Chapter 29: Unexpected Visitor
Land of Rain.
Special Steel Cable Manufacturing Plant.
Saito walked through the factory's warehouses, where countless steel cables were stacked before his eyes.
That's right, it's steel, not iron.
Currently, Sand Hidden Village's factory has completely mastered the method of steel production, and all Sand Hidden ninja wear steel ninja vests.
In other words... what's being sold are all defective products!
But they still outperform other vests on the market, so it's not like they're selling inferior goods.
Hmm... not at all!
How could the most trustworthy Lord Saito do such a thing!
Ninja vests are usually made of iron by default, so there's nothing wrong with that!
Of course, the mass production of steel also owes much to my teacher, Lord Samon!
Although my teacher's strength isn't great, his research capabilities are quite good.
He was originally ranked first, but then Orochimaru grew up.
See!
He could only be considered 'quite good' now.
"Sunasuke, you've worked hard. You're indispensable for having so many steel cables! Tell me, what reward do you want!"
Sunasuke, who was following behind Saito, watched Saito, who looked like a leader on an inspection, and cursed him inwardly.
Although, strictly speaking, Saito was indeed his superior, did that stop him from cursing?
Not at all!
He knew that if he became Kazekage, he would be treated like a beast of burden, he would have fought for the position of Kazekage no matter what.
Even if he fought, he wouldn't win, but at least he could land a couple of punches.
It's better than having no chance now!
"Ah! Lord Kazekage, did you call me!"
Sunasuke, who was daydreaming, was suddenly called by Saito and was startled.
"Hehe! Are you thinking something bad?"
Seeing Sunasuke's guilty look, Saito narrowed his eyes and asked with ill intent.
"Hehe~, how could I? I was just marveling... yes! Marveling, I didn't expect to have accumulated so many steel cables, hehe..."
"Alright then!"
Seeing Sunasuke acting so obsequiously, Saito couldn't say anything more.
He had originally intended to arrange some rest for him, but seeing him still able to smile, it meant he wasn't tired yet.
Walking out of the warehouse, what met his eyes was the same bustling activity as other factories.
Young Sand Hidden ninja were comforting or calming the quiet or frightened people of the Land of Rain.
This was also Saito's arrangement.
Ninja had been detached from the common people for too long.
Ninja who possessed power thought they had become noble, but the reality was that most ninja still groveled before unarmed nobles, and this disparity would then be taken out on ordinary people.
Arrogant nobles toyed with ninja, and common people feared ninja, which was one of the reasons why ninja could only be tools.
Konoha was a bit better; with abundant land, prosperous people, and a little money to hire ninja, there was still interaction between the two sides.
But other countries were different.
The yellow sand of the Land of Wind, the yellow earth of the Land of Earth, the plateaus of the Land of Lightning, and the encircling sea of the Land of Water.
The common people had little income, and it was already difficult for them to get by, so where would they get the money to issue missions?
Sometimes, they would even encounter ninja coming to extort them.
So.
Come from the masses! Go to the masses!
Engage with the people! Understand the people! Integrate with the people!
This was also what Saito intended to do.
Why were all the workers young ninja?
The older generation was hard to deal with, but weren't the newly graduated kids easier?
By changing this new generation, it meant changing the future!
Watching some newly appointed female ninja become flustered by questions from villagers, Saito's lips unconsciously curled into a smile, as if enjoying a good show.
Good! They were blushing from being questioned but didn't think of resorting to force. Good kids... "Alright, everyone, we've arrived at the Sand Hidden Village's shelter. Please all go inside and follow the instructions; someone will lead you."
Yujin stood at the entrance of the Special Steel Cable Manufacturing Plant and spoke to the more than five hundred people behind him.
After the Konoha ninja left, after more than half a day of counting, all the villagers and refugees were finally accounted for.
Early the next morning, everyone left the village and headed towards the factory area. On the way, they encountered two more groups of refugees, and after some time, they were also included in the group, finally arriving in the evening.
"Shinichi, is the Momoto family here?"
"Here! Here!"
"Stand in front of me!"
..."Kaho, Shuko, is the Daibutsu family here?"
"Here! Over here!"
