Chapter 340: Dead or Alive, It's Always This Face
Ninja World Year 46.
The founding ceremony of the Cloud-Thunder Federation, held a week ago, was still a hot topic of conversation.
Those who traveled from afar to witness the ceremony, and the tourists who came out of curiosity, all felt the trip was worth it.
A night of revelry, fireworks and thunder dragons, the suspended platform, the Cloud Spire rising from the ground, and even the occasional black spheres exploding on the horizon left everyone with unforgettable memories.
As the ceremony ended, "Cloud City" (the renamed Kumogakure) returned to its normal routine.
The celebration was temporary, but the longing for the future was continuous. The entire Cloud City was full of vitality.
Top Floor of the Cloud Spire, Administrative Headquarters.
In the massive office, dozens of people shuttled back and forth, extremely busy.
These were civilian staff affiliated with the Administrative Headquarters. A new structure naturally required new personnel. Dana had transferred more than half of the civilian staff from the Special Strategy Division up here.
The Administrative Headquarters consolidated the administrative affairs of the entire Federation. It really wasn't something Dana could handle alone, even with overtime and self-electrocution.
Old acquaintance Dodai also became Dana's deputy, while the Raikage's secretary stayed with his father.
Everyone in the chaotic hall seemed to be in a hurry.
"Where are the land survey results for the Land of Fire? We need to draw a new map!"
"Who has the fourth version of the expansion plan for the Third Research Institute?!"
"What? My wife gave birth? But I'm in a meeting..."
Um... they might need some time to adjust before they stop being so flustered.
Dana flew in directly through the window. The clerks were used to it; the window here was even specifically enlarged for Dana.
"Good morning, Consul-sama!"
"Good morning, Dana-sama!"
"MY WIFE GAVE BIRTH! IT'S A BOY!!"
Dana spent most of his day at the Administrative Headquarters, and the rest at the First Research Institute with Yoshitoki. Fortunately, he didn't have to do everything personally now, or even an Iron Man couldn't handle it.
Dana placed a metal box on his desk, brought from Yoshitoki's lab, and pressed the button on top. A cool breeze blew out.
"What is this?" Dodai asked curiously.
"An experimental product from the institute—a cooling fan powered by chakra. I took one to test its reliability."
Dodai scratched his head. "It doesn't look as good as a normal fan. Feels so bulky..."
It was indeed bulky. The metal box looked like it weighed over ten kilograms, though it felt light in Dana's hand.
Dana laughed. "Hah! This is just a lab prototype, so appearance wasn't a priority. The point isn't the bulk. Do you know how long this little box can work?"
Dana held up one finger. "One year! Without replacing anything, the chakra inside is enough for the fan to work for a year. Moreover, the non-attribute chakra inside is converted not only into wind but also involves Water Release nature transformation to achieve a cooling effect."
Having solved the storage and transmission problems, Dana and Yoshitoki started tinkering with various practical items. The "Chakra Gas Stove"—or rather, "Burning Chakra Stove"—was the simplest, converting chakra directly into open fire. It didn't even count as the lowest-level ninjutsu, and it was safe.
Because chakra can ignite fire, but fire cannot ignite chakra.
The chefs at the First Research Institute were already using the new stoves.
The chakra cooling fan in Dana's hand was more complex. It involved two nature transformations and couldn't be too large.
Of course, this was assuming self-contained energy storage, where most of the volume was taken up by the Bionic Metal storing the energy. If connected to an external chakra source, it would be much lighter.
Derived from Samehada, the Bionic Metal could store a considerable amount of chakra—after all, Samehada could swallow Tailed Beast chakra.
Seeing Dana's excitement, Dodai said helplessly, "I understand the principle, but it's winter right now..."
He leaned away as he spoke; the cold wind was giving him a headache.
Dana froze, then said after a moment, "A warm air version will be developed too. It's just a matter of time..."
Dana leaned back, the custom-made chair supporting his extraordinary weight.
"Just wait to be amazed. We're already researching Chakra Motorcycles!"
"Motorcycles?"
"A very cool thing."
Although the ninja world had basic electricity applications, they lacked the internal combustion engine tech tree completely, so there were no vehicles. [1]
Dodai said, "The Konoha people have all returned, but Hokage Minato Namikaze submitted a request to stay. The situation is special, so Dana-sama needs to review it personally."
Dana was puzzled. "Minato wants to stay? He's not going back to manage the mess in Konoha?"
However, seeing the application, Dana fell silent.
Good lord.
Minato applied to commute between Konoha and Cloud City long-term. Basically, work in Konoha during the day, Flying Thunder God to Cloud City at night to cook.
Cook for whom? Do you need to ask?
"Should I praise him for being awesome? Or just say he's awesome?"
Dana felt Minato was a model for humanity; he deserved to succeed.
After Dana signed, Dodai spoke again.
