Surprisingly, Yuna's home was at the end of the very same street where Ruri lived. This residential area had originally been ruins; he had built the houses himself using the Four-Pillar House Technique.
Yuna pushed the door open and went straight into a room. Ruri, who had initially planned to leave after seeing her home, stopped when he saw Masashige follow her inside.
"Mom, I'm back! I'm sorry for worrying you... I still didn't pass the Ninja Academy exam..." Yuna's voice was choked with tears. She really wanted to get into the academy.
"Cough... cough... It's alright that you're back. As long as you are well, mom is fine." The woman lying on the bed looked haggard and seemed to be ill.
"Aunt Nadeshiko, are you still not feeling better?" Masashige spoke up from the side.
"Masashige is here too, thank you for your concern." Nadeshiko didn't mention her illness. Her daughter was right there; she didn't want to cause worry.
"Aunt Nadeshiko, I passed the exam! I brought my teacher. He should be able to help!" Masashige tugged on Ruri's robe, pulling him before Nadeshiko.
"Auntie is fine..." Nadeshiko coughed a few more times, then looked up slightly and saw the Takikage hat on Ruri's head. Shocked, she said, "My apologies... is that Lord Takikage?!"
Ruri gestured for Nadeshiko, who tried to get up to pay her respects, not to move. At a glance, her illness appeared to be tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis was inherently difficult to cure, especially in an era where medical ninjutsu wasn't yet properly developed. Relying solely on this world's medical skills made a cure unlikely.
After leaving Yuna's house with Masashige, Ruri learned more details. Yuna's father was an ordinary Genin who had died protecting the village during Ichirō Shuzuki's coup. It was after that Nadeshiko contracted tuberculosis.
The reason Yuna was so desperate to enter the Ninja Academy was also to improve their living conditions. The death pension Ruri provided for fallen shinobi was substantial, enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for twenty years, but it had been almost depleted on Nadeshiko's medical treatments. If not for the house being personally assigned by the Takikage, they might have even sold it.
Ruri fell into deep thought. The pension he provided was generous. Even with medical expenses, it shouldn't have been spent so quickly!
"Lord Kakuzu recruited many doctors, and they use a lot of research materials... Also, the Ninja Academy has stockpiled large quantities of medical supplies. This has caused medical costs in the village to rise, and the price of medicines has become very high..." Masashige looked at Ruri earnestly with wide eyes. He had investigated all this secretly and was a little nervous, unsure if his teacher would blame him for meddling.
Ruri was taken aback. This was a point he hadn't considered. The village was mostly shinobi and migrated young adults, with few sick people, resulting in very low demand for doctors and medicine. Consequently, even though he had gathered many doctors to treat Kakuzu, he had overlooked civilian healthcare. Due to the lack of apparent demand, no one had reported these issues.
They say Itachi could think like a Hokage at seven. Masashige is no less impressive! No wonder he becomes Hanzo, who leads Amegakure and maneuvers between three great nations!
It seemed Masashige deliberately took him to see Nadeshiko. Seeing is believing; otherwise, how would Ruri, the Takikage, believe the words of a mere six-year-old, even if he was his disciple?
"I will allocate a special fund for medical subsidies. Also, if Yuna is willing, I can have her apprentice under the village doctors. Lacking shinobi talent doesn't mean she can't succeed elsewhere."
Ruri wasn't some indiscriminate do-gooder, but so soon after the coup, having the wives and daughters of shinobi who sacrificed for the village struggle to make ends was truly disheartening. Plus, this situation was partly his fault for prioritizing Kakuzu's treatment without considering the broader impact. Medical subsidies were warranted.
As for Nadeshiko's illness likely being incurable, Ruri didn't mention it. Life, death, sickness, and old age were harsh realities. All he could do was find Yuna a stable career path to ensure her survival and provide some comfort if her mother's condition worsened.
The Ninja Academy enrollment soon concluded. Both Masashige and Haruto passed the second round. Forty-six children passed in total, sixteen of whom came from civilian families with no shinobi background. Even with Ruri deliberately favoring civilian children, this ratio was still somewhat meager.
However, he believed this would change significantly by the next enrollment. Civilian children, knowing they had a chance to become shinobi, would surely redouble their efforts.
With the Ninja Academy nearing completion, Ruri initiated the steel production and wine-making plans. Steel was a strategic resource, while wine could be sold daily or traded with the great nations as a conventional good.
Ruri directly handed the wine-making methods to the owner of the izakaya. The owner's son, Sakefuyu, was a creative Water-nature Chūnin who might be able to assist. It didn't require much oversight.
But the steel production side encountered difficulties.
Ruri built a wooden hut by the stream. Kōmae Tadashi had not left this hut for five days.
The Kōmae clan could easily forge ordinary steel, even creating it out of thin air using their Kekkei Genkai and chakra. But the steel produced using the techniques from the "Complete Steelmaking Guide" Ruri provided wasn't ordinary.
According to Tadashi's analysis, the resulting steel was the "Thousand-Forged Steel" passed down in their clan's ancient texts. Not only did it have lower carbon content, better texture, and greater hardness, but it also possessed chakra conductivity.
Hearing "chakra conductivity," Ruri grew excited. He knew how rare chakra metal was. If Takigakure could mass-produce it, it would undoubtedly boost the country's overall power! The task reward seemed within reach!
However, Tadashi poured cold water on his enthusiasm.
Both the clan's ancient teachings and the "Complete Steelmaking Guide" clearly stated that producing Thousand-Forged Steel required massive amounts of iron. Tadashi estimated that a thousand jin of iron might only yield enough Thousand-Forged Steel to forge a single sword, not accounting for the possibility of failure.
Takigakure's iron reserves were a drop in the bucket. The Land of Takī wasn't a major mineral producer, making it difficult to supply the necessary quantities.
Left with no choice, Ruri handed over all the available iron to Tadashi, instructing him to practice with other techniques first. If they couldn't produce Thousand-Forged Steel, Hundred-Forged Steel, Ten-Forged Steel, or layered steel could still enhance Takigakure shinobi's combat strength. As for the iron ore problem, Ruri would have to find another solution.
Time passed day by day. The Ninja Academy was finally completed. New students could enroll in a month. Mu also prepared to leave with the envoy corps (construction team). To be honest, Ruri was somewhat reluctant to see them go. Takigakure didn't have many Earth Release shinobi, and construction workers were exceedingly scarce. He still had numerous public welfare facilities waiting to be built...
Despite the temptation of Sukiya's sushi, Mu firmly declined Ruri's attempts to make him stay. He had already written to Ishikawa about the Ninja Academy concept. Iwagakure's Ninja Academy was scheduled for completion around the same time as Takigakure's, and Ishikawa placed Mu in full charge. He needed to return immediately to enroll new students.
However, just before Mu was to leave Takigakure, Ruri received some significant news. After much persuasion, Mu agreed to stay one more day.