Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 173 To Get Rich, Build Roads First

"So this is the conclusion you came to after traveling half the world?" Izuna flipped through the not-so-thick proposal in his hand repeatedly. His slightly furrowed brows and the unconscious crumpling of the paper already showed his attitude. "Hui's financial report is indeed improving year by year. The previous approval of the Silk Road repair was also because the Land of Earth was tricked into paying a portion of the money, but that does not mean that we can use the funds in places where we cannot recoup the costs in several years."

"The Land of Crafts' R&D branch recently made a major breakthrough in transportation vehicles, but the new vehicles have higher requirements for roads. Starting planning now will help promote the vehicles. The last technological breakthrough was also in transportation, and we recouped our initial investment in a very short time." Naruto, when in work mode, is quite stubborn. He has a firm understanding of everything and is rarely swayed by the opinions of others. His stubbornness is most evident when he encounters a questioned topic at a major meeting.

When it comes to real issues, he will lay out the arguments to prove his point, explain each issue clearly, and provide evidence, rather than relying on the charm of language as he does during negotiations.

Therefore, Hashirama Senju was quite accurate in judging people. When they were swayed by interests and blood ties, Naruto served as a wake-up call for them.

"This is different. The initial investment in that thing didn't involve such a large area and the allocation of such a large amount of manpower and resources!"

The warrior Hashirama was not intimidated by the volatile Izuna. He was usually a Naruto supporter and rarely voiced his opposition. "But from another perspective, we always have to repair the road. If we don't repair it now, we'll have to repair it later anyway."

“Now we need to consider whether the government’s budget is sufficient, whether the supply of raw materials can keep up, whether there are enough workers, and whether the local government is willing to approve the project. This is not reforming within the village, but expanding outwards, and there is almost no chance of it going unnoticed.” Tobirama did not directly object, but raised his questions.

Naruto calmly straightened the map covered with lines and said, "Please pay attention to the color of the lines. Black represents existing roads that are well-maintained; yellow represents mostly mountain and dirt roads that are poorly maintained, of low quality, and narrow; red represents roads worn down by people, where two or three vehicles would have to think of ways to avoid each other if they collided head-on; and green represents routes that I believe could be better developed after I've walked them. Of course, I've considered the financial and human resources burden, but frankly, some of these roads are so dangerous that even ninjas walk on them with trepidation, let alone ordinary people who just want to make a living."

"Do you think the caravans aren't enough to meet the needs of these places?" Fugaku asked, frowning. "The Dongfeng caravans are usually well-stocked, and they also carry simple Flying Thunder God Formations to replenish supplies in a timely manner. If it weren't for the limitations of the materials used to make the Flying Thunder God Formations, we wouldn't even need to maintain the caravans."

“I have encountered several caravans and I am certainly aware of their comprehensive capabilities, but the purpose of establishing a road is not just to facilitate trade, but also to promote exchange.”

Naruto scanned the room, his face radiating the imposing authority of the Golden Wheel. "Ignorant information limits people's thinking. I think everyone here is well aware of this, right? At the very least, there's the cannibal tribe that Hui just discovered on the island in the ocean, a cautionary tale. Lacking medical knowledge, they blindly believed that the human body could grant them power, resulting in them contracting a strange infectious disease and now teetering on the brink of extinction."

"Hui did bring knowledge to the local area, establishing literacy classes and schools, but that ultimately focused on imparting basic and survival skills, unable to go any further. Their souls were empty, and after solving their basic needs, they were easily lost, which was not conducive to cultivating better talent for us..."

"What does this have to do with your opinion on building roads?" Izuna interrupted him impatiently.

“Only when their bodies go out can their minds ‘go out,’ and what we need to do is ensure that their paths out are unobstructed,” Naruto said firmly.

A silence fell over the office. Hui's core members sat around a coffee table, seemingly having afternoon tea, but actually discussing important matters concerning the future. Naruto, the only one with physical needs, sat beside a teapot, but the tea was long gone, and the snack plate was empty. They had been talking for far too long; a year's worth of investigation couldn't be covered in just a few words.

Hashirama cleared his throat in the silence and called out his younger brother's name. He knew that the one he truly needed to deal with was the more pragmatic and radical Izuna. These old guys, bound by their clan's constraints, ultimately lacked a clear and long-term perspective on these issues. Izuna might be willing to go all out in the strategic and tactical aspects of war and combat, but things were different when it came to interests. The Uchiha hawks of the Warring States period were fiercely protective of their spoils. Although he couldn't persuade Izuna, Tobirama could always find the best angle to appease him. If he could get Tobirama on his side, he could essentially get Izuna under his control.

“Tobirama, I remember you said that you traveled the world with Shisui and then saw through the true nature of this world. Doesn’t that mean that ‘going out’ is really useful? Let more people go out and see this world full of injustice. Some of them will become our comrades and carry on Hikaru’s beliefs to the end.”

“But there are also those who are corrupted by desire. Brother, don’t think too highly of humanity.” Tobirama didn’t believe in humanity. He had once confined the Uchiha clan to Konoha to limit their activities and prevent them from going insane at any moment. He felt comfortable with Higashi’s current situation because the geographically dispersed nature of Higashi meant that their development had to be monitored directly by the East Wind from headquarters. In addition, with the establishment of the Inspection Department, they could keep track of all movements to the greatest extent possible.

Naruto sipped his iced tea and said, "Communication is a two-way street. In addition to 'going out,' we also need to let the outside world 'come in.' Our goal is the whole world. Isolation is the stupidest form of propaganda."

Now, Fugaku frowned as well. "This makes things even more unpredictable. We can't guarantee that there aren't any daimyo's spies among these people."

“We can start by piloting this in the areas we’ve taken over. Interfering is their internal affair, not their business. How about the Land of Birds?” Hashirama, with his keen political sense, quickly came up with a solution.

Naruto's lips unconsciously curled up. Forgive him for using some negotiation skills; after all, people are only willing to talk to him about opening a window when he wants to lift the roof.

"The Land of Birds is too remote, and not everyone can withstand the desert. I would recommend the Land of Waves instead. Given our cooperative relationship, it shouldn't be difficult to ask the daimyo of the Land of Fire for a road connecting to the main road, right?"