CHAPTER 258: CHAPTER 258: THESE SIBLINGS—NOT A DECENT ONE AMONG THEM!

"We can indeed produce food on a large scale right now, so there’s no need to worry about shortages—but there are many other problems we can’t simply ignore... You’re talking about taking land. What about the original landowners? That’s a fundamental conflict that can’t be easily reconciled."

Tsunade knew Kyoichi was a genius, but in many respects, he was still young. So she patiently explained.

Being Hokage wasn’t that simple.

However...

Kyoichi smiled and said, "That’s not a real issue. The land we take can be exchanged for high monetary compensation. Besides that—factories and workshops."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Tsunade looked puzzled.

She understood the compensation part—essentially buying the land. But factories and workshops?

"You see," Kyoichi explained, "the root reason why people farm is because our basic productivity and job structure revolve around agriculture. If we take away someone’s only plot of land, even if others still have their own fields, what happens to the people who’ve lost theirs?"

"So?" Tsunade prompted.

"We need to create employment opportunities for them."

As Kyoichi finished, Tsunade fell into thought. She could follow most of what he was saying, but these concepts...

They were so strange...

Had this kid been thinking about this for a long time?

Tsunade gave Kyoichi a few suspicious glances.

"Besides creating jobs, we should also avoid densely populated areas and instead build in mountainous regions with fewer people. That way, we minimize land usage. After all, we’ve got ninjutsu."

Ninjutsu was seriously convenient.

In his past life, laying railroad tracks through mountains would’ve been a nightmare. But here?

Just use Earth Release!

Not to mention—

They had Wood Release now. These things weren’t a problem at all.

"I see now. You came prepared. You’d already figured this out in advance, and now you’re bringing it up to distract me, huh? You little brat—full of tricks!"

Tsunade raised her hand to slam the table—only to realize it had already been smashed earlier. So she slapped her own thigh instead.

This brat...

Cleverer by the day.

"You can’t say that," Kyoichi said, clearing his throat. "You already approved my earlier proposals, so there’s no reason for me to try and divert your attention now. These are two separate matters. You shouldn’t lump them together."

He did have a slight intention to divert her attention, but it was tiny...

Just a little bit...

"Alright, I’ll submit your proposal. But whether or not it gets approved is up to the daimyō. Of course, given your current relationship with him, I think it’ll be a breeze."

Tsunade couldn’t help feeling a bit irritated at this point.

She was the Hokage, dammit—so why did it feel like Kyoichi was the real power behind the throne?

Whenever something happened, people went straight to Kanda Kyoichi.

And her?

What about the Hokage?

Totally ignored.

Thinking about it, it was honestly pretty frustrating.

Then again...

Considering Kyoichi was her little brother—

She let it go.

Konoha’s workload wasn’t exactly small, but it wasn’t overwhelming either. Tsunade had recently grown more adept at handling administrative tasks and could now finish the pile of paperwork and still have time for a little evening sake.

Once fed and tipsy, she would start talking nonsense again.

Kyoichi was used to it by now.

He glanced at the shattered remains of the table and felt a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Tsunade was a good person. Even when drunk, she was still beautiful—maybe even more charming than usual.

It’s just...

She was hard on tables.

Other than that...

She was great.

"Kyoichi-sama, what was that sound just now?"

Shizune came rushing from the courtyard.

She’d been tending to her herbs when she heard the sudden commotion.

"Oh, nothing. Just the table collapsing. Next time, get one that’s a bit sturdier—no, never mind. Just get a regular one. In this house, tables are basically consumables."

"Uh..."

Shizune choked on her words.

Consumables...

If Tsunade heard that, all hell would break loose!

She glanced into the room.

"Tsunade-hime’s asleep. Can I trouble you to carry her to her room?"

"Got it!"

If she’s asleep, it’s all good.

Shizune let out a breath of relief.

Sleeping Tsunade was much easier to deal with.

---

The Next Morning

Tsunade sat dazed in the living room.

The table...

Was gone again...

