One Day of Reclamation and the Beauty of Terraced Fields

Hearing that they could earn money to support their families, the children grew spirited, one after another declaring they would work hard to reclaim the wasteland.

Several boys, impatient by nature, hoisted hoes taller than themselves and swung them down.

Clang!

The hoes struck stone, sparking a few flickers of light.

The force of the rebound erupted, flipping the boys over and sending them rolling down the slope.

The children laughed carefree, filled with joy.

However, the older ones, Kazamatsuri Harume and Yano Shoichi, saw the problem and could not help but frown.

Uchiha Shisui spoke up directly: "Senior Chujiu, the children are too young; this is not suitable for land reclamation..."

Yamanaka Chujiu smiled: "That is why I said ninjutsu can create miracles."

Uchiha Itachi said: "But there is no ninjutsu in the ninja world for reclaiming land."

Yamanaka Chujiu replied: "If there is no ready-made ninjutsu, we shall develop it ourselves."

"Since the First Hokage founded Konoha, the ninjas of Konoha alone have developed thousands of ninjutsu; we can do it too."

"I know the children's strength cannot compare to adults, and most of them cannot even extract chakra, let alone use ninjutsu."

"But this is all within my plan, so do not worry."

"Itachi, Shisui, you two are responsible for teaching the little ones to extract chakra, while I will teach the children who possess chakra how to use ninjutsu."

"If we work together, we will definitely be able to create a miracle on this land today!"

After speaking, Yamanaka Chujiu formed hand seals, condensing Earth Style chakra in his hands.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall - Terrace Modification!"

Chakra flowed through his palms into the ground; the soil softened and rose, squeezing out rocks of various sizes until it formed a half-meter-high earthen wall.

It was exactly the shape of a base for a terrace.

Yamanaka Chujiu's Earth Style could only be considered entry-level, far from the standard of a professional ninja.

The cross-section of the wall formed by the ninjutsu was precise, but it was only thirty meters long.

Although the scale of the Earth Style did not meet the mark, the development of the technique was quite mature, capable of sifting out the stones that hindered growth while piling the soil into shape.

One only needed to stack the ejected stones into a retaining wall, and a section of the terrace would be complete.

The effect of Yamanaka Chujiu's unskilled Earth Style was worth the entire day's work of thirty villagers.

Of course, wanting to transform the entire hillside into terraces with ninjutsu in a single day still put a lot of pressure on Yamanaka Chujiu.

After the earthen bases were erected, Yamanaka Chujiu directed the youngest group of children to work, teaching them to pick up the stones scattered on the ground and stack them against the side of the base with the larger ends facing inward.

The stones sifted out by the ninjutsu were not large; they were pebbles washed down from upstream, which even three or four-year-old children could easily lift.

The technique for stacking was also very simple, and the children quickly mastered it.

They even felt as if they were playing a game, letting out happy laughter from time to time.

Yamanaka Chujiu gathered the older children over five years old together, having Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui teach them how to focus their minds and the techniques for extracting chakra.

The children over six had already learned to extract chakra, and among them, Yano Shoichi and the others were already first-year students at the Ninja Academy, all following Yamanaka Chujiu to learn ninjutsu.

The older children knew that the opportunity to learn ninjutsu was rare, so they studied very seriously.

Yamanaka Chujiu taught them hand-over-hand twice, and the children were able to memorize the hand seals of the ninjutsu and the techniques for circulating chakra.

The impatient ones among the older children already tried to use Earth Style: Earth Wall, but control over chakra was not so easy to master.

Every time the earthen base was about to take shape, a disturbance in their chakra would occur, and the seemingly stable base would collapse with a roar.

Once the first one tried, the other children could not hold back, and one after another, they began to attempt it.

Either the wall was not sturdy enough, or the slope was not shaped accurately; all ended in failure.

The children were not disappointed; they gritted their teeth, endured the backlash of the failed ninjutsu, and carefully watched their companions' attempts to learn from their experiences.

After several consecutive failures, Yamanaka Chujiu would step out to demonstrate a successful ninjutsu once.

After each success, he would encourage the children: "Do not fear failure. As long as you are determined to do it, and as long as we do not give up, we will definitely achieve success."

"Always remember: every attempt either results in success or provides experience! Our efforts are never in vain!"

Under Chujiu's encouragement, the children's morale remained high, and they continued to try and work hard.

They tried to slow down the speed of their hand seals, exploring the techniques for controlling Earth Style chakra.

The children practiced the Earth Style ninjutsu over and over again, from early morning until noon; no one complained of fatigue, and no one gave up.

Finally, a child injected chakra evenly into the ground, slowly shaping the form of a step; although it was only five meters long, it was a genuine success.

Success greatly boosted the children's morale, and cheers echoed along the riverbank.

"We did it! Keep up the good work!"

Success was the best stimulant; everyone, including Yamanaka Chujiu, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Shisui, was filled with drive.

More and more children succeeded, and soon the earthen bases they shaped were longer than those of Yamanaka Chujiu.

Yamanaka Chujiu immediately performed his second Earth Release ninjutsu: "Earth Release: Stone Crushing Adhesive Technique!"

Earth-natured chakra spread across the dam, causing the rounded pebbles to deform and fuse together, forming a perfectly seamless stone wall.

The dam was now completely sealed and had become significantly sturdier.

Through everyone's collective efforts, the first level of the terrace was finally completed after two hours.

Although the shape was not perfectly regular and the dam was not particularly aesthetic, it was a genuine success.

The children cheered and jumped for joy:

"Big Brother Chujiu, we did it!"

"We learned ninjutsu!"

Chujiu laughed aloud and shouted: "Everyone did a fantastic job today!"

"But this is only the beginning; it is not yet time to celebrate victory."

"Next, we need to build an irrigation system; without water, nothing we plant will survive."

The Konoha River lay at the foot of the slope, and to channel the river water up to the terraces, they needed to construct a water-lifting canal.

This did not require the use of ninjutsu; led by the older children who understood carpentry, the group worked together to craft wooden troughs, wedged them into the terrace levels using crushed stone and mud, and dug a reservoir at the highest point to store water.

The irrigation canal was completed in short order.

When Yamanaka Chujiu performed Water Release: Water Colliding Wave to drive the river water upstream and quickly fill the reservoir, the clear water flowed from the pre-cut gap in the pool down into the first terrace.

Soon, the clear river water nourished the newly built terraces, the surface reflecting the sunlight in a dazzling, beautiful shimmer.

The children were all covered in mud like little monkeys, but their smiles were brighter than the sun, and a warm current surged through everyone's hearts, casting the exhaustion of their hard work to the back of their minds.