In that year of Sunagakure, it was spring. A young man drew a circle on the southern coast of the Land of Wind, and like a myth, cities rose one after another, gathering mountains of gold like miracles. The world surged with the tides of spring, and the journey ahead unfurled with mighty sails.
Time is like a wild donkey; once it starts running, it never stops. A year passed in the blink of an eye. Ever since Kōzaburō Hirai and Jinghang plotted their grand scheme to seize the nation in the private room of the "West Lai Shun" hotpot restaurant, Hirai had devoted almost all his energy to the construction of Yuexi Peninsula. According to Hirai's own words, "This is the one thing I'm betting the rest of my life on! How could I not give it my all?"
The funds from Hirai's industries were fully channeled into the development of Yuexi Peninsula. With the full support of Sunagakure's construction department and the unwavering protection of Sunagakure's ninja, a brand-new city rose like bamboo shoots after the rain, completed two months ahead of schedule!
Why wouldn't it be? With ample funding, a full workforce, and everyone's enthusiasm through the roof, how could the progress not be fast?
Upon receiving the news of Yuexi Peninsula's construction completion, Jinghang was thrilled. This was the first city he had truly developed under his leadership. He immediately convened a hearing to announce that, in preparation for the upcoming Five Kage Summit, he decided to personally inspect the venue at Yuexi Peninsula. He also invited the top 100 shareholders of the Golden Sands Entertainment Group to join him on a tour, with all expenses covered by the village's treasury, including accommodations and travel for their families.
Such blatant public-funded tourism and feasting were unheard of in the traditionally frugal and austere Sunagakure. Naturally, the proposal passed swiftly and unanimously. Everyone rushed out to call their relatives and pack their bags.
Jinghang, too, was taking the opportunity to "mix public and private affairs," giving himself a long-overdue vacation to spend quality time with Tsunade. Village governance during this period was entrusted to Rasa. Each department had a minister and at least two deputy ministers, so a month or two without Jinghang wouldn't cause any major issues.
By the way, Rasa had been promoted again. Jinghang created a special position just for him—Shadow Assistant, responsible only to Jinghang himself, with authority second only to the Kazekage. The vacant position of Intelligence Minister was filled by Toru Yamashita, a top agent who had been undercover in Kirigakure for ten years.
When Rasa learned he would be acting Kazekage for nearly a month, he showed no excitement. His already bitter expression grew even more sour. Although Rasa looked older, he was actually four years younger than Jinghang. Since Jinghang became Kazekage, Rasa had taken on increasingly heavy responsibilities—from managing the Sand Timer Group to leading the Intelligence Department, and now this Shadow Assistant role. The burden was turning him into an old man before his time.
"Boss, even the cows at Moon Lake Farm aren't worked this hard! You're off to the beach to enjoy the view, sip wine, and feast, leaving me here to wrestle with this pile of documents. Look at them—they're stacked higher than I am! This is just too unfair!"
Rasa pointed at the towering stack of paperwork, complaining.
"Why don't you appreciate the opportunity? I'm promoting you step by step, giving you more responsibilities—I'm cultivating you. Anyone with eyes can see that I'm grooming you to be the next Kazekage. In a few years, when the village's situation has fully stabilized and all the work is done, I'll retire early and let you succeed me as the Fourth Kazekage in grand style. Isn't that awesome? And you're complaining?"
Jinghang wasn't entirely joking. Being Kazekage was indeed a tough job. As the village expanded, he became increasingly busy. Over the past year, even his card games with Tsunade had become rare. Having died from overwork in his previous life, he certainly didn't want to repeat history in this one. Once the major affairs of the ninja world were settled, he dreamed of traveling the world with Tsunade and enjoying life to the fullest.
"Boss, spare me! I don't want this job. I'll be honest—I haven't even had many dates with Karuke since I became Shadow Assistant. Are you planning to make the Rasa family extinct?"
Nonsense. You'll have two sons and a daughter—three kids in total. Extinct? Hardly. In the original story, it was me who ended up childless.
But Jinghang understood. Even the best cow, land, seeds, and plow need time to produce results. He quickly reassured Rasa with kind words.
"Alright, alright. I get it. You're overworked. Here's the deal: the village has made decent money over the past two years, so let's go all out and act like landlords for once. This time, the scope of the public-funded tour—uh, inspection—will be expanded. I'll have Yakura draft a plan so everyone can take turns visiting Yuexi Peninsula. We've endured hardship for so long; it's time to relax. I'll lead the first group, and when I return, you can lead the second. Spend some quality time with Karuke."
"Boss, you're brilliant!"
Rasa was so moved he nearly shed tears.
"Alright, problem solved. Get back to work."
With that, Jinghang went home to pack his bags.
Of course, Jinghang had his reasons for doing this. While Yuexi Peninsula's hardware was complete, its software infrastructure was still lacking.
What defines the software of a city focused on gambling, entertainment, and tourism? Beautiful scenery, attractive people, delicious food, and excellent service.
These were all part of the detailed plan he and Hirai had devised. To make people willingly spend their money, the software infrastructure had to be top-notch.
Taking the village's administrative team to Yuexi Peninsula served three purposes:
First, as he explained to Rasa, the village had suffered too much in recent years. Everyone was exhausted. It was time to loosen the tension before it snapped.
Second, it was to test the quality of Yuexi Peninsula's hardware and software. If there were any discrepancies, they could be fixed promptly to ensure the venue could handle large-scale events like the Five Kage Summit.
Third, it was to spread word-of-mouth. In this world, communication methods were relatively primitive, relying mostly on word of mouth. This was also why Jinghang wanted to host the Five Kage Summit at Yuexi Peninsula. When the delegations from the other four major ninja villages arrived and enjoyed themselves, their positive reviews would naturally spread to their respective countries, creating the best form of marketing.
With the Second Shinobi World War over, everyone had enjoyed a year of peace. Nobles, clans, and wealthy merchants all had some "spare grain" to spend. Entertainment options were limited, and venues were scattered. Jinghang's newly built hub promised to be the perfect destination for leisure and consumption.
The goal was to make Yuexi Peninsula so prestigious that not visiting it would be a social faux pas among the "upper circles." With that kind of reputation, wouldn't the money come rolling in?
Starting with his own village was the first step. The upper circles are interconnected, so the word would spread quickly.
And so, Jinghang, accompanied by Tsunade, Yakura, Hidan, Gao Jin, and the first batch of the "Sunset Red" travel group, rode the summoning beasts of the Sand Boat clan along the Suna-Yuexi Highway, heading grandly toward Yuexi Peninsula.
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PS:"Sorry for keeping everyone waiting. I took a few days off for myself, haha. Moving forward, updates will be stable. The new book will also be launched within three days. Wishing everyone a pleasant weekend."