Chapter 76 (Patreon)

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Kushina Uzumaki explained what she meant by civilian ninjutsu.

“Water Release for irrigation and Earth Release for building houses and roads?” Fugaku Uchiha frowned. “Wouldn’t it be a waste to assign skilled shinobi to work that civilians and newly graduated genin could handle?”

“You still don’t understand what I’m saying.” Kushina rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“The important part is the ninjutsu, not the shinobi using it. The modified techniques won’t possess any offensive power. They’ll only retain the ability to manipulate water or earth. That should greatly reduce both the difficulty of learning them and the amount of chakra required to use them. As long as civilians who have learned how to mold chakra can perform them, that will be enough.”

At last, the three men seated across from her understood what Kushina had in mind.

Farmers whose fields were located near rivers could rely on waterwheels for irrigation. For those living farther away, however, watering their crops was far more troublesome. Many were forced to carry bucket after bucket of water to their fields by hand.

If they could develop a simplified Water Release technique that ordinary people could learn, it would dramatically improve irrigation efficiency. It might even allow farmers to reclaim large stretches of wasteland that had previously been abandoned due to a lack of water.

There were already Earth Release techniques that could be used to construct buildings.

However, the existing techniques were difficult to learn and required the user to possess a certain degree of mastery over Earth Release nature transformation. Forget civilians—even many genin and chūnin were incapable of using them.

If those techniques could be simplified, the structures they created would not need to withstand attacks or possess the durability of combat-oriented Earth Release. As long as the houses could provide shelter from the wind and rain without collapsing, they would be immensely useful for Konoha’s continued expansion.

Once he fully understood Kushina’s proposal, Hiruzen Sarutobi readily agreed.

The task of modifying the ninjutsu naturally fell to him. After all, Hiruzen was proficient in all five basic chakra natures and had earned the title of “the Professor.” There was no one in Konoha more suitable for the job.

Roy had always felt that the shinobi world’s development had taken a strangely distorted path.

More accurately, neither the nobles nor the shinobi had ever paid much attention to the lives of ordinary people.

Had even a fraction of the research devoted to combat ninjutsu been directed toward agriculture, construction, and public infrastructure, the shinobi world would have become a completely different place long ago.

While Kushina continued discussing the details with Hiruzen and the others, Roy quietly slipped away and wandered through the village streets.

From a distance, he spotted several people dragging Kakashi Hatake into a barbecue restaurant.

Although he only caught a brief glimpse of them, Roy immediately recognized Might Guy by his bowl cut, Kurenai Yūhi by her wavy hair, and Genma Shiranui by the senbon held between his teeth. A few others walked ahead of them, most likely shinobi from the same generation.

Perhaps because Kushina had survived, Kakashi—who occasionally came to visit—had not become quite as withdrawn as the Kakashi Roy remembered.

Still, Roy wondered whether Kakashi had already begun reading Jiraiya’s Icha Icha novels.

His gaze settled on the forehead protector covering Kakashi’s left eye, and he recalled the sample of Hashirama’s cells being kept at home.

If Kakashi could somehow make use of the immense vitality contained within those cells, the burden imposed by the Sharingan would likely be reduced considerably. He might even be able to wield that eye far more effectively.

For now, however, it was nothing more than an idea.

The cell tissue they possessed was clearly unstable. Otherwise, Danzō Shimura would have used it on himself long ago. More importantly, even stable Hashirama cells were not compatible with everyone.

Still, it could become a promising avenue of research for strengthening Kakashi. Once Kushina officially became Hokage, Kakashi could also serve as another dependable supporter at her side.

When it came to cellular research, Orochimaru was undoubtedly the best choice.

Unfortunately, no one knew where he was currently hiding, so Roy could not rely on him in the immediate future.

After returning home that evening, Kushina told Roy how the day’s discussions had concluded.

With the exception of the proposal to appoint Yugito Nii as a teacher, all the other suggestions had been approved.

“Roy-kun, Hiruzen doesn’t seem like some stubborn old man who refuses to listen. So why did he make so many terrible decisions before?”

