Chapter 53: Making an Example
"Get moving! We're fighting for ourselves!"
On the barren desert, a steward shouted hoarsely, urging everyone to get to work.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the Steward looked at the giant trees rooted in the desert beside him and smiled.
To keep these trees alive and transform the environment of Sunagakure and the Land of Wind, they had launched the Battle Ruins River Channels Project encircling the Land of Wind.
They had sacrificed far too much for this project.
The Steward was a civilian ninja. Having come from Sunagakure, he knew more than most.
For the River Channels Project, half of Sunagakure's tax revenue and a quarter of the Land of Wind's budget had been poured into it.
"We must work hard, for the future."
Whenever he imagined the future—of the Land of Wind becoming a place covered in green grass and towering trees, of his children running through the woods amid peals of laughter—
The Steward grew excited, his entire body filled with strength.
The Steward had heard that the Land of Fire's land had not been much better back then, equally desolate and barren.
But then they produced a cheater, some freak who could plant trees everywhere.
In one go, he had filled the entire Land of Fire with trees. Otherwise, the First Hokage would not have been especially unfriendly toward him.
"Steward, Steward! The newly arrived refugees are causing trouble again!"
While the Steward was dreaming of a bright future, someone ran over from afar to report.
"Zongkai, why are you so flustered? What kind of behavior is that? You're already part of the leadership. Stay calm. If even you can't stay calm, how can everyone else trust you?" the steward said disapprovingly.
"Yes." Zongkai took a deep breath, caught his