Night.
At the family banquet.
Uchiha Makoto and Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku were singing in harmony, imagining the future of their son and daughter-in-law.
"I still haven't thought of a name for our son. This is a big deal!"
"Uchiha Nan?"
"Uchiha Qi?"
"....."
"These names sound like they belong to a protagonist!"
"Uchiha Jong-un... let's forget that one... this world can't have two suns."
"The father-son filial piety scene of Demon Xiao Long versus Holy Master Daddy must not happen to me!"
"Forget it, we'll talk about it later. Anyway, he already has the template of a protagonist. After all, his future wife is Tsunade... this is..."
"Is this the fate of an Uchiha protagonist..."
Uchiha Makoto muttered to himself.
Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku's eyes were fixed on Uchiha Makoto.
She didn't understand the strange words coming out of his mouth, but that didn't stop her enthusiasm for the topic.
Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku: "I heard that Lord Hashirama is a gambling addict. I think... Lady Mito specifically said that she wants Lord Hashirama to quit gambling so he doesn't corrupt the children."
"Wow, that's a very serious problem. I almost forgot!"
Uchiha Makoto suddenly remembered that Tsunade also had the title of the Great Fat Sheep of the Ninja World.
She was a philanthropist in the casino, a spendthrift who didn't treat money as money.
According to the original story.
After Tsunade left Konoha, she frequented the casinos of the Land of Fire. At that time, she also suffered from hemophobia, so she probably didn't do any ninja missions. To be a casino philanthropist, one must have capital, and Tsunade's capital was probably the Senju family's assets.
In the end, Tsunade even borrowed money from loan shark organizations to gamble and was chased by a bunch of people from the loan shark organization. At her worst, she couldn't even afford food, living hand to mouth.
To be in such a miserable state, she must have lost every last penny of the Senju family's assets... The only thing left of the Senju clan's property was probably the ancestral home.
And the reason the Senju ancestral home was left might have been because it couldn't be sold, thus escaping disaster!
After all, Konoha also had its pride.
Tsunade might dare to sell it, but how could you dare to buy it?
Are you tired of living?
Uchiha Makoto couldn't help but start gossiping about Senju Hashirama behind his back—an old gambling addict corrupting a child is a very serious matter.
This possibility must be eliminated!
Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku nodded, also feeling that this matter indeed needed attention.
"I'll have to go and have a word with the casinos of the ninja world in the future."
"Whoever dares to host Tsunade and let her lose even a single coin in the casino will have their entire family killed!"
Uchiha Makoto planned to use the most physical solution.
The scene was, for a time, quite harmonious.
But Senju Tobirama's face was gloomy. Uchiha Makoto and Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku didn't treat him as an outsider, or rather, they didn't treat him as a person... discussing their son and daughter-in-law's marriage right in front of him, and even gossiping about his big brother in his presence.
But... they were right to curse him!
Senju Tobirama had long wanted to kill those rotten gamblers who knew his brother lost nine out of ten bets but still gambled with him.
What was the difference between that and robbing him?
But...
The thought of his big brother's granddaughter marrying an Uchiha.
Senju Tobirama drank one cup of wine after another, getting half-drunk, his heart full of depression, his head gradually becoming groggy.
As a ninja, especially one who had received professional ninja training from a young age, he usually didn't drink. Senju Tobirama himself hated this groggy feeling the most, but... he still had a few more cups today.
There was no other way. He still couldn't truly get over the hurdle in his heart.
The Uchiha clan, the Senju clan, this damn thousand-year-old feud... it's very difficult to truly resolve!
Especially for the ninjas of Senju Tobirama's generation.
From a young age, they had been indoctrinated with the various evil deeds of the Uchiha clan against the Senju clan. They had fought and killed Uchiha clan members on the battlefield in their youth, and their relatives and friends had also died at the hands of Uchiha clan members.
It was only later that the war became so brutal that everyone couldn't bear it anymore, and ending the war became a common wish for both families.
Thus, Konoha was born.
But people like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, who could genuinely reconcile, were ultimately a minority... not to mention that in the original story, they eventually had a falling out.
Most people from the two families just felt that since things had come to this, and the two sides had successfully signed a contract and established Konoha, obtaining the long-awaited stability, then the past grudges should not be mentioned if possible—but not mentioning them didn't mean forgetting. The hatred was still there, just hidden in the bottom of their hearts.