Hearing his family called, Kaho pulled his wife and son to the ninja who was calling out.
Soon, the number reached twenty people, and the ninja who was speaking then led them away.
"I am the leader of your team, responsible for your subsequent arrangements. If you have any questions, just ask me directly."
"Come, everyone, take a number tag. If you're a family, just take one per family."
"There are two tags per set. Hand over your luggage and one tag to our storage personnel. After you've washed up, you can claim your luggage with the other tag."
"Okay, then follow me to collect another item. Just report your height and weight..."
"After you get your clothes, you can enter the changing rooms ahead. Men on the left, women on the right. If you have children, boys go with their fathers, girls with their mothers... make sure not to mix them up!"
Everyone acted like puppets on strings, following the ninja's instructions.
Of course, Kaho was among them, holding Daibutsu's hand tightly, and watching Shuko go into another bathroom, nervousness was inevitable.
No matter how much he trusted Sand Hidden Village before, he was still a little uneasy now.
There was no help for it, because they had been treated so well all along the way!
Now they were even given clothes and taken to bathe. To be honest, seeing the ninja treat them so well made him nervous instead.
Soon, Kaho also entered the bathroom.
It was very large, with a long corridor and small cubicles on both sides. A rough estimate suggested there were hundreds of them.
"One per person, hurry up and wash! There are others waiting in line!"
Under the arrangement of the Sand Ninja, everyone entered the cubicles one by one and quickly washed themselves.
Not to mention, the water temperature was just right, and after a day of traveling, they were sticky all over.
Soon.
Everyone had finished washing.
They changed into the clothes they had just received.
And you know what, these clothes were quite thick, just a bit dull yellow in color.
Then everyone was arranged in a large hall, which was very spacious, with tables and chairs neatly arranged inside.
But now, all he saw was yellow; everyone was wearing identical clothes, clearly all those who had washed up.
"Kaho!"
"Shuko!"
Kaho looked over at the sound and saw his wife running towards him, also wearing a drab yellow outfit.
The two embraced tightly.
"Ahem! Everyone, please quiet down."
Just as Kaho and Shuko were doting on each other, a person stood on the high platform at the front of the hall.
Young, handsome, with golden hair, looking imposing and distinguished!
"Ahem, my dear family~, please all take a seat."
"First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Saito, and I am the Kazekage of Hidden Sand Village."
As Saito's first sentence fell, a stir arose below, which only calmed down after a long while.
"My dear family~, first of all, let us observe a moment of silence for the most solemn and grand leader of the Land of Rain, the demigod — Lord Hanzo the Salamander!"
Don't ask, just know it's about winning hearts. Hanzo the Salamander's prestige still held significant weight in the hearts of the people of the Land of Rain. It was Hanzo the Salamander who unified the chaotic Land of Rain, and it was Hanzo the Salamander who allowed the people of the Land of Rain to live peaceful lives. Even during the war with Konoha, the Rain ninja were still pressing Konoha, at least for the most part. The people of the Land of Rain here had not yet encountered the disheartened Hanzo the Salamander, so the current Hanzo was still a god in the eyes of the people of the Land of Rain.
And what Saito had to do was to re-install a god in the hearts of these people of the Land of Rain who had lost their god's protection, and the new god's name was — Saito!
"Mr. Hanzo and I could be described as having become friends through fighting. We are both pioneers who yearn for peace. Although Lord Hanzo fell on the path to peace, the torch of peace will not be extinguished... Today, I have gathered all of you not just for the agreement made with Lord Hanzo, but also to continue the unfinished exploration of peace with Lord Hanzo... I will take over Lord Hanzo's vision of peace and continue to lead the people of the Land of Rain to a better life.
Starting today!
Everyone here will receive my protection, find work, get food and lodging. At the same time, I announce that your children can go to school! To learn knowledge! To learn ninjutsu!"
Saito looked at the crowd, who were stunned by the news, and concluded.
"Next, everyone can line up in an orderly fashion for dinner. After eating, you can go to the storage area to retrieve your luggage, and then follow your team leader to claim your living quarters."
However.
Saito had been gone for a long time, but everyone still hadn't reacted; the amount of information was simply too overwhelming...
"Kaho, Shuko, Daibutsu!"
