In the expansive valley in the Land of Birds, John and Jirōbō stood amidst the towering trees. The valley itself was flanked by hills on either side, just waiting to be transformed.
Today was the day they would begin their monumental task.
"This is the spot," John declared after surveying the stretch of land before them.
Jirōbō clenched his fists; he avidly wanted to contest John's choice.
To him, it wasn't the most optimal location. But he swallowed his words and recalled the lessons he'd learned about servitude.
Keeping his feelings quiet, he moved forward and knelt down. Then he placed his palms on the ground.
"Earth style: vast mobile core jutsu!"
A rumble emanated from the earth beneath him, and slowly, the ground began responding to his command. Tendrils of chakra snaked outwards and shaped the earth.
The trees around had their roots slightly loosened, as if bewildered by the shift. Woodland creatures scurried and were startled by the overwhelming sensations that reverberated through the valley—squirrels darted up tree trunks, rabbits bolted into the underbrush, and birds took to the sky in flocks.
They had all sensed an approaching quake.
Jirōbō closed his eyes in concentration. He needed to carefully edit the land by raising and lowering it to create an even, balanced landscape.
If he failed, Arthur would surely have his head.
It's then the ground shifted and swept through the valley in waves, like the tides of an ocean. One area was finished; many more required his expertise.
Hours flew by as he lost himself in the task. When the sun finally set, Jirōbō felt the drain of his chakra take its toll, and with the final push, he fell back onto his haunches.
"This is… harder than I thought," he gasped, wiping sweat from his brow. "If I had the curse mark, I could have continued…"
His voice trailed off at the mention of Orochimaru, making him pause in surprise.
John, who had been silently observing, looked at him with skepticism.
"I'm sorry, my lord!" Jirōbō said after standing up right.
"Why apologize for past mistakes, Jirōbō?"
Even though John's tone was gentle, Jirōbō felt a shame wash over him. He had slipped out of line by invoking the name of his former lord.
In response, John tossed him a chakra pill from his pouch. "Here. This should help."
Jirōbō caught the pill but didn't dare look John in the eyes. He swallowed it in obedience, and immediately its revitalizing energy coursed through him.
"Thank you, my lord!"
"If you're truly sorry and truly grateful," John urged, "then get back to work…"
Once again, Jirōbō resumed his position on the ground.
Things would be much faster with more earth-style users. But so long as Arthur had one shinobi to shape the entire valley into a safe and functional layout, he didn't complain.
As Jirōbō worked, he had John guide him in shaping the canals that would connect to the nearby rivers. This would craft a reliable water supply that would be crucial for the villages they were setting in motion.
Not only that, John helped him pinpoint the right areas for adjusting the earth under to create boundaries. This wouldn't just ensure proper borders for security but also prevent some potential threats.
Without John, Jirōbō wouldn't have a single clue as to what he was doing.
More hours quickly passed as they laboured.
Jirōbō worked tirelessly by resurrecting a lot of the land around them. Piles of dirt and stone were transformed as greenery was coaxed from the depths of the ground.
Things looked nice and flattened, but now the shinobi was tired and desperately needed sleep.
"Rest then," John instructed before disappearing.
Jirōbō was left alone with no bed and no warm fire to fight against the cold—such was the burden of most rogue shinobi.
The moon's light illuminated the transformed terrain as Jirōbō fell asleep on the grass. He could barely rest due to some of the animals, who were frightened by the disturbance, gradually returning.
"I need a better job after this," he grumbled to himself.
The next morning, he awoke to the chirping of birds the country was known for. John was standing just above him in silence.
"My lord, I was just—"
"Are you ready?" John said, cutting him off.
"Yes, my lord!"
Having no need to eat breakfast, he rose to tackle the next phase of their project—creating multiple avenues, roads, and trails to stretch to the very borders of the valley.
"This part will need your full attention," John reiterated as they surveyed the wide expanse.
Truth be told, Jirōbō felt like everything he did required his full attention. What made this part crucial was that the construction companies would need clear routes to transport materials.
Because without any clear roads, this project would be stalled before it even began.
"Earth style: vast mobile core jutsu!"
Again, the earth responded by shifting and reshaping beneath him. The pathways began to emerge and snaked through the valley like veins.
Through John's careful planning, they laid out roads connecting various points of interest that John desired. The valley took on a new appearance as the routes straggled out and branched off.
And after three tireless days, their labour began to bear fruit.
Everything looked lickety-split. Each lane was engineered carefully and dictated by the expected traffic it would one day have.
Without John's instructions on boundaries and landmarks, things wouldn't have looked so perfect.
Eventually, the last road connected to a main thoroughfare—a larger central route that would serve as the primary artery for traffic once the construction began. The terrain was now an integrated mesh of varied densities that was designed to accommodate several facilities to come.
On the fourth day, the two were spotted atop a hill.
Jirōbō was slouched on the floor and had his head up from all the work. John didn't regard him once and only surveyed the vast network—canals flowed alongside the newly forged roads, solid earth flashed under the sun, and boundaries marked the territories they would continue to cultivate.
"Not bad for a few days' work," Jirōbō panted. "How much would this have cost lord Arthur anyway?"
"Three, maybe seven hundred thousand ryō."
Jirōbō chuckled in response upon feeling that he had contributed greatly. In truth, John had used up about thirty dozen chakra pills on Jirōbō—the same amount it would have cost him had he instead spent money.
