Chapter 24: A Day of Land Reclamation and the Beauty of Terraced Fields

Hearing that they could earn money to support their families, the children became energized and one after another expressed their desire to work hard at clearing the land.

A few boys, impatient by nature, shouldered hoes taller than themselves and swung them down.

Clang!

The hoes struck stones, sending out sparks.

The force of the rebound erupted, knocking the boys over, and they rolled down the slope.

The children laughed carefree and heartily.

However, the older Kazamatsuri Harume and Yano Shoichi saw the problem and could not help but frown.

Shisui Uchiha even said directly: "Yamanaka Chujiu-senpai, the children are too young; this is not suitable for clearing land..."

Yamanaka Chujiu laughed: "That is why I said Ninjutsu can create miracles."

Itachi Uchiha said: "But there is no Ninjutsu for clearing land in the Ninja World."

Yamanaka Chujiu said: "If there is no ready-made Ninjutsu, we will develop our own."

"Ever since the First Hokage founded Konohagakure, Konoha Ninja alone have developed thousands of Ninjutsu; we can do it too."

"I know the children's strength cannot compare to adults, and most of the children cannot even extract chakra, let alone use Ninjutsu."

"But this is all in my plan, so do not worry."

"Itachi, Shisui, you two are responsible for teaching the young children to extract chakra, and I will teach the children who possess chakra how to use Ninjutsu."

"If we work hard together, we will definitely be able to create a miracle on this land today!"

After speaking, Yamanaka Chujiu formed hand seals, condensing Earth Style chakra in his hands.

"Earth Style: Doton: Doryuheki - Terrace Modification!"

Chakra was injected into the ground through his palms pressed against the surface; the soil softened and rose, squeezing out gravel of various sizes, finally forming a half-meter-high earthen wall.

It was exactly the shape of a terrace's soil base.

Yamanaka Chujiu's Earth Style could only be considered entry-level, far from the standard of a professional ninja.

The cross-section of the earthen wall formed by the Ninjutsu was accurate, but the length was only thirty meters.

Although the scale of the Earth Style did not meet the standard, the development of the Ninjutsu was quite mature, capable of sifting out gravel that hindered growth and piling the soil into shape.

One only needed to pile the ejected gravel into a water-retaining dam, and a section of the terrace would be complete.

The effect of Yamanaka Chujiu's unskilled Earth Style Ninjutsu was worth the workload of thirty villagers for an entire day.

Of course, wanting to transform the entire hillside into terraces using Ninjutsu within a single day still put a lot of pressure on Yamanaka Chujiu.

After the earthen terrace bases stood up, Yamanaka Chujiu directed the youngest group of children to work, teaching them to pick out the gravel scattered on the ground and stack it on the sides of the earthen bases with the larger ends facing inward.

The stones sifted out by the Ninjutsu were not large; they were all pebbles washed down from upstream, which even three or four-year-old children could easily lift.

The stacking technique was also very simple, and the children quickly mastered it.

They even felt like they were playing a game, letting out joyful laughter from time to time.

Yamanaka Chujiu gathered the older children aged five and up, letting Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha teach them how to focus their minds and the techniques for extracting chakra.

As for the children over six, they had already learned to extract chakra; among them, Yano Shoichi and others were already first-year students at the Ninja Academy and followed Yamanaka Chujiu to learn Ninjutsu.

The older children knew that the opportunity to learn Ninjutsu was rare, so they studied very seriously.

Yamanaka Chujiu taught them hand-in-hand twice, and the children were able to remember the hand seals of the Ninjutsu and the techniques for circulating chakra.

The impatient ones among the older children already tried to use Earth Style: Doton: Doryuheki, but control over chakra was not so easy to master.

Every time the earthen base was about to set, a disturbance in chakra would occur, and the seemingly stable base would collapse with a rumble.

Once there was a first attempt, the children could not hold back, and one after another, they began to try.

Either the earthen wall was not strong enough, or the slope was not shaped accurately; all ended in failure.

The children were not disappointed; they gritted their teeth, endured the backlash of the failed Ninjutsu, watched their companions' attempts closely, and learned from the experience.

After several consecutive failures, Yamanaka Chujiu would step out and demonstrate a successful Ninjutsu once.

After each success, he would encourage the children: "Do not fear failure; as long as you are determined to do it, as long as we do not give up, we will definitely be able to succeed."

"You must remember: every attempt either brings success or brings experience! Our efforts are not a failure!"

Under Chujiu's encouragement, the children's morale remained high, and they actively tried and worked hard.

They tried slowing down the speed of their hand seals, exploring the control techniques for Earth Style chakra.

The children practiced the Earth Style Ninjutsu over and over, from early morning until noon; no one complained of fatigue, and no one gave up.

Finally, a child injected chakra evenly into the ground, slowly shaping the form of a step; although it was only five meters long, it was a genuine success.

The success greatly boosted the children's morale, and cheers rang out across the riverside.

"We succeeded, keep it up!"

Success was the best stimulant; including Yamanaka Chujiu, Itachi Uchiha, and Shisui Uchiha, everyone was full of drive.

More and more children succeeded, and soon the earthen bases shaped by the children were longer than Yamanaka Chujiu's.

Yamanaka Chujiu then performed a second type of Earth Style Ninjutsu: "Earth Style: Gravel Binding Technique!"

Earth Style chakra spread over the water-retaining dam, the rounded pebbles deformed and fused together, forming a perfectly seamless stone wall.

The water-retaining dam was completely sealed and became even sturdier.

With everyone's joint efforts, the first level of terraces was completely finished after two hours.

Although the shape was not regular enough and the water-retaining dam was not aesthetically pleasing, it was a true success.

The children cheered and jumped for joy:

"Chujiu-gege, we did it!"

"We learned Ninjutsu!"

Chujiu laughed loudly and shouted: "Everyone did a fantastic job today!"

"But this is just the beginning; it is not yet time to cheer for victory."

"Next, we are going to build a water-lifting irrigation system; no matter what we plant, nothing will survive without water."

The Konoha River is right at the foot of the hillside, and to lead the river water up to the terraced fields, a water-lifting canal needs to be constructed.

This did not require the involvement of Ninjutsu; led by the older children who understood carpentry, the children worked together to craft wooden troughs, wedged them into several levels of terraces using crushed stone and mud, and dug a reservoir at the highest point to store water.

Very quickly, the water-lifting canal was set up.

When Yamanaka Chujiu performed Water Style: Water Colliding Wave to drive the river water to flow upstream and rapidly fill the reservoir, the clear water flowed from the gap reserved in the reservoir to the first level of the terraced fields.

Soon, the clear river water moistened the newly built terraced fields, and the water surface reflected the sunlight, sparkling with an exceptionally beautiful light.

The children were each covered in mud like little monkeys, but the smiles on their faces were even more brilliant than the sunlight; a warm current surged in everyone's heart, and the exhaustion from their hard work was cast to the back of their minds.