"Also, food shortages have appeared in several places in the Land of Rice Fields, especially in the border areas. Some villages were abandoned due to the war, leading to homelessness."
Dana sighed. The Cloud-Thunder Federation was improving overall, but there were still many problems.
"Send some ninja to protect them and relocate them to the interior of the Land of Rice Fields. Pick some good locations, and have Construction Ninja help build new villages for them."
Fortunately, ninja productivity was off the charts. Rebuilding a village wasn't troublesome; a day or two was enough to finish, and the houses would be guaranteed better than before.
As for food, the Federation naturally wouldn't lack a bit of grain, but distribution was a major task.
"Disptach disaster relief grain from nearby sources. Release it slowly; don't give it all at once. Have the Administrative Headquarters draft an execution plan for similar situations as a template for future reference. Show it to me ASAP."
In the past, ninja villages didn't care about such disaster relief, and neither did Daimyos.
If these peasants died, they died. What did it have to do with Daimyos and nobles?
What? You say it was caused by wars between nations? That's just bad luck for the peasants. Go take revenge on the ninja if you can.
In every war, dozens of villages were destroyed, some wiped out completely.
But in the Cloud-Thunder Federation, someone cared.
That person was the Consul.
He took back power from the Daimyos, but he also shouldered many responsibilities, even those the Daimyos never bore.
"Forget it... relocating entire villages involves a lot. Site selection, food supply... besides food, basic supplies need to be provided too. Send a few clerks to accompany the relocation, participate fully, and record everything. We'll set a standard protocol later!"
"Understood!"
"By the way, call Tobirama Senju here."
About ten minutes later, Tobirama arrived at the Administrative Headquarters.
"Tobirama-senpai, there is a task... no, accurately speaking, a very important plan that could influence the ninja world, which requires your talent."
Tobirama crossed his arms, waiting for the rest.
Recently, he had been wandering around Cloud City and the surrounding areas, trying to understand the rules and systems of the Federation.
After all, he was famous for various reforms and planning, sparking a wave of imitation in the ninja world. The Ninja Academy, Anbu, etc., were all founded by him and copied by other villages.
The more Tobirama understood, the more amazed he was. The Cloud-Thunder Federation—or rather, the former Kumogakure—seemed to have reformed far more and far deeper than he did in Konoha back then. And these were things other villages couldn't learn.
The division of labor for ninja, the Federation's tax and financial system, the widespread ninja education system...
He was convinced that Yotsuki Dana and the Cloud weren't messing around but genuinely improving the ninja world in an orderly manner. He no longer rejected tasks given by the Federation; he even looked forward to them, wanting to participate rather than just be a bystander.
Of course, on the surface, he had to be tsundere. He just stood there coldly, waiting.
Speaking first is impossible. I'll have this expression for the rest of my life, and even after I'm dead!
"Tobirama-senpai, you are a master of ninjutsu development. This task is urgent and heavy; I can only entrust it to you. It's still deep winter, less than three months until early spring. I hope you can lead the research to apply chakra—or ninjutsu—to the field of agriculture."
Tobirama pondered. "Agriculture?"
He thought Dana needed him to develop some powerful forbidden jutsu or research some ancient taboo.
Unexpectedly, it was agriculture?
"Yes, agriculture. For the first step, let's target grain cultivation. Fruits and vegetables can wait. This includes but is not limited to land reclamation, irrigation, sowing, pest control, harvesting, etc. actually, many ninjutsu can already be used in these steps—for example, Earth Release makes land reclamation easy—but there is no systematic guidance."
"The food problem is a top priority, the foundation of the ninja world. Only when everyone can easily fill their stomachs will they have the energy to do more meaningful things, and the Federation will prosper. When the new round of planting begins in early spring, I hope to select a few villages around Cloud City as experimental fields. This plan is very important and long-term. You can ask the Administrative Headquarters for any support you need; I will satisfy whatever I can."
Dana could talk for a day and a night about the importance of food and agriculture, but there was no need to force-feed it to Tobirama now. He would participate in this plan himself, so there was plenty of time.
Just like in the past, no ninja thought ninjutsu would be related to building houses. Now, no one thought ninjutsu could be used for farming.
But Dana said: This can happen, and it MUST happen!
[1] Author's Note: In the original work, there is no internal combustion engine technology. Checked the data; for vehicles, the Cloud only has an electric yacht. I won't talk about the movies; I said long ago that I basically won't involve movie plots. The Snow Country movie is the worst offender—cruise ships, movies, airships, trucks, trains, unscientific ninja tools, giant facilities melting a country's ice... completely drawing whatever they want. A remote garbage country with a tech tree hundreds of years ahead of the ninja world... Boruto couldn't catch up even with hacks. Once again, anime movies are world-view destroyers. One Piece, Naruto, all the same. Especially early movies, because the world view wasn't fully set, settings weren't complete, and the movie company just drew whatever after getting the rights. Equivalent to fanfiction.