Chapter 85 (Patreon)

A short while later, Kushina, Shikaku, and Fugaku followed Hiruzen from the Hokage’s office to the riverbank.

Hiruzen made a single hand sign.

A twisting stream of water, as thick as an adult’s waist, immediately rose from the river.

“This is Water Style: Irrigation Jutsu,” Hiruzen explained. “Anyone who can mold chakra can use it. With as much chakra as an average genin has, it can be kept going for around half an hour. That’s enough to water three to five thousand square meters of fields.”

A genin might not have much chakra, but that also meant it wouldn’t take long to recover what they used.

The title of Professor had not been given to Hiruzen for nothing.

At first glance, this jutsu did not look like much. It might not even count as a proper ninjutsu, but that was also why so many people could learn it.

One person using it could not do much harm. However, if enough people used it together, they could probably produce enough water to drown someone.

Of course, fighting was not the point of this jutsu. It was meant to water fields.

With it, even dry land far away from a river could be turned into farmland. At the very least, it was much easier than carrying bucket after bucket of water by hand.

More farmland meant more food.

With more food, Konoha could support more people.

As the village’s population grew, the number of shinobi would also rise.

Any extra food could be sold for money, which could then help other trades in the village grow.

Kushina tried the jutsu herself and found that Hiruzen had been telling the truth. It used hardly any chakra at all. Even someone with very little chakra could keep it going for quite some time.

“You’ve worked hard, Third Hokage,” Kushina said. “I want to create a Civilian Research Institute. Its job will be to come up with jutsu that can make everyday life easier. I hope you’ll become its first director.”

“I’d also like Koharu and Homura to help you. They still have plenty of experience and ability. Letting them sit at home all day would be a waste. What do you think, Third Hokage?”

“Hmm, it sounds like a good idea,” Hiruzen replied. “I’ll speak to Homura and Koharu. You can make a list later of the kinds of civilian jutsu you want us to work on.”

Hiruzen had originally planned to retire after finishing a few simplified Water Style and Earth Style jutsu.

After that, he intended to urge his son and daughter-in-law to give him a grandchild as soon as possible. Then he could spend his retirement helping them raise the child.

But Kushina’s offer immediately changed his mind.

He might no longer be the Hokage, but the jutsu he created could one day help put food on every table, build houses for the villagers, and lay the roads beneath their feet.

It would give him a chance to make up for some of his past mistakes and help Konoha grow stronger.

Then, when his time finally came, he would be able to face his teacher and the First Hokage without shame.

Just thinking about it made Hiruzen feel ten years younger.

He left with such a wide smile that even the wrinkles on his face seemed to disappear.

After seeing him off, Kushina turned to Shikaku.

“Besides civilian jutsu, I also want the Nara Clan to send some people to the research institute. I’d like them to work on cheap medicine that ordinary villagers can afford.”

Most of the medicine used by Konoha’s shinobi came from the Nara Clan.

However, the ingredients used to make it were expensive. Ordinary villagers simply could not afford it.

When civilians became sick or injured, they usually endured it for as long as they could. If they could no longer bear it, they would go out and gather medicinal herbs themselves.

Using the herbs directly was not completely useless, but most of their healing effect went to waste. At best, they could only make use of one or two percent of it.

The Nara Clan knew more about making medicine than anyone else in Konoha. If they could create cheap treatments for common illnesses and injuries, it would help the entire village.

The Nara Clan had never paid much attention to selling medicine to civilians before.

Supplying Konoha and its shinobi had already made the clan extremely wealthy.

But after thinking about it, Shikaku realized that civilians far outnumbered shinobi. They might not earn much from each medicine they sold, but selling it to that many people would still bring in a large amount of money.

The other reason they had ignored the civilian market was their lack of manpower.

The Nara Clan was already so busy making medicine for Konoha’s shinobi that its members barely had time to rest.

However, after seeing the jutsu Hiruzen had created, Shikaku thought of a possible solution.

The illnesses and injuries suffered by civilians were usually not as serious as the wounds shinobi received during missions.

Once the basic medicines had been created, the Nara Clan could find a faster and easier way to make them.

The result might not work quite as well as medicine carefully made by hand, but it would still be much better than using raw herbs.

After thinking it over, Shikaku nodded and accepted Kushina’s request. He promised to send several members of the Nara Clan to the research institute once he returned.

Since she had given the Nara Clan a job, Kushina naturally did not forget the Akimichi and Yamanaka Clans.

Once the village had enough food, people would also need to pay more attention to what they ate.

When it came to food and nutrition, no clan in Konoha knew more than the Akimichi.

The Yamanaka Clan did not know much about medicine or food, but its members were skilled at growing flowers and other plants.

Plants also needed nutrients to grow, so they could be placed in charge of finding better ways to make fertilizer.

Shikaku soon left with work for all three clans.

Fugaku watched him go and looked as though he wanted a job of his own.

He had finally understood how much the Fifth Hokage cared about the villagers’ daily lives.

The Uchiha Clan was slowly becoming part of the village again. Taking part in these plans would clearly help the clan improve its relationship with everyone else.

For the moment, however, Kushina could not think of a suitable job for the Uchiha.

“Fugaku-san,” Kushina said seriously, “the Konoha Military Police Force may have been changed, but the Uchiha Clan still has many duties to handle.”

“The Uchiha members working at the hospital have also done an excellent job. The village will not forget what your clan has done.”

Fugaku had not received a new assignment, but Kushina’s words gave him the answer he wanted.

He left soon afterward, quietly humming to himself.

Once everyone else was gone, Kushina lowered her voice.

“Roy-kun, what made you think of sending the Uchiha to work at the hospital?”

The report from the hospital had surprised her.

Ever since the Uchiha began working there, both examinations and operations had become much faster.

Kushina had never heard of the Uchiha being especially talented at medical ninjutsu.

“Think about what the Sharingan can see,” Roy replied. “The same goes for the Byakugan. Both of them can be very useful when treating someone.”

Kushina immediately understood what he meant.

The problem was Hiashi.

After appearing on the day she became Hokage, he had not returned to the Hokage’s office even once.

Kushina had not even found a chance to speak to him about changing the Caged Bird Seal.

Both the main family and the branch family of the Hyūga Clan had followed the same old rules for generations.

A small number of Hyūga secretly learned basic medical ninjutsu, but most of the clan refused even to consider it.

In that regard, the Hyūga were even more proud and stubborn than the Uchiha.

Roy’s words made Kushina realize just how useful the Byakugan could be at the hospital.

She decided to visit the Hyūga Clan herself the next day.

“There’s no need to rush,” Roy said. “Once the Hyūga see the other clans doing better, they’ll start to worry on their own.”

“Setting up new tax rules is more important right now.”

Most shinobi spent their lives carrying out missions instead of farming or running businesses.

They depended almost entirely on mission rewards to survive.

A village made up mostly of shinobi also had no choice but to depend on money from the daimyō.

Konoha kept part of the reward from every mission, but it collected almost no taxes from businesses run by the shinobi clans.

The taxes paid by ordinary merchants were not fair or consistent either.

They needed to set clear rules before business in Konoha began to grow.

If they waited until later, too many people would oppose any changes they tried to make.