"Each departnt head will now report on the progress of their work."
The following day, the room was filled with people. Yuji led the Sand Village’s senior officials in a formal eting. Several offices and agencies in the Kazekage building were still undergoing repairs and renovations, so the eting was held elsewhere for the ti being.
"Regarding population, through the cooperation between our village and the Daimyo’s Mansion, more than two thousand outsiders have beco village mbers over the past few months."
"Currently, our policy of accepting new residents and the associated information has not yet been fully disseminated throughout the Land of Wind’s borders. As ti passes and more people learn about it, population growth will increase gradually."
A senior official reported.
"Good," Yuji nodded.
He was quite satisfied with the number. The Land of Wind was already underpopulated to begin with. In a few years, after this ninja war concluded, having around twenty thousand new residents would be an excellent outco. Furthermore, this was a long-term policy. The village’s population would only continue growing from here.
Joining the Sand Village ant receiving a certain degree of protection and stability, which was genuinely attractive to the lower-class citizens of the Land of Wind who had previously had no such opportunity.
"The orphanage and the civilian school, the elentary level institution, are being prioritized in the construction schedule. Based on current progress, they should be completed and operational within a few months. The remaining construction and projects throughout the village will most likely be finished by the end of the year."
Another manager continued the report.
After hearing this, Yuji turned his gaze toward Chiyo.
"The Uchiha and Hyuga clan mbers have been thoroughly settled. As for the Kaguya clan mbers, following your instructions, their bloodline has not been diluted and they have been temporarily housed in unused rooms under round-the-clock Anbu supervision."
"The dical Departnt has also completed training of the first rapid-recruitnt dical and care teams, totaling one hundred and twenty-one people. They have all signed the necessary agreents with the village and are ready for deploynt."
Yuji nodded gently.
"For this first group being sent out, we must carefully select the cooperating parties. Partner organizations must be capable of protecting our village’s dical teams, and we should prioritize countries that have not been directly affected by the war. Each dical team must also be equipped with a hidden intelligence operative to transmit information back to the village in real ti."
"Understood," Chiyo replied.
"Then there is the imdiate financial matter. Considering the ongoing intense situation the Hidden Stone Village is facing and their continuous large-scale purchases of our dicines, the Third Tsuchikage has indicated that he wants us to lower our prices.
His position is that our dicine prices have risen too quickly and the Hidden Stone Village’s current economic situation makes it impossible for them to continue purchasing at the present rate."
"If we do not compromise, judging from the Third Tsuchikage’s words, it seems they are preparing to make things difficult for us."
"Haha."
Yuji smiled faintly.
Threats?
That old man was incredibly shrewd. He simply did not want to continue absorbing such a heavy financial burden on behalf of the Sand Village’s interests.
"It seems he must have heard so news and understands that our village is at a crucial stage of developnt. Getting pulled into a larger war would undoubtedly be disadvantageous to us," Yuji said softly.
"We can respond to the Hidden Stone Village by saying that lowering the price is not a problem, but we cannot increase supply volu. If they are still not satisfied with the price adjustnt, we can establish a fixed price point and add a resource exchange arrangent, allowing them to purchase our dicines using minerals, timber, ninja tools, ninjutsu technique resources, and similar assets as paynt equivalents."
His thinking beca increasingly clear as he spoke, and he looked toward the reporting staff mber.
"However, we need to value these incoming resources at a slightly reduced rate compared to market price. Understood?"
"Yes." The staff mber’s eyes lit up and he imdiately began taking notes.
"However, Lord Kazekage, if we are accepting resources as paynt, our construction projects might face so difficulty converting those into what we actually need..."
The staff mber hesitated, rembering sothing before speaking.
"Contact the Hidden Mist Village and tell them we wish to cooperate with them," Yuji said with a chuckle.
"The Hidden Mist Village?" several people in the room reacted with surprise.
"That is correct," Yuji nodded.
"I traveled to the Land of Water recently and observed that the Hidden Mist Village’s situation is quite unique. Given the current state of the Land of Water, they actually need dicinal resources even more urgently than the Hidden Stone Village.
