Five Thousand Square Meters? This Is a Laboratory?

Uchiha Yuan had not brought his assistant Haru or his pet Little Kuro with him this time. Alone, he could move much faster.

Three days later, Uchiha Yuan arrived in a bustling city. Looking at these buildings that were completely out of place in the Warring States era, he was lost in thought.

The street stalls had been arranged in an orderly fashion, not obstructing traffic through the city gates in the slightest.

Uchiha Yuan took a brief look before leaving, his figure slowly vanishing into the shadows at the corner of a wall.

Skyfeather Heavy Industries.

Established five years ago, it had become famous for its excellent construction quality and rapid building speed.

It also constantly introduced high-quality housing designs. If customers did not know what kind of house to build, the company would offer hundreds of modules for them to choose from. Its service quality was beyond reproach.

Its after-sales guarantees were even more satisfying. Any damage or collapse within three years would be repaired free of charge.

In just five years, Skyfeather Heavy Industries had nearly monopolized the construction industry in the Land of Fire and held vast amounts of developable land.

At first, some nobles and officials had set their sights on the company. But after digging deeper, they discovered that ninjas were involved. Uchiha and Senju ninjas appeared frequently around it, making many nobles wary of acting rashly.

Before long, however, Skyfeather Heavy Industries began cultivating close ties with officials, making them feel much better about it. As Skyfeather Heavy Industries grew larger, the benefits they received grew as well. Only then did those officials realize what a money tree this was.

Yet all of this was part of Skyfeather Heavy Industries' plan. It all came from the boss behind the scenes, Uchiha Yuan. In his words:

"An official character has two mouths. Feed the officials connected to us until they are full, make them see us as one of their own, and then resources will naturally flow our way."

"What about the mouth underneath?"

"Heh, that is the common people's mouth. You have to know that public opinion can melt gold, so our products must be good. That way, they will have nothing to criticize. And never exploit them too harshly. Otherwise, we will have reached the end of the road too."

After hearing this, the hired hands wholeheartedly agreed and treated it as a family precept, determined to pass it down from generation to generation.

At this moment, Uchiha Yuan had already arrived at the Skyfeather Heavy Industries branch in this city. He had informed the hired hand managing the place beforehand that he was coming to check on the laboratory's progress.

After entering the company, Uchiha Yuan could not help feeling emotional. These familiar floor tiles, these familiar cement walls—it was as if he had returned to the modern era.

"Who are you?! Who let you in?!"

Behind him, a woman in a short skirt and black stockings berated Uchiha Yuan. His behavior made him look exactly like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

"Hm? Those clothes are from the Hundred Flowers Consortium? Not bad taste."

Hearing Uchiha Yuan's praise, the woman smugly brushed back her long hair. The Hundred Flowers Consortium was on good terms with Skyfeather Heavy Industries, and as employees, they could get plenty of fine goods at low prices. What she did not know was that the Hundred Flowers Consortium belonged to the white-haired young man in front of her.

"Hmph! This outfit cost me over a thousand ryo. Never seen anything like it, have you?" After basking in her pride, she suddenly came to her senses. "Why are you still here?! Don't make me call security to throw you out!"

"Now, now, don't get worked up. I'm friends with your boss. He arranged to meet me here."

Uchiha Yuan did not get angry, because strictly speaking, this place was his property too.

The woman frowned as she looked Uchiha Yuan over. He wore casual, ordinary kimono, his snow-white hair draped behind his back. His face was impossibly youthful. He was just some little brat who had not even grown up yet.

"Tch! Trying to fool me?"

"You should be nearly late for work. Instead of wasting time here, shouldn't you hurry upstairs?"

Uchiha Yuan smiled faintly, gave her no chance to retort, and turned around, vanishing down the corridor in an instant.

Seeing Uchiha Yuan suddenly disappear, the woman turned pale with shock. An unidentified ninja had infiltrated the company! This was a major incident!

Uchiha Yuan moved through the shadows and slowly made his way to the rooftop, avoiding everyone he encountered along the way. This branch had only ten floors. Such a building was already bizarre in this era, yet it could be found everywhere in modern metropolises.

Standing on the rooftop and taking in the view, he wondered whether accelerating the development of the Naruto World was a good thing or a bad thing.

Thud, thud, thud!

Urgent footsteps came from the stairwell. Before long, a panting middle-aged man climbed up.

"Lord Yuan! I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. I only learned from my subordinates that an unfamiliar ninja had appeared. I only confirmed it was you after hearing his description."

"Well, it's nothing. The times are speeding up, so I can't afford to slow down either."

"What do you mean?"

"The situation in the Shinobi World is gradually becoming clear. The war in the Land of Fire has ended, and peace will arrive as early as next year."

"But this peace should only last a few years at most, shouldn't it?"

"But this time is different. This time, the Daimyo will join forces with the ninja clans."

Hiss!

Uchiha Yimu was deeply shocked by that prediction. He had not expected such secret information to sound like a trivial matter when it came from Lord Yuan.

"Once the Land of Fire is at peace, our next Five-Year Plan must be launched as soon as possible, before those ninja clans have time to free up their hands."

"Yes!"

"By the way, I came this time because of the laboratory."

"It is already under construction, my lord."

"Hm?" Uchiha Yuan was puzzled. He had received word last year that construction had already begun. Why was it still being built now?

"It is already May this year, and it still isn't finished?"

"Uh..."

Yimu did not know how to explain. He took a blueprint from his clothes and handed it to Uchiha Yuan.

"My lord, this is the blueprint you gave us. I built it according to this."

"Oh? Let me see what's going on."

Uchiha Yuan took the blueprint and examined it. The design was exactly the same as what he had planned back then. Then he suddenly noticed a blurry mark in the lower-right corner. It looked like a cat paw print, and in the middle of the print were several barely visible small numbers.

"1:500? Who marked this?"

"I don't know, my lord. It was already like that when the blueprint arrived."

Uchiha Yuan's mouth twitched. He had already guessed what had happened. Looking at that cat paw print, there was no need to ask—it had to be Little Kuro's paw print.

He looked at the blueprint. The original design had only been for a laboratory of less than one hundred square meters. That would have made it more secretive. Bigger was bigger, then...

"Forget it. Build it like this. It's nothing more than a little bigger. How far along is it now?"

"Reporting to you, my lord, the main structure is basically complete. The framework has been erected, and it only needs another two months before inspection."

"Two months? Just how big is it?"

"Five thousand square meters!"

"Pfft, five thousand! Square meters!"

He no longer even knew how to complain. He wanted a laboratory—at most, an experimental base. Five thousand square meters! Was he building a football field? Did they want to put what they were researching right out in the open?

That was human experimentation! A taboo of humanity!

"Like this, then. Use this location as a trading market instead. It happens to be not far from the Land of Wind."

Uchiha Yuan thought for a moment, then continued:

"Then build another one nearby for me. Keep the blueprint unchanged, but reduce the scale by fifty times!"

"...Yes!"

"How long will it take?"

"One month, and I guarantee completion!"

Uchiha Yuan nodded, finally satisfied. Five thousand square meters was simply too outrageous.