Kazamatsuri Harume's home was large, with an especially spacious courtyard. A big tree grew in the yard, its shade covering half of it.
Yamanaka Chujiu sent Kazamatsuri Harume to call everyone over. Then he unsealed the scroll beneath the tree and divided the money into forty-three piles, which looked like a small mountain.
Forty-three.
That was the number of families in desperate need of money to survive.
They were the families of Yamanaka Chujiu's comrades who had died on the battlefield and could no longer make ends meet because of their deaths.
According to regulations, when a Konoha Ninja died on the battlefield, the village would provide their family with a generous death benefit.
The benefits were generous enough to support a child until they grew up, entered the Ninja Academy, and graduated as a new ninja.
But the Third Shinobi World War had lasted a full seven years, and the village no longer had enough money to pay the full benefits.
Some genius had come up with a way to treat fallen ninjas differently.
When a ninja from a clan died, their family received double the benefits. The clans would then be even more supportive of the Third Hokage.
When a civilian ninja died, if there were still ninjas in the family, they received the full benefits. The civilian ninjas would then be deeply grateful to the Third Hokage.
When a civilian ninja died and no ninjas remained in the family, no benefits were paid. After all, those families were no longer of any use to the Third Hokage.
The first time Yamanaka Chujiu learned about this, he went to the Administration Department to ask questions. But they passed him from one department to another, bouncing him between offices like a ball.
No one said that the benefits wouldn't be paid, but no one could say when they would be paid either.
They were simply dragging it out.
Later, Yamanaka Chujiu learned why they dared to stall. Everything in Konoha cost money, and those without any would die.
And once they were dead, there'd be no need to pay out the benefits.
Yamanaka Chujiu flew into a rage and caused a scene at the Administration Department, even drawing the Third Hokage's attention.
In the end, he received a disciplinary action, while the problem remained unresolved to this day.
With no other choice, Yamanaka Chujiu could only find a way to make money. He used his own funds to provide for the families of his fallen comrades, so they could survive in Konoha.
There were forty-three families, each with children. Kazamatsuri Harume was the oldest, and she was also his helper.
Before long, elderly people with uneasy expressions and haggard women came to the Kazamatsuri home. They repeatedly thanked Yamanaka Chujiu as they accepted the money from him.
Everyone knew that Yamanaka Chujiu couldn't support all forty-three families by himself.
He was a ninja and had to go to war to fight the enemy. At any moment, he could die at the hands of some powerful foe.
If Yamanaka Chujiu died in battle, all forty-three families would collapse in an instant.
The despair of the bereaved families didn't disappear, but the money gave them a moment to catch their breath. Their heartfelt gratitude, mixed with longing, surged into Yamanaka Chujiu like a wave.
[Heart Severing Realm] operated automatically, absorbing the emotions that washed over him and converting them into spiritual energy, bit by bit strengthening the foundation of Chujiu's soul.
Yamanaka Chujiu furrowed his brows slightly. There were too many negative emotions. If this went on, his heart would be dragged into darkness.
No, he had to give them hope and dispel the despair mixed into their gratitude.
To give hope to all forty-three families, Yamanaka Chujiu couldn't do it alone. Everyone would have to take part in the work and earn a steady income from it.
Konoha had been established for forty-eight years. The clans, nobles, and merchants had long since divided up the profits, and even civilian jobs were all filled, with no openings left.
The only way to find jobs for the civilians in those forty-three families was to start a new industry in Konoha.
But any new industry would inevitably compete with existing businesses, affecting the interests of the clans behind them and triggering a deadly conflict.
Yamanaka Chujiu knew that the Yamanaka Clan, though it seemed prosperous, was actually struggling too.
The Third Shinobi World War had lasted seven years, and the Yamanaka Clan had lost or had thirty-two ninjas injured, nearly forty percent of the clan's ninja population.
Worse still, the village had taken over the clan's honey business under wartime policies, cutting its income by ninety percent.
If a new candy business appeared now and threatened to gobble up the Yamanaka Clan's last lifeline, Yamanaka Inoichi would definitely lead his people in taking out the competition, his eyes bloodshot.
Even the Third Hokage couldn't stop him!
After handing out all the money and seeing the adults from the families off, Yamanaka Chujiu gathered the children from all forty-three families and took them to the street for snacks.
The prices of glutinous rice dumplings, tempura, and radish balls had all gone up. The children ate carefully, unwilling to let even a crumb fall.
Even a little snack could make the children happy. Yamanaka Chujiu contentedly absorbed that pure emotion, balancing out the despair he'd taken in from their parents.
He had been supporting these children for a year, and they trusted him completely. All it would take was the right opportunity for that trust to transform, helping Yamanaka Chujiu ascend to a higher level of existence.
He still needed to give their families hope as soon as possible. That would bring the opportunity about even faster.
At the same time, the children told Chujiu what they'd learned about prices.
After the Fourth Hokage's death, Konoha faced the pressure of rebuilding, and prices soared as a result.
The prices of luxuries like sugar, tobacco, and liquor had more than doubled in just a few days. Fresh meat, milk, and fruit were even harder to find; there was none in the markets at all.
Essentials like cloth and grain had not only gone up in price, but were also being rationed by the village.
Yamanaka Chujiu's pupils contracted. "Rationed? Are you sure the Hokage ordered it?"
Kazamatsuri Harume, Yano Shoichi, and the other children nodded and showed him the stamps on their hands.
"You need a stamp to buy rice. It won't disappear until three days later."
"You can only buy five pounds at a time, and you can't buy it for anyone else. We've all waited in line."
"We can only buy rice in the civilian district. They won't sell it to us in the ninja district."
The more Yamanaka Chujiu heard, the more troubled he felt. But this was the state of Konoha, a reality he couldn't change.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. He knew what business he could start!
"What? You want land?"
Holding his daughter, Yamanaka Inoichi asked in surprise, "What do you want land for?"
Yamanaka Chujiu replied, "I want to clear it and grow grain. Whether we eat it ourselves or sell it to the village, it'll bring the clan more income."
"It'll also give the families of my fallen comrades a job to support themselves."
Yamanaka Inoichi lowered his eyes and thought it over carefully.
After a long while, he finally nodded. "Growing grain is certainly viable, and it won't conflict with any other clans."
"The problem is that all the clan's land is being used to grow flowers, raise bees, and harvest honey. The village has taken it over too. We don't have any wasteland suitable for growing grain."
Yamanaka Chujiu said, "I don't need cultivated land. Just give me that sloping plot on the south bank of the Konoha River."
Yamanaka Inoichi frowned. "How are you going to grow grain on such a steep slope?"
"I have my ways. Just give it to me," Yamanaka Chujiu said confidently.
Yamanaka Inoichi pursed his lips. "All right, you can have it."
"If it works, we'll talk about everything else then. If it fails, I won't charge you rent."
Yamanaka Chujiu shook his head. "That won't do. We need a contract, written down in black and white!"
Yamanaka Inoichi laughed. "All right, let's eat first. Then I'll gather the elders and have them draw up a contract for you."
"Thanks, big brother!"
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