After the excitement of Fourth Raikage's succession ceremony passed, Kumogakure did not calm down.
On the contrary, that ceremony was like a signal telling everyone.
The era of Kumogakure has officially begun.
In the first month after Shaoyu took over, Raikage's Office's lights never went out before midnight.
Grandma dropped Third Raikage and left a lot of work for him.
The desk is full of documents, including financial, military, diplomatic, and people's livelihood.
Every one of them needs to be reviewed by him, every one of them needs to be signed by him, and every one of them is related to the future of Kumogakure.
Kakuzu stood in front of his desk, holding a thick budget report in his hand, waiting for Shaoyu to review it.
He has been very busy lately.
The thirty million taels spent on the succession ceremony still made him feel distressed, but Shaoyu's next actions turned his distress into a more complex emotion.
"Fifteen million taels are allocated for road repair."
Shaoyu read the items on the report and tapped the pen tip lightly on the paper.
"This is no problem. Kumogakure There are too many mountain roads, which become muddy during the rainy season, and the efficiency of material transportation is reduced by 30%. Repair it."
Kakuzu nodded and wrote down this account in his mind.
"Twenty million taels are allocated for the renovation of the drainage system."
Shaoyu Continue to read.
"Several streets were flooded during the rainy season last year, and villagers' houses were soaked in water for several days. This kind of thing can't happen again. Repair it."
Kakuzu nodded again, already thinking about how this money could be saved.
"Eight million taels are allocated for the construction of public bathhouses."
Shaoyu raised his head and glanced at Kakuzu.
"Kumogakure It's cold in winter and many people don't have hot water. Build a few public bathhouses so that villagers can take hot baths in winter. This is also approved."
Kakuzu opened his mouth, wanted to say something, but closed it again.
He wanted to say that the eight million taels could be saved, and those who wanted to take a bath could just boil the water themselves. But when he saw Shaoyu's eyes, he knew that it was all in vain.
"Thirty million taels are allocated for the expansion of the school." Shaoyu continued to read, "Ninja Academy has more and more students, and the original school building is not enough. After the expansion, more students can be admitted. This is the most important and cannot be saved."
Kakuzu took a deep breath.
Thirty million taels. Another thirty million taels.
Including the previous ones, it is already almost 100 million.
"Lord Raikage." Kakuzu finally couldn't help but say, "Total of these, already..."
"I know." Shaoyu put down the pen, leaned back on the chair, and looked at him, "You think it's too much?"
Kakuzu was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Although Konoha's compensation is large, it does not belong to Infinity. If you continue to spend it like this, it will be spent in a few years."
Shaoyu smiled.
"Kakuzu, do you know why Konoha is so rich?"
Kakuzu thought for a while, "Because they have the best channels for entrusting tasks, the richest land, and the largest number of ninjas."
"Not entirely." Shaoyu stood up, walked to the window, and looked at Kumogakure outside the window.
"Because they know how to spend money. When First Hokage built the village, Konoha was also poor. But he spent the money where it should be spent - building roads, schools, infrastructure, and cultivating talents. Over the past few decades, Konoha has become the richest village."
He turned around and looked at Kakuzu.
"Now that we have money, we should not save it, but spend it. Spend it on Kumogakure's infrastructure, spend it on Kumogakure's children, and spend it on Kumogakure's future. Only in this way, when Konoha's compensation is spent, Kumogakure can stand up on its own."
Kakuzu stood there, looking at Shaoyu, and was silent for a long time.
Then he nodded.
"Got it."
In the days that followed, Kumogakure turned into a large construction site.
The road is being repaired, and workers are digging out the potholes and laying new stone slabs.
Those slates are bluestones quarried from the mountains, polished and laid out neatly one by one.
The road surface is twice as wide as before. Two carriages can pass side by side, and there is no need to worry about being blocked on the narrow road.
The drainage system is being renovated, with workers digging deep ditches and burying thick clay pipes.
Those clay pipes were fired by Kumogakure's own kiln. They are much stronger than the wooden pipes used before and will not break after decades of use.
The canal leads down from the mountain, passes through the entire village, and finally merges into the river at the foot of the mountain.
During the rainy season, rainwater will flow away along the ditches and will never flood villagers' homes.
The public bathhouse is under construction, and the workers are building tall chimneys and setting up large iron pots.
Those iron pots were made by the blacksmith shop of Kumogakure, and they can boil several tons of water in one go.
There are hot pools, cold pools, steam rooms, and rest areas in the bathhouse.
In winter, villagers can come here to take a hot bath to drive away the cold and chat, which will make life less difficult.
Ninja Academy is expanding. Workers are tearing down the old walls and building a new school building.
The new school building has three floors, two floors higher than the original one, and the classrooms are twice as big as the original ones.
New sand has been laid on the playground, new training piles have been erected, and an indoor training field has been built so that classes will not be delayed even if it rains.
Kakuzu Go to the construction site every day to check the progress and reconcile the accounts.
He watched the money flow out of his hands, into the hands of workers, into the hands of material dealers, and into the hands of everyone who contributed to the construction of Kumogakure.
I feel so bad for him.
But when he saw those brand-new roads, smooth canals, steaming large bathhouses, and spacious and bright classrooms, his distress turned into an indescribable feeling.
This feeling is more reassuring than the 100 million taels of notes in my arms.
While Kumogakure was engaged in construction, a building in the northeast corner of the village also quietly changed.
That's Hiruko's laboratory.
This is an inconspicuous little courtyard, with a sign hanging at the door that says "for research purposes".
But it's different inside.
The first floor is the laboratory, which is spacious and bright and equipped with the latest experimental equipment.
Those equipment were specially purchased by Kakuzu from outside and cost a lot of money.
There are high-magnification microscopes, precise chakra measuring instruments, a complete set of medical surgical tools, and several large petri dishes that can be used to cultivate Hiruko's weird research materials.
The second floor is the living area, with bedrooms, study rooms, bathrooms, and a large balcony.
Hiruko stood at the door of the laboratory, watching all this, and said nothing for a long time.
Kakuzu stood next to him and said expressionlessly.
"Lord Raikage's order. Your laboratory needs to be upgraded. Fifty million taels are allocated to purchase new equipment and renovate the house. From now on, the annual research funding is 50 million taels. If it is not enough, please apply again."
Hiruko opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but found that something was blocked in his throat and he couldn't say a word.