Kirigakure has always been known for taking assassination jobs, and the village is constantly covered in thick, shady fog.
To put it simply, they've always followed a closed-off approach to stop other countries from invading.
With the high number of rogue ninjas and elite fighters coming from this place, most people stay away if they can.
Besides rich clients hiring Kirigakure ninjas for assassinations, the village doesn't really have much contact with others.
There are only so many people in the world. It's not wartime anymore, so there aren't that many battles to fight or people to kill.
So life in Kirigakure isn't exactly cheerful these days.
Before getting involved in their finances, Hatake Satoru didn't think much of it.
At most, he just thought their equipment was bad—but then again, these guys spend their days fighting. Even with good gear, it probably wouldn't last long.
But now that he's looking more closely, the place really is kind of poor. It's not desperate enough to need aid, but it's not doing great either.
Hatake Satoru looked at the islands on the map and the whole Land of Water, rubbing his chin as he thought.
He still needed to turn this place into a base of operations, but with this level of income and self-sufficiency, it's going to be hard. It's just not enough.
And if the only way is through the Dark Assassination Route 14, the money you earn still gets cut down by the Land of Water's Daimyo.
The Land of Water is surrounded by the sea on all sides, and inside, there are deep mountains.
The whole country is humid and damp, with rivers, lakes, and even hot springs—it basically has everything.
There are also many small islands nearby. Because they're isolated and don't have much contact with the outside world, they've kept their original local culture.
To put it simply, if you want this place to do well during peaceful times, you need to develop tourism.
Honestly, if it really picks up, it might even become pretty popular.
Hatake Satoru briefly explained the idea to Shisui.
"A place known for assassinations… turning into a tourist spot."
Shisui repeated it while looking at Hatake Satoru's face.
"Hard to argue with that description… but things are better this year. It's not really a 'sanctuary' for killings anymore~"
"And those students who graduated this year? They're all still alive."
Hatake Satoru sat at the table, leaning on his cheek as he looked at Shisui. Compared to the usual death rates in Kirigakure, this year was already pretty low.
"That's not really the issue. Everyone's already got a set impression of Kirigakure now, right?"
"When people think of this place, they think of heavy fog, assassins, rogue ninjas, blood and violence."
"If you really want to make tourism work here, you'll have to change how outsiders see us."
Shisui scratched his head. As crazy as it sounded, he was seriously thinking about whether it could work.
"Alright! First, we need to get some people to try it out."
"If they make it out alive, that should be enough, right?"
Hatake Satoru clapped one hand into the other and looked at Shisui with an "aha!" expression.
That look gave off a bad feeling.
Shisui had a sudden uneasy thought, but still felt like this guy wouldn't go *that* far.
Over the next month, Hozuki Mangetsu said that since it wasn't wartime, essential tasks would be handled by the Anbu.
Most people went to work on building things near the hot springs.
All the expenses and wages were paid out of the Mizukage's own pocket.
When the chief advisor heard about it, he almost exploded.
"The budget's already almost in the red! We've barely made any money lately, and now you want to build hot springs?!"
"No one's going to come here!"
Who in their right mind would visit the 'Village of the Bloody Mist' just to soak in hot springs? You'd have to be looking to die—*twice*.
Even though Hozuki Mangetsu had taken over and quickly ended the harsh rule of the Fourth Mizukage…
…and reopened the village to the outside world with much looser travel rules…
…you still wouldn't say it's safe once you're inside.
So far, not many people have come and gone. Most just rush in to get something done and rush out like they're running away.
This is what you'd call a leftover problem from the past. And there are lots of those.
A village's reputation isn't something you fix in a few months.
"We'll deal with the deficit when it happens!"
Hozuki Mangetsu had already gotten used to the old man's complaints after a few months. Going against him had become second nature by now.
Most of Hatake Satoru's plans and arrangements really didn't sit well with the old-school crowd.
Hozuki Mangetsu, though still young, understood the risks of financial trouble.
Still, since Satoru-sensei's plans rarely caused problems, Mangetsu fully supported his decisions.
The old advisor could only tap his cane on the ground in frustration as he watched everyone around him goofing off.
Because the school was on break, not just ninja, but students and all kinds of random people were getting involved in the construction.
So the building work near Onsen Spring was actually moving along pretty fast.
Hatake Satoru took the chance to snap a bunch of photos around Kirigakure Village and printed out stacks of flyers.
When Shisui got back to his dorm, he picked one up out of curiosity.
Just a quick look showed that both the photos and layout looked pretty artistic.
This guy really was perfect in every way—aside from his annoying personality.
"Humid and mild climate, far from dryness and noise. Surrounded by the sea, fish at your leisure, enjoy a slower pace of life."
"A holy place for assassins—feel the joy of surviving each morning, cleanse your heart and start fresh…"
"Why would you write about assassins?! No one's going to come if they read that!"
The moment Shisui saw those lines, his face twisted into a frown.
Who would write something like this? He could already picture Hatake Satoru reading the ad copy with an innocent face and monotone voice.
He'd pay good money just to find someone who hadn't seen this flyer yet.
"I figured there'd be some thrill-seekers with too much free time, so I put it in—!"
"Besides, there's nothing wrong with it. Even a dark past can be used in a good way!"
Hatake Satoru nodded like it was totally normal, then paused as if he just remembered something.
"Oh right, since you've seen it already, I've got another plan that'll help fix Kirigakure Village's bad reputation fast."
He leaned in and whispered something in Shisui's ear, and Shisui raised his eyebrows as he listened.
"Isn't that basically forcing people…?"
A sly smile flashed across Hatake Satoru's face as he shrugged cheerfully.
"So what? As long as they come and leave alive, it solves the problem in the most efficient way."
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