They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 89 The Revolution That Is About to Begin
Orochimaru smiled upon hearing this; it was exactly what he had been waiting for.

"Naturally, we need the full assistance of the Land of Fire..."

His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty.

"First, we need to increase the number of research ninjas."

"These people don't need to have strong combat abilities, but they must possess a vast amount of knowledge and be able to skillfully use chakra for precise operations."

"Secondly, Konoha is, after all, a ninja village, and lacks the industrial base for large-scale production."

We need the Land of Fire's assistance to establish factories to produce and process the precision components for ninjutsu launchers and their accompanying 'chakra capacitors.'

"Finally, and most importantly, all of this requires substantial financial support to purchase raw materials, construct facilities, and... pay researchers' salaries."

Orochimaru spoke eloquently and logically, explaining that Konoha Village had almost no decent factories, let alone a complete industrial system.

If he wanted to put his ideas into practice and continue the research, he would inevitably have to come to this point.

After all, who would want to invest resources in a project with no future?
As for becoming independent like Orochimaru in the original story and establishing a small ninja village, that would be too small a fuss.

"Heh~ Kid, you've got quite the appetite~"

Upon hearing this, the daimyo of the Land of Fire took a deep breath and let out a cold snort, trying to suppress the surging emotions in his heart.

He tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, making a dull sound.

"Do you know what you're talking about?"

"Just for the first point alone, a significant increase in the number of ninjas, I cannot easily agree to it!"

Daiming's voice suddenly rose a few decibels, and his eyes sharpened.

Does this kid really think he's some kind of clay idol, someone who can give him whatever he wants?

"Of course I know."

Orochimaru nodded, his face showing no sign of panic.

"Are you worried that if the number of ninjas becomes too large, exceeding the capacity of the mission system, it will threaten the rule of the Land of Fire and even trigger unnecessary wars, right?"

He pinpointed the deepest concern of the daimyo.

The major powers in this world and the ninja villages are merely cooperating as a community of shared interests, not as being of one mind and purpose.

Great powers need ninjas as a powerful military deterrent, but they are also constantly wary of this force getting out of control and backfiring on them.

Ninjas do not engage in production; their main source of income is completing various commissioned tasks.

If the number of missions is insufficient to support the large ninja community, then in order to survive, these individuals who possess extraordinary powers can easily veer towards turmoil and conflict.

If the number of ninjas is small, the daimyo of various countries can also exert a balance by controlling the distribution of mission rewards and sowing discord between ninja villages.

However, once the numbers surge, this fragile balance will be broken instantly.

"Since you know that, how dare you say it?"

Daming frowned, his face full of questions.

Is this kid genuinely clueless or just pretending?
"Ha ha……"

"Your Excellency, in my view, all these contradictions, in the final analysis, are nothing more than the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production."

"What if I told you that the wondrous power of chakra isn't just for war and destruction..."

"It can also be widely applied in the production field, greatly improving the productivity of the entire society."

As he spoke, Orochimaru leisurely took out a few seemingly ordinary seeds from his pocket and casually scattered them on the tatami mat in front of him.

Immediately afterwards, he took out a specially made wristband that was slightly different from the "ninjutsu launcher" on the daimyo's arm and put it on his own wrist.

With a thought, he activated the wrist guard.

hum-

A gentle wave of chakra spread out.

A truly astonishing scene unfolded!

The seeds that had just fallen to the ground took root, sprouted, grew, and grew taller at a speed visible to the naked eye...

In just a few breaths, it turned into a small clump of heavy, golden, mature rice!
The rice ears are full and exude an enticing fragrance.

"Um?!"

The Third Hokage was shocked upon seeing this and looked at Orochimaru with an incredulous expression.

As far as he knew, the only technique that could promote plant growth was Wood Release, but that should be the First Hokage's unique ninjutsu, right?

Although he still had doubts, he did not ask them immediately, after all, he could not possibly undermine his disciple.

"This...this...this..."

The daimyo of the Land of Fire suddenly stood up from his seat, his breathing becoming extremely rapid.

