Konoha: Start from untying the caged bird

Page 198

As long as I remain the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, there will never be a future of failure for Konoha. The future I yearn for, the peace I desire, will inevitably become the reality of Konoha!

But all of this requires more than just my efforts; it requires the collective efforts of everyone in Konoha to reap the wonderful fruits of victory.

I hereby make this promise!

As long as you all share my yearning for that peaceful and beautiful future, and are willing to move forward with me!

We are ahead!

Absolutely invincible!

As the words fell, the curtain on the Hokage Rock behind them slowly descended. Next to the statue of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the portrait of Yuzuru Hyuga was sculpted with lifelike detail. He had a gentle smile on his face, but his eyebrows and eyes were quite sharp. He looked like he had both the gentleness of the First Hokage and the majesty of the Second Hokage.

At that moment, both ninjas and civilians responded to his words with great enthusiasm, their cheers echoing his final words. Amidst this jubilation, Hyuga Yuzuru raised his arm and spoke in a resounding final voice.

"Get ready! A new era has begun!"

He put down the microphone, gently pressed down the Hokage's hat to conceal his face, waved to the crowd, and stepped off the stage amidst enthusiastic shouts.

His work was finished, but the grand ceremony tonight was far from over.

People who left the square excitedly discussed what the Fifth Hokage had said at the ceremony.

Konoha welcomed a grand ceremony.

People didn't want to go home, cheering and enjoying the long-lost excitement in the streets. Hyuga Yuzuru also approved the celebration in time. Only tonight, until the early hours of the morning, Konoha was brightly lit, filled with people's laughter and joy.

And tonight's events, the words and thoughts expressed by Hyuga Yuzuru, spread throughout the ninja world as if they had grown wings.

Hyuga Yuzuru knew the importance of public opinion. He not only recorded the entire process of the night with a camera, but also produced the first documentary in Konoha, or rather, the entire ninja world's history, about everything that happened today.

With prices practically given away for free, the goods were distributed at low prices and shipped out in large quantities. Within just a few days, even in the isolated village of Kirigakure at sea, videotapes of this documentary began to circulate.

In today's ninja world, the only function of television is to broadcast movies, but there are only one or two movies each year that are good enough to become popular throughout the ninja world. Most of the time, each family watches their own movies, so the reach is limited.

Hinata Yuzuru's move not only pioneered a new filming genre, 'documentary', but also sold it at an extremely low price, even at a loss. According to Hinata Yuzuru, the film should be available wherever there is a television in the house and wherever it can be sold.

Hyuga Yuzuru even demanded that every shop related to Konoha should have a new, inexpensive television developed by Konoha installed, which would then play documentaries on a loop for free to the public on the street.

The documentary not only records Hyuga Yuzuru's speech, but also the scene of people flocking to Konoha, and the celebratory atmosphere after the speech...

He was extremely cunning, cleverly integrating his own promotional videos and many of Konoha's advertisements into the documentary. Once you watched the whole thing, it was impossible not to notice these things.

The impact of all this is self-evident.

Even in small countries like the Land of Rain and the Land of Tea, there are still people who go hungry, cold, and homeless, enduring harsh conditions and sleeping outdoors.

As they walked the streets, watching televisions in shops related to Konoha showcasing the city's bustling and modern cityscape, the people's glamorous attire, the various delicacies at festivals, and the incredible high-tech products featured in promotional videos...

It's easy to imagine the huge impact this will have on these people.

The borders of the Land of Fire have repeatedly seen waves of immigrants, or rather, a refugee crisis.

Many people who were struggling to make ends meet in their original hometowns yearned for Konoha and set off for the Land of Fire.

They firmly believed that the protagonist of the wildly popular ninja novel "The Reply," and the Hokage featured in the documentary "The Fifth Hokage: The Beginning," would bring them a better life.

For a time, Konoha was almost regarded as an ideal utopia, a fantasy land in the cold reality.

Konoha's work proceeded smoothly. With the tacit approval of the Daimyo, they took over a portion of the territory south of Shangyan, and their sphere of influence suddenly expanded. They went from being a large city to a province, or even larger.

