Naruto: Starting as Tsunade's Desk Mate

Chapter 129 Konoha Transforms into the Spirit Hall

An Yan's plan was simple: imitating the Spirit Hall in Douluo Continent, he would test newborns in various villages of the Land of Fire every few years to see if they had ninja talent, and if so, he would take them directly to Konoha for training.

Of course, doing so might attract some undercover agents, but An Yan was fearless. A person with strength has plenty of confidence. As long as Madara doesn't suddenly appear and transform into Six Paths Madara, he can handle all other problems. Moreover, perhaps these spies will be brainwashed by the Will of Fire, after all, it is the number one genjutsu in the ninja world.

Upon hearing An Yan's grand vision, the Third Hokage was stunned. An Yan's magnanimity was far greater than he had imagined. He couldn't help but change his previous opinion of An Yan. Just a moment ago, he had doubted whether An Yan was an ambitious person. However, at this moment, he was glad that An Yan had some ambition. Otherwise, Konoha really wouldn't have any good way to quickly solve the population problem.

The third generation was relieved, but Hiruko was completely stunned.

“An Yan, my headquarters only has a small number of people, and we are also responsible for intelligence work with various countries. It is not appropriate for you to put me in charge of this matter.”

An Yan smiled and said directly, "If there are difficulties, then we should solve them. How many people do you need to get this done?"

Hiruko pondered for a moment and said, "I'll take as many people as you give me, but the fewer people there are, the less efficient it is, and the more people there are, the more efficient it is."

Orochimaru spoke up: "If we're covering all the villages in the Land of Fire, about twenty or thirty people would be enough to handle this. After all, we only inspect the villages once every few years, and it's not like we're doing this kind of thing all the time."

An Yan nodded and said directly to Bei Liu, "The original number of members in the Root was seventeen. Now I'm increasing it to fifty. This matter is of great importance, so please be careful."

"Okay, no problem." Hiruko was naturally delighted to have more people at his disposal.

However, the Third Hokage raised a crucial question: "The Land of Fire is vast. If Konoha does this, it will quickly recruit a large number of people to study at the Ninja Academy. What will you do then?"

An Yan glanced at the Third Hokage and thought to himself that the Third Hokage was indeed senile; why ask such a simple question?

"Why not just open a new ninja academy? Maybe with a new school nearby, the students on both sides will compete even more fiercely."

It's a bit of a pity that the Third Hokage retired. Putting aside everything else, he had unique talents in education. His Will of Fire was an unparalleled tool for teaching students, which was perfect for brainwashing the students at the new school.

As An Yan pondered, his eyes lit up as he stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Third Hokage's eyelids twitched under An Yan's gaze, and he asked directly, "What happened? Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?"

An Yan smiled and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying gently, "Since the Third Hokage has nothing to do after retirement, why not temporarily take over the education work of Konoha? If we collect all the children in the Land of Fire, Konoha should be able to build many schools to accommodate these fresh blood. At that time, I would appreciate it if the Third Hokage could take charge."

Hiruzen Sarutobi never expected that he would be pulled back to work by An'yan after he had already retired, but he thought that Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were both busy, so it wouldn't hurt for him to do some work. So he nodded and agreed.

After the group reached a general agreement, the massive Konoha organization began to function. Yakushi Nonou was directly assigned to a specially designated mission hall next to the Hokage's office, where she was responsible for issuing low-level missions, which greatly reduced An Yan's workload.

When Koharu and Homura received their new work assignments, although they were not very satisfied with them, their bodies honestly carried out the tasks as An'an asked.

Konoha began a population census and simultaneously announced a policy of subsidies for ninja births and pregnancies, causing quite a stir in the village.

With subsidies for having more children, what are we waiting for? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Many ninjas responded to the Hokage's call and began a massive baby-making campaign.

If Tsunade weren't currently juggling multiple roles and incredibly busy, An'an would have been prepared to set an example by having a second or third child.

Compared to Koharu Utatane's smooth progress, Homura Mitokado's work was not going so well. It's simple: the merchants had already paid taxes to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire once. If Konoha collected taxes again, how much would the merchants make?

In response to this situation, An Yan made a bold move and directly opened up two commercial streets on the edge of Konoha. He stipulated that all merchants of Konoha must operate within the commercial streets, and all shops operating on the commercial streets would nominally belong to Konoha and would not need to pay taxes to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

Although it was a vanity project, a policy designed to deceive people, this change finally calmed the merchants down. They obediently rented shops in the commercial street and began to provide Konoha with a source of funding.

While Konoha was carrying out various tasks, Orochimaru secretly arrived in the Land of Iron and built a large-scale arms factory underground. Without the samurai's knowledge, he devoured a large amount of various mineral resources and entered a mass production mode.

