Rewards

"Back then, I truly lived up to my sharp mind; I made the most correct choice." Uchiha Tenshu recalled the past, carefully scrutinizing his actions at the time, and found not a single flaw.

Even those who saw through the deal between himself and the Seventh Elder, Uchiha Raimon, dared not speak of it openly.

After all, doing so would thoroughly offend the Seventh Elder and the several elders who supported him.

Even the Fourth Elder, Uchiha Kin, whose plans had been disrupted, might harbor dissatisfaction, but it would only be a personal grudge. The elders standing by his side would not only refrain from hostility but would likely even approve of his actions.

After all, the values he had projected through this entire operation hit exactly what they wanted to show the outside world: that the Uchiha clan was united and loving.

Even if it meant reducing the cultivation of ninjas, the existence of elite ninja education remained, and it was recognized by countless clansmen.

Not to mention, as high-ranking Uchiha who had already stepped into an era of peace, the answers Uchiha Tenshu provided them—love, unity, filial piety, and a thirst for learning—all struck at the very methods they currently wanted to use to control the clan.

Loving one's clansmen could win over hearts.

Uniting one's clansmen could resist external enemies.

Being filial to the elders ensured obedience to management.

A thirst for learning made them dependent on those in power.

Furthermore.

Even if the rumors circulating outside claimed that Uchiha Raimon had developed these food storage techniques, the elders knew clearly in their hearts who had actually invented them. Therefore, no matter what, they had to provide a reasonable reward to a clansman who had rendered such meritorious service!

"In fact, that is exactly what happened!"

"Participating in the clan's elite ninja cultivation program was only one of the rewards. Not to mention the training guidance from an Elite Jonin, the medicinal baths worth over fifty thousand ryo every month, the ten thousand ryo in material subsidies, and a set of ninja tools crafted by the clan every month—it could be considered a luxurious upbringing!"

Uchiha Tenshu couldn't help but marvel at his own decisiveness.

Otherwise, had he hesitated even slightly, he likely wouldn't have received such benefits.

And it was precisely because of this training that Uchiha Tenshu, at only seven years old, already possessed the strength of an elite Genin on the surface, and an elite Chunin in reality.

Do not underestimate this.

Reality is not like manga or anime; it is not sanitized.

It is, in fact, incomparably cruel.

Ever since the Sage of Six Paths spread Chakra, the martial power of ninjas has overturned almost every order, causing all nations to be tempered in constant warfare, nourishing the world with pain.

Ninjas are a profession forged in slaughter.

And among ninjas, the ranks that have been continuously unearthed have quite strict and clear requirements.

Even now, there exist lower-class beings in this world who are incompatible with Chakra. This does not mean they lack Chakra, but rather that they are unable to refine and apply it.

Such people account for more than fifty percent of the world's population, living as ordinary people.

Of the remaining fifty percent, even those who can extract Chakra vary in quantity.

If one were to divide them again, half belong to those who cannot even apply the simplest of the Three Basic Jutsu.

But at least they have the qualifications to train, existing as samurai under the rule of the Daimyo. If they cannot train, they are nothing more than cannon fodder, inferior even to samurai.

Only twenty-five percent of them are capable of effective ninjutsu study, even if it is only the simplest of techniques.

But at least they can serve as apprentice or rogue ninjas.

Yet, even a low-level apprentice ninja with a heart for slaughter can easily massacre a hundred-man army of ordinary people.

The Great Fireball Technique they use is comparable to an incendiary bomb, and the Phoenix Sage Fire is like a cluster of grenades; to be touched is to die.

A casual leap covers over ten meters; a casual punch can shatter stone; they run like the wind and strike with the speed of lightning.

Once they reach the Genin level, their Chakra reserves increase significantly, allowing them to use low-level ninjutsu multiple times. Even dozens of samurai who have only crudely refined their Chakra are no match for them.

Taking it a step further, to the so-called elite Genin level, one can fight through hit-and-run tactics, capable of grinding down an army of thousands of ordinary people single-handedly.