Furthermore, judging from the current direction of the war, the Hidden Mist Village’s most direct conflicts are with the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Leaf Villages. Their fighting with the Hidden Stone Village is not particularly intense. In that case, selling dicine to the Hidden Mist Village should not cause the Third Tsuchikage to turn against us."
To put it plainly, it was simply repeating the sa approach that had worked with the Hidden Stone Village. Apply the sa principle to a different party.
"But the Hidden Mist Village might be quite different from the Hidden Stone Village," Chiyo frowned. "Strictly speaking, our grievances with the Hidden Mist Village run even deeper than those with the Hidden Stone Village.
And I have heard that the Third Mizukage’s authority has been significantly diminished recently, with the Hidden Mist Village’s internal power structure becoming sowhat fragnted. Most importantly, the people within the Hidden Mist Village have always been inconsistent in their attitudes and thinking."
"Not necessarily a problem," Yuji said.
"No. They will definitely accept."
Compared to questions of attitude or historical grievances, what Chiyo was describing were ultimately symbolic concerns. Self-interest was the fundantal driver.
The powerful advantage that dicinal resources provided on the battlefield was sothing the Hidden Mist Village had absolutely no rational reason to refuse.
"Because with the Sand Village’s dicinal resources, those who obtained them could sche to plunder even more. Greed knows no bounds. Furthermore, the visit to the Land of Water had revealed signs of internal decay within the Hidden Mist Village that went beyond what any intelligence report could convey. That point alone ant their need for dicinal resources was sothing they could not afford to ignore."
"As for the Hidden Mist Village’s negotiating representative, if the Third Mizukage is unable to travel personally, it will most likely be Yagura Karatachi."
He paused for a mont.
"The more I think about it, if the Hidden Mist Village also enters into a trade arrangent and benefits from the supply access, then the conflict along the coastal areas of the Land of Wind could also effectively wind down."
"Are you also planning to eventually sell dicine to Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village?" Chiyo speculated.
Konoha and the Hidden Cloud Village were sworn enemies of the Sand Village. Even if the Sand Village wanted to offer them dicine, those two villages might not necessarily be willing to accept supplies from an active enemy.
"Of course, on the battlefield there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends. Only self-interest matters. However, now is not the right ti to approach them. These two villages have not yet been pushed to the brink of despair.
When a genuinely dangerous turning point arrives and they are compelled by their circumstances, they will have no choice but to agree."
He spoke with complete calm.
Once the Hidden Mist Village received dicinal resources and deployed them effectively, the first party to feel the impact would be Konoha. Looking at the current situation, although a portion of the Hidden Cloud Village’s territory in the Land of Lightning had been invaded by the Hidden Stone Village, and Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village were fighting over the Land of Rice Fields simultaneously, the situation had at least remained at a level where the war had not completely spiraled beyond managent. Konoha was holding on.
But Konoha’s situation was genuinely precarious.
Konoha was engaged in fierce fighting against the Sand Village on the Land of Rivers front, managing the Hidden Cloud Village conflict, dealing with the Hidden Stone Village’s ongoing pressure even if that front was less intense than the others, all while the addition of the Sand Village’s dicinal resources to the Hidden Stone Village had made that front significantly more difficult than it would otherwise have been.
Now with the Hidden Mist Village potentially receiving strategic dical supplies as well, Konoha would inevitably begin showing the signs of a single pillar trying to support an entire structure. The possibility of sudden collapse could not be dismissed.
It was worth rembering that this Great Ninja War was far more intense than the previous one. Only a fool among the Hidden Mist Village’s senior officials could fail to see the strategic implications. And fools of that particular caliber were unlikely to be the ones conducting negotiations.
Of course, Konoha’s imdiate collapse was unlikely. However, judging from the overall situation in the ninja world, they had already revealed their structural weaknesses. The question was simply one of timing and accumulated pressure.
Furthermore, while conducting cooperation discussions with the Hidden Mist Village, there were opportunities to subtly influence the direction of things in ways that served the Sand Village’s broader interests. How to make Konoha’s situation increasingly difficult without direct confrontation, how to apply pressure through indirect ans.
"A true battlefield is not only about throwing yourself into direct combat and sacrificing lives on the front lines," he thought to himself. "It is also about the calculations being made behind the scenes."
...
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