Meanwhile, all of Hiruko's Root ninjas were dispatched to visit various villages in the Land of Fire, gather eligible children from each village, and begin to examine their qualifications. Qualified children would come to Konoha with their parents, under the protection of ninjas, to register and settle down.

Konoha Village quickly experienced a population explosion, forcing An Yan to convene everyone to discuss the village's development plan. After calculations and discussions, they decided to expand Konoha Village to three times its original size, dividing the original Konoha into the Inner City and the expanded new Konoha into the Outer City, with the Outer City protecting the Inner City.

The outer city's edge was to be protected by high stone walls, and the plan looked somewhat like the city in Attack on Titan.

At An Yan's command, a large number of Jonin who had mastered Wood Release transformed into construction maniacs, frantically building houses in the outer city of Konoha. While using Wood Release: Four Pillars Technique until their hands were sore, they also showed the adults who had just become villagers of Konoha the strength of Konoha ninjas. The children were filled with longing, hoping that they could learn this house-building ninjutsu when they went to school.

At the same time, two magnificent schools were built in the outer city. Previously, Konoha only had one school, so it didn't have a name. Now that there were three schools, An Yan directly renamed them: Konoha First Ninja School, Second Ninja School, and Third Ninja School.

Chapter 130 Development

Konoha was developing rapidly, and when Tobirama Senju emerged from the underground research institute once again, he was completely dumbfounded.

The small village of Konoha was surprisingly crowded with people, with pedestrians jostling shoulder to shoulder on the streets, much like a bustling market.

The inner and outer walls were bustling with activity, and pedestrians came and went in an endless stream. Standing on the Hokage Rock, Tobirama Senju looked down at the entire Hidden Leaf Village and suddenly felt a deep sense of pride. "Brother, this is our Hidden Leaf Village."

Tobirama Senju's return from seclusion was not without purpose. His research funding was running low, and he needed to apply for more funds from the village. However, upon seeing the dramatic changes in the village, he abandoned the idea. The village had just invested so much in construction, so it was unlikely that there was any money left for the laboratory.

However, whether he had money or not was something he needed to ask first, so Tobirama Senju went straight to the Hokage's office.

An Yan happened to be present. Although everything had been arranged, there were still some things that he, as the top leader, needed to handle personally.

Just then, Tobirama Senju arrived, and his first request was for funding. Tobirama Senju's main research area was the demon bloodline, and he was determined to fuse the demon bloodline with natural energy in order to develop a demon sage mode.

An Yan looked at Konoha's financial statements. Konoha had too many expenses. Although ninjas carried out missions every day to help Konoha earn money, it was almost all a drop in the bucket. However, this was the first time the Second Hokage had asked An Yan for help, so he couldn't refuse and directly allocated the funds. Then he started to worry about the funding problem.

No wonder the ninja village has only had so few people over the past hundred years. During the last four wars, the five great nations only managed to muster 80,000 people to fight against 100,000 White Zetsu. It turns out that if they supported a slightly larger number of ninjas, their economy would almost collapse.

What should we do if there's a problem? Naturally, we'll hold a meeting to discuss it and see what everyone thinks.

An Yan held a small meeting, calling together the leaders of various departments in Konoha to discuss economic issues. Everyone immediately started talking at once.

An Yan originally wanted to brainstorm ideas, but unfortunately, the ninjas under his command were a group of uneducated people. Although people like the Nara clan were highly intelligent, they could not come up with any effective solutions.

Tsunade and Orochimaru, on whom An Yan had placed high hopes, offered no useful suggestions, which greatly disappointed An Yan. He sighed inwardly, realizing that he had been too influenced by the original story's plot and had actually believed that these people were omnipotent.

Seeing that the discussion had yielded no results, An Yan coughed, indicating that he was going to speak, and everyone fell silent.

"Since no one has any good ideas, I do have a long-term plan for the development of Konoha. You might want to listen to it."

An Yan tapped the table with his fingers, then stood up and pointed with one hand. A virtual light and shadow appeared, which was the entire map of the ninja world.

"As we all know, 70% of the land in the Land of Wind is desert, while Konoha has a large number of Wood Release ninjas. If we send someone to negotiate with the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, offering to use Konoha ninjas to help the Land of Wind create forests to improve the environment, I'm sure the Daimyo of the Land of Wind will not be stingy with funds. In the process of environmental transformation, we can also leave some secret bases to prepare for possible future wars."

As soon as An Yan finished speaking, everyone started discussing. For a long time, everyone had used ninjutsu for fighting and killing, and few people would think of using ninjutsu to change the living environment. However, An Yan's method was indeed feasible.

Because Wood Release is special, while other ninjutsu such as wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth will disappear when the chakra is dissipated, leaving only the effect of the ninjutsu, the effect of Wood Release ninjutsu is to summon a large number of plants. Even if the chakra disappears, the trees will absorb rainwater and sunlight and grow strong.