"Where’s Kyoichi?"

"Kyoichi-sama? He left early. Did you need something?"

"No... not really..."

Tsunade sighed.

She’d had a few drinks the night before, so her thoughts weren’t the clearest.

That whole train idea...

She couldn’t deny that what Kyoichi said made a lot of sense, but she had the feeling he hadn’t even said half of what he was really thinking. It was worth digging into more.

Too bad.

Kyoichi was already gone. She couldn’t call him back now.

She thought about it some more but ultimately decided not to dwell on it.

The railway proposal only needed to be submitted. Let the daimyō and his people worry about it. She didn’t need to lose sleep over it.

The real headache...

Was the prosthetics proposal.

Even though she hadn’t started discussions yet, Tsunade already foresaw it wouldn’t go smoothly.

Because...

She’d have to face Koharu Utatane and Sarutobi Biwako.

Tsunade would rather argue herself hoarse with the Third Hokage than deal with Biwako. That woman didn’t fight directly—she cut you down with a soft knife.

And unfortunately...

That’s exactly the kind of opponent Tsunade was weakest against.

Sucks!

She left the house with a long face.

She had promised yesterday, and no matter how miserable she felt, she still had to deal with it today.

She could already picture the confrontation.

---

Konoha Hospital

Kyoichi had arrived earlier.

The hospital also had a research division, which Tsunade mostly oversaw. Kyoichi rarely got involved.

Despite his hands-off approach...

Things were thriving here. They were even beginning research into DNA sequences—something even Orochimaru’s lab had only touched upon vaguely.

Emmm.

So really...

Koharu Utatane had her hands in everything, serving as a "consultant." But did she actually have the skills?

Not really...

But in the hospital, she was a perfect fit.

"Kyoichi, what brings you here today?"

Sarutobi Biwako greeted him with a warm smile.

She’d always liked this child—clever, capable, though sometimes too blunt and fast for older folks to keep up with.

"Oh, I had some free time, so I came by to check on things... I heard you’re running DNA sequence tests now. I brought this—please have it analyzed confidentially."

Kyoichi handed over a scroll containing the White Zetsu cells.

They’d be needed later, so he wanted to drop them off in advance.

Biwako glanced at the scroll, curious.

"What is this?"

"A classified item. Please handle it with absolute confidentiality."

"Understood..."

She could sense the gravity of the situation.

If Kyoichi himself said it was classified, then it was important.

After that, Kyoichi quickly slipped away.

Not long after, Tsunade arrived at the hospital. She’d only spent a short time in the Hokage’s office before heading over, wanting to follow up on Kyoichi’s plans.

But then—

"Huh? Tsunade, you’re here too?"

"Wait... too?"

Tsunade’s eyes narrowed. Did that mean—

"Kyoichi was just here. Is something going on?"

"There is. I wanted to discuss something with you..."

Tsunade lowered her voice and quickly laid out Kyoichi’s proposal.

Biwako immediately realized what was going on—and why that brat had come by earlier. She could also guess the "classified" scroll’s contents.

Her lips twitched.

"So you’re in favor of it?"

"As long as it’s safe and voluntary, I think the prosthetics should be allowed in special cases. Obviously, they can’t be abused."

Tsunade replied calmly.

Biwako rubbed her temples.

Prosthetics...

Trust those siblings to come up with something like that.

Useful, sure—but the medical challenges involved weren’t something you could resolve with a single meeting.

"Ahem. That’s the gist of it. I’m busy, so I’ll leave the rest to you."

"Wait—!"

But Tsunade vanished with a Body Flicker before Biwako could stop her.

Now both siblings had ghosted.

Biwako looked at the scroll in her hand and sighed deeply.

Prosthetics, huh...

It wasn’t impossible.

As Tsunade said, if done under safe and voluntary conditions, with prior rejection tests, it could be feasible.

The issue was...

Everything involved added up to more work than the entire current research team could handle.

These siblings... Not a decent one among them! she grumbled inwardly.

***************************

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