Chapter 582 : A New Economic Center (Patreon)

Fujin's words caused the clan leaders to lower their guard slightly. Just like the changes he recommended to the academy, Fujin hadn't excluded the Clans from his proposal.

Even so, there was no doubt that his proposal would benefit the civilian ninjas a lot more. It would contribute a lot to decreasing the gap between clan and civilian ninjas. It would decrease the political power the clans held with time.

Shikaku thought, ‘Not bad. He has included us as well. Due to this, rejecting this proposal would cause resentment to form among our ninjas against us. After all, this proposal would help them as well. Not to mention the thousands of civilian ninjas who will resent us for blocking this proposal. Unless there is a major flaw, Fujin's proposal can't be stopped.’

Seeing that no one was saying anything, Fujin continued, “As for the opportunity, it is rather simple. If the Guidance Hall is successful, it'll result in several ninjas visiting there on a daily basis. It might become the second most busy building in the village after the Hokage's Building.

Though creating such a building in the center of the village might be the first idea for everyone's convenience, it will cause us to lose a good opportunity.

Right now, the village is very crowded. More and more houses are being constructed on the outskirts on a daily basis. However, every major economic activity happens near the center of the village, forcing everyone to try to get a home closer to the center of the village.

We can use the Guidance Hall to create a new Economic Center in the village. Instead of the center, the Guidance Hall will be constructed on the outskirts of the village, at a place where there is nothing around. Since a lot of people will visit it daily, it'll provide the village with an opportunity to create another economic center around the Guidance Hall.

New shops and businesses can open up around it. Once these activities reach a certain level, residential places can also be constructed close to the Guidance Hall so that people can stay there. It'll relieve the pressure on the village as the people who work there will choose to live around there. I'm sure all of you have got the idea. All of you should know more about economics than me.”

It was as Fujin had said. Everyone in the room had already begun imagining ways to increase the income of their respective clans and families by expanding their businesses to the Guidance Hall.

Combined with the fact that their ninjas would benefit as well and that stopping this proposal would be very difficult, everyone began thinking about the maximum amount of benefits they could gain instead of thinking about ways to stop the proposal.

Fujin sighed internally while thinking, ‘It's all about the benefits… Oh well, I can't complain either as that'd be rather hypocritical of me.’

Homura asked, “Did you choose the location of the Guidance Hall?”

Fujin nodded and opened one of the files to a page that had the map of the village and pointed towards a marking he had made. As soon as he did so, a strange expression appeared on everyone's face. That included Hiruzen as well.

He looked towards Fujin and wondered, ‘Since when did this kid become so selfless? Is he scheming something? Did he do something in the dark that'll benefit him somehow?’

The other clan leaders looked at him as well. Inoichi thought, ‘I was sure that he would put the Guidance Hall close to his new compounds. That way, the prices of his compound would have skyrocketed. It would also increase his influence tremendously as everyone would be reminded that it was he who started the Guidance Hall whenever they saw his compound. It would also allow the civilian ninjas to approach him more easily.

However, why did he choose a location that is almost at the other end of the village? That doesn't make any sense!’

Hiashi wondered, ‘There haven't been any major transactions in the village recently… Has he bought lands close to that area through proxies? That could help him earn a lot.’

Shibi decided, ‘We need to properly inspect the land around the site first. It'll be a good opportunity to get a lot of profits. It wouldn't do good if only one person or force gains from it.’

Every single person in the room had similar thoughts. As someone who proposed it, it was a no-brainer that Fujin should have taken advantage of it. However, there was nothing to see in the open. As a result, they began wondering whether Fujin had played any hands in the dark.

Seeing their expressions, Fujin could easily anticipate their thoughts. He thought, ‘Even though making it close to my house can increase the value of my land, what use is that to me?

If anything, it'll make future expansion more difficult as everyone will rush to buy all available land. It'll also attract a lot of crowds close to my place, allowing perfect cover for others to spy on my compound. It'll be troublesome.

As for earning money, I could have used this opportunity to earn a few hundred million or perhaps even over a billion Ryo. However, I don't really need any money. There are so many nice Gentlemen in this world who are extremely willing to aid me whenever I need help. They can easily donate a few billion Ryo to my just cause and willingly work hard if I need more.

So why should I even bother competing with the clans? That said, since they weren't on board with ‘my noble idea’ until I shared benefits, you guys shouldn't dream about earning money through my idea either.’

Fujin's eyes moved towards Hiruzen, who immediately noticed it. Hiruzen immediately got on guard while thinking, ‘My suspicions were right! That's the look he gives me whenever he wants to ask for something unreasonable. What is he going to ask this time?’

Having dealt with Fujin for years, Hiruzen was very sensitive towards any changes in his mood and expression. Thankfully for him, this time his instincts were wrong. Instead, Fujin had a rather great gift for him.

In the council room, everyone was left thoroughly confused by Fujin's choice. Each one had their own speculations based on their personalities and their impression of Fujin and were calculating how their respective forces could get an advantage.

Seeing everyone in deep thought, Fujin said, “Well, that's all I have to say. Read the proposals and let me know if there are any errors or if something can be improved.”

He pushed the files in front of him towards the other Council Members. A file appeared in front of each Council Member. Everyone opened the files and began going through it.

Needless to say, there weren't any flaws in the proposal. Katsuhiro had modified the proposal seven times! All errors had been removed by him. Fujin had several of his clones inspect the proposal as well to ensure that he hadn't missed anything after he made the changes.

In a few minutes, everyone had roughly read through the proposal and noted the important points. Koharu said, “You have done a great job, Fujin. We will inspect the proposal and put it to vote in a week.”

Everyone subconsciously agreed with her. However, before anyone could do so in words, Fujin asked, “Why wait a week?”

Koharu answered, “This is something that will have a great impact on the village. We can't afford to make any mistakes here. A week will be needed for everyone to go through the proposal and ensure that everything is right. It will also provide an opportunity for newer ideas that could be incorporated into the proposal.”

Fujin replied, “Hmm, there is no reason why everyone can't read through the proposal properly right now. If there are any changes that are recommended, we could conduct another meeting to make the changes. However, we should vote on finalizing this proposal before this meeting ends.”

Fujin's insistence on getting the voting done right then surprised the room again. Seeing his behavior, everyone in the room, including Hiruzen and Shikaku, thought, ‘Looks like he has made arrangements to earn a fortune...’

Senju Hiromasa shook his head while thinking, ‘While it is good to get gains for yourself, you should learn to share the pie with everyone. Otherwise, everyone will oppose you. In the end, you might not get anything.’

Not wanting everyone to gang up on Fujin, Hiruzen said, “Fujin, there is no need to rush through such things. A proposal like this has to be properly analyzed.”

Fujin replied, “While I understand that, the reason I'm pushing for it to be done now is due to the nature of this proposal, or rather the economic and financial aspect of it.

Once the site of the Guidance Hall is made public, the prices of land around that site will skyrocket. Most of the landowners will refuse to sell and will wait for it to inflate due to the demand. It might increase the cost of this proposal significantly. And, it will definitely slow down the economic development that should happen around the Guidance Hall.”

Once again, the entire room was surprised. What had been just on their minds had been spoken by none other than Fujin! Even Hiruzen was lost for words and wondered what exactly Fujin was thinking.

Fujin activated another seal on his bracer and another file appeared in front of him. Everyone curiously looked towards it and wondered what it contained.