It Pays Wages Too

As the war continued and pressure on the front lines mounted, the major ninja villages began facing the predicament of insufficient fighting strength.

Thus, the Shinobi World saw another massive wave of early graduations, with countless newly graduated ninjas of tender age appearing on the battlefield.

Under such intense warfare, every village suffered heavy losses. The entire Shinobi World seemed shrouded in a gloomy haze, and the Land of Wind, as the battlefield, also appeared to have taken on an exceedingly somber atmosphere because of the war.

Even Sunagakure was not spared. Although the powerful Iwagakure and Kumogakure had withdrawn their troops, Kirigakure still had not. No matter how fierce the war with Konoha became, it still refused to abandon its attacks on Sunagakure.

There were also harassments from some smaller ninja villages. Apart from Pakura's area, the pressure on the ninjas along Sunagakure's borders was no longer as great as it had been at the beginning, but... they still could not withdraw their troops!

Autumn in the Land of Wind was not as scorching as summer, especially now that it was late autumn, when the climate was even cooler.

Aside from the stronger winds and slightly greater amount of sand, the Land of Wind was actually quite pleasant at this time.

The requirements for alchemical purification were not that high. After all, carrying out complete alchemical purification was no simple task, so the process was simplified and the Gold Dust was not pure.

Of course, this also had its advantages. Namely... the quantity was huge!!!

If he had not diverted public funds and filled the gap with eighty million Silver Liang, the Gold Dust he was currently obtaining through Chakra probably would not have been enough for all the villagers to purify together.

Antiques thrive in prosperous times, while gold thrives in chaotic times.

Thus, the price of gold in the Land of Wind had risen to an astonishing level, with no sign of falling anytime soon.

No wonder the original Rasa had been able to support the entire village by panning for gold in the sand.

This period of war was probably the crucial time when Sunagakure accumulated its wealth.

As for the current... Rasa even speculated inwardly that perhaps Sunagakure's occasional troublemaking and warmongering had another important factor behind it: the rising price of gold.

Otherwise... they kept losing battles yet kept making trouble. Was Sunagakure simply so bored in the desert that it was desperate for something to do?

Without profits... who would do something so thankless?

Could it be... that the village had too many people to support, so it decided to start a war and send its surplus population to their deaths?!

That was impossible, right~

Of course, no matter what the truth was, it had nothing to do with him, the Fourth Kazekage, at present. If things really were as he had guessed, he would even have to conceal the truth properly.

After all, he was the Fourth Kazekage now!

As for the money earned from panning for gold, part of it would serve as the workers' wages. Relying on volunteer labor would not last forever, and he estimated that hardly anyone would want to waste time refining a tiny amount of gold in such a barren desert without receiving any compensation!

Therefore, for the healthy development of the gold-panning industry, wages still had to be paid.

And the other portion...

Would be used for the village's operating expenses, food procurement, subsidies for the families of the fallen, compensation for ninjas fighting abroad, and so on.

Therefore, during this period, for the sake of the village's harmonious and stable development, he could only restrain himself somewhat. After all... once the village developed, it would benefit him as well.

Besides, he, Rasa, was not the sort of person who could not distinguish right from wrong, misappropriated public funds, and mindlessly spent money on Chakra.

His reputation was still quite reliable. Whenever the villagers mentioned his name, which of them did not raise a thumb and shout that Lord Fourth Kazekage was an honest and trustworthy, friendly and helpful, benevolent Kage who cared for his village?

At the crude open-air Alchemy Factory in the desert, everyone worked extremely diligently.

There was no need for inspections, supervision, or anything of the sort.

"So, Lord Kazekage, you don't need to worry about everyone slacking off." The mustached man looked solemnly at the young Fourth Kazekage before him and said in a serious tone, "Everyone in our village knows what they should and shouldn't do. Especially when it comes to your orders, Lord Kazekage—who would dare disobey?"

"I just came by to take a look. I didn't mean anything else."

Rasa smiled faintly as he looked at the Kousa beside him.

He had only been promoted to Jonin this year. Serious and conscientious by nature, he regarded the village's honor and prestige as his highest priorities. Any task the village entrusted to him was completed with utmost diligence.

He was quite famous among the Jonin. Even Chiyo held him in high regard and had specifically told him before leaving that if there were any important or confidential missions, she could assign them to him.

Thus...

Rasa had assigned him to manage the Alchemy Factory.

After all, alchemy was currently one of Sunagakure's main economic pillars, and he believed there was nothing more important in the village at present.

Kousa had not disappointed him, either. He had worked diligently from the moment production began, and whenever Rasa handed over the Gold Sand he had gathered, Kousa would quickly distribute it according to the workload of the ninjas and ordinary villagers.

He was a trustworthy ninja!

"Is the amount of Gold Sand produced each day a little too much?"

Things were different now. His Chakra reserves were also considerable. At the very least, with the occasional Blue Potion added in, the Gold Sand he gathered... was enough to build several pyramids in the desert.

"The current amount is just about right. Everyone is working very seriously." Kousa continued speaking with the same solemn expression. "After all, this is work Lord Kazekage arranged for everyone. Lord Kazekage works so hard every day to gather Gold Sand for us, so how could everyone slack off? If anyone dared to, the others definitely wouldn't let him off."

What work was there to do in Sunagakure?

Apart from periodic housing inspections, building houses, and clearing away sand and dust, what else could they do?

With the Wind and Sand so fierce, even opening a small shop was inconvenient. Besides, Sunagakure had little to sell. During peacetime, most of the merchants selling goods in the village came from other villages. Sunagakure... of course had merchant caravans too, but they were basically used to purchase supplies or gather intelligence.

After all, there was nothing in the village to sell. Were they supposed to sell sand?

As for Sunagakure's specialty... poison...

As another important pillar industry of Sunagakure, it could not be sold openly.

It could only be secretly taken to the black market by Jonin, or sold directly to other familiar contacts.

"Everyone sees Lord Rasa gathering Gold Sand in the desert early every morning, working tirelessly for the village's construction and development. How could they possibly let down Lord Kazekage's trust?"

"Then... does everyone have any suggestions or opinions?"

Kousa's earnest flattery made Rasa feel a little embarrassed inside. Although he truly was as selfless, devoted, and hardworking as Kousa described, as Kazekage, he still had to remain composed.

"Well... not really." Kousa pondered for a moment before shaking his head with a faint smile. "After the ninjas from the first batch of Gold Dust sales returned with Silver Liang, even if anyone had opinions, they wouldn't have any now. After all... Lord Kazekage pays wages too!"

With wages... who would dare say no?

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