309. Economic Plan

Early in the morning, the clan leaders of Konoha once again dragged their tired bodies to the Hokage Building.

Recently, they had lost count of how many high-level meetings they had attended.


Although they weren’t particularly eager to attend, these meetings were crucial to the village’s reconstruction.

If they didn’t participate, they risked losing significant influence.

On the other hand, they also had many matters to handle within their own clans, leaving some of the older clan leaders feeling overwhelmed.

In contrast, Nara Shikaku, the leader of the Nara clan, stood out among the crowd.

Among the sea of elderly leaders, only he and Uchiha Fugaku could be considered young.

Watching the energetic Shikaku, the leader of the Yamanaka clan couldn’t help but sigh, "That old fox, Shikaku’s father, is probably at home playing shogi right now... What a lucky guy... Come to think of it, maybe I should pass my position to Inoichi soon."

This sentiment wasn’t unique to the Yamanaka leader.

Many of the older clan leaders were beginning to consider passing their positions to the younger generation.

It seemed that before long, the faces attending these high-level meetings would be much younger.

As the clan leaders and some elite jōnin took their seats, Danzō, who had been sitting next to Minato with his eyes closed, finally opened them.

This signaled the official start of the meeting.

To save time, Minato had the latest version of the village reconstruction blueprint hung on the wall.

"Given the severe damage to the village, I plan to re-plan its layout. Please take a look at this blueprint for the reconstruction. If you have any questions, feel free to raise them."

When everyone saw the blueprint, they all had the same reaction: it was huge!

But this "huge" wasn’t just about the surface-level expansion.

In the brief moment of silence, many began to study the blueprint, trying to decipher the deeper implications of Danzō’s plan to expand Konoha.

Among them, Shikaku, who had participated in the planning, clearly understood more than the others.

Whether it was attracting more people, vigorously developing industry, or reforming the shinobi system, all these measures had one ultimate goal: to turn Konoha into an unprecedented superpower in the shinobi world.

As for the significance of creating such a superpower...

Shikaku glanced at Danzō sitting next to Minato and didn’t dare to think further.

At the same time, Danzō straightened up slightly and distributed a reconstruction plan to everyone.

The plan detailed the village’s reconstruction process and included a preliminary compensation scheme for villagers whose land would be affected.

"This plan, as well as the blueprint, were designed by Shikaku based on my instructions," Danzō explained.

"The goal is to clearly define the functions of each area in Konoha, making the village’s layout more organized and improving the living conditions for our villagers. At the same time, it will allow Konoha to accommodate more people. If anyone has questions, feel free to raise them now."

Danzō crossed his hands and calmly scanned the room.

The clan leaders present were all seasoned veterans.

Seeing Danzō present both the blueprint and the plan, and convene such a large meeting, they immediately understood his intentions.

This expansion plan was clearly unstoppable.

Of course, there was no need to stop it.

The clan leaders noticed that Danzō hadn’t randomly assigned their clan territories.

He had genuinely taken everyone’s interests into account, and some clan territories had even been expanded.

Given this, why would they oppose it?

As for the civilian representatives, they also had no objections to the plan.

The conditions offered to the villagers were quite favorable, and the compensation was more than adequate.

So, why not?

Even if they didn’t fully understand why the expansion was necessary or why it had to be done this way, Danzō’s current towering reputation was enough to earn their unconditional trust.

Thus, this was almost a win-win solution.

The only ones who might feel a headache were the financial department.

While the plan was good, it required substantial financial support.

But that was a problem for the Hokage and the elders to worry about. The rest could simply vote in favor.

Unexpectedly, after the expansion plan was approved, Danzō immediately presented a new plan—the Economic Integration Plan!

This was essentially an upgraded version of the Konoha Commerce Guild plan Danzō had mentioned earlier.

In short, it involved the Commerce Department taking the lead to unite all the clans into a guild.

By integrating their strengths and leveraging the railway system, Konoha’s high-quality products would be exported to other nations.

For example, the Nara clan’s pharmaceutical industry, the Akimichi clan’s food industry, and various industrial products would be included.

At the same time, Konoha shinobi would be hired in large numbers to eliminate all security risks along the railway, attracting more investment and creating a virtuous cycle!

This would not only solve the employment problem for many shinobi but also revitalize the Land of Fire’s commercial environment, accelerating the village’s recovery and development!

This was Danzō’s plan.

If successfully implemented, the Konoha Commerce Guild would become a crucial engine, providing a continuous stream of economic power for the village’s growth!

To be honest, the moment they saw this plan, many of the older clan leaders were immediately tempted.

Those who could lead entire clans were no fools; they were shrewd!

They could already sense the immense business opportunities in the blueprint Danzō had laid out.

However, they also had deep reservations.

After all, many clans had already spent significant funds on rebuilding their territories.

If they invested heavily in the guild now, their financial situation would become strained.

Yet, they couldn’t bear to let go of such a rare opportunity.

Just as these old leaders were hesitating, Nara Shikaku, the leader of the Nara clan, stood up.

"The Nara clan is willing to invest in the Konoha Commerce Guild and fully support Elder Danzō’s plan!"

Hearing Shikaku’s firm declaration, the leaders of the Akimichi and Yamanaka clans exchanged a glance before also standing up.

"We also support Elder Danzō’s economic plan!"

Seeing this, Uchiha Fugaku couldn’t sit still either. He quickly stood up and declared, "The Uchiha clan is also in!"

After a moment of hesitation, the remaining clan leaders stood up one by one.

In the end, regardless of the size of their clans, everyone expressed their support for Danzō!