"Is this the place?" Kakashi looked at the desolate plot of land before him, then his gaze swept over the few scattered houses nearby. "Where's this so-called 'new house'?"
Tenzo wore an expression of helplessness that seemed far too mature for his age. He responded, "I think I understand why Habara called us here. New house? The new house probably hasn't even started construction. Or rather, without us, there is no new house… Kakashi-senpai, you know Earth Release, right? There aren't many ninja Habara knows who can use Earth Release."
Actually, it wasn't that Habara knew few Earth Release users; it was that he knew few ninja, period.
Hearing Tenzo's words, Kakashi's expression also became interesting. In the past, the people who ordered him around were either the Fourth Hokage or the Third Hokage. Now, even his "junior" could boss him around?
"So, we've been roped in as laborers?" Kakashi, as expected of a genius, instantly grasped his role. "Being a laborer is one thing, but where is Habara?"
"Who knows? After returning to Konoha for a few days of rest, Habara seems to have become busy again," Tenzo said.
Actually, Tenzo was feeling a bit lost during this period. After breaking free from Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura's control, his ninja life was on the right track. However, compared to the early days of struggling for survival, he now lacked a clear life goal. It was fine when he was busy with the war, but now that he was off the battlefield and had free time, he felt uneasy and had become somewhat of a slacker.
Similarly, Kakashi was also quite idle at the moment.
"Even if he's building a house, why choose such a remote location? I know Habara is a reclusive person, but does he need to flaunt it so much?" Kakashi continued, since Habara still hadn't appeared and he had nothing else to do but chat with Tenzo.
"I heard that land prices here are exceptionally cheap compared to within the village," Tenzo replied.
Kakashi: "…"
Okay, he kind of understood Habara now. Because Kakashi had previously spent all his savings to literally crush the Fourth Kazekage to death, his own finances weren't exactly comfortable. As the saying goes, a single coin can stump a hero, even a Jonin.
The two chatted idly for another fifteen minutes before Habara finally arrived.
"You two are already here? Your enthusiasm is truly high. You truly deserve to be my… friends," Habara said with a smile.
Kakashi and Tenzo were instantly speechless. It sounded like they were eager to be laborers.
But since they were already here, Kakashi couldn't just leave. So he said, "Stop with the nonsense, Habara. Let's get to work."
Although his enthusiasm was low, for a Jonin, if he focused his energy on construction, his work efficiency would be incredibly high. No matter what kind of house Habara wanted to build, they could surely finish it in a few hours. That's what Kakashi was thinking at this point.
Habara nodded and said, "Then, Kakashi-senpai, please use Earth Release to compact the foundation first. 20m x 20m, it's not a large area…"
Since it was in the outskirts of Konoha, Habara could build a villa. Was 400 square meters considered large? So-so, I guess.
"After raising and compacting the foundation, please go to the east side of the village to quarry stone. Then, transport the smooth, thick stone slabs here and lay them on the foundation."
Kakashi: "I… you…"
Damn it, he really had become a laborer.
Habara simply gestured for him to begin, and Kakashi had no choice but to start forming hand seals. Although Kakashi was reluctant about this unpaid labor, he knew he had to help Habara. It wasn't for any other reason, but Kakashi knew about Habara's background. Therefore, when Habara truly settled down in Konoha, he felt it was a good thing.
It was a good thing to settle down in Konoha, but Habara was quite particular about this home he was settling into.
After assigning Kakashi his tasks, Habara went to Tenzo's side and handed him a bag of seeds and a blueprint. "Tenzo, have you heard of Ionian construction methods?"
Tenzo shook his head. "Never heard of it."
"Never heard of it? It's simple. It's a way of building where you plant trees and, while they're growing, weave them together like you're knitting a sweater…" Habara pointed at the blueprint and explained it to Tenzo.
"Folk architecture?" Although Tenzo hadn't heard of that particular construction method, when he saw Habara's blueprint, he understood how this house should be built.
"I think I understand. What are these seeds for?"
"They're iron birch seeds. It's best to use sturdy wood for building a home."
Habara, the client who wasn't paying a dime, had quite a lot of demands. His method of building this house was incredibly troublesome. Honestly, it would have been easier to just have Tenzo use his "Three Bedrooms and Two Living Rooms Jutsu."
The foundation work was simple, but quarrying the stone was troublesome. After leaving Tenzo to study the blueprint, Habara went with Kakashi to quarry stone.
The two worked together seamlessly. Kakashi excavated the stones and smoothed them, then Habara used his "magnetic levitation cart" to transport the stones back and lay them down. After working for most of the day, they finally completed this task, and Kakashi was exhausted… 1m x 1m x 0.5m stones, he'd dug up four hundred of them. Wasn't this more tiring than the Shinobi World War?
Kakashi, the laborer, was on the verge of evolving into a Creeper and exploding on the spot.
