Chapter 155: New Fun
"Grandpa Masahiko, come here for a moment."
Yuna-kun's voice rang out, and Masahiko sighed before walking over.
More than a month had passed since Masahiko reclaimed land from the sea, and the Uzumaki clan had begun construction in full swing.
Most of the buildings were modeled after the previous "villas" of the Uzunin Village. After all, there was now plenty of space, enough for the civilians of the Land of Whirlpools to live in small two-story houses, with land to spare.
Masahiko didn't participate in the construction of these ordinary residences. However, he couldn't help but suggest that Yuna-kun establish a laboratory to do some research and make good use of the Land of Whirlpools' overflowing supplies.
As a result, Masahiko's leisurely life was completely ruined; he became a carver working for Yuna-kun.
Yuna-kun's husband had decent carpentry skills. Whatever he crafted was sent to Masahiko, who would use his Level 8 Sculpting skill to modify it. Besides that, he would soon have to use his Level 8 Forging skill to coat these wooden pieces with a layer of iron and some chakra-conductive metal.
Upon Masahiko's suggestion, the two ultimately wanted to try building an automatic cutting machine capable of producing kunai in the Naruto world. Of course, it would be an old-fashioned hand-cranked or foot-pedaled device; fully automatic was out of the question. If successful, many things could be mass-produced just by having ordinary people operate them.
"Yuna, where is little Nagato?" Masahiko asked while adjusting a piece with his specially crafted carving knife.
"I sent him to Mother," Yuna-kun replied, also busy. Since Masahiko could only provide a rough concept—having completely forgotten his knowledge from his past life—the specific design required Yuna-kun to experiment bit by bit.
Little Nagato was only four years old now, not yet at the age for formal training. Masahiko waited patiently, preparing to officially accept his fourth disciple.
After hesitating, Masahiko asked, "Yuna, why did you marry a commoner?" From his observations during this period, Masahiko felt that Yuna-kun's husband was indeed an ordinary commoner. His carpentry skills were decent, but only decent. In terms of invention and creativity, he was far inferior to Yuna-kun, which was truly puzzling.
Yuna-kun hesitated, then smiled. "That's a long story. It was a dark and windy night..."
"Cut the crap!" Masahiko didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Growing up with him, Yuna-kun hadn't learned much good, but had picked up all sorts of nonsense.
"Fine, if you don't want to say it, don't. But you have to answer my next question, right? Why didn't you come back after having a child? This has nothing to do with talent; he can be nurtured much better in the Land of Whirlpools."
"Hmm, that's another story..."
Masahiko sighed and shook his head helplessly.
"I didn't want Nagato to become a ninja."
Masahiko was startled. He had only asked tentatively, not expecting to get a real answer.
"Why didn't you want him to become a ninja?"
Yuna-kun's expression turned unusually somber, and she shook her head. "Ninjas easily encounter danger, and even... death."
Masahiko looked at Yuna-kun deeply, smiling bitterly in his heart. When Ashina died in battle while Yuna-kun was young, she seemed to have completely moved on after only a month. Now looking back, how could a six-year-old girl losing her father not be affected at all? No wonder Yuna-kun hadn't been keen on training all these years, instead immersing herself in research.
He shook his head. "Yuna, sometimes danger arrives unexpectedly, especially in this ninja world. Just like how Nagato was targeted even when you were hiding in the slums of the Land of Rain."
Yuna-kun nodded. "I was too naive before..."
"Speaking of which, if not for this incident, were you really going to spend the rest of your life in the Land of Rain?" Masahiko asked again.
Yuna-kun shook her head. "How is that possible? You and Mother are both in the Land of Whirlpools. I probably would have returned in seven or eight years."
Masahiko glared at her. "Then you would have perfectly missed Nagato's best training years, right?"
Yuna-kun smiled sheepishly and didn't reply, lowering her head to continue working on her design. Masahiko didn't ask further.
The two busied themselves with their own tasks until Izuko-kun pushed the door open and walked in.
Izuko-kun's expression was grave, startling Masahiko.
"Sensei, Konoha is asking for help."
"Asking for help again?" Masahiko didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Has the war restarted?"
Izuko-kun nodded. "It's because Konoha and the Whirlpool were attacked previously, causing the Hidden Sand to take action again."
"Only the Hidden Sand? What about the Hidden Rock and Hidden Rain?"
"The movements of the Hidden Rain are unknown, but the Hidden Rock seems intent on heading toward the Land of Lightning..."
Masahiko frowned. It would be troublesome if the Hidden Rock attacked the Land of Lightning. The next batch of supplies from the Land of Lightning was due soon. If the Hidden Rock snatched it, it would be quite annoying.
He didn't want to personally go help the Land of Lightning; that would be a thankless task. But the Land of Whirlpools was in a critical period of development, and cutting off these supplies would be troublesome.
"Sigh, the Land of Whirlpools just hasn't developed enough; we rely entirely on looting supplies... The main problem is still insufficient population."
"Maybe I'll have to take a trip to the Hidden Rock later to demand supplies..."
Masahiko looked up and smiled. "I understand, Izuko. Next, let the Land of Whirlpools encourage childbirth. The same goes for the Uzumaki clan."
Izuko-kun froze on the spot. Masahiko's answer felt completely irrelevant. They were clearly discussing whether to aid Konoha, and suddenly it turned into encouraging childbirth.
Seeing Izuko-kun's expression, Masahiko realized his tangent and smiled helplessly.
"Do I even need to say whether we should help? Previously, facing three countries, Konoha held the upper hand. Now it's just one, at most two. Why would they need our help?"
Izuko-kun shook her head, her expression serious. "Sensei, there is also the Hidden Waterfall. The leader of the Hidden Waterfall, Kakuzu, seems to have joined the organization that attacked us earlier. Konoha is worried they will intervene in the coming war."
Masahiko frowned. He hadn't expected Kakuzu to join the Akatsuki after all. This awkward plot development made him very uncomfortable.
After a long while, Masahiko let out a long breath and muttered in his heart, "Correcting the plot, right? I'll let you correct it!"
"Go tell Konoha that I know exactly what kind of person Kakuzu is. If he refuses to help, it's because the money isn't enough. Add more to the price and see what he says."
"As for us, let's focus on building a new socialist countryside first."
Sending Izuko-kun away, Masahiko carved even more vigorously.
"Before, it was always me constantly trying to correct the plot. Now someone is more anxious than I am. Interesting."
"I won't correct it anymore; I'll start changing it. The Land of Whirlpools will become a new Great Nation—let's see what you do then! Once the cutting machine is researched and enters the era of mass production—let's see what you do then!"
Masahiko, who had been bored for a long time, felt he had finally found some new fun...
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you