Naruto-Start by eating the golden fruit

Regarding internal conflicts, Youya's attitude is that there's no such thing as perfection, and there's nothing you can do about it. Just let people fight it out—it's not a big deal. Which force doesn't have internal conflicts, after all?

Well, this is just psychological comfort. Other ninja villages also deal with various civil strife, and in Yunyin Village, they've even escalated to open fighting. After several months of conflict, there's still no clear winner.

Internal fighting is no small matter, but Youya is confident he can stabilize the situation—at least enough to prevent it from worsening.

As for using the strategy he told Uzumaki Mito to deal with the Sarutobi clan, that's only a last resort. Using a tactic like a bank run could severely damage the Sarutobi clan, crushing their vitality and destroying their reputation. However, it would also harm the savings bank.

Trust is intangible yet invaluable. Once it's consumed, it's gone for good.

So unless there's no other option, Youya can't afford to use that method. For now, he'll let the merchants and the Sarutobi clan tear at each other like dogs.

This marks the first time Youya shows his hand.

The Sarutobi clan never expected that merchants, once their allies, would be weaponized against them by Youya.

How many merchants are there in Konoha Village? Strictly speaking, almost every household in the inner city of Konoha could be considered merchants. This is because every house is allotted a one-meter strip of open space at the front, and most ordinary civilians use this space for small businesses.

Ordinary people are both simple and cunning, and Youya accounted for this in his planning.

The design change from the original Konoha dome-like multi-story structures to square multi-story buildings was intentional, paving the way for future demolition, reconstruction, and community development.

In the future, the population of Konoha's inner city will grow. While the current housing stock is adequate for one generation, it will fall short in the next, when the population is likely to quadruple. This doesn't even account for people from the outer city who will attempt to move into the inner city.

At that point, housing will be in even greater demand, leaving three options:

1. Restrict population growth by discouraging large families—an unacceptable solution in Youya's eyes, as he believes there are already too few people.

2. Upgrade buildings to high-rises, maximizing vertical space.

3. Expand the inner city, but this would erode the contrast and sense of pride tied to inner-city residency.

For now, only the second option is viable: demolish old buildings and construct tall ones. Instead of expanding outward, Youya plans to reclaim land from the major ninja clans and use it for development.

For now, however, Youya focuses on his immediate plans. First, he orchestrates a small business shock against the Sarutobi clan.

The Sarutobi clan also has its own merchants, but they lack the breadth and diversity of goods that Youya's allies possess.

To cripple the Sarutobi merchants, Youya summoned the other businessmen and laid down the law:

"From today on, anyone who dares to cooperate with the Sarutobi clan will be expelled from my circle. You won't lose your place in Konoha, but the land I've allocated to you will be taken back, and your leases won't be renewed. Don't like it? Then go talk to Senju Tobirama, who owns the rights to all land in Konoha."

With shares in steel plants, textile factories, and other ventures, Youya controls vital sectors of the economy. He even wields influence over the press, using newspapers to plant rumors about financial instability in Sarutobi-owned businesses. Slowly but surely, panic spreads, and Sarutobi merchants are abandoned.

Businesspeople, driven by profit, quickly sever ties with the Sarutobi clan. Once loyal to the clan for benefits, they now dismiss any connection.

The Sarutobi leader, enraged, summoned his merchants to devise a counterstrategy, only to realize they were stuck. Without access to resources like food, coal, or ninja tools, the clan's operations ground to a halt.

Even basic needs became a challenge. While individual Sarutobi could still shop for food like ordinary citizens, this was humiliating and unsustainable in the long run.

The growing crisis forced the Sarutobi clan to escalate the matter to Senju Tobirama. Whether Tobirama intervened on their behalf, Youya didn't care. He simply pressed forward.

For a final touch, Youya gave Konoha's public services in Sarutobi territory a few days off. Garbage piled up, and the clan had no means to dispose of it. After half a month of such tactics, the Sarutobi clan finally cracked.

One day, as Youya enjoyed barbecue with his team, Uchiha Kagami arrived and whispered, "The Sarutobi clan has admitted defeat."

Youya raised an eyebrow, smirked, and finished his food before returning to the Hokage's office.

There, he met a middle-aged ninja from the Sarutobi clan.

"Where's Sarutobi Hiruzen?" Youya asked. "Shouldn't he come himself?"

The ninja lowered his head, silent.

"Alright, I see where the Sarutobi clan stands. Go back and let them know—starting tomorrow, everything will return to normal."

Youya had expected the Sarutobi clan to hold out for six months. He hadn't anticipated their pride would lead them to fold so quickly.

The next day, Youya announced in the newspapers that safety issues in the Sarutobi clan's territory had been resolved, and services would resume.

That evening, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally delivered a map of the clan's land to Youya.

"You hate me, don't you?" Youya remarked, taking the map.

"I do," Hiruzen replied. "But I follow my teacher's orders. This is half the land. If you want the rest, you'll have to take it by force."

Youya smiled and put away the map. "Alright. Let's stop here for now."

With a smirk, Youya accepted the Sarutobi's surrender—well aware this was only the beginning.

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