"Here!" *3
"This is your room from now on. Considering you are a family, we have allocated a slightly larger room for you. Please make do for now."
The team leader handed the key to Kaho, "But it's only for a few days. Once your child enrolls, there will be school dormitories, and they will live there."
"Really... can he really go to school!"
Still seemingly unable to believe it, Kaho nervously asked the leader again.
"As long as Lord Kazekage has said it, it must be true. If he says you can go to school, you definitely can. It's getting late, so you should rest early. Work officially begins tomorrow."
"Thank you, Ninja-sama!"
"Hmm." With that, he left to arrange for the next person.
"So... are you ready to welcome your new home?"
"Ready!"
It seemed the news of definitely being able to go to school made Daibutsu very excited at this moment.
Opening the door, the interior was suddenly spacious.
A simple one-room, one-bathroom setup, with a movable screen in the middle.
It was much smaller than their original home, but... it was safer, wasn't it?
...On the other side.
Saito, at this moment, arrived at the factory's main gate.
Only because an unexpected person had arrived.
Small green eyes, black threads extending from behind, wrapped around... the people of the Land of Rain.
That's right, the person who came was indeed Kakuzu, who had assassinated the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju!
Saito's eyes lit up when he saw the newcomer.
"Could the visitor be the bounty ninja from the black market, Mr. Kakuzu?"
"Oh~, you've heard of me!"
"Haha, of course! Who hasn't heard of Mr. Kakuzu's great name? My teacher told me that Mr. Kakuzu was a ninja who was able to assassinate Lord Hashirama and escape unscathed. Seeing Mr. Kakuzu in person today, I see the rumors were not false!"
"I never thought the legendary Lord Kazekage... spoke so... nicely."
Facing such a Saito, Kakuzu had never seen anything like it in his long life, and for a moment, he was a little flustered.
"May I ask why Mr. Kakuzu has come here...?"
Although he had a rough idea of Kakuzu's background, he still had to ask; it was the ultimate respect for his prey.
That's right, prey!
Since he'd met him, he wouldn't be able to leave.
This was a walking vault!
Five hundred billion explosive tags!
Although he might not have that much money now, he must have at least one hundred billion explosive tags!
What? You say that having so many explosive tags is mainly due to Konan's Paper Ninjutsu.
Then whose daughter is Konan now!
Therefore.
Kakuzu = walking vault.
Konan = simple explosive tag production line.
Kakuzu + Konan = one hundred billion explosive tags.
No problem!
"I heard that Lord Kazekage has recently been recruiting people from the Land of Rain, and one person can be exchanged for a thousand ryo. I wonder if I have a chance to participate?"
"Of course! Hidden Sand Village is an inclusive, open, and peace-loving ninja village. Everyone is welcome."
"Hurry up and count the number of people for Mr. Kakuzu."
After answering Kakuzu's question, he gave a look to the ninja beside him, signaling him to go and verify the count.
"Lord Kazekage, there are a total of 78 people."
"Okay, take them down."
"Mr. Kakuzu, do you choose to take this relief money now or would you prefer to collect it all later?"
"Hmm? Is there a difference?"
Hearing what Saito said, Kakuzu was first stunned, then asked tentatively, "Is there any other income?"
"Of course there is! A thousand ryo is just the basic compensation for helping the villagers of the Land of Rain. There are also professional talent rewards later. If the rescued adults have skills like weaving or forging, or if children are found to be able to practice ninjutsu, they can all receive additional compensation... Hey, hey, hey... Mr. Kakuzu, why are you just leaving? You haven't taken your money yet..."
Watching Kakuzu run off without looking back after hearing about the additional rewards, Saito was momentarily stunned, then quickly chased after him.
"Please keep the money safe for me, old man. I'm so distressed thinking about the countless people of the Land of Rain who are suffering right now! My kind heart aches!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage Barrage!"
"Wait for me, people of the Land of Rain!"
Saito, following behind, watched Kakuzu summon a mask, move it to his backside, and unleash a series of Wind Release ninjutsu, flying off as if he had nitrous oxide acceleration, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say!
Indeed.
Mr. Kakuzu.
Is also a person full of kindness!
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