After laying the foundation, Tenzo began planting seeds around the perimeter. As he planted, he used his Wood Release to stimulate their growth, constantly adjusting and weaving them, displaying the air of a "master builder" and the skill of a housewife adept at handicrafts.
Then, he spent a full three days completing the construction of Habara's two-story, pointed-roof, all-wood mansion.
The exterior was purely natural, while the interior was "finely decorated." Whether it was the floor or the walls, Tenzo had finished them into smooth wooden boards. This Wood Release master was truly skilled; he could make one half of a tree remain alive while the other half became lifeless wooden planks.
So when Habara walked barefoot on the wooden floor of his new house, he couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for Tenzo.
"Tenzo, have you ever considered a career change? The ninja profession really isn't suited for you."
Tenzo: "…Please spare me. I think being a ninja is easier."
"Is that so? That's a real shame." Habara wasn't joking. He genuinely felt it was a shame. With Tenzo's skills, becoming a real estate tycoon wasn't an unattainable dream.
In any case, after Habara's new home was completed, it instantly became a landmark. There was no helping it; the design was too unique.
Next, he just needed to connect water, electricity, and gas, add some furniture, and then he could move in comfortably… This house was all-natural and pollution-free. Aside from being a bit of a drain on his teammates, it had no flaws.
...
The construction project was a minor matter. Kushina had already submitted Habara's proposal and the application for the establishment of a new organization to the Third Hokage. After Habara's new home was completed, the Third Hokage decided to summon Kushina Uzumaki. As the initiator of some of the proposals, Habara accompanied Kushina to the Hokage's office building.
Additionally, Kushina Uzumaki brought along Naruto Uzumaki. There was no helping it; a widowed mother had to bring her baby everywhere.
"Kushina, you're here? And Habara, sit," the Third Hokage was still reading the documents when Kushina and Habara arrived at the Hokage's office.
"Sandaime-sama, what do you think of our proposals?" Kushina asked impatiently as soon as she sat down in a chair.
"This proposal to establish a new honor system within the village is very good. It can concretely and subtly increase the ninja's sense of honor, competitive spirit, and recognition of the village… Habara, what were your thoughts?" The Third Hokage decided to start with the simpler matter.
"Konohagakure, as a professional military organization, I simply don't understand why it doesn't have a mature medal system. Konoha has been established for fifty years, yet the ninja's sense of honor is still primarily focused on their respective clans. 'The number one ninja clan' is the greatest source of pride for some ninja, but this is clearly unreasonable. Establishing a new honor medal system can effectively shift the ninja's sense of honor from their clans to the village. Because it's not their family but the village that grants them glory, and it's not ancient history but their contributions to Konoha that determine their honor. Isn't that more reasonable?"
Habara explained his thought process. He was brief and vague, but in essence, this medal system was designed to weaken the influence and presence of the ninja clans and increase Konoha's influence. Therefore, the Hokage had no reason to dislike this approach.
Although the ninja of this world were called ninja, they were essentially soldiers. Logically, ninja should operate in the shadows, their names unknown. But in reality, truly powerful ninja were rather high-profile, such as the Sannin, the Yellow Flash, and even Kakashi of the Sharingan.
And since Konoha was such a military group, it was rather strange that it didn't have a medal system. If the village couldn't highlight a ninja's sense of honor, then they would naturally seek to highlight it elsewhere.
Because of the existence of ninja clans, Konoha's influence on each ninja was inadvertently reduced.
Hearing Habara's explanation, the Third Hokage nodded. "Different medals represent different honors, and different honors can bring graded rewards and benefits… This is an excellent idea. We can try to implement this."
The benefits were obvious, so the medal system could be tried out immediately… The Shinobi World War was coming to an end, making this a perfect opportunity.
Habara was naturally pleased to hear the Hokage say this, but he immediately added, "Hokage-sama, the names of the medals can be re-discussed. The content in the proposal is just an example."
"There's no need to change them. These names are fine… The names aren't the key. The key is the official recognition of this system by Konoha." It had to be said that although the Third Hokage hadn't thought about a medal system before, the old fox had seen through the essence of the thing.
The names of the medals just needed to be passable. The key was that they had different levels, and the higher the level, the rarer they were, and the rarer they were, the more people would want them.
However, Habara's expression became a bit awkward. There were a total of ten medals across seven levels in the proposal… He'd come up with them in five minutes.
And to butter up the Third Hokage and make it easier for the proposal to pass, Habara had designed only one First-Class medal, and the name of the medal was very simple and direct: it was called the "Hokage Honor Medal."
If it was a First-Class medal awarded during the Third Hokage's reign, it would be the "Third Hokage Honor Medal."
Wait, was it because of this medal name that the Third Hokage had directly approved it? Because if it were re-discussed, maybe the First-Class medal wouldn't have this name, or this medal wouldn't be able to enjoy the status of being the sole First-Class medal…
Just as expected of you, Sandaime.
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