Chapter 350 Era

The New Rain Country Station is quite prosperous. Trains from the Fire Country, Grass Country, Frost Country and Soup Country converge here, bringing specialties from different countries, and taking away New Rain Country's unique products such as mushrooms and cigarettes. Of course, travelers from all over the world will also marvel at the rapid changes in New Rain Country over the past few decades.

An elderly man with gray hair just got off the train and was shocked by the hustle and bustle in front of him. He was wearing a Konoha standard vest. The difference from before was that the net pocket on the chest of the vest was removed and replaced by the logo of the former Hidden Mist Village.

"Twelve years ago, I followed Lord Konishi Kakuei to escort supplies to the New Rain Country. At that time, this place was still a large forest, and there was no human habitation around. Who would have thought that in just ten years, such a drastic change would have taken place."

The old man was filled with emotion. He was seriously injured in the Nine-Tails Rebellion ten years ago and had no choice but to retire from his position as a front-line ninja. He received a considerable pension every month, but he did not care much about the development and changes in the outside world. He just farmed and grew flowers every day.

The station staff on duty naturally noticed the old man in conspicuous clothes. After a conversation, he sent the old man to the car and then returned to his post.

Zabuza returned to his gloomy look, as if the lazy guy on the train was not him. He exuded an aura that kept strangers away, but this aura was destined not to last long.

"Wow, Mr. Zabuza, look over there," Mizunoe Haku excitedly pointed at the group of buildings not far away, "Why do all the buildings here have pointed roofs, and what is that big wheel?"

"......"

Young boys are all overly curious, but Zabuza doesn't want to pay attention to it because once it starts, it won't stop.

The order given by the Hokage was very clear. Zabuza needed to report to Kakashi first, and Kakashi would be his immediate superior from now on.

The New Government Office Building of the New Rain Country is located in the center of the city. In front of the building stands four five-meter-high bronze statues, which are the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage, and the Fourth Hokage. The statue of Hayama is not wearing a Hokage haori, but a standard Konoha vest with the original Kirigakure logo on his chest. He holds a book in his left hand and a handful of rice in his right hand, which is very vivid.

"Captain Zabuza, please come this way. Lord Kakashi has been waiting for a long time."

Zabuza's position was the second-level captain of the garrison corps, so he was called the captain.

Soon, they arrived at a restaurant. Apparently, they were meeting and eating at the same time. However, since they were all ninjas and didn't care about the formalities, they didn't feel it was impolite.

After entering the door, Zabuza walked forward quickly, stretched out his hands and held Kakashi's right hand tightly: "It's an honor to meet you, sir. You are much more handsome in person than on TV."

"Hahaha," Kakashi laughed heartily. "I have also known the Anbu demon Zabuza for a long time. You have come from afar and it has been hard. I have prepared some drinks to welcome you."

Uchiha Delong, who was following behind Kakashi, also shook hands with several people with a smile on his face, especially Mizunoe Haku, and whispered a few words to him.

"According to the documents from the Hokage's office, the dishes for official receptions cannot exceed twice the number of people, and the alcohol cannot exceed 40% of the banquet costs, so it's a bit simple." Kakashi said as he motioned for everyone to sit down.

"But rest assured, everyone. Although we can't afford seafood abalone and delicacies from the mountains and the sea, we can still have some specialties of the New Rain Country."

"Golden pheasant stewed with mushrooms, fried meat in lotus leaves, and braised four-hole carp are all dishes that you can't eat anywhere else. You can eat more later."

Zabuza nodded, feeling very puzzled, because normally when a group of people meet, they should discuss business first, so why did they start with a meal straight away?

As if seeing Zabuza's doubts, Uchiha Delong smiled and said, "There is a proverb in the New Rain Country that says the rice in the bowl is bigger than the sky and the earth. You have come from afar and must be tired. Let's eat first to fill our stomachs and then discuss official business."

"Thank you both for your hospitality."

