Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 351 People and People

Disaster relief has always been a very difficult technical task.

Where to source resources, how to deploy personnel, and how to accommodate rescued people – these are all problems. Small, ordinary countries lack geographical depth; when disaster strikes, the entire territory is affected, making it impossible to gather supplies or have enough manpower. Large, poorly managed countries may have supplies, but not necessarily the ability to allocate them, leaving disaster victims to fend for themselves. Countries with sufficient manpower, resources, systems, and a sense of responsibility are extremely rare; therefore, disaster relief exists only within the traditions of a few nations.

The Silk Country, this tiny nation sandwiched between powerful countries, clearly lacked the ability to save itself; its people had never even heard of the word "disaster relief." If the disaster wasn't too severe, people could manage to get through it by supporting each other, but once the damage was prolonged and widespread, survival of the fittest became their rule.

In order to survive, people are willing to abandon morality and etiquette.

"Dongfeng's regional manager has already gone to talk to the king about emergency supplies," said the man stationed in Yuanba Village. "The king has always been resistant to Dongfeng's caravans. He has his reasons. We don't need the market of a small country, so we never thought about expanding. But this time the situation is urgent, and we can't back down. Regardless of whether the king agrees or not, Dongfeng will deploy its transport capacity to the maximum extent possible."

Harada believed he had figured out Dongfeng's style of doing things. In this gentleman who shared his knowledge so generously, he saw Dongfeng's kindness and selflessness towards ordinary people. However, the fact that there were no Dongfeng branches within the border, only passing caravans, gave him the illusion that Dongfeng was relatively weak.

Surprisingly, this group simply felt they didn't need the market, so they didn't intend to fight the king to the death. Natural disasters should be something caravans should avoid at all costs, but seeing the people struggling to survive everywhere, these people actually stood up, even if it meant disobeying orders!

Are there really such selfless businessmen in this world?

"Brother Harada, I've heard that you worked with a lord in his prime. Do you think he would allow the east wind to enter the entire territory at this time?"

The question from the master threw Harada back twenty years in the past. He was a strategist whose mind was only on the country and its people, with no personal interests in mind. The lord, on the other hand, believed that money could buy everything, and not just the country's wealth, but his own and his family's wealth. He was powerless to stop the lord's willful actions that threatened the foundation of the country, and was eventually ostracized and sent to this remote village, ostensibly to retire, but in reality, to be exiled.

Transportation is a very profitable business, and using the army for transportation is even more efficient. The Silk Country's trading companies are almost monopolistic. Outsiders like Dongfeng can at most trade in rare and unusual items with them, and then take a few less lucrative, remote routes. Therefore, Harada is very pessimistic about this negotiation, because the king will absolutely not give up his interests for the sake of the "country".

The gentleman understood his meaning from his silence and instead smiled to comfort him, "It doesn't matter, whether he agrees or not is not important. What's important is that we must ensure the survival of the people."

"Look, our team is here now!"

A clamor of voices came from outside the window—the sound of the Dongfeng caravan arriving. Despite the freezing weather, everyone ran out of the window with joy to welcome these people who had brought new life to this land.

"Uncle Tiehuo! Did you bring rye bread this time?"

"This is an urgent mission, and we've only brought essential supplies, but... we do have a loaf of bread."

"Thank you, Uncle Tiehuo!"

"You silly child, I'm so sorry, Master Tiehuo. These are homemade pancakes. Consider them as a replacement for the bread you just had. Take them and eat them on the way."

"No need, we're just passing through, we still have to continue our journey..."

"You still need to eat a hot meal!"

"I appreciate the thought, but there's really no need... What's that noise at the village entrance? Has the fighting started? Let's go take a look."

The convoy arrived in a hurry, then abandoned the vehicles and left. A few villagers with nothing to do spontaneously gathered around the convoy to help watch the goods, while most others were just watching the spectacle, strolling leisurely towards the village entrance.

Knowing that the entire convoy was made up of ninjas, Harada finally felt relieved. The refugees surrounding the village weren't yet a significant force, and with the east wind blowing, he wasn't worried about them causing trouble. However… saving the resources of an entire nation was probably beyond the capabilities of a single team, wasn't it? What exactly did they mean by "maximizing transport capacity"?

"With Lord Tiehuo taking charge, no one will bother us anymore. Let's enjoy the festival in peace. I still need to go back and work on this year's planting plan, so I won't bother you any longer." The gentleman, who had absolute confidence in Dongfeng, smiled calmly and waved goodbye.

Dongfeng appeared calm and collected, but in reality, he was quite nervous. However, the reason for his nervousness was not the Silk Country, but the Thunder Country, which was separated from it by a country.

"Ha, I'm truly impressed. So the Land of Lightning loves war because its internal affairs are in complete chaos, so it has to rely on external forces to stabilize the country?" Izuna looked through the intelligence reports one by one, becoming more and more irritable and angry with each report, until finally he burst out laughing.

The Land of Lightning is too complex, and the connections between regions are not close. Therefore, the capital of the Land of Lightning and the Hidden Cloud Village are almost adjacent, and the daimyo's method of ruling here is simply relying on the strength of his army. A country ruled by force naturally reveres force, and this force must be constantly improving; once there are signs of decline, it is the daimyo's end.

In this situation, expecting any warmth between the regions of the Land of Lightning? That's just wishful thinking. They're already giving the Daimyo face by not fighting over supplies. Even so, they shamelessly seized some of Dongfeng's supplies and forcibly requisitioned them at half price, claiming it was for disaster relief.

But did they provide relief? No! Dongfeng is actually on its way to the disaster area.

Fortunately, their usual practice was to openly display a small amount of goods, making it appear like a legitimate merchant caravan, while the real bulk of supplies were transported using the Flying Thunder God Formation. However, having their goods confiscated for no reason was bound to anger. This was the first time Dongfeng had been targeted by the state since its inception, and Dongfeng's manager was Fugaku, a descendant of the Uchiha clan. Coupled with old grudges, Izuna was so angry he almost laughed, already considering whether to kill a few ungrateful bastards to establish his authority.

"Our name sounds impressive, but we come from a small maritime nation with no national power to back us up." Fugaku, who came to report the situation, was well aware of Dongfeng's current predicament. They had threatened the interests of too many people, and there had never been a shortage of those lurking in the shadows. If they swallowed their anger after this setback, the troubles would only increase.

Izuna took several deep breaths to suppress his murderous intent and said, "He's ruthless, so I'll be ruthless too. Aside from areas with outposts, ignore the rest! And if we encounter any more detentions, offer ten times the price, don't be stupid enough to quote the usual price!"

"Um...shouldn't we discuss this again?"

"We tried to discuss it, but the final result is still this! We can't even deal with these bullies who are going too far!"