Konoha: Starting as the Leader of the Land of Grass

Chapter 11: Have Babies!

It's snowing.

The war is over.

Perhaps because the war had just ended, the entire shinobi world seemed particularly desolate.

And this year, the snow had come rather early.

Today.

It was the first meeting of early winter in the Land of Grass.

Nearly two months had passed since the last meeting where the five-year plan was established.

This time...

The Land of Grass now had three little ones, Nagato's mother, and the rest of the Uzumaki clan.

Of course, he hadn't revealed anything about Nagato's Rinnegan. There were far too many different kinds of special eyes in the shinobi world, and the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths were a secret in this day and age. Therefore, as long as he didn't reveal their special abilities, no one, except for those who knew about the Rinnegan, would realize what Nagato's eyes were.

So, today's meeting also included a representative from the Uzumaki clan—Elder Yang.

The Third Elder of the Uzumaki.

"The construction of Kusagakure is on the right track," Kusa Hikaru, as the leader of the Grass, looked at everyone seriously and said, "As for our income... Kusagakure must open up new sources of revenue!"

He couldn't just keep relying on writing those kinds of books.

He, the leader of the Land of Grass, was a righteous man. That was only for the sake of the nation's development; it wasn't what he wanted to write at all!

As soon as he finished speaking.

"Sell intelligence!" Mujina, that unscrupulous fellow, immediately spoke up upon hearing the word "money." "This has always been an important source of funds for our Kusagakure. Although the income from this business has dropped significantly during peacetime since there isn't much intelligence, we can always mix in some fakes!" He spoke with a shameless tone, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "As long as we say it's about... war, invasions, or stealing Kekkei Genkai, we can't go wrong!"

At his words.

He immediately received the approval of the other high-level officials.

For a hidden village with no mission requests, this was the fastest way to make money and also an important source of funds for Kusagakure.

"That's right! It's our old trade, we're familiar with it!"

"Anyway, it's cash for intel. Once the deal is done, they'll go investigate it themselves."

"Every hidden village has its problems, more or less! So what if they find out? It's not a big deal!"

"..."

Listening to them, Kusa Hikaru's face was covered in dark lines.

And on the side, Elder Yang, attending the meeting as the Uzumaki clan's representative, also seemed shocked by the proceedings.

He had long heard that Kusagakure was shameless, and seeing it today, it truly lived up to its reputation.

They even sell fake intelligence?!

Aren't they afraid of being beaten to death by other hidden villages?

What an eye-opener.

A real eye-opener.

Of course, he had had enough of wandering. Now, the entire shinobi world over, only the Land of Grass was willing to accept them. As a part of the Land of Grass, he would accept whatever decision the leader ultimately made.

Moreover, he had never expected that the Uzumaki clan, having just joined, would be given such a great honor as to attend this meeting.

The Land of Grass treated them with sincerity, how could the Uzumaki clan be ungrateful?!

Therefore, as ninja, they just had to obey orders.

However.

"Very good! Comrade Mujina, your suggestion is very pertinent!" Kusa Hikaru nodded with a serious expression, then paused slightly. "Don't ever mention it again."

If he hadn't been here, after the Land of Grass was rebuilt, it would have remained in chaos, with severe political corruption and infighting.

Now that he was here, after unifying the country, he had also cleaned it up. The Land of Grass was united from top to bottom, displaying unprecedented cohesion.

If they continued down this path...

He was more worried that the Fourth Great Ninja War would be started by the Land of Grass, and then it would be their turn to be invaded by the Five Great Nations!

The reason being... the intelligence was fake!

That was seriously courting death.

He suspected that the reason the Kaguya clan crossed the sea during the Third Great Ninja War and spent so much effort to attack the Land of Grass, a country with nothing, was possibly because... Kusagakure had sold fake intelligence to Kirigakure.

Kusa Hikaru crossed his hands, scanned the crowd, and said in a serious tone, "First, we must identify our advantages and plan our development according to local conditions. We must insist on proceeding from reality. This is the starting point and foundation for our thinking, decision-making, and actions! We must efficiently utilize the advantages of the Land of Grass to promote high-quality development!"

"..."

Why is the leader talking in such a roundabout way today? It's a little hard to understand.

As for the advantages of the Land of Grass?

Lots of flowers and grass?