Only when all these older generation ninjas were dead could this hatred be considered completely gone.
The meal soon ended.
Senju Tobirama was the same as always. As he left, he gave Uchiha Makoto the middle finger, muttering things like "naturally evil Uchiha brat." Uchiha Makoto did the same, giving Senju Tobirama his middle finger in return.
But at this moment, Uchiha Makoto was in a very good mood, a smile playing on his lips.
"Tch bastard it's never a good thing when you smile like that."
"Tobirama, still feeling uncomfortable? As a ninja, you should understand that when you want to throw a shuriken fifty meters, you should aim for a hundred meters in training..."
"Shut up, I understand that better than you!"
"Go."
After saying that, Senju Tobirama walked into the night without looking back. But he didn't immediately return to his residence in Akatsuki Village to sleep. Instead, he came to a high point in the village.
The air at the high point was very good.
The evening breeze blew from time to time, bringing a chill to Senju Tobirama, which made him take a few deep breaths of fresh air.
His originally groggy mind also cleared up a lot.
Then Senju Tobirama's eyes began to gaze seriously at the increasingly prosperous village before him.
Although Akatsuki Village was still nominally a village, its scale, economy... were actually no less than the top few major cities in the Land of Fire.
The only shortcoming was the population.
After all, Akatsuki Village was still a new city.
But with more and more capital from the ninja world being invested in Akatsuki Village, the population would also flow to Akatsuki Village with the capital. It was only a matter of time before this population gap was filled.
At that time, even the capital of the Land of Fire would have to bow its head before Akatsuki Village.
Under the night sky.
Most of Akatsuki Village was shrouded in darkness, with only a few scattered lights twinkling.
But among them was a large area that emitted a bright light.
The light was extremely conspicuous in the night.
Senju Tobirama knew that place. It was also the place he had frequented the most in the past few days.
That was the commercial district of Akatsuki Village, the most prosperous area in the entire village.
The major wealthy merchant giants of the ninja world had established company branches here, which then became powerful hearts driving the economic development of Akatsuki Village.
As the wealthiest area, it was the first to enjoy the benefits of Akatsuki Village's urban planning.
A long time ago.
Uchiha Makoto had wanted to lay power lines and install streetlights on a large scale in Akatsuki Village. The technology was no longer an obstacle; the technology tree of the ninja world was truly bizarre... The only difficulty was the issue of funding.
Before power generation reached economies of scale, or before there was a cheap source of chakra, it was still very difficult to let ordinary people in Akatsuki Village enjoy the convenience of electric lights.
Financial subsidies were also limited.
But for those wealthy merchants and the ninjas in the village, this bit of electricity fee was nothing.
They enjoyed the decadent nights—consumerism was spreading.
"It's just a pity~ such a great view doesn't belong to Konoha."
"I wonder... how long it will take for Konoha's economy to catch up to Akatsuki Village's."
As Senju Tobirama watched, he couldn't help but sigh.
In the few days he had been in Akatsuki Village.
He had discovered many problems that he had overlooked in the process of the village's development in the past.
Not just commercial problems, but the entire future development plan of the village.
No matter what, Uchiha Makoto had previous examples to copy.
As long as the general direction was correct, the details could be settled with money. If that didn't work, he could just have the ninjas solve the problem with force.
Admittedly.
In the eyes of the Akatsuki ninja clans, many of Uchiha Makoto's initial plans for the village were very strange. They thought he always liked to spend money recklessly, spending it on things that traditional ninjas wouldn't bother with.
For example, the research institutes in the technology park.
The research direction of many researchers was not combat-type ninjutsu.
Instead, they tried to combine ninjutsu with industry, or even purely researched industrial technology... or even agriculture.
Now, it was even more varied.
—The people from the Takumi Village and the Sky Ninja Village in the original story had almost been completely poached by Uchiha Makoto.
The wealthy merchants, nobles, and the industrial faction, in order to make money, always had to pursue technological innovation. Now, cooperation with the research institutes, providing huge research funds, was becoming more and more frequent.
But these research institutes were initially purely supported by Akatsuki Village's finances.
Although the financial data of Akatsuki Village was a secret, there would always be some clues.
Some interested ninja clans had once privately calculated it. They couldn't get the specific numbers... but it was definitely enough to make them exclaim at the outrageous waste!
From the very beginning of the village's establishment, it was in the hundreds of millions.