Under Hyuga Yuzuru's arrangement, a large number of grassroots backbone personnel who have been trained in recent years began to take over the surrounding areas to carry out transformation, turning those cities into Konoha from the ground up.

Some people were initially skeptical and hesitant about his large-scale expansion, believing that Konoha's original system was completely incapable of controlling so many towns, or that progress would be extremely slow. However, Hyuga Yuzuru was well-prepared and simply adopted the system that he had implemented and proven in Konoha for many years, turning each city into a mini-Konoha.

The worrying issue of control also disappeared as Konoha Communications rapidly expanded its base stations.

The first mobile phone launched in Konoha, the 'Maple Leaf 1', is a bit expensive for ordinary people. It might take one or two months' salary to buy one, not including usage fees.

However, most members of the ninja community made the purchase immediately.

Although today's mobile phones can only be used for text messages and calls, have long antennas, and occasionally have poor signal, they are gradually becoming the norm due to promotion.

Alongside the mobile phones, landline phones, which were also launched at a lower price, were also available.

Landline phones have a more stable signal, and their price is almost half that of mobile phones. Coupled with discounts and low usage fees, they were quickly promoted in Konoha.

After all, if all else fails, you can always apply for installment payments.

Nowadays in Konoha, as long as you have a stable job, you can apply for a personal credit card at the bank. Hyuga Yuzuru is quite cautious about cultivating credit card usage habits, but he is extremely optimistic about Konoha's future economic situation. After considering many factors, it is still better to encourage consumption to stimulate the economy.

Nowadays, Konoha spends a lot of money every day, and also makes a lot of money in its pocket.

In early August, Konoha released an even more shocking piece of news.

They issued coins belonging to Konoha called 'Konoha Coins'.

Hyuga Yuzuru was extremely cautious about issuing currency. He knew that currency wars were also important wars, but his knowledge in this area was far from extensive. He took things one step at a time, only repeatedly emphasizing the meaning of currency as he understood it, and leaving it to his staff to analyze, simulate, and plan.

Now, Konoha's staff, or more accurately, its administrative department, is gradually becoming more staffed.

Each year, the number of newly graduated students, plus the number of field ninjas who apply for transfers and are approved, can fill nearly a thousand vacancies in various departments of Konoha.

It's impossible for Konoha Village to fully absorb them all, but Konoha is currently in a state of frantic expansion. In addition to Konoha Village, there are also some cities that have been taken over by the Land of Fire and towns that have been developed and built independently that need manpower.

The extent of Konoha's expansion is astonishing—the original Konoha was already quite large, but now, the size of Konoha alone is enough to make it the largest 'village' in the ninja world.

The construction plan has already extended beyond the sixth ring road of Konoha, and the population density is still strangely increasing.

Thanks to the numerous tracks opened up by Konoha, many factories and companies have sprung up. As long as ordinary people have received training and education, they can get a job, and the number of immigrants Konoha receives has gradually increased.

The Land of Fire, acting as a buffer zone, passively absorbed a large number of people that Konoha could not temporarily accommodate, much to the dismay of the Daimyo, who was on the verge of tears. However, he had no choice but to spend money from the national treasury to settle the refugees within his own country.

If these people were to honestly be citizens of the Land of Fire, that would be one thing—but who doesn't know that this group is clearly a potential population of Konoha? If Konoha were willing to open its gates, these people could become Konoha citizens in no time.

Although the people of Konoha are nominally from the Land of Fire, in reality...

How did Konoha cope with the financial pressure of such massive infrastructure construction, refugee intake, and currency issuance?

Naturally, other countries and ninja villages should help digest it.

The Land of Wind has seen its trade deficit repeatedly reach record highs for several consecutive months, but it dares not close itself off from the world. With the trade conditions provided by Sunagakure, they have to endure the devastating impact of Konoha's products on their own economy.

Low prices, better quality, more jobs—yet the people of the Land of Wind are essentially working for Konoha, making money for Konoha, and then using that money to buy Konoha's goods, while the Land of Wind can only collect pitifully low taxes...

We're so poor!

