Chapter 147 – “The Seeds of Plenty”

Chapter 147 – “The Seeds of Plenty”

The warm light passed through the wide windows of the Hokage Tower. Tsunade stood behind her desk, arms crossed, reading various reports and documents.

Before she could finish a thought, a soft shimmer of light appeared in the middle of the room. A tall figure in White coat stepped out of thin air.

“Hajime,” Tsunade said, looking up. “You’re back earlier than I expected.”

“I’ve brought something,” Hajime said plainly. He stepped forward and placed a small pouch on her desk.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “Seeds?”

“Modified rice seeds,” Hajime explained. “Naturally grown, they’ll be ready for harvest in seven days. But with chakra, they can grow in minutes. The more chakra, the faster they grow.”

Tsunade opened the pouch and looked inside. The seeds didn’t look special, just small, dry, and a pale yellow color. She picked one out and held it in her palm.

“Let me?” she said.

Hajime gave a small nod.

Tsunade focused and began feeding a steady stream of chakra into the seed. At first, nothing happened. But after a few seconds, the seed began to pulse slightly. A tiny sprout emerged, and then, like a plant caught in time-lapse, it stretched upward, leaves unfurling.

Within thirty seconds, she was holding a fully grown stalk of rice.

Tsunade blinked. “This is... ridiculous.”

“It’s real,” Hajime said. “And it’s efficient. Rice grown like this is more flavorful and nutritious than normal rice. If we let it grow naturally for seven days, the flavor improves even more. That’s because it slowly absorbs natural chakra from the land.”

Tsunade stared at the rice stalk in her hand, then gently placed it on the desk.

“If we had enough of these…” she began.

“We do,” Hajime interrupted. “The Kara researchers and I made enough seed stock to begin planting immediately. And we’re still producing more.”

She nodded slowly, already thinking. She turned around and pulled out a large, folded map from a drawer. Unrolling it across the desk, she showed a detailed layout of the Land of Fire, with marked territories, mountains, forests, and villages.

“We control most of this region,” she said. “But the areas closest to Konoha are either heavily forested or mountainous. We need open, flat land to begin planting on a large scale.”

Hajime leaned in, studying the map. Then he pointed to an area just northeast of the village.

“This ridge,” he said. “Too many trees, and a small mountain range. But it’s close to Konoha, and the soil is untouched. Good quality.”

Tsunade frowned. “It would take months to clear all of that.”

“Not if we use ninja,” Hajime replied. “Send a few squads to remove trees and roots. I’ll handle the mountains myself.”

“You’ll level a mountain?” she asked, half-joking.

“Yes,” Hajime said simply.

Tsunade laughed once, shaking her head. “Alright. I’ll call in Shikaku to help organize this.”

She clapped her hands once. Moments later, an ANBU appeared beside her, kneeling.

“Bring Shikaku here. Tell him it’s urgent,” she ordered.

The ANBU vanished.

Within minutes, the door opened and Shikaku Nara stepped in, rubbing the back of his neck as if he had just woken up from a nap.

“You called?” he asked, then noticed Hajime. “Didn’t expect you to be here.”

“We’re beginning a food expansion project,” Tsunade said. “Hajime and the Kara researchers developed rice that can grow in a week, faster with chakra.”

Shikaku’s eyes narrowed. “In a week?”

Tsunade pointed to the full-grown rice stalk on her desk.

“Grown in thirty seconds with my chakra,” she said.

Shikaku stepped closer, inspecting the rice. He touched the grain and gave a small whistle. “This... this could change everything.”

He looked to Hajime. “How much land are we talking?”

Hajime pointed at the same ridge on the map. “We’ll clear this area first. It’s close, and with effort, we can make it ready within a week.”

Shikaku nodded. “We’ll need squads of earth, and Wind Release, I’ll arrange it.”

He turned to leave, but Hajime stopped him.

“There’s more,” Hajime said.

Shikaku raised an eyebrow. “More?”

Hajime opened a small scroll and unsealed a paper with schematics. “We’ve also developed hens, modified to mature in ten to twelve days. After that, they lay twenty to thirty eggs per week.”

Shikaku stared. “That’s not even possible.”

“It is,” Hajime replied. “They’re still multiplying in the lab. We’ll have enough for mass farming within the month.”

Shikaku slowly smiled. “So crops and meat… won’t be a problem anymore.”

Hajime nodded.

Tsunade leaned forward, looking between them both. “That also means prices will drop.”

Shikaku added, “And more food on the market means fewer imports, less spending. If this continues, even a food crisis during war won’t hurt us.”

Tsunade let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “It’s almost too good to believe.”

“It’s not luck,” Hajime said. “Just proper planning.”

Shikaku scratched his head. “You really turned those Kara scientists into a useful team, huh?” as after they were captured, they were just staying in that lab, doing miscellaneous things, except for amado, as he was also studying things for konoha, but can't give it a lot of time, as he was focusing on cultivating his clone daughter.

“They had talent,” Hajime said. “They just needed better orders.”

Tsunade moved back to her desk and began writing on a scroll. “I’ll authorize the clearing project immediately. Shikaku, you’ll lead the operation.”

“Understood,” Shikaku said. “I’ll get the first teams moving within the hour.”

As he turned to leave again, he gave one last glance at the rice stalk. “With food handled, we can finally focus on what matters, defense and diplomacy.”

He walked out of the room.

Tsunade looked at Hajime and said softly, “You’ve changed the future of this village in a matter of weeks.”

Hajime said nothing, only smiled lightly.