Stronger Than Anyone

During the month Oguri Hayashi stayed in Takigakure, the entire village underwent a complete transformation.

A vast stretch of wasteland had been cleared in front of the villagers' homes.

Only now did the villagers realize how effortless it was for ninja to clear land with ninjutsu. In Takigakure, where water resources were abundant, the ninja merely had to use Earth Release to divide the land into 100-meter-by-100-meter plots, turning the fertile silt into rice paddies with ease. Even the dullest person could see that once rice was planted, the yields would be astonishing.

The ninja had already done that much, so the villagers no longer needed anyone to teach them what to do. They began transplanting rice seedlings and farming.

Ordinary soil altered with Chakra became very soft. Making it hard would probably require increasing Chakra output, but if wood was used as a framework, with mud packed over it and the wooden supports driven deep into the ground, then Fire Release could be used to bake it dry and make the embankment extremely sturdy.

There had been no lake upstream of the village, because if a dam failed to contain a lake, it would cause flooding and bring devastating disaster upon the villages below. So there were no lakes or reservoirs upstream. Instead, Earth Release was used to redirect the waterfall, gathering all the water into a low-lying depression. Once a dam was built from timber mixed with wet earth, a lake was formed.

In the future, vast numbers of fish would breed in that lake, perhaps even drawing other predators.

But for Takigakure, that was undeniably a good thing. For one thing, the original lake had become fertile farmland. Fish in the lake had once been difficult to catch, but now they swam through the rice paddies, where they were incredibly easy to catch. The villagers of Takigakure could practically lie beside the fields and scoop up fish.

However, after escaping the basic concern of finding food, the residents of Takigakure began taking an interest in ninjutsu.

People would not be interested in things unrelated to their own interests.

If ninjutsu could protect them, then they would certainly be interested in it.

But they had hunters, so they did not need to spend their own money issuing missions and hiring ninja. Thus, the village lived in remarkable peace, while its ninja were mostly used only to protect the village. In a place like Takigakure, ninja had little opportunity to show their worth, so naturally the villagers did not understand their value.

Becoming a ninja was the complete opposite of being a civilian. Though they did not need to go to war, ninja training was even harsher than ordinary life. Both ninjutsu and taijutsu training were extremely grueling. In the manga, five- or six-year-old Second Pillar had burned his mouth and lips with the Great Fireball Technique more than once or twice. That was also why the people of Takigakure lacked the motivation to become ninja.

But now, these ordinary people had finally seen where ninja truly excelled—productivity.

It gave them ample motivation to become ninja.

If a child who had learned ninjutsu could save them ten days or half a month when helping build a house, then they would be willing to let their sons learn ninjutsu.

That was only human nature.

Once ninjutsu could save them time and effort, the people of Takigakure would throw themselves into learning it with unprecedented enthusiasm.

"Are you planning to teach them ninjutsu?" Tsunade asked in disbelief.

She had seen a great many things here, and learned many valuable things that she had sent back to Konoha. That was why she had remained here all this time.

Konoha was not at war at present, and with Orochimaru and Jiraiya there, she did not need to worry about anything happening to Konoha. So she was perfectly justified in taking leave due to her hemophobia.

But on this matter, she had different opinions and views from Oguri Hayashi.

"Are you trying to turn every one of them into ninja? Their situation will become extremely dangerous!" Tsunade reacted intensely.

Not killing civilians was an unspoken rule among ninja. Of course, they would sometimes silence people for certain missions, but unless necessary, civilians would not be drawn into battles between ninja.

But if these ordinary civilians learned Chakra and ninjutsu, they would become different.

They would become a reserve force among ninja, wartime reservists, enemies who might draw a kunai at any moment and kill someone. Once Takigakure went to war, anyone who could possibly become a ninja would be killed by the enemy.

Oguri Hayashi's decision had made their situation extremely dangerous.

Ordinary Waterfall Ninja and the villagers of Takigakure lacked that common sense, but Tsunade had it. That was why her reaction was so intense.

"If they live in this village and receive its protection, then they should live and die with it." Oguri Hayashi looked at Tsunade. "Learning ninjutsu can help the village and help them live better. They aren't merely helping the village—they're helping themselves."

"This place is different from Konoha."

Ordinary people in Konoha could hide beneath the wings of Konoha's ninja and live their entire lives as civilians, but the villagers here had to learn ninjutsu to protect themselves and increase Takigakure's overall productivity.

"Besides, why don't you promote Chakra cultivation among ordinary people?" Oguri Hayashi said. To be honest, he understood it somewhat, but he was also puzzled. "Is it to control and monopolize knowledge and privilege?"

"Only those loyal to the village and the Hokage are qualified to receive the Transformation Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, and Substitution Jutsu, as well as Chakra extraction techniques?" Oguri Hayashi's words left Tsunade opening her mouth, unable to speak.

"Only direct disciples of the Hokage can cultivate the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Super Strength Technique?"

"If they aren't ninja from your direct line, then even Konoha ninja aren't qualified to learn them, are they?"

"It's not like that." Tsunade's defense was exceedingly weak. Oguri Hayashi's words had struck directly at the heart of the issue, leaving her unable to respond. "If they were ninja sent by an enemy village, handing these techniques to them could bring enormous losses to Konoha."

"That's completely sophistry." Oguri Hayashi shook his head. "Suppose ten people learned the Flying Thunder God Technique. Even if three of them defected, wouldn't the benefits still outweigh the drawbacks for Konoha? Even a child could do that math."

Tsunade was dumbstruck and unable to say anything. Deep down, she vaguely knew that Oguri Hayashi's words might, perhaps, possibly be right.

"You're only afraid that if there are too many civilians, and they all learn ninjutsu—perhaps even producing more geniuses—you won't be able to control them."

"But you can't stop eating just because you're afraid of choking."

"And I'm not afraid that once they grow stronger, they'll rebel against me."

Oguri Hayashi raised his chin, his arrogance towering. "I will be stronger than anyone!"