Kitsuchi was in a terrible mood. With a heavy heart, he led Uchiha Kō to Little River Ditch Village.
Although Uchiha Kō had mentally prepared himself for the possibility that conditions in Little River Ditch Village might be poor and that people might not have enough to eat, he still couldn't help but gasp when he actually arrived at Little River Ditch Village and saw the miserable state of the village.
Ninety percent of the villagers' homes are thatched huts, and their farming equipment is all made of wood. The villagers are emaciated and often go hungry.
The old man was starved to the point of being as thin as a skeleton, his eyes were cloudy, and he had clearly lost his yearning for a better life.
Hatake Sakumo clenched his fists and gave Kitsuchi a cold look. "You Iwagakure are really something! The village itself isn't very well built, but you've gone all out on buying equipment, spending a billion yen straight away!"
Kitsuchi blushed under their gaze, but it wasn't his fault. The villagers in Little River Ditch Village were completely unreasonable. If you tried to persuade them to farm, they would only say, "How much money can you make from farming?"
Letting them engage in business is impossible given the Little River Ditch Village's geographical location, the stinking ditch in the village, and the lack of local specialties; it's simply impossible for them to become prosperous and strong.
Giving money directly? We've done that before, but it only fueled the laziness of the villagers. They spend all day lounging in their houses like useless people!
Finally, Ōnoki ordered the funding to stop, and the villagers didn't protest, as if they had long expected this day to come, and they looked down on Ōnoki, Kitsuchi and others.
Uchiha Kō was heavy-hearted. Although this was a slum in Iwagakure, the Ninja World was now unified, and these villagers were also his subjects. How could they be happy to see their subjects living in such a miserable state!
He looked at the Kitsuchi, hoping Kitsuchi could give him a reasonable explanation!
Helpless, Kitsuchi Tu explained the actual situation in the village and what Rock District had done before. He had no other choice but to designate this area as a public welfare governance zone.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Kō fell silent. To be honest, if that were the case, it was no wonder that Kitsuchi and the others were not to blame. It was because the villagers had lived here for so long that they had become numb and had lost hope in life.
Moreover, they knew nothing about the outside world and felt that they were just living day by day.
People often think that poverty breeds resourcefulness, but they also think that since everyone is poor, they might as well just give up and do nothing.
What's the point of working hard? In the end, you'll still be living a poor life in the village.
Uchiha Kō looked at the Kitsuchi and said, "Next, you, me, Madara, Sakumo, Kakashi, and I will go with you to visit the local people."
No one else is allowed to disturb private residences!
"Yes!" Both the Anbu Ninja and the Rock District ANBU ninja answered in unison.
With that, Uchiha Kō led the four of them toward the nearest house.
Uchiha Kō gestured for Kitsuchi to knock on the door, since Huang Tu was Iwagakure and should be more convincing than an outsider like himself.
Kitsuchi sighed, then spoke in the dialect of Iwagakure), and only then did someone come to open the door.
The person who opened the door was a gaunt man. He looked at Kitsuchi with a smile and said, "Lord Kitsuchi, what brings you to the village again? Could it be that the Rock District hasn't abandoned us? Have you come to give us money?"
He bared his large, yellow teeth, and his breath reeked of stench. Kitsuchi Tu frowned, forcing himself to endure the discomfort, and said, "Lord Hokage is here to inspect the people's livelihood in Little River Ditch Village, please make way!"
The villager was stunned. Hokage? Who's Hokage? They'd only heard of Tsuchikage, they had no idea what Hokage was!
It's really not their fault. News is very scarce here, and many locals have left and never returned.
The villagers will only think they are dead, and will never imagine that they have become rich and are living a good life!
Ignoring the thoughts of the villagers of Little River Ditch Village, Uchiha Kō went inside and found a woman covered with a blanket curled up on the bed.
Her snow-white skin was clearly different from the dark, earthy skin of the villagers, and her eyes held a hint of panic and disappointment with life.
Despite his young age, he exuded an aura of death. Looking at the man with yellowed teeth, the man chuckled, "You're that so-called Hokage, right? How about it? Isn't my new girl pretty? She cost me five hundred taels!"
"Want to play around? It'll only cost 10 taels!" he grinned lewdly.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Kō's face visibly darkened, while the woman's eyes lit up at the mention of the Hokage. She quickly threw off the covers, disregarding her disheveled appearance, and knelt on the bed.
"Lord Hokage, help! Lord Hokage! I was originally a villager from Cai Xu Village in the Land of Fire. On my way to visit my family in Konoha, I was captured by several ninjas."
"They captured me and several other girls and brought us here, selling us to the villagers for 500 taels each. We told them we could pay him, but they mocked us."
"I just dislike Konoha, who cares about your money!"
Then they were sold to local bachelors, where they suffered inhuman torture every day. She even heard that some of them had been raped and then killed, and boiled into soup!