"It seems you all understand!" Kusa Hikaru nodded and continued, "One of today's meeting topics is to discuss the development of the Land of Grass's livestock industry!"

The largest source of income for the Land of Lightning up north was alcohol and the export of high-grade beef. When Naruto got married, they sent a whole black bull as a gift. One can just imagine its price!

And the Land of Grass... just like how it always rains in the Land of Rain...

The Land of Grass was rich in pasture, with a variety of high-yield, high-nutrition grasses and other plants and medicinal herbs. The only regret was probably that its territory was relatively small.

"So, we can go steal from the Land of Lightn... I mean, similarly cultivate our own high-quality cattle and sheep for the Land of Grass!"

Then they would launch a promotional campaign. Something about carefully selected and bred livestock, drinking natural water from birth, eating nutritious herbs, and even listening to music and stories while being raised. At the same time, they would pay top dollar to hire professional taijutsu ninja to massage them to promote blood circulation.

This would ensure that every muscle fiber of the beef is fully exercised, making the meat tender, delicate, and juicy, melting in your mouth with every bite!

As long as the product is up to standard, everything else... is a matter of marketing. If it's not up to standard... it could still generate some buzz.

Following trends is human nature.

Hearing the leader's words, the crowd was stunned, a sense of admiration rising in their hearts.

No wonder the leader is the leader. He can spin so many tales even when he's deceiving people.

Compared to them selling fake intelligence...

His methods were on a completely different level.

An eye-opener! A real eye-opener!

Mujina sighed with emotion. "As expected, the leader is also a true man of the Grass!"

"..."

That's called advertising, not deception. It's different from lying!

The corner of Kusa Hikaru's mouth twitched. He then continued, "In addition to this, we also need to promote the Land of Grass to attract more people, and at the same time..."

He took out a stack of documents from his coat and placed it on the table.

After the end of the Second Great Ninja War, there was a certain rich woman with a hefty fortune, who was taking steady steps on the path to becoming a fat sheep.

Extremely tempting!

Perhaps they could fleece her for a bit?

"Make a movie!"

At his words.

The crowd looked curiously at the table and saw written on the documents...

The Gambling Shadow!!!

Two large characters.

"???"

What in the world is that?

"Therefore, remember, the development of a nation is not as simple as hosting a dinner party, nor is it about throwing kunai or casting ninjutsu and genjutsu. It must be adapted to local conditions and the times, and must conform to the specific situation of the Land of Grass! Specific situations require specific analysis! Only in this way can we find a development path suitable for the Land of Grass."

Kusa Hikaru took the hot tea that Kana had poured for him, looking like a veteran cadre as he took a sip with an air of maturity.

"The meeting is now over. Everyone is to go back and write a report of no less than eight thousand words on today's meeting, analyzing the situation of the Land of Grass thoroughly!"

"..."

Even after the meeting ended, the crowd remained silent.

They were utterly shocked.

Not because the leader had analyzed the development of the Land of Grass from multiple aspects, but because... they felt like they understood, yet at the same time, they didn't.

In any case, it sounded very impressive.

After all, they were just ordinary ninja.

How would they understand any of this?

But how were they supposed to write that report?

After almost everyone had left in a daze, Kusa Hikaru stretched and stood up.

A full day of meetings was a bit tiring. Speaking of which... Fusō and Nagato were also moving today.

It wasn't far.

Just next door, separated by a wall. He should still go and see if they needed any help.

Just as he was about to leave with Kana.

"Lord Leader!"

"???"

Kusa Hikaru paused and turned to look at Elder Yang, who hadn't left yet. "Is there something you need, Elder Yang?"

"Um... is there anything the leader needs the Uzumaki clan to do?" Elder Yang paused for a moment, then quickly added, "I don't mean anything else by it, it's just that... the Land of Grass has accepted the Uzumaki clan with such sincerity, allowing us to live in peace. If we do nothing, the Uzumaki clan... would feel ashamed."

At his words.

"Do?" Kusa Hikaru frowned, then said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Have babies!"

"???"

"Your clan is on the verge of extinction. What are you doing with all this other nonsense instead of properly having children? How can you strengthen the nation without having children? Go and dutifully have babies. There will be great rewards for those who have many!"

"..." x2

The two of them stood in stunned silence.

What does having babies have to do with strengthening the nation?

(End of Chapter)