Talent Is the Village's Future

"With a humble and sincere heart, I hereby swear to devote the rest of my life to carrying on the indomitable spirit of our predecessors and expanding the foundation they built through hardship. Let both man and god bear witness to these words." Jing Hang cut his finger and smeared the blood across his lips. Then, beneath the witness of the enormous stone statues of Reto, the First Kazekage, and Shamon, the Second Kazekage, as well as representatives and elders from the many Hidden Sand Village clans, Jing Hang bowed before the Land of Wind's daimyo—a fat little man with narrow eyes and a tiny mustache. Smiling, the fat man placed a bright green conical hat bearing the character "Wind" on Jing Hang's head and warmly shook his hand. With that, amid everyone's applause, the succession ceremony came to a successful conclusion.

Jing Hang had been run ragged during this period as well. The Second Kazekage's funeral, talks with the daimyo, meetings with the leaders of various clans, comforting war orphans—he had even used Shadow Clones. Only today had things finally settled down for the moment.

"Maki, make arrangements. Have Yashamaru and Watanabe take people to Lishi Fortress and bring Rasa, Pakura, and the Red Sand couple back. They've been delayed long enough. The ANBU and Ninja Academy can't function properly."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. However, in a few days, you'll be setting out on a diplomatic visit to the Hidden Leaf Village. You'll pass through Lishi Fortress on the way..."

"You mentioning it nearly made me forget. Then have Rasa and Pakura wait at Lishi Fortress. We'll bring them along when the time comes. Oh, and issue them both commissions as guards."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. The Land of Wind's daimyo will be returning to the Temple of Wind shortly. Aren't you going to see him off?" Maki asked.

"See him off, my ass. Don't mention that dead fatso to me. The man's a complete miser, practically inhuman! Let Elder Ebizo see him off. I don't have time to wait on that lord of ours!" Jing Hang could not help cursing loudly.

The relationship between daimyos and ninja was rather interesting in the world of Naruto. Daimyos had existed since ancient times. Before there were even ninja in the world, Kaguya's husband had been the leader of a tribe—in other words, a daimyo. Later, when Ninshu emerged, the Sage of Six Paths preached his Ninshu across the territories of these daimyos, and their presence gradually faded. Put simply, the nominal leaders of the Five Great Nations were the five daimyos. They controlled nearly all the land, wealth, and tax revenue, yet possessed almost no armed forces. Military power was entirely held by the ninja villages, whose operating funds were also provided by the daimyos. In other words, ninja were a group of thugs and bodyguards hired by the daimyos, while the ones who truly decided whether to start wars were usually the Kage of each village. (It was indeed complicated. It was hard to imagine why these Kage, who could turn the world upside down, had never rebelled against the daimyos. Kishimoto probably never intended to explain it clearly either, merely glossing over the matter of the daimyos. There was no need to take it too seriously—just roll with it.)

On the night before the succession ceremony, Jing Hang had been introduced by Elders Chiyo and Ebizo to pay a visit to the Land of Wind's daimyo. Bluntly put, it was to get acquainted and pay his respects. The second purpose was to discuss Hidden Sand Village's future funding. In truth, Shamon, the Second Kazekage, had suffered defeat in the Land of Rain largely because of insufficient funds. And the Land of Wind's daimyo was famously stingy and miserly. Even when Sunagakure had reached its most desperate hour and was nearly destroyed, he had only grudgingly produced fifteen million ryo. From Jing Hang's conversation with Danzo that night, the Land of Fire's daimyo had granted the Hidden Leaf Village two hundred million ryo in war funding at once! It would have been a miracle if they could win that war. Sure enough, the daimyo's first words had been, "Since the Kazekage has already formed an alliance and ceasefire with the Hidden Leaf Village, there is no need to maintain such enormous funding." Then, with a single slash, he cut the village's annual operating budget of thirty million ryo in half. Fifteen million! No matter how Jing Hang and the two elders patiently laid out facts and reasoned with him, they could not move him in the slightest. He shook his head like a rattle drum, acting as if asking him for money was asking for his life.