The Daimyo of the Land of Wind had tears in his eyes, yet he had no choice but to spend money to hire the Konoha News Agency to build a base station... Anyone with a brain knows the importance of telephones.

The importance of television was not apparent to the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, but the Konoha Television Station established by Hyuga Yuzuru had already begun to play a role in the Land of Fire.

The Konoha Special Effects Team has been established, and a large number of poorly made TV dramas filled with "Will of Fire" have begun to be broadcast via signal, with daily news reports on the ninja world...

Yuzuru Hinata also strongly encouraged individuals and small families to participate in this economic boom, and various brands began to emerge like mushrooms after rain.

Although Konoha's state-owned enterprises still have many advantages, there is never a shortage of smart people in this world. Various commodities continue to emerge under the impetus of the economy, and all walks of life have also entered a period of explosive and super-fast development.

However, it must be said that Hyuga Yuzuru underestimated some people's enthusiasm for making money.

Amidst the relentless onslaught of various goods from Konoha, Sunagakure surprisingly followed suit and established the Sunagakure Metallurgical Company, breaking through in the metallurgical industry and reaping wealth in the market for the first time.

Luo Sha, that guy who's not a good-for-nothing, actually has some skills.

Thanks to the presence of Granny Chiyo, Sunagakure has also developed many industries in niche sectors such as pharmaceuticals that can rival Konoha, sustaining the village's economy... Of course, the Land of Wind is still suffering huge losses, as they can't keep up with the pace of the current ninja village technological race and are left far behind.

Kirigakure is rather pitiful. Their isolated geographical location forces them to constantly seek development opportunities in the ocean, and it's uncertain whether they can find a way out. However, with the help of Konoha, a large number of factories have begun to be built. Kirigakure can only watch with tears in their eyes as Konoha begins to reap the wealth.

But it's not all bad—at least, while Konoha was making money, it did improve the quality of life for the people in the other ninja villages. Working in Konoha's factories, they could earn money too, right? Some of that money would flow back into Kirigakure's local market. In addition, Kirigakure had been plagued by problems for many years, and most people had low expectations for the future, which led to a greater tendency to save.

Mei Terumi had a sudden inspiration and started to think about how to use bank savings to make investments, just like in Konoha.

If we can't make money from Konoha, can't we at least make money from other small countries?

Even a country that earns water would be fine!

Well, Hinata Yuzuru has set a good example—everyone is starting to stop treating their own daimyo as 'one of their own'.

But compared to Kirigakure and Sunagakure...

In this situation, the most anxious are actually the Cloud Village and the Iwagakure Village, who should have been sitting comfortably with a great advantage.

In mid-August, the Tsuchikage and the Raikage met, and finally, at the end of August, they released a shocking piece of news that shook the ninja world.

Both sides decided to focus on the present and work together to create a better future!

The Yunyan Alliance is established!

A faint, indistinct breeze seemed to be blowing across the entire ninja world.

Just two months later, in mid-October, the gentle breeze that had been blowing through the ninja world suddenly condensed into a massive storm.

Chapter 148 Time Flies

With the establishment of the Cloud Rock Alliance, the first thing to happen was the series of new rules introduced by the Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning.

First, taxes on imported goods increased dramatically, reaching an astonishing 30%, and for some special goods, even astonishing 50%, in order to maintain the internal ecosystem from being overwhelmed.

Following this, a large number of rules supporting the development of local businesses were introduced. As one of the few villages that had once even slightly surpassed Konoha in terms of technology, Kumogakure, despite being secretly outpaced by Konoha's development in recent years, realized the seriousness of the problem and began to catch up with all its might.

Many of Konoha's products don't actually have many high-level or difficult technical barriers. Kumogakure simply obtains the finished products, reverse-engineers them, and can then replicate them with a very high degree of similarity.

Gresham's Law applies here: with high taxes, it is quite difficult for goods from Konoha, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure to be promoted and sold within the territories of Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

In reality, neither Konoha, Sunagakure, nor Kirigakure cares about the restrictions imposed by the Lightning and Earth Kingdoms at this moment, simply because there are too many markets in the ninja world waiting to be explored and seized.

