Year 19 of Konoha Spring: Reckless!

At the Ninja Academy, the teacher arrived for class today only to discover that several students in the classroom were being ostracized.

Simply put, the students who were supposed to be sitting next to them would rather squeeze in with others than sit beside them.

The ones being ostracized were the children from the Sarutobi, Shimura, Hyuga, and Inuzuka clans.

The teacher frowned: "What are you all doing?

Go back to your own seats! Forming cliques and ostracizing classmates at such a young age—everyone in this class is a classmate, everyone is a friend! What is the meaning of this?!"

One student stood up, neck stiff: "But teacher! It's because of them that the water pipes installed in our homes can't provide any water!

My mom has to carry buckets to that far-off water station every single day!"

With one child leading the way, the other children stood up to echo the sentiment.

Konoha currently has a water station in each of the four districts: north, south, east, and west.

However, the water stations are fixed locations, and some people are too lazy to run that far with buckets, so they buy water from traveling vendors who draw it from the river outside Konoha; it's quite clean and clear, at least for now, before any industrial pollution.

Because the water stations are crowded and often require waiting in line, it's less trouble to just buy it directly.

Although some people have a little extra money now, they still don't want to spend it on water, so they trek the long distance to the stations.

In fact, when the four districts were being renovated, the water pipes had already been laid; it was just that the Water Plant hadn't been built, so there was no water.

--Speaking of this, Senju Tobirama admired his grand-nephew even more; he had thought of these future plans two years ago, a capability he himself certainly didn't possess--

And now, the houses built two years ago were promised water, and it was supposed to be connected by now, but in the end, it still didn't happen.

You tell me, wouldn't people be angry?

Of course, in the eyes of Yuya, this was a case of the interests of the majority of Konoha being thwarted by the selfish motives of a few clans.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents; while this matter wasn't quite that severe, it was certainly infuriating.

The adults were still wary of the ninjas from these clans or feared souring their relationships.

But when reflected in the children, it was simple and clear.

If I don't want to play with you, I don't want to play with you.

Children are all about authenticity; there is not a shred of scheming or intrigue.

The teacher felt helpless and could only lecture the students that they shouldn't act this way, that it was wrong.

But in reality, the teacher himself hated those clans to the core.

If it weren't for them, he might have been able to use water from the pipes in a little while...

When interests don't involve them, many people can remain indifferent, but if it touches their own lives, everyone becomes incredibly realistic.

The classic saying, "Why are you willing to donate a million but not a cow?" "Because I actually own a cow," is exactly this principle.

But the children were innocent, and no matter how he felt, the teacher couldn't take his anger out on them.

The Ninja Academy was just a microcosm; although everyone in Konoha was working during the day, they couldn't help but complain about those ninja clans while on the job.

By now, the Ninja News, which came out once or twice a week with occasional extra editions, had become the top choice for many to pass the time.

Buying a copy whenever passing a newsstand had almost become a habit.

As it turned out, the first piece of news they saw in the Ninja News today was about this very mess.

Many people were absolutely furious.

Yet, such is reality; what could they do?

Better to just get back to work.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha clan was feeling a bit bewildered.

They were still debating whether or not to accept Senju Tobirama's proposal, with the radicals and conservatives arguing incessantly.

As it turned out, once they saw the news today, oh well, there was no need to argue anymore, because those other clans demanded that if the Uchiha were to get a plant, they shouldn't be the only ones benefiting—and the whole thing had fallen through.

The Uchiha clan was livid.

But what could they do?

They had been debating here for over a week, Senju Tobirama hadn't received their reply, and on the other side, those other clans were protesting; what else could happen?

This matter was indeed a good thing, but the final result could only be this.

In the end, the Uchiha clan lost their Water Plant, and they still had to repair the waterwheel on the upper reaches of the Naka River.

Senju Tobirama would never let the Uchiha off the hook for that, as it was needed to irrigate the farmland.

The Uchiha clan also knew that if they didn't agree, the people of Konoha would likely start cursing them along with the others.

So, forget it, they would repair it; if it was fixed, they would benefit too, as they had land there as well.