Those chakra pills might have grown on trees, but they were not easy to produce.
Once their tasks were complete, the two returned to Sun Stream Plaza to report to Arthur.
Elsewhere in the Land of Money.
It was night, and Hoshikaze patiently waited for the crates filled with money to arrive. He spent several hours before he finally sensed an incoming carriage.
Men flocked to the back before settling down six massive crates, all of which were heavily locked.
Something was off.
Based on the number of crates, each one of them would surely have approximately one billion ryō each. Arthur asked for more than sixty percent of Diana's assets. That meant she was at least one billion off.
'Transformation jutsu…'
After altering himself to take on the appearance of the figure Diana was accustomed to, he had another clear mission: meet Diana and collect the remaining funds she had promised yet failed to deliver.
As he approached her office, he was immediately ushered inside. Clearly their behaviour toward him had changed since the last time he visited.
Diana was spotted sitting behind her usual desk. She looked as if she was ready to clock out for the night.
"I've been expecting you," she greeted, "my esteemed benefactor…"
"Where are the remaining funds?" Hoshikaze began, ignoring the pleasantries. "It was supposed to be seven…"
Diana was used to this attitude by now. She smiled at him and answered that she didn't feel comfortable delivering all that money in one go.
Being the richest woman on the east side also meant that she had many enemies.
'Smart woman,' Hoshikaze thought.
She gestured toward a large chest at the corner of the room and said, "Inside's only one billion; the remaining funds are tied up in various deals and investments worldwide."
"Remaining funds?" Hoshikaze repeated, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes," she obliged. "It's your choice whether to wait for them after taking what you have now."
While seven trillion ryō was already a great amount to create a simple country, more would allow him to further expand things.
Arthur had made a wise choice in investing in Diana.
With the transaction completed, Hoshikaze left the office and teleported once again, this time to the Rain Country.
He had with him seven billion ryō, all of which were stored in crates marked with the Flying raijin technique.
Here in the Rain Country is where he would acquire a reliable electrical power source for his village.
As he made his way through the streets, he noted the companies that specialized in electricity production. The budget he had was only a fraction of his initial intentions, but he knew how to negotiate.
He entered one of those electrical companies, and at the front desk, he said to the receptionist, "I wish to speak to someone in charge concerning a private contract."
After a few minutes, he was ushered into a conference room, where a group of executives regarded him with interest.
"Welcome, sir," one of them said. "What can we do for you?"
"I'd like to hire your services for a specialized electrical project," he began. "I work for a king who needs to provide power to a developing village. This is a private endeavor, and he wishes to remain discreet."
The executives exchanged glances, and after a moment of hesitation, the lead member leaned forward to ask, "How large is this project, and what's your 'kings' budget?"
"Fifty million…"
At that answer, one of them instinctively stood up and said, "That's one impressive budget!"
Others thought this was a joke until he began to express his desire for a reliable power source with consistent delivery throughout the year.
Just his tone was enough to pierce their cautious expressions.
"I'd also like to hire your men to oversee any infrastructural development necessary for this plan."
Surprise became evident in the room as the lead asked, "May we know how soon you wish to commence?"
"As soon as possible," he replied, ready to sign contracts.
The negotiations were surprisingly smooth since he came prepared with layouts of the land and various blueprints. Many were shocked at his knowledge of electrical wiring and how to properly go about creating power grids.
Their discussions delved into specifics—timetables, materials, and already-fashioned permits.
"Right then," their lead declared, pushing a contract across the table. "If you're ready to sign, we can get started."
"I have your promises that discretion is part of the package?" Hoshikaze asked after scribbling his name.
"Of course, sir," the lead confirmed. A close-lipped smile reflected on each of their faces. Hoshikaze was far from stupid—he picked a startup company that, while they had the skills and equipment to work, only cared about making money. "We assure you of total confidentiality."
With the contracts finalized, Hoshikaze left the company. He had spent thirty million ryō before taxes with an additional one million to keep their mouths shut.
It was more than the current market price, almost double, but it was a significant stake that would ensure no mistakes were made when creating a suitable, powerful supply for his first hidden village.
Now, he turned his focus to a company that could create landfill zones, recycling centers, and waste-to-energy plants.
So as not to arouse suspicion in one territory, he moved to other neighbouring countries like the Land of Wind.
With each stop, the same bureaucratic deals were made with various officials bargaining contracts and placing the groundwork necessary for things to unfold—all while ensuring that none would trace any of it back to him or Arthur.
He even went as far as to employ the Evil Illusion Flattery technique on the workers and office staff involved. This was mainly done on the non-corruptible types that wanted more information on who Hoshikaze and this "king" were.
The last thing he wanted was for others to know the true nature of his operations.
After only a few days of transferring funds to each company, a lot of workers were already shipped out to the Land of Birds to begin construction. In total, it had cost him forty-six billion dollars.
By the time each different worker arrived, they were astonished by the smooth surface of the valley.
"Looks like we don't have to worry about the pre-construction phase," an electrician commented. "Who's the client anyways?"
"Some sort of wealthy tycoon," his co-worker answered. "Gotta hand it to him for owning this empty valley; the construction company that laid the groundwork must have been in the business for ages."
Once Arthur heard the news of all this, he faithfully knew that his identity was secured.