"Lord Makoto, Lady Tsubaki Shizuku has arrived."
At the announcement, Uchiha Makoto looked up and saw Uzumaki Tsubaki Shizuku carrying a lunch box. Ever since their engagement, she had taken charge of his daily meals.
Makoto actually had his own chef team, so there was no need for Tsubaki Shizuku to cook personally. But she said, "A wife preparing her husband's daily food is a duty set by the Sage of Six Paths."
With that said, the chef team that had served Makoto alone was reassigned to the Akatsuki Village staff canteen. Each day ANBU delivered a basket of inspected ingredients to Tsubaki Shizuku, who cooked them into delicious dishes and brought them to Makoto's office. Because of work, Makoto rarely had the chance to go home to eat.
"Tsubaki Shizuku, thank you for the trouble."
"Lord Light Shadow is a very busy man. It's hard to get to see you, so I can only use meal deliveries as my chance."
They greeted each other. The two had grown familiar, and Tsubaki Shizuku could already joke in a half-coquettish, half-complaining tone.
Though a joke, it was true.
The more funds invested, the more village affairs there were to handle.
Makoto spent longer in the office, like a logical loop. It was a happy problem to have. If Senju Tobirama had such abundant funding, he would surely work two jobs: nights without rest in the lab, and nights without rest in the office.
He was single, after all.
Makoto had some free time at night, but Tsubaki Shizuku was still only his fiancée and could not move straight into his mansion. If she did, cannons would boom without end, and Makoto indeed looked forward to that.
They ate lunch together, chatting to deepen their bond.
"A young couple having lunch, I see."
An uninvited guest arrived.
Uzumaki Shinji looked at the two who were "whispering sweet nothings," greeted them, and sighed inwardly. The young these days really don't get it. Their way of cultivating feelings is so crude. They're already husband and wife in name, so why not live together and get things done, have a child, and put his mind at ease.
"This old man is definitely thinking something dirty."
One glance at the old man's face and Makoto knew his thoughts were impure.
He didn't dwell on it.
Compared to that, he cared more about the progress of Akatsuki Village's sealing barrier.
Uzumaki Shinji had spent most of his energy on it these days. "Don't worry. Konoha's barrier was designed with us Uzumaki, so the main process and techniques are similar. The key is materials and cost. Covering the entire village is no small expense."
"It's fine. There's no cap on funding for this. Make it big and make it good. If money can solve it, it isn't a problem."
Makoto spoke with such grandeur that even Uzumaki Shinji was shocked. How much funding did Akatsuki Village have to burn?
Just in the time he'd been there, Shinji's confidence in Akatsuki's future had only grown.
Merchants came and went in droves. Expansion projects increased daily. Construction crews were overwhelmed with orders. Earth Release specialists weren't even taking C-rank or B-rank missions anymore.
They were launching a fierce assault on D-rank contracts.
Even Konoha wasn't this exaggerated.
No, in this respect, Konoha couldn't compare to Akatsuki Village at all.
Behind it all, money was burning. Publicity, attracting investment—all cost enormous sums. Konoha poured most of its budget into the military. Commerce inside the village was basically spontaneous by villagers, unstructured and fragile. At the slightest disturbance or in wartime, it would collapse, and profiteers would surely jack up prices.
Makoto, however, was striving to found factories, seize the first wave of industrialization dividends, and ultimately build an economy centered on Akatsuki Village across the Land of Fire.
Lunch ended quickly.
In the afternoon, Makoto took Tsubaki Shizuku and Uzumaki Shinji to the Ninja Academy. They were there not to inspect but to watch a show.
News that Lord Light Shadow was to be married had spread through Akatsuki Village.
To celebrate, the students had rehearsed a series of programs and invited Makoto to attend.
Makoto did not refuse their kindness.
As soon as he entered the auditorium, a crowd of children stood and cheered, raising their hands together \o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/.
"You came from Shandong, returned me all in pure white."
The music cut in.
Students waved and shouted. Some, swept up in the moment, even grew teary-eyed.
The waves of cheers shook Uzumaki Shinji to the core. He calmed himself and observed the students' faces—fervor, loyalty, bright complexions. He had never seen the like.
He heard there were fully three thousand students at the Academy, and that was only the first intake. Then there would be a second, a third, a fourth. If these students were this loyal to Makoto now, how terrifying would Akatsuki's strength be in a few years, in a decade?
Konoha's Senju Hashirama was indeed suffocatingly strong, but Shinji knew that was only temporary. A monster like Hashirama appears once in centuries. Perhaps in the future Konoha would even have to rely on Akatsuki. Such a "ridiculous" thought suddenly rose in his mind.
"Begin."
Makoto's lips curled. He smiled and even hummed softly.
The program started quickly.
"Lord Light Shadow is our sun. That day…"
A handful of young veterans onstage performed at the top of their lungs, widening Makoto's eyes. Even Tsubaki Shizuku beside him was stunned. She had already tried to imagine Makoto's prestige and influence in Akatsuki Village.
She had still underestimated it.
Makoto found the shows a bit dull, all praises, but he was happy from the bottom of his heart. His efforts hadn't been in vain, his funds hadn't been wasted, and the students' kindness hadn't been squandered.
The people's will could be used.
He was now the one all hearts turned to.
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