Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 50: The Third Hokage's "Urban Planning" Mini-Lesson

In the Hokage's office, a huge map of Konoha Village was laid out on the central floor.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and Kagami Uchiha sat on the ground around the map.

"Danzo, your plan is very bold, and I completely agree with the general direction." Hiruzen Sarutobi was the first to give his approval. He knew that when dealing with someone like Danzo who had a very strong sense of pride, he couldn't just deny everything from the start.

Danzo's expression softened slightly, and he straightened his back a bit.

"However, details determine success or failure." Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up a red pen and drew several circles on the map. "Let's do a sand table simulation."

He pointed to an area planned by Danzo and asked, "Look, you've combined the new commercial street with the residential area, which is a good idea and will make it convenient for the villagers to shop. But have you considered that many shops on the commercial street will stay open late at night, such as taverns and barbecue restaurants? Won't this noise affect the rest of the ninjas in the nearby residential area who need to go to bed early and get up early so they can go on missions the next day?"

Danzo was stunned.

He only thought about convenience and didn't consider the noise pollution problem at all.

"And here too."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pen pointed to another area: "Your drainage system plan is mainly to deal with flooding during the rainy season. That's the right idea. But have you considered where the villagers' daily sewage, such as water from washing vegetables and bathing, will go? If it's also discharged into this ditch, won't the whole village stink in the summer? Mosquitoes will breed, and it might even cause an epidemic?"

"this……"

Fine beads of sweat began to appear on Danzo's forehead.

He was only thinking about drainage and never considered the concept of "sewage discharge".

"The most important point."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned serious, and he drew several heavy red lines on the map between the densely packed houses that Danzo had planned.

"In Konoha Village, over 90% of the buildings are wooden structures. Building the houses so densely can certainly accommodate more people. But what if—and I mean what if—one of the houses catches fire?"

"The fire is fueled by the wind, and the wind fuels the fire. In such a densely packed building complex, once a fire starts, it will spread at an unimaginable speed. Even if we have water-style ninjas who can react in time, the losses will be enormous."

Every question from Hiruzen Sarutobi struck Danzo hard.

Danzo's face had turned from white to green.

Uchiha Kagami was also visibly shocked.

He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with eyes full of admiration.

The Hokage always considers problems from a perspective that is completely beyond their reach.

While they were still thinking about how to build more and stronger houses, the Hokage had already begun to consider noise, hygiene, and fire safety.

This wisdom, this foresight... Uchiha Kagami increasingly felt that following such a leader was the most correct choice made by the Uchiha clan, and by himself.

Seeing his two capable subordinates stumped by his questions, Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat and began his "mini-lesson".

"Therefore, the first thing a qualified village should do is to divide its functions into zones."

He picked up a pen and drew several large areas on the map.

"Look, we can divide the village into several different parts. For example, this area, which is close to the village center and has convenient transportation, can be designated as a commercial area specifically for opening shops and doing business."

"This area is quiet and far from the main road, so it's designated as a residential area."

"The Hokage Building, the Ninja Academy, and the hospital are the core institutions of the village. They can be grouped together to form an administrative and educational area."

"As for those that generate noise and pollution, such as ninja tool forging shops and soldier pill processing plants, we can move them all downwind of the village and establish an industrial zone."

"Different areas have different functions and do not interfere with each other, which ensures the orderly operation of the entire village."

Functional partitions?

Danzo and Kagami listened to this unheard-of word, their eyes widening as if a door to a new world had been opened.

"Then, there's the sewer system."

Hiruzen Sarutobi drew a few more lines. "We need to build two independent pipe networks. One is an open drainage ditch, specifically for rainwater. The other is an underground sewage pipe network, which will collect all the residents' domestic sewage and lead it to a designated location downstream of the village for centralized treatment. Only in this way can we ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of the village's internal environment."

"Finally, and most importantly, fire escape routes!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone became incredibly solemn. "When planning residential areas, sufficiently wide roads must be left at regular intervals. These roads can normally serve as alleys for villagers to stroll through, but in critical moments, they are lifelines that can isolate fires and save countless lives!"

Residential areas, commercial areas, industrial areas... sewers... fire lanes...

One groundbreaking idea after another, spoken by Hiruzen Sarutobi, completely overturned Danzo and Kagami Uchiha's understanding.

As they gazed at the well-organized and scientifically sound blueprint for Konoha's future drawn up by Hiruzen Sarutobi on the map, their initial doubts slowly turned into shock, and finally, into fervent worship.

"So... villages can be built like this..."

Danzo muttered to himself, feeling that his previous dozens of pages of plans were nothing but a pile of waste paper.

"Alright, that concludes the theory lesson."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up with a smile and handed the revised plan, which he had completely altered, to Danzo.

"Danzo, the specific execution is up to you."

Danzo took the blueprint as if it were a priceless treasure.

He turned and rushed out of the office, excitedly muttering, "Sewers...fire escape routes...functional zoning...I get it! I completely get it! Hiruzen, you wait, I'll definitely build you the number one village in the ninja world!"

Looking at Danzo's fanatical retreating figure, and then at the Hokage who calmly sat back down in his chair and drank tea, Uchiha Kagami had only three words left in his mind.

God is also a man.

Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the now-cold tea from the table, took a sip, and thought to himself, "The first step in infrastructure development is to get people's minds in line."

"Now that we've taken care of the village's infrastructure, it's time to look at its software development."

His gaze turned toward the direction of the ninja academy.

"These seedlings in Konoha need to be watered and the soil loosened."