How insane was that?
But... Uchiha Makoto was the village leader, and this money didn't come from their pockets.
And some of Uchiha Makoto's behaviors were also very dangerous.
They didn't conform to the rules of the ninja world at all—the nobles were their employers, the clients with the most missions. If they offended them... what would they do in the future?
In the eyes of the uncles in their respective ninja clans, Uchiha Makoto was just messing around.
But the big blood bags he had cut from the nobles in the beginning had really helped Uchiha Makoto to unite a large group of ninjas from the ninja clans in Akatsuki Village—the uncles were unwilling to do the missions, but there were always younger ninjas who were willing.
"I've been the Lord Light Shadow for several years, and basically, everything I've done has been a success. If I don't want to do something, no one else can do it either. Are there people below who oppose me? Yes, and quite a few... but there are more who support me!"
Uchiha Makoto held the finances and the righteous name of the Lord Light Shadow... so even if the ninja clans were dissatisfied in their hearts, they all chose to back down.
And those uncles from the Akatsuki ninja clans who had openly opposed Uchiha Makoto and were recorded in his little black book had been gradually eliminated from the village's high-ranking team by Uchiha Makoto over the years.
Some had even died in the Kumogakure war—of course, they ended as heroes, which was very dignified!
Every year, Uchiha Makoto would offer incense for them.
But Senju Tobirama...
He had focused more of his attention on the village's military, on the construction of the ANBU, on the training of ninjas... just like how he had managed the Senju clan in the past, but the scope had become larger, now it was an entire village.
To expand one's perspective always requires a transition.
When Konoha was founded, Senju Tobirama had not considered that Konoha would no longer be a purely military organization, but would have to interfere in the economy, politics, and even the production of ordinary people in the Land of Fire.
The two men's perspectives were different from the very beginning.
For example, what Senju Tobirama considered commerce was like a small shop, where the most important thing was easy buying and selling. But what Uchiha Makoto wanted was a commercial center, where wealthy merchants, the industrial faction, nobles, and even great nobles from the Seika family gathered... a circle that was unconsciously formed for the sake of making money and expanding capital, which eventually united to become an interest group, and then, with Akatsuki Village as the center, expanded outwards, to suck blood, to transport benefits to Akatsuki Village by any means necessary... Even without talking about economic benefits, the political benefits in the Land of Fire alone were immeasurable.
And what Akatsuki Village had to do was to carry out macroeconomic control and then provide them with military backing.
And of course, collect taxes!
This was a big deal.
In the United States, only death can end taxation. The future of Akatsuki Village would probably be the same. Perhaps the only difference would be... that death is not the end of taxation—this sounds a bit like hell.
But it could indeed be called ambitious!
Senju Tobirama didn't know Uchiha Makoto's ambitions.
And Konoha didn't have a commercial center like Akatsuki Village.
But these days, as Senju Tobirama watched the endless stream of wealthy merchants and nobles in the commercial district, these people gathered here and then put down roots... the power unleashed by these people gathered in Akatsuki Village was probably not to be underestimated.
In time...
He didn't dare to imagine.
"The next time I come to Akatsuki Village, I wonder what kind of earth-shattering changes will have taken place here."
"I wonder how that naturally evil Uchiha brat, Makoto, convinced the village's ninja clans to go crazy with him..."
Senju Tobirama suddenly felt immense pressure.
The more prosperous the scene before him, the more of a headache it gave him.
Turning the big ship of Konoha around was not an easy task.
This year's financial cap was welded shut at several tens of billions of ryo. The Daimyo's allocation accounted for the vast majority. The planned use had already been made, and it was enough to develop the village as in the past, step by step.
But if they were to learn from Akatsuki Village... then they would really be stretched thin.
Otherwise, Senju Tobirama wouldn't have borrowed money from Uchiha Makoto. Although the interest was very low, he still had to repay a part of it every year.
And if next year's funding didn't change, he could only divert a part of it... but the ninja clans within Konoha would definitely have opinions.
After all, the so-called primitive capital usually comes with blood and original sin.
Either you use military force to forcibly harvest the property of nobles from the outside to get the first pot of gold, like Uchiha Makoto did in the beginning.
Or you can only make your own people suffer.
Who would bear the blame then?
Senju Tobirama didn't know...
In the end, he left Akatsuki Village with a belly full of worries.
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