Jing Hang eventually grew sick of it too. He did not want to waste any more breath. Fifteen million it was, but he had one condition: the daimyo had to give him ownership of the land around Moon Lake. He could farm it himself, right? Otherwise, there was simply no way to keep things running. The little fat man did some calculations. Moon Lake apparently did not bring in much tax revenue, so he nodded in agreement and signed the land transfer document without hesitation. He even conveniently allocated two years of military funding and said that times were difficult, hoping Lord Jing Hang would manage Hidden Sand Village well over the next two years and not disappoint his great expectations. The way he feared Jing Hang might change his mind... if Chiyo had not held him back, Jing Hang would have nearly killed the fat man with Iron Sand: Drizzle.

Dead fatso, just wait. Your day to cry will come!

After quite a while, Jing Hang calmed himself and handed the bright green conical hat on his head to Maki. He had disliked the hat at first sight. He would avoid wearing the damned thing whenever possible.

"Maki, I have a task for you next. I'll allocate fifteen million from the budget for you later. Go and do something for me."

"Please give your orders, Kazekage-sama."

"A great war is about to begin. The people of every nation will surely be displaced by then. You need to guide them to Moon Lake. On one hand, it will increase the population; on the other, it can strengthen Moon Lake's development."

"Yes."

"This war has cost Sunagakure dearly. Many outstanding ninja and bloodline inheritors have died. We must recruit every outstanding ninja and bloodline clan living in exile, regardless of the cost. Even rogue ninja. Sunagakure needs fresh blood."

"This..." Maki was somewhat stunned. This undertaking seemed rather massive.

"Hehe, of course I won't have you do this alone." Jing Hang smiled and patted Maki's shoulder.

"I'll have Elder Chiyo support you publicly. She and I will clear away any discordant elements within Sunagakure for you. I'll establish a new department called the Immigration Bureau, and you will serve as its first director. The fifteen million I just promised is only startup capital. After that, whether you need people or money, as long as it is something I can provide, just ask. I'll do everything I can to meet your needs."

Maki froze, unable to say anything for a long time. How much authority was that?

Jing Hang smiled. "Brother, the burden on your shoulders is heavy. Talent is the village's future. Recruiting people, resettling them, internal security, household registration records, urban construction, counterespionage—put simply, you and Garukei must turn Moon Lake into the most vibrant city in the ninja world. I'm entrusting half the village's future to you."

"What about the other half?" Maki asked foolishly.

"Education, of course." Jing Hang pointed in the direction of the Ninja Academy.

Ebizo could not help sighing as he looked at the two books before him, Sunagakure Education Reform Plan and Will of Wind. Jing Hang's ambitions were far from small.

Education was an extremely important matter for every country. This was especially true for ninja villages centered around ninja. A moment of carelessness could easily lead to tragedy. In the ninja world, the destructive power wielded by ninja was terrifying. Yet even the Hidden Leaf Village, with its so-called Will of Fire, still had a constant stream of rogue ninja. Why? In peacetime, ninja still had to complete missions to support themselves. In wartime, did anyone expect a group of children who could barely fill their stomachs and trained every day in killing techniques to become model students? Dream on.

When Jing Hang had met him alone the previous night, he had immediately appointed Ebizo as the first director of the Education Bureau and allocated ten million for educational funding. A large amount of follow-up funding would come afterward. He had made his position clear with one sentence: no matter how hard things get, children must not suffer; no matter how poor we are, education must not be neglected. Those words instantly broke through the defenses of this old revolutionary who had followed Reto, the First Kazekage, through mountains of blades and seas of fire. Ebizo immediately accepted the appointment letter and vowed to fight to the end for the village's educational cause.

Jing Hang believed that the first step was to shape the children's core values. Will of Wind began with how people of the desert struggled to survive, how they fought unyieldingly against the cruel environment, and continued until Lord Reto, the First Kazekage, subdued the heroes, founded the ninja village, maneuvered skillfully during the Five Kage Summit, and secured a place among the Five Great Nations... It was a proper inspirational book, enough to become a beacon for the children's minds.

Sunagakure Education Reform Plan, meanwhile, proposed dividing the Ninja Academy into two parts: a ninja school and a technical school, with two campuses each in Hidden Sand Village and at the Moon Lake base. Children with ninja talent would attend the ninja school, while those without talent could learn a trade and still serve the village. The plan also included visiting scholar and overseas study programs in places such as the Hidden Leaf Village and the Land of Crafts. The specific details would be decided after Jing Hang completed this diplomatic visit.

After reading the two books, Ebizo threw back his head and laughed, while two streams of tears spilled from his eyes.

"Brother-in-law, Hidden Sand Village has hope!"