In a few minutes, the steaming dishes were served. There were nineteen dishes for ten people at the table, which just met the regulations.

The meal was extremely comfortable and enjoyable. Everyone drank two bottles of white wine. None of them drank too much but they were a little tipsy, so they went to the reception room to drink tea and talk about business.

Kakashi took a big sip of tea, took a long breath and said, "Your appointment letter arrived yesterday. The Hokage appointed you as the second-level captain of the garrison corps. Did you know about it before?"

Zabuza stood up but was signaled to sit down and speak: "I have learned that the New Rain Country Garrison Corps has 4,000 people under its command. It is mainly responsible for maintaining stability within the country and building construction in difficult areas. It has one first-level captain and four second-level captains. The responsibilities are heavy and the tasks are arduous."

"In the first ten years, the main task of the Garrison Corps was construction, especially in the construction of roads, railways and infrastructure. Our predecessors put a lot of effort into it. But as the facilities in the country improved, the main task of the Garrison Corps changed to maintaining stability and killing illegal ninjas from abroad. To put it bluntly, it became dangerous."

Kakashi straightened his slicked-back hair and continued, "There were hundreds of battles last quarter, and we suffered a lot of casualties. You should be mentally prepared."

Zabuza frowned and said, "Lord Kakashi, the order I received is to eliminate the ninja forces illegally entrenched in the Land of Waves as soon as possible. I am afraid that I cannot perform my duties in the New Land of Rain for a long time for the time being."

"I know, but the ninjas from the Kingdom of Kobo are not a concern. You can choose any ninjas from the Corps. Be sure to clear them out within a week."

"Is the time a bit rushed?"

Uchiha Tokuron explained, "The Wave Country Ninja Gang consists of thirty-one people, most of whom are Chunin, and their hiding places have been monitored by us, so we can take action at any time."

Zabuza remained silent, inwardly scolding his former ninja from the same village for not living up to his expectations. How could he not know that he was being monitored? !

"After destroying them, I ask you to set up a local branch of the Wave Country Garrison Corps to take on the responsibility of building a cross-sea bridge."

At this point, Kakashi's eyes were bright: "The cross-sea bridge is related to the lifeline of the development of the Wave Country, and it carries the earnest expectations of millions of people. Your first task is to ensure the smooth completion of the bridge, and it must be completed before the 60th anniversary of Konoha!"

Zabuza felt the pressure coming instantly. The military commander and the government construction commander are completely different. The former is responsible for killing people, while the latter is in charge of everything.

"The article that Hokage-sama published in the Journal of the Ninjutsu Research Association is very valuable. He pointed out that the main task of us ninjas... ninja farmers at this stage is to get rid of the shackles of hunger and disease and completely eliminate class antagonism."

"The collapse of a system or a class is bound to cause a lot of destruction, so we, the Ninja Farmers, must not only be good at destruction, but also be good at large-scale construction. We must give full play to the spirit of hard work and struggle of our predecessors in the early days of the establishment of the New Rain Country, and always maintain the fundamental characteristics."

Kakashi opened his mouth and said a lot of big words, and then added: "Of course, if you don't do research, you have no right to speak. Whether the cross-sea bridge in Wave Country can be built and how to build it specifically require us to go and measure it in person, but you have to be a good pioneer."

Zabuza's face was solemn. He deeply understood the difficulties of being a civil servant.

.......

The Kingdom of Waves is located to the east of the Kingdom of Fire, only fifty kilometers away from the mainland. The surrounding waters are full of reefs and have fast currents. It echoes the Kingdom of New Rain from east to west, and is more than four thousand kilometers away.

When Zabuza stood on the beach of the Wave Country and looked at the Fire Country in the distance, he finally understood why the Hokage had gone to so much trouble to appoint him as the captain of the new Rain Country.

