One Man Staging an Entire Grand Performance

"This..."

Everyone's faces changed in shock.

Several elders who had been hostile toward the man in black were caught completely off guard by this scene.

Besides food, box after box of money and silver was flung out from underground, gleaming dazzlingly.

Only when the meeting room was nearly stuffed full did the man in black stop his jutsu. He smiled faintly. "This grand gift is proof that I am the daimyo's guard."

Ryū took a deep breath.

"The daimyo has learned that your Uzumaki Clan has established Uzushio Village. He is gratified for you and hopes that, amid these troubled times, you can build a truly peaceful and powerful home, shelter more common people, and serve as an example for the other ninja clans."

"These fifty thousand bushels of grain and one billion ryō are the daimyo's congratulatory gift for the founding of your village. I hope you will not refuse."

Ryū's face was full of respect as he bowed. "Thank you, Lord Daimyo, for your aid. All members of the Uzumaki Clan are immensely grateful!"

The elders, including Mito and Shusen's three siblings, all bowed deeply.

"Once Uzushio Village's situation has initially stabilized, I will certainly lead the clan to the royal palace and thank Lord Daimyo in person!"

"That won't be necessary," the man in black said.

"The daimyo has instructed that this congratulatory gift is to remain known only to heaven, earth, you, and me. There is no need to reveal it to the other ninja clans. Clan Head Ryū is a smart man, so you naturally understand why."

Ryū remained respectful. "Please rest assured, Lord Daimyo. Our Uzumaki Clan will never cause him trouble."

The man in black nodded. "That would be best."

With that, his body merged into the ground, and he departed using Earth Release.

"Am I dreaming... So much food and money."

The First Elder stared at the mountains of chests and grain sacks before him, overwhelmed by a surreal sense of unreality.

The Second Elder was impatient by nature. Unable to hold himself back, he darted forward and picked up a pinch of wheat, placing it in his mouth.

"Fragrant! So fragrant!"

His eyes shone, and his excitement was beyond words.

"With the daimyo's aid, we won't have to sell the iron mine anymore. This is incredible news!"

"As expected of the daimyo! He acted at the critical moment and solved our most urgent problem!"

"With this money and grain, we can definitely make it through the initial stage of building the village."

Everyone was exhilarated and overjoyed. Ashina in particular was grinning from ear to ear.

Ryū narrowed his eyes, his feelings complicated.

Before today, he had always thought the Fire Country's daimyo was a useless drunkard without any talent for governing. Now, however, it seemed that he had greatly underestimated him.

The daimyo was no useless drunkard. He was a wise man who hid his brilliance. Though he appeared to do nothing and care about nothing, in truth, he understood everything as clearly as a mirror. Perhaps he had merely been waiting for the right opportunity to strike like thunder.

He could never underestimate the daimyo again. Even one of the daimyo's guards in black had given him an unfathomable and mysterious impression.

"Keep what happened just now buried in your stomachs. You are not to tell even the clan members."

Ryū hardened his expression and issued the order sternly.

"Yes!"

Shusen lowered his head, quietly letting out a long breath of relief, doing his utmost not to draw attention to himself.

Staging that whole performance by himself had been exhausting. It had all depended on his improved Shadow Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu.

If nothing unexpected happened, he could live peacefully for quite a while next. He could focus on his eye experiments.

If one had to name the most difficult thing during the Warring States Period, it would be reclaiming wasteland.

Even in the peaceful years before, commoners needed to prepare enough food to last them overnight if they wanted to reclaim land. Now that the hundred clans were locked in chaos and the people were displaced, unable to know whether they would survive the next day, reclaiming a patch of wasteland and living a decent life was even harder than ascending to heaven.

Yet in Uzushio Village, every difficulty of reclaiming land had been resolved. Not only did Uzushio Village provide everyone with food, it also protected their safety. Thus, beginning on the second day after the village was founded, the commoners who came seeking refuge began working on construction in full swing.

Ryū assigned clear roles. Some commoners reclaimed farmland, others felled trees and built houses, others gathered wild fruit and hunted, while another group formed a guard unit and patrolled the village alongside the Uzumaki Clan... In short, everything was arranged in perfect order. From nothing, the village rapidly developed in a positive direction.

After a day of spreading word, more than six hundred commoners came to seek refuge in Uzushio Village on the second day. Ryū was not afraid that spies planted by other ninja clans might be among them. He accepted them all and put every one of them to work building Uzushio Village.

He now had money and food; all he lacked was people. He had to turn Uzushio Village into an impregnable fortress in the shortest possible time. Just as Ashina had said: stockpile grain, build high walls, and delay declaring oneself king.

On the third day, the number of refugees reached eight hundred.

On the fourth day, it exceeded one thousand.

Uzushio Village's population surged at an astonishing rate. In just half a month, its total population had surpassed ten thousand.

This number frightened all the ninja clans watching in secret. They could not believe it. How much food would a village of over ten thousand people consume each day?

Some smaller ninja clans had only a few hundred members, while even large clans barely exceeded a thousand. Their lives were already stretched thin, and they simply could not afford to support idlers.

The Uzumaki Clan must have emptied out all their reserves. Their madness was staggering.

"Watch him raise a tall tower; watch his tower collapse."

The ninja clans watched coldly, believing this was the Uzumaki Clan's final frenzy. Since ancient times, countless ninja clans had vanished into the river of history. The Uzumaki Clan would not be the first, nor would it be the last.

Half a month later, in a forest three li from Uzushio Village, Uzumaki Shusen had a foxtail grass stem between his lips as he leisurely led a group of guards on patrol, looking lazy and unreliable.

"Young Master Zhouxuan, everyone has been walking for half the day. Should we rest first?"

An Uzumaki clansman bowed and asked for instructions.

Zhouxuan blinked. "All right, let's rest for half an hour first."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and took out their provisions to rest where they stood. Quite a few commoners cast curious glances at Zhouxuan, secretly observing him.

Since joining Uzushio Village, they had long heard of this unpromising son of the village chief. Supposedly, he was lazy, unambitious, and possessed only average talent and strength. Yet because he was the village chief's son, even the village's jōnin had to treat him with the utmost respect.

Still, he was fair-skinned, handsome, and rather good-looking.

"I'm going to close my eyes and sleep for a while. Wake me in half an hour."

Zhouxuan spoke to an Uzumaki Clan jōnin beside him. Casually pulling over a leaf as large as a roof tile, he covered his face and began his nap.

No one dared disturb him. Instead, they felt that working under such a laid-back leader meant they could slack off a little too and would not be so tired. It was quite nice.

Their unit's main duty was to patrol for enemy activity around Uzushio Village and prevent surprise attacks by other ninja clans. It was safe in one sense, and dangerous in another.