Thriving Moon Lake New District

"Everyone, please look—this is the desert highway I designed!" Jing Hang manipulated the iron sand into a three-dimensional holographic diagram in the air. As his fingers moved, it continuously shifted forms: cross-sections, longitudinal sections, bird's-eye views, and upward views, making it easier for everyone to understand.

"Of course, this is only my preliminary idea. It will be fifty meters wide and five meters high. The supporting walls will be half a meter thick, while this curved roof will be twenty centimeters thick. These are only rough estimates, naturally. Once the project begins, you'll definitely need to conduct experiments and recalculate everything."

The holographic iron sand diagram transformed into something resembling a subway tunnel. Maki, Garukei, and the others studied it carefully, their eyes full of confusion. Clearly, they were waiting for Jing Hang to finish before asking questions.

"The overall material for this project will be the Wuzhong Clan's Crystal Release. Brother Wuzhong Ou, show everyone some samples."

Before long, everyone had a palm-sized piece of purple crystal in their hands.

"This crystal is extremely strong. Neither powerful blows from blades or axes nor explosive tags will affect it. My idea is to conduct experiments first and verify its feasibility. Once the experiments succeed, we'll launch the project immediately! We'll first build a four-hundred-kilometer desert highway connecting Hidden Sand Village and Moon Lake. If this highway succeeds, we can build more highways and link the entire Land of Wind together." Jing Hang swept his hand grandly. The holographic iron sand diagram turned into a map of the Land of Wind, with a black line connecting Hidden Sand Village and Moon Lake, while many more black lines branched out to connect the entire country.

"I have a question. The sand in the desert is highly mobile, so any foundation built there is bound to be unstable. Even though your crystal tunnel is very heavy, it could still shift and settle in the sand. In a few years, wouldn't the tunnel be buried by the sand?" A Construction Corps staff officer raised his hand and asked.

"Mm, that's a good question. The deserts of the Land of Wind are distributed higher in the west and lower in the east. The stretch from Moon Lake to Hidden Sand Village lies in the eastern region, where the average depth of the sand is one hundred and fifty meters. In other words, if we drill down one hundred and fifty meters, we'll reach solid bedrock. So, my solution is to drive two massive concrete pillars into the ground every two hundred meters, ensuring that the bases of those pillars reach the bedrock. That way, the crystal tunnel may appear to be built on sand, but it will actually be supported by concrete pillars. It won't drift or shift in the wind, and there won't be any risk of settling. Even if a temporary sandstorm buries it, it won't matter. It would take at least eight hundred meters of sand to crush this crystal tunnel. Has anyone ever seen an eight-hundred-meter sand dune in the desert? Besides, if a sandstorm really buries the tunnel, we can just have Garukei wave his fan a few times."

Everyone burst into laughter.

"Lord Kazekage, what if we encounter obstacles such as sand dunes or quicksand during construction?"

"I was planning to explain that in detail. Garukei." Jing Hang sat down, and Pakura immediately poured him a cup of water.

"You Construction Corps need to establish a dedicated highway construction department. Garukei, you'll take the lead for now. Arrange the personnel from the Construction Corps as needed. Ninja skilled in Wind Release and Earth Release can all be recruited. If there aren't enough people, submit a report, and I'll transfer more from Hidden Sand Village. For example, regarding the issue this gentleman just raised about encountering sand dunes during construction, we can simply have a group of Wind Release ninja blow the dunes away. And the highway won't be abandoned once it's built. Daily repairs and maintenance will still be a major undertaking. Therefore, the wages, benefits, and logistical support of every ninja involved in the project must be guaranteed. Don't worry about the money—I'll allocate it to you shortly. I'll start with fifty million, and there'll be a second round of funding afterward. In short, it's still the same thing: if you can build this road, I'll provide money when you need money and people when you need people."

Jing Hang then answered several more questions raised by the staff officers, addressing each one in turn. Everyone nodded repeatedly. This could really be done! Just thinking about Moon Lake becoming connected to Hidden Sand Village filled them with excitement. At that moment, Wuzhong Ou timidly raised his hand.

"Brother Wuzhong, please speak."

"I... if I... go build roads, what will happen to my farmland?"

"Hahahahaha!" Everyone laughed.

Jing Hang smiled faintly as well. He knew what Wuzhong Ou was worried about.

"It seems Brother Wuzhong still can't bear to part with those few dozen mu of land. Don't worry. Since Hidden Sand Village gave it to you, we naturally won't take it back. But for this road construction, we'll really need the brothers of your family. As for farmland, if you don't have time to farm it yourself, you can lease it to someone else. By the way, how many able-bodied men in your family can use Crystal Release? We don't want children—they need to study properly."

"Six."

"Good. Bring them all over. They'll all hold positions on the road construction team, and I'll give every one of them jonin treatment! You, Wuzhong Ou, will serve as deputy commander of the road construction team."

"Ah!" Wuzhong Ou was so excited that he froze on the spot.

"Then... I... I'm an official now?"

"Hahahahaha!" The entire place erupted in laughter.

"At present, Moon Lake Base has a population approaching five hundred thousand. Housing and food have been arranged, and we now have a Ninja Academy and technical schools. Medical units are also under construction. At the same time, we've discovered many outstanding ninja and bloodline-limit clans among the immigrants." In the official residence cafeteria, Maki reported on the work while eating with Jing Hang.

"Oh? Tell me more about that." Jing Hang was very interested in this matter. It could directly raise the village's combat strength.

"There are quite a lot of them. The Kamizuru Clan, who are skilled at controlling bees; the Yuki Clan, who excel at Ice Release; the Ban Clan, who possess Boil Release; the Oto Clan, who excel at Light Release; and the red-eyed Chinoike Clan..."

"Mm. You've done very well, but your work still needs to be more thorough."

Jing Hang was very satisfied with Maki's report. This was strengthening Hidden Sand Village's foundation.

Although Jing Hang's efforts had allowed Hidden Sand Village to pull itself out of the mire of the Second Shinobi War ahead of schedule, the village had still lost a great number of outstanding ninja during the first and second stages of the war.

Many bloodline clans had even died out entirely. In ninja villages with deep foundations like Hidden Leaf Village and Hidden Cloud, how could young Jonin in their twenties like Rasa, Maki, and Garukei possibly hold such important positions?

It was precisely because the generation in their prime had all been sacrificed by the Second Kazekage in Hidden Rain Village that they now had to replenish their ranks with fresh blood. Otherwise, within a few years, Hidden Sand Village's war potential would be exhausted.

"Not only must we keep these people here, we must also give them a sense of belonging and make them truly regard this place as their hometown. For example, if they left their former village because they were discriminated against, then make sure they don't suffer discrimination here.

"If they left their former village because they were ostracized, then make sure they aren't ostracized here.

"Other places are at war, while we aren't. Other places suffer famine, while we have four dishes and a soup every day. Only then will they be willing to stay here, willing to sweat for Moon Lake, and willing to bleed for Moon Lake. This is called working with the people. You, including all your staff officers, must get down to earth and do this work properly. Understand?"

"Yes!" Maki and Garukei admired Jing Hang's words to the utmost. No wonder he was the Kazekage.

"Oh, and there's one more thing. I'll announce it in advance: I've decided to upgrade Moon Lake Base into Moon Lake New District. While serving as director of the Immigration Bureau, Maki will also serve as the highest administrative officer of Moon Lake New District. Garukei will serve as commander of the Construction Corps as well as deputy head of Moon Lake New District!"

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the cafeteria.