Damming the Lake to Create Farmland

Oguri Hayashi formed a hand seal, and a mass of earth rose before him. This earth platform, about a meter in size and roughly square, was made of soil and clearly displayed a topographical map of the entire Takigakure within a 1-kilometer radius.

This was a 1000:1 scale compressed geographical map of Takigakure.

It even showed the elevation differences of waterfalls and mountains.

It even had forests.

It could be said they had never seen such an exquisite model.

Honestly, Oguri Hayashi hadn't thought of making such a military map during his time in the Naruto world. He wasn't a professional military strategist, so even after many years in Konoha, he had never considered a sand table model like this.

However, after obtaining the Vietnamese's night vision goggles, everything seen through them would be recorded, forming a familiar terrain, just like playing a strategy game on a map. This genius-level idea gave Oguri Hayashi inspiration.

After becoming the leader of Takigakure, the first thing he did was thoroughly scout the terrain within a kilometer of the ninja village.

Was that why he had a Shadow Clone do work every morning?

Tsunade looked at Oguri Hayashi's sand table and secretly thought she had learned something. The Hokage's office or war room should have such a sand table.

If they really wanted to make such a sand table, they could achieve a 10,000:1 scale. Even with Konoha's vast territory, this was achievable.

Moreover, it could be perfected over generations of Hokage and ninja.

The thought of all of Konoha's territory appearing in detail on this sand table made Tsunade's body heat up.

As a ninja from a lineage of ninjutsu, she instantly thought of several ninjutsu that could be developed using this sand table.

If it were possible, they could even project people and ninja from a certain area onto the sand table using ninjutsu. After projection, the enemy's shadows and appearances could be clearly seen.

Of course, this might require combining it with ninjutsu like Barrier Ninjutsu, but Tsunade already had her own hypotheses and ideas.

The Third Hokage's Telescope Technique, for example, relied on the Barrier Ninjutsu within Konohagakure to clearly observe Naruto's actions. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why no one had ever used the Telescope Technique in countless subsequent wars.

With the sand table...

Tsunade could already envision the future movements of every Konoha villager vividly displayed on the sand table.

Oguri Hayashi pointed to a spot and said, "This area is where we are now, the location of Takigakure."

Takigakure's location was rather peculiar, with many waterfalls and complex water flow. Many waterfalls meant little arable land. With little arable land and underdeveloped transportation, it was no wonder the population was only forty or fifty, unable to develop.

In such a remote and impoverished place, no one was willing to come, nor could it support ninja. It was perfectly normal.

There were only seven High Ninja in Takigakure and about twelve Genin, totaling nineteen. Adding these nineteen to the fifty-plus villagers made up the entire strength of Takigakure.

In the future of Takigakure, there would only be the leader's child as a ninja, while others would either retire or defect to other ninja villages.

It was truly tragic.

However, since Oguri Hayashi had arrived, he naturally wouldn't let such a thing happen.

"The first thing we need to do is improve the villagers' living standards," he said. He had lived there for three days and had a good understanding of Takigakure's situation.

Takigakure was located behind a massive waterfall, but beyond the waterfall was a lake, and the Takigakure villagers lived by the lake.

The villagers' material possessions were not abundant. They mainly gathered wild vegetables, hunted, and fished in the lake. However, they were not excessively poor because the resources were too abundant. Whether it was wild vegetables, fish, or game, they could ensure their nutrition, vitamins, and protein.

Yet, Oguri Hayashi knew this was unstable.

All gathering, hunting, and fishing civilizations were unstable.

Without a stable food source, population development would always be hindered. Without population development, they would fall behind in the competition of civilizations.

Takigakure was a typical example of backwardness. In Naruto's era, Takigakure's population further decreased, with only one ninja remaining, which was evidence of this.

To increase the population, fields and rice were needed first.

All farming was based on the premise of stable food production.

Only when people were full could pigs, sheep, and horses have something to eat.

Only then could they progress.

"So, what we need to do is..."

Oguri Hayashi drew a circle downstream: "Here, we will change the structure using Earth Release to turn this area into a lake."

"Then, the water from upstream will be diverted to both sides, separating the waterfall into two channels."

"Finally, this area will become a large field."

As Oguri Hayashi explained, he gently formed a hand seal, and the terrain slowly began to change. The waterfall no longer flowed through Takigakure but was diverted to both sides. This left the lake in the middle of Takigakure without a source.

When the water was released, and the lake was drained using Earth Release to raise the lakebed, it would become a vast, fertile farmland.

Oguri Hayashi then recreated a new lake downstream of the largest waterfall.

Oguri Hayashi had other plans, but these were the first things to be completed.

"With these fields, we can support a larger population. Everyone will no longer have to worry about not having enough to eat or about newborns," Oguri Hayashi said, stretching.

The Takigakure ninja exchanged glances, finding Oguri Hayashi's method extremely feasible, almost as if it were a plan tailor-made for Takigakure.

The problems Takigakure faced were real and unavoidable, so Oguri Hayashi's plan immediately gained everyone's approval.

Seeing that all the Takigakure ninja had agreed with his idea, Oguri Hayashi nodded. This was the first step in transforming Takigakure.

First, in the absence of missions, they would do some work for the ordinary people.

"Ninja who know Earth Release, come with me. The rest of you, use Ninjutsu to chop down those trees. I need pillars that take three men to embrace, and I need them in unlimited quantities!"

"Tsunade, you go with them!"

Tsunade glanced at Oguri Hayashi. She didn't speak or agree, but that was usually her way of accepting. She was also very curious to see what Oguri Hayashi had in mind and how he planned to do it.

She had already gained a lot of information and useful things from Oguri Hayashi, such as the sand table and his methods for training himself.

Now, she wanted to see even more how Oguri Hayashi would manage the village.

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