also felt that he hadn't missed anything.

"Alright, the main purpose of this meeting is to help everyone get to know the new members. After all, some of you are still outside the village, so it's not convenient for you to meet. However, if there are any past grievances, let's not dwell on them too much within the organization. After all, our goal is to use the power of God to make the world feel pain, so as to create a peaceful world without war and strife..."

After Pain gave a speech that sounded rather "chuunibyou" to Shiyu, Hidan introduced his strengths and was specially placed in Kakuzu's team.

The fact that Hidan was immortal and had a low bounty was actually Pain's way of hoping to use him to correct Kakuzu's bad habit of sacrificing his teammates. After all, this guy was different from Sasori and Orochimaru. No matter what his teammates were like, as long as they were worth some money, he would dare to kill them.

Kakuzu: Teammate? What use are they besides splitting the loot with me after completing missions?

After the meeting concluded, Payne ended his illusionary body technique and turned his gaze toward the direction where Zhixue had disappeared.

Because the Illusionary Body Technique is a ninjutsu that links chakra to create projections, and Pain was the central figure in establishing these links within the Akatsuki organization, he could vaguely sense just how unfathomable the chakra within Shisei's body truly was.

"Has his chakra increased again... This is an alarming rate of growth."

……

Over the next month, in addition to returning to the Akatsuki organization to complete some missions, Zhi Xue also established an academy in the local area, where she was responsible for teaching book knowledge and some practical operation courses in the greening industry. She also took on the role of the academy's dean to deal with the White Zetsu's investigation.

I, Uchiha Shiyuki, am just a teacher. What do I have to do with the giant tree that grows in the desert next door?

In just one month, Zhi Xue made a fortune in the timber industry, making even the merchants of the New Western Caravan envious. With so much profit, troubles naturally arose along the way, but under Zhi Xue's unilateral military intimidation, things calmed down considerably.

As Zhi Xue sat alone in the academy dean's office, wearing an eye mask full of "wisdom" and recuperating in a chair, a vortex twisted out from there.

Obito looked at Shiki sleeping in broad daylight, a bead of cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

So, this guy's frequent trips to the Land of Wind were because he took on a cushy job?

Seemingly sensing Obito's presence, Shiki, who was lying on the chair, groggily lifted a corner of her eye mask and yawned.

"Hmm, it's Madara. What brings you here?" Zhixue stretched and rubbed her slightly numb thighs as she spoke.

"Did you create that desert forest over there?"

"Huh? That was their boss's doing, what does it have to do with me? I'm just a teacher, and you know me, working three jobs at once, do you think that's possible?"

Upon hearing the first half, Obito was somewhat skeptical, but upon hearing the second half, he suddenly felt that it made sense.

It's well-known how lazy Zhi Xue is within the Akatsuki organization. Holding three identities is indeed not something she would do. However, since it wasn't Zhi Xue who did it, he'll have to go and have a good look at this great man who can plant trees in the desert. (Shadow Clone: ​​You're right.)

Chapter 157, it really was just that the chair legs were too high.

After Obito left the headmaster's office, Shiki felt a tingling sensation in her legs and took off her blindfold. However, when she got down, the chair legs were too high, and Shiki accidentally fell off. (It definitely wasn't because her legs were short.)

A hand reached out from the ground and placed on the table. Zhi Xue slowly recovered from the tingling sensation she had just experienced upon waking.

"Oh my god, why do I feel so insecure all of a sudden after turning back?" Zhi Xue took a sip of the tea that had long since gone cold on the table.

Such a height difference is truly heartbreaking.

Zhi Xue tidied up the comic books on the table and was about to leave the office when she suddenly noticed a yellow envelope with the Sand Village symbol on it.

"Huh? What are they up to? Why did they send it to the academy? Logically speaking, it should be much more convenient to study there than here, right? Could it be that they want to steal the tree-planting technique? Oh well, the academy doesn't teach Wood Release anyway, so let them come and gather some information."

Zhi Xue took the envelope in her hand, opened it, and read it. After reading it, she fell into deep thought.

The letter was from Yashamaru, who said he wanted his nephew Gaara to experience a new life at the academy, which might change his withdrawn nature. However, Rasa actually agreed to this, and Shiyu felt that there was something fishy about it.

"Well, whatever, let's do what we want. Even if Shukaku shows up, we can just slap him back down." Zhixue gave up on thinking about the incident and directly stamped the academy's palm print on it.

Forget all the conspiracies and schemes, or even probing attacks, taking it easy is the most important thing!

She tossed the envelope onto the table, then skipped out of the office and walked down the clean, white corridor.

The students and some teachers in the academy, who were only slightly taller than the students, all greeted Zhi Xue with smiles.

"Greetings, Dean."

"Hello, Dean x2"

"Good, good."

Zhi Xue greeted the teachers and students around her, and suddenly a strange feeling arose in her heart.

Huh? Why does this feel like a demonic cave in the Far East?

Although this loli-like academy principal is very cute and looks quite young, and caused quite a few blunders at the beginning of the school year, they have witnessed just how strong she is. After all, those who went against the principal are probably still lying in the hospital.

Wearing a brown trench coat and thick black socks, Zhi Xue arrived around the logging camp. After walking around and greeting the workers, she saw her shadow clone lying on a folding bed, taking a nap. There were also various snacks and drinks on the table next to him.

Stop Snow: ...

Damn it, how could there be a place selling snacks in a place like this? Did they really steal them from under the table while she was sleeping?

Zhi Xue didn't wake up the shadow clone. She didn't know if Obito was still nearby. Anyway, the shadow clone and the transformation jutsu were one, so even if it was exposed, it wouldn't be noticeable.

After bypassing the area where the shadow clones were, Zhixue reached the end of the forest and suddenly discovered something unusual.

"Huh? Why do these trees look like they've been poisoned?" Zhi Xue said in surprise, looking at the purple cracks on the trees on the edge of the area. There seemed to be a slightly different chakra aura on them than usual.

Logically speaking, although the trees created by Wood Release have deep roots, they should at most look a little wilted due to lack of water. How could this happen? Is there something underground?

Although Zhi Xue had some doubts, she simply kept them in mind. After all, her current role was that of the head of the academy, not the boss, and she could only investigate the anomaly later.

……

Three days have passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Obito did try to contact the tree-planting boss, but since it was Zhixue herself who logged in, Obito had to return empty-handed after several attempts.

Is it normal for a water escape technique to flood a village in the desert?

Last night, the villagers saw water overflowing into their homes, reaching a depth of half a meter, and they still thought they must be dreaming. After all, how could the desert possibly be flooded?

……

After dealing with Obito, Shiyu went to the eroded tree, cut off a small branch, and used her chakra to sense it.

"It doesn't seem to be ordinary chakra. Although the amount is small, it can definitely affect the growth of vegetation." Zhi Xue exhaled a breath of turbid air, then activated Sage Mode, placed her hand on the ground, and quickly found the source of the erosion by using Sage Chakra. She pulled out something that looked like a furnace from the ground in the distance. Although it was buried by yellow sand, the residual chakra aura was still constantly eroding the surrounding area.

“This thing seems to be from the same place as the iron golems of Loulan.” Zhi Xue patted the furnace, making a crisp banging sound.

It's probably something left over from Loulan's previous use of the dragon vein, but it's unclear how it ended up here. However, if the forest area is expanded, this kind of pollutant might block the way.

Ding! The chakra attributes of the Dragon Vein are: fire, lightning, yin and yang. Although it possesses powerful energy, it is also unstable. However, it has a unique bloodline that can guide and control it.