Planned Preparations

Planned Preparations

"All right, I understand. You may leave for now. Lord Ebizo hasn't returned yet, so I'll leave these administrative affairs to you.

Make sure to keep a close eye on every project."

Yunqing nodded in satisfaction. He did not have many demands at the moment. As long as they proceeded step by step, they would definitely see results within five years.

The money and food they had stockpiled were enough to last several years, so there was no need to worry.

Not to mention that they were still creating wealth. Once the Second Ninja World War ended in a few years, the other great nations and Ninja Villages would dump their products on them in order to develop themselves. Sunagakure would no longer lack food.

"Lord Kazekage, why are you planting cacti? You even want to assign people specifically to research cultivation techniques. What a waste of manpower and resources."

Pakura felt that her life was too difficult. Not only could she not understand many of Yunqing's methods, but even his bizarre orders were truly hard to believe.

"Cacti can stabilize the sand and block windstorms. They can also be eaten. Never mind the taste or nutritional value—just the fact that they can be eaten is enough reason for me to plant them."

Yunqing gave an odd smile.

In his previous life, he had heard that cacti could be eaten. Ever since arriving in this life, he had been researching them, but unfortunately, there had been no progress.

Still unwilling to give up, he had persuaded Sāmon that cacti could stabilize the soil and protect against wind and sandstorms, urging him to order everyone to plant more of them.

Facts proved that he had been right. There were many strange people in this world, and after more than a decade of widespread cactus planting, part of the environment had truly improved.

Most importantly, someone had actually figured out how to eat cacti. Though they tasted awful, it was still better than having nothing.

Yunqing now held the method for eating cacti in his hands.

"Eat them? You've got to be kidding. How are you supposed to eat something covered in thorns?"

Pakura could not help but complain.

She truly could not imagine how something like a cactus could be eaten.

"Haha, enough talk. Hearing is nothing compared to seeing. You'll understand once you see it.

For now, issue an order for me. Half a month from now, I will hold a Food Competition. Whoever wins—

If it's a ninja, I'll grant them one Forbidden Jutsu.

If it's a civilian, they can have land if they want land, money if they want money, and women if they want women."

An eerie light flickered in Yunqing's eyes, and a chilling smile hung on his lips.

Pakura did not argue. She quickly left for the place where the elders handled administrative affairs to relay the order.

"Finally, I can begin the first phase. If cacti can be eaten, they can support more people. That will allow us to create a culture of our own. In a roundabout way, I've broken open the food monopoly.

Stockpiling grain has been partially accomplished. Now I can try building high walls."

Leaning back in his chair, Yunqing's thoughts churned.

Different perspectives led to different ways of viewing problems.

Pakura had been born into a clan faction. No matter how small it was, she would never have lacked food, clothing, or daily necessities.

Naturally, she did not care about things like cacti.

But for ordinary residents of the Land of Wind, once it was confirmed that cacti could be eaten, they would certainly plant them in great numbers.

Even if they tasted terrible, as long as they could save lives and keep people from going hungry, everyone would go mad for them.

"Mm, I should go see Elder Chiyo. I'll need her support for this matter."

Thinking of the celebrity effect from his previous life, Yunqing had an idea.

If a medical authority like Chiyo could vouch for him, his plan would be much easier to carry out.

No sooner said than done, Yunqing headed straight for Chiyo's medical department.

"Well, well. What brings Lord Kazekage here to see me today?"

Having just completed a project and successfully made a certain medicine available to civilians, Chiyo had barely sat down when she spotted Yunqing and immediately teased him.

She had not forgotten that Yunqing was responsible for her current "happy" life. It was this fellow who had suggested making those medicines available to ordinary people.

Being able to detoxify poison was nothing special. The real skill was making it so that anyone could pick a blade of grass from the roadside and use it to detoxify themselves.

"What are you saying? Can't I come even when I don't need anything?" Yunqing laughed awkwardly. He also knew where Chiyo's resentment toward him came from.

Chiyo was a grandmother with a grandson. She should have been at home keeping him company, yet now she could only spend every day in the laboratory.

Under Chiyo's resentful gaze, Yunqing wilted and said helplessly, "Please take a look at this."

He casually tossed Chiyo the record detailing how to eat cacti, then continued, "You should understand the value of this. I've already had people organize a Food Competition.

I hope you can discover more benefits of cacti and step forward to promote them."

"I understand. You want everyone to pay enough attention to this, and you want me to be the spokesperson."

Chiyo pondered for a moment before quickly grasping the key point.

Yunqing nodded. This was not a major problem.

It was simply the celebrity effect. The biggest celebrity in the Land of Wind at present was Chiyo. She had made several medicines affordable for civilians and distributed them across the country, saving countless lives.

Everyone believed that Chiyo was an authority.

"I'm changing my next project to studying cacti. Give me a few days."

Chiyo put away the scroll and tossed it onto her workbench, then looked at Yunqing with a grave expression.

She suddenly recalled that when Yunqing was young, he had once urged them to plant cacti extensively in the Desert, citing their resilience, their ability to survive anywhere, and their usefulness in preventing sandstorms.

I'm afraid this guy thought of this more than a decade ago. Even if he didn't, he must have studied it.

This old lady doesn't believe an ordinary civilian would have so much time to research something like this.

The corners of Chiyo's lips lifted as she thought with a smile.

She did not mind being schemed against, especially not this kind of well-intentioned scheme.

In the endless Desert of the Land of Wind, Rasa was leading his little girlfriend, Karura, in searching for underground rivers and water sources.

"I really never expected there to be such abundant water beneath the Land of Wind."

Rasa looked at the map in his hand, where water sources had already been marked, and spoke with feeling.

"Yes. It's truly unbelievable. If Lord Kazekage hadn't pushed through all opposition and decided that we should develop ourselves and explore our own resources, we'd still be living in war."

Karura narrowed her eyes and smiled happily.

At the same time, she used her sand-control ability to sense the flow of sand underground, hoping to locate subterranean rivers.

As long as they found underground rivers, they could use ninjutsu to build small cities one after another for vegetation projects.

At the very least, even if they could not grow trees, they could grow cacti.

They did not care how well or how tall the vegetation grew. They only cared that there was vegetation.

"Rasa, have you noticed? All the underground rivers come from the direction of the Land of Rain and the sea. There are very few from Konoha's direction."

Karura studied the marked directions on the map, a sharp glint flashing through her eyes.