He stared intently at the rice plants that had sprung up out of nowhere, his eyes wide and his face filled with disbelief.

As the ruler of a country, he knew all too well what this meant!

food!

A continuous, even inexhaustible supply of food!

With sufficient food, we can feed a larger population!
Population is the most fundamental basis for a country's strength!

The Land of Fire will become even stronger because of this!
"Ha~"

"The application of chakra goes far beyond this."

Seeing that the daimyo had been completely intimidated, Orochimaru couldn't help but smile slightly.

With his current skills, he can only perform single-attribute chakra transformations. The fact that he can do this is naturally due to the Wood Release chakra extracted directly from Hashirama's cells.

His purpose in doing this was, of course, to fraudulently obtain research funding...

So they struck while the iron was hot and continued to draw up a grand blueprint.

"Earth Release ninjutsu can be used to level land, dig canals, build roads and bridges, and can even be used directly for mining and extraction. Its efficiency is far superior to that of ordinary machinery."

"Wind Release ninjutsu can not only be applied to flying vehicles to provide a convenient mode of transportation, but it can also be directly converted into kinetic energy, and even used as a clean and efficient new energy source..."

"Your Excellency, think about it carefully. Is there any power in this world more versatile and convenient than chakra?"

"Gu..."

Upon hearing Orochimaru's series of descriptions, the daimyo of the Land of Fire involuntarily swallowed hard.

He felt his heart pounding wildly.

To be honest, he had considered applying the ninja's magical powers to people's livelihoods and production.

However, firstly, these ordinary people simply do not know how to guide and utilize chakra, and they lack the proper methods.

Secondly, ninjas are already few in number and difficult to train, and due to years of war, the mortality rate is high, making them simply not valuable or suitable for large-scale production research. But now, Orochimaru has shown him a completely new possibility!
A possibility powerful enough to overturn the entire world order!
"But... there is still a very crucial issue."

After a brief moment of excitement, the daimyo, being a seasoned ruler of a nation, quickly forced himself to calm down.

"If the Land of Fire were to actually implement such a reform, and spread the power that originally belonged to the ninjas on a large scale, even if it was only applied to the production field, it would inevitably arouse the vigilance and panic of other countries."

"If they choose to follow suit, or try to stop us... this could very well trigger a massive war that will engulf the entire ninja world!"

"At that time, the battle will not just be a skirmish between a few ninja villages, but a full-scale war between several major powers! The consequences would be unimaginable!"

This is not unfounded worry.

Any technological innovation that could alter the balance of power would come with enormous risks.

"Therefore, my suggestion is not to rush things, but to first designate a specific area as a pilot area."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up at this opportune moment.

He was filled with mixed emotions; he was also astonished when he heard Orochimaru's vision.

But he had to admit that if such a future really came, they ninjas might not have to fight anymore and would no longer be used as tools of war.

This is also why he was willing to assist Orochimaru...

"We can first invest some resources to conduct trials and promotion on a small scale. We can observe the specific effects, assess the potential risks, and then gradually promote the corresponding technology nationwide after accumulating enough experience."

"In this way, we can verify the feasibility of this method and also give us enough buffer time and room to deal with it."

"A pilot program?"

Upon hearing this, Daming's tense expression visibly relaxed.

"Hmm, that's something we can try!"

The safest approach is to first invest on a small scale and observe the actual results. If it is as wonderful as Orochimaru described, then consider a full-scale rollout.

Risks are manageable, and returns are promising.

"Hahaha, good! Good! Good!"

Daming was in a great mood and said "good" three times in a row.

"We can discuss the specific details later. Now, let's eat! Let's eat!"

He warmly invited Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru to take their seats.

In this seemingly relaxed atmosphere, an important meeting concerning the future of the Land of Fire and even the entire ninja world reached a preliminary consensus.

During the meal, the three of them tacitly avoided mentioning the heavy topics from before, and instead chatted about various local customs and interesting anecdotes.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Orochimaru then changed the subject and offered some suggestions regarding the economy and politics of the Land of Fire.