"Look, sir," a bridge expert from the New Rain Country pointed to a place not far away and said, "The terrain around the sea is high and the water is very shallow. According to my visual observation, the deepest point is only more than 30 meters, and the soil is all relatively hard rock. So I preliminarily judged that the Wave Country has the conditions to build a cross-sea bridge."

Zabuza nodded and asked, "When will the professional measuring equipment be delivered?"

"The relevant equipment is being packed into small boats at the Fire Country port and will arrive the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"You guys escort the experts back to rest first, and then come back to measure after the equipment arrives."

There was no point in wasting time here. The cross-sea bridge needed accurate measurement data, so it was better to let the experts go back and recuperate. But before that, I couldn't rest. I needed to keep an eye on the equipment until it was safely delivered.

The group went their separate ways, and Zabuza led Bai into the sea and walked forward, and soon they arrived at the newly built port of the Land of Fire. The port was very rough, and the most conspicuous thing was the dozens of small iron boats moored on the shore. These boats had a shallow draft and a normal load capacity, but they were fast.

After a careful inspection, Zabuza felt a little relieved and gave some instructions to his escorting subordinates. He decided to take Bai around to see if it would be a good idea to get to know the local customs and culture around him.

The two walked along the coastline for about ten kilometers without changing clothes. Seeing that the surrounding area was covered with rocks and there seemed to be no human habitation, they walked in and soon found a small fishing village.

The fishing village was not big, with a small river to the west and a large salt drying field to the east. As it was getting dark, the sea salt was piled up to prevent moisture, and the air was filled with a pungent smell. Before the two entered, the dogs in the village started barking.

Zabuza stood there, and after a few breaths he saw a middle-aged man scolding his dog aggressively, with a greasy spatula in his hand, obviously preparing dinner.

"Who are the two ninja masters?"

The standard vest on his body showed his identity. Zabuza said as kindly as possible: "We are two ninjas from the port not far away. We want to get a meal in your village."

Perhaps the expression was too straightforward, the simple man stood there in a daze without reacting, but soon agreed with a smile on his face and invited them in to rest and drink tea.

The house is a typical brick wall and wooden roof, with an additional layer of iron sheet on the roof to prevent corrosion. The downside is that it makes a lot of noise on rainy days. As for why bricks and tiles are not used for the roof, Zabuza probably did so because of poverty.

Outside the house was a fenced yard surrounded by small branches. A bald dog was tied to the east side. The yard was full of various vegetables and a pomegranate tree that had already produced quite a lot of fruit.

The kitchen and utility room is right at the entrance. On a stove made of mud and reinforced with cement to prevent moisture, there is a large iron pot, which is gurgling, obviously stewing food. In front of the stove is an old man with wrinkles on his face. When he sees a guest, he stands up and greets him. Zabuza also greets him in return. As for the utility room, it is filled with fishing nets, harpoons and other fishing gear, as expected, as well as a small wooden boat.

Less than five meters from the front house, on the right side of the gravel road is a drying shed filled with sea fish of various colors. The careful Zabuza also saw a few small pieces of dried tofu, which must have been prepared by the male owner for his father who had loose teeth.

The back is the main hall, which is also the reception room, and the left and right sides are bedrooms and food storage rooms. The three of them sat down after entering the reception room. The male host smiled and took out tea leaves wrapped in white cloth from the cabinet. He pinched a few black leaves with his fingers and put them into a large white porcelain bowl and poured water on it. In this way, the tea for the reception was ready.

"The conditions at home are simple. The two ninjas can have some tea and rest here. I will go and cook a few more dishes."

The male host stood up and was about to leave, but Zabuza stopped him and took out some banknotes from his ninja bag and said, "We have a rule in Konoha Ninja Village that we cannot eat the people's food for free. This money is not only for our meals, but also for the gift money to visit the old man. Please accept it."

When the middle-aged man saw the denomination on the banknote, a look of shock appeared on his face and he quickly refused it.

"If you don't want it, you're kicking us out!"