The First Hidden Sand Village "Sand Village Congress"

"Alright, alright, everyone quiet down, quiet down. Take your seats." Jing Hang pressed his hands downward, and the venue gradually fell silent.

Looking at the vast sea of people below, Jing Hang could not help feeling a little sentimental. In his previous life, he had only been a minor office worker, though he had been fortunate enough to help set up a large municipal conference once. To put it bluntly, he had just helped arrange signs and clean up.

He had never expected that, in the world of Naruto, he would have the chance to preside over a large-scale conference for a ninja village with a population nearing a million. Fate truly worked in strange ways.

Once the crowd had quieted down, Jing Hang cleared his throat and said,

"Alright, the meeting is now in session!"

Everyone sat upright, ready to listen to the Kazekage's instructions.

"It is rare for everyone to gather here today. We have not only the patriarchs and elders of Hidden Sand Village's traditional clans, but also new friends from Moon Lake New District, as well as worker friends from the Hourglass Group in the Land of Rain. This Kazekage Hall is truly filled with distinguished guests and worthy friends. It can be said that representatives from nearly every part of Hidden Sand Village are here.

Originally, everyone had come to discuss the construction of the new city and the allocation of shares. But since it is so rare for everyone to be gathered so completely, we might as well discuss the newly issued policies that need discussing and implement those that need implementing.

Pakura, your Secretariat will be responsible for the conference logistics. Although this came together in a hurry, you must make every effort to be thorough. We cannot have the representatives attending on empty stomachs or with parched throats. Arrange accommodations as well. This meeting may last several days. If you need more people, contact Minister Uekusa of the Personnel Department directly. Submit any needed funds directly to the village Finance Department.

Minister Chiyo, your ANBU must also mobilize and take responsibility for the conference's security and confidentiality. The meeting may last quite a while, so I hope everyone can endure it. I believe conditions will improve by the second conference. Alright, everyone, take a one-hour break first. Begin mobilizing all preparatory work immediately. In one hour, we will begin the first item on the agenda..."

Although everything had been rushed and no one had ever held a conference on such a massive scale, Jing Hang had at least seen large events before. A few hundred people? Just a small affair. Though things were a little hectic, the proceedings remained reasonably orderly.

The conference lasted five days and four nights. Though the representatives were exhausted and bleary-eyed, every one of them remained spirited and exhilarated. On the very first day, the share allocation for Future Casino City was finalized.

The preliminary plan for Future Casino City included casinos, hotels, restaurants, izakayas, kabuki districts, and other sections. They would be managed separately while dividends were distributed centrally. A company called Golden Sands Entertainment Group would be established for unified management, and professional managers could be hired to handle operations in the future.

The shares would be jointly owned by the public and private sectors. The village treasury would invest for fifty-one percent, while the remaining forty-nine percent would be offered for subscription to all representatives. Only forty-nine percent was being sold to prevent hostile acquisitions by outside forces.

The dividend arrangements were handled in turn as well. This immediately sent the crowd into a frenzy, and people began pulling out stacks of cash on the spot to subscribe. Minister Chiyo, already past sixty, bought twenty million ryo worth of shares in one go, becoming the largest individual shareholder. In her own words, she had invested both the money Sasori would need to marry a wife someday and her own burial savings.

Jing Hang did not fall behind either, purchasing fifteen million ryo worth himself and declaring that, as Kazekage, he needed to set an example. All the shares were snatched up in less than two hours, raising a full eight hundred million ryo. The financial reserves of Hidden Sand Village's great clans truly left Jing Hang speechless. If he ran a Ponzi scheme here, it would definitely have enormous potential.

On the second day, the conference held detailed discussions on the casino city's location, design plans, road construction, industrial layout, staffing, and other issues. Everyone spoke freely and enthusiastically. Jing Hang also briefly organized some casino rules from the Hong Kong gambling films he remembered, only to receive unanimous approval from the representatives. Thus, another title was added to Jing Hang's name—Chairman of the Board of Golden Sands Entertainment Group!

As the blueprint for Future Casino City gradually took shape, the conference agenda slowly shifted toward issues concerning the people's livelihood. Educational reform, medical reform, reform of the ninja military service system, construction of desert highways, mineral extraction, clean-government initiatives, and much more.

Specific issues were settled one after another at this conference. Some were even plans for the next five or ten years. Everything in the world was like this: once there was a plan and a direction, all that remained was to work toward it.

At last, the conference concluded successfully amid thunderous applause. Kazekage Jing Hang delivered a speech at the closing ceremony. "It is good that we had this opportunity to bring everyone together for such a conference, because it has genuinely solved many practical problems. I believe such meetings should become a tradition. I have decided that Hidden Sand Village will hold a Representative Congress once every three years from now on. The resolutions of the congress shall be Hidden Sand Village's highest resolutions!"

After the conference, Jing Hang directly announced that everyone in the village administration, aside from those needed for essential watch and guard duties, would receive two days off! He himself dragged Tsunade into their villa, pulled the blanket over them, and slept like the dead. Damn it, five days of meetings had been more exhausting than completing an S-rank mission in the past!

The Land of Wind Daimyo's residence was a sprawling complex built halfway up the Kunling Mountains. Its overall style was elegant, ancient, refined, and graceful. Because all its roofs were covered in green tiles, people had grown accustomed to calling it the "Half-Mountain Green Palace."

In the Land of Wind, where eighty percent of the territory was desert, the palace's location had been chosen with extraordinary care. To its north, the continuous northern foothills of the Kunling Mountains blocked the rolling sands blowing southward, while the southern foothills of the Kunling Mountains happened to trap warm ocean currents within the Kunling Plain.

Although this small plain covered less than ten percent of the entire Land of Wind, it was the nation's richest and most fertile land. Unlike the rest of the Land of Wind, with its endless yellow sands and barren wilderness, this place had blue skies, white clouds, green mountains, clear waters, lush trees, and vibrant life.

At that moment, in the main hall of the Green Palace, the Land of Wind Daimyo was reading a memorial with a puzzled expression.

"Your Kazekage wants to buy land? Does he even have money to buy land?"

In the Daimyo's impression, Hidden Sand Village's ninjas were still that bunch of impoverished brutes, nothing more than thugs raised by his family. And now they wanted to buy land? What a joke. What did they want land for? Farming? He had heard that they had done quite well farming in the Moon Lake area. Were these ninjas planning to become farmers instead?

"Yes, Daimyo-sama. Ever since you bestowed the Moon Lake land upon us, Lord Kazekage has led us in reclaiming farmland around Moon Lake, growing crops, raising pigs, cultivating vegetables, and developing production. We have now achieved food self-sufficiency. But as you know, Hidden Sand Village's ninjas are still very poor. Therefore, Lord Kazekage wishes to engage in trade and purchase a plot of land near the border to do a little business."

Minister Shangshuiliu bowed deeply to the Daimyo, his attitude exceedingly respectful.

"Oh?! It seems Jing Hang has done rather well in Hidden Sand Village. He actually achieved food self-sufficiency. Good, very good. I am greatly pleased. However, there is no surplus land left in the Kunling Plain for you."

"You misunderstand, my lord. The Kunling Plain is where the Daimyo worships his ancestral temple. How would we dare lay a finger on it?"

"Oh? Then where do you want?"

The Land of Wind Daimyo was somewhat puzzled.