Kitsuchi suddenly knelt on the ground. "Lord Hokage, spare me! I really didn't know about these things! Lord Hokage, when I came to investigate a month ago, this hadn't happened yet!"
Unexpectedly, the girl spat out, "They knew you were coming and were afraid you would rob us, so they chained us up in the cellar like dogs!"
Kitsuchi's face turned pale. He wanted to kill everyone in this Little River Ditch Village. It was one thing to buy and sell women, but women from Konoha!
What a bunch of troublemakers!
Uchiha Kō gave Hatake Sakumo a look, signaling him to make a move, but Uchiha directly pulled out a scythe and beheaded the yellow-toothed man with a single stroke.
This terrifying scene startled the woman, who then screamed. Although her scream was somewhat shrill, it attracted the attention of the villagers.
People flocked to the yellow-toothed man's house, eager to join in the fun. If it weren't for the Rock District ninja and Konoha Anbu standing at the door, holding gleaming Kunai and longswords, they would have gone inside to watch the spectacle long ago.
Uchiha Kō glanced at Uchiha lowered his head, realizing he hadn't done enough; otherwise, why would he have let these girls suffer like this?
Uchiha Kō's left eye Mangekyō Sharingan, and the Resurrection skill was activated, restoring the Konoha girl's injuries, numbering over a dozen.
After recovering, he bowed his head and apologized. "I'm sorry, it's my fault. As Hokage, I failed to protect my people!"
The woman quickly stood up and shook her head. "It's not your fault, Lord Hokage. We know the contributions you've made over the decades, and the people are living in peace and prosperity. It's just... it's just..." She wanted to say something to Uchiha Kō so that he wouldn't blame himself.
But remembering what she had been through, she couldn't bring herself to say it, and tears welled up in her eyes as she cried!
Uchiha Kō took a deep breath and swallowed his robe and outer garment, leaving himself only in the shirt underneath.
Once the girl had calmed down, he asked, "Do you know where the other Konoha girls who were captured are?"
"I know!" Uchiha Kō asked. The girl stopped crying and nodded.
Uchiha Kō nodded. "You stay beside me and point it out to me."
After saying that, he appeared at the door with the girl, and the villagers immediately erupted in an uproar. "Where did this outsider come from? Get out of our village!"
"This girl was bought by the people of our village! Where are you taking her?"
"Leave the people here, or you won't be leaving this village safely!"
"Poor mountains and bad waters breed unruly people," they clamored, demanding that Uchiha Kō hand over the man so they could hurry up and disappear.
The girl turned pale with fear. She trembled as she looked at the villagers' hungry and greedy eyes. She tugged at Uchiha Kō's arm.
Uchiha Kō's face was grim. He waved his hand, and the next moment, the Anbu led by Hatake Sakumo swiftly brought down their blades, killing the villagers who had just been unreasonable and hurling insults on the spot!
In an instant, the other villagers were horrified by what they saw. These outsiders killed without hesitation and without mercy! They were devils!
The old man at the village entrance, whose eyes had been cloudy, suddenly brightened. He stood up unsteadily, then walked towards them, leaning on his cane, his eyes filled with excitement.
When he reached Uchiha Kō, he knelt down with a thud. "This humble subject is the administrator of this village, and has come here to beg forgiveness from you, sir!"
"This humble citizen begs Your Excellency to execute all those who buy and sell women in the village."
"This humble citizen begs Your Excellency to execute all those involved, including the silver-wearing father and daughter!"
"This humble citizen thrice begs Your Excellency to execute this incompetent administrator. For thirty years, I have been ignored and ostracized; no one has taken my words seriously."
"I could only drift through each day in a daze, but now, seeing the adults' decisive and ruthless actions, I finally feel hope!" The old man knelt on the ground, banging his head against the ground repeatedly.
Uchiha Kō had someone help him up. "Since you know the situation here, why don't you go find someone?" Uchiha Kō was puzzled; he didn't think this administrator was someone who would collude with the villagers.
"They send people to watch me every day to prevent me from going out to deliver messages. At the same time, when the higher-ups come to inspect, they hide me and prevent me from meeting the messenger!" At this point, the administrator began to cry.
Uchiha Kō remained silent, then glanced at Kitsuchi. Kitsuchi gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, Lord Hokage, I will definitely give Konoha an explanation!"
Uchiha Kō spoke up, "It's not just about giving Konoha an explanation, it's about giving all the girls in the world who have been abducted an explanation!"
Uchiha Kō corrects the path!
Kitsuchi Tu nodded. "I understand." Then, guided by the abducted girl from the Land of Fire and under Kitsuchi's command, the Rock District ninja raised their knives and slashed at the human traffickers!
With a splash, the villain's head was severed, and his blood flowed into the stinking ditch.
The stench from the ditch grew increasingly foul, and the villagers' eyes, no longer filled with greed, became clear. They looked at Uchiha Kō with unwavering honesty.
Uchiha Kō looked at them with utter disgust!