Mitokado Homura said directly, "This matter is feasible. I can go to the Land of Wind to persuade the Daimyo to hire Konoha ninja to transform the Land of Wind. However, although Wood Release is powerful, there is no water source in the desert. I'm afraid that trees without water will not last long."

An Yan smiled and said, "It's very simple, just plant trees all the way from the border of the Land of Fire."

Everyone immediately sensed that An Yan's words had a hidden meaning. If the Konoha ninjas planted trees on the border of the Land of Fire and all the way to the Land of Wind, how would they distinguish which area belonged to the Land of Fire and which area belonged to the Land of Wind?

"Of course, if the Daimyo of the Land of Wind is in a hurry, we have a backup plan. For example, we can open up the mountain range between the Land of Rain, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Rivers, so that the moisture from the Land of Rain can reach the Land of Wind and bring abundant water to the Land of Wind."

As An Yan spoke, the virtual projection in front of him kept changing. Everyone could clearly see the water vapor rising from the sea all the way to the Land of Rain, which was blocked by the mountains of the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers, thus causing the Land of Rain to be rainy all year round.

The obvious change surprised everyone. Nara Shikaku asked directly, "Fourth Boss, can the Intelligence Department use this method as well? We can use the projection of this world map to achieve more efficient intelligence analysis and tactical arrangements."

If ninjas have a map in advance during a mission, they can easily use the terrain to their advantage to fight back or escape when faced with a sudden enemy. It is understandable that the intelligence department, which is responsible for the information before and after a ninja's mission, wants this kind of thing.

An Yan nodded directly, agreeing to the matter.

"Fourth Hokage, Root ninjas travel all over the world. If Root had a world map, it would be much easier for them to carry out their missions."

Seeing this, Hiruko also wanted one. His Root members traveled to various places, and having a world map would indeed make things much easier.

An Yan agreed, and as a result, everyone else chimed in, all wanting the thing, and the conference room became noisy.

Seeing this, An Yan tapped the table, and everyone fell silent.

"This is the latest equipment from the R&D department. It has functions such as scanning, analysis, simulation, and remote communication. I just used one of the simulation functions. In the future, this thing will be equipped to every Jonin. Don't worry, let's continue with the previous topic."

"This afforestation plan has three strategic goals. First, and most importantly, we need to obtain financial support from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to alleviate the economic pressure on Konoha."

Secondly, I've heard that the relationship between the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and the Sand Village has deteriorated significantly in recent years. Elder Mitokado Homura, could you perhaps persuade the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to allow the Konoha ninja to establish a small Konoha village within the Land of Wind, citing the need for long-term environmental restoration, and requesting that the Konoha ninja treat the citizens of the Land of Wind with greater kindness, in order to achieve a peaceful evolution?

Chapter 131 The Sand Village Protests

"Third, by using the desert greening campaign, we can influence the ninjas in the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers who are close to Konoha, and expand Konoha's influence."

At An Yan's command, the entire Hidden Leaf Village sprang into action. Mitomon Homura immediately set off for the capital of the Land of Wind to visit the daimyo of the Land of Wind, while Utatane Koharu went to the capital of the Land of Fire to appease the daimyo of the Land of Fire.

After all, it wouldn't be right not to inform the daimyo of the Land of Fire about such a big matter. As for the daimyo of the Land of Fire, An Yan had already given him a hint about the specifics to Koharu Utatane. All he had to do was to do the bare minimum.

The Wood Release training course in Konoha has reopened, specifically to teach Wood Release to the new generation of Jonin. This time, the class leader is Nawaki. An'an originally wanted to choose Minato Namikaze, but Tsunade strongly insisted on leaving the position to her younger brother Nawaki. An'an thought about it and realized that it seemed reasonable for the First Hokage's grandson to teach everyone Wood Release, so he gave the position to Nawaki.

However, Minato, the SSR, couldn't be idle either. He carried out various S-rank missions at lightning speed, bringing a lot of economic benefits to Konoha.

Soon, Mitokado Homura successfully returned to Konoha. His work went exceptionally smoothly. The Daimyo of the Land of Wind had long harbored a deep dislike for the Sand Village ninja. Upon seeing Konoha's offer of assistance, he readily accepted it, doubling the military funds that were originally intended to support the Sand Village ninja and diverting them to Konoha. He even justified his decision to strongly support Konoha ninja in their efforts to green the Land of Wind. However, the Sand Village ninja had a bitter pill to swallow, as they too longed for a lush, green home. After all, aside from the One-Tailed Beast, who would want to live in a place constantly battered by sandstorms?

However, without the military funding from the current Daimyo of the Land of Wind, life in Sunagakure was extremely difficult. The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had to go out early and return late every day to search for mineral veins and pan for gold dust to support the entire village. However, selling large quantities of gold dust on the market would cause the price of gold to drop. Sunagakure's actions were like drinking poison to quench thirst, but they had no choice but to grit their teeth and persevere.