“It isn’t that strange when you think about it. He’s getting older, and his personality has gradually become more indecisive. With Danzō constantly whispering in his ear and pushing him in the wrong direction, it’s hardly surprising that he made so many questionable decisions. If he’d had even one sensible advisor beside him, Konoha might not have ended up in its current state.”

As a veteran politician, Hiruzen was certainly not as selfless or noble as he presented himself.

Even so, without Danzō’s influence, he likely would not have turned a blind eye to so many problems and allowed one tragedy after another to unfold.

In the end, it was difficult to judge Hiruzen’s long tenure as Hokage in simple terms.

“By the way, I saw Kakashi eating with several shinobi from his generation today.”

At the mention of Kakashi, a troubled expression appeared on Kushina’s face.

He had once been such a proud little brat. Yet he had been forced to endure his father’s suicide, the tragic deaths of both his teammates, and finally the loss of his teacher.

Those experiences had changed him completely.

Even when Kakashi came to visit Kushina, the wife of his late teacher, she rarely saw him smile. He always seemed less like someone who was truly living and more like someone simply allowing each day to pass.

Roy could not think of any immediate way to help him.

“Don’t worry. I think those friends of his will help him move forward eventually.”

Kushina sighed.

“It’s all because of this damned world. If there were no wars, there wouldn’t be so many tragedies.”

“That’s why we have to keep working. First, we’ll change Konoha. After that, we’ll change the entire shinobi world.”

A few days later, Kushina stood atop the Hokage Building dressed in the white haori of the Fifth Hokage.

Before the eyes of the entire village, she received the Hokage’s hat from Hiruzen.

The moment she placed it upon her head, thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd below.

After Kushina delivered her inauguration speech, Hiruzen announced the appointment of Konoha’s new advisors.

Fugaku Uchiha, Shikaku Nara, and Hizashi Hyūga were called forward one after another and took their places beside Kushina.

There were noticeably more members of the Hyūga branch family in the crowd than there had been during Minato Namikaze’s inauguration.

This was also the first time Hizashi had met with Fugaku and Shikaku since being nominated as an advisor.

When he first heard that Kushina had selected him, Hizashi had been utterly shocked.

No matter how he considered the possible candidates, the position should never have fallen to someone from the branch family like him. Unable to accept it, he had remained shut inside his home and avoided every high-level meeting that followed.

He had not even intended to attend Kushina’s inauguration. In the end, however, Hiashi Hyūga had practically dragged him there to witness the ceremony.

Once Hiruzen called his name, Hizashi could no longer remain hidden among the crowd.

No matter how reluctant he felt, he had no choice but to make his way onto the roof.

Under normal circumstances, the ceremony would have ended after the new advisors were introduced.

However, to strengthen Kushina’s position and build public support for her administration, Shikaku stepped forward and announced several new welfare policies they had previously discussed.

The first policy concerned mission expenses.

From that day forward, whenever shinobi departed on missions and purchased essential supplies such as shinobi tools, the village would cover thirty percent of the cost.

Previously, shinobi had been forced to pay for all their equipment and supplies themselves. This policy alone would save them a considerable amount of money.

The second policy introduced a monthly salary for every active shinobi in the village.

Genin would receive 1,000 ryō per month, chūnin would receive 3,000 ryō, and jōnin would receive 8,000 ryō.

The amount might not seem particularly large, but Konoha’s shinobi had previously received nothing unless they completed missions. Without mission income, even a jōnin could find themselves going hungry.

The third policy established a pension system for the village.

Beginning at the age of fifty-five, ordinary civilians would receive a monthly pension of 300 ryō. Those who had made special contributions to Konoha could receive a higher amount at the administration’s discretion.

Retired shinobi would receive a base pension of 1,000 ryō per month.

The fourth policy concerned the distribution of those pensions.

Konoha would establish a dedicated pension department responsible for ensuring that every payment reached its intended recipient and preventing anyone from embezzling the funds.

Kushina had only just taken office, and nothing could win the people’s support faster than putting money directly into their hands.