This ninja in Naruto is unscientific

Chapter 429 Staff Shortage

Konoha New District, Office of the Vice Minister of Finance in the Finance Department building.

Nishikawa Tetsu slumped listlessly in the chair, his two fingers pressing hard on his throbbing temples.

The usual mountain of budget reports and financial approval documents on his desk were gone. In their place were four urgent letters bearing the seals of the four kingdoms of Thunder, Wind, Earth, and Water, as well as an urgent letter of appeal for help personally signed by Yahiko of the Akatsuki Construction Group.

"Vice Minister, are you alright?"

Yoshida Kazushima walked in carrying a cup of hot tea. Seeing Nishikawa Toru's lifeless expression, he cautiously asked, "Has the budget for the embassies in each village exceeded the limit again? Or has the special fund from the Daimyo Prefecture not been allocated yet?"

"If it's just a matter of money, then it's not a problem at all."

Nishikawa Tetsu let out a long sigh, picked up his teacup and took a big gulp; the bitter tea barely managed to sober him up a bit.

"We in Konoha have plenty of money right now. The funds from the Daimyo's residence arrived yesterday, and the down payments from the four great ninja villages have all been properly deposited into our treasury."

Nishikawa Tetsu pushed the four urging letters in front of Ichijima.

"What's giving me a headache right now is people!"

"A person?" Ichishima paused for a moment, then picked up the letter and began to read it.

"These guys were all so stingy and slow when signing the contract, but now that it's signed and the money's paid, they're all in a rush!"

Nishikawa Tetsu pointed at the letter and complained irritably:

"That old man Onoki is sending three urgent letters a day to the Ninja Hawks, asking when the exploration team for the hover train will depart. The Fourth Raikage is even more outrageous, saying they've already leveled the hill where the power station is to be built, just waiting for our engineers to lay the foundation, and even the Mizukage is urging us to build the port!"

As for the Wind Shadow? He hasn't read the Wind Shadow's letter yet, but he guesses it's also meant to kill him!

Nishikawa Tetsu slammed his hand on the table.

"With four villages, plus the national power grid and the capital city renovation, several mega-projects are starting simultaneously. Even if I cleaved all of Konoha's Earth Release and Water Release ninjas into eight pieces, plus the thousands of people from the Akatsuki Construction Group, I still couldn't fill these four bottomless pits!"

Kazushima looked at Yahiko's letter of appeal, which listed the types of jobs that were in short supply: skilled earthmoving excavators, workers at heights, heavy material handlers, and even supervisors who could read simple blueprints!

Xiaojian Construction Group has been recruiting since the beginning of this year, but the number of people needed is still quite large.

Nishikawa Tetsu hadn't expected it to be so big. Who knew that there would be so few craftsmen in these four villages, and that most of them were just following in their fathers' footsteps, with the craftsmen's sons also being craftsmen, and no new people entering the industry.

Unfortunately, the sons of those craftsmen didn't learn the skills well, but they did pick up the tempers quite well.

"My family has been craftsmen for generations. What do you know, you ninja who only knows how to fight and kill? Do I need you to teach me?" This is the sentiment of most craftsmen.

As the Akatsuki members and Konoha engineering team members traveled to various villages, they complained bitterly. If it weren't for the need to save face in other villages, the two sides would probably have already started fighting.

"This...this is indeed a big problem." Ichishima also realized the seriousness of the issue. "Vice-Minister, what should we do? Should we go to the Hokage and apply for the forced transfer of unemployed ninjas from the village?"

"Forced transfer?"

Nishikawa Tetsu's gaze towards Ichijima changed. Was this kid sent by their rival to cause trouble?

"That would cause public outrage."

He knew very well that although many chunin and genin in Konoha were currently idle due to the lack of war, the ninja's core mindset of taking on missions and going into battle had not completely changed.

Asking them to give up their kudzu and go to construction sites to carry bricks and mix mud is something many people find psychologically unacceptable, and may even feel it's an insult.

"but……"

A glint of light flashed in Nishikawa Tetsu's eyes.

"Since they don't want to do manual labor, let's use things they like to get them to the construction site."

"Something you like?" Ichijima was completely baffled.

"money."

Nishikawa Tetsu snapped his fingers, and the dejection on his face vanished instantly.

"Ichishima, draft a job advertisement immediately. Not only should it be posted on all the bulletin boards in Konoha, but it should also be distributed throughout the Land of Fire, and even to neighboring small countries, through our intelligence network and merchant caravans!"

"A job posting? Are we hiring civilians?"

"We need to recruit civilians, but we need to recruit ninjas even more!"

Nishikawa Tetsu stood up and paced back and forth in his office, his thoughts becoming increasingly clear.

"Make this recruitment announcement bigger! Don't call us 'construction workers,' that's too low-class. We're recruiting Konoha's multinational infrastructure special envoys and Akatsuki's multinational project engineers!"

"Clearly state the compensation in the notice: Anyone who knows Earth Release will receive three times the salary of a regular C-rank mission. Those who know Water Release and Wind Release will receive free room and board, plus a high-temperature allowance. If you don't know any ninjutsu but are incredibly strong and can lift a 200-pound steel bar with one hand, you'll be paid the maximum salary for a B-rank mission!"

"We need to recruit from both the capital of the Land of Fire and Konoha."

"Triple pay?! Top salary for a B-rank mission?!"

Ichishima gasped. This treatment was too outrageous! If this were released, the doors of Konoha and the capital would probably be bursting with people.

"Vice Minister, aren't these personnel costs too high? Our budget..."

"The landscape opens up, an island."

Nishikawa Tetsu walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the bustling Konoha New District.

"This is what they call 'a generous reward will surely bring forth brave men.' As long as we can catch up with the project's progress, what is a little bit of manpower cost? Once the railway is open and the energy storage station is built, we'll be able to make back this money with interest very quickly."

"Moreover, this is also a subversion of the ideology of Konoha and even the ninja world."

Nishikawa Tetsu turned his head and looked at Ichijima.

"When those low-level ninjas, used to living on the edge, discover that they can earn more money setting up an earthwork wall or carrying a couple of logs on a construction site than they did working themselves to the bone on missions..."

"Do you think they would still be willing to live a life where they could lose their lives at any moment?"

Ichijima was stunned; he seemed to understand Nishikawa Tetsu's deeper meaning.

This is not just about recruiting workers; it's about using money and a stable life to subtly erode the ninjas' fighting spirit and transform these dangerous militants into a force for peacebuilding!

The stereotype that ninjas are most criticized for not being productive will likely become a thing of the past in the near future.

"I understand, Vice Minister! I'll get on it right away!" Ichishima bowed excitedly and turned to run out.

Looking at Ichishima's energetic back, Nishikawa Tetsu smiled with satisfaction.

"Alright, next I need to report to the Third Hokage about the recruitment, and ask him to talk to the other village Kage so they can cooperate with the Akatsuki and Konoha engineers."

He didn't believe that the village's higher-ups weren't fanning the flames behind the scenes, given the pressure and the prevailing trend that led them to oppose Konoha.