Konoha's Great Contributor!

These clan heads and jonin took turns visiting Hiruko, their purpose nothing more than Hiruko's Midas touch. No clan ever had enough development funds.

Over the following days, construction boomed throughout the Land of Fire, creating a scene of bustling activity.

Under the leadership of the newly appointed Hokage, Minato Namikaze, large numbers of Konoha Village ninja and countless ordinary people formed massive construction crews.

They blasted through mountains and laid roads, built bridges and structures. Train tracks rose from the ground and stretched outward, while tunnels were excavated and opened one by one.

Throughout this process, the Akimichi Clan, who were close to Minato, and Earth Release ninja played an enormous role.

Relying on their special abilities, they made tremendous contributions to the smooth progress of the projects.

In just a few days, thanks to the vast quantities of advanced equipment supplied by Hiruko and the ninja's efficient work,

the Land of Fire's transportation infrastructure underwent a leap in development, instantly pulling far ahead of the other great nations.

The transportation network rapidly expanded. Although it had yet to officially open, far more independent merchants than usual were already coming and going.

With actual roads to follow, merchants could travel straight to Konoha, increasing the number of traders and bringing in a steady stream of tourists as well.

Notably, the number of ninja escort missions also surged, bringing more clients to Konoha and giving its economy a certain degree of growth.

The initial benefits of convenient transportation had already begun to show.

A few months later, the limited number of trains, subways, light rail lines, trams, and other means of transport within the Land of Fire underwent simple modifications by Hiruko, allowing for foolproof operation.

These large vehicles officially began operating in Konoha Village and several prosperous cities across the Land of Fire. Their practicality was excellent, and they received an enthusiastic welcome from the general public.

At the same time, Hiruko's large factories continuously produced more vehicles and supporting facilities.

Soon afterward, the Land of Fire's daimyo, nobles of every rank across the country, and local gentry and clan elders all began allocating funds and investing, steadily expanding the corresponding transportation facilities.

At this rate, with the ninja's high efficiency, the Land of Fire would build an extremely advanced transportation network within roughly a year, laying a solid foundation for the nation's prosperity and development.

As for all kinds of aircraft, even if they were made by a genius like Hiruko, they could not be directly applied to civilian use.

Large aircraft were simply too difficult to develop, and Hiruko could currently only manufacture small planes.

Moreover, these small aircraft could at most be used for wartime reconnaissance. They were expensive and lacked practical value, so they could only be gradually researched and improved.

Hiruko already had plans in mind. He considered the Uchiha Clan, whose members possessed powerful dynamic vision.

Combined with the Hyuga Clan, who could see through objects and conduct long-range observation, they should be the best candidates for future ace pilots.

The Konoha Research Department recovered a tremendous amount of funds through these advanced transportation facilities.

It was worth mentioning that the emerging transportation industry had belonged to Konoha's militarized development from the very beginning, rather than being the private property of the Land of Fire's many nobles.

Although many officials, nobles, and even the daimyo enjoyed VIP lounge services and generous shareholder benefits,

such as free rides on various means of transport and annual dividends, they could not influence any decision made by the Konoha Research Department, nor could they earn any greater profits.

This was Konoha Village's second step toward breaking free of a great nation's entrenched control and transforming from a foolish tool of slaughter into one pursuing peaceful development.

He wanted to observe whether the development of society's productive forces would change because of his intervention.

Hiruko had no intention of letting Konoha remain at its current level of development. He had far more ambitious plans.

Minato Namikaze, on the other hand, had not thought that far ahead. He only saw the enormous military benefits of advanced transportation, as well as a new source of income for Konoha.

It could also create more jobs, which seemed to him to have no downside whatsoever.

The research power Hiruko possessed was practically a money-printing machine, leaving Konoha Village with no shortage of funds.

If Hiruko had not directly taken a full eight billion from him as a budget, Minato Namikaze would have had even more money on hand.

Still, ninja needed to live too. Who would ever complain about having too much money?

Although there was currently no war, transportation profits were enormous.

Especially in the world of Boruto, an ordinary person made a business related to trains,

then became the richest person in the world without doing anything particularly remarkable. It was truly speechless.

In fact, trains already existed in the Land of Snow; they simply had not yet been promoted throughout the entire ninja world.

Many times, ninja who only knew how to earn their living through killing did not realize that they were sitting on a pile of money while searching for money.

As Hokage, Minato could vaguely sense that if Konoha could free itself from some of the Land of Fire's influence, it might actually be a good thing.

The Land of Wind's daimyo were downright laughable. They were too poor to keep the pot boiling, yet not only did they refuse to fully support the Hidden Sand Village, they even cut military spending year after year.

As a result, the Hidden Sand Village had no choice but to adopt a policy of maintaining only elite troops and reduce its number of ninja.

This stood in sharp contrast to Konoha's development and further strengthened Minato's resolve to lead Konoha down a path of independence and self-sufficiency.

The puppet forces that served as the Hidden Sand Village's public face grew fewer by the day, greatly weakening the village as a whole.

To subsidize the village's expenses, even ninja with Magnet Release had to search everywhere for resources and dig up placer gold. They had practically become gold miners.

Minato Namikaze had no intention of letting Konoha become like that.

The changes in the Land of Fire naturally did not escape the notice of the other great nations.

The various nations all sighed, forced to admit that the Yellow Flash possessed extraordinary talent and strategy.

Right after Minato Namikaze became the new Hokage, he displayed astonishing courage and farsightedness. His firm support for Hiruko's reforms had truly made him the greatest enemy of the other great nations.

As someone who believed that effort must be rewarded, Hiruko would not say it outright, but his contributions could not be ignored.

Not only had he helped establish the Research Department and the Land of Fire's transportation system, he had also released the Life One enhancement serum.

Although it was not expensive, it produced immediate results when enhancing genin.

As long as someone possessed chakra above a certain level, they could safely use this serum, which could directly increase the user's strength.

In Konoha Village, any resident who had money and passed Minato's political review could purchase this serum and raise their strength directly to chunin level.

This greatly improved the overall caliber of Konoha Village, and Hiruko had therefore rendered great service.

He smoothly obtained a large number of Uzumaki Clan sealing secret techniques from Minato, as well as Minato's own insights into cultivating the Flying Raijin Technique.

The financial rewards were substantial, and the honors were even more numerous.

Of course, what Hiruko valued most was...