"Your Excellency, I believe that the Land of Fire could try implementing our own exclusive currency."

"Taking advantage of the relatively abundant resources of the Land of Fire, when conducting large-scale commodity transactions with countries that are short of resources, such as the Land of Wind, as well as small countries like the Land of Iron and the Land of Waves, they are required to use the Land of Fire's currency for settlement."

"In this way, we can gradually weaken the economic autonomy of other countries and enhance our economic influence."

Orochimaru explained slowly and methodically.

Simply put, the essence of money is credit.

When other countries hold large amounts of currency issued by the Land of Fire, they will subconsciously protect the Land of Fire's international status and economic stability in order to prevent their wealth from depreciating.

This is strikingly similar to the "hegemonic" strategy of a certain superpower in his previous life.

"Oh?"

The daimyo of the Land of Fire was immediately enlightened, feeling as if a sudden awakening had opened his mind.

His gaze toward Orochimaru grew increasingly fervent.

This kid is not only an unparalleled genius in ninjutsu research, but also has such profound insights into governance strategies!
"Orochimaru-kun, are you... ever married?"

Daming rubbed his hands together and suddenly asked with a smile.

"My daughters, though perhaps a little older than you, are all fairly good-looking and well-behaved..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was listening nearby, almost spat out his drink.

Orochimaru's lips twitched, revealing a rather speechless expression, before he shook his head and refused without hesitation.

He had no interest in such a political marriage.

After a satisfying meal, the three returned to their main topic and began discussing the specific details of their future collaboration.

It was finally decided that the Land of Fire would invest more resources in the near future to assist Konoha in establishing relevant research institutes and supporting production plants in the vicinity of the village, and provide sufficient supplies and necessary technical personnel support.

As for Orochimaru's initial proposal to significantly increase the number of "research ninjas," it has been temporarily shelved and will be discussed in more depth after the pilot program achieves initial results.

After everything settled down, Orochimaru made a small request.

"Your Excellency, may I have the privilege of visiting the schools and some official research facilities within the Land of Fire?"

He wanted to see for himself the world's average level of education and technological development.

After a moment's thought, Daming readily agreed.

This is not a secret.

Over the next few days, accompanied by officials from the Daimyo's residence, Orochimaru visited several of the most representative universities and research institutions in the capital of the Land of Fire.

These places reminded him of the universities and academies of sciences in his previous life in the early 19th century.

While the disciplines have been initially established, the overall research level varies considerably.

As he had predicted, the world was experiencing an extraordinary pace of development in certain disciplines due to the existence of ninjas and the supernatural power of chakra.

For example, in fields related to the human body and life, such as anatomy, biology, and immunology, the theoretical depth and practical level of research on various bloodline limits, due to the frequent injuries and treatments suffered by ninjas, are no less than those of his predecessor in the early 20th century.

In the field of physics, systematic research and large-scale application of electricity have also begun, as evidenced by the electric lights and trams that can be seen on the streets.

He even saw in a collection of papers from a Royal Institution that scholars had conducted experiments and calculations to preliminarily demonstrate the important fact that electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light.

However, in the field of chemistry, especially chemical engineering, development has lagged behind.

They do not appear to have mastered the technology of large-scale refining and synthesis of various polymer compounds from basic chemical raw materials such as petroleum.

Simply put, this is a world where the technology tree has been developed in a rather "abnormal" way.

After gaining a general understanding of the average level of science in this world, Orochimaru had a clear idea of ​​what was going on.

He knew which key theories and technologies he should "inadvertently" "discover" or "propose" next, so as to maximize the world's technological development without appearing too abrupt, thus paving the way for his many subsequent plans.

Of course, besides wanting to obtain more resources from the Land of Fire, he also had a very important personal purpose in pushing all of this so actively—

That is, a suitable opportunity is needed to obtain a legitimate chance to research the Nine-Tails' chakra from Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the First Hokage...

(End of this chapter)