Under such terrifying ninja power, an army composed of ordinary people is almost meaningless.

The power of a mere Genin is already this great.

Not to mention the levels of Chunin, Jonin, and Kage—those are existences capable of changing the power of a nation.

This is also why the great powers of this world have all made the ninjas in their hidden villages a vital national force.

There is no other reason.

Ninjas are simply too overpowered!

"Fortunately, with just a small ploy, I obtained the clan's vital cultivation. Otherwise, relying solely on myself without the clan's support, my cultivation would have been delayed by at least a year or two."

"And now, while achieving my goal, I haven't exposed too much, especially..."

"I haven't drawn the extreme attention of Tobirama Senju!"

Uchiha Tenshu looked up at the sky, thinking leisurely.

After all, whether it was the grain storage technology or the alcohol extraction technology, even if it were guessed that they were related to him, it still wouldn't expose his "genius" for ninjutsu development. Not to mention that these two technologies didn't exceed the era's thinking by much. Even if he were touted as a genius by his clansmen, in the eyes of Tobirama Senju—the Uchiha clan's greatest hater—it was nothing more than a bit of "petty cleverness."

After all, in the mindset of a ninja, any creation or development that couldn't be applied to ninjutsu was merely a frivolous trick.

This point held true even within the Uchiha clan itself.

For instance, Uchiha Tenshu's reward was primarily for solving the elders' predicament and preventing the clan from suffering losses while generating profit, rather than being a reward for the act of creation itself.

Otherwise, even if Uchiha Tenshu had invented countless other things, he would never have gained the recognition of the ninjas in the clan.

Besides!

Were these two things he brought out really that difficult?

Take the grain storage technology, for example. It was nothing more than the earthen granaries used in ancient China thousands of years ago. It was simply a matter of choosing a dry, high-elevation site with a low water table, digging a circular pit, burning it with fire to keep it dry, and lining it with wood ash to prevent pests. Then, one would lay down wooden boards, straw, and mats. After putting the grain in, it would be covered with mats, topped with rice husks for moisture protection, sealed with wooden boards, and finally covered with straw for waterproofing. Lastly, the entire storage space would be buried with soil. In this way, the dried grain could be stored for five to ten years.

Such a long duration was enough for the Uchiha clan to have plenty of ideas on how to manage their food supply.

As for what happened after five or ten years, Uchiha Tenshu figured he would have long since left by then!

Naturally, there was no need to worry about that.

Moreover, for such a simple granary storage method, it was shocking that no one in the entire Ninja World had thought of it.

After it was "released" by Uchiha Raimon, it was even adopted by the village. Hashirama Senju had even pondered it carefully, and on the basis of this moisture-proof, pest-proof, and dry-keeping method, he had built a larger, safer, and more reliable Konoha Granary to store food. This drew praise from Tobirama Senju for his elder brother, while deep down, he felt that his family had once again scored a victory over the Uchiha clan.

Regarding this, Uchiha Tenshu was speechless.

Could it be that in the entire Ninja World, no one had been able to come up with such a simple, almost trash-tier storage method before?

But then, thinking about the state of the entire Ninja World, Uchiha Tenshu understood in an instant.

The development of all things is driven by necessity.

From 1,000 years ago to the present, the food supply in the Ninja World had always been insufficient. Insufficient food led to looting, looting led to fighting and killing, and fighting and killing led to war.

Then, war led to a decrease in the number of people farming.

A decrease in farmers led to more looting.

Looting led to more fighting and killing.

Fighting and killing led to large-scale war.

And then...

The cycle repeated.

This, damn it, was a vicious cycle.

"With a cycle like this!"

"It's no wonder no one built granaries! After all, the grain from that year was basically eaten up by the end of the year. There was never a moment where it was saved for the following year; anyway, if you ran out of food, you just went to loot."

Uchiha Tenshu was utterly speechless at this.