Konoha sent thirty Jonin proficient in Wood Release into the Land of Wind to carry out this mission. In addition to performing the Great Forest Technique several times a day, they also had the task of cultivating a close relationship with the people of the Land of Wind who were friendly with Konoha.

To prevent hostile ninjas like the Sand Ninja from launching a surprise attack and wiping out Konoha's forces, the leader of these thirty Jonin was Sakumo Hatake, a Kage-level ninja.

The afforestation project started near the capital of the Land of Wind. Originally, the plan was to plant trees all the way from the Land of Fire, but the daimyo of the Land of Wind wanted to gradually spread the project outwards from the capital, connecting the scattered oases together to eventually form a large forest.

Paying money makes you the boss, so Konoha Village listened to the advice of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and decided to start a greening project near the capital of the Land of Wind.

However, since greening projects are not something that can be accomplished overnight, and the Konoha ninjas were outsiders, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, at the request of the Konoha ninjas, allocated a piece of territory for them to reside in temporarily.

Upon receiving the news, An Yan immediately dispatched Minato Namikaze to set up multiple barriers around Konoha's territory in the Land of Wind, and left behind the Flying Thunder God seal to facilitate Konoha's large-scale troop deployment at critical moments.

Konoha's actions this time have sparked a great deal of discussion internationally. Regarding Konoha's assistance to the Land of Wind in its landscaping efforts, some people believe that Konoha has ulterior motives and malicious intentions, while others see it as a symbol of Konoha's yearning for peace. Opinions vary from country to country.

For example, the Raikage of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning strongly condemned Konoha for interfering with the free development of other countries, and the Third Tsuchikage of the Land of Earth also protested against Konoha's actions, believing that Konoha had interfered in the internal affairs of other countries. In response, Konoha stated that it was the Daimyo of the Land of Wind who had extended a warm invitation.

The Sand Village protested, but neither the Daimyo of the Land of Wind nor Konoha ignored them.

Despite the ever-changing international landscape, some countries with harsh living conditions still yearn for Konoha, such as the Land of Rain and the Land of Swamps.

As a result, An Yan received requests from the Daimyo of the Land of Rain and the Land of Swamp while in Konoha, hoping that Konoha could help change the living environment of their respective countries.

An Yan didn't really have any ideas about changing their environment. After all, if the national environment is bad, no one will come to compete for it. But if your environment is good, people might start to fight over it. Change doesn't necessarily bring good things.

However, since they paid, Konoha naturally accepted the money and carried out the task. The daimyo of a small country is naturally not as wealthy as the daimyo of the Land of Wind. For just two simple S-rank missions, An'an directly dispatched a team of three, including Yahiko, Konan, and a Uzumaki clan member who had mastered Wood Release, to carry them out.

The problem in the Land of Rain is easy to solve. Just open a gap in the nearby mountains so that the monsoon can pass through them and reach the Land of Wind. This will effectively alleviate the problem of too much rain.

Asking ninjas to build something might be a challenge for them, but asking them to destroy something is far too easy. All it takes is for Konan to do is blow up the mountain with an explosive tag.

The Land of Swamps is more difficult to deal with. Because the body of the demon Wolverine is sealed there, the country has become a barren and desolate land, with swamps everywhere. Although Wood Release ninjas can slowly change its living environment, the body of the demon Wolverine will continue to change the surrounding environment. Therefore, unless the seal of Wolverine is transferred, it will be futile.

After receiving the news, the daimyo of the Land of Swamp remained silent for a long time. Protecting the body of the demon was a mission that had been passed down for hundreds of years, and they had suffered greatly because of it. Now, seeing that they could improve the country's environment, but were hindered by the demon, the daimyo of the Land of Swamp gritted his teeth and stamped his foot. He didn't want the demon anymore. Did Konoha want this thing?

When the news reached Konoha, An Yan immediately ordered that the demon be brought back, so that Tobirama Senju could conduct research on it. Tobirama Senju had been conducting research for years without any results, and An Yan suspected that the guy might be secretly hiding something big.

An Yan wasn't worried about this at all. Whatever methods Tobirama Senju might use, they were probably all meant to deal with Madara Uchiha. As long as Madara Uchiha lived, Tobirama Senju wouldn't be able to shift his focus.

When the news reached the Land of Swamp, the Jonin of the Uzumaki clan immediately resealed Moryo's body into a jar and brought it back to Konoha remotely via a summoning beast.

Then everyone began a long-term environmental improvement project, digging canals to divert water, lifting stones to plant trees, and working with great enthusiasm.

Konoha entered a period of rapid development, with a large influx of people moving into the village every day, followed by various school-age children attending school and branch schools.