Each ninja village is well aware that it is extremely difficult to catch up with Konoha's current progress in the fields of communications and heavy industry, but with their own years of accumulation, they also have their own unique technological trees that allow them to stand proudly in the ninja world.

The power technology of Kumogakure and the abundant mineral and soil resources of Iwagakure combined to create a behemoth enterprise that even surprised Hyuga Yuzuru.

'United Energy'.

Iwagakure provided the basic materials, while Kumogakure provided the relevant technology. Once the two joined forces, they achieved a remarkable technological leap in a very short time. In the field of energy, they not only caught up with Konoha at an astonishing speed, but also began to compete with Konoha for the market.

The entire ninja world was plunged into complete chaos.

In the past, the conflicts in the ninja world were mostly limited to basic territorial disputes and the struggle for resources. But now, the Pandora's Box that Hyuga Yuzuru opened has allowed the Kage to see a much broader picture: intangible resources spread throughout the world.

The Land of Hot Water, the Land of Iron, the Land of Tea, the Land of Birds, the Land of Rivers, the Land of Grass, the Land of Waves...

The markets of these small countries were almost completely swallowed up by the major ninja villages, offering virtually no resistance.

All of this happened even before the leaders of those small countries or ninja villages realized the dangers behind this business activity!

When they suddenly awoke, they were shocked to find that their own market had become the backyard of various ninja villages. Countless new products had completely destroyed the original business ecosystem. The factories supported by the various ninja villages and the industries and resources they had acquired had turned them into puppets of the various ninja villages.

Ironically, their own people have become staunch supporters of other ninja village companies, simply because the jobs of a large number of locals now depend entirely on these factories and companies...

Large quantities of raw materials and resources were plundered at low prices and then flowed back here as high-priced commodities. It seemed that everyone had a bright future, but when people came to their senses, they were suddenly shocked to find that, apart from a small amount of tax revenue, a large amount of their wealth and resources had been collected by various ninja villages.

After 'sucking blood', the major ninja villages showed no intention of stopping, because the current battles, though without gunpowder, were extremely dangerous. Every new market expansion and battle was a bloodless gamble.

Until March of the 65th year of Konoha, something that shocked the ninja world happened.

The Land of Frost, a small country bordering the Land of Lightning and closest to the Hidden Cloud Village, has declared its disintegration.

After the entire country suddenly disintegrated, nearly 80% of its land resources and population were directly absorbed by the Land of Lightning.

Whether this is disintegration or the Hidden Thunder Village finally showing its fangs, what exactly happened behind the scenes is known to all.

This incident caused an uproar throughout the country.

Small countries protested one after another, filled with fear, and finally began to look for ways to save themselves.

So, how can we save ourselves?

The only way is to stick together.

The Land of Hot Water, which is right next to the Land of Frost, was the first to realize the unpredictable nature of the ninja world. If it didn't want to be completely wiped out, it had to find a way to survive as a small country.

As a nation currently sandwiched between Kumogakure and Konoha, they were the first to react, actively seeking a way to survive. Their first priority was to establish contact with Konoha.

The daimyo of the Land of Hot Water set off overnight for the Land of Fire, or more precisely, for Konoha Village.

With the help of the well-developed roads in the Land of Fire, they arrived at Konoha Village in just two days.

When the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Springs met Hyuga Yuzuru, after they were both seated in the conference room, the first thing he said was, "Please, Hokage-sama, save my Land of Hot Springs!"

Hyuga Yuzuru sat calmly in the head seat, feigning ignorance: "What does the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Springs mean by this?"

"The Hidden Cloud Village has now invaded the Land of Frost, using despicable means to tear it apart. Their wolfish ambitions are known to all under heaven!"

After much deliberation, I realize that if anyone in the world can stop this disaster, it is only Konoha Village and the Fifth Hokage. I implore you, Hokage, to devise a plan for the millions of people in the Land of Hot Springs to survive!

The daimyo of the Land of Hot Water adopted an extremely humble attitude, pleading, "As long as Konoha is willing to protect my Land of Hot Water, my Land of Hot Water is willing to take Konoha's lead and stand together with you!"

Hyuga Yuzuru asked, "How can Konoha possibly lend you a helping hand?"