And now that the Water Plant was gone, and after all that talk about Senju Tobirama trying to bribe the Uchiha clan—the whole thing had collapsed, so give me back my massive Water Plant!

The radicals in the Uchiha compound were very embarrassed this time, but there was no helping it; a Water Plant was a massive investment, after all, as it concerned the water supply for hundreds of thousands of people in Konoha.

Sigh...

How did the water usage seem to align with the population of several hundred thousand...

It felt inexplicably as if this Water Plant wasn't actually that large.

But never mind, Yuya surely built it to a scale capable of supporting a million people; he wasn't afraid of it being too big, only that it might be too small to meet the demand.

Regardless, the blueprints were finished, so the next step was just waiting for those clans to cave in and for the Uchiha to beg Senju Tobirama so construction could begin.

Clearly, Yuya had judged the situation correctly.

The bones of these clans weren't as hard as they seemed; having been hit by Yuya's direct public opinion offensive, how could these clans possibly withstand such a war?

The people of these ninja clans would rather fight a real battle on the front lines with blades and guns than have their spines poked at by the villagers back home.

Once these clans conceded, the next step would be for the Uchiha clan to beg Senju Tobirama to continue building the Water Plant.

And so, Senju Tobirama waited for one day, two days, three days...

He waited for a full half-month, only to finally be met by Kagami Uchiha, who arrived with a face full of embarrassment and shame, yet was forced to lower his head and plead with Senju Tobirama.

Senju Tobirama remained silent for a long time, eventually offering Kagami Uchiha nothing but a sigh before telling him that construction on the Water Plant would begin the very next day.

Yuya could tell that Kagami Uchiha felt deeply aggrieved, but there was no other way.

In the end, he was still an Uchiha.

It didn't take long to build the Water Plant, and on the day water began to flow through Konoha, the entire village was filled with excited cheers.

For Yuya, this was something that could only be described as average, but for the majority of people in Konoha, it was truly the first time they had ever seen such a thing.

And time quickly arrived at the nineteenth year of Konoha.

Hm? What? Did I forget something?

Ah, oh, right, the aftermath of the Mizukage and the Tsuchikage perishing together—Konoha had to provide some kind of reaction...

Hmm... skip that.

At this moment, internal development was the true path for Konoha; the Tsuchikage and Mizukage killing each other off was indeed beneficial to them, but the subsequent impact was just so-so.

Yuya simply sent condolences to both villages as a matter of routine.

At the same time, he took the opportunity to ask if the Land of Earth had any interest in joining Konoha's Commercial Street.

The Land of Earth had plenty of grain, and potatoes were indeed quite filling.

However...

It seemed those two nations were fighting internally over the position of the Third Kage...

Hmm... ignore them; focusing on one's own development was the main event.

Then, in the spring of the nineteenth year of Konoha.

The Raikage sent people to Konoha.

The core message was simple: It looks like we can't keep fighting. How about we call a truce?

Senju Tobirama waved his hand dismissively: "Truce my foot! I'm going to keep beating you! You think you can just start a fight when you want and stop when you want?!"

However, he was held back by Yuya.

Yuya offered his opinion: The most important thing for Konoha right now is its own development; as long as we are strong, everything else is just child's play.

Senju Tobirama accepted Yuya's advice and then set a condition: A truce is possible, but your Raikage must crawl to Konoha to sign the peace treaty.

If he doesn't come, then we keep fighting!

The Raikage was furious, and in the spring of the nineteenth year of Konoha, Kumogakure continued its battle with Konoha.

Even though it was impossible for Kirigakure and Iwagakure to get involved between these two, and Sunagakure was busy with the South-to-North Water Diversion project and couldn't intervene either.

But Kumogakure just felt they couldn't back down.

They were just stubborn enough to keep clashing with Konoha.

The main strategy could be summed up in one word: Reckless!

Today is the 5th, the first round of promotion only lasted three days, and there's still no notification for a second round. It's over. Well, it's expected; I'm just a hack writer, and I've been roasted by so many people for my setting, asking why the gold I conjured turns back to normal when it touches water. It would be a miracle if the results were any good.