So that "especially warm reminder" from the system last night—the ninja village will actively attract all kinds of extraordinary, high-quality talent.
So that's what it meant.
Can my village, under the system's effect, actually attract outstanding people from different worlds?
Interesting.
A sudden turn for the better.
Truly a turnaround.
Uchiha Makoto had been exhausted because his damned system was so useless. He was so distressed he didn't sleep all night and even toyed with dissolving the village and absconding with the funds.
There was still a portion of the daimyo's money left. If he didn't keep throwing it into the bottomless pit of village construction and instead cashed out and ran, Uchiha Makoto could live very comfortably in this shinobi world.
We're talking hundreds of millions of ryō.
Enough for him to live quite well.
The shinobi world's future, the Eye of the Moon Plan, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—none of that had anything to do with him yet. The timeline was still early.
It would be a bit of a loss of face for a transmigrator, but this garbage system offered no help and expected him to build a powerful village from zero.
Easier said than done.
And the opponents he'd face were Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. As a rival village to theirs, Uchiha Makoto felt immense pressure; even facing Senju Tobirama, he would give way.
But now things were different.
When he first met Satou Kazuma, Makoto felt he was familiar, but he chalked it up to coincidence.
Now the four were gathered.
Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, Darkness—wasn't this the shinobi-world version of that infamous four-person team?
His village's future suddenly looked bright.
So many talents.
Uchiha Makoto began to feel excited.
Kazuma might be useless in a fight, but his brain works brilliantly. He could defeat a Demon King while dragging three liabilities along. His ability is beyond doubt—he's a managerial, deal-making talent.
Uchiha Makoto planned to make Kazuma his deputy.
Megumin commands an ultra-powerful Explosive Technique—one shot can cause massive blast damage. Granted, it's only one shot, but at that level, one is enough at critical moments.
Darkness has become a taijutsu ninja in this world.
Taijutsu is a weak meta pick here, but considering Darkness's unusual personal tastes, the Eight Gates should suit her very well.
As for Aqua—sharing hardship is hard, sharing prosperity is easy, and the village is in its difficult start-up phase.
She really is a treasure. In the original story, even when she was reduced to sleeping in a stable with her companion Kazuma, she never abandoned her teammates.
He really wanted to give her a kick out of the village. Just a joke.
Aqua may be a walking disaster, but it can't be denied that her healing is truly strong—borderline miraculous, even reviving the dead. Converted into the shinobi world's medical techniques, it would be incredibly powerful.
"Lord Makoto, you told me that with the village just established we're thirsty for talent, and that we must not let outstanding people slip by. I happened to meet these three exceptional talents, so I took it upon myself to bring them back to contribute to the village's development."
Seeing Uchiha Makoto silent, Kazuma hurried to speak.
He thought Makoto was displeased with his initiative. These three girls each had unique skills, although—well—Kazuma kept feeling something was a little off.
"Kazuma, you did very well."
"In the future, if you meet excellent talents, bring them back promptly. To commend you, I'm immediately promoting you to be the village's second-in-command."
Makoto snapped out of it, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile.
Kazuma, you did great. Next time you run into that lich big sister, remember to bring her back to the village too.
"Now, the meeting begins."
After introductions, Uchiha Makoto started today's meeting.
The Village's First Five-Year Plan.
With grand ambition, he began sketching out the blueprint for his village.
Though the village was still small, great goals had to be set.
Military, politics, economy, culture, influence—none could be neglected. In short, paint the big vision first.
"First, the military. A ninja village lives or dies by the quality of its shinobi. We must court the clans, prioritizing the great clans. If they won't come, we'll turn to smaller ones."
"Next, the economy."
In the audience.
Kazuma was busily scribbling in a notebook, but Uchiha Makoto is Uchiha—his eyes are sharp. Kazuma was immune to grand promises; on the surface he took notes, but in truth he was doodling.
Megumin listened, blood boiling.
Aqua was dozing off.
Darkness was good; she was taking serious notes.
"Everyone, regarding village construction, what good ideas do you have?"
Makoto finished speaking, and the discussion phase began.
Kazuma stood and raised a very grown-up topic.
"Lord Makoto, funds are tight. To attract clans to join the village, we'll need to…"
"And for economic development, if we want to bring in investment…"
Uchiha Makoto covered his face in headache. Funding was a hard wound. The village's construction projects had already begun, and money was flowing out like water.
Of the one billion ryō, nearly half had already burned away.
The most important thing now was a large infusion of funds to fill the gap, and the daimyo of the Land of Fire probably wouldn't help in the near term. The funding problem would have to be solved by their own means.
"Lord Makoto, about the village's construction, I can help. My father has a circle of merchant friends. As long as the village offers sufficient business incentives, I believe they'll be willing to invest here."
Darkness, who had been taking careful notes, raised her hand, planning to leverage her father's connections to inject capital into the village.
Once funds came in, the village's economy would liven up, then attract more people. As people gathered, they would drive more commerce and more investment. The village's positive cycle would be established.
"Oh, that's wonderful, Darkness."
Makoto was excited. Today's meeting was mainly about painting visions and wasn't expected to resolve anything substantive. He hadn't expected a pleasant surprise. In this world, Darkness was also of noble status.
"In that case, I'll write to my father. And, Lord Makoto, in a while you may need to attend a reception in person. As for a greeting gift, we can use tulips, which have become popular recently."
Darkness said this, and was suddenly interrupted by Uchiha Makoto.
"Hold on."
"You said tulips?"
Uchiha Makoto had heard a very familiar flower name.